Susan Cain Got Levi Laid

by TheHeartOfStories

Levi is an aspiring fashion designer and photographer who struggles to come to terms with his diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. He meets Erwin Smith at the library, a lawyer by day and a man with a dark secret by night. Who knew a trip to the library could be just what the doctor ordered?

3. Sequins

p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto 1.286em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hello everyone,/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to update this story and any of my others. School work have kept me very busy, and I'm also allocating a chunk of my free time to work on the original novel I'm writing for future publication. However, this past week I had the opportunity to work on this story for a very funny reason./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"My college's magazine was accepting creative fiction works for publication. I decided to enter 2 pieces: 1 scene from the original novel I'm working on and the other, was, well, this story. Since it's set in a modern AU with my own plot, all I had to do was edit the characters so that they were original as well. I submitted the edited version of this story - a gay romance - and my college accepted the piece for publication. After rigorous editing based off of the comments from the magazine editor's, what I'm posting now is that story. I went through it today and changed the names back to Levi Erwin so that I could post it here. You'll notice that there are some things Levi Erwin do that are out of character, but that's because I edited the story so the characters were my own. I hope that makes sense./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"This is called Sequins, and I hope you enjoy it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"If you're following any of my other stories, please know that I do plan on updating them once my classes aren't so busy! They're not abandoned!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: center;"***/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sequins/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong id="docs-internal-guid-36034a14-7fff-e75e-b288-b1eac8d910b0" style="font-weight: normal;"br /br /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morning seeped through the blind's slates like a trespasser in Levi's bedroom. It lit up the clothing racks that were pushed in front of the window, a thousand sequins of designs-in-progress glittering on hangers. Cloudlight stumbled past the plastic bins spilling over with swatches of colorful fabric. Against one of the walls was Levi's bunk bed - the same one from his mom's house - and it was special; it only had the top bunk. Where the bottom bunk had been removed, his collection of vintage cameras were mounted to the wall with little placards underneath them that told what states and antique stores he found them in. A few of the older cameras were from his mother's study abroad program in France. Light traced their edges, reflected across his desk and sewing machine that were nestled into the space as well. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Flicking on his lamp, Levi plopped down in front of his desk. Sighing as he put in his headphones, he settled in. Fabric and ribbon, lengths pierced by needlefuls of brilliant thread, laid across his lap while he clicked his mother's hand-me-down sewing machine on. It purred awake. Dented thimble secured onto his finger, he placed his fabric beneath its needle, and his socks peddled the machine alive. As Levi crouched closer to watch his nimble fingers, his thoughts drifted to memories of his mother. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"In his mind, her dark hair was always tied up as she bent over the very sewing machine he now used. Even though her sewing room's door was shut, when he was just a boy, that never mattered to him. His feet would patter quietly across the carpet, wide eyes completely enraptured by his mother's flittering hands and the machine's needle as its thread thunked through fabric. Sometimes, she sat him in her lap and told him about how life was like a swatch of fabric and people the seamstresses. Whispering in his ear, the hush of her breath brushing his bangs away from his chubby cheeks, she told him people created the thread of events that sewed designs and all sorts of patterns into their lives, and people could add whatever they liked to their lives - buttons, lace - /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi took in the sight of his mother's sewing room. Books about sewing, knitting, and quilting lined the walls in white bookcases. Big bins filled with sewing materials were neatly organized and pushed up against the closet doors. The desk they sat at was placed in front of the window, and the crowning gem of the room - the sewing machine itself - stared back at Levi. Strewn about the desk were needles, thimbles of varying sizes, all colors of thread, and a clear plastic container of bright sequins. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""- Even sequins, Ma?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"His mother pulled him closer against her chest and kissed the top of his head. "Yes, baby." She smoothed his hair back into place. "Even sequins." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Now as a senior at Pratt University, Levi sometimes reflected on what designs he had woven into his own life. All he did was go to school, go to work, and sew. The fabric of his life felt threadbare in his hands. Chewing his cheek, Levi pushed down those thoughts and focused on the work in front of him. The minutes bled into hours with nothing but his music, his sewing machine's /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"tack tack tack/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", and the gentle swish of fabric to keep him company before his phone alarm went off to remind him of his appointment with his psychotherapist, Dr. Petra Ral. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Reluctantly, Levi slumped against his chair, his foot coming off the sewing machine's pedal. The needle stopped while he carefully placed his design on the empty space next to it. He moved out from under his workspace, and, groaning, climbed up the bunk bed stairs that led to his bed. His laptop sat on his pillow, beckoning him to curl up under the sheets while he had his therapy session. It took a few moments to get his laptop turned on and the Zoom meeting room loaded, but there he sat, criss-cross applesauce with his computer nestled into his lap and his gray comforter thrown over his head and shoulders like a great big cloak. Nervously, he clutched it in his fists, a frayed hem ticklish between his fingers while he looked at anything else to avoid his all but scowling therapist. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Mr. Ackerman," Dr. Ral, from the plushy comfort of her far away New York City office, laid her clipboard on her lap as she leaned forward towards her computer camera, resting her forearms on her knees. "We've talked about coping mechanisms for your anxiety -" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Petra." Levi's shoulders fell, his comforter slipping down his arm as he held his chin in his hand. Fingers itched his scruff, tapped his chapped lips. "How many times do I have to tell you that I -" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""- don't have anxiety," she finished, eyeing him over the rim of her slim glasses. She brushed her auburn hair behind her ear and sighed. The audio cracked with her breath. "May I be frank with you?" She chewed her cheek. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Huffing, he nodded, drawing his blanket closer to his face. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We need to start from the beginning again." As she spoke, her glasses began to slip down her nose. "Because of your roommates' urging, you sought out therapy. During our first appointment just a couple of months ago, you told me about the symptoms you've been experiencing for a few years now. You detailed minor experiences that caused you shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, dizziness, overwhelming feelings of something like being crushed. You told me your thoughts would race, and you felt like you had to flee all sorts of situations that didn't warrant this type of bone deep fear." Dr. Ral paused just long enough to push the brim of her glasses back into place. "What you've described - these symptoms that have stopped you from going to events, seeing friends, even leaving your house sometimes - is a classic case of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""And now you're going through a time of mourning, mourning the loss of the standard of normal you've been accustomed to for most of your life before being accepted into Pratt University's Fashion Design program, and that's okay. And mourning means the stages of grief, one of which is denial." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi rolled his eyes. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You're in denial that you have anxiety, but you're bordering on agoraphobic at this point -" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""- I'm not agoraphobic. I'm introverted!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Then let's redefine what introversion is versus what you've been experiencing. The spectrum of extroversion and introversion is simple. Extroverts require more stimulation from their environment to reach their potential whereas introverts thrive in environments with much less stimulation and are still able to reach the same levels of success. However, that does not mean that introverts are introverted because they have varying degrees of social anxiety or incompetence: it all has to do with environmental stimulation." Dr. Ral looked at him over her ever slipping glasses, as stern as she could be through the computer. "It's okay to be introverted, but introversion does not explain the symptoms you've been experiencing. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We've talked about this. Levi, the first step we need to take is defining what it means to be introverted versus having Generalized Anxiety Disorder." Dr. Ral straightened and looked at her feet, fidgeted with her blazer's lapel. "If we can't even do this," she held his eye, "then I have other therapists I can recommend that would be able to help you more than me." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi straightened, thin brows shooting into his hairline. Dread filled his stomach at the thinly veiled threat of starting over with a brand new therapist. That was the last thing he wanted to do; it had taken month after arduous month to build the shaky rapport he and Dr. Ral had cultivated. But Cindy, acrylic nails clicking across the expanse of her keyboard, ignored him. The Zoom application on Levi's computer dinged, signaling a new message from her. He leaned forward to check it. