♥♥♥NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you guys like this one, and don't worry, I AM actually leading up to something here. I promise there's a point;)♥♥♥
“This will kill me.”
“No it wont, I’m spotting.”
“Me too!”
I looked at Liam, then at Nicco, then at the silver bar above me. “I’m going to die if I lift this.” I said, and they chuckled in unison. Creepy. “You aren’t gonna die, lass, trust us.” Nicco said reassuringly.
“Yeah, trust us.” Liam added, and I rolled my eyes, thin gripped the bar rightly. I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I chanted in my head. Am I tough? Am I smart? Am I mentally strong? Yes. Am I physically strong? Not so much. Don’t get me wrong, I can beat the crap out of just about anyone, but I’m more of the evasive maneuver, quick duck dodge kind of fighter. Its effective, though. So my upper arm muscles were sadly under developed. The twins had vowed to that change that after watching me struggle with a pickle jar for five minutes the previous day.
“Alright, go.” Liam said, his accent adding a strange lilt to the words. He stood above my head, his hands hovering under the bar in case of the very likely possibility that I wasn’t strong enough to hold it.
“It really isn’t that much.” Nicco said, standing by my side. I ignored him and ground my teeth together, pushing the bar slowly up, letting my breath out in a big whoosh.
And thus began the worst half hour of my life. After that stupid bar we moved onto various other work out stations, and I began to curse Maria and Mark for putting a full gym in.
“Why are you doing this to me?” I whined, collapsing onto a blue mat on the floor. The twins stood above me, humor in their eyes.
“We saw the way you huffed and puffed after that run the other day. Time to get you into shape!” Liam cheered, and I scowled at him.
“What’re you doing?”
The twins jumped and I sat up on my elbows to look at Levy, who was standing a few feet away, looking amused. The twins grinned at him.
“Just a little fitness training for our girl here.” Nicco said, and Levy raised an eyebrow, looking at me.
“Fitness training?”
“Shut up.”
He laughed and put one hand in his pocket. “Max is gonna go watch a marathon of the first season of The Walking Dead. You guys up for it?” he asked, looking at us.
“Nooo way. Zombie’s give Liam nightmares.” Nicco said, nudging his brother. Liam scowled.
“They’re dead people coming to life. What part of that isn’t scary?” he demanded, making me laugh. I slowly got to my feet.
“I’ll join, just let me get changed.” I said, walking towards him and ignoring the twins scoffs at my lack of enthusiasm for exercise. Yeah, no thanks. I’d just take the heart attack. Levy smiled a little.
“You gonna get nightmares from this?” he teased as we walked towards the stairs to go to the theatre. I snorted.
“Puh-lease. Zombies are the best.” I said, and he chuckled.
“I worry about you sometimes.” He said, and I laughed, then opened the door to my room to get changed. Levy followed me right in.
“I’m getting changed.” I pointed out. He flopped down on my bed, grinning evilly at me.
“All the more reason for me to stay.” He teased. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a plain t shirt and some cut off shorts, then went into the bathroom room to change, splashing cold water on my face and shaking my hair down before heading back into my room. Levy was holding the picture of Jake and I that sat on the bedside table. Anyone else and I would have killed them, but Levy was the only person I had told about Jake. I didn’t regret it, for some reason. It had seemed right to tell him. He looked up at me as I came out.
“Is this Jake?” he asked, pointing to the picture. I nodded and pushed my hair behind my ears.
“Yeah, that’s us.” I said, taking the picture and looking at it for a moment. I missed that stupid goofy grin. I set the picture down.
“Come on, lets go watch people die horrible gory deaths.” I said, offering my hand and pulling Levy to his feet.
“Ah, yes. That always makes me feel better.” He said, and I laughed. Levy always made me feel better. Even more so than Zombie movies.
*******************
“Persistent little buggers.” Levy muttered, jerking me awake. I had been slowly dozing off, my shoulder pressed against Levy’s even though it would have been just as easy to lean the other way. I looked to the screen at the poor woman who had been zombiefied. She was caught on a wooden spike on a fence, but she continued to try and walk forward slowly, groaning the whole time.
“Poor sucker.” I whispered, and Levy smiled in the dark.
“Shut up.” Max grumbled form his seat, and Levy and I rolled our eyes at each other. I stretched my arms just as the episode ended, signaling the end of the first season. It was late into the night, and we hadn’t left the theatre for anything. Maria had even brought us dinner on little trays. I stood up and stretched my back as Levy scooted out of the row of seats and into the aisle, gesturing for me to go first.
“No, its fine guys, I’ll clean this up. No, I insist, go ahead.”Max called behind us, but we ignored him. I heard the sound of crunching plastic as he picked up wrappers. Levy and I walked in silence. When I reached my door, I touched his arm.
“Do you want to come in?” I blurted out, then recoiled in surprise. I hadn’t meant to say that. Levy just shot me that lopsided smile and gestured to my door. I smiled and opened it, leading the way in. He shut the door behind him and put his hands in his pockets, looking around.
