(yes this chapter is so many pages, but it's only because of the author's note at the end which i ask that you read. thank you <3)

While everyone laid asleep peacefully, Skye was completely wide awake. At first, she had managed to fall asleep, but with her habit of waking up a bunch in the middle of the night, she was wide awake, and damn did her back hurt. Sleeping bags were the worst without a doubt.

Seeing as she wouldn't fall asleep anytime soon, Skye decided to sneak out of the bedroom and head downstairs for a midnight snack. What's the worst that could happen?

She tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen, trying her best to make it through the dark until she could get to the fridge, feeling up her surroundings. Once Skye did make it to the fridge, that little light bulb inside was the prize at the end.

Skye scanned through her options, hoping there would be some sort of snack to please her appetite. A strawberry banana yogurt caught her eye though, so she went to grab for it, only to get a scare from a certain someone.

"Hey."

"Jesus Christ-" Skye jumped, then saw it was just Levi standing there. "Levi?"

"Sorry." He blushed, apologizing for scaring her. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Yeah... I was just looking for a snack. Hope you don't mind." She replied.

"Nah, I don't mind," Levi assured her. To be honest, he couldn't sleep either, but clearly for reasons different from Skye. She wasn't exactly having the time of her life with the sleeping bag, but what can you do?

"Cool, cause I'm totally eating this yogurt," Skye said, grabbing the yogurt she had her eyes on before Levi came up out of nowhere.

"Fine by me." He shrugged. "I think I'll get one too."

"I'll just get out of the way then." She replied, stepping aside so Levi could get to the fridge, but still standing by to talk to him. Skye figured that if he couldn't sleep either, then the two could at least have some sort of conversation for a little bit.

"Sorry, you have to sleep on the floor with the sleeping bag," Levi said randomly.

"It's whatever. I'll live." Skye shrugged. Before coming downstairs, she had thought of all the worse possibilities than sleeping on the floor. For example, sleeping in a creepy forest and a bear coming towards her, or even worse, a swarm of bees chasing her. Actually, both are bad, but there were a lot more worse things than the current situation.

"We can swap if you want." He offered, which Skye immediately refused.

"Nah, you don't have to do that." She insisted. "I'll just make up for lost sleep when we all leave."

"Alright." Levi fell silent as he shut the refrigerator door and struggled to look at Skye in the dark kitchen. Seeing as the two were down there for a midnight snack, he thought they could eat and chat together. "Uh, wanna sit down?"

"Sure." Skye nodded. The two then grabbed spoons to use, carefully stepped on over to the dining room, and tried their very best to keep quiet when pulling out chairs to sit on.

"I would turn on a light, but I don't wanna wake up anybody." He whispered. The pair had been talking at a pretty low volume the whole time, but Levi felt the need to whisper as the dining room was closer to the hallway that leads to the stairs compared to the kitchen.

"It's just me, you, and the moon." She said as the moonlight shined through the windows of the house.

"I like that." Levi grinned, a smile creeping up on Skye's face as well. "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

Skye looked out the window for a moment, squinting her eyes and looking up at the moon as she gave Levi her response, one that had her hunger to blame. "Yeah, if you really like cheese."

"Eh?" Levi sat confused as Skye laughed, having to control herself knowing she'd disturb someone's slumber. It wasn't really the response he was expecting at all. He knew of the saying thanks to Danny, not exactly remembering the whole story behind it. All Levi knew is that the saying was more of a romantic one, but it felt fitting as Skye brought up the moon.

"Sorry, I'm just really hungry and cheese came to mind." She snickered. After Skye finally calmed herself down, she peeled the lid off of her yogurt and proposed that they start feasting on their late night snack. "Let's dig in, shall we?"

