Several Days Later:

"Meg," I huffed, looking over what she just handed to me, "you're an idiot."

"No, wait. You can't call me that without context."

"These were supposed to be turned in a week ago."

"Yes. And?"

"You still haven't turned it in."

"Right."

"And we need to pass this to make sure we pass the class."

"Mm-hm."

"Meg, how do you not see the problem with this?"

"Listen. First, calm down. I'm the teacher's favorite. Secondly, relax."

"Calming down and relaxing are the same thing."

"Exactly," she said. "I want you to just pick one and go with it." She spun once in her wheeled chair with a light kick, her smile growing as she went. She let out a content little hum then let her foot hook on one of the wheels to force herself to a stop.

Right now, we were in the public library of our town in one of the corners meant for studying groups. They were rather secluded and were tucked away quite neatly, so we were free to talk. It was a large enough library anyway that the quieter sections – and the ones with the comfier seating options – wouldn't hear us in the slightest.

"I feel like I should also mention that I asked for an extension," she said.

"You're impossible," I sighed. "And what excuse did you use this time?"

She snickered before she even said what she wanted to. "My parents' divorce."

That made me laugh. "Are you serious? There's no way that worked."

"Why not? It can be very devastating to a young person."

"Yeah, I get that. But this would be the third time since sophomore year that your parents supposedly get a divorce."

"Well, then it's a damn good thing they never come to school events," she said with a nonchalant shrug. There was a pause, then, and she seemed to be thinking quite hard about something before she looked at me seriously. "Have I really only used it three times? It feels like I used it more."

"You've only told me about three," I said. "Our thesis in sophomore year, getting out of the mile run in gym last year, and just now."

"I need some new material," she mused. "I definitely used it in history at least twice."

"I can't believe they're that gullible," I sighed. "The youth of tomorrow, taught by yesterday's fools."

"Makes more sense the more you think about it," she said. "Ah, well. I'll turn it in tomorrow... if you help me finish these graphs, of course."

"You're hopeless."

"But you love me."

"If you say so."

"..."

"..."

"So, are you gonna help me with these graphs?"

---

"God," Gunther drawled out, stretching his arms above his head as he walked. He was towards the back of the group, walking alongside Eld. At his other side was Olou, and a few paces ahead of them were Petra and Levi. "My Wednesday schedule is just the worst."

"Still complaining about it, and we only have a few more days of classes left," Eld sighed. "Give it up already, man. No one's gave you sympathy before, we sure as hell ain't giving you any now."

"I'm not doing it to get pity," Gunther snapped, playfully swatting his best friend's arm.

"He's just complaining to complain," Petra said, looking back with a smile. "Isn't that right?"

Levi, for his part, just kept walking. The group was on its way to a café near the school to study and eat. There were a few final exams left to take, and after that, they were free. Graduation would come a few days later, and then... They would have to get ready for what came next.

For some, like Petra, they were leaving for a prestigious school halfway across the country. She'd gotten accepted into an incredibly program at an accredited school. With how hard-working and determined she was, she would do just fine.

For Gunther, he was off to a trade school. Eventually, he would take over his family's shop, he only felt he should get some formal training in first – for he had plenty of informal training he gained from working around the shop growing up.

Olou didn't know, to be frank, what the hell he wanted to do with his life. So for now, he was taking time off from school to figure it out and get himself settled.

As for others, like Levi and Eld, there were plenty of universities in this city – and surrounding ones – that would do just fine for what they wanted. For their chosen degrees, the name of the school on the diploma didn't matter much.

Levi figured that an education was an education no matter where you got it, so long as the professors were competent, and Eld shared that way of thinking. Of course, unlike Eld, Levi had also made a rather last-minute decision as far as what he wanted to do with his life.

Levi, while largely independent, found that he worked best when given a task. He would, if it was tasked to him, do whatever it was to his utmost ability. He was tact, he was diligent, and he was strong.

And so, he elected to follow his adoptive brother (and closest friend, though he wouldn't admit that aloud) Erwin to the military. With Erwin's mind, he would be an excellent tactician. Maybe he'd grow to lead his own battalions one day. When it came to giving orders, inspiring motivation, and taking charge, Erwin was incredible. To him, that all came naturally.

