Study Partners {LEVIHAN}

Chapter 13: A Dress for a Princess

Levi's POV

We dumped the clothes into a shopping basket as Hanji dragged her feet towards the women's section. I know she's dreading it, but it's okay. I know she'll look cute in anything she would wear.

Since my clothes would match with anything Hanji would wear, she could pick any color she wanted. Her first pick was a black dress and a blue, sparkly sash sewn into it. 

"I'll try it out..." She whispers to herself, walking to the changing room. 

I sat outside of the changing rooms, averting my eyes when a woman walked by. For some reason, I always feel like they're judging me. I'm not a pervert... that's not why I'm hiding my face from them... I'm here for Hanji... which does seem a bit creepy without context.

"How does this look?"

I didn't even hear her exit out of one of the changing rooms. I looked up to her, seeing her cheeks rosy red. The dress went down to just below her knees. Since the dress didn't have any pockets, Hanji struggled to figure out where to put her hands. She changes her hands' positions from her hips, to cross them over her chest, and lastly, behind her back. The sleeves were short, maybe 3 inches wide? 

Clearing my throat, I looked away from her.

"It's that bad, huh?"

"What?!" I looked back at her, averting my eyes from meeting hers. "I-It's not like that... you're... you're cute... in the dress..."

Hanji smiles softly, "Right... because you have a crush on me."

"Is it that obvious?"

She chuckles to herself, nodding her head. "Very. That and... well, I overheard the conversation you had with my dad. You sounded completely different. Is there a hidden side to you that I don't know about?"

Seriously?! I... she figures me out! Am I able to keep secrets with her acting as some mind-reading witch!?

She chuckles again, "Well, we all have our hidden sides. Maybe one day, you'll tell me, right?" She pulls at the dress, looking at herself in the mirror. "Sorry for going off-topic, but is this okay?"

"I think it's... it's beautiful... maybe we shouldn't look for any other dresses."

"Really?" She smiles softly. "Alright then. I think black flats would be fine, right? I have those at home."

"Maybe a flower in your hair?" I smiled, almost regretting it as soon as I said it out loud. Did I say that?! I shouldn't have said that!

Hanji smiles, walking back into the changing room, shutting the door behind her with a click. "A flower? What kind? A real one? Fake one? A headband? Or a hairclip? There's a lot of flower options to have in my hair."

Is there really that much?! Girls are complicated... 

"Levi?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Uhh... I think a hairclip? But I think you look more beautiful if you had your hair down... or maybe if you had your hair in some sort of a bun..."

"I'm a little iffy on having my hair down for the dance. It's just... I feel a bit uncomfortable with that. But the bun I can do. Maybe if you ask me to prom, I would have my hair down."

Eh? Prom...? Crap, I am a junior at school... which means I'm eligible to go to prom... I thought it was stupid... but if I ask her out to prom... "I... I wouldn't mind that... but if you heard my conversation with your dad, then-."

"You want to wait until I get over Moblit's break-up with me. I know. Strangely... I'm getting over it. It bothered me so much that I wanted to crawl into a hole and just... die. But now, I'm enjoying our time together. Do you think it's too quick to recover from a break-up?" From her voice, I could tell she was... well, upset. "I know people are going to judge me... so tell me honestly, Levi. Is it too quick to move on?"

"If I'm honest, Hanji, everyone is different. Some can't move on, some can. Just because you want to move on quickly doesn't mean you disliked your time with Moblit."

She sighs softly as I hoped I gave her the right answer. "You're right," she replies, "we are all different." A few minutes passed until she came out of the dressing room with the dress on its hanger. "Alright, let's go pay for this."

*   *   *

I followed Hanji to this one place where I heard a lot of people go for accessories. She took her hair down from its usual high ponytail, and I watched her complete this complex task. She bit her rubber band and held it firmly as her hands slowly twisted her caramel-colored hair. As she pulled her hair, I tugged on my own, wincing at the pain. 

How the hell can she handle that?! Even one tug on a few strands of my hair hurts. She's not wincing- not once!

Just like magic, she had her hair in a bun... I don't know how and I call it witchcraft, but she did it. She took the rubber band from her mouth sealed the deal. 

We took a few minutes, mainly Hanji sticking blue rose pins into her bun. It was hard to figure out what she should have in her hair, so we settled on this white bird, which was about to take flight, pin. Because her hair was dark compared to a dark blue pin, white seemed to be a nice contrast. 

She truly looked beautiful.

We spent another hour in the mall, shaking off all of the small talk and uneasiness. Almost like this fog was lifted. I'm falling for her... and by the sound of it... I might be her boyfriend soon. 

For some reason, I am reminded by the fact that my uncle wants to put me into an arranged marriage... am I going to break Hanji's heart when she learns of my uncle's plans? Or can I do something to ensure I can love Hanji?