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I sent you a message. It's the title of a book called /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"by Susan Cain. It's a great book that distinguishes the differences between extroversion and introversion and other things like anxiety. It'll hopefully give you some perspective about what you're experiencing. Plus," a mischievous glint flashed across her pixelated face, "I'd like to offer you a challenge." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Alright," Levi grumbled, jotting down the book title on a neon sticky note so he wouldn't lose the recommendation. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'd like you to try to pick the book up from the library." Levi raised a curious brow. "Going to the library will give you the opportunity to flex your social interaction muscles and to put into practice those anti-anxiety tools we've been working on. What do you think about that?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi gave a resigned sigh. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a try." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You can do this, Levi." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi never backed down from a challenge. That's why he found himself not so reluctantly rummaging around his disastrous room for a pair of mismatched socks and his worn out Converse high tops. By the time he locked up his apartment front door behind his back, the sky had opened up, and it was /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"pouring. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Hastily pulling his hoodie over his head, Levi's shoes splashed through puddles as he made his way to the train station./span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The train station bustled with people, and, as he watched the crowd interact with each other, Levi felt alone. It was a suffocating feeling. He praised a God he didn't believe in when the train finally rolled up. He scanned his trashed Public Transport card and ducked inside. Ignoring the incessant overhead announcements about upcoming stops, Levi flew up the stairs - took two steps at a time - to the top floor. He slid into an empty seat and, heart racing, popped in his headphones. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was less crowded at the top. Some college students huddled together over a table between their seats. Levi watched them uncap a Sharpie and scribble their names alongside the table's faded graffiti. A few rows down from them, a businessman typed away on his laptop with a bored expression plastered across his middle-aged face, and /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"holy hell/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Levi'd bet his entire camera collection and his mom's old sewing machine that that man typed 105 words per minute. In a section up ahead, a rather frazzled mother hissed at her kid to stop bolting up and down the aisles. Levi smirked at the laughing little boy and tried to relax in his chair. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"With his temple pressed against the window's cold glass, Levi counted the skyscrapers as they flew past, towering over the brick neighborhoods and leafless trees. It wasn't as calming as he had hoped. Alone with his mind, his thoughts returned to what he had done with his life. Yeah, he had been accepted into Pratt University a few years ago, and, yeah, he and his roommates went on trips where he took opportunities to hunt through antique stores for old movies and older cameras. But what else was he doing to weave some vibrancy into his life?/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Toes tapping against the floor, a sigh escaped his lips as he thought about what Dr. Ral had said. God, with all of her nagging she was like the second mother he never had, and yet he couldn't entirely push away the points she'd brought up; the anxiety; the agoraphobia. The taste of panic, as he dared to step outside of his apartment, his bedroom, never left the back of his throat. Something needed to change, his roommates insisted, and fast, before he stopped leaving the house altogether, allowing himself to succumb to the rising panic entirely. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"So when the train pulled into his stop, he swallowed down that foul taste, and, hood flicked up, he wove through the exiting crowd. He walked fast, bolting down the sidewalk. Raindrops dripped down the edges of his slouching silhouette. A few turns down a couple of blessedly deserted blocks and the library's brick and glass entrance jutted into view. Rosebush planters lined the building sides, promising blooms as soon as Spring stayed longer than a handful of days. As Levi crossed the quiet street, he wasn't surprised to see hardly any cars parked in front of the building. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The automatic doors zipped open for him, and the heater's whoosh met him as he sauntered inside, hands jammed into his jeans pockets. Warm overhead light flooded the library. Its nearly empty aisles and overfilled shelves almost scraped the popcorn ceiling. His nose scrunched up at the smell of old lady perfume and lemon-scented Febreeze, the shitty kind in the little plastic bottle that was attached to wall corners and sprayed obnoxiously all over people's heads. Directed by laminated Dewey Decimal System signs on the sides of scuffed shelves, Levi made a beeline for the nonfiction "C" section, weaving past new arrival displays. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The aisle, dustier than Levi had ever seen a library, was devoid of all life. He clicked his tongue as he trudged up and down the aisle once, twice, thumbing the sticky tab of Dr. Ral's book recommendation. He couldn't find the book. At the end of the aisle where the shelves met the wall, a poster of Belle the Disney Princess surrounded by all of her well-organized books all but laughed at him as he, frustrated, spun on his heel for the third time and collided, face first, with a blond tower of rolled up sleeves and relaxed tie. Levi stumbled back, hands already curling into fists and tongue forked with profanity. Surprised, a broad-shouldered man more than a head taller than him took a step back and flashed him a perfect smile of commercial-worthy white teeth. When Levi caught those hellishly blue eyes peering down at him apologetically, he swallowed every dirty curse he had for the shithead. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"'The gorgeous shithead,' his brain corrected himself. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh," the Adonis straightened, still wearing the shit eating grin that could probably - no /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"definitely /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"- cure cancer, "I didn't see you there." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi reeled, brows shooting up into his hairline as he craned his neck back to look up at this asshole. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"'Gorgeous -' /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"'- No,' he caught his dumb brain before it could finish that petulant thought. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, well, I thought the Berlin Wall was taken down a few years ago." Levi jerkily shrugged, heart in his throat. He internally face-palmed, cringing at his shitty comeback. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Crumpling his pink sticky note, he stuffed his hands into his front jacket pocket and shifted his weight from sneaker to sneaker while the guy chuckled beside him. He returned to examining the book shelves. The man bent over with a hand tapping his clean shaven chin, squinting at the titles. Swallowing, Levi glanced at the book spines and back to the blond. Levi marveled at the fact they were almost the same height when the guy was bent in half, but then he straightened himself, a chiseled hand on his hip. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Could hands be chiseled? Levi'd have to ask his roommate, Farlan the Art Major ™, about that. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And, as Levi outright stared at Tall Shitface, he noticed the red title of his doctor-recommended book just above his perfectly pomaded hair. When Levi realized he had the perfect opportunity to prolong an awkward conversation with this Chris Evans-esque stranger, he died both inside and outside, and, for once, it wasn't the anxiety that was killing him./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was butterflies; nervous flutters in his stomach that just couldn't be ignored. Maybe he didn't want to ignore them. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Spurned onwards by the imaginary creatures inside of him, he turned his back towards Captain America, and, hunching over himself, he whipped out his phone to frantically text Isabel, his hairdresser-turned-bestfriend/second roommate. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi: 911 hottie library /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Then he turned back around just in time to catch said hottie clipping his fancy pen to his breast pocket with his other hand not so casually hidden behind the small of his back. Something twinkled in his eyes, crinkled by the ghost of a smile on his lips. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Uh," Levi's dark eyes narrowed as he took a step towards the bookcase and pointed to the second highest shelf, "can you get a book down for me?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sure," the guy all but chirped, shifting towards the shelf. "Which one?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's gray with a red title: /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Quiet/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" blah blah blah by Susan Cain." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A thick blond brow quirked up, a cheek dimpling with a new smirk just for Levi. "What a title. This one?