Under The Streetlight (Aureus/Levi)

[max]

It was a dark night. A quiet night. Max remembered the night before... she'd spent the entire evening back at her Mother's, in Texas, entertaining the woman's endless circle of friends by sitting pretty in her flashiest gown and letting herself slowly drown to death in their annoying conversation. It was possibly the worst Christmas party she had ever experienced!
But what could be worse, y'know, than sitting in a room, surrounded by a swarm of fat men all jacked up on JD who are trying to touch your leg and ask you to their cottage the following night? Hmm. Try nothing!
So now Max sit here in the city park of Long Beach, CA. She'd taken the early train in. She knew she should stop coming back, but she missed the place dearly. It was her only real home... she missed the friends she'd made there; one person in particular, actually. His name was Levi, and he popped up everywhere in her head like a bad dream. Only he wasn't a dream, and he wasn't bad, and she missed him... a lot.
So tonight, y'might say Maxy did something stupid. Outrageous? Nah. But stupid? Totally.
She'd gotten Aureus Hayes'--whom was Levi's... other side, in a way--phone number from the school office at 259 and called him earlier that evening. A woman had picked up, his mother, Max figured, and asked who it was. Apparently Aureus was out.
Max said she was a friend, that she was calling for Aureus, and that she'd like to know when he would get back. The woman didn't tell her much, just said that if she left a message she'd get it to Aureus and ask him to call her back as soon as possible.
Max hesitated at this part. Finally, she told the woman her name was Amuri and that if he could find the time, she would like to meet him at the park later on. To talk. Of course the woman replied politely, saying that she'd ask him, and then after exchanging their goodbyes, Max hung up.
Now she sat alone on a park bench, lit by a single street light from nearby, with her hands buried underneath her to prevent the cold from meeting them. Her hands were constantly flickering from one spot to another, searching for Aureus. Maybe he wouldn't come at all though. Maybe she was just being stupid, like Max found she usually was in similar situations... or maybe he would show up and they would resolve things: her, Aureus, and Levi, and possibly be just friends again.
Not too long ago, she could have said she'd seen the both of them. It was a dark night though, and she'd been scared shitless because some murderer dude had had the limelight at the time and was creeping her out with some pretty nasty threats. She remembered that night, and also a boy come out of nowhere to come to her aid. She'd thought it was Levi. She hoped he would show up.
A sheet of wind fluttered by, whipping Max's hair into her face and momentarily blinded her. She quickly reached up to pull it away, hoping that when she did, someone would appear.

[Aureus]

Aureus had been out on one of his usual walks mulling over pointless things, as always, and just enjoying the sights that Long Beach had to offer. He'd become familiar with most of them, but the city was a big place and there was always something new to see. Purple streaks stretched across the sky, leading him back home. Every few minutes a strong gust would blow through the road and around his body. It felt like it meant something, but Aureus wasn't a fan of cliche symbolism and didn't dwell on it. A fiery glow emanated from his hands and kept him warm despite the wind.

The teen had stopped attending classes at 259 and opted to take AP classes online instead. He felt like an outsider at school, even more than he had before, and now there was just something about it that constantly kept him at bay. He knew he needed to face his past and get over it, but wasn't ready just yet. Always need a kick in the ass, don't you? Pussy... Staring at the ground as he made his way up the stone walk way, the ex-pillar jumped the short set of stairs without much effort and clambered into his home.

"Back, ma." he shouted before settling onto the couch and picking up his mother's acoustic guitar. A random selection of chords and notes rang out as his fingers slid over the nylon strings. "Aureus, Chi called for you. Said she wants to meet you at the park. She sounded kinda lonely. I know things haven't been well between you two, but don't say anything harsh." Ash said while patting him on the head and ruffling his hair.

"That's a surprise. I dunno how to feel about her anymore, but I think talking to her would help." Aureus replied while setting down the guitar and pick. "I'll call if anything comes up." After pulling his suede coat back on, the dark haired boy set back out into the cold.

Aureus' dark eyes reflected the sky as he kept a steady pace back into town. Sometimes he wished you could actually see the stars, but it was Socal, so that wasn't gonna happen any time soon. Fortunately, he had stars of his own. You could never be too safe, and so he slid on his gloves once more. Wonder what made her call after all this time. Maybe she just didn't like how we ended things before, know I didn't. And even if she wanted to get back together, I dunno if it'd be the best thing for either of us. Bah, what happens happens.

It just happened to be one of those rare, semi-foggy nights where the whole world has a certain golden glow to it. It wasn't even fog...more like a mist. The golden glow was just a result of the streetlights reflecting off windows cars, and everything else. He missed Chi with everything in him, but...no, he needed to stop feeling so sappy over her. She just wanted closure, and he needed it to. He didn't need to get back together with her just so he could cling to her and expect all his problems to go away. He needed to come to terms with everything himself, and maybe then he could give her the kind of relationship she needed, that was if she would take him back then.

