Priceless

[cellar.]

She was crying, he realized, catching a glimpse of tears before Anna buried her face back into her lap.

Well shit.

With that revelation, he suddenly felt a pang of conscience beginning to root and grow and then blossom into full-fledged guilt. Quickly, Levi squashed the feeling, reminding himself that he was still very much annoyed at her…and the entire world at that. He hadn’t meant to get angry, especially not in front of Ephraim, but what had been done was already done. It only made him more upset at himself.


He was

supposed

to be helping Eph, not yelling at people who were his friends. (Levi still couldn’t quite get over that – when did Ephraim and Anna even meet? How could they possibly get to being friends? Had she fainted all over him too…

was that like some sort of hobby of hers?

) God, if only he could push and purge his mind out for a second, just so he could shut up that

fault-tastic

brain of his. And then maybe,

maybe

he could function and speak like a normal human being who didn’t feel the need to blow up every ten seconds. This was turning out to be an

extraordinarily

bad day.


“Oh believe me,” Levi answered, “you didn’t wreck my life; you are giving yourself

way

too much credit here.”



With a heavy sigh, he walked over to Anna, and slid down into a sitting position beside her. Levi leaned back, resting his head against the wall, and stared up blankly at the ceiling for a few seconds. There was no point to moping around, even if it was what he felt like doing. Life continued on without giving a rat’s ass about how

one, insignificant, average

person felt. He would have to take in a lot more than his own feelings.


It took an exceptional amount of energy to turn towards Anna and say, “Well go in then. He’s waiting for you.”




Only for Eph.

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

((AHHHH Sorry for not responding sooner! DD)


Anna was shocked by the way that Levi was talking to her. He was surprisingly calm and he didn't (for once) make him feel like a complete idiot for existing. There was something about Levi that got under her skin, in more ways than she realized. His words, though weren't really meant but spoke out of his own anger meant something to her. She hadn't known this man for long, but everything he did seemed to leave it's mark on her some how. Sniffling and lifting her head, Annabelle looked at Levi and gave a soft smile, "Thanks," She offered and let her feet drop to the floor.


Slowly, she lifted her hands to her face and wiped her eyes. Anna was aware that she looked like complete crap, but she didn't think that Ephraim would care. Smiling a little to herself in relief, she pushed out of her chair and walked back into the hospital room. "I'm sorry I showed up so suddenly," She was looking at Priscilla and then moved her gaze to Ephraim, "I wasn't trying to cause a big scene," She said and walked over to a chair. Quickly and as quietly as possible, she pulled it up to the side of Eph's bed, so that she was looking at Priscilla rather than sitting beside her.


Without thinking much about it, Anna scooped Ephraim's hand into her own and squeezed firmly but gently. "You know, it's a miracle that I even found you here," Anna told him and laughed slightly, "If it weren't for me dying and all, I probably would have thought you just stopped liking me," She gave one of her room brightening smiles trying to make light of her situation and Ephraim's, and squeezed his hand again. Everytime she squeezed, she felt closer to him, more relieved that he was actually there, breathing, and awake.


Anna was just so happy to have her friend back.

 

[cellar.]

Levi did not come back into the room, and Ephraim sat frozen and wide-eyed, looking at the door he had departed from. He expected to hear some sort of confrontation in the hallway, and indeed, Priscilla must’ve been thinking the same thing as she stood up – her body poised to walk into a raging storm. However, nothing happened. Everything seemed to be still and calm for the most part…Minus the brief snippets they got of Levi swearing like a sailor.

‘He always had a problem with that,’

Ephraim thought vaguely, a memory of a swear-jar popping into his head. His brother had never verbose back them, but whatever he said usually (almost automatically) was accompanied by, uh, quite a

colorful

vocabulary.


Priscilla settled back into the seat again, turning her attention towards Ephraim once more.


“Oh don’t worry about him. Bad day, that’s all,” she said with a shrug that was supposed to come off as lighthearted, but to him, it only came across as something like a wince. In truth, he had an infinite amount of questions of his own, (

how did they know Anna at all?

He thought he had kept his personal life a good enough secret.) But in the end, Eph merely nodded, pretending to agree and understand what his sister was saying. He was good at nodding and agreeing with anyone – he would win the medal for

most conflicts avoided, you spineless twat.





He lifted his head at the sound of steps, his eyes locking on Anna’s as she walked back in. Levi was not behind her, and momentarily he felt a sense of panic before he remembered they were only allowed two visitors at one time. The nurses liked to check in every so often. One of them,

he couldn’t remember her name but did remember her curly blonde hair

, had gotten incredibly angry when a crowd of his friends swamped his bedside two days ago. Secretly, Ephraim had been glad that she had made them leave. Most of the time, he wanted to be alone, and yet he never wanted to disappoint anyone but disallowing visitors either.


“No, no, don’t worry about it. I’m pretty sorry we kind of overreacted…just didn’t expect to see you,” Priscilla said, slightly flustered.


There was a sense of awkwardness that could not be hidden.


Anna clasped his hand into her own. Eph felt himself relax a little, a small smile appearing on his face. She was not like his other friends – there was no pressure

to be

anything other than himself, no expectations or appearances to live by…Just simplicity. He shook his head at her words – no, never,

he would never stop liking her.


“Thank…you,” he murmured.

