Levi broke up two weeks later with Camille with little fanfare. It happened on a Wednesday afternoon just after she got out of her psychology class, and Levi was waiting for her outside of the Arts and Sciences building on the southern tip of campus, just like he did every other week. He'd been waiting longer than he had initially thought to finally break up with her, but every time he saw her, he didn't have the heart to tell her that what had started out as a hot romance (just like every other one night stand he'd had, he supposed) was gone. And although he'd done this plenty of times before, he found himself rehearsing the words in his head as he waited on a bench outside the building, thinking about how exactly he wanted to phrase it and how to minimize the damage. Because he'd been with Camille too long, longer than usual, for her to get the usual deadpan. When classes let out, he spotted her in the crowd, and she came over, lifting her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss like she did all the Wednesdays before. But he stiffened slightly at her touch, and she knew instantly that something was off. She pulled away quickly, letting go of him, and rocked back on her heels.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Levi looked at her, the way that she stared at him, and clutched her books slightly tighter-she knew exactly what was going to happen. Pausing before he spoke, he placed his hand on the small of her back, and they walked a bit farther from the building.

"Let's get coffee."

Petra was sitting through a physics lecture, trying to focus on the professor's words through her sleepy haze. For the past few nights, she'd been staying up writing up essays and preparing orals for almost every single class. She'd sit in her bed with her laptop on her knees and a mug and a pot of coffee on the floor. Every few minutes, she'd take a sip from the mug, and would mentally slap herself back awake. Usually when she did this, Hanji would be out-clubbing, in the lab, just God knows where in general. The empty dorm was the only benefit to Hanji's erratic sleep schedules.

They were talking about waves and wavelengths, and a loaded powerpoint was projected up towards the front of the hall. It was kind of hard to see it from where she was sitting, and she was starting to think she needed to get a new glasses prescription. Lost in her thoughts, she only came back when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, a quick pulse of energy against her thigh. Looking up to check if anyone else was watching (everyone else seemed to be as equally zoned out during the lecture), she stooped her head low, quickly pulling her phone out to see who had texted her.

It was a short text from Hanji: Boy's back at it again.

By the time Petra left the lecture hall, she'd started picking up on conversations around campus, and listening to people mumble about Levi. It was almost purely insane how much of an obsession there was around this guy.

He broke up with Camille a couple of days ago, for unknown reasons, and half the campus was talking about it. Honestly, Petra felt worse for the girl than for Levi, given his dating record. She couldn't help but wonder why they'd broken up-Camille, for one, was perfect. She was smart, talented, and it wasn't like she was unattractive either. Reflecting on her thoughts, she rolled her eyes, walking into a coffee shop. God, she wasn't better than anyone else on campus. It wasn't like she wasn't thinking about Levi and his love life either. When she stood in line at the shop, waiting to get her fix for coffee, she spotted Camille waiting for her drink, talking to a couple of friends. When their eyes met, Petra tried to give her a smile, but Camille gave her a slightly pained look, and glanced away quickly.

Petra walked into his room, expecting to find some girl in his lap, but instead, he was lying in bed, hanging upside off of the side and staring at his phone.

"Do you like it when all these people talk about you?" she asked, skipping any type of preamble.

" I don't give two fucks."

Petra rolled her eyes, and sat down in the empty space on his bed next to him. "I just don't get why people talk about you so much-"

"-because I'm refreshing in their boring lives."

Petra stared at him blankly, her eyes widening slightly. "Wow you are a narcissist." Petra picked up the bag that she had dropped on the floor, and stuck her tongue out, making a face when he flipped the bird at her. She slammed the door shut on him, storming out of the hallway. Halfway down, a girl who lived two doors down from her stopped her.

"Petra," she squeaked excitedly, "did you just hook up with Levi?"

Flashing her an insincere smile, she walked away, unlocking the door to her own room, and slipping inside.

A couple of hours later, Hanji found Petra staring at her phone, back against the wall. She had tried to get some work done, but she figured that since she'd already gotten all of her assignments in, there was no point in working. She'd handle it over the weekend. So she wasted most of her time going through Snapchat and Instagram, scrolling through her feeds and watching makeup tutorials that she'd never attempt.

Hanji slammed the door on her way in, dropping her bags and clapping her hands. "Petra." she said, rubbing her hands together. "You. Me. Drunk. Frat party tonight… what do you say?"

"No." Petra dropped her phone from her face, crossing her legs underneath her blanket.

