Levi Dawling, Finny Dread [ebook reader with built in dictionary txt] 📗

the cheek, hoping to reassure him it was ok. He looked at me and then continued his game of Call of Duty. Is he mad? Another question, are we ‘a thing’ now? I guess, since we kissed, but in that case, is it ok to have a crush on Isaac? Do I even have a crush on Isaac? Ugh, everything is so complicated now. I looked back at him, then looked at my phone. It’s not like I was dating Isaac, so what?

 

I laid my head on Derick’s shoulder, when I heard his mom yell from downstairs that dinner was ready. Derick got up and grabbed my hand, practically pulling me out the door.

 

“Food!”

 

“Haha, D-Derick s-s-slow down!”

 

“Never!”

 

I laughed again, a sort of happiness welling up inside me.

 

“Derick, don’t kill your friend before you turn 20.”

 

“Mom!”

 

“Haha, I-I would bel-believe he w-would!”

 

His mom looked at me with complete surprise, obviously forcing herself not to laugh. I was used to it by now, so I just told her to go ahead and laugh. And she did.

 

“Mom, don’t laugh about that!”

 

“N-no it’s o-okay, D-D-Derick!”

 

“Levi, no it’s not ok to just let people laugh.”

 

“Yeah, it’s really not, I’m sorry.”

 

His mom was pretty, actually. I low key wondered how old she was, but I didn’t want to be rude and ask, so I put it off until later. Instead, I asked for her name as I sat on one of the chairs at the bar. Derick sat beside me and took my hand under the bar where his mom couldn’t see it.

 

“Teresa. I’m Derick’s mom, if you hadn’t figured that out already.”

 

“C-cool. I-I-I-I’m Levi.”

 

“Alright! So are you guys friends or something?”

 

She looked straight at Derick. Does she know he’s gay?

 

“Y-Yeah.”

 

“Yep. Good old buddies!”

 

I had put my book bag near the bar so I bent down and took my sketchbook out. I wrote ‘We legit met yesterday. So yeah, just friends.’

 

“Kindred spirits, Levi, kindred spirits.”

 

‘Whatever’ (if something are in ‘these’, he’s writing it down.)

 

“Haha, whatever you write, but I believe we are the ultimate kindred spirits.”

 

‘I don’t think there’s any such thing, idiot.’

 

“Haha, Derick I think you found a good friend for once.”

 

“For once?! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

 

‘Does he have a background of bad friends?’ I wrote as I laughed.

 

“Definitely.”

 

“Ah, whatever mom!”

 

We all laughed as his mom started to make our plates. His mom started asking all sorts of questions, but one stood out to me already.

 

“Who do you live with, Levi?”

 

‘My parents died when I was seven, so I had a nanny for a little while until a year ago when I started living alone. Unless you count a cat as a roommate.’

 

“Oh, I see. Well you can come over anytime, Levi!”

 

Derick looked at me with a sort of sparkle in his blue eyes. His hand squeezed mine, reassuring me that his mom didn’t care, but we’ll have to tell her later. So I guess we are dating, then. Huh.

 

“Anytime, Darling.”

 

“Darling?”

 

“His last name is Dawling so I call him Darling.”

 

“Oh I see.”

 

His mom handed us our food, which looked great even though it was just pizza. I hadn’t had pizza in forever. I mumbled tanks and dug in. It was a great combination of bread, marinara sauce, and melted cheese. I savored each bite, memories of my parents flooding back to me. Nights of take-out, even though they had more than enough money to get something super fancy, they decided to be normal.

 

“So, Levi, how did your parents die?”

 

I stopped in my tracks. Why is she so curious about my parents and their death?

 

“A f-f-f-fire..”

 

I looked down, ashamed of myself.

 

“Seriously?”

 

“Y-Yeah..”

 

“Man, that sucks.”

Teresa didn’t look me in the eye after I said that, in fact, she didn’t look at me at all. Me and Derick finished, so we raced up the stairs. I felt slightly uncomfortable, but I didn’t know exactly why. I just had this gut feeling. Like I shouldn’t trust Derick or Teresa anymore.

 

But I knew I should be able to trust Derick, at least, so I did. I looked at him, thinking of the possibilities of why I had these ‘gut feelings’, since Derick is a great person. And his mom seemed nice, but I guess first impressions aren’t everything.

 

I looked at Derick, his eyes sparkling. How could I not trust this? I laughed, throwing myself in his arms. I laughed again, the feeling in my gut fading, but not disappearing. His warm hands pulled me closer, the smell of cherries flooding in my nose.

 

“What are you laughing about, DARLING?!”

 

“HAHA s-s-s-stuff!”

 

“What KIND of stuff, my Darling?!”

 

“Hahaha! I-I-It’s n-nothing!”

 

“Ok.”

 

He pat my head softly and looked at me in awe.

 

“W-w-what?”

