Earth, December 18th

It was the 18th of December, which meant that until New Year’s, there would be a huge family get-together at Maximillian’s estate. Every year his family and all of the Slaters would get together, along with their family friends, the Smiths. They would trickle in slowly through the week, on Christmas they would have a large party, opening gifts, playing music, and throwing a huge party.

Mary Jane wasn’t religious, but she liked being around people. Her father was Jewish, which meant she was Jewish as well, but her family was non-practicing and saw Christmas as another day to use any excuse to give and get presents.

She was already at Levi’s house. She was there so often since they had been friends since they were kids, that she had her own room there. Mary Jane was in her room inspecting herself in front of a mirror and tried to make sure everything was perfect.

Nails. Perfect.

Hair? Flawless.

She wore an ugly Christmas sweater that said WRECK THE HALLS, with red socks and green pants. Her hair was now black and straightened, pulled up into a bun, and she danced in front of the mirror trying to raise her self-confidence.

Years of being friends, an entire year of dating, and yet somehow she still was nervous around Levi sometimes. Her throat felt like it had a lump when she held his hand, and sometimes she would sweat when he smiled at her. Mary Jane knew she had to be forward with him, or else he would never make a move, because he was shy, of course.

That was all it was.

After working up the courage, she went around the large house to find Levi to talk to him about something important. She never got lost, after years of visiting, but she hated that it was so hard to find someone in such a large place.

She took the elevator downstairs to the 2nd basement floor. It was a funhouse. A room with arcade games, a movie theatre, a den, and a recent addition, Sara’s walk-in wardrobe, with even a rotating pedestal in the center to take glamor shots with.

Mary Jane thought everything was overkill, but knew if she had the chance, she would do the same thing as well. She roamed the funhouse, wondering if they would let her add in a dojo to practice Muay Thai and Tae Kwon Do.

Inside the basement den, she found Levi. He was sleeping, a rare event indeed. It was Sunday, and his family had gotten back from Mass, and he was asleep because it was the day of rest, of course.

She didn’t want to wake him up, so she flipped the switch on the wall, and the electric fireplace lit up. She went to a nearby closet, got out her favorite blue blanket, and decided to take a nap next to him on the ground.

Levi woke up, an hour later, sweaty and confused.

The fireplace was too hot with the blanket on, and the addition of Mary Jane’s body heat didn’t help either. Mary Jane was wide awake, playing another crossword game on her phone, now stuck on the word mirage.

"MJ, good morning," Levi mumbled.

"It’s already twelve," she giggled. "Wake up, grumpy man."

She put her phone down, and snuggled up close to him, wrapping her arms around him and laying on top. Levi’s temperature rose even more, and he mumbled something about being careful.

"Careful about what," Mary Jane whispered.

Levi looked away, too nervous to do anything, and Mary Jane grinned, used to how shy he was.

"Whenever we do stuff you’re so quiet, but during everything else you’re so loud," she giggled.

"Shut up," he whispered.

Mary Jane kissed him, and said, "Let’s try this again. It’s time to get up."

"I’m already-"

Levi shivered as she stuck her hand down his pants, and nimbly moved her hand up and down, turning her wrist and kissing his chest. He closed his eyes and tried to be quiet, as she went faster, and Levi tried to relax once she finally stopped.

"Now you’re up," she said.

"MJ, you’re something," he mumbled.

Bold and brave, Mary Jane pulled the blanket over her, and wiggled down, pulling his pants down along with her. Levi closed his eyes again, feeling her lips wrap around him, and he let out soft grunts as she moved her head up and down. Levi liked the way it felt, but he didn’t like doing it with her.

He told himself that it was okay.

He didn’t last very long.

Mary Jane struggled to breathe as he jerked his hips and moaned, and he was embarrassed that she could make him feel this way. She swallowed it all, and Levi blushed, still nervous even though it wasn’t their first time together.

It wasn’t very long until all their clothes were off, and Mary Jane was bouncing on top of him, crying and sweating. The sound of her cheeks smacking against his hips was the only sound in the room.

They tried to be quiet, not wanting to get caught having sex in the den. Mary Jane gripped the carpet and moaned quietly as she went up and down, riding him like a horse, her legs shaking and toes curling.

Levi stared at the ceiling, trying to hold it in, but he couldn’t. He was always nervous around her since they started having sex, and was surprised that she was more experienced than him.

He held onto her hips and helped her move faster, her legs shaking and about to give out. Mary Jane looked down at him and was sure that there was nothing to be worried about.

They were having sex, and he was enjoying it. It couldn't be up if he didn’t like it. Yet he never looked at her. He was just nervous is all, she told herself.

Just nerves.

Mary Jane’s moans got louder, the harder Levi pushed himself into her, and she shivered once he started to slow down, something warm filling her up. Mary Jane hated that she never finished when sleeping with him, but liked that they could finally be closer than ever.

It was all she ever wanted.

She was as close as possible to him physically than she could ever be, but still knew she was far away, something unknown out of reach.

