Levi

Levi was an accidental pregnancy born out of social obligation. His parents were neglectful and less than enthusiastic about raising him, which caused frequent arguments between the two. When Levi was only three, his father suddenly left, so he hardly remembers him. Levi craved affection from his mother, but she couldn't help but resent him, feeling like she was robbed of her chance of a successful life. She struggled to deal with his hyperactivity and clinginess and would scold him frequently. When he was four, she put him into a youth choir program so he would hopefully make some friends. While he was very shy as a kid and had a hard time forming friendships with the others, he did end up becoming acquainted with a child named Fran. They weren’t immediate friends, but they did end up growing closer as they transitioned into proper schooling.

As a result of his shyness, Levi wasn’t a very popular kid, and was often teased for being “weird”. Fran was treated the same way, though it stood out more for being the more rambunctious one. They didn’t have much of a social circle outside of each other, so they stuck together throughout the years. They were happy by themselves and ignored all of the strange looks and laughter. Fran was the typical target, but it was tough, and tried not to let the teasing bother it. Since he lingered around it so often, Fran’s bullies began to target Levi instead. He was more sensitive, which made him easy to pick on, especially when he was alone. The moment Fran found out what was happening, it didn’t waste a second before fighting back, and things escalated into an all out brawl which quickly got pulled apart by teachers.

Everyone involved in the fight got into a lot of trouble, even Levi, who had part of the blame pinned on him by some of the other children. When his mother found out about the incident, she was furious and scolded him for constantly getting in trouble. She refused to listen to his side and just got more upset the more he interrupted her. All her resentment was boiling over, and she just wanted to return to her life from before Levi was born, something that she made sure he knew. This moment has stuck with Levi for the rest of his life. Afterwards, she called up her brother and his husband, a childless couple, and asked them to take care of Levi for a while. She pulled Levi out of school and moved all his things to her brother’s house. She left him in their care and drove away. Levi never saw her again after that.

Levi never fully understood what he had done to cause his mother to suddenly abandon him, and he still desperately wanted her affection, despite the fact he knew he would never get it. His uncles were always very kind and welcoming, but Levi struggled to accept their love, feeling like he didn’t deserve to be cared for. They homeschooled him for the rest of his primary school years. It was a very confusing period for him where his entire life had suddenly changed. He was depressed for much of his childhood and desperately lonely since losing contact with Fran. He spent a lot of his free time wandering the neighborhood and watching television. He would daydream about being famous, wealthy, talented and adored. While his relationship with his uncles was decent and they loved him dearly, his home life was a bit difficult. His uncles were both hoarders, and he picked up on their messy habits and materialistic ways over the years. Sometimes being at home felt suffocating.

When he turned fourteen, Levi finally re-entered the school system for his high school education. It wasn’t long before he ran into Fran again, the two of them vaguely recognizing each other from their childhoods. Levi was beyond relieved to see it again, especially after years of lacking socialization with kids his own age. They had both changed a lot and had a lot of catching up to do, but before long they were closer than they had ever been. They had some similar interests and tastes and they could still relate to each other all these years later. The two of them bonded over their favorite bands and movies, love of skateboarding, and difficult family lives. They spent all their time at school together and often had sleepovers or explored the town until evening. They even made music together using Fran’s father’s old instruments and had big dreams of starting a band.

Levi and Fran trusted and cared for each other very deeply, and they shared all of their biggest secrets, dreams and feelings together. When Fran realized it was a lesbian, Levi was the first person they ever told. They dated for a brief period, but exploring his own sexuality eventually led Levi to the realization that he wasn’t into women at all; and in fact, he also discovered that he wasn’t a woman, either. He and Fran stayed close all throughout and supported each other unconditionally. Fran also helped him to get his first job at a convenience store, and they’d work long shifts together. Fran would help Levi with his homework too, and drive him to work once they got their license. In turn, Levi would always listen to Fran vent about its mother and try his best to lift its spirits, though he kept his own struggles to himself for the most part. They were very close throughout high school, and having Fran made everything feel worth it to Levi.