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Anna and Eph talked back and forth for a while, about import updates and not so important things. They avoided much of their current states in the ways of health, but managed to make each other laugh and smile. Before she knew it, she'd spent a couple hours with him and the nurses were becoming agitated. People weren't supposed to stay so long, and it wasn't until a nurse out rightly as everyone to leave that Anna pried her hands off of Ephraim's. It made her frown slightly, but she wiped the expression away and replaced it again with a smile. He was the only friend she truly had, and it thrilled her that he was alright...or at least that he would be.


When she walked out of the room, Anna's eyes swept the area. People were running here and there, some cried and others grinned. Bad and good news she supposed. It wasn't hard to tell which tears were for joy and which for sorrow. There was a couple, a young man and woman who were clearly with child. A man in a white lab coat, a doctor, was telling them something and the two clung to one another. When he stopped talking, the woman blinked wide eyed and then burst into tears. It caused Anna's heart to hurt for her, news like that was never something easy.


It reminded her of her Mother when she'd first gotten the news about her only daughter dying of Good Pasture. She'd looked like she was going to be sick, and she didn't even look at Anna for months after that. Everyone in the family did what they could to avoid her until her father eventually dumped her on the street. Though of course, that wasn't what he told everyone else, he'd explained that she'd ran away. Her father had told everyone that she'd gotten into drugs, and stole from him so no one wanted anything to do with her. Of course it wasn't true, but it wasn't hard to believe a lie from the richest man in the city.


Tearing her gaze away from the crumbling couple, Anna realized that Levi was still sitting where she'd left him. He was idly typing on his phone, probably browsing the web. She couldn't help but smile down at him, he hadn't looked up to see her and for a moment she got to see a Levi that wasn't torn with agitation or anger. It was nice to see him so calm and untouched by the world. Nothing around him seemed to gather his attention, and though it was probably going to annoy him...Anna wanted some of it. So, she sat down beside him and looked over at him, "Thanks for letting me visit," Anna said and touched his shoulder in a way that even surprised herself. It wasn't something she'd thought about doing, it had just sort of happened, and when she realized it she with drew her hand. "I think I'm gonna get going," Anna explained and pushed herself back out of her chair.

 

[cellar.]

(wow, apologies for the briefness, I'm kind of caught up in stuffs atm)




‘Oh shit, this place…’

Levi thought sulkily, trying to divert his attention onto his phone and away from all the quiet chaos ensuing all around him. This was the stop for both relieved celebrations and pre-funeral arrangements, for good news and bad. The clash of emotions created a tension that clung thickly to the air like a disease itself. He

hated

hospitals – never wanted to step in one again, and if it wasn’t for Eph, he would’ve kept that promise to the grave. Shaking his head slightly, Levi buried himself into his cell phone, scrolling through the list of emails he had gotten. In the midst of replying to one, he felt a hand slide onto his shoulder.

Anna.

No surprises there anymore.


"Thanks for letting me visit,” she said, "I think I'm gonna get going."


He could feel her touch lift off as she stood up.


“Oh…Kay,” Levi said, drawing out the syllable as he carefully measured his words – all while trying to bite back a bunch of snappier sentences that started

with ‘So you really felt the need to spend three hours in there, huh?’

She had certainly taken her

darn time

with the whole visit. However, although he was annoyed, he could also understand it. Whilst on the hinge of losing his brother, he had only found the need to hold on tighter, closer,

never let him go

. A few hours would be far too short to make up for the time that had been a hairbreadth away from disappearing altogether. It was that possibility that preyed on his mind the most.


“Wait,” he suddenly called out, standing up from his spot. “H-how’s Eph anyway?” Levi couldn’t find out for himself – he never really could. What he extracted out of every visit was a robot; Eph and his

all-smiles, no-worries, a-okay

automatic answers. He had always considered his younger brother to be something of a

lock-and-key

sort of person. Well…truth be told, they all were. The O’Flaherty kids kept secrets like inhaling air –

for

each other sometimes, and

from

each other at others. He could hardly see their parents approving of Eph hanging around her...And so Anna certainly seemed to be one of Ephraim’s better kept ones.

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Anna stopped without turning around for a moment, surprised that Levi had even said anything to her. Turning slowly, she walked back toward him closing their gap and gave a soft smile. "He seems tired, but I think he's going to be back to himself in no time," Anna said honestly, "I think he just needs everyone's honest support, ya know?" She asked the rhetorical question and gave another smile. The expression she wore clearly showed her relief that Ephraim was alright more or less.


"There are a lot of things he's going to need to get used to, but I'm sure with you and your sister there he'll be just fine." She purposefully didn't include herself on the list, worried it would only upset Levi further. He was already pissed that Ephraim and Anna knew each other, and she wasn't sure what he would do if she made it sound like there were future plans of Ephraim's with her in them. Annabelle studied his face, he looked tired, stressed, and worried. Clearly Levi cared about his brother more than he'd probably like most to know, and even though he was stressed now, it warmed Anna's heart to see him open up even if it was only slightly.


"I know me showing up today was a bit of a shock for you, but I appreciate you letting me see your brother," Anna told Levi. She brushed some hair from her face and scanned the room quickly with her bright eyes. No one had seemed to recognize her yet, which was probably due to her talking with Levi. "I better get going, I need to find something to eat," Anna said and shrugged as if the word find instead of get was nothing to worry about.

 

[cellar.]

