Disclaimer: Just like the world and characters of Simon Snow belong to Gemma T. Leslie, the world and characters of Fangirl belong to Rainbow Rowell.

A Summertime Conundrum

Chapter I

There was a boy in her room.

And Cath could not stand the pang in her stomach that she got when she looked at him.

In just one day, she knew that she and Levi would have to part their separate ways to go home during their summer vacation. Cath wasn't sure she could deal with not being able to get her fill of Levi each day.

"Why the long face, Cather?" Levi asked and sat down next to Cath on her bed.

"Do I really have to go?" she asked. Her hollow voice seemed small, even in the tiny dorm room.

"Come on, Cath," Levi grinned. "You can't like school that much. No one does."

That smile. Cath was going to miss him so much. "Yeah, but I'm not going to be able to see you every day."

Levi wrapped his arms around Cath's waist and moved her closer. She rested her head against his chest and listened to the deep rumbling of his voice as he spoke. "I know, but I'll come see you on the weekends and… hey, maybe I could take you back to my place and you could stay with me for a while."

"Yeah… I guess."

"Trust me; you wouldn't want to have me around all summer. Wouldn't you get tired of me?"

Cath covered her mouth and gasped in mock horror. "Get tired of you? Never."

They both laughed and Levi moved to get up from where he was laying. "When's your father coming to pick you up? We'd better start boxing your stuff up."

Cath sprang up. "Two o'clock," She said breathlessly. "What time is it now?"

"One thirty-seven…"

"Shit! He wanted me to be waiting for him with all of my stuff outside." Cath hadn't even started packing yet…

"Don't worry, we'll get it done." Levi opened up Cath's closet and pulled out her stack of boxes. "I'll get your books. You get your clothes."

Cath nodded and began to rapidly pull clothes off of her hangers and stuffed them into her boxes. She didn't bother to fold any or organize it in any way and neither did Levi.

Minutes later, her room was empty. Reagan had left early the day before, so not a single item still lay strewn on the floor. It was so bare. It was as if it wasn't really her room or Reagan's anymore; no different than the one next door or all the others down the hallway.

"It's too ugly without your stuff," Levi mumbled.

"…Thanks?"

Levi wrapped his arms around Cath's waist and buried his face in her hair. "I'm going to miss this place."

Cath leaned her head back and rested it on Levi's shoulder. She looked into his eyes. "Me too."

Their lips collided and Cath reveled in the feeling as the entire world seemed to disappear around them. Maybe it would be enough to get her through the next months that she would spend alone in Omaha. This time she spent with Levi, as always, was perfect.

Until Cath's phone rang. She gave Levi one last kiss on his jawline then reached into her pocket.

"Hey Cath, it's Dad. I'm right outside."

Cath placed a hand on top of her head. "I'm so sorry. I lost track of time. Just stay right there. I just need to bring some boxes down."

"Do you need any help?"

"No. Levi and I can manage. I'll see you in a few minutes."

"See you."

Cath ended the call. "You will be able to stay a bit longer and help me out, right?"

"Anything for you, Cather dearest," Levi sang. And grinned. That grin. She stared at him until she was sure that she would never forget the way his smiles looked. She sure was going to miss him.

"I know I'm gorgeous, but let's get back to moving your boxes. I don't want your dad to have to wait any longer," Levi said.

Cath's cheeks turned red. Even though she had been dating Levi for just over two months now, she hated when he called her out for staring at him. She bend down to pick up a box and let a wave of her brown hair (Levi had begged her to leave it down for the "occasion") fall out from behind her shoulder to cover her face. And hopefully her reddening cheeks.

"Let's go," Cath agreed.

The boxes were wedged into the trunk amongst Wren's and some even overflowed into the car's backseat. Before the last two boxes were moved out, Cath and Levi snuck back up to her dorm room for one last kiss. Cath kept telling herself that, but kept making excuses for just one more.

The sun streamed in through the window, lighting up Levi's hair in a golden glow. His hands were on her waist and her fingers wrapped around his hair. It was a perfect last moment.

"When am I going to see you next?" Levi asked.

Cath smiled. "You're quick to assume that I want to do that."

Levi laughed. "Cath, you always want to see me again." Nothing could have been closer to the truth.

Cath waited expectantly for him to respond.

"In a week? Or would that be too soon?" he said at last.

"More like not soon enough."

The entire ride home, Cath kept replaying all of her moments with Levi in her head. And every time she saw his signature smile, she would grin as well.

"What?" her dad demanded as she tried in vain to stifle a giggle for what must have been the twentieth time. She hated those stupid, immature, school-girl tendencies that she still had.

"Oh… nothing," Cath said.

"It must be something. I can hardly believe that you're that glad to see your old dad."

Cath swatted his arm. "You're not old."

"I bet it's your boyfriend," Wren sang from the backseat.

Cath didn't respond but smiled to herself and looked out the window at the blur of trees passing by.

