I press my fingers to my temples, taking a deep breath and focusing on the blank document in front of me. I have ten hours to write a fifteen-page essay, and my brain isn't cooperating, to say the least. I lean back in my chair, stretching.

My phone buzzes on my desk. I grab for it immediately, not knowing who I'm expecting to text me. It's Levi.

Meet me at the Bunker
in twenty

And he says I'm demanding. I scoff, already typing out my response.

And if I don't?

Then I guess it's
your loss

I set down my phone, resisting the urge to pick it back up. I need to work on this essay. But my mind is already straying, thinking of everything that Levi might have planned. My phone is back in my hand before I can control myself.

I'm busy

Doing what?

Writing an essay

When's it due?

Midnight

Great, we have
ten hours

Levi.

Come on. I can be your
perfect distraction

I look back at my empty document. I set down my phone and start to type my name in my top left corner. Then I write the title of my essay in the center.

There. Now, I haven't done nothing, and I think I deserve a break.

I shut my laptop and start getting ready.

It feels weird walking into The Bunker without a security guard taking my cover charge or a line of people wrapping around the building. Levi told me to meet him here, but he didn't specify exactly why here. I'm pretty sure the place isn't even open this early in the day.

When I reach the end of the hallway, I see that the place is pretty much empty, except for the band on stage. I immediately spot Levi sitting on a speaker, closing a bottle of water and laughing at something that his bandmate said. I stand in place for a few seconds, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Levi," one of his bandmates Roman says, looking over at me. Once he has Levi's attention, he nods toward me. "I think she's yours."

Levi notices me and steps off the stage. "Hey," I say as he approaches, realizing that his bandmates are watching us intently. I recognize Lauren—Levi's roommate that let me into their apartment after Thanksgiving. I wonder if Levi has told them anything about me. "Are you guys practicing or something?"

"Yeah, the owner of this place lets us in a few hours before we have to play," he explains. He takes my hand and nods his head the stage. "Come on, I wanna show you something."

"Your stash of stolen women's underwear?"

He laughs. "Of course not. I keep those back at my apartment. I'll show you that another time."

"Levi," Lauren calls, pulling a bag over her shoulder, "we're heading to grab something to eat. Lock up when you leave, 'kay?"

Lauren tosses him a set of keys, and Levi says goodbye to them. Then he leads me onto the stage, picking up his guitar from his stand.

I raise my eyebrow. "Are you about to serenade me?" I ask. Levi shakes his head, his dark hair falling into his eyes. He sits back on the speaker.

He starts strumming casually, still looking at me. For a second, I don't recognize what I'm hearing, and I can tell he's waiting for a reaction from me. Then it clicks.

I laugh, singing the lyrics in my head. "I thought you hated 5 Seconds of Summer," I say. "I think your exact thought was that they weren't real music."

"They aren't," he says, stopping his playing, smiling at me. "But you like them for some reason."

"So you learned to play one of their songs for me," I clarify. "Quite the romantic, aren't you?"

Levi laughs, taking his guitar off and standing up. "Don't get ahead of yourself. I just needed a new song to learn. 5 Seconds of Summer seemed easy enough."

"Easy enough, my ass," I tease. "My question is: how did you know that was my favorite song by them?" I don't remember telling him that.

"Don't worry about it." He takes my hand in his. "You should really private your Spotify account, by the way. I learned something quite disturbing about you."

"What?" I ask.

"That you like country music," he laughs. When I whack his arm, he takes my other hand in his and brings my body closer to his to I'm standing between his legs. "Crimson, you had, like, three different country music playlists. I didn't even know there were three ways to classify country music."

"You're being mean to me," I say, acting hurt.

He laughs again. "You're lucky I like you too much to judge you too harshly for your questionable music tastes."

"I'm lucky?" I ask. His cockiness is both amusing and surprising sometimes, even when he's joking.

"You're right. I'm definitely the lucky one in this situation," he admits.

He stands up. "Ready to get out of here?" He asks, nodding toward the exit.

I nod. "Where are we going?" I ask as we walk outside.

"Somewhere you've never been."

