The next day, Levine was half-dead from sleep deprivation, dragging himself to school purely because of his mother's threats.
"Do your live streams, I don't care-but if you skip school again, I'll make sure you never go live ever again."
So here he was. Barely awake. Yawning. Miserable. He even arrived earlier than usual-only to realize he wasn't the first.
Kallen was already there, sitting silently at his desk like a haunting statue.
"Hi," Levine mumbled as he passed by, not expecting a reply. He slumped into his seat, tossing his bag down and stifling a yawn. "You should stop staying up so late."
The voice came out of nowhere. Calm. Cold. Smooth like black ice.
Levine froze. His sleepiness evaporated in an instant. Slowly, he turned his head to look.
Kallen sat there, tall and still. Expression unreadable. Handsomely creepy.
Something about him looked too perfect in that moment. The shadows under his sharp eyes. The way his long fingers tapped lazily against his desk.
"...What?" Levine muttered, already regretting asking.
"You sound more tired on stream when you stay up. Your voice cracks more," Kallen said, not looking up. "You should sleep properly. It's not necessary to stream every night."
Silence.
Levine's eyes went wide. His entire body stiffened as the words sank in. "...W-What are you talking about?" he stammered. "Wh-What stream? I don't- I don't know what you mean-"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Kallen replied simply.
His voice wasn't threatening. Not loud.
Just... final.
Levine's mouth parted, but no sound came. He stared at Kallen, heart pounding, thoughts racing.
Scream?
Run?
Or...Just stay?
Kallen moved again, calm and slow. He slid two clean notebooks across the table toward Levine.
Levine, swallowing, took them with a trembling whisper, "That...you..." he silenced his voice after realizing he didn't have anything to say.
Kallen glanced at him just once, his gaze unreadable, before saying quietly-
"Don't silence the one thing that drives me insane."
Levine wanted to vanish.
The rest of the day was hellishly awkward. He couldn't even look at Kallen without remembering those words. Those eyes.
But thanks to the teacher pairing them for notes and help, Levine was stuck sitting beside him.
The only relief? Kallen didn't show any emotion. None.
No smirks. No teasing. No threats. Just those quiet words that kept echoing in Levine's head.
And it was driving him insane, too.
After class.
Levine stood alone in the locker room, a towel slung loosely around his neck, hoodie half-off his shoulders. He stared at the ground, mind racing.
Should he talk to Kallen?
Ignore him?
Beg him to keep the secret?
The locker room door creaked open.
Levine turned-And immediately wished he hadn't. Kallen.
Cold. Silent. Watching him with eyes that burned despite their frost.
Those eyes trailed-slow and shameless-over Levine's exposed collarbone, the delicate curve of his neck where sweat clung like dew.
"You're... staring again," Levine muttered, pulling his hoodie up halfway.
Kallen blinked lazily. "I'm calculating how long it'd take to make you whimper like you do on stream."
Levine choked. Literally choked on air. "E-Excuse me?!"
"Maybe five minutes," Kallen said like he was doing math. "Less, if you beg."
Levine scrambled for his hoodie like it was a shield. "W-What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Kallen didn't even flinch. "Everything. But I think you like it."
"What-no! I don't!" Levine snapped, but the tremble in his voice gave him away.
Kallen stepped closer. One hand landed beside Levine's head, pressing to the locker.
No smirk. No smugness. Just calm intensity. "What are you hiding from?" he murmured. "I already know who you are. And honestly? I've never found someone so interesting until you came along."
Levine avoided his gaze. The heat in his face was unbearable. "You need... to stop," he finally whispered, glancing up. "What do you want? To scare me? Bully me?"
Kallen tilted his head. "That's boring. I want something more exciting. And I'm confident I can only get it from you."
Then his voice dipped, deadly calm-"And keep getting angry. Your voice when you're pissed? Even better than when you moan after losing a match."
Levine's jaw dropped. "What the hell! I don't moan-when did I-!"
"I've memorized the timestamps," Kallen said, leaning closer. "Want to hear them?"
Levine made a series of malfunctioning sounds not known to human language.
Before he could self-destruct from secondhand embarrassment, the door opened again.