And on the other side of that coin, Levi was incredibly adept at following orders. Not that he wasn't a freethinker, of course he was. However, he knew that he wanted to fight for something. For someone.

That lifestyle was in his blood. It ran through his veins and could be found deep within his bones. It seemed to call to him. And so when Erwin announced to the family that that was what he was going to do, there was a natural beckoning from his heart that told him to follow.

So that's what he chose. Joining the military also meant that he would be able to take classes at university for less, and there were lots of benefits at play as well.

There was no need for him to justify it further in his mind, because he'd picked it already. No time – and no reason – to regret it now.

When the group finally reached the café and they ordered their drinks, Levi willed himself to try to enjoy something about this outing. He was with people he might call friends, and there was no telling how often this would be able to happen in the future.

"Only a few days left," someone particularly annoying had said to him recently. This certain someone had said it so recently, in fact, that it was just this morning. He'd texted this annoying brat to see if she wouldn't be on his side, and maybe say that making an excuse not to go today wouldn't be a bad thing.

He'd been wrong.

"Just try to enjoy it! They're your friends, aren't they?"

How annoying.

---

"Jerry," Megan whined, "help us with this chemistry!"

"No," he said immediately, not even bothering to look up from his work.

Jerry was the third part of our trio, and we shared a sly smile when Meg wasn't looking. Meg and Jerry were a pair that I met in freshman year, and they very quickly became some of my best friends.

I'd met Megan first. We'd been paired up in our ninth-grade science lab, and we'd been partners ever since. While the amount that we learned in those labs varied from week to week depending on how much fun we had with each one, we became fast friends and so that was certainly a plus.

Jerry was a transfer student from another school, and Meg had proudly gone up to him and invited him to eat lunch with us when it became clear on his first day that no one else would. And so we had shared lunch together that day, and on each and every day of school after that.

Meg had, as far as I'd seen, the palest skin known to man. She did what she could to tan, but it always just ended up skipping right over the shades she wanted and she would end up burnt and she always regretted it. She had dark, nearly black hair, though the ends were dyed with an ombre as though dipped with blonde. It was a gorgeous look on her, especially with her normal accessories and makeup.

She was a very pretty girl, which was why it made so much sense for Jerry to be in love with her.

Except he was too much of a coward to admit it, so they remained in limbo.

Jerry had dark skin, the finest facial hair I'd ever seen, and these thick-rimmed glasses that always sat too far forward on his nose. He was also pretty damn athletic, and remarkably intelligent to boot. It was safe to say he was probably the most intelligent among the three of us. And he was handsome to boot, as if he didn't have enough going for him already. It was incredibly unfair, honestly.

He was a very handsome boy, which was why it made so much sense for Megan to be in love with him.

Except she was too much of a coward to admit it, so they remained in limbo.

One wore glasses, the other only wore contacts, and yet somehow, I was the only one able to see how they were clearly into each other. I had a hunch that Meg's crush had started years ago, and that's why she'd invited him to our table on his very first day. But several years had passed and still... nothing.

I'd even been so kind as to give them encouraging pushes in the right direction, that direction being towards each other. I'd done so many times. But they were both too stubborn or stupid or cowardly to do anything about it so they remained in that limbo where they liked each other but just didn't get together.

I mean, really, the entire school knew that they were meant for each other. The only people who couldn't see it were themselves.

How annoying.

---

Levi's phone had been in his pocket, and at the feeling of a single notification, it remained there. But then there was another, and that too was followed closely by another. He knew the pattern of it, and he sighed as he retrieved the device from his pocket in a nearly instinctive way.

A certain pest was texting him. If he didn't answer soon, she would call. And what he didn't need right now – in front of his friends – was for her to call and give them something else to tease him about. As if they didn't have enough ammunition already.

(Y/n): levi! you'd never believe this

(Y/n): I promise you'll like what I have to say this time

(Y/n): damn nvm </3

Me: what do you want now

Me: it better be important, I'm studying

(Y/n): it is! I got some free time tonight and our skip day is tomorrow

Me: and?