It was deeply reassuring to hear the words come from someone else – that yes, Ephraim was going to be okay. (And not from a doctor.) Maybe not perfect or fantastic or even content, but

to be



alright

was a good enough milestone to hit given the current...situation. Baby steps. In no time, things would go back to the way they were…Yet, Levi wasn’t sure that he could give the sort of

honest support

that Eph apparently needed. He, himself, was made out of

wibbly-wobbly

, unstable stuff – two steps from falling, sat precariously on a great, big HAZARD sign. No, he had never been much of a dependable person; support wasn’t his kind of thing to give.




And then

there was that thought, tugging ever so softly on the back of his brain.



Maybe he didn’t want things to go back to the way they were.






Of course

he wanted his brother to be

alive

and

well

and

happy

. But in some sick way, the accident was the only thing that had reunited their family. In time, things would go back into the stagnancy of old habits – absolute minimal contact, familial ties withered by the sort of hostility born from years of experience. If it wasn’t for Ephraim, Levi would have skirted around seeing his parents until Christmas break again – forced to be in a family of only vaguely recognizable strangers.


He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Anna’s voice, pulling him back into the hospital. Blinking, he tuned in quick enough to hear the second part of her sentence.

‘Oh, right,’

he thought, noticing her choice of verb usage. Automatically, Levi narrowed his eyes slightly as he surveyed Annabelle. She looked…

healthier

than she had a week ago – which was good, he figured –

didn’t need her fainting over everything.


And that’s what he would later convince himself was the thought in mind when he suddenly said “There’s an espresso bar across from the street, and I was thinking of going for lunch…If you want to come with…?”


But it was a thank you gesture.

Levi O’Flaherty

was saying a genuine

thanks

to a girl he didn’t even know, and the idea almost freaked him out.

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Annabelle was surprised and it was clear on her face, if only for a moment. It would have been nice to go out with Levi when he was treating her so kindly at the moment. But of course, money was a problem, and there was no way in hell she'd be able to afford anything from a coffee bar anywhere near this part of town. The thought must have made her make a face, because Levi was giving her a funny look.


"I'd really like to, but I don't have the money, I'm sure there's a banana or something at home I can grab," She said and put her hands up in a 'don't worry about me' type of gesture.


Besides, she was pretty sure Levi didn't actually want all that much to do with her. He was vulnerable now, and upset, which probably caused a lapse in his judgment. Because only the day before he was calling her a loser every chance he got, and was yelling. "Maybe if I busk up enough money soon, we could go out sometim--..." She stopped herself, having realized after she started, what it was that she was saying. It definitely sounded like she was asking him on a date.


She supposed she would like to go out with Levi. Yes, he was an ass hat sometimes, but he didn't treat her like most people did. They either babied her when they knew she was terminally ill, or treated her like scum who deserved to be living in the shit hole of an apartment starving nearly to death. Levi treated her just like he did everyone, but there were moments when she noticed kindness and compassion in him. Even if she'd only known him a short time, they were there, and she'd seen them. Levi was rough, but that was his only way of keeping from getting himself hurt it seemed. If he was mean first, no one had the chance to be that way with him.


"...---I mean, all of us, when Ephraim gets better." Anna winced at her own lame cover-up and turned to leave again, "I better go." She mumbled, cheeks flaring bright red.

 

[cellar.]

‘Ah you shit, I’m trying to be nice to you, god fucking jeez,’

Levi thought as Anna made a face. He knew she didn’t have enough money, and that was the

whole point

of him asking her to come with him in the first place. But okay, so maybe he did sort of deserve being turned down – especially with all the stuff that had happened between them in recently. (Levi had to admit though that if starving seemed like a better option than hanging out with him – okay, he was the

tiniest

bit offended by that.) Still, if Anna really didn’t to go with him, then fine. She didn’t have to start making up any excuses. He never cared for people that beat around the bush –






"Maybe if I busk up enough money soon, we could go out sometim–..."



And now he was getting much more confused as to what Anna wanted from him. So she was

actually

worried about the money. That wasn’t a problem for him, a cup of coffee and a sandwich was hardly going to make any sort of difference. Levi opened his mouth to say those words, but quickly shut himself up upon the realization that Anna had fallen silent for a few seconds. She looked like she was scrambling for something to say…and just as he was going to fill that gap of conversation, she blurted out

“– I mean all of us, when Ephraim gets better."


He caught a glimpse of her face before she turned away. Her cheeks were turning red, deepening in rapid shades as soon as the sentence had been spoken. Without thinking at all, Levi answered with a, “Fuck. Are you okay? Your face is like really red.”


It took him a few more moments to comprehend what Anna had even said.




‘…Oh…Okay.’

The implications of her words had settled in. That was…certainly awkward. Nevertheless, he tried to cover up the mistake as gracefully as he could manage.A slow smile crawled onto his face, and Levi let out a laugh.


“Ah, I see…Don’t worry loser, I’m not going to ask you out on a date.”

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Anna shot him a look, clearly not trying to smile. She wanted to be mad at him, but something about the way he'd said it made her want to laugh instead. Turning back away, and started down the hall, "Fine, then I won't hold my breath!" She called sarcastically, waving her hand up in the air dramatically. She wasn't sure what she'd been even saying, it wasn't like they'd known each other long and just because her stupid brain decided something didn't make it true for everyone around her.


