December 2nd
With everyone's impatience growing as the rumored snowstorm had yet to happen, their dreams came true during the last class of the day. They all looked out the window to see flurries of snow starting to fall, and immediately lost their focus on their schoolwork and turned their focus onto the beginning of what would be a snowstorm that would last for days.
Skye, who was currently standing on a stepladder painting her mural for Mrs. Cloud, noticed how Levi wasn't paying any sort of attention to making sure she didn't fall off the ladder. She let out a sigh, putting down her brushed and attempting to get Levi's attention.
"Hey, dummy." She whispered, poking his cheek, which immediately got his attention.
"Hm?" Levi turned, looking up at her with a puzzled face.
"The snow can wait. You gotta make sure I don't fall and die." Skye said.
"And die?" His eyes widened. She sure knew how to put some fear into him.
"Um, yeah." She furrowed her eyebrows. "Why else would Mrs. Cloud tell you to look out for me instead of doing actual art?"
"Cause it's hard to paint left-handed when I'm right-handed?" Levi questioned.
"Cause I could fall and die, but that too," Skye replied, then went back to her painting. Only the seniors were able to do murals, so Skye was taking all of it seriously, making sure it was absolutely perfect.
"Well, you're not getting hurt on my watch," Levi said.
Skye stopped what she was doing, looking down at him and giving him a look, one that screamed "think about what you just said." "Levi."
"Oh, right." He chuckled, realizing Skye was referring to homecoming night, which he tried to forget part of. "Kind of already did that."
"Whatever, that wasn't your fault. I was just still being the salty loser who lost her best friend." She sighed.
"Were you jealous?" Levi smirked, leaning against the wall. The dry part, of course. Although it would be funny if Levi accidentally leaned against wet paint and got it on his shirt.
"What? No!" Skye exclaimed.
"It's fine, you can say it." He said. "I mean, I'd be jealous if I saw you with Hunter or something."
Skye's eyes widened for a brief moment, taken aback by the last thing Levi said. Thinking to herself, "why would he say that?", Skye stopped her painting once more. Levi couldn't explain why he'd be jealous without it sounding suspicious, but the same went for Skye on why she'd be jealous herself.
"Why Hunter?" Skye turned. "What if I secretly wanted Xavier?"
"Well, do you?" Levi asked.
"Hell no." She replied. She wouldn't say it out loud to avoid Xavier's feelings getting hurt, but guys who are shorter than her aren't her type. Good thing Levi towers over her.
"Oh, good." He said, holding back on taking a sigh of relief.
"And I wouldn't want Hunter either," Skye said. Maybe this would be a good time to take a sigh of relief. Levi wouldn't know what to do if Skye said she had a crush on him.
"Well, he stared at your ass once, so thank god you don't." Levi blurted, immediately realizing he said that to her.
"I beg your pardon?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Um..."
"Please tell me this isn't a reoccurring thing with you guys," Skye said. She would probably scream her head off if she knew every single one of them stared at her ass. The thought of it made her self-conscious, but Skye kept telling herself Levi was too good of a guy to ever do that. The same went with Danny, especially since he has a girlfriend. Besides, Skye would definitely tell Nini if he were involved too, but Danny could really never do that.
"Oh my god, no! Hunter just doesn't know how to be respectful." Levi exclaimed. Truth be told, Levi secretly scolded Hunter about it, expressing how much he didn't want to screw things up with Skye. Hunter claimed that she "never had to know" because it was merely "innocent", but guess who knows now?
"Guess he's never getting my Spanish notes again," Skye murmured, which Levi heard.
"If it makes you feel better, I gave him a real stare down when it happened." He said. Levi thought it would be best if he didn't mention the part where he said something to Hunter about it.
"May I ask when this happened?" She questioned.
"The first day you met the Three Stooges. Specifically when you were getting into the car." Levi replied. Now Skye could see how that happened, and the thought made her gag. She guessed that she'd have to be more cautious when climbing into the back seat from now on.
"Gross." She shuddered. "I should've known something was up when he said he would steal me from you."
"Come on, nobody can steal the Skye Simmons away from me." He said, immediately realizing how weird that sounded. "Not to sound possessive or anything, you're just one of my favorite people."
"Hey, who knows. Maybe some guy will sweep me off my feet." Skye teased.
