LEVI POV
I tossed off my covers, stumbling out of bed as my alarm blared at full volume. I turned the alarm off and found the light switch blind. I rubbed my eyes, blinking repeatedly until they adjusted to the light. I took a quick shower, rubbing some gel through my hair and brushed my teeth. I slipped into a pair of jeans, a plain gray shirt and a blue plaid flannel. I grabbed my phone and wallet and flicked my light off. I stepped into the hallway, hearing Maci's music playing. A smile came to my face, she was singing a long. I quietly slipped past her room and down the stairs to the kitchen. The smell of bacon and eggs filled my nose. I turned the corner into the kitchen, my dad was sitting on one of the stools his face buried in a newspaper and my mom was standing over the stove.
"Morning." I said, taking a seat next to my dad.
"Hey honey." My mom said, glancing over her shoulder. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Can you just watch the eggs for a minute, I'll be right back." She said, handing me the spatula as I came to stand next to her. "Thanks."
I nodded my head, watching the yellow liquid, slosh around in the frying pan. "Dad."
"Levi." I heard him rustle his newspaper.
"Nothing never mind." I mumbled.
I heard the newspaper crinkle and glanced over my shoulder to see my dad placing his glasses on top of his now folded newspaper.
"Out with it." He said.
I took a deep breath, watching the eggs form into little yellow rubbery chunks of food. "Do you ever worry about it coming back?"
I heard him sigh, I pictured him running his hand through his short dark brown hair. "Of course I do Levi, I worry about it everyday."
I nodded my head, I could feel tears swelling up in my eyes. "What if it does?"
"Then we'll do everything we can just like last time." The stool scraped against the wood floor. "What's going on son?"
"I know you said I have to let her go..." I took another deep breath; I always got way too emotional when it came to Maci. "I'm just so afraid that one day she won't be here and I'll be kicking myself for it. I mean we hung out with other people yesterday and she was constantly on my mind." I looked up at my dad as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "She's my other half."
"Morning daddy." Maci's voice caused my dad and me to break eye contact. "Hey Levi."
I watched as she gave dad a kiss, snuggling into his chest as he hugged her. My dad looked at me again, he didn't have to say anything, I knew what he was thinking. I could see it in his eyes; he was just as torn as I was. Wanting to protect her from everything, wanting to see all the perfect moments in her life, but he was capable of doing what I was not. He knew how to let her live, even if it meant he wasn't there for all those moments.
"Maci, Levi, have a seat. Thank you honey." My mom said reappearing, she shooed me away from the stove and dished out our breakfast onto plates. My dad wrapped his arms around her kissing her cheek as she fumbled around the kitchen. "What are you guys doing after school?"
"I met this girl yesterday, she wants to hang out so I might bring her home tonight so we can chill here." I muttered, watching Maci as she stuffed a piece of bacon in her mouth.
"Who?" Maci asked while chewing.
"Emma, she's Bailey's friend."
"I thought you liked Bailey?"
"Who's Bailey?" My mom asked, her eyes lit up in excitement.
"Bailey's this girl from school that little Levi has a crush on." Maci said, poking me in the side which earned her a grunt from me. "Unless this 'Emma' has stolen his heart."
"We're just friends."
"Yeah uh huh okay, whatever you say." Maci rolled her eyes, my parents just laughed at my expense.
"There's a lot of 'just friends' going around lately." My dad commented.
"Hurry up and eat Maci, I don't want to be late." I said stuffing the rest of my eggs in my mouth.
Maci looked at my mom and the two snickered together. "Why? Anxious to see your girlfriend?"
I poked Maci in the ribs causing her to let out a squeak and cover her mouth so her food wouldn't come spraying out all over the kitchen.
"Bye mom, bye dad." I said, kissing my mom on the cheek. My dad slapped my back as I walked by, snagging both mine and Maci's backpacks from off the floor. "I'll be in the car."
---------
MACI POV
I linked my arm through Levi's as we walked towards the cafeteria after our fourth hour. Jackie was on my left, she hadn't stopped talking since we were dismissed from class.
"So Maci is Skylar going to ask you to homecoming?"
I looked over at Levi, trying to read his expression. There was something off about him today and I couldn't figure out what it was. It was like he was worried about something but when I asked he claimed it was nothing.
"It would be so cute, the two of you together at homecoming. You guys make the cutest couple!" Jackie said, her voice going up an octave.
I looked back over at Levi, he was completely absorbed in his thoughts. "Well usually Levi and I go together."
"But what if Skylar asks you? Are you going to say yes?"
