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His forested, inquisitive eyes shone straight through her, past the facade and that indescribable wall she had placed so high it blocked daybreak.

It hurt.

"Are you alright Skye?" His words were gentle, soft; a small hinderance of concern in his tone that did not suit him. He surveyed her face, brows scrunched. "You screamed"

The wind blew a chilling ice through his tawny hair, barely thwarted by the sun.

She blinked, the dream vivid, still replaying...

A phantom trace of its presence, like it was real, like it actually happened hovered over her arms. It was a tease, a tease by fate playing with her like some broken doll. Still, she tried to push it from her vision, sharing the sight before her that had Lev placed front and centre, the sun behind him shadowing his face and shoulder.

His face slowly came into focus, like a brushstroke adding in the details for its masterpiece.

No matter how many times she had seen him, it was always a welcoming sight, and she could feel her cheeks heat up at the thought.

Lev on the other hand in his curious nature studied her features, waiting for some sort of response to let him know she was ok; the scream startling to say the least.

Yet he found something different. Tendrils of colour lined her eyes, swirling at the rays reflecting back at him. It was truly mesmerising.

And it was short lived, Jax slicing the silence with his sigh; third wheeling... something.

Traipsing down the steps carelessly he asked, "Skye, are you all good? You woke up suddenly and screamed your lungs raw."

That would explain the struggle to get air down her throat, strangled by the lingering fears.

"You even scared a few people away, you should've seen their faces"

Skye had never heard him sound so serious. Yet that facade of earnestness swept from him like a flick of a switch before he sniggered to himself, "Almost scared the shit out of me"

She gulped, averting her eyes from Lev's striking stare and looked to Jax, murmuring through a tired breath, "I- I'm good, accidentally dozed off and had a bit of a nightmare"

She hated the fact that her throat bobbed, her speech struggling, still composing itself; waking up.

Jax tensed, "must have been a real dark one, I've never heard someone sound so frightened before"

She swallowed, "Not really, just the usual feeling of falling, nothing major"

Skye could only fake a smile, the sincerity lost. Her eyes connected with Jax's and she could have sworn a pang of pain flickered in his iris. But it wasn't there long enough to dwell on, the normal Jax pushing through anything he kept hidden.

Slowly, he stepped back, eyes breaking the contact and roaming over her fashion choice, noticing her drastic improvement from the first day. There was something so strange about it that Skye dipped her head to gain the attention back to her eyes.

Taking her in, he winked, "I see you had a wardrobe upgrade, it looks good on you"

Skye didn't know how to respond, laughing gently, "I have a friend to thank for that"

"Anyone I know?" He asked causally.

She relied a beat later, "No, not officially anyway"

Jax nodded in understanding, almost like an invitation. 'My turn' it felt like. So Skye's gaze wondered over his choice of clothes. A dark denim jacket over a paled-blue polo-neck, tucked into a pair of ripped jeans with enough tears to look wrecked, along with an oaky-wood colour on his timberlands; laces tied correctly.

Jax smirked, as if noticing the extra attention he was being awarded; lapping it up like a sponge.

But one thing she did try to ignore was the eyes still pinned on her, almost unravelling her secrets there and then.

He was gazing at her so openly in the throes of the early morning light. Her face soft and vulnerable with the vestiges of sleep not having left her system yet.

It was different... an eternal tiredness he swore he had seen before. Yet when his mind went to wander along with his eyes to figure out why, it stung. A shooting pain up his skull.

Hangovers. How he hated them.

Still, he offered a hand. It lingered for longer than it should have, Skye's mind debating over a touch...

She couldn't, shaking her head with an apologetic no.

"Really, I'm alright" she added, feebly pulling on the banister back to standing, her legs a little shaky.

Jax now leaned upon Lev nonchalantly, an arm raised to his hip. "What were you doing out here anyway?"

