December 23rd

Flash forward to the last day of school before everyone was off for winter break, the students, even the teachers, couldn't wait for that final bell to ring. Out of all of the students of Wintersville high school though, Levi Daniels was the most excited as he would be giving Skye his gift that had been in the making for quite some time. He was expecting some tears, good ones, but what mattered most was that Skye liked what he had gotten.

As the school day neared its end, Levi was absolutely itching to show Skye his big surprise for her before they went off for winter break. He couldn't help but glance at her every so often when she wouldn't notice as she was focused on her painting. She was making some final touches before turning it in (even though it wasn't even due yet), and she wanted it to be as perfect as it could be. If she asked Levi (aka an amateur in her mind) how he felt about it, he would say it was perfect, but the perfectionist "expert" in her would think otherwise.

Levi peered his head from behind the easel, smiling like a little idiot as he looked over at Skye. She peered over as well, taking Levi by surprise and raising an eyebrow at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason." He stammered, but Skye wasn't buying it.

"Mhm." She rolled her eyes and went to finish up her painting. A few moments later, she got up and carefully placed it on the drying rack and informed Mrs. Cloud that she was finished then returned to her seat.

"Okay, Levi," Skye said as she placed her hands on the table. "Do you have something planned?"

"How did you know?" Levi gawked then immediately covered his mouth with his hand as he just spoiled his surprise for Skye.

"I didn't, I just tricked you into telling me." She grinned. "Plus, we're about to start winter break."

"You got me." He sighed. Right after that, Mrs. Cloud asked everyone to clean up, and so Skye helped Levi clean up their table before the bell rang. While he put his painting (as he had gotten used to being temporarily left-handed) on the rack, she went to wipe down the table. Once Levi came back, he grabbed paper towels to dry down the table to spare Skye from doing more work.

"Thanks." She said to him, then threw her backpack on her shoulders. The bell rang a moment later, and the students proceeded to run out of the classroom without even wishing their teacher a happy holiday. Skye did of course, and then Levi did as well just because she did.

"See you next year!" Mrs. Cloud waved. Get it? They weren't going back to school until after the new year, and things would surely be different by that time.

Skye and Levi headed out of the classroom and went down the halls until they reached the exit, but Levi stopped Skye in her tracks before they could step outside. "Wait."

"Hm?" She turned around in confusion.

"Close your eyes." He ordered, which made Skye even more confused.

"What?"

"Just do it!" Levi demanded. "It's for your surprise."

"Fine." Skye scoffed and closed her eyes. "You're guiding me right?"

"Yup, just hold onto my arm and trust me." He said and she did just exactly that. Arms intertwined, Levi opened the door for Skye and held it then made sure it didn't slam in her face. Despite everyone looking at them wondering what the hell they were doing, Levi guided Skye to their surprise destination, feeling his excitement grow with each step.

"Skye Simmons, you're about to be amazed." Levi grinned.

"Are we there yet?" She asked.

"Just about." He replied. A few steps later, they were there, so Levi ordered Skye to open her eyes. "Open."

Skye then opened her eyes, opening them to a brand new bike with a big, red bow on top of it, making her jaw drop to the floor. "Oh my god."

"Well?" To think, Levi had no idea what was so special about her old bike, and yet he bought her a brand new one when he didn't even have to. It was even close to the baby pink color of her old one (something that got done thanks to Levi's dad), which was extremely thoughtful of him to do, and it even made her want to tear up a little.

Now, Levi imagined Skye's reaction to her surprise gift very differently compared to how she was about to react. Why? Well, you'll see why.

"I can't believe you!" She exclaimed and (to Levi's surprise) jumped up and hugged him.

Levi was taken aback by the hug but quickly returned the embrace right when Skye realized what she was doing and let go of him. "Ahem, I mean, you didn't have to do that."

"Actually, me and your dad split the money on it, but he wanted me to be the one to surprise you." He said.

"You planned this with my dad?" Skye questioned. It was a well-kept secret, and you wouldn't believe how difficult it was for the two men in Skye's life to keep it that way until the day of.

"Yup, then he said I should just marry you already if I was going to pull off a surprise like this." Levi chuckled.

"Well, either way, I have no idea how to thank you." She giggled. "I'm still very much in shock."

"Skye, you deserve this bike." He assured her. "No thank you is needed whatsoever."

"True..." Skye said.

"Come on, go give it a whirl! It's your bike!" Levi exclaimed, then ripped off the red bow that had sat on the bike, giving her the leeway to go off on it already.

"Yeah, I'm gonna ride home now on my new bike!" She replied then pulled the bike from the rack, hopping onto the saddle and riding off to the streets while yelling goodbye to Levi. "Bye!"

"I'm still coming over for Christmas dinner, right?" He yelled out, now standing alone.

"Of course you are!" Skye yelled back.

"Okay!" Levi replied, then watched as Skye rode down the street until he saw her take a turn in the direction of her house, no longer being able to see her have the time of her life on her new bike.

Fastening her pace on the pedal, Skye zoomed past the cars on the road, ignoring the sounds of drivers yelling "watch it" and beeping on their horns as she took the narrow path past them. She hasn't felt this kind of adrenaline rush in a long time as she used to dread riding her bike to and from places, but going without made her miss it, plus now this new bike only had positive memories with them.

"Woohoo!" Skye yelled out, letting her hands off the handles and extending her arms out as she zipped down a small hill. She quickly put her hands back on them to avoid losing balance, then continued on the path to her house so she could yell at her dad for keeping such a secret.

