Hello, my lovely human. Welcome back. Friendly reminder the italics are the characters talking from the future or present... we'll leave the technicality.

Enjoy!

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Levi's P.O.V 

Previously on not-so-secret crush. 

"Again? Seriously, you've been watching too much Grey's Anatomy." Jace said from behind me. 

"If you don't like it, then stop reading it. Plus, Meredith is a badass. She's been through so much, yet she's still standing. You just can't stop watching, you know." I smiled as I remembered the events of the last episode. 

"I can, and I did. But it was boring and had too much drama. Like, can we have one freaking peaceful episode? Why does she always have a problem? Hmm?" He questioned. 

"Haha, too much drama? Bitch please, you thrive on that shit. You're just bitter because your favourite character left." I argued.

"How dare you bring back sad memories. I was just trying to forget." 

"Okay, okay. Can I get back to my story now?" I asked. 

"Sure, but there is no mending my broken heart right now." He cried. 

Seriously…

Previously on not-so-secret crush. 

"Hey Levi, there is something I've wanted to say for a while or more like ask, Kayden said as he pulled me to sit down on the bench close to us. 

I gulped as my heart went 200 beats per minute. It felt like it would jump out of my chest and run away, leaving me here to die painfully. 

"What is it?" I was so nervous. What did he want to ask? 

"Okay, here goes nothing." He added. "Can I… ahm" he cleared his throat and adjusted his position on the bench. 

Seriously can he hurry the fuck up? My heart can't take any more of this. 

"Can I see that slutty thing you were going to return to, Jace?" He asked. 

I stared at him for what seemed like a minute. Unable to process what just came out of his beautiful, juicy lips. Did he put some gloss on? They look so delicious. Focus, Levi, that's not the point. I looked back at him, and he spoke again. 

"Thank god I was finally able to ask. I've been dying to know since yesterday." 

I looked at him again, stunned. 

He looked at me, then burst out laughing. 

"Asshole," I said as I hit his arms hard. All while attempting to hide my blush. 

We looked at each other again and laughed as much as I struggled with my nerves around him. Talking to him and laughing with him is so effortless. 

“Thank you for bringing me here; I really appreciate it.” I smiled at him. 

“You are welcome, now to a more pressing issue.” He gazed at me seriously. Bringing my nerves back up, my heart racing and my mind going 100 km an hour. 

“What is it this time?” 

“Why do you get nervous around me?” he smirked again, and I took a big gulp. 

“Um, hmm, it’s because,” I stumbled, trying to think of a reason that wouldn't sound too stupid. “Because I am just socially awkward, you know. Haha, yup, that is why.” I finally managed to blurt that out. 

He laughed, “yeah, okay, sure”. 

“What?! It’s the truth.” well, kind of the truth, but he doesn't need to know that. 

“We should probably get back,” Kayden said, saddened me. I didn’t want to leave yet, and I wanted to stay with him a bit longer. 

"Oh, okay yeah, let's go." I got up and started stretching. I looked back at him to see that he was still sitting and smiling at me. 

"Nothing, just wondering if you don't have anything to do. Want to go watch a movie with me?" He smiled softly. 

"A- a movie? With you? N-now?" I stuttered as usual. 

"Yes, if you want to, that is." He added.

Thank you to the skies above for hearing my thoughts. Blood rushes through my body, all gathering at my cheeks like they are having a damn party. Okay, now take deep breaths and answer calmly. You got this, Levi. Just say yes. I think I hyped myself too much because what comes out is not a soft answer but more of a damn scream. 

"YES!!!" Oh, dear god. Levi, you fool. All you had to do was say yes softly. I brought my hands up to my face attempting to shield myself from the embarrassment, as I heard Kayden laughing his heart out, enjoying my pain. 

"Okay then. Glad to see your eagerness Levi." He continued to laugh. He is so cruel, but damn, that laugh made my heart feel a hundred times lighter. My grandmother once told me that if you feel butterflies when you are with someone, it means they’re not right because you feel nervous around them instead of feeling comforted. I always thought what she said was right, but at that moment, the flutter I felt in my stomach told a whole other story. 

I was falling. Falling hard and deep, and at that moment, I saw no way out. 

After that disaster of a moment (again, not that bad, but I'm still going to complain), we left for the cinema. We decided to watch Taken 3. Let's see who they chose to kidnap this time. You'd think after two movies, the bad people would know not to mess with him because he will find them and he will kill them, but nope, they don't learn their lesson. We fought for a while as to who would pay. Kayden wanted to pay for everything, making me blush and feel like it was a date… eeeeep. Ahm, but I am a grown-ass man. I can't let him pay for everything, so we finally settled on him buying the tickets and I would get the snacks. 

Throughout the movie, I think I looked more at Kayden than the movie itself, but in hindsight, Liam Nissan Kicked ass again. The movie took a turn that I did not expect (no spoilers for you, eh eh). Kayden and I were sharing popcorn since we got a big one, and I was hoping I would have one of those moments where we accidentally touched hands and stared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time. To my dismay, that never happened; curse you, romance gods. 

After the movie was over, we walked out and walked silently to the car. We got in, and Kayden drove me back to my house. 

“Again, thank you so much for today. I had lots of fun,” I said to Kayden as he parked in the driveway. 

“It was my pleasure, and I had fun too. I just hope next time no one kidnaps Liam Nissan’s grandchild,” we laughed, “Well then, goodnight. I hope you have a great weekend.” he continued. 