Other students started filing in.
Kallen stepped back. Hands in his pockets. Cool and composed.
Levine, however, was a blushing disaster.
Just before anyone could see how red his face was, Kallen casually tossed his own towel over Levine's head like a curtain.
Levine yelped, heart racing, lips pressed shut under the warm cloth. But he didn't pull it off.
Because the worst part? His heart was thrumming. And a tiny, traitorous part of him...liked it.
Later that day. Their teacher, in all her innocent glory, personally asked Kallen to stay after school... to help Levine study.
Levine nearly combusted on the spot. He wanted to scream no, but who was he to say that out loud? Especially when Kallen agreed faster than a bullet train.
So now, here they were.
Alone.
In the quiet, empty classroom bathed in golden-orange light.
A quiet so thick it made Levine's skin itch.
They sat face-to-face.
Kallen, composed, reading quietly like some scholarly ghost.
Levine, pretending to read but mostly sweating.
The silence? Unbearable. "...I hate silence," Levine mumbled. "Can't you talk a little?"
Kallen turned a page. Didn't even look up. Levine stared, annoyed, only to catch the way Kallen's gaze kept flickering to his face. Specifically-His mouth.
"What?" Levine snapped. "Why do you keep staring at my mouth?"
Without even a flinch, Kallen replied smoothly:
"I'm just imagining what it'd look like wrapped around-"
"-STOP." Levine's soul left his body. "Don't even dare—"
"You told me to talk more." Kallen said it flatly, not even blinking.
"Not that kind of talking!"
"Hmm." Kallen tilted his head slightly. "I disagree."
"Oh my god," Levine groaned, dragging both hands through his hair, clearly rethinking every life choice. "You're so weird and everything-You're just lucky you're hot, otherwise I'd be sprinting in the opposite direction."
That got Kallen's attention. He met Levine's gaze directly and said, calm as a loaded gun:
"You're lucky I'm obsessed. Otherwise I wouldn't waste time on someone who talks big... but blushes harder."
Levine's breath hitched.
A second passed.
Then Kallen stood.
He crossed the space between them like it meant nothing, stopping just beside Levine's desk.
He tilted Levine's chin up, their faces dangerously close.
"...Why are you so nervous?" Kallen asked, his voice low. "Am I scaring you?"
Levine swallowed. Hard.
"N-Not scared. I just... don't want to be with someone who feels nothing."
Kallen leaned in, his breath ghosting across Levine's lips.
"Then stop giving me reasons to feel."
Levine looked away quickly, completely missing the hidden weight behind those words.
"You're too much..." he muttered. "What do you even want from me, Kallen?"
"Anything you'll give." Kallen's voice was like a whisper in a dream. Then his tone dipped lower, almost teasing, "I just realized... you don't want anyone knowing your little secret, right?"
Levine's eyes flew open. "Wait-What? Are you planning to tell someone?! Don't!" His voice cracked, panic rising. "Kallen... please don't tell anyone," he whispered, his lip trembling as he bit down on it. "I'll do anything."
Kallen froze.
His eyes dropped to Levine's mouth. That bitten lip.
The way Levine didn't even realize what he'd just offered.
"...Anything?" he repeated.
Levine hesitated... then nodded.
Kallen leaned down, so close his lips brushed the shell of Levine's ear. His voice, icy and slow-
"Don't back out later. I'm not kind."
Levine blinked. "Then what do you want, Kallen?"
Kallen didn't answer.
He just kept holding Levine's chin, gaze unreadable, eyes dark with something that made Levine's stomach twist. Before he could ask again-
Kallen kissed him.
It wasn't soft.
It wasn't sweet.
It was deep.
Slow.
Unforgiving.
Kallen's lips moved over his with deliberate sensuality, tracing every curve, every tremble. He found the spot Levine had bitten earlier, and latched on-sucking gently, then soothing it with a slow, deliberate lick.
Levine froze, eyes wide.
The kiss did things to his brain. And worse-to his heart.
He thought he'd hate it.
He wanted to hate it.
But this? This wasn't what he expected.
This wasn't meaningless.
