THE REST OF HER week passed surprisingly quiet as she settled in, no one else seeming to even dare bothering her. Perhaps it was Levi's presence by her side or perhaps it was her own reputation, but either way, she didn't mind. She hadn't come to St Joseph for the drama, even if it seemed to follow her. With Will's match Friday she had had other things to focus on though, the buzz around it bigger than she thought it would have been. People wished him good luck or pulled him in a conversation about it every chance they got, making her feel like she was walking with St Joseph's personal mascot everywhere she went.

Right at that moment someone tugged at Will's arm again as they walked through the hallways, causing their conversation to be interrupted. They had been walking to their first class, Alex explaining his dream to them in vivid detail, Will somehow seeming to make sense of the incoherent story. The girls that had stopped him giggled once they met Will's eyes, the one who had grabbed ahold of him batting her eyes innocently at him.

"We're cheering you on, Will," she said.

"We just know your team will secure the win," her friend agreed.

"Thank you," Will smiled at them," hopefully I can live up to your expectations."

She mirrored his expression, leaning forward and tapping his cheek. "You will," she said," but let me give you something else for good luck."

Ella was surprised to see her pucker her lips, but before she could make contact with Will's skin Levi placed his hand in between, causing the girl's lips to leave a mark on his palm instead. She blinked in surprise, but he didn't leave her much room to say anything, pulling Will along. Only when they reached the end of the hallway did Levi deem him safe, letting him go and wiping the lipstick off his hand with a frown. Alex laughed, shaking his head as he followed.

"I don't know how you do it, Will," he said," you're surprisingly such a womanizer."

"What?" Will stammered, a faint blush coloring his cheeks," I don't think she was trying to flirt with me, Alex, she was just being nice."

Levi just held up his hand as he gave Will a pointed look.

"I literally got assaulted," he said.

"That isn't assault, Levi," Ella chuckled.

"It sure felt like it," he scowled. He rubbed harder on his skin, frown deepening. "And why the hell isn't this coming off?"

Ella searched in her bag for the hand sanitizer she carried, one of the essentials she always had, taking his hand in hers after.

"Come here," she said," it's probably waterproof."

"That is an useless concept," he complained.

"It really isn't," Alex smirked, winking at them," I'm telling you from personal experience."

"Alex!" Will chastised.

They had reached the classroom then, Alex and Will already heading in. Levi leaned against the wall as she took off the last remnants of the lipstick, taking his other hand to inspect his wound after. It wasn't healed yet, but thankfully the nurse had said it would probably only leave a faint scar. Though she knew it didn't really bother Levi, a part of her felt conflicted about having him permanently wounded because of her.

"Is it wrong if I say I want to beat Yelena up for this?" she said, looking up at him," honestly, I would have been way less angry if it had just been me hurt."

"No," he replied easily, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear," but I'm just glad you're okay."

"I should have known you would never refuse a fight," she chuckled.

He shrugged, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"If violence is not the answer, you should be asking a different question."

"That's quite the disturbing quote of yours today, Peterson," the teacher shouted," get in here."

"Sir, don't bother commenting on it," Alex called out," just nod and smile."

Levi rolled his eyes as the conversation in class resumed, but before they entered he leaned forward and briefly pressed the palm of his hand against her lips. With that he seemed content, offering no explanation as she stared at him amusedly.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I don't like having anyone else's lips on me," he said, putting his hands in his pockets as he looked at her," so I fixed it."

"It's alright," she said, pretending to sigh sadly as she looked away," I will forgive your cheating ways this time."

"You better," he replied, lips brushing against her ear as he whispered," it's taking everything in me not to kiss you right here after all."

She shrugged. "Eh, you'll survive."

His lips parted, a look of betrayal on his face as she headed in. With a chuckle she looked back at him, his hand on her lower back once he caught up with her. The class was in disarray as always, no one really focusing on them, but before Ella could even walk in between the rows to her chair her gaze locked with Sam. There was something so hurt in his expression, as sharp as glass between her teeth, so without thinking she gently pushed Levi's arm away, not looking at him as she took her seat.

"Is something wrong?" Levi questioned as he sat down beside her.

"I just don't want to rub it in Sam's face," she said, an uncomfortable feeling having settled in her heart," I want him to move on, but it must be hard if he sees me and you all the time. If I was in his role, I know it would suck majorly."

"What do other people's opinions matter?" Levi said.

"Hey!" Alex said offendedly, seeming to have caught the last part of their conversation.

"Your opinion matters to me, Alex," Will reassured him.

"I'm going to be honest, Will, you appreciate everyone's opinion, so that means nothing to me."

As Alex and Will continued to talk, Ella breathed in, memories enveloping her.

"He hasn't done anything this past week," she said," maybe my talk has finally gotten through. If so, I don't want to make it more difficult for him."

"I disagree," Levi said.

She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't, instead nodding at her to emphasize his point.

"No worries," she said, smiling up at him," I'm not asking you to do anything only saying that it might be best if we don't do so all the time. Besides, we don't want to be one of those couples who can't stop touching either other anyway, right?"

"I have changed my mind about that," Levi said with a shake of his head," I now do want to be one of those couples."

She rolled her eyes good-heartedly, before looking at him again, more sincerely.

"I'm sorry for putting you in my mess," she said," I promise I'll go talk with Sam one last time and get this fixed, okay? Hopefully we can all come out as friends."

"I have already reached my lifetime quota of five friends, but thank you," Levi declined. He leaned back in his chair as the teacher started talking, the noise around them not ceasing. "Besides, your mess is my mess, remember? I don't mind."

She smiled, but before she could say anything the teacher finally managed to get everything down to a murmur, writing down the homework as he explained what they were going to do today. Ella opened her book, but when she felt Levi's eyes on her she turned to look back at him, eyebrows raised.

"What?" she whispered.

"You haven't spoken about Isis," he murmured back," is everything still alright?"

It surprisingly was. Isis was rarely in their shared room, something which she didn't mind at all but felt very off at the same time. She hadn't looked like the type to back off this easily, even if it had been true that Levi's word meant a lot here. Yelena wasn't in her class, so Ella suspected Isis spent a lot of time with her now to avoid interaction, but she had no idea why. Surely she wasn't planning on doing this all year, with the effort it ook, but for now Ella wasn't complaining.

"It is," she assured him.

"I tried talking to her," he said," but it seems like she runs away every time I even get somewhat closer." His gaze flicked to where Isis sat, focus on the schoolboard as she penned the teacher's notes down diligently. "How is she even able to avoid me when we're in the same class?"

"We live together and she has been able to avoid me," Ella said," I'm almost impressed."

"So there is a vacancy for a roommate?" Levi remarked, a sparkle in his eyes.

"No boys allowed in our dorms, remember?" Ella responded.

"Please," Levi said," Alex sometimes wakes me up by making alarm noises verbally beside my bed, I don't know how much longer I can take this before killing him."

"As you said before," she smiled," violence is always the answer."

She wanted to say more, but the teacher stopped talking, causing her attention to return back to him. The chalk he had been writing with had broken off and he searched in the drawers of his desk for new ones, a frown on his face. Ella was about to talk again when he looked up, gaze wandering through the classroom. When it settled on her, she knew she would have to resume her conversation another time.

"Martinez," he said," go ask for some new supplies for me from the janitor. Do you know where to go?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Ella replied," but I'll manage."

"It's fine," he said with a wave of his hand," does anyone want to go along to show her the way?"

Levi parted his lips, but another voice interrupted him as he was about to speak. Their gazes snapped to the person talking, Isis looking back at them with a smile.

"I'd love to."