Forever and Always

Chapter 69 - Classroom Reunions

Waking up does not necessarily mean that one is awake, I decided as I rolled out of bed with Levi, both of us behaving more like zombies than actual, real life people. I quickly dressed and brushed my teeth, a dull ache settling into my hips the more I moved around, but alas my mother had been right, I had missed too many days of school to be able to keep ditching the way that I was. My grades had dropped from an A to a C in only the last month, and if I kept up the way I was going, there was no way I'd make graduation in June.

"Morning," Levi mumbled, wobbling on his feet and throwing on a shirt while I left the bathroom to scavenge for something to eat.

"Good morning," I groaned in response.

"You too, huh?" Levi sighed, rubbing his eyes as though he was still half asleep. He let out a long yawn while I left him to get dressed, slowly making my way to the kitchen to find some sort of breakfast.

"Hey, pumpkin," Petra giggled, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Hi, Petra," I said while my eyes threatened to shut on me again. "When did you get in last night?"

"Oh, ya know," Petra drawled slowly, a blush crossing her features. I had almost never seen that woman flustered. "You probably wouldn't have noticed me come in, you were, uh, pretty busy."

"Oh, yeah," I laughed, nervously rubbing the back of my neck, a trait that I had noticed in Levi, but I wasn't sure of it's origins. I wasn't sure if I had started doing it because of him or vice versa. I had settled on a banana and a glass of almond milk, the only milk Levi would ever permit in his house. Something about knowing regular milk came from animals really freaked him out. He had tried to explain to me once that cows didn't go up to random girls and lock them up in cages and drink their milk, so he couldn't understand why we would do that to them. I had never tried to look that deeply into it before, but Levi was set in his ways, so I settled for almond milk.

I was done with my banana and halfway finished with my almond milk when I realized that there still had been no sign of Levi since I had seen him nearly ten minutes prior. Surely he would be ready after ten minutes, I assumed, so I gulped down the rest of my milk and returned to the bedroom to check on his progress. I had to be at school in less than half an hour, so I was getting a little antsy.

"Levi?" I called quietly while I entered his bedroom, but upon my entry, I saw that my fiancee had fallen asleep again with his pants halfway up his legs. He was rolled on his side at the foot of the bed, his eyes closed gently and his mouth slightly ajar, quiet snores spilling from his lips. He looked so peaceful that I didn't dare wake him again, so I pulled his pants back off and gently hoisted him up into my arms, carrying him to his side of the bed and pulling the covers over him again, blanketing him to his chin and tucking the fabric around his body. He mumbled something that I couldn't quite make out, so I pressed my lips to his forehead in an attempt to comfort him back into a deep sleep. I gently ran my fingers through his hair, scratching my dull nails into his scalp until he began to snore again. Having finished my work, I stood and returned to Petra.

"Is he about ready?" Petra asked, rinsing out her coffee cup and beginning to walk back to her bedroom.

"Wait, Petra," I said, following quickly behind her. "He's actually asleep," I said, making sure to keep my voice low, as not to wake him again.

"Oh, okay, do you need a ride then?" Petra asked me without even skipping a beat.

"Yeah, please," I nodded when she finished speaking.

"Okay, just know, I don't play taxi for free," she said, a small grin tugging at her lips while she replied.

"How much do I owe ya?" I snorted, raising an eyebrow at her early morning antics.