Aida followed the girls down to the Lake on the following First Moon Day of the second moon cycle. They were all chattering happily, looking forward to a relaxing picnic the boys were setting up.

Aida tried to keep the mood lighthearted, but had a pit of anxiety in her stomach. She hadn’t had a chance to speak to Levi individually for three whole star cycles, and she wasn’t sure if he would even show up this time. Ezra wasn’t bothered by Levi’s social withdrawal, though he conceded that for the most part they were still interacting in classes as they normally did: mock competitiveness from Levi, cool indifferent tolerance from Ezra.

Levi’s baritone laugh floated up to them, easing the knot in her stomach. At least he’s not too upset to leave the friend group.

“You all finally made it!” Levi said languidly, waving at the girls. He was wearing an apron, and instead of the usual picnic blanket, there was a dugout pit piled with charcoal and a grate over it. Behind him was Caleb, also in an apron, chopping meat on a large wooden block. Ezra was silently arranging the meat chunks on some metal trays. “Nolem said there’s been an influx of monster meat from the sponsorship assignments, so told us to have ourselves a barbecue.”

Sue and Lily squealed, darting over to the prep station. “Should I start the fire?”

“Whenever you’re ready,” Levi said courteously. He clicked the tongs he had in his hand and swept the hair out of his face, throwing some sparkles into the air. “I’m here to support.”

“What kind of support?” Aida asked, looking at everything laid out. “Are you a master griller?”

“Of course not, I’m here to taste test the meat to make sure Caleb’s grilling ability is up to par,” Levi scoffed. He poked at some of the coals with a long stick, rearranging the spread. “C’mon Suelina! Let’s get the party started.”

Aida headed towards Caleb and Ezra, who were now being assisted by Lily and Vanita. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I think we’re done,” Caleb said, inspecting his handiwork. “Maybe you can help with cleaning?”

“Of course.” Aida took the cutting board and knife over to the Lake, where Ezra joined her shortly after.

“How are you?”

“Good,” Aida murmured back. She pulled water from the Lake, scrubbing the cutting board. Ezra picked up the butcher’s knife, holding it out so she could scrub both at the same time. “Levi seems normal.”

Ezra shrugged noncommittally. “He never gave any indication that he wouldn’t participate in this gathering.”

“I wonder if I should talk to him,” Aida said softly, rinsing the board and knife. “If he’s treating things like normal.”

“It is up to you,” Ezra said quietly. He hesitated. “If you’re planning on talking to him, I would advise you decide on your course of action with him first.”

“What do you mean?”

“Since not knowing what Levi is thinking bothers you, I agree you should talk to him,” Ezra said slowly. “However, I expect the conversation may be easily taken in a new direction if you let him.”

Aida bit her lip. I just want to know that he’s okay. But Ezra was right; if Levi was acting normal, he was signaling he was fine with them. On the other hand, he was also a political animal; he blended in with the status quo very well. And even though he had responded to her, he still hadn’t looked at her…or even acknowledged the fact Aida and Ezra were together.

I have to talk to him.

“Just make sure you are prepared for the least desirable outcome,” Ezra said softly, recognizing the look on her face. “Levi…is not the type to bend easily to another’s will.”

Aida gave the cutlery one final rinse, nodding tightly.

Ezra’s warning made her think of things in a different light. She didn’t have a plan - did she want Levi’s blessing? It didn’t make sense to ask for that from him, because it wasn’t like she had to ask for permission from him. At best, ignoring how he withheld critical information from her, they were friends. He knew the truth about her.

The pit in Aida’s stomach expanded. If he decides to completely end your friendship, then you’ll be isolated again.

Despite Levi’s casual assurance to Sue that Caleb would be the one grilling the meat, he was the one who was doing the actual cooking. He distributed the cooked meat evenly, but he never spoke directly to her, while he didn’t hold himself back from teasing everyone else. Whenever Ezra and Aida entered the dialogue, Levi would always smoothly extricate himself from the conversation by focusing on cooking the next batch of meat.

Even though she wasn’t being deliberately excluded, the change in behavior was hard to ignore.

Maybe I should follow his lead. If he really did like me, he probably needs the space to adjust.

After all, it had only been three weeks so far. The fact he even showed up in a more intimate gathering indicated there was no ill will.

But was there harm in checking in with him? She could just drop him a quick word, let him know she appreciated that he was still maintaining a cordial relationship with everyone…

What purpose would that serve?

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

It might cause more harm than just leaving him to his devices…but what if he was leaving the ball in her court? One of those convoluted rationales that said since she never mentioned the relationship to him, he would also pretend it didn’t exist so that he wasn’t poking his nose into something that didn’t affect him? But Levi is nosy by nature.

The more time Aida stewed in these thoughts, the more confused she became. She glanced up, just in time to see Levi plop a juicy piece of meat on her plate. “Eat up! We don’t want to bring food back to the kitchen.”

Despite having his easygoing smile on his face, there seemed to be a dimness in Levi’s eyes that Aida barely caught. Did I imagine that?

Shaking her head firmly, she berated herself for imagining things.

But…there’s only one way to find out.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Aida actually ended up helping the boys with the picnic cleanup, by virtue of waiting for Ezra.