Levi didn't waste another second responding as the two began to eat in silence, both looking down at their yogurt to avoid any awkward gazes. Despite the prevention of said gazes, Skye liked having a moment with just Levi and only him, even with everyone asleep upstairs. At the moment she didn't have to worry about any comments the others would say about them, and his presence always made her feel safe. Levi always looked out for her even in times when she didn't realize it, but Skye appreciated it whenever she noticed.

Caught up in the silence, Skye and Levi find themselves meeting eyes and freezing up as they share a look, almost as if time itself froze just for them. Both trying to think of something to say to make the stare less awkward, Skye blurts out something that she had remembered about from a long time ago.

"Amelia."

"Huh?" Levi furrowed his eyebrows.

"My middle name is Amelia," Skye added, now making more sense. Levi had vowed to find out her middle name as she figured out his many months ago, but never did as Skye swore her dad to never telling him. Blurting it out now felt like a good time, and it was almost like a reward in a way.

"Oh, it's pretty." He said. Skye Amelia Simmons. Altogether, it was a pretty name no doubt, just like Skye was on the inside and the outside.

"I just figured I'd tell you since you didn't seem to figure it out and it could be a little gift for being so helpful." She said.

"What do you mean?" Levi questioned.

"I mean, you've been there for me all school year, but I really wanted to thank you for these past few weeks especially. You know, New Years' and all that." Skye replied. Even though she had thanked him already (in writing too!), Skye could never thank him enough. Levi didn't think of it as putting in more effort for her or doing any favors though. He was always the helpful type, but with Skye, it all came effortlessly. Her well-being became the most important thing in the world to him, and the way Levi became flustered with her words showed it.

"I, um, uh." He stuttered. Tell her you like her, dammit. As much as he wanted to come out and say it, the location and the circumstances were just not ideal for him. There was something else he could bring up though, and he knew it would be the right way to go about it.

"Maybe I'm just being weird, I don't know." She shrugged.

"No!" Levi exclaimed, immediately realizing he said that way too loud. "I mean, no way."

"Better keep quiet, Daniels." Skye joked.

"Sorry." He blushed.

"Don't be." She grinned.

As they fell silent again, Levi figured he could bring up his question, one that had actually been on his mind since earlier in the day. "Um, can I ask you something? Totally nothing crazy or anything."

"Now?" Skye raised an eyebrow. "Someone's gonna notice we're gone if we stay down here any longer."

"Yeah, now." He nodded. It was now or never in his mind, although Levi could technically bring it up another time, but he wanted to do this right now.

"Um, okay. Ask away then." She said.

"Look, I know you hate surprises and all, and since we have this moment alone-" Levi began.

"Uh-huh." Skye nodded, seeing where this was going, just like a certain time of the year back in October, this time not as nervous as before.

"Do you want to go to winter formal with me? Like, a date?" He asked.

"Even after what happened with
homecoming?" She questioned.

"Mhm." Levi nodded. Regardless of what happened back then, he was going to ask her anyway. Levi was more determined to make sure things went right this time around, which he didn't have to worry about as there was no homecoming court involved.

"Alright, I'll go to winter formal with you, Levi," Skye replied.

"You realize I said nothing about going as friends, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, I know." She smirked, a faint blaze set to her cheeks, which luckily couldn't be seen in the dark. Skye couldn't comprehend why, but this excited her more than when Levi asked her to homecoming. Even though she wasn't nervous, her heart raced with excitement at the thought of winter formal now.

Levi was shocked to hear Skye not object to going not as friends. This was definitely the start of something new when it came to their friendship (plus potential relationship), and Levi was practically running laps in his mind over it. "O-oh."

"We should probably get back upstairs now though," Skye said.

"Yeah, knowing the gang they'd think we were up to something at this point." He chuckled.

"Well, if they think something is up we could always mess with them." She proposed, which Levi was all for.

"Let's do it then. They'll go crazy." Levi said.

"Really?" Skye raised an eyebrow, surprised that he was down to mess with them without hesitation.

"Yeah, why not?" He shrugged. "It'll be funny."

"Bet, let's go."

