Loved By Levi

Sixteen

Levi

I didn't even have to turn around to know that Matt was watching me. I knew he was leaning against a piece of gym equipment that he didn't know how to use, but then again, I hadn't either until a few months ago. I knew his pathetic excuse for a beard was longer than usual, but that was because he'd been too high for a week straight to bother with manscaping.

He was excited for me, and impatient. I was more than well aware of that. I'd been able to sneak into the house and change from the stupid dress shirt and slacks I'd worn earlier into gym clothes and then run back out. But I'd taken my car that morning and since I liked running to the gym he was bound to realize I was back already, at least once he got out of bed. At this point there was really no avoiding him, but I continued to try.

He stood and watched me. My arms began to burn from lifting the same weights far longer than I usually would. I kept going, praying he'd leave. He didn't.

The second I dropped the dumbbells on the rack with a metallic clank, he was rushing over. Matt might as well have been a puppy who hadn't seen his owner in hours. A lanky, scruffy, dirty puppy that still smelled like stale beer and weed. Lots and lots of weed...

"Heyy, man! How'd it go? I didn't even hear you come in this morning."

"Yeah," I smiled wryly, "that's what happens when you've been out of it every day for a week. You tend to miss things." For the longest time I didn't let it bother me that my best friend and roommate was rarely sober, but lately that was a different story. I was starting to get really sick of the scent of old vomit seeping out of his room and endlessly tripping over beer cans. Hell, I hadn't even had a drink since the night Mylee and I went out for what was probably the last time.

He rolled his eyes, which were still slightly red, and reached over to yank the remaining headphone out of my ear so he would have my full attention. "Seriously, dude, how did it go? What did the recruiter say?"

I shrugged, refusing to meet his eyes. "Not a whole lot, just gave me a bunch of pamphlets and paperwork. The guy wasn't much of a talker, unlike some people."

"You're just jealous that I get more girls than you. By the way, how's that one girl? Millie? Molly? The one with the red hair."

It surprised me that he didn't actually remember her name. That tended to be one of Matt's strengths. Then again, he only seemed to remember the names of girls he knew he had a chance with. I felt my face heat up at the realization that he knew I liked her enough to refrain from hitting on her. He'd stolen more than one girl out from under me so that was definitely a big deal for him.

"I don't know, why?"

He surprised me by reaching out and punching me in the shoulder hard enough to make me wince. "Levi, are you serious?"

I glared at him. "Why does it matter so much?"

"Because! You were obviously into her, and she seemed to like you, too. That's the first girl I've ever really seen you take an interest in, plus it looked like you had a good chance with her. What the hell is your problem, man?"

I turned to face my best friend with balled fists. Even though I knew he was right, I was getting really tired of being told what to do by a stoner that never did anything with his own life.

"Honestly, I don't know why you can't ever do anything for yourself without me yelling at you first. It's like I'm your fucking mom or something," he continued, red-faced. That surprised me. Matt wasn't really the type to get worked up, especially not over somebody else's problems. I had a feeling this argument had been brewing for quite a while.

"You're nothing like my mom, believe me," I growled. Then again, maybe he was. They both had a tendency of drowning themselves in sex and drugs.

"Well sometimes it sure as hell feels like it. Seriously, I don't even know how you'd survive without me." His face went from red and angry to just a little smug. I felt my fists tighten again.

"Let me tell you something, Matt. I haven't even seen my mom since I was about six, so I'm pretty sure I can survive on my own just fine."

"Oh, really? Then why are you living in my house? And asking me for advice about every little fucking thing? And following me around like some sad little puppy because you don't have any friends of your own? Fuck you, Levi. Admit it, you need me."

Some small part of me swelled with pride as I took one menacing step towards my best friend and he shrunk a little. He, of all people, knew how many hours I put in at the gym and how hard I'd worked to toughen up. We both knew he didn't want to be the first guy on the wrong end of my wrath.

"Matt, I don't know what your problem is, but I really don't want to do this right now. I went in and talked to the recruiter this morning like you told me to. Can we just leave it at that?"

I felt my face contort into something ugly as he shook his head. "No, we can't. All I've tried to do is help you, but you just keep being an asshole. I was gonna wait until the end of the semester to tell you this so you'd have time to get things figured out but now seems just fine. I think you should start looking for your own place."

"You've got to be kidding me," I growled. "Are you saying the entire reason you've been telling me to get my shit together is so that I'll move out? Just so you can, what, have orgies in my room? God, you're shallow."

Matt's face was stony and he made no move to answer. Instead of throwing a punch like I wanted to, I grabbed my water bottle and stalked out the doors. There was no going back now.