"Come on," she groaned, spinning into her bed. She sunk into her sheets, staring at the ceiling. "Think of this as an academic detox where you get intoxicated. It'll be great!"

Petra scoffed, turning her phone back on. "I'd really rather not, it's a Thursday."

"'It's a Thursday,'" Hanji mimicked her voice crudely, making air quotes as she spoke. "Fuck it!" she exclaimed. "Live a little Petra. You're a grown ass college student, you've never been to a frat party here-that I know of, which means you've been going to all the bad ones-and you've been working your ass off. Think of it as a work detox… where you get intoxicated." Hanji sat upright and paused, catching her breath. "It's, it's your choice."

Rolling her eyes, begrudgingly, Petra agreed, eliciting a yelp of excitement from Hanji.

When Petra got to the party, it was exactly everything that she'd expected. Hanji led her through, experienced enough to know her way around, and enough for people to greet her when they walked through. Every time they stopped to talk, Petra tried to ignore the way that the tipsy guys would stare at her, and she tried to stay close to Hanji the whole time.

Hanji had forced her into a dress. It was a dark bodycon dress that she'd bought over a year ago from Forever 21 when it was on sale. A size too small, the dress did little more than hang in her closet, layered behind other clothes that Hanji wore more often. The material was cheap, and it stuck to her body in uncomfortable ways, but when Hanji saw it hanging in her closet, she literally threw it at her, refusing to leave the room before Petra put it on. Now, Petra would unconsciously tug at the bottom hem of it, willing to make it longer than it actually was. She'd slipped on some liquid lipstick and put some eye makeup on, and although she thought she looked great in the mirror before they left, she felt increasingly more self conscious. But it wasn't like anybody would notice. They were too drunk and the house was too dimly lit for anybody to really take note. Petra pulled some hair back behind her ear, and followed Hanji.

"Hanji," Petra said, "I think it was a mistake for me to wear this dress."

Glancing back at the redhead, Hanji looked her up and down. "Hmm… No you look good. Anyways, other people are wearing dresses like that. You just look better." Hanji winked at her, clicking her tongue simultaneously. Blushing in the dark, they both walked into the kitchen where most of the alcohol was stashed. Both grabbing a couple of beer bottles, they hung around one of the hallways as Hanji talked to one of the frat boys, laughing and already loosening up-if that was even more possible for Hanji-as she continued to drink. Petra stood next to her, smiling and occasionally answering questions, taking sips of the disgusting beer. She stayed with them for a bit, but as time progressed, she became more bored, and finished her first beer. Mumbling an excuse, she walked back towards the kitchen to get another bottle. As she was opening up another one, she spotted Levi standing across from the island in front of her. He was dressed casually, holding a red cup in hand, probably drinking whatever was in the punch bowl. Without thinking, she drifted over to him.

"Levi," she said, taking a sip from her bottle.

He glanced up at her, trying not to look surprised. "Didn't think I'd ever find you here."

Petra gave a delighted laugh, the alcohol starting to show its effects. "Well, here I am. Well, uh, Hanji dragged me out here."

Levi eyed her, amused. He remembered how much more serious she was early today when she tried to confront him about his dating life. He took another sip from his cup and listened to her start to babble, her mindless chatter punctuated by her own giggles and laughter. Lost in his own thoughts, he was brought back into reality when she suddenly hit his arm.

"What the fuck." He said, giving her an annoyed glance.

"You're. Not. Listening." She slurred the last word to the point where he barely understood it. She tossed her empty beer bottle onto the counter, and reached for his cup, taking a sudden gulp. "Don't you know that if you like someone, you should talk and listen to them." Petra shook her head. "God, you're such an idiot," she muttered under her breath. "This is probably why nobody wants to date you." He let out a scoff, letting the irony of her words sink in, and grabbed his cup back from her, emptying the rest.

But still, he watched her out of the corner of his eye, trying not to laugh at how badly she held her alcohol. To think, Petra the straight laced student would get this drunk at a frat party on a Thursday night. It wasn't like he was doing better. He bribed the other RA in the dorm to keep track of his floor that night so that he could sneak out.

"If Dawk comes looking for me," he'd said earlier that afternoon, "just make up some bullshit-like I went to the drugstore or something-and text me. I'll come over if he's really pissy about something."