 

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

 

“Hmph D-DUCKTARD!”

 

“HA you wish!”

 

“No!”

 

“Fuck you.”

 

“Haha I-I-I w-wish!

 

“What?”

 

“W-what?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“W-what were w-we t-talking about?”

 

“Haha you w-”

 

“N-NOOO D-D-D-DERICK DONT Y-YOU DARE SAY IT.”

 

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

 

“N-NO.”

 

He swept me up, my cheek pressed against his. He laughed, his chest shaking. I made the mistake of moving my face to the side, my nose poking his cheek. He laughed harder, pulling me from him. He kissed my head.

 

“I-is that a-a-all you g-got?!”

 

“Are you challenging me, DARLING?!”

 

“O-of c-c-course!”

 

“Ok, then!”

He swung me off the ground, his lips immediately hitting mine. I was surprised at first, since I wasn’t thinking he actually would kiss me. I was just kidding, but he took me seriously. I kissed back, the now familiar taste of mint and cherry coming back to my lips.

 

Suddenly, the world started fading away, a blackness embracing me. I was blacking out again. NONONONONONONONONONO NOT NOW! THIS IS GOOD!

 

Instead, I went limp, and the blackness I was terrified of came upon me.

Chapter 7

 

I woke up in Derick’s bed, but he wasn’t there. Neither was Teresa. I sat up, looking around.

 

“H-Hello?”

 

My embarrassing voice echoed throughout the house, then suddenly Derick came bolting in, practically hyperventilating. He bombarded me with all sorts of questions.

 

“Are you okay? Why did you pass out? Is there something wrong with you?”

 

“I-I-I-I…”

 

“Not a rhetorical question. Seriously, I’m worried.”

 

“I-I d-d-dunno…”

 

“Levi, what happened?”

 

“I s-s-said...I-I-I...dunno?”

 

“You friggen passed out, that’s not normal, and neither is randomly bleeding from your stomach. Are you okay?”

 

“D-d-d-Derick?”

 

“Or were you just flustered, darling?” He raised his eyebrows.

 

There’s my Derick. I laughed, only to find that it hurt excruciatingly.

 

“B-b-b-bleeding?!”

 

“Yeah. There wasn’t a cut or anything. Just blood.”

 

“A-are you n-n-n-not worried?”

 

“Oh, you have no idea. I’m dying right now. I just show worry...differently from normal people.”

 

He sat right in front of me, his hands on my knees, his face abnormally close to mine. I bit my lip and looked away, and right at that moment, Teresa walked in.

 

“Is Levi o- WHAT.”

 

“Mom, chill.”

 

“Alright whatever, I just didn’t think he was awake.”

 

I could tell from her face, that she was a liar. Something is weird about Teresa. Was the pizza she made the cause of my sudden black-out? It always happens after I eat food not necessarily cooked by me. I looked at her, unmoving. She looked startled and hastily walked out the door.

 

“W-what’s wrong w-w-with y-your Mom?”

 

“I dunno. She acts weird around you, though.”

 

“W-well n-n-nah!”

 

He laughed and took my face in his over-sized hands.

 

“We can finish what we started, Darling.”

 

I smiled, my face getting warmer. I haven’t smiled in a while. Now I feel awkward. He kissed me, lightly biting my bottom lip. I felt a chill run down my spine as he moved to my neck, obviously giving me a hickey.

 

“D-Derick?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“H-how did y-y-you l-learn to be t-this good?”

 

He chuckled, making me blush. What he said next took my breath away.

 

“Experience.”

 

“W-with w-w-who?”

 

“First with girls. Then last year….There was this guy.” He paused. “But, he doesn’t matter. He broke my heart, and now you’re mending it.”

 

I swore I saw tears in his eyes. “M-mending?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

This time I went in for the kiss. Which I had never done, in my entire lifetime. An electrifying feeling shot through my body like a bullet, I could feel his smile on my lips. My hands subconsciously traveled up his shirt, something only he did to me.

 

I pulled myself closer, as his hands moved from my knees to my thighs. I could feel my emotions falling into an abyss of...something fantastical. Not like the usual despair that hangs around me, turning the world grey. Now I could only see color from behind my eyelids.

 

I sat in his lap, my legs wrapped around his waist as his lips met mine again. I heard a door close downstairs, but I also heard Teresa walking down the hallway towards Derick’s door. I hastily got off of Derick, a terror welling inside me. More like a daunt, actually.

 

Teresa walked in with some food, and of course Derick was immediatly over there. He took the tray and brought it over the bed.

 

 I took a single sandwhich, while Derick took two. 

 

Two is is a strange word.

Chapter 8

 I watched the tv, my brain just as equivalent to the zombies on the screen. As I laid in Derick’s lap, I felt a tranquility, one of which I hadn’t ever experienced. 

Imprint

Publication Date: 05-08-2018

All Rights Reserved