'Well aren't you just an idiot,' Anna told herself in her head, mentally scorning her dumb actions and words was something that she did often. She felt that it kept her in check and often helped her from making the same mistake twice. "I'll see you around, butt head!" She said loud enough for him to hear her from the distance she was now. A few different people looked up at her, frowning slightly, but when she smiled and winked they smiled back. "It's just so hard when you're surrounded by butt heads!" She cried, throwing her hands up in exasperation much over the top.


Annabelle glanced back to see if Levi was reacting to her actions and words, but from the distance they were at it was sort of hard to tell. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by someone walking up to her. A man, probably about her age maybe a little older was smiling at her, "Hey, I couldn't help but notice how fine you are, and wanted to take you out," he said and waggled his eye brows in a way that was not becoming. Anna wondered if he was serious for a moment, and when he didn't burst out with laughter, she knew he was.


"Uh- No thank you," Anna tried to refuse as politely as she could. Because even if she didn't want to go out with this stranger, she knew rejection was harsh. Most of the people in the lobby had cleared out, because she'd annoyed them with her raised voice, and Anna took note that no one was paying much attention to her and this man standing there. "I'm Cole Anderson, you may have heard of me," And of course she had, people made sure they were known in this town by the rich and the poor alike.


"Yeah, your dad owns some big shot company," Anna said unimpressed, her expression becoming less amused by the minute. It was becoming increasingly clear that he wasn't going to leave any time soon. "Look, I've got to go..." She turned to leave, but he stepped in her path and walked forward causing her have to back track.


"No, you're going out with me," He said his dark eyes borrowing into her. She frowned and tried to step past him, but if things got physical she knew it wouldn't be to her benefit to fight. He was large, much like her brother, though he had much less of a brain.


Anna tried again to step past him, "Please, move." She said less of a request and more of a demand. He didn't like it, just like any other meat head wouldn't and grabbed her roughly by the wrist.


"Listen here, bitch," He spat, "You should be kissing the ground I walk on," He was talking through his teeth, spitting with speech. He'd started turning rather red in the face, and it caused Anna to wonder if he had a reputation for this sort of thing.

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Bump

 

[cellar.]

The butt head

scoffed at her words, both amused and annoyed at the same time. She seemed to have a way of getting on his nerves in the most endearing way possible. As Anna continued to dramatically make her way down the hall, Levi had to stifle a laugh that threatened to erupt from his lips. A few people were already turning their heads in her direction. For a girl that was trying to make a point about how much of an asshat he was, she was sure looking like an idiot herself. He smiled smugly at the thought and was prepared to throw out his own retort, when some man stopped Anna in her tracks.


They were at too far of a distance for him to be able to hear what they were saying, but whatever it was, it seemed to be important.

'Maybe it's a friend from the hospital?'

Levi thought to himself, wondering who in the world this random guy was. While it didn't seem likely, he had swooped in from nowhere and started talking to Anna like he did actually know her, so maybe...Well, it wasn't any of his business was it? He shook himself out of the curiosity pressing into his mind. Besides, he wanted to see Ephraim, and Priscilla was probably still waiting for him.







"No, you're going out with me."





The voice that rang out was loud and harsh, almost bitterly so, and certainly displeased. At the sound of it, Levi turned around in time to catch what was going on. It seemed like the man was blocking Anna from moving away from their conversation, but it was hard to tell from such a stretch of space. However, it became suddenly

very, very clear

when the man grabbed her by the wrist and spat out,

"Listen here, bitch, you should be kissing the ground I walk on."

It was evident that his face was turning a darker shade of red for each tense second that ticked by. It wasn't hard to tell that things were on the brink of getting ugly and possibly even violent. At that comprehension, a rush of panic made its way to Levi's chest.

'Fuck.'


Before he was even sure what was going on, he was already three steps away from them.


"No, actually, I think she's coming with

me

," Levi said in a raised voice.

'And away from you,'

he added mentally. Stepping between them, he took one glance at the man's face and realized

'of course.'

Cole Anderson. He had a reputation stamped on him for sure. Well, Levi was in no sort of mood to be dealing with misogynistic idiots. " -So, I'd really fucking appreciate it if you could let go of her,

right now

."

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

It happened quickly, much faster then there was time to process it. Someone had stepped between Anna and her un-welcomed guest, which gave her a chance to pry her wrist free from his grip. After a second look and the sound of his voice, Anna realized it had been Levi who'd stepped in. It surprised her of course, but she shook it off and focused on what was being said. Her 'guest' looked shocked, and even more enraged at this point. She wondered if a person's head could explode from pure anger, and wondered for a moment just how far his brain might go if he were to lose it.


"Levi?!" Cole asked bewildered. Only for a moment did he seem to be at a loss for words, before he started up again. He pushed himself roughly into Levi which caused him to bump back into Annabelle. She tumbled to the floor, making and 'oof' sound with the impact, many people were pretending as though this weren't happening. It was common in this area of town for people to ignore things when they were getting really bad. God forbid someone chip a nail or get a small bruise from intervening.


Cole was clearly winding up for a fight. He always seemed to be looking for one, and most of the time he got one. There was something seriously wrong with Cole, and the more Anna looked at him the more she wanted to punch him herself. But clearly, that wouldn't bode well for her, considering their size difference. "Levi!" Anna exclaimed getting up to her feet as quickly as she could. She grabbed onto his hand and quickly pulled him from the hall. They weren't running, but were moving fast enough that several nurses yelled for them to slow down. But, Annabelle ignored them until they were in an elevator going god knows where.


