The Missing Piece

Levi 20

I couldn't help hitting my face repeatedly with my pillow. 

What had taken Brooke so long to reply me? It had been two days since she had last received my message. Perhaps I had scared her too much? Is it too soon for her to go on a date with me? 

Shit. Maybe I shouldn't have ask her out after all. Screw Justin and his stupid ideas. I huffed indignantly, mentally cursing at my best friend. Great. Now Brooke's gonna take two steps back away from me when I thought we were a step closer before. The door of my bedroom opened with a squeak, revealing Teddy with his disheveled dirty blonde hair. 

"What's up little guy? Done with the equations I gave you?" I smiled and beckoned him to come to me. He nodded and beamed at my invitation, all sunny smiles as he eagerly climbed into my lap with a crumbled paper in his hand. 

He waved the piece of paper in my face proudly. "All done! Although some of them are rweally hard," he pouted almost accusingly at me while crossing his arms. I refrained myself from snickering at his mispronunciation. It irked him more than anything and hurting my precious baby brother's feelings was unforgivable to say the least. 

"Is that why you scratched your head?" I ruffled his already messy hair fondly while pulling him in for a nice cuddle. He missed being hugged by his parents. It was the least I could do to make him feel special and loved. He ended up snuggling up to me and giggled instead. I propped up a pillow against the headboard and leaned on it as I looked through Teddy's homework. He got distracted quickly and decided to braid my hair rather clumsily. 

Hmm. Not surprised. All of his answers were correct. I was certain he could at least skip a grade or two once he started grade school with his fast-learning pace. I grabbed a red pen from my nightstand and drew a big A with a star next to it before handing it back to Teddy. His hands abandoned my half-done braid immediately and grabbed the paper eagerly. "Yes! A star!" 

I kissed his forehead. He was so happy all the time. I couldn't imagine how could his tiny body contain such an endless supply of positivity, given that his family wasn't exactly loving and warm to begin with. 

He tugged at my hair softly. "Levy?"

"Hmm?" I hummed.

"Is Book your girlfriend?" 

My heart skipped a beat at his unexpected question. I frowned and looked down to see if he was serious or not. His bright sea-green eyes reflected his genuine curiosity as he stared up at me. I decided to answer his question with another question.

"What makes you think so, buddy?" I shifted his position in my lap a little so that I could see his expression better. Sure, I asked that to avoid answering him but I couldn't help but wonder what had gotten into that innocent little head of his. 

He shrugged. "Book can always makes you laugh. You look happy-no; you are happy when Book is around." 

Is my baby brother really five years old? Damn, sometimes I could forget how inquisitive and observant he could be.