(Y/n): idk, I maybe thought you'd wanna come see me :(

Me: why are you so needy

Me: I still have school tomorrow

(Y/n): so maybe I'll go see you then~

(Y/n): or hange if you don't want me around

Me: you're such a brat

(Y/n): that's the third time you've called me that today, try harder <3

Me: I'd rather get back to studying

Me: goodbye

With that, he put the phone down on the table. Except that was probably the worst decision he could have made, because she immediately began blowing his phone up again. If his friends hadn't noticed him texting, they definitely noticed the vibrations shaking the whole table and making a racket. Levi sighed and dropped his head into his hands.

(Y/n): hold on if I leave right now I can make it to the highway before rush hour traffic hits

(Y/n): am I coming to see you pls answer wait

(Y/n): levi don't go please I still need to stop and get gas if I visit

Levi only lifted his head when Eld, seated next to him, began reading the messages aloud. "Aw," Gunther cooed once Eld was done reading. "Going to get a visit from your favorite lady friend?"

"She never drives all this way just to see me," Eld sighed, putting his chin in his palm in a dejected sort of way. "And here I thought I was at least her third favorite."

"You're not worth the gas money," Olou said with a smirk, "let alone the time it takes for her to get here."

"And you are?" Petra asked, giving him a nasty side-eye.

"Petra, my dear, you wound me," Olou said in a way that might trick other people into thinking that her words had no effect on him at all. But anyone with ears would know that his sarcastic tone was forced. He really had been wounded, if not physically, then just in his pride.

"And maybe one day it'll be enough to kill ya," Gunther teased. By then, Levi decided he had enough. He got out of his chair and began to pack up his things. "Oh? What's this?"

"He's gotta get the love nest ready," Eld said. "Get everything set up nice for the missus."

"Shut it," Levi muttered. "I'm leaving."

"Yeah, we figured as much," Olou said. "Don't stay up too late. We still have class tomorrow."

Levi didn't bother replying as he shouldered his bag and pushed his chair in. A chorus of goodbyes came his way as he turned on his heel. He could just hear that pest say it now. "Levi, be nice! Say goodbye!"

"Bye," he called back, taking his keys in hand and leaving the restaurant.

---

"Tell me," Levi said, "why exactly you can't spend your night before skip day at home? Or why you're making me come to see you?"

"Well," I said, "as for tonight, I just had a long, tiring day and want to see my favorite person in the whole world. And by the way, you're the one insisting on coming to see me. I was ready to drive to you."

"I'd never hear the end of your complaints about traffic otherwise," he muttered.

I frowned, and even went so far as to stick my tongue out at the phone, knowing perfectly well that he couldn't see it. "Anyway, I think a few of my friends are going to the beach for skip day, but I thought that if I could spend it with you, it might be more fun."

"Uh huh. I'm on the highway now."

I smiled. "Drive safe."

We said our goodbyes, and before I knew it, Levi pulled into the driveway. I ran out to meet him, hardly having the energy to care that it was raining. It was barely a drizzle, but the sudden chill brought goosebumps to my arms. Levi didn't even have the time to close the car door behind him before I had him in my arms, hugging him tight.

"Levi," I said happily. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm and the sudden force of the hug knocked him off balance, because he was bumped back against the car.

"Easy, easy," he told me. His arms came around me, one winding around my waist while the other patted my back in a patronizing sort of way. "Calm down."

"Sorry," I said with a light laugh. "Just had a long day."

"What happened?"

"It was just exhausting," I answered. "You know how it goes."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure. I'm happy you're here."

"Got anything in mind for tonight?"

"No," I answered, pulling away from him to see him clearly.

"I do. Come on."

Our escapades that evening led us downtown and around to the shops. A new outlet mall had opened, and how he knew before I did was beyond me, but it was good fun. The strip was outside, with plenty of courtyards riddled with picnic tables, fire pits, and activities.

I, for one, had wanted to try the large game of chess, with pieces that came about up to my hip, but Levi had elected to sit back and watch me lose against a child. 