She slammed the button hard, trying to get the doors closed while Cole advance on them. Fortunately he was much to large and slow to have kept up with them. When the doors finally shut, and they were headed to some un-named floor, Anna put her back to the wall and slid down into a sitting position. She was gasping for air and trying hard not to cough. If she had a fit now, it would only make things worse, there was no way she was letting that happen. So Anna ducked her head under her hands and drew her knees to her chest. If she hid her face and focused on something else, it would pass.

 

[cellar.]

Puberty made Cole into an asshole.

The dinner parties with an uptight and quiet pre-teen Cole Anderson was some hazy, long-ago, lost memory in their history together. That fact became evident enough when he pushed into Levi, who then collided into Anna into a mess of sprawling limbs and confusion. That action was enough of an incitement to start swinging more than just a few punches. Luckily, before they had the chance to start anything, a

“Levi!”

exclaimed out by a breathless Anna jostled him slightly out of his anger, and he turned to look at her. Before he could comprehend what was going on, she was already pulling him down the hall by the hand.


They hurried into some elevator, the doors closing just in time to keep Cole out – and just enough time for them to take one last glimpse of his red face, his features twisted in anger. However, they were now safe for the time being. As soon as the doors had slide shut, Levi once again let out a steady stream of curse words, swearing until his lungs were on the brink of giving out. “– that fucking bastard, Jesus H. Christ! That fucker –” He stopped in the middle of his tirade, when he suddenly realized that Anna was

very much struggling to breathe

behind him. She was sitting on the floor, half gasping and half coughing at the same time.


“Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you okay?” Levi asked, whirling around. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, it was pretty darn worrying that Anna was practically

heaving

for air. Before she had time to answer, he interrupted. “No seriously, don’t give me any of that

I’m fine

bullshit. You sound like you’re going to pass out.” Rather sheepishly, he patted her lightly on the back, as if that would help at all. Without a doubt, he was feeling pretty useless just standing idly by. He crouched down next to her.


“Hey, do you need anything? Water or something?” He asked, forcing his voice to hold steady and calm.


It would be of no help if he started freaking out about the whole situation too.

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Annabelle didn't move until the doors slid open with a screech. SHe lifted her head and looked up at Levi who wasn't as far from her as she'd expected. With her heaving, there wasn't much she could say to him. Really all she needed was to get out of the elevator and out into the air. Coughing, blood splattered on the back of her hand where she'd covered her mouth. Frowning at the coppery taste in her mouth Anna pointed up toward the ceiling and pushed herself shakily to her feet.


"R-roof," She choked out, coughing again, with more blood. Having and episode and being in the halls of a hospital wasn't helping. There wasn't a person in hell that would get her to get help voluntarily, she'd have to be almost dead or unconscious for that to happen. So for now, she was freaking herself out; worried that they might run into someone that would drag her off to some hospital room and drug her.


With the support of Levi's arm, Anna made it out into the evening air. It had cooled off some and the sun was starting to set. Now, she was taking in deep breaths through her nose and out of her mouth. It was a pain in the ass to be this sick, Anna thought as she fell to her knees in exhaustion. She'd begun to sweat and shake slightly from fighting a black out. It took her about ten minutes to be able to sit correctly and speak.


"Fuck..." Anna breathed, her voice airy and soft, "...What the fuck is his problem?" She asked though she wasn't exactly looking for an answer.

 

[cellar.]

They made their way up to, stumbling and staggering along. Levi ripped open the door to the rooftop and a gentle wind greeted their arrival, The air outside was cool and breezy and relaxing – not the sickly cold air conditioning of the hospital halls inside, but instead something that felt real and nice. It was nearly twilight by now, and the sun was melting a hazy yellow against the blue and purple sky. Clouds burned gold with the reflected rays of light. Below, the city buildings and streets were also cloaked in an auric glow. Taking in the sunset, Levi took a few deep breaths of fresh air to soothe down the mix of anger and worry that swirled in his head from the events that had just transpired moments ago. Feeling sufficiently calmed down, he turned back to Anna who was sitting on the floor, knees pulled to her chest.


"Don't fucking know, don't fucking care," he answered. And it was true for the most part; he had no idea what Cole's problem was. There had been rumours and occasional casual brushes with him before, but their relationship hadn't extended much after they passed their preteen years. Besides, it was their parents who had mostly forced them into hanging out with each other anyway. They had always been dissimilar – the same as the present, only they had grown different in different ways. Levi didn't care much for him; it was his parents that believed in making connections.


As he turned to her, he noticed the smear of blood on the back of Anna's hand. She had been basically coughing her lungs out the whole way up, but he had been much too preoccupied in the heat of the moment to realize she was also coughing out

blood.

The more that Levi surveyed her, the worse she seemed to be – pale, shaking, sweating. It was freaky. She had almost seemed fine at the start of the day, and now...

Well shit.

He had never liked to pry into other people's lives, mostly because he didn't like people poking their noses in his business, but Levi crossed his arms and said:


"Anna, we're

at the hospital

– I can get you a nurse or something, just...why the hell do you keep running away from doctors?"

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Everything in her had reduced to raspy gasping. It wasn't anything near what she'd been doing before but it still sounded drowned and painful. "If I...let them help me...." She shut her eyes and leaned back against the edge of the building. "...My family would know....I'm in the area and....then I'd be fined...and hunted for debt..." She shook her head before opening her eyes again. Taking a few deep breaths the wheezing began to slow on it's own.