Levi blushed, immediately getting defensive at the thought of someone other than him sweeping Skye off her feet. "I'd do that literally if it weren't for the shoulder. I mean, I could carry you still, but-"
"Don't ever do that." She interrupted.
"Got it."
Skye looked over at the clock, seeing that she should start cleaning up and getting ready to go out. "Can you hold my hand while I step down?"
"Oh, of course," Levi said, extending his good arm for Skye.
"Thanks." She grinned, grabbing his hand and carefully stepping down.
"You're cleaning up, I assume?" Levi asked.
"Yeah, the period is ending soon and I gotta get my coat, gloves, and all of that stuff on before stepping out in the snow," Skye replied, which then reminded Levi of something.
"Oh, well-"
"Yes, I will help you do the same." She said, then Levi whispered, "thank god". He had to have his mom help him get his winter gear on in the morning, which honestly made him feel like a little kid again. Levi simply could not wait for his shoulder to heal.
"Are you driving still? Or are you teaching one of the clowns?" Skye asked, letting out a laugh at the end while she quickly got her coat on then went to help Levi.
"In this weather?" He raised an eyebrow. "I can't teach any of them until the snow clears."
"Could always teach me." She proposed, helping Levi zip up the rest of his coat.
"Definitely not in this weather," Levi said.
"Was worth a shot." Skye sighed. Who knows, maybe she can start learning how to drive come springtime. She could only hope she and Levi were still friends by then.
"Hey, I'll be driving with both arms before you know it." He insisted.
"I know, but I feel bad you still have to drive even with your injury." She frowned.
"Just gives me an excuse to show off." Levi laughed, which made Skye roll her eyes.
"God, you-" she began to say, then got interrupted by the bell ringing.
"Guess we better get going." He smirked.
"Dummy." Skye scoffed, elbowing Levi's left side.
"You know I'm your favorite," Levi said.
"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes then walked out of the classroom, having Levi follow behind her while she put on her gloves as she didn't have the time to do so.
Finally getting through the massive crowd of everyone trying to hurry home, Skye and Levi made it to the parking lot last, seeing Xavier, Danny, and Hunter standing around Levi's car in the freezing cold. Danny yelled out for them, wondering if it was finally his time to drive. Even despite the weather, he was willing to risk it,
"Hey!" Danny yelled out. "Am I finally driving?"
"Nah, not today, man! Sorry!" Levi replied.
"What about me?" Xavier pouted. Yeah, as if.
"Please, you'll crash us!" Levi joked although Xavier took it seriously. To be fair, he probably would crash them whether there was snow on the ground or not.
"Shut up, tall ass!" He yelled.
"Tall ass?" Skye questioned, sticking close to Levi as she was afraid of slipping on the ground.
"It makes an appearance every now and then." Levi leaned over and said to her so they couldn't exactly hear him.
"Ah, gotcha." She whispered.
"Come on, it's freezing!" Hunter whined, which proceeded Skye to reply in a sassy tone as she now saw him differently with the new information she learned from Levi.
"Cry me a river." Skye scoffed, walking over to the passenger side of the car while Levi went to the driver's side.
"She knows." He whispered to Hunter, whose eyes widened in shock.
"W-what-"
"Xavier, you're in the back," Levi said, much to everyone's confusion.
"Dammit," Danny said to himself, rolling his head back in annoyance.
"Bro, what?" Xavier questioned. "I hate sitting in the middle, man."
"Skye, get in the front," Levi ordered.
Skye looked over to Levi from the passenger side, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion by this sudden change to the seating arrangement. Levi merely smiled at her, hoping she could get the gist without anything being said out loud. Thankfully she did, so she smiled back at him and got into the front seat.
"Dammit!" Xavier exclaimed, kicking the snow. "He's so damn whipped."
"For real," Hunter said as if he wasn't the one staring at Skye's ass before.
"You guys can't even keep a girl for more than an hour." Danny snickered, then savagely walked away and got into the backseat, sitting on the left side like usual.
"Hey, I can pull guys too!" Xavier whined.
"Yo, you better not kiss me, bro," Hunter said.
"Ew, I don't want you." He scoffed.
"No one does." Hunter looked down. One could totally wonder why that is.
Levi rolled down his window and stuck his head out, yelling for the remaining guys to hurry up as the right door remained open while everyone waited for Xavier and Hunter to get in already. "Hey, get in the car already! You're letting all the cold in!"