After parking her bike by the steps, Skye wasted no time unlocking the front door and running into the house, rushing to the living room where she knew her dad sat at this time of day. "Dad, I can't believe you and Levi right now!"

"Dad, you-" she walked in, pausing as she saw her dad asleep like a baby in his designated chair. "Oh, he's napping."

"I'm awake, I'm awake." Scott groaned, opening his eyes then rubbing them as he let out a yawn.

Skye sat down on the couch, throwing her backpack to the floor and crossing her leg while she sat down. "You conspired with Levi about getting me a bike?"

"Did he give it to you?" Her dad asked, now sitting up compared to when he was asleep previously.

"Yeah! I can't believe you guys!" She exclaimed, leaning over to slap her dad's arm.

"Well, do you like it?" He questioned.

"Of course I do!" Skye yelled. "I just can't believe Levi took part in getting it for me."

"He actually brought it up to me awhile ago, then I mentioned I had planned to get you one for Christmas anyway, and then he offered to pay half and you know I wasn't gonna turn that down," Scott said, letting out a chuckle as he mentioned the money he saved from splitting the cost with Levi.

"Well, thank you too." She cooed, planting a kiss on her dad's cheek as her way of thanking him.

"You're welcome, pumpkin." He replied. "Did you pay Levi with a kiss though?"

"No, gross!" Skye scoffed, quickly stepping away from her dad and fake gagging as she plopped back down on the couch.

"He's practically your boyfriend already. All you gotta do is slap a label on it." Scott shrugged.

"Levi is just a good friend, okay? Besides, guys never like me like that." She sighed. Despite all of the times guys always asked "who's your friend over there?", Skye was wrong in this instance. There was indeed one who did, but she was simply too blind with self-hatred to see it.

"He's different, I just know it." Her dad argued.

"Well, different or not, I'm doing just fine with the way things are." Skye insisted, then stood up, grabbed her backpack, and began walking out of the living room. "I'm going to my room to lay down."

"Keep telling yourself those lies!" Scott yelled out.

"I will!" She yelled back as she walked up the stairs, dragging her backpack up each and every step to her bedroom.

As Skye was heading into her room, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, assuming it was because of Levi, but it turned out to be a call from Nini. After throwing her backpack to a random spot, Skye answered the call, sitting back on her bed and kicking her feet up. "Hey, what's up?"

"Um, Miss girl, a little birdie told me our favorite white boy got you a brand new bike?" Nini said.

"Who told you that?" Skye asked as she quickly sat up.

"Who else?" She sassed. Nini did say that Danny basically tells her everything, so this wouldn't be anything different.

"Danny." Skye scoffed. "Should've known."

"Well, yes, but also Levi couldn't stop talking about his excitement about the surprise!" Nini exclaimed. "Poor thing was struggling so hard to keep that secret in."

"How long had he been planning it?" Skye questioned.

"Like," she paused. "Crap, I don't know, since the end of September?"

"Seriously?" Yes, seriously. When Levi discovered that the bike he ran over happened to be his lab partner's, his first thought was to buy her a new one. While that idea was merely a thought at first, he turned that thought into a plan, a plan that he got done with Skye's dad when he proposed the idea to him the day he came over to tend to Skye when she had a cold.

"I think so? I can't confirm, but he had the idea for a pretty long time." Nini said.

"Wow," Skye said in shock. Knowing that Levi had been planning it long before she thought really showed how much Levi cared for Skye. It was nice having that kind of person in her life.

"Now go make that boy your boyfriend!" Nini yelled. "I gotta go. My little sis is begging me to play Barbie dolls with her."

"Well, you go do that, but no to the boyfriend thing!" She replied.

"You're so oblivious it pains me to my core! Bye, Skye, mwah!" Nini said, aggressively saying goodbye as that had become a thing with her and Skye, but it was all out of love.

"Mwah to you too!" Skye exclaimed, pressing the hang-up button and tossing her phone away from her.

"I'm not oblivious." She said, rolling her eyes and laying back down. "Come on."

•••

Dear Future Me,

I can't believe Levi right now. This guy bought me a whole ass bike! I mean, considering he ran over my old one, it only makes sense, but I'm still shocked out of my mind!

I've only Levi since the beginning of September, and now we're in December and he's already done the same amount if not more than Nikki has ever done for me during our friendship. I know bringing up Nikki is bad, but this is a worthy comparison. I was always the one giving it my all, but Levi gives it his all and then some.

Despite the shock, I'm so happy to have a bike again! Plus, I don't have to beg Levi or my dad for car rides anymore. I've got my own way of transportation once more, and I couldn't be more excited to ride around the town with my new bike.

Let's just hope this one doesn't get run over either. Wait, that's a jinx. Um, I gotta go.

Sincerely,

Past Me.

•••

MARIA TALKS!

SKYE GOT A NEW BIKE YUP YUP

ALSO IT'S LEVI'S CANON BIRTHDAY TODAY!! happy birthday taurus king <3

i don't know if it was obvious that levi would do that, but i hope there was at least somebody who was shocked?? i've had this part planned for MONTHS and i'm so glad to have finally written it. plus, this update fell on his birthday! perfect timing tbh

this cute filler-ish chapter is merely the calm before the storm (yes ANOTHER storm), so you have officially been warned. i think it's fair that y'all get some sort of warning as to that. there's a lot in store for the remainder of this book 😗

as always, don't forget to vote and i'll hopefully see you guys next time (i say as i keep losing readers) 🥰

thank you for 4k reads btw! another small step towards (hopefully) greater things <3