I want to pester him with more details, but I've learned that Levi operates best when he maintains some of his mystery. I'd be lying if I said it didn't excite me. "Are we walking there?"

"Yeah, it's only around the corner. Why? You want to drive there?"

I shake my head, wrapping myself around his arm and giving him a look, hoping he gets the hint. When he does, he laughs. "I didn't bring my skateboard," he points out.

"I have my longboard in my car trunk," I say. "Please?"

He laughs, shaking his head. "Fine—"

I immediately detach myself from him and run back to my car, popping open the trunk and taking out my longboard. I get on the board and wait for Levi to walk over. I clasp my hands over his when he gets on and wraps his arms around my waist. "Happy?" He asks.

"Very," I say, leaning my head back onto his shoulder. "Now do your job and push us."

Levi leans his head forward so his face is next to mine. His lips brush my cheek. "And what if I don't?"

"I'll push you onto the sidewalk and drive away," I say, just to see what he does. I don't protest when he reaches one of his hands up and clasps my jaw, turning my face toward him. I smile as he kisses me, keeping my head in place as he moves his lips against mine.

"There. That's your payment," I say when he breaks away. "Now push us or you won't get another one."

He wraps his arm back around my waist and starts moving us. The road isn't very busy, so he navigates us down the road. The asphalt is smooth and curves downhill, and I grip onto Levi's arms when we speed up. "You better not be closing your eyes," Levi says.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Good, because I'm closing mine."

I can't tell if he's joking or not. I dare to look backward for a second. I see that his eyes are perfectly open, filled with the satisfaction of making me look. I really can't blame anyone but myself for falling for that one.

We move further and further off-campus and into the surrounding city. Finally, Levi stops us in front of a tall, pretty-looking building. "Is this it?" I ask as we step off the longboard. Levi slips the longboard under a bush.

"Are you a fast runner?" He asks.

"I guess," I answer. "Why? Are we doing something illegal?"

The mischievous smile Levi gives me does nothing to ease my concerns. "Levi . . ."

"Come on. All I'm gonna say is that I won't get us killed." When even more fear etches itself onto my face, he takes my hand. "Just follow my lead."

With a few deep breaths, I follow him inside. The building is even prettier inside, with a circular reception desk sitting in the middle with a pretty woman sitting behind the counter. It feels like some sort of classy office building. I expect Levi to walk up to her or something, but he leads us right past her with his head down. I lower my gaze, mimicking him.

I realize we're heading toward a door in the back labeled 'Stairs.' Levi reaches for the handle, but just before he touches it, I hear a shout behind us. "Hey, get back here," a man yells. I look back for a second and see a security guard rushing toward us from his post near the entrance. I hadn't even noticed him before.

"Levi—" I start, wondering if he heard the man. But Levi flings open the door and pulls me inside the stairwell. "What're we doing—"

"Run, run, run," he orders. I don't think; I just do as I'm told. There's urgency in his voice, but also excitement, and I realize that this was most definitely part of his plan.

Of course, it was.

Still, I run as fast as I can. By the time we make it to the first-floor platform, we hear the stairwell door open again and quick footsteps behind us. Levi laughs, adrenaline fills me, and I pick up my pace. Although I have pretty good stamina, this obviously isn't the first time Levi has done this, so he has to look back and slow down ever so often to make sure I don't fall behind.

At a certain point, I can't go any faster. And the security guard's footsteps behind us don't seem to get any further.

"I hate you," I pant out when we pass the twentieth floor. "I wasn't prepared for this."

"Sure you were," he says, and he doesn't sound out-of-breath at all. "You better get used to me working you hard like this."

I don't even have the energy to acknowledge that statement. My legs are burning like hell.

After an infinite number of floors later, the fatigue begins to set in and I start to slow down, but the guard doesn't let up. "He's gonna catch us," I say worriedly. I'm about to look behind, scared to see the guard only a few steps behind, but Levi grabs my wrist and opens a door to one of the floors.

He pulls me inside. Once we're on the floor, I have no time to take in my surroundings before he pulls me through yet another door. A storage closet. Then he turns me around and presses my back against his front as he leans against the wall by the door.