“Typical.” He chuckled, and I narrowed my eyes.
“What?” I asked defensively. He laughed and shrugged.
“Of course you’re a neat freak.” He laughed, though he had been in my room at least a thousand times before. I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t keep the smile from slipping onto my face.
“Shut up, it isn’t like I have very many possessions.” I said, and he shook his head. “Well, other than all the clothes Maria bought me…” I said, letting it trail off. “You know, have you any idea how many gowns and dresses she bought me? Like seriously, the woman has no sense of practicality.” I scoffed, even though it had been very nice of her to buy me all that stuff. Levy nodded seriously.
“Yeah, she bought me a lot of gowns too.” He said, making me laugh. “I think she wasn’t really sure what to get you. She’s never had a teenage girl in her house before.” He said, and I smiled. I sat down on the edge of my bed and looked over at the picture of Jake. And for once, I didn’t riddle myself with guilty thoughts. I deserved to be happy, right?
I looked back at Levy with a mischievous smile on my face. He raised his eyebrows, looking suspicious.
“Let’s play dress up.” I said, remembering all the times Jake and I had done that, going into stores and trying on ridiculous clothes we never had any intention of buying. I got up and pushed Levy towards my bed.
“Stay,” I said, and he held up his hands in surrender, watching me as I walked to my closet, and shut the door behind me.
And that is how I ended up parading around in multiple silly outfits and stumbling around in high heels for the next two hours. There were times when we would both be laughing so hard that tears came to our eyes. It had been a long, long time since that had happened. And it felt….really, really good.
Finally, I collapsed onto my bed face first and looked over at Levy.
“I think I broke an ankle.” I muttered, kicking a strappy white high heel off. I was still wearing a poofy, light blue, strapless ball gown with sequins along the top. It was pretty, I guess, but certainly not my style.
I yawned, exhausted, and Levy lay down next to me, facing me. My immediate reaction was to recoil, to pull away. This had gone too far. But those immediate reactions were dulled by the fact that I could smell him, and hear his breathing. That, and I really was exhausted. I smiled dopily at him, and he smiled back.
“You look like Cinderella.” He said, touching my dress, then brushing my blonde hair away from my face. It actually felt…nice. He quickly pulled his hand back, looking surprised with himself. I ignored it and laughed softly.
“Yeah, all I need now is the glass slipper.” I said, and he chuckled. I shut my eyes.
“I’m gonna go to sleep now.” I murmured, and he laughed again.
“Okay.”
“You can stay, if you want,” I barely heard myself say the words. Then I opened one eye. “but no funny business.”
He chuckled and I felt his warm arm pressing against mine. “Alright, no funny business.” He whispered, and I smiled.
And I swear, as I fell into an almost comatose state, I heard him say something. It sounded like, “what are you doing to me, Quinn?”
But that was probably just me.
*********************************************************************
“You know, I’ve seen you kids do a lot of strange things, but this, this tops them all off.”
I groaned and opened one eye. I could feel Levy’s hand on my bare back, right above the top line of the dress. It felt amazing.
I focused my eyes and saw Mark standing in the door way. I pushed myself up on my elbows, knocking Levy’s hand off and making him groan.
“Mark?” I asked, yawning. He chuckled.
“Yeah, its Mark. What are you doing in a dress?” he asked, sounding confused. I looked down at the light blue fabric.
“I’m not really sure.” I answered, and he shook his head, a slight smile on his face.
“Yeah, well, I would ask what Levy was doing in here, but I’m not sure I want to know.” He said, winking at me. I pushed the hair away from my face and elbowed Levy at the same time. I’m a multi-tasker.
“Nothing happened, I swear.” I said, and he laughed.
“I know, I heard your little fashion show last night. Josie had a nightmare.” He explained, and I nodded, relieved that there wouldn’t be another rumor about Levy and I spreading around.
“Do not tell Nicco and Liam.” I warned as Levy sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking between me and Mark. His black hair stood in every direction. Mark laughed.
“I wont, don’t worry. Anyways, Josie’s looking for you two. She’s bored, and Sully’s at a game.” He said, and I nodded, wrenching myself into a crumpled sitting position. I ran a hand through my thick hair and nodded.
“Alright, we’ll be down in a minute.” I said, and Levy grunted, flopping back onto my bed. I rolled my eyes. Mark shook his head and shut my door again. I looked down at Levy and smiled a little, for no good reason. I vaguely remembered telling him he could stay the night before, and embarrassment heated my cheeks. Not that I regretted it, I was embarrassed because I didn’t regret it. Yes, my emotions are a little whacked.
I left Levy on my bed, knowing he was going to be a pain to get up, and took a shower, then pulled on a black tank top and jean shorts. I rubbed my hair with a towel one last time, grabbed the hair dryer I had yet to use, and went back into my room. Sure enough, Levy was still on my bed, sound asleep. I pursed my lips and plugged the hair dryer in as close as I could get it to my bed. then I turned it on full blast and stuck it in Levy’s face.