And so while Aureus wallowed in his teen angst, Levi wondered when the next time he could take over and have some fun would be. He felt like getting into a street fight, sky diving, and going out to a club. Ya know who was fun? That Max girl. Aside from all that drama shit. You fucked that up for me too, ya know? I'm getting tired of sitting back here. Maybe it's time for you to sit on the bench for a while. I deserve some time for my own without having to take it by force. This is the last night you'll get for two weeks, ya hear that?! Maybe that's a good idea. I'll have time to sort out my mind and you can have your fun. Sorry for keeping you locked away so much, I've been kinda selfish.

Secretly, Aureus was thinking maybe he needed to stitch up the break in his personality. Maybe things would fall in place once he was a...whole person. How exactly he should go about such a thing was beyond him, but there had to be some way. Hopefully Levi wouldn't mind too much. It would be for the good of both of them.

Slowly the park was coming into view and a gust of wind surged past and almost knocked him over. Looking at a bench that was about fifty feet away, he saw her. With his hands burning at his sides, Aureus approached...Max? Wordlessly he stopped seven feet in front of her and just stared. This certainly was a surprise...

[max]

Max pulled the hair out of her face with one vigorous sweep. It took a moment for her to see him, but when she did, it was well worth all the time she had waited for him to come.
She stood up from her place on the bench and began to walk toward him. But then she paused. What if he hadn't actually expected to see her? She had phoned using Chihiro's name; what if he had only come because he wanted to see Chi? Suddenly flashbacks of all that had happened between them started to surface in Max's mind.
She remembered that one horrible day when she had--or rather Chihiro had--confronted her in the middle of school that one day, because the previous evening Max had witnessed Chihiro making a play for Levi, which had shattered her entire heart, basically.
How Aureus had come to Chi's defense, telling Max to shut up. Max remembered that the two of them were supposed to have been an "item", how that had really torn her up, how she hated the very idea of Chihiro being within even breathing space of Levi---even though really Chi supposedly only had had feelings for Aureus- -and suddenly she began to feel very, very awkward.
Max swallowed a block of nothing before taking another step forward. She began to imagine the possible outcomes of this event. Would Aureus walk away, therefore destroying her chance of seeing Levi?
Or worse yet, would Levi ask him to leave, because of things that he had seen overtime that had finally convinced him she was crazy and irrational?
Max took another step forward. It was smaller this time, though. A small five foot space remained in between them, and Max just stood there, trembling from anything but the cold.
"Hi..." she said.

[Aureus]

Max? What's she doing here? It's been months and why'd she use Chi's name? To get you here, obviously. Why though? *Sigh* Another gust rushed through them and it seemed like reality itself was twisted for a brief moment.

He knew how she felt, how timid she was except when pushed to the very edge. She was feeling guilty about calling them there, and wondering if he would reject her. Of course he wouldn't, but that's just how her mind worked. It annoyed him in a way, but at the same time there was something endearing about it. Without a moment's hesitation, Levi closed the space between them and wrapped his arms around her. Touchy feely wasn't any way to describe him, but the red head knew that's what Max needed at the moment. It was the best reassurance he could give her that everything was alright.

"You worry too much, ya know? And you didn't have to trick Aureus to get us here, I would've come anyway. You're too fun and cute to leave all alone in a park at night." Levi said while still holding her. Letting go and walking past her he sat down on the bench and motioned for her to do the same. "So, what's shakin', beautiful?

[max]

She just stared at him for a couple of moments, and then she felt his arms wrap around her and she willingly let herself sink into him. For those few moments, Max felt better than she ever had before. It wasn't Aureus that was hugging her, it was Levi, she knew it just by the way he felt against herself. Max lingered in the hug as long as she possibly could before finally letting go. She followed Levi to the bench and sat down across from him, forcing a smile onto her face as she let herself drown in his green eyes.
"I felt like seeing you..." she replied quietly, "and I'm sorry that I lied over the phone... I really didn't think you'd come if you knew it was me..."
She paused, realizing that she was staring right at him, and quickly turned away, cheeks rosy.
"Uhm... how have you been?"

OOC: Short. Sorry.

[Aureus]

OOC: You apologize too much.

IC: Letting out a small chuckle at her embarrassment, Levi's trademark, cocky smile slid onto his face. "Ehh...I've been ok. Haven't had much time to myself 'cause of emo McMopey pants. That's gonna change starting tonight though. Aureus is gonna be the one sitting on the bench for a while. I feel like causing some trouble, ya know?" the redhead replied while extending his right arm and igniting the glove on his hand. He always loved fire...

[max]

OOC: It's a habit.