"My family, especially my Father...are just waiting for me to die out..." She gave a weird smile, as though even the thought of smiling at that moment gave her pain. It came out as more of a grimace than anything and she absently wiped the blood from her hand to her skirt. It wasn't as though anyone cared what she looked like anyway. "So much for getting dolled up..." This time Annabelle did laugh. But again, it was pained and her eyes began to become glassy like she was going to cry.


The fresh air felt cool on her skin, having started to sweat from coughing so forcefully. Normally she'd have passed out by then, unconscious on the elevator floor or on a landing of one of the stair flights. But, here she was aware and even talking. It had been a long time since she'd been able to have an attack like that without falling flat into the dirt.


Anna's hair had begun to curl around her forehead and temples, while some strands were glued to her skin with sweat. Her lips were stained a rusted red since the blood there had dried. It looked like she was the walking dead, her eyes dark and sunken around the edges, dried cracked lips that would have been painful for anyone. "It's...nice out here, isn't it?" She asked after a long time of silence. The buildings were like torches in the light of the hour, and they reminded her of jewels blazing and twinkling. It was going to be dark soon, and Priscilla was going to start wondering where her brother had gone off too.


"I'm gonna hang out here while I gain my footing. You probably should get back to your siblings, " Anna suggested, glancing toward the door they'd come from. "Thanks for helping me out with that jerk by the way...you seem to be...helping me out a lot lately.." A breeze warm and soothing blew through and Anna shut her eyes once more, it brushed some of her hair from her shoulders and ruffled her now blood stained and wrinkled dress.

 

[cellar.]

She seemed deeply uncomfortable answering his question, a feigned smile stapled painfully on to her face. Feeling awkward, Levi didn't inquire about her family matters any further. However, her halting reply had left a strangely bitter taste in his mouth – acrid with a hot, burning contempt. He could not, for the life of him, imagine someone who would just leave their child for death – especially when they practically had the entire world accessible by the change in their pocket. Between what Anna had just said, and the whole disastrous incident with Michael...Well, and here

he

had thought that he was the one with the dysfunctional family.


As Levi turned to look at her, he saw that she was very much on the verge of tears again. Noticing, he quickly glanced away – a swift motion of evident politeness.

(Even he knew when to be courteous.)

Instead, he focused his attention towards watching the sun set below the city rooftops; the beams of light were fragmenting across buildings and glass windows. It was growing increasingly dark, and night was perched patiently just around the corner, waiting to illuminate the sky with its own particles on star-light.




"It's...nice out here, isn't it?"

Anna's voice came soft and steady.


"Yeah..." he said in agreement, "I guess so."


The gentle breeze ruffled through his hair and clothes. She was right, it was nice to be out here – outside and above everything that was chaos. For a brief period, he could forget everything that was happening back at the ground-level and breath in the sunbeams and city lights.

Only for a moment though.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was quite aware of the fact that there was a ninety-nine percent likelihood of seeing a pissed-off Priscilla when he returned to earth. Anna's next words only brought the awareness into full realization.


"Yeah, I should probably go before Cil – I don't know – reports me as a missing person or something." With some hesitation, Levi made for the door. He glanced back as Anna spoke again, her figure now all silhouettes and fiery hair against the dying embers of the orangey sun. A smirk pulled up onto his face, and he rolled his eyes.


"Uh-huh, and you seem like you've been getting into a lot of trouble lately."

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Anna couldn't help but laugh, "Haven't you noticed?" She opened her eyes and looked over to Levi who was headed for the door, "It's sort of my specialty!" After another laugh, she pushed herself up to her feet. It caused her to waver slightly, and she was thankful for the high edges of the roof, or she might have just fallen to her death. "You uh...wouldn't mind giving me a ride home...would you?" She asked it sheepishly, making it clear she wouldn't have asked if she didn't think she needed to.


It was obvious she wasn't going to be able to walk home on her own, it'd take her the better part of the night. That is...if she didn't pass out in the road and get run over before she made it there. Anna raked a hand through her crimson locks and frowned, even a movement as simple as that made her feel like she'd been run over by a truck. Sometimes Anna did look forward to passing, so she wouldn't have to deal with the pain anymore. But then she shook it off and tried to focus on something good, anything.


The day had started out much better than she'd hoped, having found Ephraim awake and talking, but they didn't last long. It seemed that drama followed her where ever she went, even when she was trying as hard as she could to avoid it. And somehow it always seemed to involve Levi as of late. He knew where to find her, he was there to stand up to her. Sure he was an asshole, but there was something inside him that was sweet and caring. Even if Levi didn't want Anna to see it, she did, and she wasn't going to soon forget it.


It had become totally dark, and the only light was the moon. Sure the city was bright and bubbling, but with their height the lights hardly reached them. Anna always liked it better at night, it was calming to see the stars hung up in the sky. She looked up then, her face bathed in moonlight, and she smiled. Anna was still sickly pale, but she was smiling, and it would have been hard to tell why if you didn't know her.


"I'm just glad to be alive," Anna murmured to herself before looking back over to Levi, who was staring at her. Anna's cheeks flared, sometimes she got so lost in her own thoughts she forgot others were around her.

 

[cellar.]

