Only You & Me | (Levi x Reader) | Alternate Universe

Chapter Thirty: Once a Friend

"Ladies," Springer began with a playful smirk, mocking the sound of a drumroll with his fingers upon your group's workstation from across the table. You sat on the bench beneath your worktable, situated next to Sasha, who was also in your group. "Welcome back to..." Connie paused before raising a brow, glancing at both you and Sasha expectantly. You perked up, so caught up in the boy's dramatics that you had forgotten your line.

"Oh—"

"—Cooking with Connie!" Sasha beat you to it, clapping her hands excitedly. Connie rolled his eyes, suppressing his smile with a fake frown.

"You two were supposed to say it at the same time," he whined, placing the spatula he held on the counter before looking at you pointedly. "(Y/n)..."

"I'm sorry," you chuckled with a defensive raise of your hands. "I forgot."

"You always forget."

"You say that as though this is a regular occurrence," you reasoned, pausing to raise your hand when Coach Pixis—who stood at the front of your school's hospitality kitchen—called your name from his attendance board. "It's only been three days since this healthy eating unit began. One of which I wasn't here for, remember?" Sasha hummed, stealing a piece of shredded cheddar from your group's mise en place. 

"Oh, that's right...you're in that History class. How was the field trip? Krista told me it sucked." How was the field trip? Your heart fluttered and your cheeks flushed at the memory of the Shiganshina City Hall, the vintage movie theatre, the Central Park, and your hand in Levi's as you had both quietly enjoyed the chilly Monday evening air...

And the bus ride home? It had been silent—a sharp contrast to the ride from Trost. Everyone had been tired from the day's events. According to your classmates, nearly ten minutes had been spent at each exhibit due to Mr. Smith's constant inability to provide further information on the different artifacts and statues the class had toured. By the time the class had boarded the bus and sat in their seats, they were overcome with fatigue.

And so were you—but in the best way possible. The entire ride back, you had kept your head rested on Levi's shoulder, eyes closed as you dreamed of his scent; pine and—what you had finally come to recognize—some sort of peppered lemon.

"Really?" you started, eyes wandering across the large kitchen and over to the workstation in front of yours, where a certain raven-haired male appeared to be writing a few directions on a scrap piece of paper. He worked diligently, eyes focused on his task until he felt your lingering stare from the next table over. His blue-grey eyes glanced upward, pausing to meet your gaze as the smallest of smirks traced his lips before casually returning his gaze to the sheet of paper.

You smiled faintly, tracing your finger along the surface of your workstation. "I thought it was wonderful..."

"Alright, cadets. Decent job today. Only about fifty percent of you screwed the damn recipe up this time, which is a surprise in and of itself..." Pixis grumbled at the end of the school day, running his finger along the side of the workstation closest to him. He surveyed the tip of his finger, inspecting for any accumulated dirt. He dusted off his fingers. "However, that should be expected. Cooking is not a test of strength or mental capability. It is a basic and fundamental ability," Coach spat, his lips curling before grabbing a damp towel to aggressively scrub a seemingly non-existent stain off one group's worktable.