"Fine!" They yelled. Xavier then climbed into the backseat, and Skye let out a laugh as she noticed Hunter turn his head away. Hunter then got in, placing his backpack and his lap, and slamming the door.
"I can't believe I've been banished to the backseat." Xavier crossed his arms and pouted. "I don't like this.
"Sorry, bro," Levi said.
"I guess I forgive you." He rolled his eyes.
"Seatbelts, everyone," Levi announced, like the famous Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus, which Skye caught onto.
"Not the Magic School Bus reference." She said.
"I had to." He chuckled, then began to back out of the parking spot.
While Levi drove out of the school, the Three Stooges weren't having the time of their life in the backseat as Hunter whined about Xavier taking up most of the room. "Dude, why you gotta be manspreading like that? We're all in this back seat together."
"I can't believe I'm agreeing with Hunter, but yeah, close up those short little legs," Danny said.
"Short little-" Xavier gasped. "Now that's just cold."
Danny merely shrugged, then Levi asked the Three Stooges in the back about who would be the first to get dropped off. "Alright, who's getting dropped off first?"
"We gotta do rock, paper, scissors." Hunter proposed.
"I guess that works." Danny agreed.
The three then played the first round, which Danny won, meaning he would be dropped out first. Xavier yelled out "dammit!", which made everyone else in the car laugh. Whoever lost the next round would be the last one dropped off before Skye, so the remaining two would take it very seriously.
"Who won?" Levi asked.
"Me." Danny grinned, then Levi began to go down the path to Danny's house.
While Levi continued driving, Hunter and Xavier were about to go head to head, or perhaps hand to hand considering it was rock, paper, scissors. "Hunter, I'm gonna beat you so hard."
"Oh my god, nasty!" Hunter exclaimed, his forever dirty mind getting to the best of him.
"Not like that, damn!" Xavier yelled, slapping Hunter's arm. "I mean in rock, paper, scissors, dumbass!"
"Oh!" He said, then immediately got ready again. "Alright, let's go then."
"Rock, paper, scissors- no!" Xavier yelled out, holding out the "no" for a solid ten seconds. If it wasn't obvious, the poor guy lost miserably.
"I assume you lost, Xavier?" Levi questioned.
"Yeah." He frowned.
"Don't worry, Xavier." Skye turned around, reassuring him. "You'll get home before I do."
"Yeah, that's cause Levi wants that alone time if you know what I'm saying." Xavier teased.
"Ooo, yup," Hunter smirked. Okay, maybe they were somewhat right about that, but Skye didn't exactly mind being driven home last. She was thankful for the ride regardless, so she just remained grateful unlike the other guys, especially those who whined about losing rock, paper, scissors.
"Do I have to roast you two again?" Danny asked, which the answer was obviously yes to. Maybe instead of the Three Stooges, it should just be Thing One and Thing Two.
"The roast is rare, but it's brutal every time," Xavier said, trying his best to sound dramatic.
"Well, my girlfriend of three years taught me best." Danny beamed, not even realizing that what he just said was a roast in itself.
"There he goes again."
"Yup, there he goes."
"You and Nini have been together for three years?" Skye asked Danny.
"Yup, we met freshman year." He said. They actually met during a football game, then the rest is history. Levi then ended up meeting Megan a year later, but that clearly didn't last like Danny and Nini.
"They're cute or whatever." Xavier rolled his eyes.
"That's so sweet." Skye cooed. "I wish I had that."
"Well, like I tell everyone; when the time comes, you'll know," Danny replied.
"Hm." She said, turning over and looking at Levi, who had his eyes on the road. It made her think; was there any kind of feeling like that when she met Levi? Skye knew that meeting Levi would be the start of something new, but she couldn't quite figure out what that something was.
•••
MARIA TALKS!
cute filler chapter?? idk you tell me
also it's ironically april fools day but none of this chapter is a joke so you're very lucky
yesterday was my wattpad anniversary though!! happy seven years of chaos xoxo
i actually tried my best to show off the side characters more, mainly because i feel like there isn't a good enough balance between showcasing the main characters and showcasing the side characters. they deserve some time to shine too 🥺
also i wanna ask this as i'm planning the end of the book; thoughts on a four part finale?? i'm trying to map out chapters (even if losing readers demotivates me i push forward) and that's what it seems like it's gonna be so i wanna ask if it's too much or exciting asf ya feel me
anyways, the next chapter is gonna be a cute one! and for the millionth time don't forget to vote lol