I shrugged, not knowing the answer. Of course I would love for Skylar to ask me, I had never gone to a dance with anyone other then Levi. But at the same time it made it easier going with Levi. I didn't have to worry whether there were certain people I could or could not dance with. It made the night drama free.
"Well regardless we need to go dress shopping asap. If we wait any longer all the good dresses will be gone." We sat down at the table, Britney, Erin, and Sarah already digging through their lunches. "We should all go dress shopping this weekend."
"Oh my gosh yes!" Britney said through a mouthful of food.
"Have you been asked yet Jackie?" Sarah asked, Jackie shook her head no. "Mitch asked me this morning."
"Did you say yes?"
"Of course!"
I rolled my eyes, sneaking a glance at Levi who was watching Jackie closely.
"Who do you want to ask you?" Erin asked between squeals.
Jackie shrugged, her eyes wandering over to Levi. "Um, I don't know."
"What about you Maci? Has Skylar asked you yet?"
"No, not yet." I muttered taking a bite of the sandwich my mom had packed me.
The rest of lunch continued with talk of homecoming. Levi sat quietly be my side. I looked over occasionally studying his profile, trying to find some sort of clue as to what was on his mind. I didn't like that I felt like he was keeping something from me. We told each other virtually everything. Maybe it was something really personal. But even then, i had no idea what it could possibly be.
Before Jackie and I left to go to pottery, I wrapped my arms around Levi and kissed his cheek. "Love you."
"Love you too." He whispered, letting me go and heading to class.
Jackie linked her arm through mine, practically skipping down the hallway. "I'm so excited to go dress shopping!"
I laughed, smiling at her childish behavior. "Do you want Levi to ask you?"
"What?" She stopped, bringing me to a sudden halt. "Why would you say that? I mean you guys go together, I don't want to get in the way. Has he said anything to you?"
"Wow, slow down." I said, throwing my hands up in surrender. "You like him right?"
She looked down at the floor, her face instantly red. She held her fingers up, an inch of space between her thumb and pointer finger. "Maybe a little. But if it weird's you out I swear I'll forget all about it."
"No it doesn't, I actually think it might be good for us to go with someone else for a change. We always do everything together."
We turned the corner of the hallway that led to the pottery room. Jared was leaning against the wall, his arms folded across his chest, his blond hair falling in his eyes as he stared at the floor. He looked up hearing our footsteps. His eyes caught mine, as he shoved himself off the wall.
"Hey Maci, can I talk to you for a minute."
Jackie looked at me, I nodded letting her know that it was fine. She stared Jared down before entering the classroom.
"You have two minutes before class starts." I said, following him away from the door of the classroom.
"Okay listen, I'm sorry for whatever I did. I swear I have no idea. I didn't mean to upset you. I just...let me make it up to you. I'm not that bad of a guy I promise. I'm just an idiot sometime. Please." His blue eyes were pleading.
I sighed, I did blow it out of proportion a little. "Okay."
"Okay? Really? You said okay?"
I chuckled, shaking my head at him. "Yes Jared, I said okay."
"Okay, good. That's good. Um, hear give me your number." He pulled his phone out as I recited my number. "Okay, so I can call you then?"
"Yes Jared, you can call, text, whatever." I said, "So are we done here?"
He nodded his head, a smile spread across his face. I smiled back; he was sort of charming in his own strange way.
---------
I slipped my hand into Levi's as I slammed the locker door shut. I felt his fingers tighten around my hand and I smiled. I readjusted my bag on my shoulder as we slipped through the crowded hallway. Once we were outside and away from the majority of the students I swung our hands back and forth. I was looking for some sort of reaction from Levi, a smile, a 'what are you doing?' or 'are you having fun?' like he normally would do. I got nothing.
"Is everything okay?" I asked looking up at him as we walked.
"Huh? What? Yeah, why?"
I shrugged, swinging our hands again. "I don't know you just seem...distant today."
He nodded his head as we reached our car. We threw our bags in the back and I climbed in the passenger seat. Levi started the car and pulled into the traffic leaving school.
"So what's going on and tell me this time instead of saying 'nothing'." I said, turning the radio down.
Levi sighed, running his hand through his dark hair, "I'm just I don't know I guess I'm scared."
"Scared of what?" My eyebrows pinched together in confusion.
I watched his every move, reading his body language carefully. "Everything Maci."
"I don't understand."
He closed his eyes briefly as we sat at a stop light, his hands gripped around the steering wheel. "We're drifting apart."
"What? We're not drifting apart; you're crazy why would you say that?" My voice on the edge of hysterics.
"Yes we are."
I shifted in the seat so I was facing him more, "How are we drifting apart Levi?"
