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Sixteen
I allowed myself to stare at Levi harder, trying to read his mind, whatever was going in there that might help me comprehend his sudden change of heart. “Why should I believe you?” I challenged him, but more for my sake than his.
A smirk appeared on his face. “Because I’m the only one who’s not curious. I’m concerned. And I’m concerned because, didn’t I tell you I was your friend and you were mine?”
I didn’t know if he was lying, but even if he was, I couldn’t tell either. He was good at… at whatever this is he was doing, and frankly that scared me more than being in this party filled with drunken people. Okay, that one was a bluff, since being in this party was horrible. Why did I even come here?
Oh. That’s right. I came here because of an errand. And I wasn’t delivering it right now.
Quickly, I rose to my feet, and looked back down at Levi – who now stared up at me, his expression befuddled. “I’m sorry, Levi, but I guess you can coax me into whatever you’re planning next time, because I have more important things to do. Catch you later.”
But I didn’t have time to move a couple of feet away, because Levi reached out his hand and caught my arm, pulling me back against his chest. My heart beat fast at this encounter, mostly from what I wanted to say was surprise at the sudden force, and I sincerely hoped, at our proximity, Levi couldn’t hear it.
I tried to break free from his grasp, but he secured my waist around his arms now, my back against his chest. “Not so fast, Rachel,” he whispered, his mouth close to my ears, his breath tickling my cheek. “Tell me what you need to do, so I can help you finish it.”
“Let go of me, or I’ll shout rape,” I half-whispered, half-threatened.
At this, his chest moved as he chuckled. “No one would care, since they’re all drunk anyway.” Pause. “And seriously, Rachel, get over your fantasies. Even if you want me to, you know I’m not an idiot to rape you.”
He said what?
Did he seriously just insult me?
Asshole.
I looked around us, and I realised that indeed, everyone who was in the corner of the backyard that was close to the mansion was all inebriated, and I didn’t even notice before that there was a swimming pool and music was making them all dance under the water.
Meanwhile, in the further part of the backyard which looked more of a storage area than anything, there was only Levi and I and darkness.
“Fine,” I digressed, finally giving in. Levi let me go immediately, and for a second I was tempted to run away from him, but I was Rachel Falls, and Rachel Falls keeps the end of her bargain.
I turned around to face Levi with a pointed glower. “Tammi wanted me to give a letter to Bryan, but I don’t know if Bryan is even on the face of the earth.”
“Bryan? Bryan Messer?” Levi inquired, and after he saw me nod, he continued, “He’s upstairs, in the guest room. He’s watching television. He’s not a fan of parties, so he’s locked himself up.”
I tilted my head. “Wait… how do you know him? And know so much about him?”
Levi cleared his throat. “I told you to have a little faith. Come on, I’ll escort you there. And don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you or take advantage of your lovely womanhood. I have a brain,” he added, after seeing my untrusting look.
I snorted, rolling my eyes.
Levi led me through the inside, through the seamless crowd dancing off to Katy Perry still as if it were the end of the world, up the second floor, and finally, directed me outside the guest room.
“We’re here,” he announced.
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” I pointed out, rolling my eyes, before knocking on the door.
On the second round of knocks, the door opened, revealing Bryan Messer himself. The fairly muscular, red-lipped blonde.
And true to Levi’s word, based on the room, he was alone and innocently merely watching the television. Bryan scrunched his eyebrows at me, but felt recognition at the sight of Levi behind me. He regarded him. “What’s up, Levi? And who’s this?”
From my back, Levi moved forward, right by my side. “Hey, Bryan. This, right here, is Rachel Falls, senior. She wanted to give you a letter.”
“From my friend, Tammi,” I added immediately. I reached for my pocket and found the letter, in turn reaching it out towards Bryan to take. He looked at me, poker face, until he finally, but reluctantly, took it.
He merely glanced at both of us, gave Levi a hasty nod, offered me a short smile, and closed the door on us.
I allowed an awkward silence pass, before I spoke up. “Well, that went well.”
Moment of silence part two.
Hesitantly, I glanced at Levi. “Anyway, thanks for helping me with my errand. I’ll be going first now. Enjoy the party!”
But of course, before I even managed to move both feet, Levi’s hand was on my arm, holding me back. “Not so fast, lady.”
I spun around to face him, shaking away his hand from mine. “What now?”
“We still have a game to play.”
Grousing, I almost whacked myself on the head. Why hadn’t I seen this earlier? Of course he wouldn’t help me and not ask for anything in return. He was that wicked, and simply helping out a damsel in party distress still needed to pay as what was inscribed in his How to Make Someone’s Life a Living Hell textbook.
He was so mean.
