[color=lightgray][right][sub]TIMESTAMP: Just after “Typecast” and "A Brief Flash of Imperfection"
LOCATION: Bleachers
Featuring: [color=922b2b]Levi “Cui Bono?” Green-Locke[/color] & [color=31ba9c]Jamie “Wow I Didn’t Know I Could Be Outsnaked” Callaghan[/color][/sub][/right]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/I6Dkz34.png[/img][/center]
[hr][hr]

[indent]Despite the spot waiting for him in homeroom, Levi headed outside towards the football field, Butler close behind. He needed the air, even though he’d never admit it, and he wanted the peace and quiet. Besides, it was hard to tell Levi that he needed to be anywhere, when his name was being lended out to more buildings on campus than he could keep track of. He stormed up the bleachers, long slender legs sending [i]clangs[/i] ringing out across the empty field.

Anger and panic were not unfamiliar to Levi. If he had been back at home, he would’ve had Butler find him something to break. Unfortunately, he was at school so Butler could only follow him outside, then stand and watch as Levi ground his teeth together and stared down at the football field from his perch atop the bleachers. Mr. Mackenzie’s words were still floating around his mind, taking a knife to his ego and cutting it into fine ribbons, almost as well as his mother did. He had four years of perfection under his belt, and now it was crumbling to ash and drifting off into the wind. Sure, he would be okay, but he didn’t want to be [i]okay[/i]; he wanted to be the best. That’s what Green’s were, after all.

That’s what this campaign would be. He had fought tooth and nail to be…mediocre, apparently, but he still had time. He hadn't heard back from Naomi, but he’d already begun drawing up a mental list of artists to call later, to request mockup flyer designs. Busy, important people who would drop everything when the name ‘Green’ scrolled across their phone screen. Nothing but the best for him and his girl. He and Naomi would send Katie Callaghan running back to Scotty Boy, and maybe just maybe, he’d finally feel like his life hadn’t just been something that happened to him. 

Levi’s musings were interrupted by the [i]clang[/i] of shoes on the bleachers. Slow and smooth, his gaze trailed down to Jamie Callaghan, stomping his way up the metal steps. Great. Levi flipped his sunglasses down, and trained his eyes back on the field. [color=922b2b]“You’re disturbing my peace, Callaghan.”[/color]

Jamie came to a stop with a huff, his breathing faster than normal. Had he run here? [color=31ba9c]“We need to talk.”[/color]

[color=922b2b]“Do [i]we[/i] need to talk, or do [i]you[/i] need to talk?”[/color] Levi peered down at the boy, bored already. Jamie was much more entertaining when he was being useful, and ever since their deal last year, he’d been decidedly less so.

The disgruntled, wannabe Anderson Cooper scoffed as he took a seat. [color=31ba9c]“[i]We[/i] need to talk because I’m calling in my favor.”[/color] Jamie looked up at Butler, wary. [color=31ba9c]“Does he have to be here?”[/color]

Levi kept his face stoney. [color=922b2b]“Of course he does, he’s my emotional support Butler.”[/color] Levi could think of a thousand and one things that Jamie might want from him, all of them juvenile and hardly worth his time. Jamie, much as he liked to hide it, was driven by emotion in a way that Levi found exhausting. It was all so predictable. Two things motivated the boy standing in front of him: ambition, and insecurity. They were easy things to take advantage of, sure, and unlike Trixie, he didn’ balk at doing what he was paid for. Still, he was a tiring addition to his life, one that he might’ve regretted more, if he hadn’t been so damn effective. [color=922b2b]“Spit it out then, before all of your fucking energy starts to ruin my day.”[/color]

[color=31ba9c]“Ethan’s party. I want AJ off the list.”[/color]

Levi smiled. Who would’ve guessed that Jamie and AJ would crash and burn like the Challenger? He had, for one. [color=922b2b]“AJ moved on? Shocking.”[/color] Levi’s voice dripped with cruel sarcasm as he finally turned to face Jamie. [color=922b2b]“Is the hickey someone else’s work then?”[/color]

[color=31ba9c]“Shut up, are you gonna help me or not?”[/color]

