u n e d i t e d
* * *

Now, if someone were to ask me if there is limit to how organized one person can be I would say the most obvious answer: no.

Now if you ask my mom, she wouldn't hesitate to tell you that there is.

That's a difference between us that is easy to pick out, without putting much effort into it. I am, as she says, overly organized. All five hundred and twenty-seven books are organized by author, then by alphabetical order by title. Since my room isn't very large I have to make use of every inch of space.

I have a twin-sized mattress in the far corner of my room, pressed against the back wall. The foot of my bed faces the window, giving me a perfect view of my desk and the outdoors. Bookshelves run along the wall where my door stands, each shelf labeled with what author's books are placed there. A separate shelf that is near my bedside holds my souvenirs and "knick knacks". My closet is organized with several worn-out boxes, all labeled and neatly stacked. My violin case leans against my bed, it's strings untouched for over a year now. Every wall is plastered with old photographs of my mom and I, along with several posters of my favorite band.

My suitcases are stuffed to max capacity and are now lying on my neatly made bed. I have two large boxes ready for my use.

Mom is leaning against the doorframe, her lengthy hair tied back into a loose braid. She watches me take things out of my closet and place them into one of the boxes, occasionally make side comments.

We chat about what I'll be doing once I get to Sina campus grounds, and if I'll be sight seeing around Trost, since the city itself is such a large tourist attraction. There are several statutes of giants that stand all around the borderline of the city. I remember seeing them in photographs, apparently they have a name, but I can't quite remember it.

"Do you know who your roommate will be?"

I rearrange the items inside the medium-sized cardboard box for the second time. I didn't bother to turn and face her.

"Yeah, it's Farlan," I state bluntly.

"Oh, you're still friends?"

"Yes, mom. We have been friends for years now."

Farlan and I have been friends since primary school. He was one of the only people that talked to me after Eren started ignoring me. Farlan isn't much older than me, we are about the same age but he seems to be taller than me. In fact, everyone is. Even mom.

I continue to rearrange my things until I am satisfied. Farlan is supposed to come by and pick me up so we'd drive to Trost together. We were going to take the train, but he thought it would be much better to take his car. This way, we can have access to a car later on.

Farlan is also interested in the medical field, but he wants to become a nurse while I yearn to be a surgeon. We have this liking in common. Farlan and I planned out our futures together since the last year of secondary. We both were going to graduate together and work at the same hospital.

We are close enough to not hate each other's guts, as well as accepting one another's differences. While I live off of books, he is deadly addicted to video games, something I'm not very fond of.

"Well, I'll go make you something to eat before you go. Want anything in specific?" My mom asks me.

I tape down the first box with duct tape before turning to face her. "Uh, can you make me a sandwich? I don't want to eat heavy before hitting the road."

"Sure thing, with or without pickles?"

"Without," I say with a gag. I hate pickles.

Mom chuckles, "alright. I'll call you when I'm done."

I thank her before she leaves my room and continue organizing my final box. I don't exactly know what to place inside it. I know for sure I'm taking a few good books that I have yet to read for the fourth time, and maybe my two posters. I am definitely taking my photos along with the violin.

I sigh. Who knew this would be so difficult? I mean, I'm only going to a university.

I've been working on this for years, taking every necessary course and even attending college and secondary at the same time. I volunteered at the local hospital these past few years as well. I even spent a few months taking online classes to get a head start. Sina say my efforts and gave me a grant to attend their school. Talk about luck. I want to be a surgeon more than anything, so I gladly accepted their grant.

I finish packing the last box and flop on my bed. I stare at the ceiling, finally realizing something.

I am leaving for a university.

This isn't a dream anymore. It's actually happening. No more sitting around and reading about it, I'm actually going to cut open human bodies. That sounds more disturbing than it actually is.

I stomach turns at the thought of it all. I'm growing up, not physically of course.

My mother calls for me, her voice ringing throughout the house. I leave my bed stroll towards the kitchens, surviving the stairs.

Mom is leaning against the counter, scrolling through her phone. Two sandwiches are set in separate plates, one with pickles and one without. I can already guess which is mine.

"Levi, make sure your phone is charged before you leave. I want to be able to message you," she tells me.

I nod, taking the sandwich in hand. "Sure, I'll make sure to block your number too. You always send those stupid chain messages to people."

"Levi," her voice is stern.

"I'm just kidding, mom." I take my plate and make my way to the kitchen table. "Or am I...?"

"Levi! I heard that."

I laugh out loud, almost choking on a piece of ham. "I was kidding!" I manage to say between coughs.

She rolls her eyes. "Carla is coming over to say goodbye. Please don't be rude to her and say thank you if she gives you something," she informs.