I could go all feisty on him and bitch him around and he couldn’t do anything since I really was that awful when I wanted to be, but at the end of the day, it was him I owed my completion of Tammi’s errand to. In short, I wasn’t in the perfect position to be as feisty as I desperately wanted to right now, and though that sucked, I couldn’t let everything end there, in where I was left agonising over the whole ordeal.
So, I folded my arms over my chest, looked up at him with ignorant pride, and demanded, “Fine. Ask questions already, so we can get this over with.”
“Actually,” Levi said. “I spiced things up.”
ΦΦΦ
Five full, red cups.
It was a pack of five full, red cups, which was staring back at me under the stars.
Levi and I harboured these cups from the party inside the mansion, before settling in the bench I found him sitting alone in a couple of minutes ago. He’d changed his game mechanics quite a lot, and I took up that challenge, because he was smirking at me and calling me a coward and you do NOT call Rachel Falls a coward.
“Remember, Rachel, you can refuse to answer, but you have to take in half the content of one cup.”
“Yeah, whatever,” I replied unconcernedly, as we perched on the grass facing each other, the cups in between us. Now, now, I know you’re thinking, why didn’t you just run away and escape Levi’s game and proposition altogether? My brain might not conjure up a perfect, one hundred per cent logical excuse, but my heart offered a one hundred and ten per cent sure answer.
It was a proposition… of how to get over Rylance.
I was desperate; I was desperate to get over him. And I would go to any lengths to attain that goal of finally moving on from a best friend I thought loved me.
But never did.
“Okay,” Levi cleared his throat, breaking me from my reverie. “First question: Are you single?”
Letting my eyes dance ballet, I responded with a simple, “Yeah.”
“Second question: Are you an honour student?”
“Silver.”
“Is Tammi your best friend?”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
“For how long?”
I looked at him hard. “Two years and counting.”
“Do you think Rylance made you vulnerable?”
With the sudden, totally uncalled-for question, I was stunned, electrified to my position. The answer was obvious, but I couldn’t bear to let it come out from my own mouth.
I was supposed to be a headstrong girl, but if admitting what I truly felt, that I was truly heartbroken, meant ruining that reputation I’d carefully built all these years in front of everyone, then I was not anywhere near risking that. And even if lying wasn’t restricted as stated in Levi’s mechanics, I still wouldn’t stoop that low.
So, without another moment’s hesitation, I gulped in half of a cup, wincing at the bitter taste it’d left in my now burning throat.
Levi merely gazed at me. “Do you see me as a friend or foe?”
“Both.”
“No can do. Choose only one.”
I took in the remaining of the first cup. I thought for a second bubbles started to appear in front of my eyes, but I shrugged it off.
“Are you threatened by me right now?”
“No.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Maybe.”
“It’s only yes or–”
“There’s no such rule,” I interrupted, miffed. “You didn’t state my answer has to be definite.”
“Fine. Are you up for dating or not?”
“Not.”
Levi raised his eyebrow suggestively. “Really?”
“Do I have to repeat myself?”
“Is it true you fell in love with Rylance?”
And again, I choked on my own saliva. Rolling my eyes with more loathe than how rolling one’s eyes should contain, I picked up the second cup and drank half of it.
“Do you think Bryan’s good for Tammi?”
My gaze fixated on Levi. All of a sudden, he blurred, and soon, my surroundings turned around in circles right in front of my eyes. My head felt like it was being blended by a colossal washing machine.
“Rachel?” I heard Levi’s voice, but everything was blurry and turning around in circles like a rollercoaster ride, a really, really fast rollercoaster ride. “Rachel, are you okay?”
“N-n-no,” I blurted out, my head swirling like crazy.
“But Rachel, out of the twenty question mechanics, we’ve only covered thirteen. You have seven questions left.”
Twenty minus thirteen is seven? Oh, my gosh, Levi must be a genius! I should say that to him! Every jerk needs an ego-boost now and then, right? “You’re a genius!” I complimented him, sincerely.
Time must’ve whizzed by then, but I didn’t know where I was, what I’d said, how I felt. I just knew one thing.
In the inebriated stupor my mind was stupid enough to fall under, only my ears pricked at something, at a certain sound that my body said which had induced goose bumps from me.
It was a low, dark chuckle; one which depicts – although I didn’t know it yet – that not everything would go well.
Hi! I hope you liked this chapter/found it satisfying, though it felt a little all over the place. Next chapter's going to be the What Happened between R and R.
Ohhh, and for those who're interested, Heartstrings is posted up on http://www.wattpad.com/user/roastedpiglet or the external link in this chap :) If you liked FLKMA, you'll like that toooo :)
Love ya!
Much love xoxo