LEVI HAD SOMEHOW BECOME friends with her mother as her martial arts tournament neared. With most of her intensive training in the weekend at home, he was an unmissable factor there, either simply there to support her or participating to help. It was nice to see him blending in with her family, especially because she knew his own was weighing heavy on his mind these days. He hadn't gone to visit Kai in the hospital yet, the man having been close to being in hypovolemic shock when he had arrived there. Had they not rescued him, he probably would have died, the doctor had said. Levi had been silent and the day after he had gone to visit his mother without another word about it.

She had wanted to ask if she needed to go along, but he simply had taken her hand in his, so she had followed. When they had arrived she had stayed in the car so he could have a private moment and as soon as he had returned she could see the way his breath had tangled itself in his throat. He had rested his head against the steering wheel, knuckles white as they clenched around it.

"It's so fucking dysfunctional," he had whispered," all of it, me. I am not allowed to feel happy without something happening, am I?"

When she had hugged him, he had stayed silent, but his grief had been so loud she could practically hear it through his heartbeat.

"What are you thinking about?"

Levi's voice shook her out of her thoughts during her morning run. She had been waking up earlier these days, despite how much she hated being up before two PM, because she had learned quite quickly that there was no way to do anything after six at St Joseph. There always was something which distracted her, whether it was Alex' long, strange speeches about whatever caught his attention that day or Will's new plans to make the campus more green. So six o'clock it was and honestly the habit was kind of growing on her.

The air tasted of morning dew and the world glowed softly, as if Mother Earth had dusted it all gently with faint fatigue and promises of a new day. She came across Clarkson quite often on the sportsfield during her voluntary laps, his morning routine very consistent, but Levi was a surprise. A pleasant one, but a surprise still. She knew rising early was yet another thing on his Hate List, which was effectively a list of things he hated. With his messy bed hair and sweatpants it was clear he had arrived here straight from bed.

"Nothing at all," she smiled, her words clouding up in the air," what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep." He swallowed the rest of his sentence, instead smiling at her. "I wanted to see you. And I know you've been doing this so persistently, so I guess I wanted to support you as well."

"You know there's no need," she smiled fondly at him," I know you support me, always."

He nodded at her, voice soft. "I do. I'm lucky to have you, Eleanora."

"O my god, who do I see there?" someone yelled across the field," two lovebirds running away together?"

"Run harder," Levi whispered, but it wad too late, Alex had already caught up, slapping him amicably on the shoulder.

Alex at least had put on jeans, but somehow he still looked rougher than Levi, almost like he had gotten here straight from a streetfight. Will was right behind him, wide awake and beaming, uniform ironed and clearly ready for the day. Honestly, she was just curious if he could even get tired at this point.

"Who knew the day would come I'd see you three this early?" Ella said.

"I had hoped it wouldn't," Alex sighed," we were woken up loudly by your brother barging into our room. No wonder he's called a demon."

"Ah yes," Ella nodded solemnly," him waking people up early, that's the main source of his reputation."

"That and my amazing sense of humor."

"There you are, you menace to society," Alex said, narrowing his eyes at the sight of Sebastian nearing.

When he saw the person beside her brother his expression cleared up again though, eyes already sparking mischievously as he ran towards him.

"Clarkson!" he said," what are you doing here?"

"Good morning, sir," Will smiled.

"He was the one who got me out of bed so terribly early," Sebastian said," so I thought, if I'm going down, I'm going to take you all with me. I was about to wake you up too, Ella, but you were already gone."

"What can I say?" Ella shrugged," at least one Martinez has to be productive. I unfortunately carry that burden."

"Jokes on you," Sebastian said," I'm going to carry on the family name, think about that."

"Who's saying I won't take Eleanora's surname?" Levi said.

"Yes," Ella added," that's right, Levi Martinez it is."

"This is a very strange conversation," Clarkson interjected," but anyway, I wanted to take a walk with you, Sebastian, now you're one of the staff. It's nice to see you all here too. I can't say I'm used to it from you, Farrow."

"Why specifically me?" Alex frowned, pointing at Levi," he's practically in a coma when he sleeps!"

"I have to," Levi said," because you sing musical numbers to yourself until four AM, I've been conditioned like this to survive."

"When are we going to watch a musical together again?" Will said happily.

"Please take me along," Sebastian said," I need someone to sing to me so I can feel joy again."

It was nice to see them all like this, back to normal. Honestly, it had been such a chaotic year until now that Ella wouldn't have been surprised if their dynamic had changed somewhat, but it still was the same. There was a certain comfort there which always calmed Levi, even now while he was clearly thinking about visiting Kai. He didn't need to say it for Ella to know, but now it was just up to him to decide if he was ready for those changes.

The boys went off with Clarkson to walk while Ella finished her run, showering before school began. Levi was quieter than usual throughout the day, Alex and Will talking non-stop to get him to feel at ease. It was when they all walked back around four o'clock that he grabbed her wrist, causing her to stop in the middle of the hallway. Alex and Will both immediately spun around towards them, almost comical in how synchronous they were.

"Can you come with?" Levi asked, looking at all of them.

"Of course," Ella said, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it.

"I will get the car right now," Alex said, already running towards the parking lot.

"You can't drive, Alex!" Will called out after him, tackling him at once.

Ten minutes later they were all in the car, Levi nervously tapping his fingers on his steering wheel as they drove, Alex' music blasting through the car. He was playing Disney songs to lighten the atmosphere, Will and him singing along to every single one. Ella chuckled at them, but her main focus was on Levi, who returned her warm smile half-heartedly. She could practically feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins.

Ella walked towards the info desk as soon as they reached the hospital, the guys waiting right behind her.

"Can I know which room is Kai Peterson's?" she said," his brother is here to see him."

"That's nice," the middle-aged woman behind the desk smiled," such a polite young man, I felt bad because no one had visited him yet."

Will and Alex grabbed Levi's wrists before he could turn and bolt due to the pressure, all of them walking towards the room the woman had told them. When they reached the door though Levi froze, all of them staying still as he stared at the wood like he was seeing right through it. Only after five minutes did he finally move, breathing out as he placed a hand on the door knob, opening it slowly.

The room was completely white, two beds lined up on each side, but only one occupied. Kai was leaning back in the left one, staring out of the window. His face was pale, an IV drip on his right and a glass of water on his bedside table. Without looking up he called out to them, head resting against his propped up pillow.

"Steve's in the room next door," he said," yeah, they've registered the wrong room for him, yeah, he's fine. Quite good at chess as well, surprisingly."

Levi stared at him for a moment, shaking his head then. "Who's Steve?"

Kai's head snapped towards him, almost letting his glass of water fall with how quickly he moved. When his eyes locked with Levi's, he froze completely, both of them simply looking at each other. After a moment he swallowed, evading his gaze.

"Some guy with a broken leg," he murmured," he's had seven visitors already and they all pass by here first."

"Oh," Levi said.

Ella could see it was taking everything in Alex not to break the awkward silence which had dropped in the room, Will also seeming to be inches away from hugging Levi. She tapped them both on the shoulders, gesturing to go, before pecking Levi on the cheek. The fact he had asked them along had been a big step for him, but she knew Levi, and this was ultimately something he had to and needed to do alone.

"We'll be in the hallway," she promised him, only leaving when he nodded.

Here was to hoping everything went well.