Cath had finished.
Carry on, Simon was finished, Simon Snow and the Eighth Dance was finished and her freshman year was finished.
She had started the year with a broken bond with her twin, a popular fanfiction named Carry On, and an obsession with Simon Snow. Now she had her twin back, a boyfriend, a best friend, a completed popular fanfiction and an obsession with Simon Snow. Some things would never change. She'd also finished up with Nick. She never wanted to talk to him again.
She leaned back from her computer screen, where she'd just finished the final chapter of Carry On, with Simon and Baz living happily ever after, but in a suitable way for all of the work she'd put in for the last two years. She hadn't left the smaller characters unnoticed either, each of them got their own happy ending. Well, apart from the Humdrum.
There was a boy in her room.
Levi was lolling at the end of her bed, watching and waiting for her to finish. He'd come to stay for a few days at her house in Omaha.
"Finished?" he asked, with a smile.
"I don't know," she replied, "It's the end, Levi. It has to be perfect."
"Will you read it to me?" he asked.
"I'll get Wren to check it first," Cath answered, and put the laptop to one side.
"Come here," Levi said, with a crooked smile. She shuffled towards him, and he put his arm around her.
"Leaning against the wall isn't very comfy," Cath admitted. Levi laughed, and released her from under his arm and pushed her down. With a face full of blankets, Cath's muffled laugh was taken as a sob by Levi.
"C'mon Cath, it was going to end eventually," he said sympathetically. She laughed harder, and Levi started to look more worried about her. She emerged from the blankets with a bright red face. Cath hated her blush, but with only Levi to see, she ignored it.
"I'm fine," she gasped. As soon as Levi saw that she wasn't crying, his mouth split into a large smile. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. The tension changed immediately as he leaned over her. She stared into his beautiful eyes, and wondered what he was thinking. Her mind slipped for a moment and wondered what she could do her next fanfiction on. She was completely free of her structure and plan. She could make any world and write whatever she wanted.
"Levi," Cath said quietly.
"Yes, Cath?"
"Carry On is finished," she said.
"Wow, Cath," Levi grinned as he leaned back and went back to the wall, dragging her with him, "What a come down."
"I can write anything," she pointed out.
"What will you do? Fanfiction about me?" he teased.
"I was thinking about that actually," Cath mused.
"Really?" Levi asked. Cath had noticed that with stuff like that, he got very excited very quickly, in a way that a dog does when you offer it a treat. Even his hair seemed to get bouncier.
"No," Cath laughed, "I meant expanding out. Not just doing Simon Snow."
"But you'll do fanfiction about me, right?"
"We'll see."
"Ah, Cather," Levi sighed, and let his head fall back to balance on the wall, "That's a polite way of saying no."
"Cath," she responded automatically, "And no it's not. I'm an English major. It means we'll see."
He sighed again, but with a smile this time, "I really like you, Cath..."
"I think we're past that," she reminded him. She remembered how she felt the first time he'd said that. She felt it again at that moment. That feeling of warmth and happiness coming from your stomach.
"I love you Cath," he said softly.
"I love you too," she responded, loving the way that the words flowed out of her mouth. She loved the way that Levi was beside her and was staying with her for three more days. She loved the way that Wren had gone out, disguising it as meeting friends, but actually wanting them to have time alone while their dad was in work. She loved that Levi had never tried pushing her into doing anything she didn't want to do. She loved Levi. She loved Levi.
She loved him. He loved her. It wasn't something she'd been expecting when she was planning for college. She'd had Abel back then, if he was to be considered as a boyfriend. Well he was her boyfriend. He was just an end table.
She sounded like Wren.
She wondered where Wren was, and which of their high school friends she was with. Wren had already seen Jandro in the summer, but she was going up to stay with him again next week. Cath would be twinless again, only this time she'd be certain that Wren was coming back.
Cather. Wren. They really were two people that fitted together.
Cath left her trail of thought and focused on Levi. He hadn't said anything but she felt bad for not being completely there with him.
"I want you to come back with me?" he randomly said.
"To Lincoln?" she answered stupidly. She didn't want this conversation yet.
"To Nebraska," he said, "To meet the my family."
"I don't know your surname," she said, while wriggling around to get into a comfortable position under his arm again. She couldn't remember how they'd ended up like this again, but she didn't mind.
"Really?" Levi gawped (which was the first time Cath was able to use that word). She giggled.
"You've never told me," she explained, "You're just been Levi to me."
"Stewart."
"Levi Stewart," she experimented, "I like it."
"Me too," he said honestly, "Cather Avery. Levi Stewart. We've got good names."
"I find it weird that I don't have to read fanfiction to talk to you anymore," Cath said.
"That was random," he commented.
"I also found it weird that I used to have to read fanfiction to talk to you."
"We all have our quirks."
"Flaws."
"It was different," Levi pointed out, "Refreshing."
"My fanfiction reading was refreshing?" Cath laughed.
"It makes you refreshed," he joked, "It's like you're a different person."
"I am when I'm reading," Cath admitted, "I can be Simon or Baz."
"You'll always be my Penelope though," Levi smiled, "You're irresistible."