After some teasing from Mary Jane about how she could help him get up at any time, Levi remembered that they hadn’t used protection, and then worried that he had done something that meant trouble a few months later.

Levi and Mary Jane spent the entire day together, kissing, watching Christmas reruns, playing arcade games, and talking about anything and everything. At night, Mary Jane told him that he should come inside her room.

Later that night Levi stood in front of her door, and then quickly changed his mind.

Mary Jane slept alone that night, insecure, knowing that he didn’t like her. Whenever they had sex he never looked in the face, whenever they did anything, she was always the first to make a move.

For a long time, a part of her just knew, and she thought that maybe he was shy, or that there was another girl he liked. She was tired of guessing, so during Levi’s morning jog she got up early and went into his room.

It was meticulous, save for a large pile of books in the corner, that Levi kept buying, saying he was going to read, but never did. It wasn’t her first time in Levi’s room, and she sat down on his grey and blue sheets, relaxing, smelling his scent on the pillows.

"What am I doing," she asked herself.

She was startled when the door opened and in walked Maximillian.

They stared at each other, both caught in the same act.

"Hey...Janey, what are you doing," Maximillian grinned.

"Nothing. Just waiting."

Maximilian couldn’t rifle around his son’s possessions with her there, and he was going to leave, but Mary Jane stopped him. She got up from his bed, and motioned, come here. Maximilian’s eyebrows went up, surprised at the new partner in crime he had acquired.

"Does Levi hide stuff from you too," Mary Jane asked.

"All the time, and it's just not fair," Maximilian sighed. "He keeps closing himself off. I’m tired of it."

"So you understand. That I’m not a bad person, right?"

"Janey, you’re just worried about him. I am too! We’re doing the right thing."

They were not.

Maximillian told Mary Jane that Levi had a diary and that he kept it behind his two favorite books, The Country of Ice Cream Star, and Dracula. She promised to tell him if there was anything different, and they swore to secrecy, new partners in crime.

He quickly left, promising to not tell a soul, as long as she told him if Levi made any new entries. In the corner was a bookcase, painted blue, and she rubbed her nails across the spines of the books, trying to find the right one.

Her eyes landed on Dracula, and she pulled the book out. Pressed up against the back of the bookcase, was his journal. Mary Jane’s heart beat fast as she held his secrets in her hand.

She told herself it was okay, because he never told her anything anyway, and just wanted to help. She opened it, telling herself that she will just read the first entry, and then put it back.

Levi didn’t make many entries, because the book was quite thin and small, and the first log was dated around five years ago. Mary Jane smiled, recognizing his handwriting. It was near perfect, as with everything in life, he had to do it right, or else there was no need in doing it at all.

The first passage talked about how he decided to get a journal, to deal with his many secrets. He was talking in his sleep, and sometimes he would say personal things out loud. The thought of this made Mary Jane giggle, and she felt silly, worried that Levi had anything major to hide from her.

He went on to say that from then on he should sleep less often, so no one would know.

The more she read the more concerned she became about him. He was too wound up, but like all tension, it has to be released. In the fifth entry, she became angry.

He complained about Mary Jane, and he only dated her because he had no choice. She was hurt and cried the more she read, her fears were all true. The more she read, the harder she cried, but not for herself, but for Levi.

Levi was afraid that his father would wipe his mind clean if he didn’t do as he said. Mary Jane had no idea that Maximillian could wipe minds. He couldn’t, only Rico could, but she was now convinced that this was the secret power Maximillian had hidden for years from everyone else. Maximillian always boasted that his power was so strong, that he couldn’t use it whenever, for fear of others' safety. Now Mary Jane believed his lie and was afraid of him too. She became paranoid, wondering if Maximillian had wiped her mind already, and she never knew.

In the 7th entry, Levi wrote about Ace.

Mary Jane wasn’t very surprised. She was hurt that he didn’t like her, but she wasn’t surprised he wanted someone else, or even that it was a man, she was just surprised it was Ace.

"There’s nothing special about him, he’s an idiot."

The more she read, the hotter her cheeks burned. She didn’t think Levi could be so, descriptive. From his earlier journal entries, it was apparent he was a great writer, but this was something entirely different.

Mary Jane felt like she was reading pornography the way Levi described his body. Levi had plenty of time to see it when his entire team spent a month at the aquatics facility to increase their swimming speed and time underwater.

She closed the book once she started reading the fifth description about his eyes.

She carefully put the book back and returned to her room. After taking a shower to cool her head, she decided not to say anything. Not to Levi, or his father, or to anyone else. She didn’t want to be forced to forget things, she didn't want Levi to get hurt either. When prompted about what she found by Maximillian, Mary Jane said she found nothing.

Maximilian knew that she was lying because she never brought up the entry about Levi’s fears of having his mind erased. It made no sense that Mary Jane would be okay learning that Levi wasn’t attracted to her, bizarre that she seemed okay with the entire predicament.

That night, Rico came into her room to wipe the entire event out of her mind.