Levi Puissant sat silently in his room, sitting at his desk with his head down, trying to wait for Joseph Arzt, Harper Layne, and Edwin Bosworth to pass by his room. They've been trying to get him out ever since he dashed inside of his room after accepting the mission. Although Levi accepted it, he was extremely reluctant to do it, and he had no idea why. He wanted to stay away from those three; for now, at least. He had some things to get off of his chest, even though it felt like he'd forgotten what'd been putting pressure on it.
Although he didn't know how sitting in a room all alone would help, he did it anyway since he didn't feel like dealing with their constant nagging. Eventually, though, the three walked away from his room.
Levi sighed a sigh of relief and looked up from the dark wooden brown of his desk to the pearly white ceiling of his room.
Pearly white…
… white…
… oh, no.
Levi remembered why he didn't want to do it once he accepted it.
H-hey! What is this?
A blindfold, you dumbass.
Why? Why are you blindfolding m-AAH!
Ahahahahaha! Shock him again!
NO! WAIT! WHAT ARE Y-AAHH!
How does it feel to be bossed around by the people you spat and stepped on, huh?
WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
Levi quickly looked away from the ceiling and back in front of him, at the mirror built into the desk. But that didn't stop the terrible memory from coming back to him.
AHH! NO! IT HURTS! STOP!
SHUT THE FUCK UP, FRENCH FRIES!
PLEASE, MY ENTIRE BODY HURTS!
We aren't stopping anytime soon, you piece of shit!
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
It's your fault. If you hadn't done that, we wouldn't be doing this.
WHAT ARE YOU EVEN FUCKING TALKING ABOU-AAAHHH!
It took Levi a few seconds to realize that he was crying. He didn't feel it, but he saw it in the mirror. He brought his hand up to his mouth and began hiccuping as he silently cried. The memory had stopped abruptly, and he was glad it did.
He slammed his head against the desk, crying out. "Why am I like this? I can never be normal again… no matter how hard I try, I can't... I can't be normal!"
Don't say that, Levi. It's just because you haven't tried hard enough! If you try your best, you'll get more confident in yourself. Sometimes, it's just a matter of confidence. Right now you don't have enough of it, yes, but soon enough, more will come by, and you'll be able to be normal, just don't worry, Levi. They'll go away, I swear! Just give it a few more years, or even months if you encourage yourself to swat them away.
You can do it!
Just do your best.
It's not that hard.
Levi covered the sides of his head with his hands, quivering. "No," he whispered.
He knew he was trying to give himself confidence, but it just wasn't the same. He wasn't as encouraging anymore. He just... didn't know how to believe in himself in some things. This was one of them.
Just as when Levi thought the voices were going to drown him in false encouragement, his phone rang, causing him to jump in the seat. He pulled out his phone and noticed that Harper had just texted him.
If you don't want to do it that's fine
Levi inhaled sharply through his teeth in slight anger, hiccuping in the process. His thumb zipped across the digital keyboard.
I have to
"I have to," Levi repeated.
He tapped the send button and tossed his phone on the desk, cringing at the gross sound it made when the case made impact with the wooden table. He leaned back in the swivel chair, covering his face and crying some more. His phone rang once more, and Levi knew what Harper had replied with.
You really don't, or, you don't have to.
After a few minutes of bawling into his hands, he heard footsteps coming up to his room. Then he remembered that he didn't lock the door. He quickly jumped up from the seat and darted towards the door to lock it, but was too late as the door swung open. Harper was standing outside, looking at Levi with an upset expression. "Levi," she said.
"You don't have to say anything to comfort me, Harper," Levi murmured, turning away from Harper.
"But I want to at least try!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air.
She ran into his room and leaped in front of him, shoving her nose right up in his face. "Why are you so scared?" she asked, folding her arms.
"I don't want to talk about it, now please just leave me alo-"
"Okay, okay," Harper said, putting her hands in the air and making her way back out the door.
"Wait, really?" Levi asked, turning towards her.
"Yes, but, one question," she said. "Do you want to cancel the mission?"
Levi opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it. "Um… uh… well, I, uh…," he stammered.
"No?" Harper finished for him. "If not, that's totally fine. You're so amazing and you're really powerful, but I understand if a small mission like this can unnerve someone like you."
Levi's eyes widened at Harper's words. Suddenly, Edwin stepped into the doorway, along with Joseph. "Did you resolve it yet?" Edwin asked Harper.
She turned towards Edwin and shrugged, then turned back towards Levi and was about to ask him the question again when Levi raised his hand. "No, no no, it's… it's, um, fine. I'll just… I'll just decline it," he stammered.
"Alright, then! It's settled!" Joseph said, quickly and happily.
Joseph and Edwin stepped into the room. "Wh-whoa, what are you guys…?" Levi trailed off.
"Today was actually supposed to be a day-off, yet we were hit with a Sudden Mission," Harper explained.
"Although, we don't really have to completely finish it right now," Edwin added.
"Yeah, so we think you should come do something with us for once. You rarely do that," Joseph continued.
Levi's eyes darted from Joseph to Edwin to Harper, then back to Edwin, then back to Joseph. "U-um, uh, er, I uh, mm, oh, well," Levi stuttered intensely.
He was too embarrassed to say no. Too embarrassed to say yes. Too embarrassed to say anything at all. Edwin, Joseph, and Harper had noticed this. "Oh, okay, we can wait.
"You need time to decide the best choice and make sure that choice is what you're comfortable with. That is the best choice," Joseph beamed.
"We won't judge you for the decision you decide on," Edwin boosted.
Harper smiled along with Joseph and Edwin.
Levi was so… confused.
"... why?" Levi asked, softly.
Edwin raised an eyebrow. "Why what?" He asked.
"W-well, you… I-I don't understand… why are you all treating me so… so…" Levi couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
"Well, why not?" Harper claimed. "Besides, you're our friend! Of course we care about you."
Levi hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I… okay. Sure, I'll… I'll go with you," he acquiesced.
They were still smiling that encouraging smile. When they heard Levi accept their request, they laughed and surrounded Levi, but in a friendly way. "After all the shit that's happened," Joseph began, "we're happy you decided to agree!"
The unsure smile on Levi's face became a bit brighter. "Alright," Harper yelled, "where to now?"
Edwin pushed the other three out of the room, shouting, "Anywhere I'm allowed to take you!"
And at that, the four laughed and exited the house.