I feel us both breathing heavily in the small, dark room, but I try my best to keep silent. I apparently don't do a good enough job, because Levi presses his hand over my mouth. We listen as the door from the stairwell opens and the guard's footsteps approach the closet. Levi's hands grow tighter around me, and I'm afraid that my breathing can be heard through the door.

It's the longest minute of my life as the guard walks around the floor. When we finally hear the stairwell door close behind him, we stay in this position for a few more seconds until we hear the guard's footsteps ascend the stairs. "Well this is fun," he says into my ear, and I can tell he thinks this is hilarious. "And sort of erotic, if I'm being completely honest."

I rip his hand off my mouth, still out of breath. "Fun? Erotic? That guard was hunting us. And you made me run up, like, thirty flights of stairs!"

Levi laughs. "The security guard wasn't hunting us. His name's Patrick, and we do this little cat-and-mouse thing every time I come here. I think he secretly enjoys my visits. I think I'll send him a Christmas card this year."

I'm astounded. "You're a maniac."

He shrugs. "This is my favorite place."

I contemplate the fact that we are currently standing in a dark, slightly musty storage closet. "You do this frequently? All to hang out in a storage closet alone?"

"Relax, this is just a pit-stop to our destination," he says, opening the door slowly and stepping out. "And you're with me, so I'm not alone right now, am I?"

I have so many more questions, but Levi is already walking ahead of me. Looking around, my initial guess about this building was right; it's just a really fancy office. There are lines of cubicles and glass walls separating large offices. I have no idea what Levi would want to do here.

I get even more confused when I see an elevator. "Why didn't we take that?" I ask, pointing at it.

"Because then you wouldn't have gotten the privilege of staring at my ass as I ran up the stairs in front of you," he says. "Also, the stairs are more fun."

He walks to the window and hauls it open. "Ladies first," he says, gesturing to the fire-escape on the side of the building. I comply, squeezing through the small window.

"So you can stare at my ass this time?"

"So you admit that you were staring at my ass while we climbed the stairs?" He scoffs behind me as he climbs through the window. He steps on the fire escape landing with me and wipes his hands on his pants. "I guess chivalry really is dead."

"Yeah, it really is," I say, looking at where we're standing. "Because I'm currently standing on an office building's fire escape when I thought you were—"

I hear Levi laugh. "You thought I was what? Finish that thought, Crimson," he teases. When I don't answer, he adds, "Did you think I was taking you on a date?"

I press my lips together, not sure what to say.

He places his hand on the small of my back and guides me toward the fire-escape stairs going up. "Well good guess, because I am taking you on a date. Just a few more flights of stairs to get there."

I take a single step on the stairs then look back at Levi. He smiles at me. "Why am I going first?" I ask.

He laughs. "One of us has to. We both have asses and we both have eyes."

"Why does it have to be me?"

"Crimson, I've spent too long pretending that you don't have a nice ass. Now please, climb," Levi says. I roll my eyes, turning back around and walking up the flights. He laughs when I start walking sideways with my backside pressed against the side of the building, just to deprive him of the view.

We reach the top of the fire escape and find a ladder leading up to the roof of the building. We climb it slowly and finally end up on the roof of the building. I look over the ledge at the view. There's no railing, and I start to feel panic from being this high up. I step back from the edge and collide with Levi, who stabilizes me.

"You okay?" He asks as I turn around.

I take a few deep breaths, focusing on his face instead of the fact that one wrong step could lead to my death.

"Yeah, it's a great view but, um, we're really high up," I say nervously.

"Afraid?"

"Yes. Now did you have anything planned for us up here or is this just gonna be half-an-hour of you watching me freak out?"

He contemplates for a second before taking my hand. "No, this'll be half-an-hour of me helping you get over your fear of heights. Starting now." He starts moving toward the edge of the building.

"What? No, no, I'm really alright," I say, planting my feet firmly. "How about we just stay far away from the edge? And maybe stay as low as possible so the wind doesn't knock us over?"

"Crimson, I believe the saying is 'live on the edge' not 'live far away from the edge and as low as possible so the wind doesn't knock you over.' Come on, we all have to face our fears eventually."