Hanji had invited him to the frat party a couple of nights ago, but Levi hadn't been planning on attending. It was going to be the same as all the other ones, and he was not in the mood to go to some filthy house crowded with sloppy drunks. But after Petra had come into his room and had chewed him out for what was probably ten minutes, he figured that a couple of drinks wouldn't hurt his liver that much more. So he texted Hanji and headed out without her a few hours later. Looking at Petra now, he could almost forgive her for what happened earlier in the day, just because of what a fool she was making of herself now. When she started talking to him again, he made a point of nodding and pretending to listen to her talk about how she bought two books earlier today for her literature class, instead choosing to study the features of her face and the thin lines of liquid eyeliner.

"I'm not a literature major," she garbled, taking another drink of her new beer bottle, "but I really love books. Like I fucking love them, Levi. Like, if a book was a person, I'd probably hook up with them. I love books that freaking much."

"Wow," Levi responded mockingly, taking a sip of beer. "I love books a lot too."

"Holy crap, Levi that is literally insane. We both love books." She gave a delighted laugh and gave him a full smile. "Booooooks… You know, we should do something together… " she paused briefly, thinking, then her face lit up. "REad. We should go read together. Like, in the library or something." Petra smiled, as if satisfied with her solution, then took another sip. Midway through, catching herself as though realizing something, she quickly pulled her cup away.

"Levi." She began earnestly. "You have a girlfriend, don't you?"

"Mm… yeah." Levi emptied the rest of his bottle. "Camille?"

Petra snapped her fingers. "Camille. Yes. I love that girl. Where is she. She's literally perfect."

"Yeah," Levi said, "we're not together anymore."

Petra looked at him even more confused, and he tried to ignore her stare. Clearly she knew about it earlier today (when she came in and yelled at him) so he had no idea why she had this sudden lapse in memory.

He hadn't really minded Camille, in fact, he had enjoyed her company. He often thought about what Hanji had said before, how she was proud that he was finally settling on someone, though to be fair, she always laughed right after she'd said that. Despite this, he couldn't imagine being with Camille forever, which was ultimately, it seemed, what she wanted. It wasn't until a couple of days before when Camille finally asked who the cute redhead who's always around was.

"Just a friend?" Camille had asked, raising her eyebrows.

He had looked up from his laptop at her. The two of them had been sitting in the library, like they always were, studying. Well, Camille, at least, was studying. He was completing the New York Times Crossword. It had surprised him when she asked that question, but he guessed it wasn't unwarranted.

"Yes." he replied calmly. "Just a friend."

Unconvinced, she turned to her history textbook silently.

"Jesus," Levi said finally, pulling his glasses from his face. "What do you want me to say?"

"Well I don't know." Camille's voice became a sharp hiss, her cheeks flushing from anger.

Levi felt like punching himself for not saying something like You're my only girl or You're ten times sexier than her or She's my cousin, don't be gross. Instead he had stared at her, her cheeks flushed, her eyes aflame, angry. Then he closed his laptop screen, and collected his stuff, declaring, "Dawk's making all the RAs attend a meeting. I have to run." And he left her, going back to his dorm room, knowing full well that she didn't believe him. Believe anything.

Word got around the campus, quickly. But nobody seemed to care about the terms of the breakup, which Levi guessed, was somewhat good for him. It meant that he still seemed like the blase heartbreaker that slept around, leaving a trail of people in his wake. After he'd broken up with Camille, people who'd been waiting for this moment started showing up at his dorm room, knocking timidly or bursting in, demanding an audience with him. Sometimes he'd sit through it, humor them then make up some lame excuse like he had a load of laundry going, but otherwise, he'd straight up ignore them. He knew it was kind of a dick move, but you could only take so much. When Petra had walked into his room, he was expecting someone else, and was ready to let them have it. But when she came in, he almost felt relieved that it was her. And although he'd just broken up with Camille, he was surprised by how easily he fell out of love with her. He probably didn't like her that much then-that's not to say that he didn't care for her as a person. She was like what Petra had said: perfect. But maybe too perfect.

So when Petra walked in, wrapped up in a scarf and wearing a pair of brown leather boots, he felt somewhat glad to see her, and he suddenly felt compelled to sit up in his bed. And then she fucking went at him (which isn't to say she wasn't right about what she said… because she was).

He watched her now, polishing off the rest of her beer, and waited for her to speak. When she did, it was surprisingly clear. "So you and Camille… not a thing anymore."

"Nope."

"Like 100% not together."

Levi pursed his lips. "Mm… like 100%."

Petra gave him a weak smile, then grabbed some crackers from a bowl, a popped them into her mouth, one by one. "You have to eat otherwise you'll vomit." She explained solemnly. Then she traipsed out of the kitchen, leaving Levi to his own devices.

