...
ELLA LET HIM GO, surprise visible on her face. She had expected him to be teasing, to be anything but serious really. After all, wasn't he the one who had kept saying she was annoying, who had gotten on her nerves on purpose?
"Not that I mind," he drawled," but you do remember you're still completely in your underwear."
She scowled at him this time.
"Turn around then," she said.
He complied, pushing himself off the rocks as he resumed his earlier position. A faint red had tinted her cheeks and she cursed herself for it. She couldn't start liking a guy like this again. A guy who attracted trouble as easily as he breathed.
Someone exactly like her.
"Cat got your tongue for once?" he said," hadn't expected that."
"I see we all got surprised today."
"And just when I thought you were flirting back," he said.
She pushed his back amicably, taking care not to put a lot of strength in. "You idiot," she chuckled.
"Can I take that as a sign you've fallen for my advances after all?" he said, his head turning to the side so she could catch a glimpse of a smirk.
"Your advances are far from the charismatic, smooth ones of a player," she said, a smile playing on her lips.
"I thought I was plenty smooth?" he frowned.
"Yeah, sure you did," she said.
He locked eyes with her, those mesmerizing brown eyes that almost seemed golden in the sunlight. When they wandered down and remained on her lips, she had to force herself to breathe normally.
Just imagine him as an old man, a grumpy, old man.
His hair fell onto his face in a way that made him seem more boyish than masculine now, water droplets falling on the smooth rock with every move he made. The usual storm in him had gone silent, he was made out of stars now and she always had loved the night. It was only then that she realized he was only wearing boxershorts, his defined muscles still gleaming thanks to the water.
"Admiring me now, are you?" he said.
With his usual scowl gone, he seemed a lot more at ease. It probably had little to do with her and more with the fact they were isolated from the world right now, but she still couldn't help but wish to see him longer like this. So soft, so carefree.
"There's your arrogance again," she smiled," I was almost afraid you were a different person."
That devilish smirk again, before he completely froze. She looked at him, confused at his sudden change when she noticed what he was looking at. Her arms had a faint red lining them where Tamara's brothers had held her earlier, their rough grip marring her skin now.
"Who did that?" he said, his voice dangerously quiet.
"No one," she said.
He crossed the distance in seconds, his hand on her chin as he softly forced her to look at him.
"Who did that?" he repeated.
"What?" she said," are you going to beat them up or something? Isn't that primitive?"
"I never said I was civilized," he said simply.
He stared in her eyes until she sighed.
"It wasn't anything important, really," she said," there's no need to worry. It didn't even hurt -"
He didn't say anything.
"Alright, fine," she bit out," Tamara's brothers. But don't be angry with -"
"I am going to kill them," he snarled.
"And you're not listening to me anymore," Ella sighed.
"I'll break their -" he began.
"Yeah, I get it," she said," you're going to break something of theirs? Nice. Now let's move on."
"Why aren't you angry?" he frowned.
Because if I had wanted to break something of theirs, I would have been perfectly capable of doing it myself.
"I'm a peaceful person, I guess," Ella said," all about forgiveness and forgetting."
"Bullshit," Levi snorted.
She glared at him. "Okay fine, maybe I'm not. But I don't really care enough about them to stay angry."
Besides, it wasn't like she could do anything without her mother immediately hearing about it.
"When are Alex and Will even going to realize we're gone though?" she asked in an attempt to get his mind off it.
"Knowing them," he said," it's going to take some time."
"I'm glad we didn't take our phones with us on the raft though," Ella said," I don't think my iPhone is that waterproof."
"And then you would have lost my number," Levi said.
Ella rolled her eyes. "The least of my worries."
"Yeah, sure it is," he said.
"I wasn't being sarcastic," she said.
"Sure you weren't."
She groaned exasperatedly, having to refrain herself from choking Levi to death when she saw how pleased he looked with how he got a rise out of her.
"I must admit," he said," I had expected you to be more spoiled."
Ella snorted. No matter how much her mother got paid as a judge, she had always taught her and her brother that they should work hard for their money. And if her daily sermons didn't remind her, the scars from war on her back sure did.
"Like some rich girl?" Ella said," twirling around in an expensive dress?"
Not that it mattered. Whether it was a dress or a pair of jeans, she knew she could rock both and knock down someone any day. Before Levi could reply though, her eyes widened. When she jumped to her feet soon after, he frowned, following her as she walked towards the edge of the cave.
"What are you doing?" he said.
"I think I can see them," she said as she squinted to get a better look," on that boat there."
Levi leaned forward to look too and sure enough, there was a rescue boat with Will and Alex on it. And in the rear, a glowering Clarkson.
"Get back," he said suddenly.
"What? Why?"
"You're half naked!" he exclaimed," get back before they see you."
"Oh, you're right," she said as she sprinted towards her clothes.
Although the thought of wearing wet clothes wasn't the most comfortable, she rather had that then let them see her like this.
"You didn't mind me seeing," Levi noted as he looked at her hurriedly changing.
"I've seen you half naked too," she said," we're even now."
"In all fairness," he said," seeing me half naked must be nice."
"No, you shutting up would be nice," Ella said," but it seems I'm only getting one of those two now."
"Nice to see we're back to normal," he said, a sparkle of mirth in his eyes.
She ran back to the edge of the cave then, waving her hands wildly at Will and Alex. It was Will who spotted her first, his shouts drowned out by the wind. Once Ella was sure they were headed towards the right direction, she smiled, glad to be able to get back to land.
"You can't tell anyone I said some sappy shit just now," Levi said then, pulling her attention back towards him.
"Or what?" Ella smirked," you'll pull me in the water again?"
"Just in case you don't remember," he said," you said some sentimental stuff too."
Ella's eyes widened in horror. "Okay, fine. I won't say a thing if you keep quiet about that."
"You're so much more than a delinquent son," Levi deadpanned.
"I'll push you in the water again, Peterson," Ella warned.
"No, you won't," he said.
In response she pushed him. Hard.
"What the fu -" he began, before grasping her wrists and pulling her along.
When they both resurfaced and were sitting on land again, Levi's usual scowl had returned.
"You're crazy," he hissed.
"Did you doubt it before?" she said.
She half expected him to snarl something, but then he laughed, an actual genuine laugh, and she couldn't keep a straight face anymore. When Will and Alex arrived, they were both laughing with tears in their eyes, barely managing to breathe anymore.
"What's going on?" Will said with wide eyes.
"Did she just break Levi?" Alex frowned in disbelief.
"You're both going to get punished," Clarkson scowled, his usual frown deeper than ever.
"Why are you laughing, Levi?"
"It's nothing," Levi managed to say between his barely suppressed laughter," nothing at all."