Lev nodded, "Shouldn't you be at class?" His tone had an air of humour, "the lecturer won't take kind to a second day of tardiness"

Skye sighed, adjusting her coat and stroking out the creases, "I know, it's just that I came to check up on you guys after last night, you both drank tons and got completely wasted" she gulped, "I even think they got spiked"

The lie came of her tongue so naturally she internally winced.

Jax's eyes widened, his hands dropping to his stomach.

"Really? Dam, I though we were better than that" he blew, ruffling his hair at the revelation. "It explains my strange feelings then"

He laughed lightly, smiling to Skye. Nothing ever bothered him did it?

Lev interjected, "Did we really drink that much?"

Skye smiled, a fake memory forming, an act. It's all it ever was.

"Yea, you needed help getting back to your dorms as you couldn't see straight"

Lev looked in disbelief, eyes written blatantly with embarrassment.

"And so I thought I'd come check up on you both" she finished, sounding as caring as she could while nudging Jax in the shoulder gently.

He grinned.

"Thank you... that was very kind Skye" Lev breathed, his concentration elsewhere. "It must have been a struggle"

Jax laughed, "Especially with this dead weight-"

Lev gave him a stern look.

"What?"

"You know full well what Jax"

Like a child, Jax retaliated, sticking his tongue out and slipping out of Lev's hold. He playfully grabbed onto a startled Skye's shoulders faster than she could process it, leaning in and whispering, "So how did you do it? Eh?"

Skye was in shock, head tilted back. "How did you carry this lump- ow, Lev caref-" Lev ripped him off her. The smile visible through the tiredness. Skye felt the shame... he did almost die yesterday.

"Hands off idiot, do you have any self-control?"

Jax snorted, "When I want too"

Lev had him by the ear, pinching at the top now sporting a red glow and drawing a whine from the troublemaker.

Immediately, Skye felt the lightness again, the cold long gone in her memories. They were here, breathing, alive, and most importantly, happy.

"I didn't carry you guys, Chongan and Daimon did" she clarified, swallowing the light chuckle, her throat still ringing.

"Remind me to thank him when I see him"

She smiled, "Of course, if I can remember myself"

If he lived that long. That alone placed a frown on her face, solid and un-movable like a mountain. How she dreaded it.

Luckily, Jax butted in, stroking his ear now a blood red, "Well, we certainly won't run into them here standing around"

Lev sighed.

"And~ it is not going to stop the fact that we are horrifically late" he checked his phone with his other hand, smirking, "It seems the next bus is about to leave"

Lightly, Jax pushed himself of Lev, jumping down the last step and faced them sheepishly, "any one else going to run?"

Lev gazed at Skye and Skye gazed at Lev. They shrugged.

"Going once... twice..."

Their expressions said it all, beginning their pained, slow decent down the last step.

They would walk, no energy left in their soul to run.

Jax playfully huffed, "Too bad then, looks like you two slowpokes can be extra late"

"Don't be so childish Jax, it's not that far from here, it doesn't take long to walk"

"Ha, I'm not childish Lev" he finger-gunned them both, "I'm just lazy, and I don't want to walk"

Skye rolled her eyes, clasping onto the coat to retain as much heat that was left; the boys unfazed by the cold, almost adhered to it.

That was one thing she, as a new human, cursed about. How could humans experience this level of frostbite when the sun shone over their heads?

The divines design truly was questionable.

Snapping back to the harsh reality, with Lev beside her, did she forget about the worries and focus on the now. "Go on then, run to the bus stop and prove your loyalty to the lecturers by arriving before us"

Jax blinked, a cheeky expression lining his lips, "Now now Skye, no need to be so enthusiastic"

"You're one to talk" Lev grinned.

Jax crossed his arms, the strands from his jeans flying with the wind.

He needed no invitation, silently judging them before dashing off, laughing over his shoulder, "I swear I will sell your asses out to the lecturer to get forgiveness"

Lev couldn't help the giggle, his voice melodic to her ears. So she just watched Lev stare at his idiotic friend with happiness.

Skye admired it.