She threw her hands up in exasperation. "I thought this was sort of like a group trip?" Reagan rolled her eyes in what appeared to be a straining manner, "Jesus fucking Christ guys, get a room!"

"We are in a room," Levi said sharply due to surprise, "in case you didn't notice!" He seemed impatient. Cath just sat there dazed on the undone bed, grasping a blanket to her chest—the thin sheet sufficient enough to cover his lower half and her entire body, thankfully. It just got to her after a few moments that Levi wasn't smiling. It made her stomach sink.

"Well, there is such a thing called a lock," his ex said calmly (Cath began to breathe again), "and word of advice, it comes in handy when doing…" she cocked out a finger and made a sarcastic-with-a-tinge-of-disgust circling motion around the bed, around us. "…this."

Her eyes flitted to Cath for a brief, dragging second, then to Levi. She squinted her eyes a tad as she zoomed out to the big picture, and then just shrugged off the whole thing as if it were something that was encountered on a regular basis.

The door was inches from shutting when her voice resounded in the room again.

"Oh, right," a follow up message, apparently, "why I came here. There's a party down at the beach tonight. Come if you're not busy." The click signified that the door was in place again.

"Holy shit." Cath still held her hands to her chest, clenched tightly against the sheet that barely dressed her bare skin, now for the reason of feeling her racing heartbeat. She stared blankly ahead.

What happened was beyond embarrassing, and she wasn't sure if she could face Reagan straight when they would be left alone together after this. Constantly slipping from their dorm to evade her company seemed like a strenuous job, though not unlikely.

"Cather," he rubbed the small of her back soothingly, to pacify her. "It's alright."

She mustered the courage to look him in the eye, and to her surprise, she found him smiling again. Genuine and warm and encouraging. Tempting. She leaned forward and kissed him again, only more softly now, progressing calmly from where they had left off.

….

Cath's head lay on Levi's chest as she trailed her hand up and down his lean torso, planting kisses on it every now and then—she had found an alternative to just focusing on his face. She had her eyes closed as her fingers brushed his skin, feeling every rise and fall as he breathed, feeling even her warm breath bounce back in their closeness. He stroked her hair with tenderness as they killed time; a shade of auburn had begun burning its way into the sky, seeping through their window to play on lashes and cheeks as they savoured those moments in silence.

"You going tonight?" she whispered into his chest.

"It's worth a shot," he giggled softly, still fiddling with her hair. A moment or two passed before she could reply.

"What about Reagan?" she muttered shyly.

"What about Reagan?" he questioned; the mild elation in his voice almost teasing.

"You know…" she said sheepishly, burying her face into him to hide the heat that radiated in her cheeks. She shook her head, "I don't like what happened."

He laughed, and then rested his cheek on her head. "Don't worry about it, okay?"

She didn't understand how he was so chill about it. She mumbled something in response, but the words came out muffled and indiscernible.

"Cather," he said gently, "do you trust me?"

She nodded gingerly and tilted her head a bit to face his eyes. They shone though dim.

"Nothing's gonna change between us and her, alright sweetheart?" he conveyed slowly, and then sealed her lips with a kiss before rolling her off the bed. "Better get dressed now if we're going out though," he smirked, "you don't wanna draw more attention, now do you?"

"Oww!" she exclaimed, though her landing barely made a thud.

Cath rose from the floor coyly and slipped back into her clothes—still damp, but as if she had any other choice—making her way for the wall. She pressed her ear against it to hear if it was safe enough in her room to make a run for dry attire.

At the moment, she was wary of any other company; still unable to recover from the accident. Reagan and Levi might have just brushed off what had happened so effortlessly, but things like that simply did not go overlooked in Cath's world. She had assumed the two wouldn't be inside their room since they were more of outdoor and outgoing people, but she hears a faint noise on the other side of the hollow division.

"Ugghhh," she gave a long and retired grunt as she slid down the wall to end up huddled on the ground. Her plain white cotton tee hugged her body, just clammy and thin enough to expose a black bra beneath. Fortunately, her long hair came to the rescue, leaving it tumble down both sides to conceal what was under. Her denim shorts were drenched even more; though not dripping, so it was manageable.

"I'm going out like this?" she shot a face at Levi, who was still under the covers, watching in amusement as she sulked.

He reached for his bag without moving from his place, dug out a faded pink button up, and threw it at her, "either go out and face them or come in that." His teeth were in a grand display again.

"You're beautiful either way."

….

They were on their way out already when Cath realized her room was empty. She thought about dropping by to change at least, but she saw herself in the reflection of a glass window and realized how her outfit suited her. She hadn't discarded any of the clothes she wore. She had just added his shirt and left it unbuttoned and rolled up by the sleeves, letting the opening hang just like she'd leave a cardigan agape—just enough to shield her from the chill that might latch on her damp tee. Levi's body wasn't too big or too small, so the looseness of his clothing fit her fairly well.

However, other than excuses on appearance,(the most honest reason) she had grown entrenched in Levi's scent that clung onto that borrowed shirt, not wanting to take it off. Ever—too entrenched, apparently, to the point of considering even swimming in his laundry pile. Discarding it was a remote thought.

Since her shirt was thin, the warm summer breeze was enough to dry it up just right.

The sun had already gone down by the time they hit the road, so they had to walk in the shade of distantly situated lamp posts. Guiding her the entire way to their destination was Levi, his arm resting atop her shoulders and drawing her nearer—as if body heat could make up for the puffs of wind that gently nibbled at their skin. The soft buzzing of streetlights overhead and the crashing of waves in the distance and the mere voice of this boy, though, was enough to keep her warm internally for days and days and days.

As warm grains of sand began wandering into their slippers and slipping under their feet, she spotted a faint flicker on the far side of the area, someplace close to shore. Drawing near, they made out that it was a bonfire, surrounded by people laughing and relaxing and simply having fun—Wren and Reagan included. With that sight and this splendid being in her presence, all her momentary concerns and paranoia just seemed washed away with the pull of every current—no more being timid around Reagan (or other humans, for the matter), no more worrying about her dad, no more fussing about her latest update for her new ongoing fic—because in that very moment, everything just felt right.