"We did everything together in Florida, here we don't. We have different friends, friends that don't hang out together." He waved his hand in the air as he spoke.
I leaned against the window, my eyes wandering over his face. He was still hiding something. "What's really bothering you?"
He glanced at me for a second as he drove before letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm terrified it's going to come back."
I bit my lip, hanging my head as I nodded. What could I say to that? Absolutely nothing, that's what. I couldn't tell him it wouldn't because it could.
"I'm sorry Maci, forget I said anything." He waited a second for me to respond and when I didn't he changed the subject. "Emma's coming over."
"Do you like her?" I asked, as Levi pulled into our driveway. Following his lead and steering away from cancer talk.
He shrugged as he shut the car off. "I think she's cute."
We grabbed our bags from the back and shuffled into the house. I kicked my shoes off at the door, dropping my bag a few feet away.
"Do you like Jackie?"
"What?" Levi nearly shouted as he shot a look at me.
"Do you like Jackie?" I asked again.
He ran his hand through his hair pulling at the ends, if only he knew how often he did that when he was unsure of himself. "Uh...yeah she's cool."
"No Levi, do you like her?" I said putting extra emphasis on the word like.
"Who do you like?" My mom asked as she came out of the kitchen.
She kissed Levi on the cheek and then me. "Well he has three girls that I know of that like him."
Tracy's eyes brightened and a smile crept on her face. "Names?"
"Bailey, Emma, who'll you meet in a few minutes apparently, and Jackie." I said ticking them off on my fingers.
"Wait Jackie likes me?" Levi asked his eyes wide.
"HA! I knew it!" I pointed my finger at Levi. "I'm so going to tell her!"
"What? Wait! No Maci, please." He yelled, wrapping his arms around me as I tried to dart passed him to my room. "Please don't tell her."
"Aw why not? Mom don't you think I should tell Jackie?" I squirmed in his arms but he held onto me like it was nothing.
"Why don't you want her to know you like her?" Tracy asked, laughing at our childish behavior.
Levi groaned, tightening his grip around my waist. "Because it's embarrassing!"
"How so?" She asked, her hands on her hips.
"Because I gotta be cool."
I threw my head back and laughed along with my mom. "You cool? Please!"
"I'm cool!" Levi said in protest, which only caused me to laugh harder. "Say I'm cool or I'm going to tickle you to death."
"Oh I'm so scared!" I squealed as he launched me over his shoulder, bounding towards the couch. "No! Stop! Don't! Please! Stop! Levi!" I shouted between laughter as I tried to squirm away from him.
"Say it Maci."
"Stop please!"
"Say it."
"No! Oh my god! Stop!"
"As soon as you say it."
"Okay okay fine!"
"You have to say it."
"You're cool!" I gasped, my stomach muscles burning from laughing so hard.
"Cooler then you?"
"Yes! Yes!"
He finally stopped tickling me, sitting up on the couch. I grasped my hand over my heart, my chest rising and falling quickly as I waited to catch my breath.
"You gonna make it?" Levi asked, a satisfied smirk spread across his face.
I let my body go limp, closing my eyes and sticking my tongue out. "Well if you're dead then you won't mind if I take your guitar for firewood, would you?" My eyes snapped open and I instantly narrowed them at him. "SHE'S ALIVE!!!"
I snatched one of the pillows off the couch throwing it at his face laughing. He caught it and threw it right back. I unfortunately wasn't as quick and it biffed me in face, which only made the both of us laugh harder. After our laughter subsided, I spun around on the couch, placing my head in Levi's lap and stared up at him.
"Levi."
He looked down at me, brushing a piece of my hair out of my face. "Hmm?"
"I don't want us to drift apart."
"Me neither."
"Promise me we won't."
"I promise."
Levi and I both looked up at the sound of a click and a light flashing through the living room. I instantly smiled at my mom holding a camera pointed in our direction. Levi on the other hand groaned.
"Mom." He whined, tipping his head back.
"I couldn't help myself, you two looked so cute!" She cooed.
"Well I definitely did, I don't know about Levi though."
"What?" Levi asked shocked.
I smiled up at him innocently. "Nothing."
I snatched the remote off the coffee table, turning it on. I shifted to my side, leaving my head in Levi's lap. He draped his arm across my side, resting his head in his other hand. We both settled into our positions, completely engrossed in the TV.
--------
LEVI POV
I watched as Maci turned on her side, her head still in my lap and the noise from the TV filling the empty space around us. I let my arm fall to rest on her side and propped my head up with my other hand. When we lived in Florida we use to have weekly movie nights at our house. We'd invite all our friends, mom would have a ton of snacks and order pizza for us, and we'd have a stack of movies to watch. We'd all settle down into the couches, Maci would always cuddle up next to me. In Florida it didn't matter who we met or what we did, it was always Maci and me, together.
