Half of My Heart ✔️

04 | in the spotlight

Levi gives me directions and I pull up in front of something that resembles a night club. I parallel park the car on the curb, thinking of all the reasons he would be here.

He gathers his stuff while I sit there quietly, drumming my fingers on the steering to fill the awkward silence. "Thanks for the ride, Crimson," he says as he steps out of the car.

I smile politely. "Good luck. Doing whatever you're about to do," I say. He grins, amused by my nervous choice of words.

"Will do. I'll send you my part of the project later," he says, then shuts the door. I watch as he starts talking on the phone, walks down the sidewalk, and disappears along the side of the building, even though the entrance seems to be at the front. I shrug and pull out my phone.

I have a few texts from my friends back home which I respond to quickly. Then I check the last message from Archer.

Jack and I are
staying in tonight
Wanna hang out?

I type a yes because I haven't seen my brother all week. Then I delete it and type a no, not sure if spending a Friday night with Jack, even with Archer there, is a good idea. I feel like things are still weird between us after what happened in my dorm when I first moved in.

I glance out the window one last time, not sure what I'm expecting to see, and my eye catches on something in the passenger seat, bunched up under where my phone landed.

Levi's black jacket.

I sit for a second, staring at the item of clothing and contemplating my options. I'll see him in class next Monday, but I could just give it to him right now. It would kill two birds with one stone, and I wouldn't have to carry the jacket around the whole morning before our class together.

Or I could keep it, burn it, and give him the ashes in a nice zip-lock bag on Monday.

I sigh and turn off the car.

I couldn't really tell what shortcut Levi took to get in, and I don't trust myself to figure it out. The line in front to get in is relatively short, but it's dark and cold outside, so I drape Levi's jacket around my shoulders just to keep from freezing to death. When I finally get inside, it's almost just as dark as it was outside.

I follow the stream of people through a short hallway. At the end, I find myself among a sea of people, crowded into a large space, all talking and laughing. Music thrums loudly in the air, causing everything to vibrate slightly.

There's live music coming from onstage. And almost front and center is the owner of the jacket, looking down concentratedly as he strums his guitar. It takes me a second to recognize him at first. The strong set of his jaw as he plays the notes. The confident smile lingering on his face as he creates these powerful sounds.

He always gave off an air of solid confidence, but on stage, all signs of reservation or inhibition are gone. Watching him on stage, it's almost like he has come alive. I'm utterly captivated by the sight as I make my way through the mass of spectators.

I recognize Roman up there too, singing. The music is a bit intense -- alternative, I should say -- for my tastes, but I find myself enjoying it. Levi and the rest of the band seem like the center of the universe, pulling everyone in this room further into their energy.

After a few minutes of watching them, I snap out of my trance, remembering why I'm here. I almost feel silly for coming here just to bring Levi his jacket when he's up on stage, somewhat of a star as he glows beneath the neon lights while playing his guitar.

Not to mention, I can't help but hear people -- mainly girls -- talking about how attractive the lead guitarist is. Feeling Levi's jacket around my shoulders, it's almost hard to believe that I was sitting on a couch with him only an hour earlier, innocently watching a classic movie while plotting ways to kill him.