The car pulled into their driveway as the sun began to set behind the row of houses behind them. Despite how much Cath had loved the second semester of college, she was glad to see her home once again. She remembered how badly she had wanted to stay here and not return to school during last winter break. Back then, she was certain that she couldn't ever face Levi again after they had shared a kiss and then she caught him making out with another girl during one of his parties. Now, she just shook her head at her stupidity. Throw away everything just because of some boy troubles? How could she have ever been so stupid?

Her future mattered more than anything else. And to ensure that she got the future that she wanted, college was a must. It was a good thing that her dad had made her return. If she hadn't, Cath doubted that she would have ever forgiven herself. Not to mention, she would never have gotten together with Levi. Levi. She wondered how she could miss him so badly already.

She and Wren carried their boxes up the stairs and left them in a pile in the middle of the room they shared. They could always deal with them later. At the moment, she was starving and so was Wren. The two girls eagerly joined their dad in the kitchen, looking for a meal.

"So what's for dinner?" Cath asked. She was sitting beside Wren at the kitchen table and had her chin rested between her hands.

Her dad opened up the refrigerator and gestured to the stacks of boxes that were crammed inside of it. Healthy Choice meals. Wren and Cath both groaned. Ever since they had left their dad on his own when they had gone off to college, he had been living off of these boxed meals. Or at least he meant to. He despised those meals as much as the girls did. Cath wouldn't have been at all surprised if those boxes were the same ones she had seen when she had come to visit over spring break. And president's day weekend. And when Wren was in the hospital. And over winter break. And…

Cath picked up a box and searched for an expiration date. Her fears were confirmed. January 21st. She held it up to her dad for him to see.

"Do you even eat these anymore?" she demanded.

"You can't blame me. They were like eating cardboard," he said defensively.

One by one, Cath took the boxes out of the refrigerator. And just like the first, they were all excessively past their expiration date.

"I'm not taking any chances," Cath announced. "I'm gonna throw all these out. You need to buy real food while I'm here."

Cath's dad threw his hands up in the air. "Amen. Did I ever tell you how much I missed having you guys cook for me every day?" He wrapped his arm around her and squeezed her against him, then made his way over to Wren.

"But I already do cook all of your meals," Wren pointed out. "You've been eating the leftovers that I've been making for you, right?"

"Of course. And they are absolutely delicious."

Cath's stomach rumbled. "I'm starving here. Let's go get some food." She loaded her arms with the expired boxes. "How about the Taco truck?"

Wren and their dad leapt up. "Definitely!"

Whenever they didn't have any food in the house, didn't feel like cooking, or had a bad day, the multiple taco trucks throughout their neighborhood was their go-to place for a meal. At college, the dorm buildings hardly served any tacos. On the rare occasion that they were on the menu, they weren't the same.

Cath dumped the last of the Healthy Choice boxes into the large garbage can and was walking towards the car when she heard a loud screech then a crunch. "What was that?" her dad called from inside the house. "Are you two alright?"

Wren yelled back from the garage. "That wasn't us."

"Then what was that noise?"

"I don't know… It's probably nothing."

Their dad appeared in the doorway between their house and the garage. "It sure didn't sound like nothing…" He pressed the button to open the garage door and walked out onto the sidewalk. He looked down the street to his left and saw nothing, then looked to his right.

"Wren? Cath? Give me one of your cellphones."

Wren reached into the pocket of her jeans and jogged up to her dad and handed it to him. When she saw what he had, her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my god… Cath? Come see this," she said, but Cath had already walked over to them.

A few houses down the street, glass, metal shards, and other shrapnel littered the pavement. Two cars lay mutilated at the side of the road. One – completely upside down.

"Hello, nine-one-one. What's your emergency?" Cath heard through the cellphone that her dad had pressed to his ear as she trotted brusquely next to her father towards the scene of the accident.

"I'm reporting a car accident at the corner of 31st and West," Cath's dad said. "One car is upside down… I'm approaching them right now… I don't see any movement… They might be trapped…"

"I'm sending an ambulance right now. It will arrive in a few minutes. Don't move anyone or anything unless it is absolutely necessary to do so."

"I got it. Thank you." He hung up.

A movement caught Cath's eye and she watched as a young man dragged himself out of the backseat of the overturned car.

"Dad… Dad!" Cath shouted. "Over here!"

He rushed over and crouched amongst the broken glass next to the person. "It's going to be okay. The paramedics will be here soon. Hang in there."

The guy sputtered an unintelligible phrase, and then coughed out some blood. "My mom… dad?" Even his words sounded hoarse and painful as he barely choked them out.

"Don't worry about them. They will be fine," Cath's dad reassured him. She could hear the first faint wails of a siren in the distance. Slowly, her dad rolled the boy over so that he was facing upward.

Cath stopped on her way over to them.

"Nick?!"

A/N: Let me know what you thought of this! I'll try to post updates once a week, but like always, no guarantees. Don't forget to review, favorite, and follow! I always LOVE any feedback that I can get.