“Why hello,” Teena Vega said pleasantly as they finally caught sight of each other. Her eyes were narrowed to golden crescents that could be perceived as the natural result of smiling, but on her looked more like a Cheshire cat smile. “Fancy seeing you two here.”
“Afternoon, Healer Teena,” Levi said, somewhat breathlessly. “What brings you to this part of the woods?”
“I felt a mana disturbance during my daily walk, and thought I should come and investigate. Fortunately, it seems to just be you two,” Vega said conversationally. She peered past Levi at Aida, tilting her head in overexaggerated innocence. “What are you doing so far from the school? Surely there’s no reason to come all the way out here for a…simple conversation?” Her eyes lingered on their flushed faces and she seemed pleased by what she saw, if the feral smirk that spread across her face was anything to go by.
Aida clenched her teeth, knowing what Vega was imagining: Aida, the scum of the school who didn’t deserve her position in the school, at the source of a “mana disturbance” with a boy from Class 1 - who wasn’t her boyfriend.
“Thank you for taking on the mantle of patrolling the grounds for us,” Levi said courteously. “I’m sure the professors all appreciate having Affiliates volunteer their precious time to make sure the school is safe.”
“My pleasure,” Vega responded back equally as politely. Aida couldn’t help but feel her face twist in disgust at how fake they were being. Smear it on even thicker, why don’t you? She quickly smoothed out her expression as Vega glanced back at Aida. “But I really am quite surprised to see you and Aida out here - enjoying some private time together? I’ve noticed you two seem to run in different circles during the school days.”
Levi sighed as he began walking, forcing Vega to walk with him. “To tell you the truth, Aida asked me to help grow some plants so she could start experimenting with brewing her own potions, so we were just checking on the garden layout. Please keep this to yourself, by the way. I don’t want other aspiring Healers to come bother me for ingredients as well.”
Vega looked over her shoulder at Aida, who was tagging along silently and frowning at Levi’s back.
“Really? That’s very generous of you to spend your efforts on something like that. Are you doing something for Levi in return for his favor, Aida?” Levi turned around at Vega’s question and continued walking backwards, giving her a sharp look while Vega kept her attention on Aida. Don’t say something stupid, his look seemed to say.
Aida shrugged nonchalantly, falling into the vapid character she had prepared for the hostile healer. “I don’t see why I need to do more for him. If it weren’t for me, Levi wouldn’t have as many best friends as he does now.”
Vega raised an eyebrow. “Best friends?”
“Yeah, you know: me, Suelina, Lily, Vanita, Caleb, and Ezra,” Aida said, ticking off the names on her fingers. “We get together during meal times and breaks, when we can. Poor Levi would have been so lonely if it wasn’t for me.”
“My, you certainly are very friendly, aren’t you? As the paste that holds all of you together,” Vega mused, smirking slightly before turning away to look significantly at Levi. “Is her friendship worth it, Levi?”
“Of course,” Levi said blithely. “Aida’s an extremely likable person; that’s why so many people are willing to put their reputations on the line for her, because she’s such a beacon of goodness. Not a seed of malice or deceit in her heart.”
“How sweet! You should be careful not to lose your innocence, though. There are lots of bad people out in the world,” Vega said, turning back to smile kindly at Aida. Aida kept herself from bristling at the condescension by shrugging her shoulders and sticking her tongue out at Levi playfully.
“Ah, she doesn’t have to worry about that,” Levi said airily, drawing Vega’s attention back to himself. He smiled cheekily at the two of them. “Aida’s never going to be alone; she’ll always have friends who will be willing to give their lives for her.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Aida giggled, skipping ahead of Vega and slapping his back playfully. “It’s impossible to never be alone. Let alone sacrifice their lives - what a horrible thing to expect.”
“Well, I just meant you would never be alone in the way that mattered,” Levi conceded as they fell into their own conversation, ignoring Vega plodding along behind them. “You know we’re never going to abandon you, right?”
Vega laughed from behind, loud enough for them to be forced to acknowledge her. “That’s a big commitment! If I didn’t already know Ezra was courting Aida, I would think you were confessing your feelings to her, Levi!”
Aida felt her fake smile freeze on her face in a rictus, though Levi seemed to take Vega’s comment in stride as he guffawed. He waved a hand dismissively in the air, turning his head over his shoulder to respond while still walking forward.
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“Aw, I wouldn’t do such a thing! I know she wouldn’t choose me anyway - she deserves someone better than me, someone who can help her become the best version of herself, not drag her down to my grubby level.” Levi shook his head sadly, giving Vega an impressive pair of puppy eyes. “I worry I’d corrupt her.”
“That’s stupid,” Aida spat, hoisting her simple-minded persona back onto her face when Levi gave her a warning look. She continued brightly, “You didn’t corrupt me, I already know the world can be a nasty place. By the way, Healer Teena, how did you deal with all the adversity someone of our birth faces without forsaking your principles?” she turned wide, innocent eyes onto Vega, slowing to a stop. They had reached the edge of the forest now, and the school’s main building was in full view.