“Huh, I guess that’s one way of equalizing the labor between the girls and guys,” Levi joked as Aida held the grate in a small whirlpool. “Caleb, when are you going to recruit another helper to our side?”

Caleb ducked away, muttering sheepishly. Ezra lightly bonked Levi’s head with a clean pair of tongs. “Why couldn’t you recruit another helper? Skies know you have much more opportunity than the rest of us.”

Levi clucked his tongue. “I have to be careful about my selection, my good brother. If I invite another friend, all other friends will be expecting an invitation, too.”

“It must be difficult being popular,” Aida commented, handing the now-clean grate to Levi to pack away.

“Well, we learn to manage,” Levi responded lightly, turning away from her.

Aida followed the boys as they headed towards the school, with Caleb splitting off to return the basket and Levi making an excuse to go tend to his garden, leaving Aida and Ezra standing at the edge of the courtyard. Ezra glanced at Aida.

“I’ll be in my room, if you need to talk.”

Aida swallowed, her eyes following Levi’s strolling figure. “…I’ll come find you.”

Nodding, Ezra raised his hand and placed it on Aida’s head, his eyes soft. “Good luck.”

As soon as Aida heard Ezra open the door into the building, she took off at a run, Levi’s figure fading into the shadows.

Cursing at the random overhangs and overgrowth on the path, Aida reached out with her mana to see if she could still track Levi’s presence. She hadn’t visited his garden in a while, so she wasn’t sure she could remember how to get to it; she didn’t recall the path being so difficult to traverse, though.

“You really can’t take a hint, can you?”

Aida stopped struggling when Levi’s own mana briefly met hers - as he effectively slapped her essence away. “…hey.” Straightening up, she peered through the vegetation as Levi stepped out.

“Out with it. What do you want?”

“I…I just wanted to see how you were doing.” Aida’s voice quivered at the last word, and she mentally smacked herself for showing weakness.

Levi rolled his eyes. “I’m fine. Is that all?”

“Well…we haven’t talked in a while, so I thought something was wrong.” She tried to keep her tone lighthearted, but Levi’s glare didn’t lessen in the gloom.

“If something was wrong, I would have said something.” Levi’s careless response inflamed Aida’s temper.

“Really?” Aida shot back. “Would you have said something if it was heading towards the wrong direction? Or would you have waited until something was irreparably wrong before saying something?”

Levi gave her a withering, albeit begrudging glare. “Point. Come on then.”

He cleared the obstacles from Aida’s path and led her towards his grove, which was starting to take on the clean, manicured look she had been expecting. Once they reached the clearing, he strode towards the far side where a large leafy stump was, and he plopped down with his arms crossed.

Aida decided to take a seat on the same log she sat on before, directly across the clearing from Levi’s throne. They stared at each other, neither blinking.

Levi’s face was impassive, his dark green hair looking almost black in the dim lighting. The mischievous spark that was normally in his eyes was gone, replaced by a steely glint. His shoulders lifted as his chest swelled, taking in a deep breath.

“Well?”

“I’m assuming you’re not okay.”

“I could be better,” Levi allowed. “But I could also be worse. So what?”

“Does it really bother you that Ezra and I…” Aida tapered off, unwilling to vocalize the words. She didn’t even dare think of Ezra as a - her - boyfriend, let alone acknowledge they were finally in a…relationship. Not even in the privacy of her own thoughts. “…are no longer available?” she finished reluctantly.

Levi scoffed as he leaned back, crossing his ankle over his knee as he propped his head on his fingers. He cut an impressive figure, looking just like one of those arrogant, rich male leads who didn’t have to follow decorum. “You really think the world revolves around you, huh?”

Aida pressed her lips tightly together, uncertain how to deal with his hostility. Be calm. Don’t fight fire with fire. It will just get worse.

She took a deep breath. “If you’re not going to communicate, then all I can do is try to guess how you’re feeling. So, given that you’ve been avoiding me since…Ezra and I got together, I can only assume you’re upset by that development.”

“Communication, huh? Okay, you want to talk about communication,” Levi said lowly, planting both feet on the ground as he leaned forward in his seat. “Have you told Ezra that you’re not Aida? Is that why you’re able to be so happily in love with him? He knows who you are, and he’s fine with it?”

Aida suddenly felt very hot. “I - it’s such a new relationship, so I thought—“

“What’s with the delay?” Levi drawled. “Are you withholding some information from dear Ezra? What ever for?” His eyes glinted and he stood up, his tall body looming over her despite the distance between them. “Do you think Ezra was able to make a properly informed, independent decision with you holding back such an important detail?”

Aida’s face burned as Levi echoed the argument from the Old Moon Festival. Ezra was right - she should have prepared better, not let Levi drive everything off-track. But Levi’s not wrong…

“You’re right,” she whispered.

“What?” Levi snapped.

Aida cleared her throat, projecting a strong front. “I didn’t tell Ezra the truth. So I’m sorry for getting mad at you when you also withheld the truth from me.”

“And compared to my transgression, yours is…” Levi rolled his wrist, inviting Aida to finish his sentence.

“It’s worse. I know. Bigger than yours.” Aida stood up, straightening her back so she could at least be on a more even footing with Levi.

Levi continued to stare at Aida, a blank expression on his face before he finally sighed mournfully.