Petra Ral was the sweetest, kindest, and most innocent girl Levi had ever met. She didn't talk all that much in class outside of answering questions and participating in class debates. They had history and English together and his dorm suite wasn't that far from hers. He'd known her since last year when they both started at the UC Trost. Well, maybe "known each other" wasn't the best way to put it. "Been acquaintances while Levi harbored a deep and secret crush on Petra" was a more accurate term. She had helped him and his roommate Farlan move into their room freshman year when the two of them had been completely helpless and from there the crush just grew. And now, a year and a half later, he hadn't made any moves and kept his crush under wraps.

Two more minutes and history would be over. It's about fucking time, this week has felt like a month, he thought. I might actually get some sleep this weekend. Not to mention kick some ass in the Smash Bros Brawl tournament Saturday. He glanced over at Petra, who sat a row in front of his and a few seats away. She was deeply engrossed in taking notes, her fingers flying across her keyboard. Her laptop was probably the girliest thing he'd ever seen. There was a fucking bedazzled cat on the back, not to mention her name written in glittery pink letters. It all went well with her lacy or floral dresses she wore all the time.

Shit, I'm in over my head, he thought, raking a few fingers through his black hair. She's innocence and sweetness personified and I'm me. God, what am I even doing?

"Levi?" He nearly jumped out of his seat at the sound of her voice. Around them students were packing up and leaving. Damn it, did I zone out again? "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I just spaced out for a moment," he said, shoving his binder into his backpack. He paused, wondering if he keep talking. Should I invite her over for the tournament? Does she even like video games? "I, uh. I guess I'll see you around." She bit her lip and nodded.

"I'll see you around! Have a nice weekend."

"You too." As soon as she moved he kicked himself. Damn it! I should've said something to her, anything! This is going to be the fucking end of me. I can't believe I can't just grow a pair and just ask her to hang out. He was still silently fuming when he got to his dorm. Farlan was already done for the day, lazing around on his bed as Levi dumped his stuff in their room.

"How was history?" he inquired, pausing whatever he was watching and pulling his earbuds out of his ears.

"Boring," Levi replied as he plopped down onto his bed.

"Did you make a move on Petra yet, or?"

"Of course I didn't." Farlan groaned enough for the two of them, dramatically throwing his head back.

"Levi, you're not going to get anywhere if you don't make a move," Farlan told him. Scowling, Levi gave him a dark look.

"I fucking know that. How about you focus on your own love life?" he suggested heatedly.

"Yeah 'cause there's so much to focus on," he sarcastically commented, making Levi snort.

"Your jokes are complete shit, Church," Levi told him.

"At least I'm pretty. Look, if you're not going to talk to her, I'm inviting her to our Brawl tournament this weekend. Maybe video games is a way to bond," Farlan suggested.

"I was going to invite her and then I choked up," Levi said. "I'll go over to her suite later and invite her to it."

"Good." Levi lied back on his bed and pulled his own laptop out. His history paper wasn't going to write itself. It's not like I'm asking her out on a date, he thought, opening his document and pulling up his internet browser. Just ask her over. It's not a big deal. It's not romantic. The room fell silent as Levi worked and Farlan went back to watching whatever the hell he was watching. It's just hanging out. All of a sudden Farlan yelped, shoving his laptop off of his lap and backing into the wall.

"Did Isabel send you another picture from that creepy Korean ghost story?" Levi deadpanned, glancing over at Farlan. He didn't even glare at Levi, just grabbing his laptop and slowly collecting himself.

"Holy shit, Levi. You're not going to believe what I found," he said, getting up and sitting beside Levi. He pushed Levi's laptop aside and placed his own in between them. Levi looked at his friend, an eyebrow raised.

"Why were you watching porn when I was in the room?" he asked.

"I was going to leave eventually."

"That's reassuring."

"No but you have to see what I found." Levi sighed and gave in. It was probably some

horrendous acting or something that they'd laugh about for a week. But when the video started Levi saw something very different, something that made his heart stop for a moment.

"Is that Petra?!" he demanded.

"Yeah! I was just looking around this site and I found this. Never would've thought she did porn," Farlan said. "She always seemed like a good two shoes." He paused, watching a bit of the video. "I'm not really an ass kind of guy, but -"

"Seriously?" Levi demanded, a stern look on his face.

"Sorry," he grimaced. "I guess you gotta do what you gotta do to get money. Just hope no one's mistreating her, you know? I don't really know her but I'd hate to see her get hurt."

"Well if it's like this I don't think she has to worry about other people," he said. He could feel heat burning from underneath his skin. Whether it was from watching Petra touch herself or the sheer shock of finding out what she did for a living, he didn't know. It was probably both. Shit, I can't believe this is her job. She always seemed so cute and innocent. Not that she's any less cute, but I guess she's not the angel I made her out to be. Farlan shrugged, clicked on a few things, and went to a different page.

"Well let's find out," he said. But as they scrolled through Petra's profile with all of her videos, they found that they did have to worry about other people. The video titles were explicit and paired with the preview images it made his head swim, everything swirling around slowly. This feels wrong, he thought. I feel like I shouldn't see this. It's her body and it should be worshipped. God, no, she's not a goddess or something. She's a person. Jesus Christ, get a hold of yourself!

"Holy shit, I never would have imagine Petra being so kinky," Farlan continued as they scrolled through the videos. "And fucking Christ is that Nifa?!"