"Okay," I bluntly say.

The sound of a doorbell chimes through the house and mom jumps up to answer the door. I swear, she always does this whenever Mrs. Yeager comes by. The two are always happy to see each other, even though they live side by side.

Carla and mom enter the kitchen, one arm draped over each other's shoulder. They laugh over something that I could care less of. The two best friends drag on a conversation without me, which bothers me slightly.

I roll my eyes and walk over to the sink. I wash my plate, like I should, and Carla notices my presence.

"Oh, Levi! Today's the big day, huh?" Carla rings in a cheerful tone.

"Yeah, I leave today," I reply nonchalantly.

"Aren't you excited?" She asks, her voice becoming calm.

"Thrilled."

"Oh," she says dejectedly.

My mom coughs, nudging me. I roll my eyes and then around. "I'm very excited," I bluntly say.

"Well," she begins, "I have something for you." Carla reaches into her cost pocket and takes out a small envelope.

I walk over to the opposite side of the counter and thank her. I retrieve the envelope before forcefully being pulled into a hug. I grunt at the sudden embrace, wanting to punch her right in the abdomen. My mom glares at me, her eyes warning me that she would murder me if I ever harmed Carla. I eased off, letting the uncomfortable hug sit in.

"I'm so proud of you," she whispers in my ear.

I shudder, being uncomfortable with the whole situation. "T-thank you?"

She let's me go, her hands on my shoulders. She looks at me with a smiling face and a tear in her eye. "You're growing up so fast. It feels like only yesterday you were reading Charles Dickens for the first time."

Actually, I read one of his books yesterday, but that's beyond the point. I pry myself away from her and inch away before she began to cry. Carla was rather, how do I put it? Emotional.

"Yeah, that was years ago... I'll be on my way now," I tell her, giving my mother a deadly glance.

Carla waves, a smile on her face. "Alright, honey."

Please kill me now. I send a painful wave before scurrying out of the kitchen and into the living room. I listen to the two of them laugh, forgetting about me. I sigh and direct my attention to the envelope.

My name is neatly written in small print and capital letters. I flip it over and rip through the seal to reveal several hundred bills and a note.

For those pesky textbooks.

-Carla

I reseal the envelope. Folding it in half and stuffing it into my pocket, my lips manage to curl themselves into a grin unintentionally. For a woman, as strange as she is, Carla was always kind to me and my mother. Growing up she was like an aunt, a distant one at that. Carla and her husband are very close friends with my mom, so I can't really say that I don't care for them. They encourage me as much as mom does, always there somehow.

I can respect that much of her.

• • •

With the day pressing forward, I grow even more anxious to arrive to Sina's campus. Farlan arrives with his trunk packed with things. I barely have any room for my own things, not that I have very much.

"Hey, can you believe it?" Farlan asks, stuffing one of my suitcases into the backseat of his car.

"I can't, honestly. It still feels like I'm dreaming."

We work as a team to pack the car to it's fullest. Farlan and I keep a blunt discussion while mom is over at the Yeager household making some sort of pastry. Not that I really cared.

"I think that's everything. Are you sure your violin won't break like that?" Farlan asks, concerned for my dangerously placed instrument.

I tilt my head. "It'll be fine. Just don't go over any potholes," I warn

He give each other a high five before slamming the back door of his Jeep. That was it, everything is finally ready to go. All there is left to do is drive for three hours. Great.

"Let's go inside and grab some snacks," Farlan suggests.

I shrug and follow him inside. Buddy is in the kitchen chewing on a bone, his favorite pass time. I walk over and let him, making sure to scratch his all time favorite spot. Buddy's tail wags wildly as he pants.

"Hey Buddy, I wish I could take you along but there's a 'no pets allowed' policy," I tell him.

Farlan is in the cabinets, taking out boxes of quick snacks. Fruit roll ups, fruit snacks, graham crackers, all the good stuff we liked as kids, and even now.

"You and that dog. Come on, if we don't leave now we'll run into traffic," Farlan says as he tosses the snacks into a bag.

I stroke Buddy's fur one last time before taking a few water bottles and following Farlan back to the car. We set the snacks in the back seat and pile into Farlan's Jeep Patriot. We check our things before taking off.

I don't exactly know why, but I couldn't help but watch my house grow smaller and smaller as we drove further away from it. I never thought I'd be so empty to watch my house disappear as we drove down the empty street.

I let out a heavy sigh, taking out my phone and earphones. Farlan and I let silence sink in. I know that he is also realizing the truth now, seeing our town pass by with every blink. One moment, we were passing the old playground we used to play in as kids, the next we're in an area of the unknown. With a destination entered in our phones, we drive to a place where neither of us can even begin to understand how it will change our lives.