(sorry, it's a gross post, but aha, it's up)




She stood up, all wibbly-wobbly, and Levi was beginning to wonder if it was a good idea to leave her at such a perilous height. If it weren’t for the waist-tall concrete edges on the roof, then he was sure that she would’ve stumbled off by now. Anna seemed to be thinking the same thing, because less than a second later, she asked

"You uh...wouldn't mind giving me a ride home...would you?"


It was dark already, the city lighting up just as the stars in the sky had. Levi briefly glanced over at Anna, before his eyes settled on the glowing urban jungle below. He worked in life insurance, and so it was his job to calculate the likelihood of someone dying – mortality risk, morbidity, the probability of events happening – all of that statistical jazz. It was a science, it was mathematics, and it was numbers. However, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that the possibility of Anna tripping into on-coming traffic was looking undoubtedly high at the moment.


And it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. He currently had the options of:


a) Probably get verbally annihilated by Priscilla when he got home.


b) Trying to get drunk on wine coolers, but not being hung over for work tomorrow.


c) Flopping into bed and going to sleep for the next fifty million years.


He sighed. “Yeah sure, c’mon…Just don’t fall off the roof or something.”


(His

being-less-jerkassy-than-usual

quota was reaching its maximum.)


Besides, he had the lurking feeling that he was going to see Anna a lot more often now. If she was Ephraim’s friend,

if it made him happy

– then Levi could deal with being a little nicer to the girl. Anna mumbled something in response that Levi didn’t quite catch. Well, whatever it was, it caused her cheeks to turn an obviously bright shade of pink. He ignored the weird reaction, and held the door open for her.


“Are you coming or not?”

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

She jerked forward, clearly still weak on her feet, "I'm workin' on it!" she snapped but gave a slight smile. Anna wasn't sure if she liked Levi or if he liked her but besides Eph, this was about the only person who even spoke to her or gave her the time of day. It was only that, he had a funny way of showing it. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she carefully descended the stairs and followed back into the elevator after Levi. "I wonder if your sister is gonna run you over with a car." She said and giggled. It was of course, an over exaggeration, but she'd known Priscilla long enough to know that it was accurate enough to make a point.


They'd rode the elevator pretty much in silence, except for blank meaningless comments every now and again. Every few floors or so someone would join them but get off at the next. Anna was growing nervous, wondering if her forceful suitor was still fuming and down stairs waiting for them. It wouldn't have shocked her if he had been, but to their luck he wasn't. "I'm gonna go wait outside," Annabelle jerked her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the exit. She'd interrupted their visiting time, and she didn't need to tag along and make things more awkward.


"Take your time," She said and waved her hand as she started down the hall, not waiting for Levi to respond. Though it wasn't like him, in her experience anyway, Anna worried he might try to stop her so she walked more quickly than normal. It wasn't until the warm summer night air was on her skin that she slowed. But it didn't take her long to find a spot to sit, pull her knees to her chest, and cry. Sometimes when she'd gone through strong attacks, she was scared she wouldn't come out of them. They'd seemed to be getting worse lately, and there were times she wondered when her next attack would be her last. This was an idea that scared her more than anything. Ending life before she'd even really lived it, before she'd loved, or traveled. Dying before she had the life that she deserved.

 

[cellar.]

She was walking out of the room just as he arrived at the hall. In the instant that they locked eyes, she bristled at the sight of him; he backed-up against the wall defensively. The hostility was thick enough to be suffocating. It was a quick match – a fast fuse of black powder that was burning at a rapid pace. Any second now, the bomb was going to explode off in a fiery haze of verbal aggression. Priscilla shut the door with deliberate care. Without skipping a beat, she whirled around to face Levi. The motion was something violent – anger seeping from movement, irritation molding her features into a stony glare.


“We came here to see Ephraim,” she hissed, voice dripping in venom, “Not for you

to fuck around

.”


“I-I went for a walk, ok?” Levi snapped back. “Jeez, I was just a little mad – needed to clear my head.”


He chose not to dish out the details of the little misadventure with Anna and Cole.


(...After all, there was no need to mention the fact that he had nearly gotten into a fist fight in the hospital lobby.)


Before he had a chance to stick another word in, his sister was already yelling.


“He thinks it’s

his

fault now that you’re a fucking twat! What the hell Levi, you don’t just run off whenever you feel like it. You were gone for

hours

, hell, I thought you had left!”


Cil being pissed off at him was expected, anticipated, easy to accept. He was used to it. What bothered him the most, however, was the fact that he had walked out on Ephraim. Eph, who was supposed to be resting,

not listening to his asshole brother rage at some girl.

He was stupid for losing his temper like that, and more so for leaving without a word. Levi could feel the shame simmering slowly in his stomach. He reached for the door handle, but paused when he heard Priscilla cut in.


“Don’t bother. He’s asleep,” she spat.


His self-justified annoyance was quickly beginning to dissolve seamlessly into guilt. It was building by bricks now, stacking heavier and higher.


“Cil, I’m sorry – ”


“Yeah, just fuck off, alright?”





The summer night was warm and pleasant, but he was feeling

cold cold cold.


He supposed that this could be the feeling of regret.


Levi walked around the parking lot until he spotted Anna crouched up against the wall of the building. It was evident enough that she was shaking with quiet tears, her cheeks glistening in lamp light. In a better mood, he might’ve asked her if she was okay. But at the moment, he had a sufficient amount of his own problems piled up with inquiring about hers. When he finally got to her sitting spot, Levi couldn’t find anything remotely comforting to say.

