(this chapter is so fucking long i'm so sorry)

September 27th

Dear Future Me,

Okay, I'm not going to lie, I actually had fun at Friday's game, and I made a new friend too! I had met Danny's girlfriend Nini and she's genuinely really nice! She's pretty energetic, but considering I've been around Levi, this is kind of a cakewalk for me. But I can genuinely see being friends with her. I needed another girl friend, especially without Nikki around. By the way, I saw her last night with her boyfriend. Yuck. It was for like a second, but still yuck. He was benched the whole game though. That's a term I learned from Levi, just saying.

I've been feeling a bit under the weather since this morning though. I was fine yesterday and Friday, but today? I woke up feeling like shit! God, I wish I had like a million cough drops right now. I could really go for them.

Man, I really don't feel like getting out of bed, but I gotta tell my dad how I'm feeling. Ooo, maybe I can miss school. It's not like I'm faking anything, I genuinely feel awful. I must've caught something at the game.

You know what? I'm totally blaming Levi for this. It's his fault I went to that stupid game in the first place even though I had fun.

Damn you, Levi Daniels.

Sincerely,

Past Me.

•••

Skye had a cold.

Yes, she had managed to catch a cold amid the chaos from Friday's game, and after asking for her dad to check her temperature, it was determined that she had a fever among the cough and runny nose. She knew nobody ever cleaned those bleachers. Maybe she would have to make a note to just stand the whole game, or wear gloves. Gloves sounded like a better option, and it would get cold eventually, so it worked either way.

As she laid in bed with her blanket pulled up to her chin, Skye felt her phone vibrate as it laid on her stomach. She didn't really want to grab it and have her hands out from the warmth, but she hardly got calls besides spam, so she ignored it. Ignoring didn't work though as her phone started buzzing with text messages, leaving her no choice but to check her phone.

Skye pulled out her phone and turned it on to see a missed call and five texts from Levi. What did he want exactly? Who knew, but she knew if she ignored him even further, he would probably spam more, so she called him to see what he wanted.

"Hello?" She said into the phone, using her free hand to hold her blanket close to her.

"Hey!" Levi replied enthusiastically. "Whatcha doin'?"

"I'm sick." Skye coughed. "There's no way I'm going to school tomorrow, dude."

"What? You're sick? How?" He asked concerned.

"Your stupid game!" She yelled, immediately regretting raising her voice. "Shit, my throat."

"Skye, I am so sorry-"

"It's whatever. I'll live." She interrupted. Levi felt bad more than anything, but Skye didn't care whether she felt bad or not. She had an excuse to not go to school for at least a day, and she was most definitely going to take it.

"But I feel so bad." He sighed. "I should've never made such a stupid bet so I could get you to go."

"Don't!" Skye exclaimed. "Geez, Levi, chill."

As Levi spoke into the phone, Skye's dad knocked on the door, so she had to stop him right there so see what was up. "I'm sorry, can you hold on a second? Thanks."

"Who are you talking to?" Scott asked. Boy oh boy was he going to be stoked to hear the answer to this.

"Levi." She replied like it was no big deal.

"Oh, okay. I see you." He smirked. "I was just going to drop off this box of tissues."

Skye's dad handed her the box of tissues, and she quickly thanked him before he excused himself out of the room and she continued her phone conversation with Levi. "Hey, sorry, my dad was giving me tissues, you were saying?"

"Just that I'll be on my way," Levi said.

"Wait, what?" She questioned.

"See you in fifteen!" He replied then hung up on her.

"But- dammit." Skye sighed. On top of being sick, she was going to have to deal with him for possibly the entire day. Actually, knowing Levi, he would stick around for the whole day whether she liked it or not. Just her luck.

•••

Levi showed up at her house just as he said, having a small conversation with her dad before being allowed to go up to her room. He knocked on the door, saying it was him, then Skye said "fine" before he let himself in.

"Hey, I brought soup." He cooed, holding up a travel mug full of chicken noodle soup he quickly made (with his mom's help as he begged for it) before rushing over there.

"Oh, you didn't have to-" Skye began before getting cut off by Levi.

"Skye, I feel bad enough, let me have this moment." He said.

"Fine," she sighed. "hand me the soup."

"It's just from a can, but it's still something," Levi said as he handed her the soup. The travel mug warmed Skye's hands instantly, and she was almost tempted to press it against her face as it was so satisfyingly warm.

"Ooo, it's warm." She grinned, more focused on the warmth than the actual soup inside. She would have the soup eventually though, no worries there.

Levi let out a sigh of relief, no longer stressed about letting Skye down. Since he felt so bad about getting her sick, he didn't want to screw up nursing her back to health. "Oh, thank god. I was so scared it would get cold so I sat it on the passenger seat and put the heat on high."

"It's definitely not cold, so thank you," Skye replied.

"I'm just gonna... sit down-" He said then stopped his sentence once he fell into the bean bag that hadn't seen anyone's butt in ages as funny as it sounded. "oof, that's very, uh, bean baggy."