When they were seventeen, everything suddenly changed when Fran’s father suddenly fell terminally ill. Before the two teenagers could really process everything, he was gone. Fran was devastated by grief, and it fell on Levi’s shoulders to support the friend who had done so much for him. Levi knew the pain of losing a parent in a way, so he did his best to comfort them, but he could only do so much. In a way, it felt like Fran was disappearing too, and it was a lonely feeling. As a gift to bring it some comfort, Levi bought it a plushie of a black cat mascot character that was popular at the time. He wasn't sure if Fran would like it as much as it did, but it kept it all throughout their friendship.

Fran was never quite the same after losing their father so unfairly, but even still, their bond wasn’t shaken. The two of them solidified a plan to get a place together after they graduated and follow their dreams together, something Fran’s father would be proud of. Levi told his uncles about their plan, but they seemed reluctant. Of course, they wouldn’t stop him from leaving if that was what he wanted, but they had concerns that perhaps Levi wasn’t ready to leave. He lacked independence, fell behind in his studies, was disorganized and unreliable. Levi couldn’t help but compare himself to Fran, who excelled in all those aspects. Despite facing a heavy loss, Fran pushed itself, but Levi was held back by all the shame his mother inflicted on him. He felt jealous of them, a feeling which would eventually fester into an unfamiliar bitterness. He insisted to his uncles that he could manage on his own; it didn’t matter what they thought. He promised himself he’d prove them wrong.

As soon as they graduated, Levi and Fran moved into an apartment in the city together in Fran's name. Fran got a job as a janitor at a bar, while Levi worked several odd jobs including a few fast food and retail jobs as well as a food delivery driver, but he could never seem to hold one. Oftentimes he'd get in trouble for being late after sleeping in, or having a bad attitude towards customers, or just generally being clumsy. Fran would often help Levi find new jobs. They both paid half of the rent and did their share of chores, they spent plenty of time together, and everything was relatively peaceful for the next couple years. However, some aspects of their relationship would start to shift. Levi was self-conscious about his struggles at work and keeping up with his chores. His depression weighed on him heavily and worsened as an adult. He constantly compared himself to Fran and felt like a failure, like his uncles had been right about him. To make things worse, Fran started to grow frustrated by Levi’s supposed lack of effort. Their relationship was still solid, but some cracks were starting to show.

When Levi was around twenty, he was job-hunting when he stumbled across an ad looking for models. Being a model was a dream of his, and he decided to apply, and invited Fran to apply to a photo editor position at the same company which paid better than its current job. Fortunately, they both managed to get hired. Levi was thrilled to work as a model; he loved photoshoots, trying on outfits, and socializing with his coworkers. They were all around his age and were the types to host big parties with all sorts of cool people in attendance. Levi spent a long time sucking up to them, hoping to be accepted into that crowd. He started to develop a persona to appeal to them, and tried to hide the more embarrassing parts of himself; even the aspects Fran liked most about him. Most of the other models liked Levi, though they also seemed to treat him as something of an errand boy before an actual friend.

Fran watched all this happen and warned Levi about changing himself for others and letting them walk all over him, but he dismissed its concerns, saying it would all be worth it in the end. Since Levi wouldn't stick up for himself, Fran decided to take matters into its own hands and talk to the models about their behavior. Instead of a productive conversation, they all just ended up fighting. Even when Levi had an opportunity to defend Fran, he shied away, not wanting to ruin his favor with them. Fran felt betrayed by its friend it had stood up for time and time again. As a result, Fran started to distance itself from him, both at work and at home. The two of them began to argue more often as small grievances such as unfinished chores began piling up, and their relationship worsened. If they weren't fighting or talking about something important, they tended to avoid each other, especially at work.