Max listened to him intently as she stared down at her hands. He sounded like the same Levi, alright. He sure looked like him. But somehow Max just wasn't able to make herself relax, like she used to do back when things were simpler. It only got worse when his glove lit up like a torch, scaring Max right off of the bench.
She embarrassingly picked herself back up and sat down across from him. She felt so awkward sitting by him, not knowing what to say. She began thinking of why she had asked him there, what she had intended to do or say. And then Max realized there wasn't really a reason. She wanted to see Levi just because she had to see him. She needed to.
Before she knew what she was doing, Max reached across the bench and put her hand onto Levi's. She didn't even think of what she was doing, just left it there for a couple of moments... it was nice to touch him, to know he was there, and she couldn't help but smile a little bit more.
"Well I'm glad..." she said finally to his earlier comment, with no intended offense toward Aureus. "...I've missed you, Levi...I know I just dissappeared off the face of the earth not too long ago, but I've never forgotten you..."
Max looked up at him now, her green eyes staring into his. "I... just... I'm very sorry if you never knew that."

[Aureus]

"Oh...sorry 'bout that, Maxy." Levi said as she picked herself up. She still seemed jumpy and fidgety. He decided it'd be best to extinguish the flame and did so. Bah, what do I have to do to get her to relax? Before he could come up with an answer to his own question he felt her hand on his. It was cold, a strong contrast to his and so he took both of his hands and attempted to warm her's up.

Green eyes locking with her's, the schizo listened to what she had to say. "Don't worry, I knew. I missed you too. It was pretty boring being locked inside Aureus' head. Hmm...what can I do to get you to loosen up?" The boy asked with a smile. He didn't intend to let her answer and instead leaned closer and softly pressed his lips into her's while wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Their lips were both a little chapped due to the cold, but he didn't mind. Being that close let his nose catch the sweet scent that was coming off of her. After about ten seconds Levi pulled away, stood up and scooped her into his arms. "Get on my back. Just like old times, eh?" the red head chuckled and as soon as she had a tight grip around his neck, he would take off at full speed.

[max]

Max hadn't thought much of her words before she said them. She just wanted Levi to know how she felt about him, that she hadn't forgotten about him after all the time they had spent apart, but before she knew it his arm was around her and he was kissing her!
Max nearly fell off of the bench again, but instead she sat there and let him. This was the type of thing she'd dreamed of countless times since she'd first discovered she'd had feelings for Levi--which was not so long ago, believe it or not---that she'd pictured in all the different ways, and now it was finally happening!
Not having much experience in romantic situations, Max just let Levi kiss her, and in turn tried her best to kiss him back. Of course she wasn't completely able to at first. It was just one of those things you let happen to you, really. When the kiss ended, Max expected a long and awkward silence. But instead, she was surprised when Levi reached down and scooped her up in his arms. She couldn't help but smile at him. She felt in the worst of ways like kissing him again...
Instead, Max helped herself to the redhead's back. She wrapped her legs around his waist and brought her arms together around his neck. The position brought back memories of when they had first met, up on the rooftop of the school building. At that time there were some crazy teachers chasing Max around, attempting to force her to finish her algebra homework, and Levi had done the crazy thing that was scooping her up in his arms and jumping right off of the building with her and onto an adjoining rooftop.
It had been wicked fun---probably a little scary---but Max didn't feel scared now. She felt comfortable, and she knew that somehow Levi had known that doing this---with some help from the kiss that she would never stop thinking about--would make her feel like this. She leaned her head into his shoulder and waited for him to take off, although it really wouldn't matter if he didn't. Max already felt like she was flying.

[Aureus]

Hitting top speed after about six seconds, the schizo jumped fifteen feet into the air. The night sliced through them as they traveled farther into the park, zipping past the trees. It was honestly the most fun he had had in months and reminded him a lot of the last time Max had been on his back. Both feet braced to meet the ground and followed up by springing back into another little hop before falling back into a run. The boy's heart was pounding out a drum solo as he continued to jump here and there before landing next to a bench and coming to a stop.

Panting, Levi sat Max down and began pacing back and forth to slowly steady his heart rate. She's probably cold... "Oh, err...are you warm...enough, Maxy?" he asked between pants. After all that jumping around he was warm enough and could part with his jacket.

