After you finished your little business and washed your hands and face, you feel a little better. With your hands on the sink, staring at yourself in the mirror, you begin to talk to yourself. Speaking calming and comforting words, that you shouldn't give up, that you should endure your friend's strange behavior a little longer, because they're just worried and that they just want to protect you. And of course that you shouldn't lose faith in Levi. He acted strangely towards you before and probably this was just another situation where he just doesn't know what to do. The other women who saw you talking to yourself gazed very curiously at you until a small, skinny woman tapped your shoulder.

"Are you alright? Should I call someone to help you?" She asked with slight worry in her squeaky voice. It was just a matter of time when someone will ask stupid questions. To be honest, this must look quite ridiculous and strange and you couldn't do otherwise but to laugh. By waving your hand before your face, you try to calm her down.

"No, that's not necessary. I'm just talking to myself. You know...From time to time I just need good advice from an expert".

Now the woman chimed into the laughing before she patted my shoulder again.

"Yeah, I feel ya! I understand. Good luck then!" She stated as she leaves the scene into an empty cabin. You needed this. This cheered up a little and with newly gained strength, you feel ready to survive the rest of the day. When you open the door to go back, you see a hint of red-blond hair before you're pushed back into the restroom very rudely and forcefully, causing you to fall on your back with a loud thud. The door closes again and while you're still busy with rubbing your elbows from the fall, you suddenly feel a heavy weight on your chest that pushes you down on the ground. Now you have to look up and your heart almost stopped from shock when you stared right into Petra's scary psycho-face.

"I told you we'll meet again, coward. And now that you're right there where you belong, on the ground, I can put you in your rightful place. You will stay away from Levi from now on. I don't want to see you around him ever again. You don't deserve him. No one does, except for me. You better do as I say, or....."

"Or WHAT? Are you going to blabber me to death? Has anyone told you ever before that you talk too much?!" You barked back while you place a kick in her lower region to make her stumble back. With a swift movement, you get back on your feet, facing her directly, eye to eye. Useless to say that she's way smaller than you. And you almost couldn't believe that Petra could look even scarier as she already does. Well...You were wrong. Dark circles appeared under her eyes as she glares flying daggers at you in anger, fury, and threat. The bitch-face is totally her thing, you have to admit. But you've seen worse, and that she could push you back in here was just luck. She caught you off-guard. Nothing more.

"As if I'm going to listen to you. Nothing can make me stay away from Levi. Ever. He found me when I needed him the most and we learned to love each other with all our edges and curves. And you really think you can make me back up, just because you look like a psycho?" Petra's face didn't change any further. Is she giving in already or is this her best scary look she has to offer?

"Don't talk about "Love" and "Levi" in the same breather. You don't know how he really loves. He loves only me. Because only I can make him feel better. I can make him forget this cruel world. He's my beloved, my best friend and my master at once. You seem not to know who you're about to start a fight with. Didn't Erwin tell you about me? Or Mikasa?"

"Pffft... They didn't make the effort to tell me about you. Seems you're not worth it. And...Oh my, what a coincidence! Levi's MY master too! He is so kind, so caring. And he shows me at every opportunity how much he loves and needs me, I can tell you."

Petra's fists clenched so tight that the skin around her knuckles turned white, but her face remains the same. This mocking was maybe a little too much, but you definitely not backing up from her. This turned into more than just a bitch-fight over a man. By now, it's a question honor to remain steadfast in front of her. You were pushed around long enough, and you're absolutely sure that you had enough. Never again, you're going to be the punching sack for anyone.

"Then let me show you..." Petra announced before she approaches you with one fast step to throw a punch right against your jaw. You fall backward, against the sink and down on the ground again from the amount of force and the huge impact. And DAMN! It hurts! You growl loudly from the amount of pain that spreads over your the entire half of your face. With one hand you grab the brim of the sink to pull you up on your feet again, but Petra didn't wait for you as she takes a tight grip on your hair, pulling you up from the ground only to slam you with your face ahead against the large mirror in the restroom, causing it to shatter into pieces and leaving a deep cut on your forehead as you yelp and wince again from the huge amount of pain. When she let go of you, you collapse on the ground, holding your face in both hands as blood runs over your palms and arms before it drips on the floor from your chin and elbows, staining the ground and your shirt alike. Your whole body hurts like hell, not to mention the deep cut on your forehead, but you're so full of adrenaline, that you can't do otherwise but to breath heavily to make the pain go away. Your legs don't respond properly as they're shaking from the huge amount of it. You hear a door fling open behind you as hectic steps vanished behind another door that suddenly opened, but you have other things to do right now and even Petra seems to consider the door as unimportant.