Levi sighed, and leaned back against the chain link fence that enclosed the bleachers. [color=922b2b]“You know, I do love being of service, but this one’s out of my incredibly soft hands,”[/color] he said, waving into the air to prove his point. [color=922b2b]“It’s Ethan’s party, which means the guest list is not nearly exclusive enough, and not likely to get better. Trust me, if I had any sway over those, I’d have exercised it by now.”[/color] He shrugged, unfazed by the demand in Jamie’s voice. [color=922b2b]“Besides, [i]cui bono?[/i] I don’t need beef with the Gearheads, not right now.”[/color] He figured he would never hear the end of it from Monarch if he tried to excommunicate her friends from anything, and truth be told, she scared him more than Jamie. Not to mention, he was a politician now. He couldn’t go banning a bunch of his constituents from his family’s vineyard.

Jamie didn’t seem to love that answer. His scowl deepened, his eyes narrowed. He looked cute when he was angry like this; if he’d been a stranger, Levi might’ve tried to sleep with him once upon a time. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a stranger, he was Jamie Callaghan, and he was so tightly wound that even Levi didn’t fancy the idea of taking a risk unwinding him. [color=31ba9c]“[i]Cui bono?[/i] Seriously? What did I do all your dirty work for if you were just gonna [i]cui bono[/i] me? Figure it the fuck out, or I tell everyone what I know.”[/color]

Another grin broke out across Levi’s face. [color=922b2b]“And what exactly do you know, Jamie?”[/color] Jamie opened his mouth to respond, but Levi silenced him with a raised finger. [color=922b2b]“Here’s what I know. The only copies of those pictures are on a flash drive in your possession. The only editing that was done to them, was done on a school computer, in the wee hours, on one of your cute little Newsie’s accounts. The only proof you have, that I did anything to anyone, is your word against mine? Are you ready to take that risk?”[/color] Jamie stayed silent, stewing upon the realization that he had been outplayed. [color=922b2b]“So I think, if Amy Kwon’s name ever leaves your mouth, it should be followed by the words, ‘is a treacherous bitch,’ okay?”[/color]

[color=922b2b]“You did my dirty work because you wanted to do it, because it’s fun for you. Be real with yourself. The favor was just an added bonus, a slap on the ass on your way out. I’m not a genie, I don’t grant wishes.”[/color] He laughed softly before continuing, his voice overflowing with condescension. [color=922b2b]“You want more eyes on your paper, or a new boy toy, I’m your guy? This stupid, petty shit? No. Besides, getting AJ banned from this party won’t stop him from crashing it anyways. Or the next one. Or the one after that. You’re smart, you should know that.”[/color] 

Jamie groaned, a sound of resignation that burst from his throat in place of the violent scream he wanted to let out into the ether. It was music to Levi’s ears; it was a symphony of defeat. [color=31ba9c]“You’re right. Fuck. I just–”[/color]

Levi held a hand up, stopping Jamie’s divulgence in its tracks. [color=922b2b]“Stop. We aren’t friends, we’re business partners, and I don’t want to hear about how AJ makes you into an insane person. I’ve got plenty second-hand embarrassment just watching you.”[/color]

Jamie almost laughed. [color=31ba9c]“Well, thank you for absolutely nothing, Levi, I’m so glad this partnership has borne such bountiful fruit. I suppose I’ll let you know when I have a favor worthy of your time.”[/color]

[color=922b2b]“Y’know, maybe if you didn’t sound like an encyclopedia with control issues, AJ would’ve stuck around. Just a thought.”[/color] Jamie got up to leave and as he did, Levi decided to offer up one more piece of sage advice, less out of any goodness in his heart, and more out of a desire to watch the world burn. [color=922b2b]“Best way to get over someone, is to get under someone new,”[/color] he shouted after Jamie, earning him an over the shoulder middle finger. He enjoyed a good laugh for his efforts. Ugh, he’d needed that.

[color=#c74242]“That seemed unnecessary.”[/color] Butler’s voice was stone cold, gravelly, the kind of stern voice you’d expect from a tall, well built man that was paid too much money to babysit a spoiled child. [color=#c74242]“You didn’t need to gloat.”[/color]

Levi snorted. [color=922b2b]“He thought he had something on me, Butler. I had to remind him who he was dealing with.”[/color] 

Butler didn’t sigh. He didn’t need to. The silence spoke volumes.[/indent][/color]