Intrigued [L. Ackerman x Reader x Eren]

Chapter 6: Dreams

TW: Mentions of suicide, homelessness, and just trauma in general. If any of these make you uncomfortable, skip!

Your face flushed red. Not only did you get caught looking suspiciously into the empty business, but the owner is the man you spilled your drink on last night. You began stammering, "I—I'm sorry. I-I was just looking to see what it looked like without all the people." "It's an empty building. Never seen one of those before?", he asked sarcastically. You slightly frowned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by looking in. I know it looks bad. And I'm sorry again for last night. I had obviously had too much alcohol and got too excited..." you trailed off. "Yeah yeah. I know. I've heard it. Stop repeating yourself", he harshly spoke as he began to turn around and walk back inside. "Damn dude....", you thought to yourself. "Okay, well...have a great day...", you begin to say as you soon catch a glance at a help wanted sign on the other window. "..Are you still hiring?", you asked hesitantly. Levi stopped and turned back around making eye contact with you. His face was expressionless like you've normally noticed. You hated that he wasn't easy to read. "You think I'm going to hire someone who likes to get drunk at my bar, spill a drink on the owner and practically flash them while awkwardly trying to clean up WHILE still drunk?", he asked. "Oh. My. God. I fucking knew he noticed my dress came up", you thought to yourself. You felt nothing but pure embarrassment. You didn't even have to touch your face to feel how red hot it was. "I—I will leave", you stuttered as you quickly turned away from Levi and began walking back to your car in the parking garage. Levi continued to stand outside and watched you walk away.

"Wow," you thought to yourself as you continued back down the street, "I literally didn't think that conversation could get any worse. And I'm 99% sure that is the business that Sasha girl had mentioned that was hiring. WHAT A SHIT SHOW." You had such high hopes for today, just to be let down. Tears began to fill your eyes. You clinch your fist as you continue to walk down the street, passing each business that turned you down today. You were so frustrated that it brought you to tears. You kept your eyes open, attempting to try to keep the tears from flowing and hoping it would dry them up. A couple tears managed to break through, you gently wiped them away and puffed out your chest. "Alright y/n. Just another day. Tomorrow is a new one", you repeated to yourself, attempting to calm yourself down before you had a panic attack. You watched the cars go by, families walking down the street. You sighed and put you best face forward as you continued to walk and head back to your car.

You approach the parking garage, noticing your car was still there. Each time you leave it, you always wonder if today was the day someone broke in and stole everything from you. Luckily, today was not that day. What a day that would have been, right? You take off your shoes and throw them in the back seat. You looked around outside. It was now late afternoon. You were drained from today. "I think I'll need a nap before doing anything else today", you thought to yourself. You got comfortable in your drivers seat with your blanket and pillow. You let your eyes rest, slowly drifting off into sleep.

You were driving your car back home after your last day of high school. Your windows were rolled down, hair blowing in the wind as you sang along to your favorite song. You rolled into your driveway, seeing only your mothers car. "I guess dad hasn't made it home yet", you said out loud, talking to yourself. You park in your normal spot and gather your book bags together to bring inside. You take your shoes off at the door, kicking them against the wall while you yelled, "Mom! I'm home! Your high school graduate is home!" A small giggle escaped from your mouth as you get giddy thinking about this next chapter in your life. "She must be taking out the dog", you thought. You walk through your house and exit the back door looking outside for your mom. "Mom? HELLO???", you obnoxiously yelled. Silence. All you could hear were the birds chirping and the frogs singing as the sun began to set. Your dog ran from behind the shed to you. You smiled, petting your family dog. You felt a tinge of worry, wondering why your mom left the dog outside unattended. "Come", you commanded the dog as you walked back inside. They followed, wagging their tail back and forth. You continued to call for your mom, while searching each room. "Mom—", you abruptly stopped after opening her bedroom door. She laid on the bed asleep. "Mom, I'm home—if you nap any longer you won't sleep well to—", you trailed off as you noticed her pill bottle laying next to her hand. "Mom. Get up now.", you commanded as you began to shake her shoulders. Your heart was beating out of your chest. Tears began to fill your eyes. You put your index and middle finger to her wrists. You felt nothing. You began to scream as you sobbed and held onto your mother.

A loud THUD rang in your ear. You jolted forward, coming out of your dream and realizing you had been crying, your arm and face soaking wet. You turned toward your window where the sound came from. Levi stood there, just looking at you. You quickly wiped under your eyes, attempting to clean up any mess your tears had left even though Levi had seen you already. You rolled down your window. "What are you doing here?", you quietly asked. "Waking you up", he said almost in a compassionate way. "I—yeah. Sorry. Had a nightmare I guess. Must have dozed off...Thank you", you carefully said. "Did—did you follow me or something?", you softly asked, still confused as to how Levi found you. "You act like you're the only one that can park their car in a parking garage", he said sarcastically. His face remained deadpanned, but his eyes almost seemed sad. "You start tomorrow.", he said as he began to turn away. "Wait what??", you shook your head as you confusingly yelled back at Levi. "Tomorrow. Be at work at 7 a.m. I need an assistant. You'll work when I work, do what I say, get what I need, and so on. You'll be salary. Don't make me regret this.", he said as he turned around one last time and walked to get into his car and drive off. You sat there baffled. "What the fuck just happened? Am I still dreaming?", you asked yourself. You pinched your arm. "Shit! Okay no, it's real. What the fuck is my life?", you confusingly asked yourself. You sat in silence thinking about your dream. A dream that was more of a flashback. "Doing this for you mom", you said out loud as you began to cry again. You lightly slapped yourself on the cheek trying to regain your composure. You thought to yourself, "Alright. Well. Let's get ready for work in the morning."

Author's note: Sorry for the shorter chapter! I plan on making the next one longer! ☺️