And whatever Levi might say, I did put up a damn good fight. It wasn't my fault that the nerd I was against was probably in his school's chess club!

We'd had a nice dinner, did some window (and in my case, actual) shopping, and we had a great time. It was late at night by the time we left, but I think that both of us didn't want the day to end quite yet. Not with the way that we walked slowly back to the car and seemed to loiter a little more than necessary.

But there was only so much loitering we could do, and we could only walk so slow, and we eventually did make it back to the car. After packing the bags in the trunk, Levi hesitated before starting the car, sparking my interest as we put our seatbelts on. Maybe he had another idea? Or maybe he would just offer to spend the night? 

"What's up?" I asked, setting my hands in my lap comfortably.

"What's your curfew?"

"My curfew? I technically don't have one, if you ask mom. But if you ask dad, it's midnight."

"That didn't answer my question."

"Since mom is away for a few days to visit family, dad is in charge... so I guess midnight if I want to avoid a fight."

He glanced at his watch. "We'll just make it if we leave now."

"But you sound like you want to do something else."

"You said your class is going to the beach tomorrow, right?"

"Right."

"I can't go tomorrow."

I knew exactly what he was implying.

"Well," I mused, knowing he'd be more agreeable if it was my idea, "how about right now?"

Levi smirked, happy we came to the same conclusion. When the engine began to rumble, he looked over at me, a mischievous gleam in his eye.

"Don't just sit there looking at me," I said with a laugh. "Let's go!"

---

Levi didn't know what had suddenly come over him. The beach? At night? What the hell was wrong with him?

Perhaps more accurately, he should ask what the hell this girl was doing to him.

As they approached the exit they needed to take, he risked a sidelong glance towards her. She had her window down, and she had one hand dedicated to ensuring her hair stayed in place, so it wouldn't whip around.

There was a small smile on her face, perhaps due in part that the song currently playing wasn't quite as fun as the previous one. He had, for whatever reason, allowed her to connect her phone and she'd put on a playlist of hers. It wasn't quite his music taste, but this girl was about as different from him as she could possibly be.

Perhaps that's what it was. Maybe that's why they worked so well together.

Where he excelled, she occasionally needed help in; and the same went the other way. He was what people would call aloof, cold, stoic. She was none of those things. She was wonderful, and in many ways far more attuned to being around people than he was.

Honestly, he still wasn't even sure what they were. She'd kissed him first, and then he'd returned the favor. And then they'd kissed each other. On the lips. Didn't that make them something? He wasn't exactly an expert on relationships, of the familial, platonic, and romantic variety especially, but you didn't just kiss anyone, right?

At least, would she? He didn't know. And because he didn't know, he acted like it hadn't happened. Then again... only a few days ago, after the party, he'd kissed her temple when helping her to bed. Hell, he wasn't even sure if she'd noticed it.

Whatever. She didn't say anything about it, so...

"Don't look so glum," (Y/n) said, her eyes seeming to pierce through him when all she was doing was smiling at him. He let himself consider for a moment that she might be able to see right through him, into his soul and into his mind to see what he was thinking. Maybe that's why she was smiling like that. 

"It won't be too busy," she said, "or too hot, or anything like that, so all your usual excuses won't work."

He rolled his eyes and had to put effort in to hide his amusement. "That's exactly why I look so..."

"Glum," she finished for him.

"That."

That got a low laugh out of her. Winding through a small coastal neighborhood, they found a place to park then got out of the car. For one person, they did so eagerly. For the other... it was rather reluctant. If not for the pest pulling him along by the hand, he'd have stayed by the car.

He really wasn't a fan of the beach. Sure, it looked nice, but couldn't they find a spot to just look at it without having to go get sand in places where it shouldn't have been? No matter what you did at the beach, you'd always inevitably end up covered in sand and smell like the salty brine. It was disgusting.

But when (Y/n) rolled her sleeves up to reach into the water only to produce a shell with a pearlescent sheen, and she looked at him so proudly, he supposed there might've been something nice about it after all.

If it could get her to smile like this... maybe it wasn't all that bad.