“Heyyy…” he whined, rolling onto his face. I laughed and leaned over him to get a better shot of his face.
“C’mon, up and at ‘em.” I said, still laughing. He smiled and pulled the hair dryer out of my hand, turning it on me and sitting up. I danced out of the reach and laughed, then tried to pull myself together.
"Come on, Josie's looking for us." I said, and he turned the hair dryer off, looking at it.
"Why did you blow dry my face?" he asked, and I shrugged.
"I was bored and feeling creative."
He smiled and shook his head, standing up and stretching his arms.
"Alright, lets go take our punishment." he said as we left my room, shutting the door behind me.
"You love her." I said knowingly, and he chuckled softly.
"Well, she's a cute kid." he answered my eyes.
"Alright, whatever, Mr. Macho, we all know you've got a soft spot for that kid." I teased, and he laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. I couldn’t help but smile at him. I did more smiling around that guy….it was nice, actually.
*******************
"Ben McRee never lets me play with him and his friends." Josie said, pouring pretend tea into imaginary cups Levy and I held.
Shut up.
"Why's that?" Levy asked and she sat down, pouting.
"Because I'm a girl. He always says no girls aloud. I can do everything they can do, and I can do it better." she said firmly, and I nodded.
"Amen, sister." I said, and she beamed at me. "Next time he wants to play with you, tell him no." I said, and she nodded, scowling.
"I will! I'm always going to tell him no to everything, no matter what!" she said, crossing her arms. I laughed, already imagining the merry chase she was going to lead poor Ben McRee on, one day. I almost pitied the poor kid.
"Yep, always say no to boys. Us boys, we don’t think very much." Levy said, leaning closer to her. Josie giggled and tugged on her brown hair.
"You think!" she laughed, and he smiled at her.
"Only occasionally."
She laughed harder, clutching her stomach, her face crinkled up in that adorable little kid way. I looked at Levy, and he shrugged.
"I don’t have a soft spot for her." I said, doing a bad impression of his voice. He laughed and gave me a look.
"I never said that." he said, and I rolled my eyes but nodded.
"True. It was implied, though."
Josie started to say something, but was interrupted my Maria.
"Josie! C'mon, we have to get ready for dance!" she called, and Josie scowled but stood up.
"I have to go, but you guys can take your time finishing your tea, don’t worry." she said, and I raised my eye brows but nodded.
"Aye, aye." I said, saluting her. She smiled once more before skipping off towards her mother.
A moment later, our light was blocked by three shadows. I looked up at Max, Nicco, and Liam. They stared down at us with amused expressions.
"Enjoying a spot of tea, eh?" Liam teased, and I looked over at Levy, who was still holding his hands as if holding a tea cup.
"Having a little date with my sister?" Max asked, and I rolled my eyes.
"Don’t be jealous, boys. It's a better date than any of you have ever been on." he said, dropping his hands.
"Ouch." Liam said, sitting down on the ground next to me. Nicco and Max sat down too.
"I'll tell you, that kids cute, but she's the spawn of Satan." Nicco said, and Max snorted.
"You havent had to deal with her since the day she was born." he said, and Liam did the worlds tiniest violin thing with his fingers, making us laugh.
"The worst thing just happened." Liam said, shaking his head mornfully. Levy raised an eyebrow.
"You got punched in the balls by a midgit?" he guessed. Liam shook his head.
"No, worse."
"What could be worse than that?"
"A waterpark."
I groaned loudly.
"Please tell me we arent going to a water park." I begged, and the twins shrugged.
"Sure, I could also tell you that Mark doesn’t wear a speedo." Nicco said, and I looked at Max.
"Max, tell me this isnt true." I begged, but he just gave me a mournful look.
"Sorry, I cannot tell a lie. It's Sully's birthday present." he explained, and I sighed.
"I hate water." I muttered, and the twins snorted.
"We cant even swim." they said in unison. I looked up at them, amused.
"Seriously?"
"It's our only weakness." Nicco said.
"Well, that and cocain." Liam added, looking serious. "Ha, I'm just kidding. I've got a soft spot for kryptonite, though." he said, flexing his biceps.
"Are you implying that you're super man?" Max asked, and Liam grinned, opening his mouth to say something. His brother interrupted it with a snort.
"Superman sucks." he said, pretending it was a cough. Liam slowly turned to face Nicco.
"We've been over this." he said slowly, and Nicco gave him a look.
"Yeah, and I think it was established that Superman is a weak weenie, and Batman rocks."
The discussion quickly dissolved into an argument. Again. Max, Levy and I got up and headed for the house. Max shook his head, looking back over his shoulder at them.
"Those two fight over everything, yet they're inseparable." Max said, shaking his head. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Nicco jerking his brother into a head lock. I shook my head.
“Do they always fight like that?” I asked.
“Yes.” Levy and Max answered at the same time, and I laughed.
“Great.”
♥Tell me what you thought!!! I tried to make this one sort of funny to lift the spirits, I hope it made you guys chuckle and not roll your eyes in disappointment at my terrible humor!;)♥