"I told you. You have to idea who are you fighting with. Now, you will stay away from Levi. I won't repeat it again." She spat her threat down in your face as you slowly look up to her, blood clouding your sight and adrenaline rushing through your veins, pushing you into a fighter-mode as you try hard not to burst out into tears from anger and fury. And just when you want to talk back to her again, the door to the restroom flings open again as 5 people suddenly rush inside. The manager and a trainer, who grab Petra's arms to drag her out, with lots of loud and humiliating curses and Mikasa, Erwin, and Levi.

"Holy shit! Nina! What happened to you? I told you not to go anywhere alone!" Erwin yelled in panic while he undresses from his shirt to push it against your bleeding wound.

"Shut up! As if I could've known that something like this would happen!" You slap Erwin's hand away to hold the shirt by yourself while Mikasa tries to help you to stand.

"Wait, Mikasa. Let me handle this." Erwin interrupts as he scoots beside you on the ground, one arm hooking under your knees and the other one bracing your back to carry you bridal-style. Levi was right beside you, but he didn't say a single word the whole time. He just looks at you with eyes wide open from shock. All his words about protecting and being there for you need him...Was this all a fake? Right now, you really need him, but he's just staring like fish out of the water. To top it all, in addition to your anger, anxiety, fear, and sadness, Levi gives you a generous amount of disappointment. What a nice cocktail of emotions. With Erwin carrying you, and Mikasa and Levi walking beside, your mind slowly becomes clear again once you reach the seating area. By now, many people had gathered around you and the loud cursing woman on the other side of the gym.

"The ambulance and police are informed and should be here any moment. Please stay here and wait." Another trainer noted before he disappears in the crowd again. With a loud sigh, you drop your head on Erwin's shoulder while you're sitting in his lap sideways.

"Everything alright, sweetness? We were worried sick about you. When we heard a woman calling the manager because someone got attacked in the restrooms, we dropped everything and came as fast as we could. Why are you always causing so much trouble when no one is peeking?" He tries to joke to loosen up the situation, but it was in vain.

"No...Nothing is alright. My body hurts. I'm wounded and I'm bleeding. I was attacked by a crazy psycho and my friends, I consider as family, don't tell me what's going on here. And even the man I love is giving me the cold shoulder. How do you think I feel, smartass!?" Your voice grew louder and louder with each spoken word, but when you sense that you're yelling at your friends, it was too late to take it back.

"Please Nina. Don't be mad at us. We just wanted to protect you, because we know how Petra is. And we didn't tell you because we don't want you to worry. We don't want you to lose your smile because of this." Mikasa admitted while holding your hand, stroking over your palm to calm you down. With a loud sigh, you raise your head to look at her.

"And what did it brought you? Now I'm not smiling either, because of your silence. I think I earned myself the right to get to know what's fucking going on here!"

"Shhh...shhh...Shhh...We will tell you later. I promise. Let your wounds get treated first. That's more important." As much as you hate it to hear this again, Erwin is right. The bleeding needs to be stopped and you probably ruined his shirt by now. You turn around to look behind you, to look at Levi. His gaze is all upon you, not letting you out of his sight one single moment, but this time this won't calm you down.

"You don't have anything to say, Levi?" You asked sarcastically. Now was the first time that Levi broke the eye contact by himself letting out a long and deep sigh while he scratches along his scalp.

"I'm sorry. Not now. As Erwin said, later. There's also something I need to tell you." He turns his head in the other direction to avoid your gaze. Now it's your turn to click with your tongue. If he wants to keep up with this...so be it! This is the first real fight you have with Levi. Even if you aren't arguing about a special topic, this whole avoiding eye-contact and not speaking to each other was just like you would expect a fight between children.

After a while, the ambulance came. Three people were at it to take care of you, two guys checking your vitals while a female doctor gave you several medications over an I.V. Once you're filled up with all medicals you probably don't need, she took care of the cut on your forehead. Actually, they wanted to take you to the hospital for this, but you were absolutely not in the mood for getting transported anywhere. Especially not the hospital. The doctor tried many times to convince you,like Erwin and Mikasa did as well, but you remained stubborn. So they treated the wound right here. After a small injection with local anesthesia, ten stitches were needed to close the wound. And after it was treated and bandaged, and after your face was cleaned up from blood, they reported it to the police, who arrived at the same time as the ambulance. They questioned all possible witnesses, among them also Mikasa, Erwin, and Levi, before they focused their questions on you, while the officers tried hard to overhear the loud chatting and mumbling around you. You had a terrible headache and you were definitely not in the mood to talk or for anything else, yet, you explained to them what happened in the restroom, while they wrote everything down. When all of this was finally done, after hours, to mention it, Petra was given a houseban and on top, she was ordered to avoid any contact with you or any other persons that are close to you. You didn't get the whole punishment for her to savor her misery, but it didn't matter either. As long as she gets punished, the world is in perfect order.

