For the past week, Levi did nothing but wait for his injuries to heal and his fever to end so he could walk around and actually help out now that someone finally took charge. Some newcomers, a family, had come to the town at dusk, and Khutri had made them hide at their shelters.
After a talk in the diner, the man, a dark skinned former soldier or something, alongside his marine wife, helped make a system. All the food would be stocked in the diner and rationed; new hiding places were dug out and covered. No one used the same hiding place two nights in a row.
Levi almost had to crawl there to meet the guy to share his idea, but thankfully, Miguel and others weren't that mad at him. So, he was called, and they had a talk. Boyd Stevens liked the idea of having some holes secretly linked to some houses.
Everything, so far, was running smoothly and without any hitches. For what felt like years, Levi felt relieved as he sat on the porch in front of the church, his eyes focused on the pale blue sky, containing barely any clouds.
But his mind was anything but calm as he raced through ideas and ways to make this place not so depressing. They could host activities, events to distract people. Maybe a poem or drawing tournament for kids and adults. And it didn't have to be that either; any creative work would be a good idea. Such as short stories.
The reason why he hasn't told Boyd about these ideas is purely how it might come across. Defeat and resignation. But it would be better than the town's people being on the verge of jumping from a rooftop headfirst.
"Next time I see him," Levi muttered to himself, glancing at a few kids playing at the playground by the pool. He smiled a bit at the innocence that was left in them. "Hey." He heard that so familiar voice.
"Hey," Levi greeted back, feeling her finally settle next to him, but big enough space between them. For moments, they settled in the silence, not comfortable, but enough uneasy either. Just being there.
Levi was extremely grateful for her and her family to take care of him while he recovered from the fall and his illness. But the matter of why they were giving him cold shoulders and keeping their distance was a mystery to him.
But that didn't mean he didn't have his suspicions. From his lie to his losing his sanity in two days. It could be either or both, and Levi could understand. He'd cut off friends and family members because they had lied to him, so it happened to him, was justified.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, and Levi saw the olive branch she was extending. He gave her a grateful smile, not that she saw since she was looking at the ground. "Surprisingly well." He replied, looking at the marks on his palms. There were scars but the wound was gone. Even he knew that was weird. It should have taken weeks for just that to heal. Yet, it happened within five days.
"Thank you, again." He told her, and she simply nodded, her smile not appearing once. For another moment, they stayed in silence as Levi turned to watch the children play. Their squeals and laughter were infectious as a gentle smile broke on his face.
With a tired sigh, he finally turned towards her fully and noticed her posture tensing. Yet she still didn't meet his eyes. Her shoulders were turned away, fingers worrying at the hem of her clean sleeve.
"Please, tell me how I messed up," Levi asked plainly, the words more fragile than he meant. "You've- your whole family has been avoiding me, keeping your distance." He breathed for a moment. His eyes were on her. He saw her jaw tighten, brows furrowed in anger that she was failing to contain.
She laughed once, a sound that caught on the edge of a sob. "How do you name the thing that makes you both furious and terrified at the same time?" Her eyes found his, and they were honest in a way that hurt. "I am mad at me, Levi. Not at you. I'm mad that you were the first thing that felt normal here, and I'm mad that I let myself lean on that like it was permanent."
He could hear the confession in the way the words came faster now, pushed out to stop them from sitting in her throat. "It's far too soon for feeling what I feel for you, and I don't understand it," she said, the admission raw, immediate.
"I shouldn't feel anything but survival and caution, and instead-" She closed her eyes, a hand pressed to her mouth like she was stopping herself from swallowing something sharp. "Instead, I felt safe with you. I felt stupid and soft, and then you… ran into the dark..."
Levi's stomach twisted at her words. For a second, he forgot how to breathe. The last time anyone had looked at him like that- like he meant something- was Dean and his friends. Once he had cut ties with his father, no other family member wanted him. And the less said about his step-siblings, the better.
He had no relationship with women, since he was too short for them. He hadn't even danced with one, and the last time he tried asking one out, she had mocked him. "I might accidentally step on you." She had said, and that still hurts to this day.
For all intents and purposes, he thought he'd be a good uncle at best and be alone for the rest of his life. The thought of Ariana, someone as beautiful and kind as her, having any interest in him was unrealistic.
But it also cleared up the reason why they've been avoiding him. Levi could finally see what she meant when she said he had given her a sense of normalcy in this nightmarish town. Ever since he was in this town, he had seen only kids laughing and smiling. All the adults in this town had the same eyes as a dead fish. Including Ariana's parents and herself. Until he came around and made them smile and laugh.
He finally understood her fears. He wanted to tell her she was wrong, that he hadn't meant to scare her, that he was just trying to help find a way back home. But every version of that sounded like an excuse.
"Don't," she said softly as if reading his thought, not angry, just tired. "Don't explain it. You don't have to."
The silence that followed was brittle. The laughter of the children had quieted, replaced by the distant rustle of leaves, the creak of old wood. Levi's eyes lingered on her- on the way she rubbed her hands together like she was trying to wipe the feeling off her skin.
