Levis Pov
My feet become sorer by the second as I walk through the eerie underground city. I've just been on a job and I'm nowhere near the pathetic excuse of a home, Its going to be a fifteen minute walk at the very least.
My footsteps echo in the narrow alleyway and the groans of the dying fill my ears, I'm in the roughest part of the city; where poverty is ever present and the stench of rotting corpses is overwhelming.
I get out of the alleyway and look around to see if there is anywhere where a person is most likely to jump me. I set off down the road and I feel the blisters on my heel getting more and more chaffed.
"E-excuse me" I small voice says from below me, trying to get past me in the street
I look down to see a little girl there, her eyes are wet and she looks in distress, even though her voice seemed calm her face showed over wise, this little girl was terrified.
I feel great sympathy for this girl, she looks so innocent, and why hasn't she got her parents with her? Surely a girl at her age shouldn't be wandering this place on her own. I decide to bend down so im at her level. Her bright blue eyes widen in shock and fear, awaiting my next move.
"What's the matter? Don't you know you shouldn't be on these streets on your own? It's really dangerous" I say, my voice soft
"I-I'm sorry mister" She says in fear
"Tch, don't apologise. Where do you live? I'll guide you home"
"I...I don't have a home down here. I've only just got down here, I-I don't know what to do. I'm cold and hungry and my head hurts I think its bleeding and-" The small girl rambles on, it's then that Levi notices the young girls hand clutching onto her hair where the blonde curls had turned crimson.
Suddenly, the girl loses consciousness and fell to the floor. Surprised and not really thinking, I scoop up her body into my small arms and start to run back home. I take a safe route where you're least likely to get attacked.
_
I lay the young girl on my sofa before rushing over to the kitchen to get bandages. Carefully and slowly, I wrap the girls head in the white cotton and then proceed to start making soup for the both of us.
I wonder why she's down here, I wonder if her parents abandoned her. Or maybe she ran away and ended up here, or maybe she was kidnapped and then managed to escape. The possibilities are endless.
Anyway, there's no way I'm going to let her back out into the streets on her own; she can stay with me. I wouldn't usually do this for anyone but I guess she's special.
"W-Where am I?" I hear a small voice stutter
I guess she's awake.
I put the soup into two bowls and leave it on the kitchen counter as I walk to the young girl. She's sat up on the sofa, one hand on her head and one supporting her. I sit on the floor in front of her, she's pretty cute... her feet don't even touch the floor when she's sat on the couch.
"My name is Levi, and yours is?" I start off, offering her my hand to shake
"Err... J-Juliet" She says quietly and then hesitantly shakes my hand
"Juliet; do you know where you are?" I say quietly
"The underground city?" She says, turning her head slightly side wards
"Do you know why you're here?"
"I-I don't remember, it's like there's a hole in my memories, I think my dad left me here" She says, looking at her feet
Amnesia, huh
"Is this your house Levi?" She asks, looking around the house
"Yeah, how old are you?" I ask her, standing up
"Last week I turned 7, you?" She starts becoming more comfortable around me
"I'm 12. You hungry?" I ask and she nods
I signal for her to wait there while I go into the attached kitchen, grab both trays of food and make my way to the living room. I see her sat on the floor, legs crossed and eyes darting across the room.
I sit opposite her and hand her the tray, which she puts on the floor in front of her.
"Wow, thank you very much Levi-Senpai" She says with a wide grin, I notice that one of her front teeth is only half grown
We both eat in a comfortable silence. I finish eating first so I observe her, she looks very tiny. I know she's 7 but she's un-deniably short for her age.
The thing that really draws my attention is her eyes; they're the brightest blue I've ever seen. You could easily get lost in them, they start off dark blue at the edges and as it gets further in it gets brighter and different shades of blue clash and it's beautiful.
I just have boring grey eyes.
"Are you okay Levi? You look a little lost..." The girl breaks me from my trance, her head slightly tilted in confusion
"Eh? Oh, sorry. Yeah I'm fine, just a little tired" I admit and yawn
"Oh... well you can go to bed if you want, I'll leave. Thank you for the food and for looking after me" She says guiltily and stands up
"No! Don't leave, err." I start awkwardly, how should I word this? "Look, I know what it's like to have family abandon you. And the underground is really dangerous, I don't want you to get hurt. I know you've only just met me but... will you live with me? I mean... I will take care of you and -"I stutter
"Wait... you really mean it?" She says, her eyes lighting up
"Yeah..." I trail off awkwardly
She didn't even say anything as her eyes began to tear up and she engulfed me in a big hug.
"Thank you"
I gave her an oversized shirt of mine and some shorts to change into from her black jeans and white shirt, which is weird seeing as though she is from wall Sina.
I insisted on her staying in my bed for this night; but she made multiple points on how she was much slower and the sofa would be better for her. But, when I went to make us both a drink she'd already curled up on the sofa with a blanket and fallen asleep. So I went to bed.
__
I open my eyes as a small figure slowly shakes me. What the...?
"Levi; I had a nightmare" The small girl says, her blue eyes filled with tears.
I move over to the other side of the double bed and sign for her to climb in beside me. She gets next to me in the bed and I pull her into a hug. She buries her head into my chest and I run my fingers through her soft hair and I feel her falling asleep.
-Narrator-
So that was the beginning of a special friendship. Juliet and Levi started sharing a bed after around 6 months after living with each other as the house could get very cold at night and in the early mornings. Although, sometimes either Levi or Juliet would fall asleep on the sofa.
From living with this male from such a young age; she picked up a lot of his habits. Such as his cleaning obsession.