Skye giggled as he uncomfortably sat down and attempted to adjust, but reassured him that he wouldn't get sick from sitting in her bean bag chair. "No one ever sits in it so don't worry about getting sick."

"Oh, I can handle a cold, don't worry." Levi insisted, but really he couldn't risk getting sick when the football season just started.

"I would feel bad more than you do right now because then you'd have to miss a game." She said knowing damn well that she was right, which Levi had to admit she was.

"Right, right... I'll keep my distance then." He replied. As he adjusted himself in his seat, Levi noticed something on Skye's head that he wasn't all too familiar with, and his curious mind made him ask what was on her head. "Whatcha got on your head?"

Skye placed her hand on her head to feel what he was referring to, then she realized what he was asking about. "Oh, this is just my bonnet."

"It's a nice look, I dig it," Levi said. If only he knew it wasn't for fashion purposes.

"Uh, thanks." She replied awkwardly followed by silence from both of them. For a brief moment, Skye loudly sipped from the travel mug, but then the room fell silent again, which Levi couldn't stand.

"The silence is killing me, man." He whined, rolling his head back as he did.

"Well, I didn't exactly plan on having you come over today." Skye shrugged.

"Let's do something then!" Levi exclaimed. He didn't come over for nothing, so they were definitely going to do something. "I can think of things to do, trust me. We can watch a movie, we can have our own mukbang—YouTube recommends those to me—we can, uh, I don't know! Let's do whatever the sick girl wants."

"Jeez, you're acting like I'm gonna die!" She replied as if she were offended.

"Hey, the possibilities are endless, so think of something," Levi ordered. "I'm staying no matter what."

Skye took a moment to think, and there really wasn't anything she wanted to do besides watching something as it didn't require a physical activity. Being sick had made her become that lazy. If Levi weren't here, her father would become her obedient servant. "Uh, we could binge something on Netflix I guess."

"That's the spirit! I'll get the remote." He quickly got up, but then looked back at Skye as he didn't know where the remote was. "Uh, where is the remote exactly?"

"Should be on my dresser," Skye answered, pointing to her dresser, then Levi found the remote almost instantly.

"Got it. Uh, got any movie or show of choice?"

As Levi asked for her choice, Skye had gotten an idea, one that would make today much more entertaining. "Wait, wait, wait. Go on Hulu. I've got an idea."

"Alright, switching to Hulu..." he said, pressing buttons and whatnot to get to what she wanted. "What's the idea?"

"We gotta watch Catfish. That's like my guilty pleasure." She said, which came as a surprise to Levi. He had definitely heard of the show, but he never imagined reality TV being her thing. He thought she'd be into more serious shows like Stranger Things or whatever. Levi never failed to learn something new about Skye almost every day.

"Never watched it," Levi replied, which shocked Skye, but she clapped back with a sassy response that would definitely offend him.

"It's fine, I already knew you lacked taste."

"Skye whatever your middle name is Simmons!" He gasped. "I have taste, mkay?"

"Your taste in friends is a bit questionable, to be honest." She shrugged.

"Which one of my friends is questionable?" Levi questioned.

"Me," Skye smirked, leaving Levi absolutely speechless. It was at this point in time that Skye began to consider herself Levi's friends, mainly because she knew he would consider her his friend anyway.

"I have no words."

"Come on, just pick an episode!" She exclaimed. "I'm letting you choose."

"Okay, Miss. Bossy." Levi jokingly rolled his eyes then went through the list of episodes, but a certain episode had caught his eye. "Hold up, Katy Perry was on Catfish?"

"Ooo, put that one on, trust me," Skye demanded.

"Bet." He said the pressed play on the episode.

"This soup is really good, by the way." She mentioned, which pleased Levi's heart.

"Well, thanks. I'm sure my mom who had to assist me will be pleased." He chuckled.

"I definitely have to hear that story later." Skye laughed.

Having flashbacks of the soup ordeal from earlier, Levi immediately dismissed telling her what happened at this home before he rushed over to hers. "No, you don't."

As the ads before the episode were playing, Skye realized she had failed the very first rule of being a host. It was the most simple rule ever, really, but it hadn't clicked in her head as she was too sick to think of it. "Aw, I should've asked if you wanted anything. Considering I've become a host on a whim, I'm not doing so well."

"Nah, I'll live," Levi assured her. "I just can't wait to see Katy Perry on this."

The two began watching the episode, and it surely had a surprising start, one Levi wasn't expecting at all. "He thinks he's been talking to Katy Perry for six years?"

"Gotcha!" Skye exclaimed.

"She does meet him, right?" He asked, concerned for this guy in the episode. "Like, she has to tell this dude she hasn't been talking to him for the past six years."

"Just watch!" She demanded. "It gets wild."

"I can't believe I've become invested in this so quickly," Levi said, eyes glued to the TV, wanting to know what would happen to this poor guy.

"Why do you think it's my guilty pleasure?" Skye asked rhetorically.

