✓ | DEAR FUTURE ME

035

"Huh?" She quickly turned. After what he called me?

"He called you a slut." Levi said, looking her right in the eyes. "Do you think I'd let him get away with that?"

"He what?" Skye asked, feeling her heart be ripped out of her chest and thrown into a ditch. This was the worst feeling, and it just wouldn't stop.

"I thought that's why you left?" He questioned.

"No, not at all." She shook her head. "That just makes me feel worse than I already do right now."

"Why did you leave then?" Levi asked.

Skye hesitated in her answer, thinking that if Levi knew the truth then he would do a lot worse than a punch across the face (newsflash: he would if Skye let him). If Levi could turn to violence over her being called a slut, imagine what would happen if she knew what Hunter did physically. Whether he'd turn to violence or not, Levi deserved to know, even if she would regret telling him.

"I..." she paused. "I left because he groped me and then I threw my drink in his face."

"Oh hell no-" Levi began, immediately starting to stand up so he could go after Hunter. There was no way Levi could let Hunter live another day after doing that, but there was indeed someone who could stop him to avoid himself from getting hurt.

"Hey!" Skye yells out and grabs his wrist, pulling his arm a little, which made him stop and turn back to her.

"What?"

Skye looked Levi in the eyes, studying his face while her hand still held onto his wrist. Even in the darkness, Skye could see the anger in Levi's face. Not anger towards her, but anger towards Hunter. There was something about the look on his face that showed what he was willing to do for Skye, and it reminded her of something Xavier said to her long before she considered Levi a friend.

"Well, he's a good guy. He's been there for all of us."

Levi was a good guy. He may be a little clingy and he may think more with his heart than his head, but he was the best damn guy (besides her father, obviously) that Skye could see as somebody to hold near and dear to her heart. "Stay. You've done enough for me."

"Skye..." Levi said, the anger in his face fading as he looked down at Skye while she gave him pleading eyes. He watched as Skye began to tear up, noticing how she was trying so hard to hold back the tears that were begging to stream down her face.

"Please." She whispered, just about ready to fall apart at any moment, but Levi would be the one to keep her from breaking.

"Hey, come here." He whispered back, extending his arms out and pulling her in for a hug. "Push me away if you want to. I don't mind."

But she doesn't push him away. Skye lets out a quiet gasp as he pulled her in and stands still, not quite expecting to be physically comforted by him considering the awkward or almost moments they've shared. She wasn't all too well with expressing her feelings, but the silent embrace was just enough for her. Levi doesn't force anything onto Skye, he doesn't put his hands in the wrong places, and he surely doesn't mind holding her as long as she needed him to.

"Give Levi a chance. I promise being his friend is worth it."

Skye wraps her arms around his neck and rests her chin on his shoulder, letting the tears she once held back stream down her face. Levi closed his eyes as she returned the embrace, holding her tighter than before. As much as he wanted to go after Hunter and do a lot more than just punch him in the face for what he did, making sure Skye was okay and just being there for her was much more important. Plus she wanted him to stay, and he would do anything for her at this point.