Hi there, gorgeous humans. Here is another chapter hope you enjoy it. Just a friendly reminder, the italics are the characters speaking from the future/present. 

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Levi’s P.O.V

Previously on not-so-secret crush…

“Oh, shit,” he mumbled. Leo and Alex glanced at me with sympathy.

I turned around to see what they were talking about, and my heart dropped at the scene. I felt like my insides were being twisted, and the pain I felt bubbling in my chest was almost unbearable. Yet, there they were, walking, hands intertwined and smiling ear to ear. Kayden and his girlfriend?

I turned around immediately, facing my friends to avoid looking at the heart-wrenching scene. I felt tears gathering in my eyes, the painful burning at the back of my throat. But, Levi, don’t jump to conclusions; maybe they are just very, very friendly friends. “Pfft,” I laughed at my stupidity. I knew this hope thing was going to crush me. I just didn’t think it would hurt like this or drive me to the point of making useless excuses.

I returned my eyes to my friends, who were looking super pissed off at the person in question.

“Heads up, Le, he’s making his way towards you,” Leo spoke through clenched teeth.

My heart managed to pick up whatever pieces it had left to beat quickly at the mention of Kayden. I quickly wiped my wet eyes and took deep breaths. I could hear him getting closer until he stopped right behind me.

“Levi,” He spoke, his deep raspy voice sending shockwaves down my spine.

I mustered up the most believable smile and turned around to face him.

“Hey, Kayden,” my voice came out soft and cracked just as I said his name, and I wanted to punch myself for sounding so vulnerable.

“Congratulations to us for finishing a successful day,” Kayden smiled like usual, with no hint of hesitation.

“Yeah, we did great. Good job, us, haha.” I said with sarcastic enthusiasm. I mean, how would someone act in a situation like this? At the current moment, the pain rising in my chest is preventing me from acting or thinking rationally. But who are we kidding? When was I ever rational with him around?

“So, was that girl you came with a friend? She’s cute.” Jace cutting to the chase, you can always count on him being blunt and to the point, and I loved him for it.

“Actually, we just became official.” Kayden face turned a soft shade of pink, and his hand rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment as he gave us a giddy smile.

Ah, so this is what heartbreak feels like. Not a huge fan, but I’d like a refund, please. Just make this pain go away, someone, anyone.

…………………

“Why don’t you take a break,” Jace said.

“Huh, when did you come in? I thought you went home with Amari. Wasn’t he staying over?” I asked, looking around the house for a clue.

“Lee, it’s the next day already.” Jace gave me a worried look. “Were you up all night writing?”

Wow, it’s the next day? How long was I writing for? I didn’t even realise it. Great, now I’ve pulled an all-nighter goodbye to my good sleeping schedule, which I worked so hard to maintain.

Jace took my silence as an affirmation of his suspicions. “Seriously? I suggested you write to feel better, not worse. So maybe you should stop.”

“What? No, Jace, I’m fine. I just got into it and forgot about everything else like I always do.” I said, smiling at him.

“Did you see yourself in the mirror? You’re crying, Levi.” Jace came closer to me and sat down on the couch. “I haven’t seen you this wrecked since it happened.”

I brought my hands to my face and felt wetness on my skin.

“Oh, I didn’t realise.”

“Levi,” Jace took away my laptop and put it down somewhere as he brought me in for a crushing hug.

"He always asks about you, you know. Every time I go over to Amari's, and Kayden is there, the first thing he asks after greeting me is, 'how's Levi?' Of course, I don't say much, but he still asks."

I stayed silent and didn't say anything. What would him asking do now? It's too late. What's done is done, and there is no going back. It's not just on him. It's on me as well. I should've stayed away, and I should've kept my distance. But instead, I stuck to the tiny sliver of hope that something would happen. Well, something did happen, just different from what I expected.

"Which part did you get to?" Jace asked.

"The after party." I smiled, knowing what he'll say.