The two quietly got up, pushed in their chairs, put their spoons in the sink, and threw away their trash before heading upstairs. Since it was dark and they had to avoid turning on any lights, Levi offered his hand to Skye so she could hold onto it while he walked ahead of her, and she took it gladly without hesitation. Levi's cheeks burned red like the color of a tomato as he held her hand, but Skye wasn't phased by it at all. He could only hope that his face would calm down soon.

As they carefully opened the door after making it up the stairs, Skye and Levi were met with a big scare as someone (who turned out to be Xavier) turned on the lights while everyone else spooked them as well. "Caught!"

"Guys, shh!" Levi whisper yelled, quickly swinging the door shut behind them (making sure he was quiet when actually shutting it) and turning off the lights.

"They were totally making out down there." Nini teased. See, just as Skye and Levi suspected while they were downstairs, someone was going to think they were doing not so innocent things.

"Yup, you caught us." Skye rolled her eyes, none of them noticing the blatant sarcasm in her statement.

"You owe me five dollars," Xavier said, pointing to Danny (who had bet that they weren't making out).

"Of course we weren't making out!" She exclaimed as she went to her sleeping bag. "You guys are gross."

"Somebody's gotta pay up, and it ain't me." Danny snickered as he won the bet.

"Here's your stupid money." Xavier scoffed, pulling a five-dollar bill out of his pocket and throwing it towards Danny.

"Everybody just go back to bed." Levi groaned. He really didn't want any flack from his parents about this now or in the morning, so he figured getting everyone to shut up and go back to sleep would avoid that.

"Fine," Nini whined. "What were you guys even doing down there anyway?"

"Nothing groundbreaking," Skye replied, sharing a look with Levi.

"Ugh, lame." She rolled her eyes, falling back into her pillow with Danny next to her.

"Goodnight, ya nasties." Levi teased as he got under the covers, which made Skye giggle even though nobody else was amused.

"Oh, shut up."

•••

Well after the sun rose, the squad all woke up within minutes of each other, poking some awake before heading downstairs for breakfast. After everybody collected themselves, rubbed their eyes, and stretched enough to feel ready to get out of bed, the squad all walked downstairs to the kitchen together, all met with the smell of bacon maple syrup.

"I smell bacon!" Nini squealed as she skipped into the kitchen. "Oh my god, your mom busted out the waffle maker too!"

"Did you guys sleep well?" Levi's mom Sandra asked as she giggled upon seeing the excitement from Levi's friends.

"Somewhat." Xavier shrugged, nudging Levi a little, only for Levi to hit his side really hard, which obviously hurt. "Damn-"

Just as Xavier cursed, Lenny walked into the kitchen with his slippers hitting the floor, greeting Skye before saying hello to his own mother and brother. "Good morning, bestie."

"Um, good morning to you too, bestie!" Skye exclaimed, squatting down and reaching her arms out for Lenny who immediately accepted to hug.

"Lenny, your food is on the table," Sandra said, quickly pointing to the table then turning her attention back to cooking.

"Sit with me," Lenny whispered yelled.

"Okay," Skye whispered back but was stopped by Levi who had another idea in mind.

"Actually, we were all going to eat in the living room if that's okay?" Levi asked, hoping for approval from his mother.

"Well, as long as you don't make a mess." She replied.

"What about me?" Lenny pouted as he sat with his waffles in front of him.

"Stay at the table, sweetie, you'll just make a mess," Sandra ordered, which made the youngest Daniels pout as Skye went off with Levi and the others with their plates of fresh food into the living room.

"Sorry, bestie!" Skye yelled.

"I forgive you!" Lenny yelled back, reaching his hand out for dramatic effect.

"God, I love that kid." She giggled as the squad all sat down around the coffee table, some sitting on the couch while the others sat on the floor. Skye sat on the floor across from Levi who sat on the couch, although he was a bit disappointed that everyone hogged up the spots next to Skye. At least he has a date to look forward to.

