Everything So Far

New Friends

"I'm going to break your legs if you hit me in the face."

"Well, I'm not going to do it on purpose."

"You're not going to do it by accident either."

Erwin can't help but laugh as Levi makes yet another empty threat. When playing with a soccer ball someone is bound to get hurt, especially with these two. Erwin is tall for a 10-year-old, with naturally muscular legs that can launch a ball like a bullet while Levi, even though he is much shorter, is able to match Erwin in strength using his inhuman speed. So, any game for them is about as dangerous as Russian roulette. With a smirk on his face, Erwin shuffles the soccer ball between his feet on the warm pavement, gearing up for another attack on his friend that guards the homemade goal. He watches Levi rest his hands on his knees, bending over in preparation for Erwin's shot. Erwin can feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as Levi's eyes watch his every twitch.

"What's the score again?" Erwin asks while wiping the sweat on his face with his dark green t-shirt. He tries to portray a cocky persona but he's not very good at it. He just wants to intimidate the panther that eyes him like he's a mouse.

"5-4, I'm winning," Levi states with a smirk as he adjusts his ponytail that holds back his long black hair, leaving a few pieces around his face. Erwin tries to not stare for too long, he makes his eyes busy on the neon green ball at his feet.

"Not for long," Erwin says with a confident tone and a teasing grin.

He moves quickly, tapping the ball with speedy intent while charging at his friend. Levi bounces side to side on his feet, prepared for Erwin's attack as he guards the goal behind him. Erwin can feel Levi's eyes watching his every move and he decides to attempt to fake Levi out with a move he learned the day before.

He was watching soccer on the television and decided to try and imitate this move that fakes out his opponent. He stops the ball right before Levi, Levi steps forward and Erwin tries to bait him farther away from the goal. Once he realizes that Levi is the proper distance from the goal, he pops it over his head and it bounces past the orange cones that acted as the goalposts.

"Looks like we're tied now," Erwin states triumphantly as Levi shoots him a glare.

"Yeah, but not for long." Levi parrots Erwin's words back at him as he retrieves the ball that has made its way down the street. Erwin wholeheartedly believes that he won't be able to win this game against Levi because his friend is very fast and very small; the very opposite of him. It's hard for him to move with such quickness, there are times when he's jealous of his friends' abilities. They're good matches for each other as far as challenging each others' weaknesses.

Before Levi can retrieve the ball, there's another kid with long brown hair pulled up into a ponytail that has grabbed it and is now playing with it.

"What're you playing?" The kid asks Levi with a tilted head while tossing the ball between their hands. They wiggle their nose to adjust their glasses as they slide down their nose.

Levi shrugs, "I don't know, it's a game we made up." He states with a mildly annoyed tone while pointing behind him in the direction of Erwin and their DIY soccer goals, "guess you could call it soccer."

"Can I play with you guys?"

Levi gives them a peeved expression that is almost the same as the natural state of his face. He's not good at making friends and if he's being honest, he doesn't want to play with anyone else. Other kids are a hassle and Levi can tell that this kid doesn't care about cleanliness with their grass-stained cargo shorts and dirtied blue tank top. Not to mention the dirt that decorates their hands and their arms, pretty much everything on this kid is dirty and Levi wants nothing to do with them.