He never could say no to her anyway. How could he?

---

Levi found himself now standing on that familiar street corner. One that he had passed by hundreds of times, maybe even thousands, in his time living here. This was the corner on which he would wait when Hange wanted to walk to school with him.

This early in the morning, it was the only time to have a coherent conversation with them, anyway. Letting Hange wake up and let their brain catch up only spelled trouble for him. And trouble, of course, could only mean a splitting headache.

Today though, Hange had texted him not only to wait up, but that they had a surprise. That had set off several alarm bells in his mind, but his curiosity had been piqued all the same, and so here he stood. He stole a glance at his watch. Hange was nearly running late. That's how things were, he supposed. That would never change.

He looked up at the first sign of movement from up ahead. Two figures were there just across the street, not just one. He narrowed his eyes. Just what was this surprise?

At first, all he could think to do was glare at Hange. Even from his spot across the street, he could tell just what they were doing and that was being annoying.

...And ignoring him.

Only when he felt he got his point across did he roll his eyes at the mere audacity they had to ignore him. Then he dragged his attention to the person at Hange's side.

It was probably dramatic to say that the whole world came to a stop, but that's what it felt like. It'd only been a few months, but surely, his mind wouldn't make him believe that she was standing there, right? No, it wouldn't.

His breath hitched, all coherent thought left his brain, and his eyes widened. His body twitched, as though wanting to force itself closer.

Never had he thought in his life so far would he feel such a powerful yearning to be near someone before. All he had known was violence and pain and he knew only revenge as a driving force – revenge against all that had ever harmed his mother, revenge against the society that that put him in the situations that it had.

He'd only known hate, for that was what the world showed to him. There had only been one person he loved: and that was his mother. Not even his so-called uncle had any love stored in his heart for him. And yet here someone stood, the very culmination of years of running loose on the streets finally ending. She'd been the one to open his eyes, as a stupid eleven-year-old in an orphanage.

He hated to say that he'd grown to rely on her, but he had and the last time he had even remotely relied on anyone was... Farlan and Isabel. And before that... his uncle, long before. The only person who preceded Kenny was his sister, Kuchel. Levi's mother.

Both women, so incredibly loving. One in a maternal way, the other in a way he hadn't experienced before. It was... born of friendship. And he loathed to admit that his heart fluttered in his chest upon seeing her again.

He was stubborn, he knew that. It took a lot for him to decide to even grant someone his time, the grace of even sharing a conversation with him. And that was only because he deemed himself unworthy of it. Why would someone want to talk with him, born into dirt and scum, and raised to be a fighter, wild and lethal on the streets?

But she had. And she hadn't given up, not after feeling how cold he was, not after seeing him withdraw away. For all his usual defense mechanisms, his rude remarks, unyielding body language, and stern looks, she had a smile. For all that he deemed wrong with himself, from his peculiar habits to his unwillingness to branch out, to even his height, she had endless patience to help him however she could.

Because she would help him clean, she would defend him from the comments the sometimes senseless younger kids would make, and she would grant him time alone when he needed it. How the hell could one person do all that? And for someone like him... why?

His life had seemed like hell before and yet upon meeting her...

It was far too cliché to say that it was paradise, but strangely, it was the only word he could think to use.

Paradise.

Interesting.

Her being around made him see things differently, if only because she saw the world so differently from the way he did, especially when they were younger. Back then, she was naïve at times, she was innocent about some things, and she knew not even half of the dangers that awaited her beyond the wooden fence she so desperately wanted to go beyond.

And yet she seemed to understand that she did not understand, even at that young age when they met. She did not press him to explain what he knew, to talk about what he had done, to discuss what had happened to him. Never did she make him feel bad for not wanting to talk about something.

What was the expression... she was wise beyond her years? She was an old soul. Maybe. He didn't know for sure.

...but he decided he would like to find out.

Regardless, when with Farlan and Isabel, there was a shared understanding about what they had all gone through because they had gone through similar situations, and therefore, there was no need to talk about them. One person might have gone through the same horrors that the others did. One person might have gone through something entirely different, but left them feeling the same way as the others. To that end, why talk about it?