"Levi?" I blinked my eyes a few times, glancing up at the sound of my name. "Levi, Emma's here."
I looked back down at Maci and she smiled up at me.
"You so like her." She whispered, before rolling off the couch and standing. "Hi Emma, I'm Maci."
I watched as she hugged Emma. I smiled slightly as Emma looked at me over Maci's shoulder. I stood from the couch, straightening my shirt. Disappointment rushed over me as I watched Maci part with Emma, giving me a wink and excusing herself to her room. It wasn't that I didn't want to hang out with Emma, I did, it was just that I felt like I needed to spend every chance I could get with Maci.
"Hey Levi." Emma said quietly, her hands behind her back.
"Hi, did you find it alright?" Her red hair was down in soft curls, she had a pair of tight jeans, in oversized stripped shirt, and a pair of heels. She nodded her head, looking around my house.
"Emma, honey, are you staying for dinner?" My mom asked, walking through the living room to the kitchen.
She looked at me, raising her eyebrows. "Do you want to?"
"Do you want me to?"
I smirked, what was with women and over emphasizing certain words to get an answer. I honestly didn't care if she stayed but I had a feeling I knew what she wanted me to say.
"Yes."
"Then yes, I'd love to stay for dinner." She beamed flashing her white smile.
"So what's it going to be?" My mom asked again appearing in the living room once more.
I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jeans, "Yeah she's staying."
"Oh good, how do burgers sound?"
"Good, thank you."
I nodded towards the stairs, holding my hand out for Emma. She placed her hand in mine, I couldn't help but notice how tiny she was as my hand engulfed hers. I led her upstairs, I could hear Maci on her guitar and I instantly smiled. I shoved the door open to my room, stepping aside so she could go in.
"Was that your sister playing?" She asked once I closed the door. I nodded, setting my phone and wallet on my nightstand. "You're really close with her aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"I wish my brother and I were close." She sat down on my bed, placing her hands underneath her legs.
"You have a brother?"
She nodded, her eyes wandering around my room. "Yeah he's 22, he goes to U of M."
"What's he studying?" I shuffled around my room, picking up a few stray pieces of clothes.
"Journalism."
I licked my lips, not really having anything to say back except for something lame like 'that's cool'. "So what do you want to do? We can watch movies, we can go somewhere, or we have a pool table in the basement..."
"What movies do you have?" She asked and I gestured towards the stack of movies on my dresser under my flat screen. I watched her as she stood, her hips swaying slightly as she slowly walked over to them. She put her hand on her cocked hip her other hand rested on my dresser. "Can we watch this?"
"Really?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.
"Yeah it looks like it would be good."
"Alright, but it's not a chick flick or anything."
"I figured as much." She smiled handing me the movie Lucky # Slevin. "I'm not huge into chick flicks anyway."
I put the movie in and we settled down onto my bed, leaving a friendly space between us. The air was slightly tense and awkward, neither of us really knowing what to do or say.
Emma was the first to break the silence. "Do you have a date for homecoming?"
I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating as panic settled in. "Uh...um...well I don't now."
"How don't you know?" She asked her eyebrows pinched together. She was so cute when she looked confused.
"I don't know." I said, sitting up. "Maci and I usually go together but we haven't talked about it yet and...yeah so."
A smile spread across her face as she touched her hand to her heart. "That's so cute you take your sister."
"Yeah, I guess." I could feel the heat rising to my face.
"Why are you guys so close?" She asked, grabbing the remote and turning the volume down.
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you so close with your sister?" She repeated. " I don't think I know anyone that seems as close to their sibling as you and Maci.
I ran my hand through my hair, "I don't know. We're twins."
"There has to be more to it then that." Emma said, brushing a piece of her red hair behind her ear.
I shrugged not really knowing what else to say. After telling Greg, I refused to let anyone else talk me into telling them about Maci. Even though I didn't think it was a huge deal if people knew, I was going to respect her decision.
"I don't know, my parent's just really emphasized family growing up. We're just tight that's all."
She nodded her head, falling back into silence as we turned back to the movie. My thoughts as usual wandered to Maci. Maybe I should let her decide if she wanted to go to the dance with me or if she'd rather go with Skylar. I could always go with someone else, like Jackie. There was no way I'd be able to handle Bailey but even Emma would be fine. At the same time though, I didn't want to have to share my sister with that guy. I didn't care if he just like Noah from the Notebook, no guy was good enough for Maci.