"Dude, I get it now." He replied, turning to look at her. "The drama of this show is like crack."

"We've hardly gone through the episode!" She yelled.

"So? I'm already hooked!" Levi exclaimed then turned back to look at the TV. "Now shh, I want to know what happens."

"And I thought I was a pain," Skye mumbled and crossed her arms.

In the middle of the episode, Skye began to fall asleep without any medicine needed to knock her out. Levi didn't even notice she was asleep as his eyes were glued to the small TV, so he just kept on watching the episode without realizing anything.

"No way that's the catfish! Oh my god!" Levi gasped, covering his mouth with his hands in shock as he found out who was the infamous person pretending to be Katy Perry.

Skye jumped at the sounds of Levi yelling, having her slumber abruptly interrupted, leaving her confused. "Huh? What happened?"

Levi turned to see Skye rubbing her eyes and adjusting her bonnet, wondering if he had woken her up. "Oh no, were you asleep?"

"I guess so." She said.

"I didn't even notice, I'm sorry." Levi frowned, but Skye couldn't care for any sorry's.

"I don't even remember falling asleep, so don't worry about it." She assured him then adjusted her blanket as half of it was practically hanging off her bed.

"Do you want me to grab something for you?" He asked. "A drink? Medicine?"

"Nah, I'm good for now," Skye replied. "My dad will probably come up here asking us questions anyways, so."

"You sure?" Levi questioned, receiving a nod from Skye.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Alright, well, I'll do whatever you need faster than Sonic at your beck and call." He said, laughing at the end as he mentioned Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Thanks." Skye giggled then paused as she doubted whether she should say what's on her mind, but she decided to say it anyway even if it would embarrass her. "You know, I'm actually glad you came over. I'd just be stuck alone in bed all day if you didn't."

"Are you happy to have me in your presence?" Levi immediately teased, just as Skye predicted. At this point, she knew him all too well.

"Don't push it." She said with a glare that scared Levi.

"Alright, alright." He replied, raising his hands as a way of giving it up.

Skye simply laughed it off, pulling her blanket close to her again and urging Levi to continue the Catfish episode despite missing a good chunk of it. "Come on, we got some Catfish to watch."

"Aye, aye, captain."

•••

Later before dinner time, Skye escorted Levi out as his mom wanted him home for dinner. According to him, his mom said she was making one of his favorites, tonight's meal being Shakshuka, a Jewish dish that he absolutely loved so, so, so much. Nobody made it better than his dear grandmother, but his mom was a close second.

Skye walked outside with slippers and a blanket wrapped around her, keeping it close and making sure it wouldn't hit the ground. "Thanks for keeping me company today."

"Hey, it's no problem," Levi said, pulling out his car keys from his pocket. "I gotta get my Skye time in whether you're sick or not."

"Skye time?" She raised an eyebrow, unsure of what he meant by "Skye time".

Levi scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, not sure how to say what he was going to say to her. "I don't know if I've said this, but I really like spending time with you."

"Oh, uh, well, me too." Skye blushed, knowing if Levi were to call her out she could just blame it on her cold and also the weather.

"Look, if you need anything else; more tissues, medicine, fast food of choice, I'm just a text away." He assured her.

"You don't really have to do all of that for me," Skye said, but Levi didn't care that he didn't have to do all of these things. He would say that he wanted to a million times and Skye still wouldn't believe him. She was more used to putting in her all for other people and receiving nothing in return, so it was all so new to her.

"Well, it's kind of my my fault that you're sick." Levi shrugged.

"Hey, I said I'll be fine in a few days." She rolled her eyes.

"I'll see you when you're better?" He questioned.

"Yeah." Skye nodded.

Now, this question was completely out of the blue and way out of Skye's comfort zone, but Levi asked it anyway as he couldn't help but try to ask. "Can I give you a hug?"

"Absolutely not, you'll get sick!" She replied repulsively. She wasn't trying to offend him, but no way was happening in her current state of health.

"Right, right." Levi awkwardly chuckled. "Can't have the star quarterback get sick."

"Yeah." Skye giggled. "Thanks again, by the way."

"It's never a problem, now get back inside before you freeze to death!" He demanded out of concern for Skye.

"I will once you've driven off!" She exclaimed, which motivated Levi to leave even faster.

"Well, I better get going then. See ya." He said, quickly waving goodbye and running to his car. Like he did last time, he waved from the driver's seat before driving away.

"Bye." Skye waved back, then pulled the blanket wrapped around her closer with a peaceful grin on her face, a grin all thanks to none other than Levi Daniels.

•••

MARIA TALKS!

once again i am so sorry for the length of this chapter 👁👄👁

but a lot has happened since the last time i updated! for example: MY SISTER GOT ENGAGED?? i'm gonna be a maid of honor guys 🥺

i wanna keep this message short but i'm so happy for my sister and can't wait to live out my wedding planner dreams 😌

also stream drivers license by olivia rodrigo that shit changed my life

as always, don't forget to vote!! see ya next time!!