He was tired of it all.

In the end, all he could muster up was a quiet “let’s go.”

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Anna didn't say a word and followed Levi to his car. He was clearly in a bad mood, and she wasn't exactly feeling like bothering him about it. Before getting into the car, Anna wiped her eyes. There was no sense in crying now, it could wait until she got home. Of course, if wasn't something that he was going to ask her about anyway. Nor did she want him to, considering it would just make her feel worse. It was sort of a long drive back to her part of town and they didn't speak for half the drive.


"I'm sorry," She finally said, having a solid idea of what he was upset about now. If having her around caused this much stress for him, she wouldn't come around. Though of course seeing Ephraim was something she'd like to do, clearly she couldn't come around without bringing some sort of trouble with her. It was best for her to stay out of these people's lives. It was no wonder her family hated her so much, she was a walking target, weak and easy for the picking. Getting other people involved with her only caused trouble in their lives. It wasn't worth trying to make friends only to start to care and see how much being around was really hurting them.


"I didn't mean to pull you away from, Ephraim," He flinched in the dark she noticed, but still said nothing "It wont happen again" Annabelle knew then she'd hit the nail on the head. His brother had just come out of a coma, of course he'd be upset about missing time with him. After that she was silent and he didn't make any effort to say anything to her. Admittedly, she was sort of relieved because she worried he's blow up if he tried. When they finally got to her side of town and he pulled up to a curb, Anna hopped out. "Thanks, bye." She said shortly, and started for her shit hole of an apartment building.


If being around caused this much trouble. She wasn't going to come around anymore.

 

[cellar.]

The car ride was insanely awkward.


Save for the dozen or so times Levi tried starting small-talk, the occasional sound of Anna sniffling beside him, and the noise of evening traffic – the ride was particularly hushed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to make conversation, but it was more like he had nothing left in him to act the slightest bit social. Guilt was a bug that was quickly growing an infestation in his gut. He could pin blame as well as the next person, but the truth was that

he had fucked it up.

Not Priscilla. Not Anna. And certainly not Ephraim.

He

was the one that was perpetually angry and loud and hateful towards the world.


(Levi.

Destroyer of all things that could’ve been.)





"I'm sorry,"

she said,

"I didn't mean to pull you away from, Ephraim."


And she was right. Maybe this is what he had been pissed off about too. It wasn’t just the unexpected nature of her visit, but it was also because Anna was Eph’s friend. It was one-sixth Levi-being-Levi, one-half unexpected surprise…and maybe the last third was just a little bit of jealousy. It was rotten and it was selfish, but he hadn’t bothered to get to know his brother as well as he should have all these years. He was making up for lost time now, and some

fire-haired, sassy-ass, teary-eyed

girl hadn’t been part of that plan.






"It won’t happen again."



Shit.

He wanted to tell Anna, no, Eph wanted to see her.


But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.


Instead, Levi kept his mouth firmly shut, focusing his attention towards the road ahead. Neither of them said anything more after that – going back to the silence that was now looking so much more welcoming in comparison to what had just ensued.


He dropped her off at the curb. Swiftly, Anna unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out. Her brisk farewell left him with the strangest of feelings. He could, he realized, call her back and set things right.


But he didn’t.

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

((I'm gonna do a rather large time skip))


It'd been weeks since Annabelle had even decided to get out of bed let alone leave her apartment. The only times she'd left were to get enough money for something to eat when her body begged her to do so. A few attacks, larger than the last, visited her during the night and she hid in the corner of her room, curled into a ball scared and alone. The shit of an apartment that she somehow managed to keep was quiet, but the noises from the outside world did nothing in helping her relax. Hacking and wheezing from old people next door, kids running up and down the hall ways, people yelling. This was her lullaby to sleep to at night, if she even did manage to fall asleep.


Anna hadn't even bothered going to the other side of town, she hadn't risked going to see her only friend Ephraim, she told Levi that she wouldn't interrupt again and she'd meant it. If she didn't go then there was no chance of her causing any more trouble for Levi, Priscilla, or Ephraim. Besides this way her satanist of a brother wouldn't be able to track her down either. Overall it was a win win situation save for how alone and scared she'd felt in those last days. Most nights she'd lay in her "bed" staring up at the ceiling that was rotting and falling apart sometimes she'd cry, other times she didn't move in the slightest.


The only times she got out of bed were for a shower and food when needed. There wouldn't be anyone coming for her, so she gave up on looking at her door hopefully when footsteps clomped their way down the hall. Sure Levi had helped her out, but that didn't mean he liked her and he definitely wasn't going to come to this scummy part of town to get her. Anyone who thought so had to be delusional, or at least unaware of what Levi was like as a person.


Annabelle had developed dark hollow circles around her eyes, and she'd lost even more weight, though she didn't know that was possible. The sparkle in her eyes had died, and her the fiery color in her hair had dulled. There hadn't been a single thing about her that hadn't died in some sort of fashion...except for actually dying. Around her apartment didn't look much better, small and cramped as it was there were blood stained clothes on the floor along with rags. She hadn't the energy or the funds to go to the laundromat and it almost looked like a failed attempt to clean up a murder scene. Maybe I'll clean it up later, Annabelle thought to herself while glancing around, but she made no effort to get up and do so.