I suck up the tiniest bit of my fear and join him at the edge. I'm pretty sure I create marks on his arms from holding onto him so firmly. I peek over the edge. "Okay, I'm done. I looked over the edge, and now I'm over my fear," I say quickly, stepping back from the edge. "We can go now."

"Not so fast," Levi says, not letting me move back. "Sit down."

"What?"

"Sit down with me. With your legs over the edge."

"You're out of your fucking mind if you think I'm gonna swing my legs over the edge. I have this weird thing called a will to live."

"There's a difference between a will to live and a will to survive," he says, sitting down on the edge like he's done it a thousand times. The tone of his voice is calmer. "If you never take chances, you're not really living. Just surviving."

I stare at him in disbelief. Now is really not the time for a motivational speech.

"Did you swallow a fucking poetry book or something? You do understand that if we fall, neither of us is going to be living or surviving? We'll be two giant smears on the fucking bullshit motherfucking sidewalk," I exclaim, throwing out as many cuss words as I can to mask my terror.

"Suit yourself," he says, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky. He knows exactly what he's doing; he's challenging me without outright challenging me. And he knows I can't back down from a challenge.

I grit my teeth, silently cursing him.

"You better not—" I finally say "—let me die."

"I'll be right next to you the whole time," he assures, lending a hand. "If you don't trust yourself, just trust me."

"Fine. I trust you," I say harshly. I step toward the edge and take his outstretched hand, gripping it as tightly as possible. Slowly, I lower myself down to the edge next to Levi. When I finally make contact with the ground, I close my eyes and grip Levi's hand with all my might, refusing to look down.

"Crimson."

"What?"

"Open your eyes."

"No."

"I thought you said you trusted me."

I whimper slightly to myself, already feeling like I'm well beyond my depths at the moment. Slowly, I peel my eyes open, immediately feeling lightheaded looking down. "Fuck," I say under my breath. "I kind of want to let myself throw up just to see what it'd look like as it hits the sidewalk."

Levi smiles and moves our clasped hands over my leg, helping to ground me. "Before you do that, I want you to do something for me."

I look at him with a horrified look. "Oh no. Did you bring me up here to watch you jump—"

"What? No," he says, both horrified and entertained by my assumption. "I just want you to tell me what you see."

I look at him, asking him a silent question. His face doesn't betray any clues as to why he wants me to do such a thing, but I go along with it anyway. I take a few more deep breaths and look down. "I see everything you see," I say, stating the obvious. "I see our campus. The park. I think I can even see the football stadium from here."

Levi doesn't say anything, urging me to go on, so I keep listing off the things I see, from the skyline to individual people walking down the sidewalk. Levi listens silently, and I can't really tell what he's looking for in my answer. When I'm done listing things, I look back at him, wondering if I answered his question.

"Do you know what I see?" He asks, looking down at the same thing I am.

"What?"

He continues. "I see opportunity. A college—a place away from our parents and pasts, where we can do whatever we want to do. Where we can be who we've been too afraid to be. A new beginning."

I spend a few seconds wrapping my head around what he's saying. "Do you see the same thing?" He asks.

I force myself to look back down. Hearing his words echo in my mind, I begin to see the same things. I see clubs and places that Mya and I have visited. A few restaurants that Archer and I have eaten at. And if I look closely, I can see some of some of my class buildings.

And before I can stop myself, I start to see the hidden places where Jack kissed me—where we were hidden from sight and wrapped up in each other. Under a tree. Behind a building. My throat starts to feel constricted at the memories. "Yeah. I guess I do."

Levi turns to me, and I smile at the way his brown eyes shine almost gold under the light of the setting sun. The confident curve of his lips. Whatever his next words are, I know I want him to kiss me after he says them.

But the words that actually come out of his mouth stop that desire in its tracks, making me feel dizzier than I already was:

"If you see all the opportunity and freedom that I see," he says, "then why do you still dance?"

♔

voting

jack

levi

thought corner

1. Why is Levi pushing Scarlett so hard to open up?

2. Is Levi going about this the right way?

3. Why hasn't Scarlett opened up yet? Do you think it's time for her to do so? Do you think she should?

4. Why do you think no one else in Scarlett's life has pushed her to open up like this? Should they have done so?

♔