``early |raychel|

[broadway]

Raychel dodged one, grinning triumphantly. Suddenly, she looked up and saw the second mud ball. Before she could react, it came down upon her face. Raychel wiped the muck from her face and smirked at Levi. "Alright, this is war!" she called playfully. Stooping down, she scooped up two balls, one in each hand, and, in one swift movement, threw them at Levi. Raychel laughed. This was just like a snowball fight, only messier and more enjoyable. Plus, she was with Levi. That only made the situation all the better.

[imadecoy]

Completely unprepared, Levi was hit by both of them, but by now it was hard to tell since he was already coated from head to toe in wet dirt. He returned the attack using the same process, although he was nowhere near coordinated enough to be as good as she was with throwing. He was more bookish, besides, you didn't need much hand-eye coordination to lift weights.

[broadway]

Both of the mud spheres hit their mark, splattering against her back. She laughed and whipped around. Like a slingshot, her arm flew around and launched another ball of muck. Raychel watched them as they arched across the gray sky.

[imadecoy]

Levi managed to dodge this time, but only to slip on the mud-splattered earth and fall into a pile of the stuff twice the size of what Raychel had thrown at him. He had cut his hand on a particularly jagged rock on the way down, but the wound was not deep, just a scratch. From his position on the ground, he tossed more mud at Raychel. He had never had so much fun in his life, nor had he really ever had a friend.

[broadway]

The mud splattered against Raychel's thigh. She laughed giddly. Raychel watched Levi tumble and covered her mouth, emitting a loud gasp. After realizing he was alright, she broke down laughing. She didn't know why she was so happy, but she was.

[imadecoy]

Levi too joined into the laughter. He had probably never laughed so much, or so forcefully in his life. He had managed to stand up, only to double over, clutching his sides. After a while, his laughs commenced to wheezing, and tears had come to his eyes. Levi emitted a stuttering sigh to calm himself. The storm was only getting worse, little pieces of hail were pelting him. "Perhaps we should head indoors," Levi suggested.

[broadway]

Raychel laughed. The trek back to the castle would almost completely dry them off. Her laughter died down to a quiet titter. She walked alongside Levi at a slow pace, shoulder to shoulder. Within a matter of hours, it would seem her and Levi were practically best friends. She smiled at the thought. Being best friends was alright with her, but she truly wanted something more. What, she wasn't entirely sure.

[imadecoy]

Levi enjoyed the tiny marbles of hail rapping against his body, even if some of them it hardly enough to leave welts on his back. Just like heavy rain, it was a sensory thing for him. He could remember his mother shouting at him to come inside during severe weather when he was just standing in the front yard. Levi was not uncomfortable with Raychel being so close, he felt as if he had known her his whole life just then, not for about an hour.

[broadway]

The hail grazed her skin gently. Some would have probably left welts on her skin, were they not coming from the direction they were coming. She looked over at Levi and grinned. Before they reached the castle, they would have to clean off the access dirt that didn't wash off with the rain. Raychel didn't find that a problem.

[imadecoy]

They reached the doors to the castle far too soon for Levi's liking, but as the storm was quite intense now he wouldn't mind heading indoors. He looked down at his clothes, the mud was gone from him for the most part, Levi was just soaking wet. "I've got homework I have to do," said Levi as they climbed the steps to the doors. "You're more than welcome to come with me if you want to."

[broadway]

Raychel nodded. "Of course." She replied. The doors opened and she stepped inside, wipping her wand out. She waved it over her, muttering a spell, and she was dry. She fluffed her ponytail and smoothed out her clothes, then leaned against the wall. She smiled at Levi as the door began to shut.

[imadecoy]

Levi followed suit, and then slipped his wand backup his sleeve where it always was put. He walked beside Raychel, he had to go back up to the Ravenclaw Tower to get his bag. Some others might be up that Saturday morning, but as he watch told him it was only seven, Levi doubted it. Ever since Angel had dropped out of school he was usually the first one up of his house in the mornings.

[broadway]

Raychel approached the Ravenclaw portrait. She allowed Levi to enter first. She excused herself and climbed the stairs two at a time. She wanted to get some fresh clothes on. She quickly pulled off her old clothes and slipped into a pair of ballet flats, a blue t-shirt, and light blue jeans. She stepped down the steps, pausing only to slip her wand in her back pocket and to let her hair out of it's holder. She fluffed her curls then stepped quickly down the rest of the staircase.

[imadecoy]

Levi too changed out of his sweats, and into dark jeans and white polo. He slung his bag over his shoulder and stumbled a little, as it weighed close to twenty pounds. He wasn't taking every class (as he had tried it in his third year and hated it), but he seemed to have gotten a knack for choosing the courses with the most books. After tying his green Converse, he headed down the stairs to wait for Raychel. He gave her a small smile when she came down and couldn't help but think how pretty she was.

[broadway]

Raychel had to stop herself from swooning. The sight of Levi made her stop. He was just so brilliantly handsome. She smiled weakly, hoping to cover up the adoration in her eyes. She noticed the heaviness of the bag. "Are you sure you can carry that by yourself?" She asked, worry painting her face.