Before you could go home, the doctor and the police officers told you many times how impressed they are about your mental condition. Most people who get attacked and wounded like this will fall into a major shock and will be unable to react properly to their environment. Not you. You were angry and tired because of this, but despite that, you're the calmness in person. You explained that this is thanks to your father, who used to be a police officer before he got retired. He gave you lots of useful advice and told you many stories. You guessed this kinda toughened you up against such situations. Actually, you wanted to tell them that your video games also played a big part in this, since you played lots of action, spy and shooting games, but you considered it as ridiculous. No video game in the world can prepare you for a real fight. When finally every information and notes where written, you're allowed to leave. The police will take care of the rest and when the time comes, they will contact you. For now, you just want some peace.

"You come with us Nina. We will take care of you." Erwin hooks under your arm and takes your sports bag before you could say anything in response. Since it's pretty late and already dark outside, you had no objections.

"Whatever. I just want some rest." You implied as you walk beside him, with Levi following behind you. It felt strange to have his gaze in your back the whole time. It seems even now he's watching over you. Covering your back. But why would he do this? Petra is punished and your injuries aren't so bad either. The cut probably won't even leave a scar behind. And why should he start with his protective behavior now? You needed him hours ago and he did nothing! He isn't even talking to you, nor is he looking at you. What happened to him? You don't recognize him the way he is now. Its almost as if he is replaced by his evil twin brother. All his sweet words of love, his gentle and caring touches, the way he looks at you when you're laying next to each other in the bed...It seems all of this never happened.

You're aware that a relationship can't always be about lovey-dovey each day. But this? This is just wrong. Levi said that he needs to tell you something. Something important. Maybe he will finally explain himself and tell you about Petra. That would be a step in the right direction. But you can't be sure until you're home. So you let Erwin help you to get in the car and let him drive you to their place. Once you arrived, it feels like coming home after a very long vacation. From the other side of the earth. After 5 years. Without a phone. In other words: It feels more than soothing and relaxing. Erwin puts down your sports bag near the entrance and walks up behind you, placing both hands on your shoulders.

"You're feeling better? You look way more relaxed now." He has no idea how damn right he is.

"Yes. Way better. Thank you. But what now? You promised you will tell me about Ms. Crazy woman." No matter what happened to you today, no matter how bad your headache is right now. You want to know what's going on. There was no time in your past when you didn't know your enemy. And you're going to make sure to catch up on that. When you know Petra and how she works and reacts, you surely can provide a plan to avoid her in the future. Erwin's arms wrap around your waist from behind, pulling you against his chest while his cheek nestles in your hair.

"Yes. I promised you. And I always keep my promises, you know that. But make yourself comfortable first. I will take a quick shower and then I'm all yours. Alright?"

You nod in silent approval as you watch Erwin leaving for a good shower. As soon as the door closed, you slump on the couch like a wet bag of potatoes. With a loud sigh, you close your eyes to enjoy the silence for a moment before you're pulled back into reality as Levi sits down beside you, causing the couch to move from his weight. Your eyes search for his, with the want and need to look into them so badly, but he sits silently on the edge of the couch, his hands folded together and hanging loosely between his legs while he drops his head, gazing to the floor. He's shivering a little. Is he crying? Or excited? You can't tell. You want to move closer to him to put your hand on his shoulder, but he backed up from you. Startled by this reaction, you retreat your hand again, staring at Levi in confusion and sorrow.

"Levi? Is everything alright? What's wrong? Please don't worry about me. I'm alright, it's just a little scratch. It will heal soon. It's not your fault." You try to calm him down with your words, scooting closer to him as you reach out for him once more. But your hand stops when Levi suddenly gropes it by the wrist, putting it down as his eyes finally meet yours. But you see nothing but coldness in them. No emotions, no love, no caring. Your heart skips several beats while looking into these deep, empty pools of aloofness.

"Levi...You're scaring me. What's wrong?" You asked again, this time with more pressure behind your words. This contact-avoiding-game from him started to get really scary and you have no idea how to deal with this situation. Your heart pounds in your chest as if it's about to burst out at any moment. You're scared to death right now. You had the foresight that something terrible is going to happen. With your eyes wide from fear, Levi finally opens his mouth to speak.

"Nina. I......I think it would be better if we part for a while." He enunciated in a low volume.

That was the moment when your heart stopped beating.