When Juliet was 9, her and Levi made friends with two people in the underground called Farlan and Isabel as they were just a little older than Levi and moved next door.
After a while, Juliet got her memories back of how she ended up in the underground. Long story short, Juliet wasn't being 'feminine' enough and her rich family were ashamed of her so they sent her to the underground city as a punishment, this angered Levi greatly.
The four friends decided to make a group when they stole. They would do jobs together and by the time Juliet was 10 they were one of the most well known and feared groups in the Underground city. '
Unfortunately one day, this happened when Juliet was only 12 years old.
__
3rd Persons Pov
Juliet wakes up before Levi. The blonde stoic girl climbed out of the bed she shares and quietly makes her way to the big room which was counted as both the living room and kitchen. The floorboards creak as she closes the bedroom door; causing her to wince slightly.
It wasn't often that she was awake before the older man, and she didn't want to disturb her best friend from his rest. Juliet shrugs a jacket over her cold shoulders and grabs a book from the shelf located in the living room next to the largest sofa. Juliet loved books; she read books of all genres and sizes.
"Tch, how are you awake this early?" A deep voice asks as Levi entres the room
The younger girl just shrugged. Levi went over to the kitchen counter and prepared to boil some water for a cup of tea, something he couldn't start the day without.
Suddenly, loud knocks sound on the door, catching both youngsters off guard.
"You hold the door, I'll get the knife" Juliet whispers, but before Levi can argue she grabs a small but sharp knife and stands in front of the door.
Levi gives the girl a slight nod before standing beside the door and swinging it open. As the wooden door swings open, Juliet keeps the knife in her hand, in a threatening stance.
Stood in the doorway; three men. They looked rich. The three men entered without saying a word and Juliet froze in her spot and Levi shoots her a confused glance.
"Don't concern yourselves, we're here to talk" The man in the centre of the small group said
The three men go fully into the house and the man on the far left closes the door. Juliet stays frozen in fear and shock, Levi just stared at her for a few moments, trying to read her. Which wasn't easy for anyone but Levi usually, they were both the stoic sort yet they could read each other like a book.
"What do you want?" Levi snarls, standing in front of his best friend protectively
"Like we said, we need a talk. So if you would be so kind to give us a little more space. We can discuss"
Levi was only half listening to what they said as he turned towards Juliet, who felt paralysed in shock. Levi took the knife from her hand and placed it in his own pocket.
"Juliet snap out of it" He says, sounding slightly irritated.
Juliet then blinked a few times before grabbing Levis hand and leading him a few metres away, giving the three men more space. For the first time in years, Juliet cowered behind her best friend.
And that's when he knew that something was wrong, seriously wrong.
"Ah Juliet dear, its been a while. Has it not?" The man who was dressed the sharpest said smugly
"Explain what you want, now" Levi says, touching the blade of the knife in his palm
"You see, Juliets time is up here and she needs to go home, orders from her father" One of the men says
"Juliet who are these idiots?" Levi says, confused
"T-They brought me down here, they work for my father" She whispers "I don't want to go. Levi please don't let them take me"
"Don't worry; these schmucks aren't laying a finger on you." Levi says bluntly and glares at the men "Tell me, why exactly is her father wanting her back now, it's been 5 years."
"You see, Mr Kensington was in a bad place 5 years ago. It seems that he and his family were suddenly emitted to danger. Lord Kensington started getting multiple threats and so he was stressed and made a few mistakes. One of them being abandoning his daughter down here over some petty argument. Well, he was actually terrified for her life and sent her down here, and told her it was because of the argument. He didn't realise at the time how dangerous it was down here" The youngest of the three begins
"That still doesn't cut it, who now?" Levi says
"The threats finished about a year after they started, but Mr Kensington was still in shock and became very paranoid. He thought for sure that Juliet was killed and grieved for a very long time, but the public just thought of her as missing. As it turns out, one of her fathers sources had picked up that she was a very well known thug down here, and we have been watching you for a number of weeks. So, we mapped out where you live" The man carried on
"Poor excuse. Anyway, you can't have her now. She lives here" Levi says, and now Juliet could literally feel the rage radiating off of him
"Ah- I've heard about you Levi; can we talk for a moment? I mean, im private... I have a valuable point"
Levi doesn't move an inch
"Dont worry, while we talk my buddies wont hurt her, they'd be killed if they did." The man says with a low chuckle "Its about the sur-"
"You have 50 seconds, no more. Juliet I'll be right back. Either of these lay a finger on you, you must shout me" Levi instructs before dragging the man away
Juliet was curious, sur? Sur what? What job has Levi taken that he doesn't want her to be a part of?
After what seemed like eternity, the two emerged from the other room. Something shocked Juliet, Levi... he looked guilty.
Suddenly, one of the men seizes Juliet, holding her arms behind her back with grip like a vice. Even though shes strong, she was caught off guard.
"Argh. STOP! that hurts" She whimpers as the men try to drag her away
She lifts her head up to see Levi just stood there, she thought he would've saved her.
"Levi! HELP ME PLEASE! DONT LET THEM TAKE ME" She screams, still struggling as if her life depended on it
"Just leave. You've been a nuisance since day one. I was never your friend. I just felt sorry for you. Squealing louder wont make me feel any more sorry for you, pig"
The words rang in her ear and she stopped dead in her tracks. Suddenly, tears start to fall down her face at a dramatic speed.
"Pig? I-I'm a pig to you? But, we're best friends, you cant do this Levi, please. You're just ti-"
"Ugly asshole, just go"
She stops struggling altogether, her face showing shock and despair. Her limbs go limp and the men drag her away from home.
Away from Levi.
E+с