"Nifa I could see doing porn," Levi shrugged.

"Yeah, no shit 'cause the thumbnail is her and Petra fucking," Farlan pointed out.

"You don't think she's only into girls, right?" Levi asked.

"Just because she's having sex with girls doesn't mean she's romantically attracted to them," Farlan pointed out. "She could be bi, or pan like me, or have different romantic and sexual identities. And see! She's having sex with four guys in this one! There's your reassurance she has some interest in men!"

"Seeing her having sex with other men isn't helping," Levi said. Farlan's phone buzzed in his pocket, making him jump. As Farlan got off the bed and took the call, Levi scrolled through the page. There had to be at least sixty videos. A majority of them seemed to be her by herself but a good quarter of them were with other people. A sick feeling rolled through his body and he couldn't give it a reason. He wasn't disgusted; worried about her welfare, yes, but he wasn't grossed out by the fact she did porn. Well, he was slightly grossed out due to the dirty and possibly unhygienic nature of sex. He didn't think less of her for doing this, but something was gnawing at his heart.

"Izzy's car broke down near the mall. I'm going to help her out. Feel free to watch stuff on my laptop, just don't be an idiot. I'll be back in an hour," Farlan's voice pulled him out of his reverie. He grabbed his keys off of his nightstand and grabbed his sweatshirt.

"Can you pick up dinner tonight?" Levi asked.

"Yeah, sure. What sounds good?"

"I don't know. I guess just get that family meal thing from that grill place a few blocks away from the mall," he suggested.

"All right, I'll do that. See you later."

"Later," Levi said. Farlan pulled the door shut behind him and Levi was alone with his thoughts. Out of everyone he'd ever known, Petra was the last person he'd think would do this. I haven't even gotten any and she's out there making a job out of it, he thought. Part of him did worry about her; she was a wonderful person and he didn't want her getting hurt or mistreated. Maybe this bothers me because it's not with me. I always thought if we dated we'd be each other's first but that's not going to happen. She's not the girl I thought she was. She's not innocent. I mean she's taping herself doing some kinky shit and getting money out of it. Do I really know her.

Ugh, get a hold of yourself, his conscious scolded him. Boo hoo Petra gets money by fingering herself. Your life is so hard because she's not on the pedestal you put her on. He clicked on one of the videos and waited for it to load.

I did put her on a pedestal, didn't I, he realized. I know Petra. She's kind, smart, and I like spending time with her. I like her. But I've been treating her like she's a goddess and not like a person. She's a person and I need to start treating her like it. He paused, eyes trained on the video. This is probably not what most guys think watching porn.

Half an hour passed, Levi lazily going through her videos. She was pretty good at it, he had to admit. Porn wasn't his thing but given it was Petra and she was shitty like other people, it was decent. His phone rang and he reluctantly paused the video to pick it up.

"Farlan, what's going on?" he asked.

"Hey, so long story short, Izzy's engine caught on fire. We're fine, I might have to get a haircut, but we're on the wrong side of town to pick up food. Can you get us all dinner tonight?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll run down to the cafe and get us mac n cheese, or something," he said, exiting out of the browser and shutting the computer closed.

"Awesome, thanks," Farlan replied. "We should be back in fifteen minutes. We're leaving right now."

"All right, see you soon." Levi hung up and grabbed his wallet and keys. Their building was far away from campus dining but it was close to a small shopping center with a small cafe that specialized in mac n cheese. Due to it being cheap and delicious, it was always full of customers, most of them fellow UC Trost students. And as Levi suspected, the place was packed. Tch. They're going to beat me to the dorm, he thought, checking his phone for the time.

"Oh, hey Levi!" He looked behind him and his heart started pounding in his chest as Petra walked into the small cafe, getting in line behind him.

"Hey, Petra," he said. Explicit images of her ran through his mind and made his skin feel like it was put on top of a space heater. He silently prayed he wasn't blushing. Talk about embarrassing. Stop thinking about her sex life, it'll just make things worse, he scolded himself. "I didn't expect to see you here." Shit that was the stupidest fucking thing to say.

"Well, I love mac n cheese, so . . ." she shrugged. "How's your weekend going so far?"

"Weird." The word was out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

"'Weird?'" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is everything all right?" I watched you get fucked by four guys if that doesn't constitute as weird then I don't know what does.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Just my friend's engine caught fire and engines don't normally do that." "Engines don't normally do that?" Fucking Christ I'm a wreck, he kicked himself. This is the last time I'm watching porn.

"Oh no! Are they okay?" she asked, worry furrowing her brow.

"They're fine. Shocked and confused, but fine," he replied.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that," she sighed. Now that you're not acting like an idiot, you should invite her over, his conscious nudged him. Go for it. It's perfect timing. Despite the nerves sloshing around in his stomach, he mustered up all the courage he could get. He was going to do what he should've done earlier.

"Yeah. I, uh, Petra, just wondering, do you like video games?" he asked, heart pounding painfully in his chest.

"Depends on which ones they are, but generally I like video games," she shrugged.

"My suitemates and I are having a big Smash Bros Brawl tournament tomorrow afternoon. It's basically a fighting game. If you want join, you're more than welcome to."

"I'd love to but I can't," she replied, looking almost heartbroken. "I have work all day tomorrow. But I really wish I could, I . . . Levi, are you okay? You look like you're going to pass out."