For the rest of the night, he decided he wanted to steer clear of anyone interested in getting in his pants. Today had been rough enough, with everyone talking about him… again. And although he normally didn't mind it, he wouldn't mind spending one night completely no strings attached. Around two in the morning he'd had enough. He picked up his jacket from the closet, and walked out, passing through the hallway. Hanji was passed out on the sofa, and because she was friends with so many of the frat guys, he knew she'd be fine-she'd probably spend the night face down on that couch. It wasn't until he got to the door that he noticed a redhead nearly passed out on the floor, completely curled around some random guy (who was passed out). After a moment's doubt, he finally walked over to her, lifting her from underneath her arm.

"Get up," he sighed, bringing her to her feet.

She opened her eyes lazily, then seeing that it was Levi, grinned madly. "Where are we going?"

He picked up her jacket and shoved it into her arms, waiting for her to put it on. "Back to the dorm."

Pulling the puffy coat on, she raised her eyebrows at him. "To the dorm? Since when do you care about whether or not I go back?"

"Since Hanji became flat out drunk and abandoned you."

"... you're drunk too."

He ignored her, and they walked out of the house.

It was cold when they walked outside, and the late fall air nipped at their faces and bare skin. He wondered how she could wear a dress and not freeze like this, and through his hazy thoughts, let her slump against him, her arms curled around his waist. They walked down the dimly lit path to their dorms. Dawk was gone when they arrived, and they stepped into the elevator in complete silence, Petra still around him, the air tense and the white lights in the elevator harsh. He glanced over at her, her eyes half closed, practically asleep. He could smell the faint traces of whatever perfume she'd put on mixed with the fading smell of alcohol. Levi had to admit, it felt nice to just have her hanging off of him, hugging his chest, her face pressed to his shoulder. He noted the faint splash of freckles on the bridge of the nose, and the way her eyelashes fluttered as she struggled to stay awake. But he pushed the thoughts away when they arrived at their floor. Impatient, he slid his right arm under her knees, and lifted her off her feet, carrying her by the crook of her knees and the back of her shoulders. Instinctively, she laced her arms around his neck, and let herself be carried by him to her dorm room, burying her face into his shoulder.

Levi stopped at her door, his thoughts still slightly clouded from the last shot he'd just had. "Petra," he sighed tiredly, "Where are your keys?"

"Mmm…" she groaned into his shoulder. "Don't have them…"

"Quit it. Just tell me where they are."

"... Hanji?... Doesn't matter. I'll just sleep with Levi."

"Petra, you're drunk."

She lifted her head lazily from his shoulder, her eye makeup a little smudged around the

corners of her eyes, flecks of mascara sprinkled around her eyelids. Smiling to herself, she echoed the words she'd told him back at the frat house.

"You're drunk too."

Petra stared at him, looking at the color of his eyes. They were this intense gray color, with these startling speckles of pale blue that made them stand out. She could feel his heartbeat, steady, through their layers of jackets, and she thought it was no wonder that people fell for him so easily. Her arms were still wound around his neck, and he still balanced her in his arms, unwavering. But it was late, and Petra was starting to become more conscious of the world around her. So she willed herself out of his arms, and stood up, pulling away and creating a cold space between the two of them. Shoving her hands into her jacket pocket, she felt the cool press of her key ring, and pulled it out, presenting it to Levi.

"I have my key, turns out." She unlocked the door, and went inside, forgetting to say goodnight, and leaving him out in the hall.

Author's Note

What's good. I'll tell you what's good. Not this chapter. Ugh I have been delaying this chapter (and updating, for that matter) for so long because I was never quite sure what to do with it, so I've gone through many drafts. To be honest, I was hoping (and still am) that I would have been struck by lightning that would have gave me a brilliant idea, but nothing. I have so much writing for this story (around 100+ pages piled away), but a lot of it is non-linear and there are gaps between chapters. I considered just making another spot on this website where I would upload all of the writing at once so that it's available to anyone who wants to read it. Also I figured that maybe I could make another spot on the site where I dump all of the rejected chapters there... thoughts?

I have been working like a lunatic all year up until summer break (yay), but I also can't promise regular updates because it's rude to break promises?

I'm also tempted to take this chapter down in a bit and then potentially re-upload a better one if that happens... we'll see...I don't know how I feel about this chapter and how it adds to the story/character development. I'll think about it some more.