It made his breath catch, his fingers curl around the edge of the desk, and a sound nearly escaped his throat-a low, shaky moan that betrayed him completely.
When Kallen finally pulled away, his lips glistened. He swiped his thumb across Levine's bottom lip, slow and possessive.
"That's the first thing," he murmured. "You said anything."
Levine sat there, dazed-lips red, hoodie pulled crooked, breath uneven.
"...I hate you," he breathed.
"You moaned," Kallen said flatly.
"I did not." Levine's voice rose an octave, cheeks puffing out in offended rage. He looked like a furious puppy getting scolded.
And for the first time-something changed in Kallen's expression. A flicker of amusement. Fondness. Something.
Then suddenly-he reached out and tugged at Levine's cheeks.
"Hey-!" Levine yelped, caught off guard.
But Kallen cupped his face again, squishing his cheeks slightly... then leaned in and kissed him again. And again. And again.
Each kiss was different. One soft. One firm. One thoughtful.
It was as if each kiss helped him think.
Like he was trying to organize his emotions by imprinting them onto Levine's lips.
Levine was breathless by the end, lips swollen and tingling, heart pounding in a way that was entirely too dangerous.
"Oh my god, are you done yet?" he snapped, panting.
Kallen finally pulled back and, without another word, sat back down at his desk like nothing had happened. He opened the book and calmly flipped a page.
"You should stay prepared," he said, voice cool and unbothered.
That was all he said.
Levine sat there pouting, fingers brushing his lips gently like he still wasn't sure if that just happened.
He glanced at Kallen, narrowing his eyes.
...Were his ears red?
No.
Must be a hallucination.
Right?
Levine huffed and turned back to his book, though his fingers stayed pressed lightly to his mouth the whole time.
That night, Levine didn't go live. He couldn't. He was a blushing mess-rolling around his bed, squealing into his pillow like a schoolgirl with a crush. His heart wouldn't calm down, his lips still tingled, and every time he thought about that kiss... he nearly combusted.
Needless to say, he didn't get a second of sleep. He was busy having turmoil in his mind, unable to stop...
So the next day, Levine looked like the walking dead.
Dark circles. Messy hair. Barely functioning.
Kallen glanced at him while they were standing in the library grabbing books.
"You didn't stream last night. And you didn't sleep either. Why?" he asked, monotone as always.
"I-I don't know..." Levine muttered, swaying slightly, stars swimming in his vision. His voice was hoarse, his limbs dragging like they belonged to someone else.
Kallen just stared for a second, then calmly grabbed Levine's wrist and dragged him to the farthest, most hidden corner of the library.
The last seat. The quietest spot.
"Sit. Sleep," he ordered, gently pushing Levine down.
"Huh...? But don't we have class...?" Levine mumbled, his eyelids already falling.
"Just sleep."
And with that, Kallen placed a hand on the back of his head and softly guided it to the table.
Levine didn't even fight it.
His body slumped down, cheek smushed against his folded arms, and in less than a minute, he was gone. Breathing even. Face peaceful. Lips parted just slightly. Cheeks puffed.
Kallen sat beside him, pulling out a notebook and quietly copying the lecture notes Levine was going to miss. His writing was neat. Efficient. Quick.
After a while, he paused-glancing to the side.
Levine had turned slightly in his sleep, head now facing Kallen's direction. One arm dangled off the edge of the desk, fingers relaxed and exposed.
Kallen watched him for a moment. Something softened in his gaze.
Then, slowly, his hand reached out.
He poked Levine's cheek, just a little. Squishy.
Levine squirmed in his sleep, made a soft whimper, then settled again.
Kallen stared at him. Then his hand moved down-toward Levine's fingers. They were a little shorter than his, smaller. Softer.
His fingertips brushed against Levine's knuckles, tracing them slowly. Then he paused at the ring finger, his thumb brushing over the tiny mole there.
He tapped it once. Then again. Then gently stroked over it with a featherlight touch.
A small, unreadable smile flickered on his face before disappearing just as fast.
And beside him, Levine kept sleeping-blissfully unaware of the way someone was memorizing every inch of him like he mattered more than the world.