[max]

Max held on tightly as Levi danced in quick steps with the wind. She wasn't surprised at how high he jumped as much as she was that he could do all that he was doing even with her to weigh him down. When they had first met on the rooftop and Levi had picked her up and took off like a mad bull, he had commented later on about her being heavier than he had thought. Either Levi had gotten stronger, or she'd just lost weight. Max hoped it was the latter... she had had a bit much to eat on Christmas.
After a little while, Levi finally settled her down onto a dry patch of earth. He was panting now and Max could see little sweat bubbles gathering just below his hairline. She forced herself not to reach up and brush them away.
"Uhmm...." Max stammered when Levi asked if she was warm enough. To be honest, despite that she was only wearing a thin linen shirt with a V-neck over it, after Levi had kissed her, Max had become warm enough to pass for a fire. She knew he was probably asking because he was a bit too warm himself, and plus she didn't want him to know that she was still burning inside from everything that had happened in the last ten minutes, so finally Max replied.
"I could be a little warmer." She said coyly.

[Aureus]

Max's words betrayed her hesitant tone, and Levi couldn't help but laugh after gulping down several more breaths. "Oh, is that so?" the red head asked with a smile before playfully tackling her to the ground and tickling her. Nothing warms ya up more than rolling around on the ground with someone while laughing your head off. Poke...poke...poke.

[max]

Max couldn't say she wasn't surprised when Levi pinned her to the ground and began tickling her without mercy. In fact, she was startled. It took a moment to register what was going on, but when she did, Max exploded with fits of laughter.
"Stop!" she screamed helplessly as she tried to bat his hands away, laughing all the while. Not having been tickled since fifth grade, probably, she was definitely sensitive to his touch. Max hopelessly surrendered to the sabotage tickling.
She lay there on the ground laughing and reactively trying to bat the redhead's hands away whenever she felt confident that she could catch them, before, of course, realizing that she was probably enjoying the activity even more than she had thought.
Max paused for a moment as she felt Levi's fingers trace up and down her skin beneath her shirt. She looked into his face, at his dreamy green eyes, at his red hair and the way it stuck to his forehead because he'd been sweating. She knew she wouldn't rather be spending this moment with anyone other than him. And then she knew she had to do it.
Max quickly sat up, ignoring the zings being shot through her body due to Levi's tickling, and placed a hand on his cheek before pressing her lips into his and kissing him again.

[Aureus]

At first the dark haired girl had put up a strong fight, but after a few moments gave in and even seemed to enjoy it. Wow, she really is in love with you. Huh? Meh...love... Still refuse to believe in it? Are you fucking kidding me? Look at your sorry fuckin' ass. It's bullshit... So what Max feels is bullshit? Ye-no...she just...doesn't know. She's...just happy, ya know? And who can blame her for that, but the whole lofty idea of love is bullshit. Like all your problems are just gonna go away when you're with someone, and you'll be together forever. It's stupid, and people get hurt when they expect that sorta thing. Something always fucks it up, doesn't even have to be you or them. You should know this. I dunno, maybe you're right... So went the conversation in the boy's head as Levi skillfully tickled Max. Aureus annoyed him, but the red head wouldn't allow his other personality to kill his fun.

As he happily looked down at the stunningly beautiful girl on the grass below him, Levi wondered how exactly she felt about him, and what she thought would happen between them. At the same time he tried to organize his own thoughts on the matter.

How did he feel about Max? He knew he liked being with her. She was fun and a good friend, but did he see her as more than that? Could he see anyone like that? Sure, he liked flirting with her, and almost any good looking girl with a decent personality. Did she stand out though? Was she more important? He didn't want to hurt her feelings, and even more than that wanted to understand himself. It was really starting to worry him now.

In a flash her green eyes caught his and he couldn't look away. There was something...pulling about her gaze and his hands ceased their tickling as she shot up and kissed him again. Well that was unexpected. He didn't have any more time to think.

Wrapping his arms around her, the red head kissed Max back, his mind drawing a blank. He was shocked she had made a move on him instead of the other way around, and decided to just enjoy the moment. She was a surprisingly good kisser...

[max]

OOC: EDITED*

Max felt Levi wrap his arms around her, and she was encouraged to pull herself closer to him until their bodies were almost touching. She continued to kiss him, not knowing what she was doing really, but doing it anyway. She loved how his lips felt against her. How he felt against her. After a moment, Max was letting her hands explore Levi. His chest, his shoulders, until finally she settled on his hair. His gorgeous red hair... and then the question stumbled upon Max, with no warning whatsoever. What was she doing?
She had a train to catch in half an hour, and here she was lip-locking with her dream-guy, ultimately toying with his feelings?
Max loved holding Levi and being close to him, being able to look at him, and at his shiny red hair and his green eyes, and she felt like she loved him but she lived so far away from him now. In the end, even if she did have feelings for him, there was nothing she could do about them. The only thing continuing to do this with Levi would lead to was hurt, Max knew. And with that realization, she was able to force herself to stop.
She pressed herself gently out of Levi's arms, her hands falling to his shoulders. She didn't want to let go, but she knew she had to. Letting out tiny pants of exhaustion, she looked into his eyes and tried not to melt under them.
"Levi..." she said breathlessly, "...I don't think I can do this."