Chapter 4 Ami

• Levi is muscular and has long silver blonde hair that he tries back. His brown eyes sparkle like he thinks something’s funny but doesn’t want to share what it is. He has dimples that poke out on both cheeks when he smiles but he doesn’t smile as much as he did when we were kids. He’s gotten paler since we were kids. I remember a young tan dirty blonde hair but now, his skin is fair and his hair is silver blonde.
• I can feel his eyes on me and I’m glad I didn’t turn around. I can already see the satisfied smirk on his face if he caught me starting at him. He thinks everyone likes him and I don’t want to fan his ego. Whatever it is between us is weird. We don’t talk anymore but I know him and he knows me. He’s close but distant. Liz thinks he has this secret crush on me but if that were true he would have made a move already. And if he were to try and make a move now it would be pointless. I’m taken now.
• I started dating Dylan Cadmus this year. The only time I can’t feel Levi’s eyes on me is when I’m with Dylan. He’ll turn from me and look away. I wonder if my being with Dylan makes him unhappy. That or I’m being crazy. I push that thought aside and ignore how vain that sounds. I haven’t been listening to Liz and when I tune in she’s talking about the new guy she met on mythinder.
• It’s a dating app for mythical beings meet up to hook up. The weirdos she’s found on there are insanely weird thought. Supposedly there are vampires, sirens, and were-bears on there. I’ve only met other werewolves, so the thought of there being others out there puts me on edge. I’ve told her crazy ass not to use the app anymore but she thinks it’s fun. She says the sex is good and swears were-bears have the biggest dicks.
• “I’m worried you’re going to end up chopped up and thrown into a bag,” I tell her.
• “Oh don’t be like that. I’m careful,” she said, brushing me off.
• “What if they eat you?” I asked.
• “Oh, trust, they eat me,” she said playfully.
• “Ewww…. not cool, Liz!”
• She giggles as the bell rings. Everyone jumps to their feet and I watch as they make their way out into the hall. I grab my stuff and throw everything into my backpack before I follow Liz out the door. The first bell rings and I wave goodbye as Liz heads in the opposite direction. Thankfully we have the first period of the day together. I start to head to my class when someone throws an arm around my shoulder. Looking to the person next to me, I lift my chin and stare in shock at Levi.
• “What are you-” I start.
• “Where are you headed?” Levi asked. He said it so nonchalantly as if this was completely normal. He scanned the hallway as I stared at him. We haven’t spoken a word to each other in years. This whole interaction was bizarre and not like him.
• “Are you sick?” I asked.
• He stopped looking around and his chin dipped as he looked down at me. He’s grown since we were little but being this close to him I’ve realized just how much he’s grown. The top of my head barely reaches the top of his chest. Being this close to him I’m enveloped in his scent. The smell of cranberries mixed with a citrus smell warms my belly.
• “No, Ami. Why would you think I’m sick?” Levi asked.
• My stomach drops at the familiar yet unfamiliar nickname I haven’t heard in years. I don’t know what he’s doing but all of a sudden I feel angry. I don’t know why he’s doing this. I don’t like feeling like a game and right now that’s what it feels like. Not a word from him for years just for him to walk up to me and act like nothing’s changed?
• Why is he doing this?
• “Oh, I don’t know, Levi… maybe because we haven’t talked in 2 years? Or maybe because you threw your arm around me and all of a sudden want to spend time with me? Oh! Or maybe it’s because of the way you’re calling me by my nickname,” I said.
• “I didn’t know you missed me so much, Ami. If I knew it was so hard on you I would have done something earlier. You could have just asked me to spend time with you,” Levi said.
• I scoff as I take a step away from him. I don’t have time to stay here. I need to get to class. A shiver runs up my spine as I imagine what Dylan would think if he had seen us. He doesn’t like it when I spend time with guys and that’s understandable. I don’t want to do anything that makes him uncomfortable.
• The lies you tell yourself.
• “What the hell was that?” I asked.
• “What? I was just trying to talk to you, Ami-”
• “Don’t, Levi. Just don’t,” I cut him off.
• “Don’t what?” Levi asked. A loose strand of silver hair falls from the hair tie and falls down his face.
• “Don’t call me that.”
• We stand in the hallway staring each each others eyes as people rush past us to their next class. We don’t say anything and it feels like the wall in between us that had been broken down when he spoke to me is rebuilding itself. Arms wrap around my waist and I’m lifted up off my feet as I’m pulled back. I’m pulled farther from cranberries and citrus and pulled into menthol and wintergreen.
• Dylan.
• “Good morning, Kitten,” Dylan murmured gruffly in my ear.
• I shivered, but this time not from fear, but from excitement. I sighed in relief that he hadn’t seen me under Levi’s arm. I try to turn around but he doesn’t let me. Instead, his grip around my waist tightens and I look back at him.
• “Morning, baby.”