“’Adversity someone of our birth faces?’” Vega repeated, her megawatt smile gleaming in the shadows. “I don’t really know what you mean; I never had the opportunity to affiliate myself with somewhere as prestigious as Maglica, so I had to climb ranks the difficult way: with hard work and maximum effort.”
“Of course! You must have had a much more challenging time,” Aida agreed, nodding vigorously. “Hard work and maximum effort only got me to the middle of the class. I just wonder…did you have to compromise your ethics in order to get to where you are? Is that how you got successful?”
Aida waited, her hands clasped behind her back as she gave Vega her full attention, a small pout on her lips to show she was taking Vega’s answer seriously. Vega blinked slowly at Aida, and though her face was smooth and impassive, Aida could feel her mana begin rippling dangerously. She braced herself.
The tension was broken when Levi laughed, and he clamped a large hand over Aida’s head. He ruffled her hair playfully, the motion serving to simultaneously turn her away from Vega. He began leading her away while saying, “Silly Aida. There’s no doubt Healer Teena worked hard, and I’m sure Fortune Favors wouldn’t have hired her if she had done anything that didn’t exemplify honesty, fairness, and empathy.”
Aida whined back at him as she smoothed her hair out, babbling about “just wanting to know” and “it’s just so hard when you don’t come from a good family…”
They both fell into silence as soon as they reached the courtyard, safely out of earshot of Vega, though they continued strolling at a sedate, guiltless pace.
“You just made her hate you even more,” Levi said quietly. Aida scoffed.
“Did I ever have a chance of making her like me?”
Levi sighed. “As long as you know you antagonized her.”
“Whatever,” Aida muttered. She grabbed onto his arm as he reached for the door. “Levi, about what you said to Vega…”
“What about it?” Levi asked lightly. Even though he turned towards her, he didn’t look at her.
Aida exhaled. It was obvious Levi was going to continue tiptoeing the line of not having to admit anything, but it also wasn’t fair for her to demand he change the way he communicated. After all, when push comes to shove he still defended me against Vega.
“…Thank you. For however much of that act you meant.” Squeezing his arm gratefully, Aida opened the door and let herself in.
“I meant it.”
Aida turned back towards Levi, who continued standing in the doorway. He was outlined by the setting sun, so his expression was difficult to see; but Aida could still see that his eyes were steady and focused on hers.
“I don’t like your relationship with Ezra, but I’m also not going to abandon you. And I know Suelina and Ezra won’t either.” He hesitated, dropping his gaze incrementally. “I won’t abandon you, but…I also need some time to get used to it. As a friend.”
Aida bit her lip, feeling her emotions bubble up. She nodded slightly. “Let me know if…if there’s anything I can do.”
The corner of Levi’s lip quirked. “Just give me some space.”
That’s fair. Aida nodded again. “Then…I’ll be going.”
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
“I see,” Ezra said, after Aida took a breath. She had just told him everything that had transpired with Levi and Vega, and was gratified to see that he had taken everything in stride. “You’ve certainly painted a larger target on your back with Healer Vega.”
Aida grimaced. “Yeah, that’s what Levi said, too…”
He smiled briefly before looking at her with concern. “But how are you feeling?”
“Better than before!” Aida reassured him. “Levi’s still going to be Levi, but at least he’s more straightforward about needing space.”
“I wasn’t asking about that,” Ezra said softly. “I was asking about…knowing that you could easily be with him, if you wanted to.”
Aida blinked at him, astonished. “Why are you suggesting…”
“You seem much more happy, unreserved, with him,” Ezra clarified. He wasn’t smiling anymore. “I just…I would rather you be happy than be with me, if you feel stifled by me.”
She looked at him, aghast. “No! Why would you think that I’m unhappy or stifled by you?”
He shrugged lightly, his silver eyes misting over as he glanced off to the side. “I would not characterize you as unhappy with me, necessarily, but…I fear I’m holding you back. Keeping you from attaining your true potential.”
Aida flopped backwards on his bed, staring up at his ceiling. Boys! They were so indecisive and insecure. After all the struggle to make sure everyone was fine with their relationship, it was extremely ironic that Ezra would worry that she would feel differently enough to want to leave him.
“Aida?” Ezra said hesitantly. She felt the bed move as he scooted a little closer to her, though he didn’t breach her personal space. “Are you all right?”
Aida popped back up, giving him a severe look. “After all you sacrificed with your family, and after one talk with Levi, you’re expecting us to break up?”
“…No?” Ezra said uncertainly, unnerved.
“Good. Because I knew what I was getting into, and I decided to get into it,” Aida said firmly.
But he doesn’t know what he’s getting into.
“Aida? Are you all right?” Ezra asked, concerned. “Is there something else bothering you?”