"I barely know you," she said finally, voice small but steady. "And that's what scares me. Two days... That's all it took for me, for my parents to start worrying sick about whether you'd make it through the night."
Levi swallowed hard. "I didn't think anyone would care that much."
She gave a short breath, almost a laugh. "Neither did I."
For a moment, she looked like she might cry, but she just shook her head and stared out toward the playground. "I can't afford that here. Getting attached, caring- none of it lasts. I told myself that. And then you showed up, and for a second, I believed in something I shouldn't have."
Levi's gaze dropped to his hands, to the faint white scars across his palms. "Thank you for that." She whispered, voice almost breaking. "But I can't afford it. Not in this nightmare." She looked at him in the eyes, with those eyes filled with tears, fears, and so much care that it silenced Levi.
"Stay safe, Levi. If you need anything, I'm here." She stood, dusted off her jeans. Then she walked off, leaving him on the porch, hands folded tight in his lap.
Levi sat there long after she left, watching the space she'd occupied like it might answer what he was supposed to do next. Her words pressed against his ribs, heavy and echoing. It's far too soon for feeling what I feel for you... It kept circling in his head, like a song he couldn't forget.
So, he thought about it and analyzed every single thing related to her. Any waking moment that was spent with her was scrutinized, and at the end, he still didn't know what to do. He didn't love her, or at least, he thought he didn't love her. But he did care about her, more than anyone else in town.
A realistic part of him told him that she cared for him, bandaged and helped him recover. That might- no, it was the reason why he was more protective of her and her family than others in town. He pushed himself deeper, to think about them dying, being torn apart.
What would he do? Would he regret not spending more time with them? To get to know them? How much would it hurt and why? Would he fly off in rage and turn insane? Or would he grieve them for a day and then move on?
And it gave him the answer. The thought of them being hurt, killed, depressed him. And yes, he would grieve them on a deeper level than he thought he would, but Levi would move on. He didn't know them, and they didn't know him.
They were simply strangers at worst and acquaint at best. But it still felt wrong.
Levi didn't know what to do. So, he decided to busy himself. He went to the diner. Boyd was already there, sitting at one of the back tables, a drawn map spread out beside a mug of black coffee that had probably gone cold hours ago.
He wasn't sure where he got the coffee, but he didn't ask. The man looked like he hadn't slept in days, but there was focus in his eyes, that soldier's kind of calm that looked more like exhaustion than peace.
"Hey," Levi said, pulling out a chair. A groan escaped him.
"Hey," Boyd replied without looking up. "You're moving better."
"Mostly," Levi said. "Figured I should do something before I lose my mind."
Boyd huffed a quiet laugh. "That a medical diagnosis or a warning?"
"Bit of both."
Levi told him about the ideas after the small talk- the small things that might keep people human in a place that worked so hard to strip that away. Drawing contests, little plays, poetry nights. For a while, Boyd just listened, one hand resting against his temple, the other tracing the edge of the map.
Boyd's mouth twitched in something that wasn't quite a smile after he finished. "You've got a good head for this. We'll see what we can make work. But first-" he tapped the map with a finger, "we've got another problem."
Levi leaned forward. "The forest?"
"Yeah, you know how far anyone has gone in?" Boyd asked, and Levi shook his head. "Not really, as far as I know, I was the first one to go as deep as I did to hide. Before that, I was two days in. The last few days have been on bed rest."
Boyd hummed, leaning back in his chair. The wood creaked under his weight as his eyes swept over the map again. "Figures. Nobody's had the nerve to go far since things are already worse here. We've been running blind, hoping nothing decides to come closer."
Levi felt the familiar pull in his chest, half dread, half need. "You think it's worth the risk?" He motioned beyond the trees. "We need to know our resources and what we can work with," Boyd explained, and Levi agreed.
And safe to say, he was feeling a bit embarrassed for not checking the forest before throwing himself out at night. If he had, maybe his bonds with others wouldn't be so broken. Catching the thought, he shook it away.
"What's the plan?" Levi asked. Boyd raised a brow. "You're sure? You just got back on your feet."
"I need to get busy, keep my mind off of some things." Boyd looked at him for a moment and nodded. "Tomorrow morning, we patrol the surroundings. Get the lay of the land, we might find something." Levi nodded.
When he finally stood to leave, an arm around his torso, the chair scraped loudly against the floor. Boyd glanced up but didn't say anything, and Levi was grateful for that.
Outside, the air smelled faintly of rain and pine. The sky was the same pale blue as it had been when he sat on the church porch, only duller now, like it had lost some of its courage. Levi pulled his jacket tighter around himself and started walking, each step steady, mechanical.
He didn't know if he was walking toward something or just away from everything else.
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AN: I really just want to get into the parts that I am thinking. But I have to write these filler chapters to connect some things, and I hate it. A part of me just wants to skip to the juicy and wholesome moments between the characters and lighten this fic by a lot.
Anyway, let me know how I'm doing so far. Regarding the plot, Boyd is finally in town and I'm already changing some things to fit my narrative. So, AU should start by now.
Don't have anything else to say. So, cya.
Hope you guys had fun reading this chapter.