→ softly | eruri

20

[ERWIN]

The last few hours had been excruciating. My head was thumping with anxiety as I got those odd stares from other students. I've been constantly glancing at the clock, as though the time could move any faster. My eyes suddenly met with Hange's and she gave me a sympathetic smile. I gazed away with a looming feeling of dread.

Everyone must've witnessed it. My chest felt compressed by panic. Did Levi saw it too?

That thought made my blood pumped. I was still baring my teeth and my hands started to clasp and unclasp in autopilot. At last, the bell went off and my body jerked. Every students in my class stood up and thanked the teacher, but I was stuck in my chair. The teacher seemed to not notice which I was hoping for it and everyone started to empty out the classroom.

I pursed my lips, tight and Hange came wrapping her arms around my shoulder. Her warmth successfully calmed me down, even just diminutive. She muttered into my ear, "Are you okay?"

I closed my eyes briefly. "I'm fine."

She broke the embrace and I turned to look at her. She had a worried expression written all over her face and that caused my stomach to flip. "Does Levi knows?" I asked while fidgeting with my fingers.

Hange and Moblit exchanged nervous glance. "He saw it." Moblit answered quietly.

I winced as my cheeks flared.

"Don't worry!" Hange exclaimed. "Just explain to him that it Isabel forced you to do it. Surely he'll understand right?" She turned to Moblit for approval and he just nodded.

I sighed. "He's quite stubborn you know? Not to mention, finals start tomorrow. We still need to revise back all of the subtopics."

"Maybe you could use your study session as an excuse to see him?" Moblit suggested, his craggy features swivelled into a lopsided smile.

"Trust me," said Hange with a feeling, "you're the only person that he has opened up to. Of course he's going to forgive you."

I looked at the ground, trying to hide my dismay. Moblit approached me and patted me on my shoulder. He gave me a weak smile to which I raised my head and returned the kind gesture. I truly appreciate to have both him and Hange as my friends.

"Tell me something exhilarating please." I demanded out of the blue. The pair shot me a confused look and that caused me to chuckle.

Shrugging, I said, "Just anything, to brighten up my mood."

They stood there and considered for awhile. Then, Hange's eyes lit up and she stared at me with a lustrous grin.

"Anything, correct?"

I nodded.

"Well, me and Moblit are dating." She blurted out, looking delighted as ever. I let the words lingering in the air for a moment. I blinked at her, trying to digest the declaration. Slowly, my mouth stretched into a smile.

"H-Hange-san, I don't think it's the right time to talk about it-"

"That's wonderful!" I gasped. However, I wasn't really surprised. Both of them were pretty obvious about it. Even though my mind was spinning frenetically, I still displayed the widest grin to show how happy I was for the couple.

Hange gave a modest shrug. "Do you want to know how he asked me to be his girlfriend?"

Moblit laughed while scratching the back of his head nervously. "You know, you don't have to-"

"Tell me." I interfered. There was this sudden flare of curiosity inside of me, as if the story was now focusing on Hange and Moblit rather than me and Levi. I might needed this for a few minutes to calm myself down. I would deal with Levi later. He's probably wanted to be alone right now.