Chapter 3: The Weight of Secrets
The city streets were quiet, bathed in the soft glow of streetlights as Levi and Jake walked side by side. The silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable, but it carried a weight that hadn’t been there before. The memory of the streetlamp exploding earlier still lingered in Levi’s mind, and though Jake acted like nothing had changed, Levi knew better.
He glanced at Jake, watching as his friend strolled casually, hands swinging loosely at his sides. Jake had always been like this—carefree, easygoing, like the world didn’t bother him. But tonight, Levi could sense something else beneath the surface. Jake’s earlier display of power had left an unspoken tension between them, and it gnawed at Levi in a way he couldn’t quite shake.
They had known each other for years, long enough for Jake to know about Levi’s own abilities. But knowing wasn’t the same as understanding. Levi had tried to explain it to Jake once—how he could feel things that didn’t belong to him, how other people’s emotions seeped into him like water through a crack. But Jake, for all his bravado, had never really understood the depth of it. To Jake, powers were something exciting, something to be pushed and tested. But to Levi, they were… complicated.
“You’ve been quiet,” Jake said suddenly, breaking the silence. His voice was casual, but Levi could hear the edge of curiosity in it.
Levi shrugged, keeping his eyes forward. “Just thinking.”
Jake raised an eyebrow, glancing sideways at him. “About what?”
“About what you did earlier,” Levi said, his voice steady but cautious. He didn’t want to start an argument, but he couldn’t just let it go. “You can’t keep messing with your powers like that, Jake. You saw what happened.”
Jake’s grin widened, his eyes gleaming with that familiar spark of excitement. “What, you mean the streetlamp? That was nothing. I told you, I’ve been practicing. I’ve got it under control.”
Levi stopped walking, his stomach twisting with frustration. “You don’t have it under control, Jake. You randomly blew up a streetlamp in the middle of the city. What if someone had been walking by? What if it had hit someone?”
Jake waved him off, clearly unbothered. “Come on, Levi. You’re overthinking it, as usual. No one got hurt.”
“That’s not the point,” Levi snapped, his voice rising despite himself. “You’re taking risks with something you don’t fully understand.”
Jake turned to face him, crossing his arms. “You’re one to talk. You’ve got powers too, but I never see you using them. How are you supposed to understand them if you don’t push yourself?”
Levi clenched his jaw, his heart pounding as Jake’s words hit home. He knew Jake didn’t mean it as an attack, but it still stung. Levi didn’t use his powers the way Jake did because his powers weren’t like Jake’s. Jake could throw energy around, make things happen. His powers were well…flashy. On the other hand, Levi… Levi felt too much. He absorbed too much.
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“It’s different for me,” Levi said quietly, his voice tight. “You know that.”
Jake frowned, the playful edge in his voice fading. “Yeah, I know. But I don’t get why you won’t try to figure it out. You’ve got something big, man. I can feel it. You just gotta stop holding back.”
Levi shook his head, frustration bubbling up inside him. “You don’t understand, Jake. My powers aren’t like yours. I can’t just control them. I feel everything—everyone,. And it’s not something I can really turn off.”
Jake looked at him for a long moment, his arms still crossed. He didn’t say anything right away, and Levi could see the wheels turning in his head, like he was trying to piece together something he couldn’t quite grasp.
“I get that it’s different for you,” Jake said slowly, his voice softer now. “But if you keep shutting it out, how are you ever gonna learn to deal with it?”
Levi swallowed hard, his chest tight. Jake wasn’t wrong. Levi had spent years trying to keep his powers at bay, trying to block out the emotions of others because they were too much. Too heavy. But no matter how hard he tried, it always slipped through. The fear, the anger, the sadness—it all seeped into him, weighing him down like a stone around his neck.
“You make it sound so easy,” Levi muttered, his voice barely audible.
Jake stepped closer, his expression softening. “I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m saying you don’t have to figure it out alone.”
Levi didn’t respond, his mind racing with a thousand unspoken thoughts. He appreciated Jake’s offer, but this wasn’t something Jake could help with. Levi’s power wasn’t something you practiced. It wasn’t something you learned to control by pushing harder. It was something you survived, something you endured.
They started walking again, the silence between them stretching, but not as tense as before. Levi could feel Jake’s frustration, but it wasn’t anger—it was concern. Jake wasn’t good at expressing it, but Levi knew his friend well enough to know that behind the teasing and the bravado, Jake cared. He just didn’t know how to help.
As they turned down a narrow alley, the city’s noise faded even more, leaving only the soft hum of distant traffic and the occasional creak of an old building settling in the night air. Levi tried to focus on the sound of their footsteps, the rhythm of it, steady and grounding. But no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, he could feel the familiar stir of emotions creeping in at the edges of his mind.
It was subtle at first, like a faint whisper that grew louder the closer they got to the end of the alley. Levi’s heart started to race, his pulse quickening as the emotions hit him all at once—fear, confusion, desperation. He staggered, his breath catching in his throat as the flood of feelings crashed over him.
“Levi?” Jake’s voice was sharp, cutting through the haze.
Levi grabbed onto the rough brick wall to steady himself, his head spinning as the emotions overwhelmed him. They weren’t his, but they felt so real—so immediate, like they were clawing at his mind, trying to pull him under.
“Levi, what the hell?” Jake was next to him now, his hand on Levi’s arm, gripping tightly. “What’s going on?”
Levi squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block it out, trying to push the emotions away, but they were too strong. He could feel the fear of someone nearby, feel their panic rising, their heart pounding in their chest like it was his own. The pressure was unbearable, like a vice tightening around his mind.
Jake’s grip on his arm tightened. “Levi, talk to me.”
Levi gasped for breath, his hand clutching the wall as the wave of emotions finally started to recede, leaving him shaky and weak. He blinked, his vision swimming as he tried to regain control, to steady himself.
“I… I don’t know,” Levi muttered, his voice hoarse. “Just… give me a second.”
Jake didn’t let go of his arm, his eyes filled with worry. “You said you could feel people’s emotions, but this… this is different. You never told me it was this bad.”
Levi forced himself to stand upright, wiping a shaky hand across his forehead. He could still feel the lingering emotions—the fear, the panic—but it was distant now, like an echo fading away.
“It’s always been this bad,” Levi said quietly, meeting Jake’s eyes. “I just didn’t want you to know.”
Jake’s expression softened, his hand dropping from Levi’s arm. “Why not? I’m your best friend. You don’t have to hide this from me.”
Levi swallowed hard, his chest tight with the weight of the confession. “Because I don’t know how to control it. And I didn’t want you to see that.”
Jake looked at him for a long moment, the silence between them heavy. Then he shook his head, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Levi, we’ve been through everything together. You think I care if you don’t have it all figured out? I’m the guy who blew up a streetlamp and thought it was fun. I’m not exactly the model of control.”
Levi let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, a small smile breaking through his tension. Jake had a way of cutting through the noise, of making things feel less… impossible.
“You’re an idiot,” Levi muttered, but there was warmth in his voice.
Jake grinned, clapping him on the back. “Yeah, but I’m your idiot. And we’ll figure this out. Together.”
Levi nodded, the knot in his chest loosening just a little. Maybe Jake didn’t fully understand what Levi was going through, but he was right about one thing—they were in this together. They always had been.