"More than Levi?" Xavier asked, knowing what game he was playing.

"U-um-" Skye stuttered, unsure of how to even respond to that.

"Shut up," Danny said quietly to Xavier, forcing a smile to avoid suspicion.

"Will do." He replied, forcing a grin as well.

While Xavier wanted to play games, Nini was more focused on something far more important at the moment; winter formal. "Guys, we have to start planning for winter formal! We're on limited time here."

"What is there to plan?" Xavier questioned, knowing nothing about girl world.

"Um, getting a dress, getting your hair done, getting your nails done, getting your makeup done, getting-"

"Getting everyone in Buckingham Palace to show up?" He interrupted as she could have listed many more things that needed to be done. "Jesus Christ, Nini. All I need is my tux plus my classic Xavier pizazz and I'm good to go."

"You guys get away with putting in the bare minimum while Nini and I have to jump through hoops every day until the dance." Skye scoffed. It was true unless one of the boys were up to putting on a dress and heels, but they wouldn't be except in a case where they would get money for it.

As Skye spoke up about winter formal, Levi thought this would be a good time to make an announcement about who he'd be going with, but it would soon prove to be a bad idea. "Speaking of-"

"Oh my god, Levi, if you're gonna ask Skye to the dance, at least make it special, not while we're sitting around the living room in our pajamas eating breakfast!" Nini cut him off. If only she knew what really went down in the middle of the night.

"I-I wasn't doing that!" Levi stammered. "I was gonna ask about, uh, car arrangements."

"If you say anything else he's gonna want to hit you," Xavier whispered. Now that was actually bullshit as Levi didn't dare hit a woman and never planned on doing so, but he was pretty annoyed.

"God, you two are the worst." He rolled his eyes.

"And that's why we were destined to be friends from birth." Nini grinned, wrapping her arm around Xavier.

"More like destined to annoy me."

"Sounds about right."

Levi liked to think that meeting Skye was destiny as crazy as it sounded. It always blew his mind how he met her only a month after the biggest heartbreak of his life just as he didn't want to look for love for at least a year. Levi didn't need a year to be ready for love, all he needed was that one lonely month, and it wasn't lonely when Skye entered his life. She never thought of anything as destiny, but Levi was a big romantic, so destiny was kind of his thing.

There was just something about the beauty of the concept, even though destiny wasn't something you could grasp and hold in your hand. This whole squad sleepover may have not been destiny or any of that mumbo jumbo, but it sure was a memory that none of them would forget no matter where destiny leads them. "We're totally doing this again, right?"

"If we survive winter formal," Danny said.

"Come on, don't be dramatic, baby." Nini rolled her eyes.

"You never know what will happen." He shrugged.

And he was exactly right about that.

•••

MARIA TALKS!

gee i wonder what chapter is next!!

ngl the part where skye and levi were having a midnight snack gave me goodnight n go by ariana grande vibes 😩 always at least one goodnight n go moment in a plutotown story

also, i have to say this. with only 9 chapters and an epilogue left, i will be taking a small break from updating. most likely 2 to 3 weeks.

the reason why i'm doing this is because i've been having a really hard time getting myself to write both the final chapter and the epilogue. usually chapters come easy to me and despite the fact that i have both chapters mapped out, i'm having a hard time actually putting those ideas into proper paragraphs.

this is mainly due to the fact that i really don't want to let go of this story yet. i do this every time i have to write an ending, but this might be the worst case. honestly, one day i might just end up randomly writing a thousand words out of nowhere like a writer's blackout or something. trust me, it happens.

i don't really get many people reading this book anyway, so i doubt there will be much disappointment. there's absolutely no way i will leave this book unfinished. i just need time. i actually have more written for the final chapter than the epilogue, so fear not.

i hope to see those who have been reading return when i return as well. when i do, you'll all get to witness one of my favorite parts of this book if not my favorite part.

until next time <3