02

There's a strange sense of finality when you leave high school. You tell yourself you've made it through, survived the drama, the competition, the insecurities, and now the rest of your life is waiting for you. You imagine that the people who defined those years—the friends, the rivals, the crushes—will fade away, nothing more than distant memories as you move forward. But life doesn't work like that. The past has a way of creeping back in, no matter how much you try to escape it.

For me, the past had a name: Levi Carson.

In high school, Levi was everything I wasn't—charming, cocky, and always ready with a quick comeback. He walked through the halls with that smirk plastered on his face, like he knew something the rest of us didn't. And maybe he did. Maybe he knew how to get under my skin from the moment we first crossed paths. I was serious, focused, determined to succeed. He was the opposite. Levi thrived on chaos and unpredictability. He loved pushing people's buttons—especially mine.

It wasn't that we were outright enemies. It was more complicated than that. We didn't hate each other, not really. But we weren't friends either. We were rivals. Our banter was sharp, our competitions fierce. We were always trying to one-up each other, whether it was grades, sports, or social standing. He'd provoke me, I'd rise to the challenge, and before I knew it, we were locked in another round of verbal sparring. It became something people expected from us, like we were playing roles in some long-running play. And we were good at it.

But even though it might've seemed like a game to everyone else, it wasn't a game to me. I took it seriously—everything I did, I took seriously. Levi made me feel off-balance, like I wasn't in control when he was around. He had this infuriating ability to make me doubt myself, to throw me off my course. I hated that about him. But even more than that, I hated how part of me couldn't help but look forward to it—the thrill of the competition, the challenge he represented.

I remember the time he beat me in a history quiz. Just barely—by a single point. But that was enough for him to smirk across the classroom, flipping his pencil between his fingers like he had just conquered a kingdom.

"Better luck next time," he had said as he walked past my desk.

I had spent the next week pouring over every detail of the next chapter, determined to wipe that smug look off his face. When I did—when I finally outscored him—I had leaned back in my chair, arms crossed, and muttered just loud enough for him to hear, "Guess luck had nothing to do with it."

He only grinned, like he had expected nothing less.

Then there was the basketball game. We weren’t even on the same team, but that didn’t stop us from making it personal. Every time I had the ball, he was right there, blocking, stealing, making sure I knew he was in the way. When I finally managed to fake him out and score, he laughed instead of looking frustrated.

"Nice move," he admitted, breathless, before jogging back to his side of the court.

I didn’t know why that one compliment stuck with me longer than all the taunts.

Because that was the thing about Levi. No matter how much I wanted to win, I couldn’t shake the feeling that our rivalry wasn’t just about proving who was better. It was about pushing each other, about never letting the other slip. Maybe, in some strange way, we needed this—needed each other—to keep moving forward.

But I wasn’t about to say that out loud. Not yet.

And then, high school ended. I thought that was it. I was done with him. Done with the rivalry, the tension, the endless back-and-forth. I convinced myself that Levi was just another character from a chapter in my life that I was closing for good. We went our separate ways, and I promised myself that I wouldn't waste any more time thinking about him.

But life, as it turns out, doesn't let you make promises like that.

Years passed, and I moved on—or at least, I thought I had. I went to college, made new friends, started building a life that had nothing to do with Levi Carson. For the most part, it worked. I rarely thought about him, and when I did, it was with the kind of detached nostalgia you reserve for old acquaintances. That smug grin, those cutting remarks—they were all just memories, safely tucked away where they couldn't bother me anymore.

Until Levi reappeared.

I wasn't expecting it, not at all. We hadn't kept in touch. Why would we? There was no reason for us to cross paths again, no reason for him to waltz back into my life like he still belonged there. But life, it seems, has a sense of humor. Because one minute, I was living my life, minding my own business, and the next, there he was—standing right in front of me like no time had passed at all.

The sight of him sent a shockwave through me. He hadn't changed much—still tall, still confident, still wearing that insufferable smirk that made my blood boil. But something was different, too. There was an edge to him that hadn't been there before, a quiet intensity in his eyes that I hadn't noticed back in high school. It threw me off, and I hated that. I hated that just seeing him again was enough to make me feel like the ground had shifted beneath my feet.

I should've been prepared. I should've been ready to brush him off, to keep my distance. But when Levi Carson walks into your life, he doesn't do it quietly. He comes in like a storm, turning everything upside down whether you want him to or not.

The moment our eyes met, it was like all those years between us hadn't happened. The rivalry, the banter, the unspoken tension—it all came rushing back in an instant. And I wasn't ready for it. I wasn't ready for how easily he could still get under my skin, how effortlessly he could drag me back into that old, familiar dance we used to do.

He opened his mouth, and there it was—the same infuriating, sarcastic tone I remembered all too well. The same Levi, provoking me, pushing my buttons, daring me to engage. And of course, I couldn't help myself. Before I knew it, we were back to our old ways—trading barbs, challenging each other, circling around the tension that had always been there, just beneath the surface.

But this time, it felt different. Maybe it was the years that had passed, or maybe it was the fact that we weren't teenagers anymore. But there was something more to our banter now, something that hadn't been there before. It wasn't just rivalry—it was deeper than that, more complicated. And as much as I wanted to deny it, a part of me was drawn to it, curious about where it might lead.

I tried to shake the feeling, to remind myself of who Levi was and what he'd always been—a rival, a thorn in my side, nothing more. But even as I told myself that, I knew it wasn't the whole truth. There was more to him than the smug facade he put on, and deep down, I knew it. I just wasn't sure I was ready to confront what that meant.

So, there I stood, staring at the boy from my past who had grown into a man who still had the power to make my heart race and my temper flare. I didn't know what would happen next, but one thing was certain: Levi Carson was back in my life, and whether I liked it or not, this time, it wasn't going to be easy to walk away.

Because the spark between us had never really gone out. And now, I wasn't sure I wanted it to.