Our dreams were finally becoming reality, both of us still afraid of the change we will encounter.

Farlan and I are silent for the first thirty minutes before we had to make out first stop.

"Why didn't you go when you were there?" I say angrily.

"Because, I didn't want to stink up your bathroom!"

Typical Farlan. I roll my eyes as he parks in front of a gas station. He leaves the Jeep running, quickly jogging inside to release his bowels.

I play candy crush until he returns. In the middle of a game I receive a text message from my mom. Instead of ignoring it, I tap on the notification.

Mom: No goodbye kiss?

I don't know if she's upset. I hesitate to reply, not sure if I should.

Levi: Um... I'm sorry?

Almost instantly, she replies.

Mom: That's alright, I'll see you soon. You're coming for the holidays, right?

Levi: Uh, of course mom.

Mom: Eren will miss you if you spend too much time away from him.

I roll my eyes.

Levi: I don't care if he does or doesn't. We aren't friends, I've already told you.

Farlan returns and I shut my phone off. He let's out a huff as he plops himself into the driver's seat. He grins evilly.

"What did you do?" I ask, already knowing of his evil deeds.

"Oh nothing," he says innocently. He lifts a back of junk food. "I only grabbed some essentials."

I roll my eyes, yanking the bag from his hands. "You're awful. Did you get them?"

"Of course," he sings. Farlan starts the engine while I dig through the bag.

"I swear, if you're pulling my leg I am going to punch you in the face."

Farlan pulls out of the parking area and drives back onto the road. It takes me a minute, but I manage to find what I've been looking for.

"Fucking yes. You actually bought them," I say. I hold up a bag of skittles, grinning stupidly.

"I don't know why you love them so much, they aren't very good."

I scowl. How dare he say that, I've loved skittles all my life. "Fuck you, this is amazing."

Farlan rolls his eyes.

We continue our drive to Trost. Our drive is expected to be three hours long, each hour Farlan and I switch places, but instead it lasted an extra hour. After four stops, three bags of skittles, and over a hundred terrible radio songs, we arrive to Trost. By the time we reached the city the sun had already began to set. We didn't beat the traffic hour, which is the reason why it took us four hours instead of three.

"Come on, let's go to the registration desk to get our keys," Farlan says as we exit the car.

I nod and follow him across campus to the main building.

Sina did not disappoint. It's campus was larger than I expected, but the architecture is what I'm impressed by. The campus looks like a miniature Roman city. The main building is designed to resemble a Roman fort.

Entering the main building, Farlan and I head straight to registration to pick up our keys. The lady sitting at the front desk asks for our names.

"Farlan Church," he says proudly.

She looks at me and I hesitate for a split second. "Levi Rivaille Ackerman," I say quickly.

The registration woman types his name into a computer. Her fingers dance across the keyboard as she types in information.

"You're both in building B, room 201. The room is already furnished so there is no need to bring appliances from outside," she informs us. The woman points to a room beside her. "The man over there should give you your room key."

Farlan nods firmly and jerks his head for my to follow. We obtain our keys and immediately start hauling our things from the car and into the room. Taking several trips, Farlan and I were able to empty Farlan's Jeep.

I stand at the entrance of our room and couldn't help but grin. Farlan leaps onto his bed on the far side of the room. He wanted the window bed, so that's exactly what he got. I, on the other hand, got the bed next to the bookshelf.

How exciting.

"Come try these beds, they feel so good," Farlan says as he sinks into the mattress.

I shut the door and make my way to my own bed. The blankets and pillows have the school initials on them, as well as the rug in the center. I seat myself on the edge, lightly bouncing before fully laying down.

"Doesn't it feel great?" Farlan asks.

I release a heavy sigh. I feel an enormous weight lift from my tired body. It's like I've been unable to breathe up until now, like everything has been paused and just now my life is put into play. My eyes don't leave the ceiling, thoughts flowing through my mind and leaving again.

This is it. This is where my life finally begins. No more Eren, no more being ignored, no more yearning. My life starts now, and no one is going to stop me from living my dream.

"Yeah, it feels great."

* * *

Author's Note:

I'm not 100% pleased with how this chapter came out. It's once again a slow chapter, but then again it's only the beginning, right? Eh. Hopefully you liked it.

Well, my trash sucks titan booty but I'm trying because I love writing. If you have any suggestions or comments, maybe even some helpful criticism please don't be afraid to tell me.

Thank you for reading :)

Don't forget to vote and comment. Until next time :)

3032 words