The Exchange Student

Chapter 14

"Pack your bags this morning, then it'll be done."

"I know mom, you've told me that every single time I've had to pack, so believe me, I know the ritual."

"Good," she smiled, ironing out the creases on Eren's sweater.

"Hey, mom ?"

"Yes ?" Carla asked warily, sensing the request, preceded by an overly angelic smile.

Eren batted his eyelashes.

"Will you make pancakes if I do ?"

Carla shooed him away, shaking her head at his laughing eyes. "We'll see. But get it done anyway, or I know for sure you'll be doing it at midnight tonight, and then I'll have trouble pulling you out of bed - it's a wonder I do succeed once in a while - and then - "

"I get it mom ! See, look, I'm going ! I'm nearing the stairs, going up the stairs !" he exaggerated.

Slipping into his room, he pulled out his case, pulling out random sweaters and jeans, stuffing them into his case along with other clothes, before he tipped over his case, throwing the clothes on his bed, almost feeling Levi's stern gaze on him, condescending over his unorganized packing. The raven had left half an hour ago, to hang out with Hanji that day, but he had left enough of an impression that Eren was influenced by him from afar. To be fair, Eren felt like he had changed over those couple weeks, all thanks to Levi ... It was only when he said "thanks to" instead of "because of", that he realized Levi had helped him calm down, be a lot less messy, and even to be a little more confident. Not even Mika or Armin had achieved that in such a short period of time.

Speaking of ... He was planning on talking to them soon. Possibly during this trip to the Grand Canyon ... Or not, since he had a strong tendency to chicken out. But then with Levi there, set on making Eren open up the highway to them before it got permanently damaged, he didn't know how it would go.

Grabbing a spare charger, a portable battery, his sketchbook, pencil case and his headphones, he slid them into a backpack. As his hand lowered his sketchbook in, he pulled it back out, flipping through to the last page, where his angel design lay, faceless. He observed it for a while, absentmindedly fishing out a pencil, drawing out the unclear feeling he had, morphing it into traits. Traits that looked awfully similar to someone else's. When he realized he had pulled the image from that time on the balcony, he knew who it looked like. Levi. The same hair, facial expression, and the same unreadable, faraway look in his eyes from that night.

Eren took a moment to appreciate how beautiful it looked, how much he liked it. The front door closed downstairs, and he heard Levi greet his mother. His heart stopped as he heard him come upstairs. Ripping out the page, he hurriedly jumped up, shoving it into the top drawer, just in time as the door opened.

Thank god for Levi's short legs.

"What are you doing here ?" Eren asked nervously, obviously looking like he had just robbed a bank and had stolen money spilling out of his pockets.

"Getting my phone, I forgot it when I left, and now I can't remember what the name of the place was. Hanji didn't spell it right. Or maybe since it was all in caps, it fried my brain, it was so loud."

Eren smiled, slowly edging away from his bedside table. "You left it on your desk."

"Being a thief would definitely not suit you. Be more discreet."

Eren huffed at Levi for scolding him, wandering over to his bed to close his case.

"Stop."

"What now ?"