"Oh damn, not my proudest moments. Can you not mention what I did, please." He squeezed me tighter, almost crushing my rib cage.

"No way, that's the like the best part." I laughed.

"So that means you'll add the other thing as well?" He gave me a side-eye.

"You know it." Jace looked at me with slitted eyes. "Jace, don't you fucking dare," I warned, knowing he wouldn't back out.

He brought his hands to my waist and started tickling me.

"No, please, stop, haha, Jaceeeee," For a shorty, he sure is strong. Damn it. It took a while for the torture to stop. We both lay on the couch, out of breath.

"Jace, you don't need to come here every time. I'm okay. I'm not depressed or anything. I got my heart broken, that is all. You keep acting like I'm about to spiral or something."

He looked at me, his brown eyes glossed over with tears. "It's not that I think you're depressed. It's just… I can't help feeling guilty for getting you into this heartbreak."

"Seriously, Jay. We've had this talk before. You know it's not your fault. It's not like you forced me to love him. It just happened, and I may regret some choices I made. But I don't blame you. It would've happened whether it was on that bus or somewhere else." I held his hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze. He smiled at me, wiping his tears away.

"So, did you leave Amari in bed alone again? You know he's going to be pissed." I smirked.

"Eh, he'll get over it. Plus, maybe I'll get a bit of angry sex. You know it's my favourite." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Ew, I did not need that last part. J, you need to relearn boundaries." I slapped the back of his head. "Now, let me go back to writing." I reach out and get my laptop turning it back on.

…………………

Levi's P.O.V

"Actually, we just became official." Kayden smiled.

"Wow, congratulations that- that's amazing." I tried to sound happy. Emphasis on tried because it came out sounding like I was constipated.

"Hmmm, I see, so you are serious?" Jace asked. You can hear the venom dripping from his voice.

Kayden looked at Jace and then at me, confused by his tone. I averted my eyes, not wanting to comment.

"Um, y-yeah. Yes, of course."

"Did you plan it for a while, or was it a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing?" Jace asked again.

"Jace, stop. You don't have to answer him. He's just being nosey." I gave Jace a look hoping he would stop, but once Jace was set on getting his answers.

"Nope, he needs to answer, or we're going to have a problem," Jace added. Dear god, I'm not in the mood for this. I just want to go home, crawl inside my bed, and hopefully fall into the abyss.

"Jace," I tried again, but Kayden stopped me.

"No, it's okay, she asked me out a while ago, and I said no…" Kayden's eyes shifted to me briefly before falling back on Jace. "But, I thought about it, and I decided I liked her too, so I asked her out, and she said yes."

"Hmm, so you make it a habit of playing with people's feelings, I see." Jace got closer to Kayden's face glaring.

"What? Of course not. Is everything okay? Did I do something wrong?" Kayden asked, confused.

"Is everything okay? Are you really-"

"Jace, stop." Leo interfered.

They both turned towards Leo. He gave Jace a warning look, making him step back and turn around to stop looking at Kayden. Leo's eyes fell on me. Honestly, I'm so thankful he took charge because my head is too much of a mess even to attempt to calm the situation down.

"I think we should go. Jace is having a bad day, it seems. Congratulations, Kayden." Alex spoke for the first time in a while. His voice is cold and heavy with anger. "Let's go, guys."

Leo and Alex's hands fall at each side of my shoulders, supporting me to walk. I nod goodbye to Kayden, not trusting my words to come out properly.

"Wait, Bun," I stopped in my tracks at the nickname. My heart clenched painfully as it tried to beat. "You're leaving too? But the after party hasn't started yet. I wanted to celebrate with you. Then, hopefully, you can officially meet Sophie."

I wished he'd stopped talking. I hoped he'd realised what was happening and just let me go.

"I wanted you guys to get to know each other so we can hang out all the time." He smiled, hopeful that his words would convince me.