But on the other hand, (Y/n) had so many burning questions, she had to. How couldn't she? How couldn't she have had questions about the mysterious, aloof boy who had appeared out of nowhere with a scowl and a bad attitude?

And yet she didn't beg for the answers. She had instead remained patient with him as he figured out what it was that he wanted to do. Not what he needed to do, and not what he was told to do, but what he wanted to do. Never had he had the freedom to do that, before... to do what he wanted.

That's why he stayed.

This girl – this one strange girl – had become so important to him.

And now, for the first time in a long time, she took that first step closer to him.

He froze. He didn't know what to do.

He still had half a mind to believe this wasn't real.

He still wouldn't believe, not until...

"Hi, Levi," she said.

---

When Sunday night rolled around, I knew that I should probably head to bed a decent hour, but really, who decided that? Who dictated what a decent hour of the night was? As far as I was concerned, there was hardly a difference between 10 at night and 2 in the morning. It was all nighttime, with a dark sky and they were probably hours best spent being slept through, but so rarely did anyone do that.

Of course, I might've just had a long weekend due to the grace of Senior Skip Day, but it'd gone by so quickly.

Guess I had Levi to blame for that. Ah, well.

I stretched my arms far above my head, hearing the distinct and satisfying pops and creaks of my joints as they cracked. With a relieved breath, I flopped back on my bed, relishing in the comfort of my bedding. I rolled onto my side, gazing fondly at the newest addition to my desk: a printed, framed photo that had been taken of the two of us this past weekend while at the beach that night.

A smile curled on my lips, and I decided I was just about ready to get in bed. Maybe my dreams tonight would be as lovely as my weekend was.

---

Levi found himself, once again, standing on that familiar street corner.

He looked down at himself. The same dream, again? Of the same memory? No, it couldn't be. Why would he relive reuniting with her on that street corner again so soon?

As it happens, he was right. It wasn't the same. This was new.

The setting was the same, but it was so, so different.

He was dressed how he was when they'd gone to the beach. It was rather casual for his part and abided by his usual sense of fashion. It was comfortable and warm anyway, and though (Y/n) had made fun of him for going to the beach in so many extra layers, she had been forced to swallow her pride and ask for his jacket when she realized how chilly it was by the coast that night.

Anticipating what was to come next, he looked up, away from his outfit, and across the street. There she stood, as he expected.

He wasn't wasting time this time around. He took a step towards her. But as soon as he did, someone stepped out from behind her. It was a faceless man, one taller than her, built and bulky and strong. His eyeless gaze was focused only on (Y/n).

However, she was looking elsewhere. She was looking right back at Levi. There was something helpless, something pleading, in her eyes, that made him want to go to her but his feet were suddenly unable to move. He couldn't move an inch. His legs were bound in concrete, or that's what it felt like, because when he looked, there was nothing there.

He began to panic.

"(Y/n)," he called, but he had the distinct feeling that his voice went nowhere, and it felt like the words were caught suspended in time, still and unmoving... and never to reach her ears.

That's when everything went wrong. Just as the man's arms came around her, venturing up into her clothes, a wave of dark, murky water stormed down the street. He didn't have time to react before he was fully submerged, his body bearing the full force of the water's might and still, his feet did not... could not move.

The water cleared, as though filtered through so many unseen drains. And when the only signs of the wave were the saltiness to the air and the incessant dripping of water from the leaves of nearby trees, he could at last open his eyes again.

She was gone.

The man was not. Only malice resided behind his smile, and it dared not reach his eyes. In fact, there was a devilish glint them, though they were still dark. Hands stained red, if only because they went where she did not want them.

Levi didn't know how far he went that night. He didn't know the man's name, his identity, nor whether he actually did reach those places she kept private. All he knew... was that he had violated her.

Levi might not ever cross paths with that man, and (Y/n) likely never would ever again if she could help it, but he would forever be imprinted into her memories, regardless of what they did that night to try to wipe it from her mind.

It angered him.

But when Levi went to take a step, his feet finally freeing from that concrete, he was foolish enough to blink, and all went dark.