“Goodnight, Kayden. I’ll see you next week, and we will talk more about the plans we made.” I said as I opened the door to get out of the car. 

We wave goodbye as I watch him drive away. I walked to the front door feeling giddy and smiling like an idiot. When the door suddenly opened. 

“Mom! You scared me. What are you doing?” I yelled, clutching my chest for dear life, hoping my heart wouldn’t drop. 

“Levi, who was that? And why are you smiling and blushing like that? Also, why do you look cute together? Tell me everything.” My mother kept ranting on and asking questions. 

Damn it, I forgot about her. I spent an hour answering her questions before she let me rest in my room. That woman is relentless; she’ll get what she wants. After that, I attempted to do a little homework, which only resulted in me daydreaming about today’s events before Jace called me to ask me about the details. It was a very long day, and I could not wait for it to end. 

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The next few weeks were jam-packed with meetings and preparations for the multicultural day. Kayden and I spend most of our days together getting things ready and teasing the hell out of each other. Well, it was mainly Kayden teasing me. Since I’ve spent a lot of time with him, you would think I’d stop being a stuttering mess, but I still am, and he has a field day with it every time I stumble in front of him. At this point, I think I will always be like that around him.

My feelings for Kayden had gotten deeper than I would’ve anticipated. My eyes would follow him around, and whenever I saw a glimpse of someone who looked like him, my heart would skip here and there. It’s getting more difficult trying to hide these feelings. Alex, Jace and Leo are starting to get suspicious of me and are very hard to convince. I am running out of excuses; I might need to tell them soon. But that is a problem for future Levi to deal with; today’s Levi is busy preparing for the event which is happening tomorrow. 

“Hey, Levi, can you check the final performance list, please,” Kevin, one of the planning committee members, asked. 

“Yes, it looks good, Kevin, thank you. I’ll leave you in charge of the performers tomorrow. Let me know if anything happens.” I said as I handed the list back to him. 

“Yes, leave it to me. I’ll keep them in line,” he giggled, which is something he usually did, and it was absolutely adorable. "Oo, and by the way, Kayden was looking for you. He said to meet him at the car park after you are done." Kevin added. 

"Okay, thanks for letting me know. I should be done soon." I said to Kevin, and he went back to finalising the list. 

I wonder what Kayden wants. Should I text him and find out? What if it's something important for tomorrow, and we must find a solution? Oh no, what went wrong? We checked everything. I took out my phone and quickly sent a text to Kayden.

Me

Hey Kayden, I heard you were looking for me. Is everything okay? What went wrong? Tell me I can take it. 

Sent. 6:46 PM

After a couple of seconds of me overthinking, my phone buzzes in my hand. 

Kayden 🤤

Levi, calm down. There is nothing wrong. I just wanted to drop you off at home since it's late. 

Received. 6:47 PM

Me

Oh, okay, thank god. Okay, I'll meet you at the car park in 10 minutes.

Sent. 6:47 PM

Me

Thank you.

Sent. 6:47 PM

Kayden 🤤 

My pleasure. I'll see you soon. 

Received. 6:48 PM

After checking everything twice, ensuring a smooth run for tomorrow, I made my way to Kayden. There weren't many cars left, so I quickly spotted his Audi. I stood next to the car waiting for Kayden, looking around like a headless chicken whipping my head around to try and find him. 

"Hey there, worry princess," Kayden spoke from inside the car, which scared the living hell out of me and ended in screaming my lungs out. 

"Ahhhhhh! Oh, Kayden! You should've told me you were here." I clutched my chest, trying to calm down. 

"I just did. Not my fault your pretty head is in the clouds. Hurry up and get in so we can grab a quick dinner." He said, suppressing a laugh. 

I gave him a dirty look filled with all my anger. Also, did he just call me pretty? I blushed but still gave him a glare filled with all my rage. 

"Levi, don't look at me like I told you before. You can't make an angry face. You just end up looking adorable with those puffed-out cheeks. Maybe I should call you Bunny from now on." Kayden said, which made me pout even more. Hmm, bunny, I liked that. I giggled, mentally squealing in the process. Kayden laughed and pinched my cheeks. 

Oh my, I rivalled a tomato again as I brought my hand to touch my cheek, and I felt the fire radiating from my skin. 

"Adorable Bunny." He added. "So would McDonald's be okay with you, bun bun," Kayden asked. 

My heart did a series of flips like it was competing in a tumbling competition. I took a few deep breaths before answering. 

"Y-yes, McDonald's is fine." I limited my words so as not to reveal what I was feeling. 

Kayden looked at me and smiled. A hint of a dimple came out, and I was so tempted to touch it, and the temptation won. My hand went up from my lap and inched closer to his cheek. 

I was so close to his face I could feel his heat and -

"Leee, we need to get going. Alex and Leo are waiting downstairs, and you know Leo will leave us behind if we are late." Jace yelled from the kitchen. 

Oh, right, we were meeting Leo and Alex for lunch today. I guess I'll finish the rest when I get back. I closed the laptop and got up from my desk, grabbing my phone and wallet… oop, let's not forget the keys. We do not want to repeat this from last time. I got locked out of my apartment and had to wait until the next day for the locksmith to come in and ended up sleeping over at Jace's place. Let's just say Amri was also over, and I did not sleep that night… 

"Ready?" Jace asked. 

"Yes, let's go." 

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Welcome to the end of chapter 9, hope you enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts.

Don't forget to like and comment, and I will see you all in the next one :)