Smile, Levi, just smile. Don't let it show.

"Sorry, Kayden, but I can't. I'm feeling tired. It seems like I was more exhausted than I thought. Maybe some other time. Say hi to your girlfriend for me." I smiled at him. But he seemed disappointed. We said our goodbyes and walked away.

"Fucking asshole," Jace muttered.

"Jace, stop. It's not like I expected something." Yeah, right, what a load of crap.

"No, why should I? He was leading you on with all his misleading actions. He should've acted according to your friendship. Also, wtf is up with him asking you to meet his girlfriend? I should've just punched him seriously."

"It was shitty of him to act like that with you, then go and get a girlfriend the next minute," Alex added.

"Let's just change the subject. I want to go home," I said.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked, and his question unravelled me completely. I cried in response, my eyes welling up with tears I couldn't control. Finally, I couldn't keep it in anymore. The burning at the back of my throat was too much to handle.

I feel Leo's muscular arms wrapped around me, holding me closer to him. I hugged him back, laying my head on his shoulder, and cried out all my frustration and pain.

It was a good 20 minutes before I was able to stop. Feeling tired, dehydrated, and a headache creeping in.

I let go of Leo, thanking him. I looked around to find Jace sitting in the corner, looking like he was planning a murder.

"Jace, let's go home." He looked up at me. Well, he tried, but his eyes avoided mine altogether.

"I need to speak to Amari. So you guys can go, and I'll follow you later."

"Jace, please don't do anything stupid. I'm fine, and I'll be okay." I told him, but he just walked closer and hugged me tightly.

"I won't do anything; I just need to talk to him. I love you, Le. I'll see you later. Tell your parents I'm sleeping over tonight." Jace spoke into my neck. His face barely reached, standing on his tippy toes. I smiled at his adorableness.

"Okay, I'll wait for you." So we say goodbye, and I leave with Leo and Alex.

Alex insisted I sit in the back with him. Which I found odd, but as soon as I got in the car, Alex held me. He let me put my head on his shoulder while he rubbed my arm. My friends are so sweet. I'm a lucky man.

The drive home was silent. All you could hear was the radio and my sniffles. Finally, we arrived at my house, and I hugged Alex before leaving the car.

"Thank you for driving me home. I'll see you guys later."

"Bye, Le, let us know if you need anything. We're here for you." Leo spoke while Alex nodded.

"I will. Drive safely." I gave them a small smile before walking to my front door. I tried to open the door, but it was locked, meaning my parents were out. I checked my phone, which was in my bag the whole day, to find a text from mom.

Mom 👩

Hi sweetie, I hope you're having fun. Your dad and I decided to go on a little vacation for the weekend. Your dad surprised me with tickets to this fantastic spa. Isn't he the best? Anyway, we'll be reachable by phone, so if you need anything, call us. Food is in the fridge, and we left money on the counter if you want to eat out. Also, your friends are welcome to stay over if you wish. Party hard. We love you 🥰.

Received 3:23 PM

Okay, that means I'll be home alone for the weekend to wallow in self-pity. Yay me.

I took my keys out of the bag and unlocked the door. Closing it behind me, remembering not to lock it and text Jace to lock the door when he comes in.

I took a bottle of water from the fridge and went to my room. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it. What the fuck just happened. My brain tortured me more as today's events replayed in my head. The song, the hug, the laughs we shared. With his cheeky comments today, I honestly thought I would find out at the after-party what his actions meant. Well, a surprise. They meant jack shit. Well, here is another lesson learnt. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I took it out, thinking it was Jace, but the name displayed made my heart shatter even more.

Calling…

Kayden 🤤

I declined the call, and my eyes teared up as I slid down the door and cried some more. 

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Damn you, Kayden, how dare you hurt our baby like that SMH. 

ANYWAY, like and comment if you liked it, and I will see you all in the next one. 

Izzy is out and hiding. :P