After some time, Levi had managed to integrate himself into the model's friend group, being invited to spend time with them outside of work, even if he was often still acting as their errand boy. One of the models ended up inviting him to a house party to celebrate her birthday. Levi happily accepted, and rolled up to an address in a fancy neighborhood, surprised to see a sizable home filled with strangers and the smell of booze. Levi stuck with his friends at first, having a few drinks, but quickly lost track of them all as they split up. Lost and confused, stumbling around the large house, Levi eventually caught the attention of two strangers, art college students, who decided to keep an eye on him and brought him to one of the empty bedrooms to look after. Levi ended up getting sick and passing out, at which point the two students decided to bring him back to their dorm for the night. They had no idea who brought him to the party and neither of them had seen Levi before, so their only choice was to look after him themselves.

Levi woke up the next morning, incredibly hungover on the couch of their dorm. One of the students introduced himself to Levi; her name was Markus, and she turned out to be the younger sibling of the model who had invited Levi to the party. They ended up talking over a breakfast Markus prepared, and discussed how Levi had ended up at the party and eventually their dorm. Levi admitted to feeling mistreated by his model friends. Markus warned Levi to be more careful choosing the types of people he hangs out with and not to change parts of himself for people he barely knew. They ended up talking more and realized they had a lot of similar interests, and before he knew it, Levi's persona was melting away. They decided to keep in touch afterwards in case Levi ever needed help again, but in reality the two of them were both interested in becoming friends. Markus drove Levi home, and from that point on, they talked daily and spent a lot of their free time together. Levi ended up spending more of his time at Markus' dorm than his actual house. It wasn't long before he started to develop feelings for Markus, touched by how kind, thoughtful and passionate she was. They spent the next year falling for each other but shying away from their feelings. Levi tried to introduce her to Fran a few times, but they never seemed interested in getting to know her, much to Levi’s surprise and annoyance.

Everything came to a head one day when the modelling agency Levi worked for suddenly declared bankruptcy and all of their employees were laid off. Levi was absolutely crushed about losing his dream job, and the fact that none of the people he had met there seemed interested in staying in touch. Markus saw how hard it hit him and decided to try cheering him up by spending the day out with him and treating him to all his favorite foods and activities. They both had a blast and Levi fully realized just how happy he was with Markus and how much the whole day has meant to him. The feeling overwhelmed him so much that on the drive home, he ended up blurting out his feelings for Markus. While initially embarrassed, Levi was overjoyed when Markus reciprocated his feelings, and the two kissed in the front seat while pulled over in a parking lot. They decided to make things official and start dating. They were closer than ever, and Levi spent as much time with Markus as he could when he wasn't working. This often led to him neglecting his chores at home, which bothered Fran a lot. His relationship with it was practically non-existent at this point as they distanced themselves from each other, and though Levi found himself longing for how close they used to be and regretted his behaviour, he found it hopeless to try and fix things now.

Levi and Markus have been dating for two years; Levi is currently twenty-three years old. Over the last couple of years he has struggled to hold a job, and is currently unemployed. He doesn't have many savings and tends to spend impulsively, which means he is often behind on rent payments. He also hasn't gotten any better at remembering his chores or cleaning up after himself. His relationship with Fran has somehow worsened to the point that they loathe living with each other, and Levi avoids crossing paths with them. This affects him deeply and his depression has worsened in recent times. Meanwhile, Fran is on its last nerve with Levi, and has been heavily debating kicking him out of the apartment.

Levi has difficulty being honest with Markus about his mental health and has started to withdraw himself from her out of shame and guilt, which has affected their relationship as well. Markus has made many attempts to communicate with Levi, which have all been brushed off. Levi also makes less of an effort to engage with Markus' interests compared to his usual enthusiasm. He still clings to Markus as his only source of support, leading to Markus getting a bunch of hot-and-cold mixed signals from Levi and wondering where his priorities really lie in their relationship. Levi continues to isolate himself as his relationships deteriorate, his self-worth plummets and his depression worsens. It isn’t long before his desperation will get him in even deeper trouble…