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With pleasure, Levi took a sparkling golden star sticker from one of the nearby officers and stuck it to the left side of his hoodie; proudly displaying his impressive victory against the dunk tank. Unfortunately this meant that he had to move aside for others to give it a shot, but he was happy enough to have won on the first try. He hadn't lost his athletic prowess yet! The only thing that seemed to sour the experience was Tommy himself. Levi hadn't missed Tommy's expressionless face when the two met eyes with each other. Similar to Phoenix, there was no heartfelt welcome home. This had stung even worse than the cold shoulder that Nixie had given him. The pain of it did assist in the power and strategic aim behind his softball throw, however. 

[color=EA7A55]"Hmph."[/color] Levi blew air through his nose in a half scoff, half inaudible laugh, as Tommy returned from the water and commented on not believing Levi would return to town. [color=EA7A55][i]'I should've stayed in California.'[/i][/color] He thought, intrusively. Did he actually believe that? He wasn't sure.  As Levi moved aside for the next person to take front and center stage, his brows raised at the comment of Levi being too cool for his friends after leaving. [color=EA7A55]"Me?"[/color] He walked over to the side of the dunk tank, closer to Thomas but still separated by a metal fencing that kept people from getting too close to the tank. [color=EA7A55]"I could say the same for you."[/color] He retorted before he was able to shut his mouth. For a millisecond it crossed Levi's mind to reenter the line for the dunk tank so he could sink Thomas into the water again. Normally Levi had a better hold on the words that left his mouth and didn't let emotion control him, but after two big ego hits it was hard not to let the sass out. He had fully expected a warm welcome from his friends and was met with coldness. [color=EA7A55][i]'Selfish.'[/i][/color] His brain said again. Damned intrusive thoughts! 

Collecting his emotion once more, Levi shoved it away and let a faint smile return to his face. Even though he had expected more from Thomas and Phoenix, that didn't mean they weren't still friends.... right? He wasn't the type to dwell on it, so he forced the doubt out of his mind for the time being. Grabbing his beer, Levi looked over at the next person in line - a small girl about the age of eleven who waited with giddy excitement. He took a sip and then looked back to Thomas, [color=EA7A55]"When you're done protecting the citizens, let's grab a bite or something and catch up."[/color] He took a step back from the fence to leave, [color=EA7A55]"Missed you, man."[/color] He looked back at the line up of people, not wanting to keep Thomas from his work for too much longer. [color=EA7A55]"See you around, Batman."[/color]

Reentering the crowd, Levi found a nearby picnic table to post up and enjoy the rest of his beer while he people watched. Most of the town seemed to be out, as usual. He looked around to see if he could find any other faces he knew that he could talk with - surely there was SOMEONE who was happy he was back in town right? He took a larger gulp of his beer this time. Why was he so desperate to be wanted all the time? He needed another beer...

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[right][sub][@Zora][/sub][/right]