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah." Levi's feet shuffled beneath himself, the toe of one Converse digging into the stained brown carpet. How else could he keep a conversation going without bringing up the fact that he wanted this book only because his therapist threatened to quit on him unless he read it and accepted that he has Generalized Anxiety Disorder? /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Adonis plucked the book down and flipped through it, pausing every once and a while to read a few sentences. Levi crossed his arms over his chest, a scowl beginning to settle over his features. The guy glanced up at Levi. Once Blondie was sure he had intrigued him enough to have him staring, he turned his attention back towards Levi and stared him down as he slipped a business card into its pages. The book shut with a muffled thump. Then he didn't even need to stretch as he tucked the book into an extra space on the shelf just above where it had been originally: the very top shelf. It's glossy cover caught the overhead light, mocking Levi. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What the fuck," Levi hissed, arms falling to his sides in tight fists. Blondie stifled a laugh, shrugging. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"'Well,' Levi thought to himself, 'two can play at this game.' /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi, with a completely straight face, placed one sneaker on the bottom shelf and his other on the next shelf up. Rain water and bits of mud left footprint puddles on the shelf's metal edges. He locked eyes with Asshole as he, one ledge at a time, climbed up the shelves to grab his book. The metal shelves squeaked under his weight. Gruffly, Levi pushed stacks of books out of his way. They flopped onto their sides, freeing plumes of dust. With wide eyes, the guy nodded slowly, silently impressed with Levi, who looked down his nose at him from at least a foot above his head. Then he swiped the book. Glaring with his prize in hand, Levi jumped down. The shelf teetered before steadying. Book clutched to his side beneath his armpit, Levi straightened his jacket and threw his damp hood up. His head cocked to the side as if expecting the guy to say something before he looked straight ahead and strode away without a second thought. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As Levi made his way to the front of the library, glancing around the entrance for the self checkout stations, he heard Adonis quietly laughing to himself. It was contagious. Levi couldn't help but smile for no one in particular, proud for making that guy laugh like that - anxiety long forgotten for an afternoon. He came to a station and plopped the book onto its edge. The machine smelled like Clorox wipes. While he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, the corner of the business card sticking out of the book's yellowed pages caught his eye. He set his wallet beside the book and thumbed through its pages until he found the card. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"'Erwin Smith,' the card's front read in navy blue print, 'Local Attorney at Law.' Along the crisp edge of the business card was an inky arrow pointing towards its back. Levi flipped it over to find Erwin's shakily written phone number. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The butterflies rioted. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"From there, Levi jogged the rest of the way home, his Converses kicking water up his calves the whole time. His breath fogged in front of his face by the time his place came into view. The apartment complex was straight out of the '70's - all lead paint over cement walls and rusted wrought-iron staircases that scaled the building's sides. Heaters jammed into window sills rumbled to semi-life while he took his time climbing the stairs. Did he actually have the guts to text Erwin? /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Chewing on his stupid grin, Levi replayed his run-in with that hot lawyer. His fingers absentmindedly trailed over the corner of Erwin's business card from where it poked out of his book's pages. A part of Levi hoped Erwin had gotten a good look at him while he scaled that bookshelf, and he hated to admit that he admired Erwin's ballsiness for doing something like that. The thing was, though, flirting like an absolute dork in a library he rarely went to with the unspoken promise to never see each other again quietly hanging in the space between them was one thing, but bridging the gap between train station daydreams and the fraying fabric of his reality was another. His chest was in knots./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As Levi rounded the corner of his apartment's level, he snorted when he caught sight of the Spring-themed floor mat Isabel stuck in front of their door. While he wiped his soles on it, he unlocked the deadbolt and, taking a deep breath, he flung the door open. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Honey, I'm home," he yelled over the flood of music as he shut the door behind himself. Levi bent down to unlace his shoes. After kicking them off, he tucked them in the corner beside Isabel's flats and Farlan' boots. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey Levi!" Isabel turned down her bluetooth speaker as he got to his feet. Scowling, he looked over the bar into the kitchen. On a stool, Farlan sat at the center of the linoleum with a black smock thrown over his front. One of Levi's nice dish towels was tucked around the back of his neck. Levi wanted to wring his neck with his towel for using it like that. Clumps of his brown curls littered the printed tiles, his lap, his shoulders. In her socks, Isabel stood behind him, a comb and a set of clippers in her busy hands. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey Izzy." Levi shrugged out of his hoodie. Before throwing it over the couch's back, he took out Erwin's business card and shoved it into his jeans pocket. Dr. Ral's book was tossed onto the kitchen counter as Levi leaned against its edge./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You didn't message me back." Isabel pouted with her hands on her hips. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""She won't shut up about your 911 text," Farlan groaned./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I got busy," Levi lied. Like hell was he about to admit that he purposefully took the long way home in the rain just so he could think a little more about his time sandwiched between bookshelves and a stranger./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, with what? Fantasizing about broad shoulders and washboard abs at the library?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Shut the hell up, Izzy." Farlan laughed. Isabel went back to cutting his hair with more gusto than Levi'd seen in a long while. Her cheeks flushed pink with irritation. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You might buzz off half his ear if you keep attacking his head like that," Levi poked at her from across the room. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Keep talking trash, and you'll wake up with the top of your head buzzed." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Someone's getting close to their time of the month," Farlan said under his breath. Levi whistled low while Isabel hit the back of Farlan's head. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She smacked his head again. Wincing, he jumped in his chair and swatted her away. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Fuck, woman, I meant Levi!" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Uh huh, yeah, whatever." Isabel smoothed out Farlan's smock and leaned down, close to his ear. "Remember that the fate of your fade lies in my hands right now, so." She straightened and returned to cutting his hair. "Please," she whined, "tell us what happened!" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Fuck," Levi grumbled, running a hand through his damp black bangs. "Fine. I smacked into a fine as all hell man while I was at the library today -" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""- you read?" Farlan grinned. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""My therapist wanted me to pick up some book, okay? Fuck off. Anyways, yeah. I face planted into the nicest pair of moobs to ever grace my face, and the guy gave me his number." Levi wasn't about to mention how said moobs made him climb a bookshelf. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Wow! Did you motorboat him? Have you texted him yet? What's his name?" Isabel squealed, practically dancing in place. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""His name is Erwin Smith, Local Attorney at Law, and no, I haven't texted him yet." Levi pointedly ignored her first question, a brow raised./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Isabel gawked at him. "Are you an idiot? Why didn't you text your sexy lawyer while you were at the library?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What? You make it sound like someone's gonna swoop in and put the moves on him before I even call in for take out tonight." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If he's as hot as you've said, then, well, maybe." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Levi." Farlan sighed. "Izzy's got a point. You should text him." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm playing hard to get." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Farlan's face scrunched up. "Izzy, you're right. He/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" is/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" a fucking idiot." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh, fuck you guys." Levi grabbed his book and swiped his hoodie from off the couch. As he made his way through the living room with his friends calling after him, he flipped them the bird. Levi darted down the hall. It was short and dark, its dingy walls covered in taped up polaroid pictures of the roommates and their adventures. His bedroom was at the end of the hall on the left, and as soon as he reached his door, he flung it open. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The corner of the door caught on a bin lip, but he shoved it open. The bin toppled over, spilling tulle, lace, ribbon, and measuring tape across the carpet. Levi kicked the door closed behind himself and slumped against it. Leaving the house, interacting with a stranger, dealing with his friends all was an exhaustion he felt even in his muscles, the anxiety already creeping back to him now that the rush of flirting was spent. Running a hand through his bangs, Levi slid to the floor. His knees tucked themselves against his chest as he rifled through his pocket for Erwin's business card. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He chewed his cheek, begrudgingly admitting that Isabel and Farlan were probably right. But if he texted Erwin, then they might have to interact again. Did he even want that? Levi thought of the way he had smiled at him, and there was that all too familiar nip of butterflies inside him again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"'Yeah,' Levi thought to himself as he rummaged for his phone, 'I definitely want to.' /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"His lungs filled with a deep breath. He held it, counted the seconds until he released it. Mismatched sock toes drummed against the carpet as he tried to calm himself long enough to dredge up the courage to text the guy. The minutes bled together with nothing but his quiet, steady breathing to keep him company, but the strength eventually came to him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Armed with his inky phone number and cell in his hands, Levi texted Erwin./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi: hi/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Okay, there was no turning back now. The message was sent. The back of Levi's head thunked against the door. He stared up at the ceiling as his hand fell to his side, phone slipping from his fingers and onto the carpet. His heart was attempting to crawl up and out of his throat because what if he typed Erwin's number incorrectly and texted someone even more of a stranger than the lawyer? What if the guy doesn't see his text for days and days and eventually forgets about meeting him at the library? Levi chewed his cheek. He was a lawyer. Lawyers were busy, right? Maybe that could actually happen. Or what if Erwin doesn't recognize his number because - Levi groaned, sitting up straighter - because he didn't text his name and never got to give it to him at the library. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When Levi picked up his phone, it vibrated. His nerves nearly sizzled audibly as he brought his phone into his lap and unlocked it, checking the new message notification. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin: Hi stranger. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi scoffed. Of course he was the type of guy to use things like capital letters and periods. Anyone with that perfect of a haircut texted like that. A little line of ellipses popped up beneath Erwin's text, blinking up at him. All Levi could do was stare at it before his phone buzzed in his hands, and there was a new message line. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin: This is the cutie from the library, right? (: /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"God, he didn't even use emojis. What was he; an old man? Levi, chewing on his grin, dwelled on the hand-typed smiley face so he could ignore the way his ears burned. How could he reply? Maybe, he mused, he should respond like he had an inkling of confidence. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi: do u normally give ur number out to more than 1 stranger a day/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Wow. Levi pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't know how to /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"be a dick. Fate wasn't kind enough to give him a text message do-over. How had humanity reached the 2010s without inventing a way to unsend text messages? A new set of ellipses caught Levi's eye, and, huffing, his thumbs flew across his screen, hitting send before Erwin finished typing. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi: ya its levi/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The ellipses disappeared for a moment and then reappeared. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin: It's good to hear from you, Levi. Or should I say read from you? Haha. No, today was spur-of-the-moment and special. But anyways, do you have a spare moment for a phone call this afternoon? /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Special? Levi's brows shot into his hairline as he locked his phone. A phone call? The butterflies from the afternoon had turned into anxiety gnawing on his stomach. Phone clutched against his chest, Levi rose to his feet and hopped over a bin, business card long forgotten on the floor. He strode to his workspace, ducked his head beneath his top bunk before plopping down onto his desk chair. Levi flicked the lamp on and placed his phone at the center of his desk. The cracked screen caught the light, winking up at him as his knee bounced hard enough to shake his seat. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He breathed, counted the seconds, his hand carding through his bangs. His elbows hit the table. His eyes darted about his desk. His lungs emptied, and he counted again. Sticky notes in shades of purple, green, blue, and neon pink littered the wall in front of him. Their hand-written inspirational quotes promised him strength in his scratchy scrawl. He breathed and, as he counted, read over one of his favorites: /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I'm the main character of my life, and does the main character sit on her couch and cry every Friday night alone? No! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"- Izzy /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi exhaled. A few months back, Isabel went through the pits of depression after she broke up with her boyfriend of seven years. Levi and Farlan swore up and down that he'd been a real P.O.S. since they'd first started dating back in high school, but Izzy'd always been headstrong. Once she moved in with them after her break up, broken heart beyond crushed, she spent every weekend on their couch with her cheeks mascara-stained. Levi, practically a hermit before he started therapy at that point, sat with her and listened to all she had to say. The night she choked that quote out through her sobbing marked the upswing in her battle with her depression. Levi wrote what she said down to remember, to keep where he could read it every day because that conversation helped him more than he'd ever let on to his friends. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi swallowed. He was tired, tired of allowing himself to be ruled by his anxiety. Every time those feelings reared their ugly heads, he rarely fought back. And he lost ground because of it; lost a sense of normalcy because of it. But he didn't want to resign himself to always giving up, to always losing. No, Levi wanted to be the main character in his own life, and main characters dealt with their problems. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He unlocked his phone and pulled up Erwin's texts. Both of his legs bounced as he took a deep breath, counted, and typed his reply. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi: im free now /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He dropped his phone onto his desk and raised double middle fingers above his head. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Yeah, fuck you, Anxiety. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But before Levi's arms could even fall back down, his phone lit up, buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Holy shit," Levi mumbled as his hands snatched it off the desk. It was a call. No - it was /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"the /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"phone call. Even though Levi hadn't added Erwin to his contacts yet, he recognized the number flashing across his screen. He only had a second to swallow his nausea before he slid his thumb across the 'Answer Call' button. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yellow." Levi swiveled in his chair, clearing his throat. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey Levi." Erwin's voice crackled through the mic. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Uh, hi." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"There was a pause. Levi didn't know what to say. His shoulder pinched his phone to his ear as he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Alright, well, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." Erwin sniffled. Levi wondered if he had Spring allergies. "But you, you left the library so quickly that I didn't have the chance to." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh, I'm, uh, sorry about that, I guess -" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""- No!" Erwin spoke fast. "Please don't apologize. I now realize that what I did - putting that book up so high - might've come off as ruder than I originally intended." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi snorted. "Yeah." He stopped swiveling. "Was your mischief worth it?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well, I'm talking to you now, so I'd say so." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi's ears burned, so he didn't say anything. The silence stretched with nothing but phone static between them. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I guess I'll cut to the chase." Erwin cleared his throat. Levi thought he seemed nervous. He kept repeating himself. Could he actually be nervous? "At the library, I wanted to ask you in person, like a gentleman, if you would be interested in going on a date with me, but I can settle for over the phone." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The breath swooshed from Levi like he was punched. "Oh." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What do you say, stranger? It would be more than a treat for me to take a guy like you out." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'd say you're dumb, but you gave me your cell on the back of your lawyer business card, so you can't be dumb. You probably need glasses." Levi chewed his lip. "Either way, I'd be even dumber than you if I said no." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin laughed. "I think if anyone else were to say these things to me, I'd find them rude, but it's funny coming from you, for whatever reason." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi quirked a brow. "Wow. So were you the kid in school who tried to hug the people who bullied him?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Maybe. Only if I found them handsome." He chuckled. Levi tried to ignore that comment because he didn't know how to deal with it. "Do you like art museums? The Met has a few new exhibits I think would be fun to see." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi perked up, swiveling in his chair again. The Met Gala was just a few weeks ago, and he had heard from his professors that the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened a new exhibit featuring pieces from the Gala. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'd be down." Levi breathed, but there was no time to count. "When can we go?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""How does Wednesday at ten A.M. sound?" Levi heard the smile in Erwin's voice. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That works for me. I'll meet you there." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""O.K. I'll see you then, Levi." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""See you Wednesday, Erwin." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi's phone dropped into his lap, and his thumb tapped the 'End Call' button. He stopped swiveling in his chair, but he couldn't stop smiling to himself. Hot lawyer guy also found him hot. Not just simply hot, but hot enough to take out on a date. Levi pocketed his phone, and, as he flicked on his sewing machine, he reached for his design project. Its fabric slipped into his lap while he threaded the sewing machine's needle. He couldn't remember the last time he went on a date. Maybe the end of high school or maybe the beginning of freshman year. Levi placed his design beneath the threaded needle and began to peddle. The machine came alive before him as he steadily fed it more fabric. He was nervous and excited, filled with the most blissful sort of dread imaginable. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"All Levi had to do was survive that night and all of tomorrow. Then he would come face to face with Erwin again. His stomach somersaulted at the prospect, because, wow, he was actually doing something to advance the relationships in his life. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"So Levi threw himself into his design until his fingers grew stiff and tired and the only light in his room came from the lamp above his desk. Night crept across his bedroom, colored everything in shadows as he rose from his desk chair and stretched. He turned his sewing machine off and went about getting ready for bed. After a few minutes of brushing his teeth and digging around for a clean pair of pajamas, he climbed up the stairs to his bunk bed and quickly fell asleep. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The next day was filled with online classes that went on well past lunch, hours and hours spent hunched over his sewing machine, and Levi even begrudgingly read the first chapter of /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Quiet /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"while he laid in bed for the night/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;". /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But before Levi knew it, Wednesday morning was upon him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And he made a grave mistake. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"While he slept, his arm slithered under his pillow and laid across his phone. The screen stuck to his arm, cut slumber lines into his forearm. It vibrated once, and Levi, groaning into his drool-stained pillow, ignored it before falling back asleep. The few hours that passed felt like minutes before it vibrated again. Light colored his room when he squinted through his lashes, not at all ready to start his day. Reluctantly, Levi rolled onto his back and kicked his blankets off himself. Sweat made his sheets stick to him, but he eventually managed to pull his phone out from beneath his pillow. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"His thumbprint unlocked the screen, and he bolted upright when he noticed the time: 9:27 A.M. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"shit/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"," he hissed, throwing his legs over the ladder. He woke up late. He should've left the house at least fifteen minutes ago. As he climbed down his bunk bed ladder with one arm, he noticed he had two missed text messages from Erwin. The messages must have woken him up. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin: Hello. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The first message was sent at 7:46 A.M. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin: Are we still good to meet at 10:00 A.M. today? /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And the second was sent just a few minutes ago. As soon as Levi's feet hit the carpet, he hopped over bins to get to his dresser, nearly slipping on a swatch of velvet. He paused just long enough to shoot Erwin a text. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi: lets do 10:15/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;" /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Cancelling the date didn't even cross his mind as an option. The past day and a half, he partially wondered if that's how this great adventure would end: him shooting Erwin a text and then ignoring all of Erwin's attempts to reach out to him. Levi felt no shame in ghosting someone, but he had no time to consider any alternative to attending the date. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"So Levi was actually, really, seriously going on this date. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi, clearing what was left of the space between himself and the dresser in one great lunge, wobbled in front of his dresser. Its drawers were overflowing with clothes, the drawers themselves barely able to close. A few were left open, sweatpants and jeans spilling over their edges. Levi threw one open and, setting his phone on top of the dresser, pulled everything out. The clothes fell from his arms onto the floor. He dove into the pile, tossing clothes all across the room while he searched for his favorite pair of dark wash pants. When he didn't find it in the first drawer he picked, he emptied the next one. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"By the time he found the pair he desperately searched for, he was vehemently cursing himself for forgetting to set an alarm for his date. All Levi thought about the past day and a half was this date. It wasn't like him to space an appointment, especially one as scary as this; his nerves wouldn't let him do that. Now he was running late, and said nerves were already becoming frazzled./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" He tore off his pajama pants and shirt and wiggled into his jeans. He shoved his cell into his back pocket. As he ran about his room shirtless, heading to his closet for a shirt - any shirt would do at this point - he picked up the pair of socks he wore to the library and hopped on one foot at a time while he slipped them on. Stumbling forward, he slid his closet door open hard. It bounced against the wall, shook in its frame, but Levi didn't pay attention to it as it slowly moved back towards him; he was already picking through his shirts. He decided on a gray button down. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As soon as Levi finished buttoning up his shirt, he flew out of his bedroom, racing to the bathroom to finish sprucing up. A frown darkened his face when he saw his reflection in the mirror. Tufts of hair jutted out at odd angles: vicious bedhead. His eyes were still puffy. His upper lip was swollen with sleep. Sighing loudly, Levi tried to ignore his ridiculous appearance while he applied deodorant and brushed his teeth. After spitting into the sink, he wet his hands and ran his fingers through his hair, forcing black locks to lay flat. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Behind him, Farlan popped out of his bedroom, still sporting his pajamas. Through his yawning, his brows knitted together when he saw Levi primping himself in front of the mirror. Farlan sauntered towards him, arms folding over his chest. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Whatchya doing?" He asked. He leaned against his bedroom door frame. Levi paused just long enough to look at him through the mirror before he returned to fixing his hair and fretting over his scruff. His shoulders fell with the realization that he had no time to shave./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Getting ready." Accepting the defeat against his facial hair, Levi whipped around on his heel and dried his hands on his towel. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah?" Farlan's brow quirked, and he stood a bit straighter. "For what?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Grimacing, Levi jammed his hands into his pockets. He shuffled his weight from foot to foot. "A date." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Farlan's arms fell to his sides. His jaw dropped. "Wait, are you serious?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi stuck out his chin and strode down the hallway, Farlan hot on his trail as he made his way into the living room. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, I'm serious." Levi grabbed his house keys out of the key bowl on the kitchen counter before he dropped in front of the apartment door where his Converses were still tucked in the corner next to Izzy's flats. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""With that lawyer guy?" Farlan hopped onto the couch arm, picked at a loose thread. A smirk lit up his face. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yup," Levi said over his shoulder while he laced his shoes. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh my God," Farlan laughed, "Izzy's gonna get such a kick outta this." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Fuck off." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Farlan slid off the couch arm while Levi put on his green coat that was hung up in the coat closet next to the front door. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm proud of you," he said. Levi's hands, adjusting his collar, froze. "I know what you're doing is hard for you, so you should know I'm proud of you. Izzy'd be proud too if she weren't still asleep." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Thanks," he muttered, looking down at his feet. His ears burned, but he didn't have enough time to get all sentimental./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Farlan grabbed his shoulder before Levi could turn around. They paused, staring at each other. Levi's brows knitted together while he stared at Farlan. Then Farlan pulled Levi into a hug so tight his arms squeezed the breath from Levi's lungs. Grunting, Levi tried to pull away from him, and, eventually, Farlan let him go. Finally free, Levi lunged for the front door. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Go get 'im, tiger," Farlan called after Levi as he swung the door open./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi closed the door behind himself, not bothering to lock the deadbolt since he knew Farlan was in the kitchen. Then he bounded down the apartment complex's stairs, taking three at a time. His insides squirmed with every drop of his foot until he hit the sidewalk pavement in front of his complex, or maybe they squirmed because they knew where he was headed and who he was headed to see. Levi jogged down the concrete, hopping over puddles and potholes. As cars and yellow taxis drove past him, spraying murky rain water all over the other cars and sidewalk, Levi darted as far away from the street as he could to avoid getting splashed. Even though it had rained for two days straight, the overcast sky above his head still promised another day of rain. Levi was mad at himself for not checking the weather before he left. He'd just have to hope the sky wouldn't open up on his way to his date./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Weaving down the street blocks with his chin tucked into his coat's collar, Levi made his way towards Central Park where the Metropolitan Museum of Art was nestled between the park's trees and the city's skyscrapers. People littered the sidewalks, umbrellas clutched close to their sides, and they grew thicker the closer Levi got to the Met. More and more yellow cabs flew down the street. Hot dog stands, street taco shops, hot coco carts dotted the intersections. But the mess of commotion couldn't draw Levi out of his head. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Anxiety churned his stomach and his thoughts as he dwelled on everything that could go wrong during his date. What if they actually had no chemistry and then nothing to talk about? Levi was too quiet to carry a conversation on his own; he was more of a listener than anything else. It took a special type of person to get him to become talkative. Or booze. Booze made him chattier, but something told him that getting shit faced during his first date with this guy wasn't the right strategy. And then what if they could talk, but all of the conversation was stilted and awkward, nothing but small talk about the weather and whatever sports Erwin might be interested in? There were so many unknowns. Levi didn't know what to do, so he breathed and counted and breathed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Central Park came into view across from him. Trees lined the sidewalk, and their thin branches, branches that towered well over everyone's heads and the cars below, held buds on their tips. Green whispered through the brown grasses' roots, promising spring. Spots of red chested robins fluttered through the park, singing the praises of warmer weather just around the corner. Levi stood in front of the crosswalk at the edge of the intersection, leg bouncing while he waited with hundreds of people for the street signs to change. When the crosswalk signaled it was safe for pedestrians to cross, Levi pushed past people to get to the other side. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Once across the street, Levi slowed down. He wandered over to the black fence that caged in Central park. His fingers traced over the wet lines of its iron as he looked over people's heads at the Met. It was only a short walk away now. Flag poles boasting the American flag lined the sidewalk, leading the way to the Met. People flooded past Levi, lined the fence he stood beside, decorated the fountains that sparkled on either side of the building's entrance. And, as Levi's Converses tentatively drew him closer to the museum, he realized it was time to start planning his escape if things went wrong. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"While Levi began to walk, pushing through pockets of crowds, he brainstormed ways he could leave during the date. Levi passed the first fountain. He stopped walking and began to search people's passing faces. The first thing he thought of was the age old excuse of needing to use the restroom and then actually leaving the museum entirely. But what if Erwin decided to walk him to the restroom and politely wait for him? He couldn't sneak away from his date if he stood between himself and the exit. Then it dawned on him: the perfect excuse. He could pretend to take a call, and once the call "ended" he could tell Erwin that the person on the line was a doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital, calling to tell him his roommate, Isabel, had been hit by a car while riding her bike and needed him to come immediately. Yeah, Levi internally cringed at himself, that would go over so smoothly. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Entirely distraught over his lack of Plan B and C and even a Plan D, Levi began to slowly turn in a circle to survey all of the people around him. There were more people carrying colorful umbrellas. The smell of rain was so strong in the air that they all knew it would come soon. There were children running up and down the stairs that led to the Met's entrance, their parents trailing far behind them. Some danced along the edges of the fountain, little hands raised to the sky. Between spaces of nameless faces, Levi saw him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin stood at the edge of the fountain, close to the street. Cloudlight caught his golden hair as he looked around himself, hands resting comfortably in his trench coat's pockets. Shoulders relaxed, Erwin was dashing in his clothes, his dark slacks. He looked exactly how Levi remembered. At the sight of him, Levi's anxiety began to melt away. He breathed, smoothed down his green collar's lapels, and, with his arms crossed over his chest, he made his way through the crowd to Erwin. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi shuffled past people, mumbled his apologies when he smacked into the occasional shoulder, all the while his sneakers brought him closer and closer to Erwin. He slowed down when he was only a few strides behind his back. His hand carded through his bangs, fixing them one last time before he stopped. His chest caved to see how much taller Erwin was in comparison to him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hi stranger," Levi said, letting his hands fall loosely to his sides. Erwin perked up, straightened himself as he looked around. Then he turned on his heel. When he saw Levi a few feet away from him, he took a step closer. A smile broke across his cheeks, and it was all Levi needed to see to finally relax./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hi stranger," Erwin murmured as he came to stand beside Levi. "I'm happy to see you here. Honestly, I was a little worried when I hadn't heard from you earlier this morning." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi's shoulders fell just a bit. "Yeah, sorry about that." His fingers scraped through his undercut. "I kinda forgot to set an alarm, so I overslept by a lot." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin chuckled good naturedly. "Stuff like that always happens at the worst of times it seems." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I still feel kinda bad, though." Levi's gaze dropped to his feet. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Please don't." Erwin's hand fell onto his shoulder. Its warmth seeped through Levi's coat, a quiet comfort. Levi glanced at it. "It's really no trouble at all. I'm just glad we get to go on this date." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi nodded and looked at Erwin, but he wasn't looking back at him. Instead, Erwin pinched at his coat collar with a hint of admiration. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Your jacket is quite handsome. It looks handmade." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi stared at Erwin's hand - chiseled hand, his mind correctly himself - before he dropped it back to his side. Then he met Erwin's intense eyes. "Thanks, I made it myself." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You know," Erwin barked out a laugh, moving from foot to foot, "I thought your eyes were blue when we met at the library, but now I think they might really be green. Maybe that's an awkward thing to say, but they're very nice, you know?" Erwin laughed again, his head thrown back. Levi noticed his eyes crinkled in the corners when he did. He liked it, but his brow raised to see him like this. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Erwin," Levi leaned forward, "are you nervous?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A blush kissed up Erwin's neck, only partially covered by his sweater collar. "Of course I am. I'm on a date with you." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Then that makes two of us." The butterflies that now permanently inhabited Levi's intestines were in a riot./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin smiled warmly. "Well, at least we know we have one thing in common." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi glanced around them, watched the people moving all about the fountains and stairs. His hands slid into his pockets, fingers fidgeting with his phone case. The toe of his shoes dug into the concrete. He dared to meet Erwin's gaze. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Gray," he said. Erwin's brows furrowed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Pardon me?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""My eyes," Levi's hand rose to point at his face, "they're gray." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin leaned closer to Levi, a hint of mischief coloring his cheeks. "I think they're my new favorite color." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh my God," Levi groaned. "Are you always this fucking cheesy?" He turned towards the stairs that led to the Met's entrance. Erwin moved with him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It depends." He grinned. "Do you like cheesy?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Only on Wednesdays." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It looks like today is my lucky day then." Levi's eyes rolled, and Erwin laughed again. Levi was quickly learning that Erwin laughed so easily. He sort of liked that about him already. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin took a step forward, looking back at Levi. His nose and cheekbones were pink with the cold, and yet he still smiled like it didn't bother him. His gaze held Levi's for a moment before, winking, he offered Levi his elbow. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Shall we?" His voice was as smooth as whiskey. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi's eyes widened, his ears a brilliant shade of red. He nodded. Swallowing, he reached out and slipped his arm through Erwin's. Erwin beamed, cheeks dimpling as they walked side by side up the steps that led to the entrance of the Met. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The Met's Roman pillars towered over everyone. Its arched windows reflected the bustling city, the overcast sky. Banners were hung between the pillars and from the arches, colorfully advertising events. As the wind began to pick up, the banners lazily waved with it. Erwin was contentedly quiet while Levi was shocked into silence by how easy meeting up with each other was, and he didn't dare to break the peace that settled between them as their footsteps echoed past the pillars. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So you mentioned you'd made your coat?" Erwin turned ever so slightly to face Levi. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh, yeah I did. I made it for a class assignment." While they walked, Levi admired their reflection in the long glass entrance doors. They looked like opposites; Levi, a head or more shorter than Erwin, with his black hair and pale skin; Erwin a picturesque, tall blond with skin the color of summer. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What are you going to school for?" People walked past them, exiting the Met as they reached its entrance. Erwin's arm slipped from Levi's when he moved to open the door for him. As their reflection swung away from Levi's view when Erwin opened it, a little smile found its way upon his lips because he thought their differences complemented each other well. Door in hand, Erwin stood straighter beside it, his other hand folded across his stomach, gesturing for Levi to step inside. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""After you." Slowly, his head nodded once. When Levi took a step forward, he grabbed Erwin's coat sleeve and pulled him into the building. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm at Pratt University in their Fashion Design program." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Pratt's a great college, and I hear their Fashion Design program is the best in the country." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The heat whooshed past them as the door swung closed behind their backs. At the center of the Great Hall right across from where they stood was a white marble help desk in the shape of an octagon. Behind its bare counters were employees dressed in black. In the middle of the help desk was a pillar that rose only marginally above the workers' bowed heads, and on it was a vase filled with a floral arrangement of Spring flowers. Levi stepped farther into the room, slowly turning in a circle to admire everything. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It is," he mumbled more to himself than to Erwin./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The Great Hall's rectangular length expanded on either side of where they stood. Both ends of the room opened up to exhibits. People, huddled around artwork hung up in the rooms' foyers, quietly spoke amongst themselves, but their voices still echoed through the Great Hall. Cloudlight from the arched windows behind them shone down on either side of the help desk, a natural spot light for the murals mounted on the wall. Separating the two murals was the entrance to another room that had Roman pillars guarding its entrance, and Levi spotted a grand staircase between the pillars. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Swiveling on his feet as Erwin came to stand beside him, Levi noticed that the top of the Great Hall's walls were broken by a balcony that circled all four walls: an upper level. People dotted the marble railing, casually lounging with their backs to the new visitors or with their arms dangling over the edge while they talked to the people around them. Their voices carried down to them, creating a buzz of excitement inside of Levi. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin peered down at the look of awe etched across Levi's face, a smile whispering across his own lips as Levi's eyes met his. Erwin's hand slid across the small of Levi's back, a gentle presence. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Do you like what you see?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Do you?" Smirking, Levi watched the surprise flash across Erwin's face while his mouth opened and closed for a second. Levi rolled his eyes. "I forgot how gorgeous the Great Hall is. It's been a long time since I've been here." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Me too." Erwin smiled, recovering his composure. "I'd say something about how you belong here since you're a work of art, but even I cringed at that line. Why don't we get our tickets and then decide what we'd like to see first?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi laughed and nodded as Erwin's hand fell from his back. Then they went to the help desk and waited in line. It didn't take them long to pick up their tickets and a map of the museum since Erwin called in Tuesday morning to reserve them. They walked past the help desk towards the long room with the staircase, bumping into each other every few steps. Levi kept glancing at Erwin, still not over the fact that he was actually on a date with a guy like him. Once they reached the room, Erwin leaned against the marble pillar closest to the wall. His arms folded over his chest. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Levi," Erwin said when he came to stand beside him, "what exhibit would you like to explore first?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi chewed his cheek, dug the toe of his Converse into the floor. "I always like to look at the Costume Institute when I'm here. One of my teachers mentioned that there's a dedicated exhibit there for the Met Gala right now. I'd like to see that." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Then let's go there first." Erwin rifled through his trench coat pocket for the map. Levi didn't stop him because he didn't really remember how to get there anymore. Erwin unfurled it, and Levi stood a bit closer to look at it as well. The map showed the Costume Institute was on the ground floor, so, carefully folding the map, Erwin put it back into his pocket and led the way. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Side by side, they passed the pillars and entered the staircase room. They fell into easy conversation. As they moved, the hush of their coats swishing with their legs, they shared stories about their lives while they looked about the room. The room itself was staged like a balcony with ledged walkways that led to the end of the room. They walked down it slowly, asking each other all sorts of questions while they took time to admire the architecture and surrounding artwork. The walls had glass display cases set into them. The cases were brightly lit to showcase all sorts of medieval pottery, some whole and some pieces left in crumbling fragments. Erwin's hand traced the railing as they walked the room's length, chuckling quietly at the jabs Levi threw him. Levi kept stealing shy looks at Erwin as they neared the end of the balcony. At the end of the long room was the Medieval Exhibit. People flowed in and out of its foyer, pausing every once and a while to admire the painting hung on its wall. At the center of the room, surrounded by the balcony's railing, was the staircase that led to the ground level. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi moved a bit faster as they walked down it. Geometric patterns carved into the stairwell's walls led them to the Costume Institute at the base of its steps, and he reached the ground level a few moments before Erwin. He peered over Levi's shoulder at the placard by the edge of the stairs that announced the exhibit's name. The room itself was a long, dimly lit hallway that opened up into separate rooms with various additional fashion exhibits. Lining either side of the walls were glass cases of mannequins dressed in costumes from the Met Gala. The cases were set upon three foot high stands, so the faceless mannequin heads rose well above their own. Lights placed above the costume displays caught on satin, ribbon, pillows of tulle, and sequins that were lined like scales. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi led the way into the gallery. Erwin walked behind him, giving him space to read the display placards. Most of the mannequins featured extravagant dresses. Levi haunted a nude dress that contoured to the mannequin's added curves. From thin silver strands, smooth crystal droplets hung from the dress as if the entire piece had been simply plucked from a pool of water. Levi squinted at its craftsmanship with his hands on his hips. They continued to move down the hall. Levi honed in on a full length crimson ball gown. A matching cape all but billowed behind the mannequin, and he chewed his cheek while he thought about what it would be like to see his own designs at the Met Gala one day. As Erwin came to his side, Levi sighed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You love fashion," Erwin said, angling himself into Levi's view. His hands slipped into his pockets. "Why?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi's hands fell from his hips. His arms crossed over his chest while he glanced around the room before coming back to Erwin's face. "It's not a crazy story or anything like that." He shrugged. "My mom loves to sew. She got me into it when I was small, and I turned out to be good at it. When I was in high school, I made the costumes for the theater kids, and that made me realize I wanted to pursue fashion design." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin nodded, a playful smile on his lips. "I liked watching you look at the displays. It's like you see something other people don't, and that alone tells me you're good at what you do." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I don't know. I'm not /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"that /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"good - nowhere near as good as these designers." Levi gestured about the displays. "But my mom told me this thing about how life is like fabric, and we make the designs we want to see on it, and that kinda helped to spark my passion for this kind of stuff." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""She sounds like a good woman." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""She is." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Levi, I'm sure you're a better designer than you give yourself credit. You made that coat, and that alone is lovely. I can't imagine how great your other pieces are as well." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi's eyes rolled. "I mean, I'm not awful, but if I didn't know any better," his arm crossed the space between them, and his finger poked one of Erwin's trench coat's big buttons, "it sounds almost like you're buttering me up so I'll make you something." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin's head fell back, laughter shaking his shoulders. "If only I were so bold," he chuckled. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You are so bold! Need I remind you how we met in the first place?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well, with the way I've caught you secretly looking at me since we got here, I'd bargain I wouldn't even have to ask you to." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Surprise shot Levi's brows into his hairline at being caught. His face turned a shade of red bright enough to rival the dress they stood in front of. He could've died of embarrassment right then and there, sunk into the floor boards to never be seen again. Erwin's hand flew to his mouth to stifle his laughter. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You're one cocky son of a bitch, you know that?" Huffing, Levi's arms crossed over his chest again. "Besides, don't threaten me with a good time." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin's brow quirked up. "Is that your round about way of asking me on a second date before the first is even over?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Maybe." Levi bit his lip and looked at his feet, ears still hot. Erwin stepped closer to him and took his hand into his. His thumb rubbed the top of his knuckles, kneading warmth into his bones. The butterflies in Levi's stomach caught fire. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We can go on a second date if you'd like." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'd like that." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin smiled as he laced their fingers together. "I'd like that too." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Hand in hand, they finished exploring the Costume Institute's Met Gala Exhibit together, Erwin's thumb still tracing circles on the top of Levi's hand. Their shoulders bumped against each other as they walked back to the staircase. When they paused in front of the first step, Erwin's hand fell from his long enough for him to pull out the museum map again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You pick where we go next," Levi said. He leaned against Erwin's side, let his cheek rest against his arm. Erwin glanced down at him for a moment before focusing on the map again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Then let's check out the Medieval Exhibit." Erwin folded the map up and took Levi's hand into his. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They climbed the stairs back up to the first floor and headed into the Medieval Exhibit, which stood at the top of the stairs at the end of the balcony. When they passed the foyer, the room in all its grandeur came into view. The walls and floor were the same white marble. There were two walls parallel to each other on either side of the room with high arches built into them, and lining the walls behind the arches were massive oil paintings. At the center of the room was a metal statue of a woman holding her child, her bowed head and the worn folds of her skirts catching the overhead light. Against the arches' pillars were marble statues of wizened men and women from centuries long past. Across from Levi and Erwin was a length of tall metal cage that separated the museum patrons from a section of the exhibit, but people clustered about the fence to peer between its thin slates at the art behind it. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Erwin led Levi around the room, taking his time to look at each piece. He paused to read the placards beneath the statues and paintings, sometimes tapping his chin while he looked at a piece he found particularly interesting. And Erwin relaxed a bit more. Levi could tell because he never once said a pick up line while they toured the exhibit, but instead he blabbered about all sorts of facts he knew about the medieval age and the Renaissance, admitting that he received a Bachelor's degree in the History of the Middle Ages before he went on to law school. Levi teased him for being such a nerd. Erwin laughed every time Levi rolled his eyes at something new he said. But the way Erwin's face lit up while he spoke about the things he was passionate about made something twist inside of Levi. As crowds of people ebbed and flowed all around them, all he saw was Erwin; the way his shoulders moved when he spoke; how he leaned closer to Levi while they talked; his hair slowly falling out of place the longer they stayed at the museum; the way they held each other's hand while they continued to explore the exhibit. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And the minutes they spent together bled into hours. They took turns choosing exhibits to visit, and by the time the afternoon came and went, the soles of their feet ached from standing for so long. Eventually they found themselves back in the Great Hall, tired from walking what amounted to miles inside of the museum but content because they spent that time together. As they exited the Met, the silent agreement that their date was fast approaching its natural conclusion hanging between them, Levi realized he didn't want it to end. But they walked to the edge of the fountains where they met that morning. Levi didn't even try to hide the fact that he was staring at Erwin, savoring what little moments he had left to enjoy his company. Erwin's thumb continued to rub his knuckles, still holding his hand. Levi squeezed Erwin's fingers tighter. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I had a great time with you today," Erwin said. They stopped in front of the hotdog stands that lined the street in front of the Met. There were less people crowding the building since it closed soon. Twilight was upon them then, darkening the rolling clouds above their heads. As cars drove past, their headlights elongated moving shadows from pedestrian's legs. Some people unfurled their umbrellas, preparing for the rain that was almost upon the city. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Levi nodded, brows pinched together when he looked up at Erwin. "I did too. When can I see you again?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'll have to check my calendar when I get home but soon." Erwin smiled. "Please let's see each other again soon, okay?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'd like that." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Me too." Erwin flashed him those perfectly white teeth. His shoulders rolled as he shifted his weight. His eyes darted to everything around them. Levi's nose scrunched up. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What's wrong with you, Erwin?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm nervous to ask you if I may walk you home." He laughed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh." Levi's brows shot up. "Yeah, you can." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Where do you live?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I live down by the upper East Side. I'll show you." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The upper East Side was southeast of the Met, and, hand in hand, Levi guided Erwin through the concrete jungle to his apartment. The sidewalks they traveled were walled in by brick and glass buildings that nearly scraped the clouds from the sky. Honking cars roared past them, people flitted down the sidewalks, hiding beneath business canopies since the sounds of thunder promised rain any minute. But Levi and Erwin paid only each other mind while they talked about things they liked and didn't like and the things they wanted to do with their lives. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Just when they turned the corner onto Levi's street, the sky finally opened up. Drops cascaded down windows and parked cars, clung to tree branches and turned the sidewalk dark. Erwin laughed as they darted between cars and down the street to escape the cold drizzle. Pushing past people, Levi's apartment came into view. It was a heavenly sight, and they ran to the edge of the apartment staircase, staying as close to the brick building as they could to avoid the rain. Erwin huddled against Levi, cheeks and nose red again from their journey. Smiling, Levi looked up at Erwin and chuckled as the rain grew heavier, thick sheets drowning out the sounds of the city. The world became quiet with the downpour. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Looks like we got here just in time," Levi said. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah," Erwin panted, out of breath. His arm went around Levi's shoulders, and he pulled him against his chest. Levi's cheek rested against his wet trench coat's buttons. They poked him, but he didn't complain when he heard Erwin's heart racing, from just the run alone or his nerves Levi wasn't sure. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We did," Erwin said again, nodding. His embrace loosened. Erwin pulled away just far enough to look down at Levi, his arm still blanketing his shoulders. When they looked at each other, Levi swallowed. His gray eyes fell to Erwin's ever so slightly parted lips. Their chests rose and fell, the only conversation between them. Erwin's hand gently took Levi's chin, a finger running beneath it to lift his face towards his. It felt nice against his scruff. The butterflies in Levi's stomach came alive at the touch, at the way Erwin looked at him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Izzy's words came back to Levi. Now was his chance to take the kind of risk the main character in a story would, and he wanted to more than anything else. He bit his lower lip. Standing on his tiptoes, as fast as lightning, he reached up and kissed Erwin's cheek. Before he could fall back onto his heels, Erwin's hands caught his biceps, curling into his green coat as they held him in place. Levi was flush against Erwin, and they stayed like that for a few seconds. When Erwin was sure Levi would stay on his toes, his fingers flew up. Levi's eyes followed his hand as Erwin moved to brush his damp bangs from his face. His fingertips whispered over his temple and down his jaw to cup his cold cheek. Erwin's hand was so warm against his skin. Blue eyes found his again, thick blond brows pinched together by bliss and nervousness. A look passed between them, a promise to see each other again and a promise for something more than friendship. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Tentatively, invitingly, Erwin's face tilted towards Levi's. His perfectly pomaded hair fell across his forehead, dripped rain down his silhouette. Levi felt his pulse pounding in his fingertips as he moved his face upwards. The tip of Erwin's nose traced the bridge of Levi's, and, all hesitation thrown to the wind, their lips crashed together. Levi's hands wrapped around the back of Erwin's neck, blond undercut scraping his palm. Erwin's breath was hot against his cheeks. The kiss was electric, and it moved through Levi like static. His skin was alive with the taste of Erwin's lips. For one perfect moment, it was just the two of them in New York City and the soaking rain. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And a new sequin was sewn into Levi's life. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"strong style="font-weight: normal;"br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: left;"br /br /br /p