𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐊𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄 [ 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 ]

starting over

You'd been doing the internship for over a week now and still weren't used to waking up so early in the morning. Levi wasn't talking to you much about anything, so you were still sitting in the dark. Shoving a spoonful of cereal in your mouth, you quickly grabbed your phone and sprinted out into the garage where Pyxis was waiting...again.

"Miss, may I suggest you wake up an hour earlier?"

"I'm sorry Pyxis, I'm really trying."

He didn't respond and pulled out of the driveway, going the typical route you were familiar with now. The city became a blur of monochrome colors as the shades of gray buildings meshed together. Everything was so modern here. It made you miss home, where things were colorful and traditional. Life was cozy and comfortable, but here it felt like everything needed to be perfect—look perfect. Nothing could be messy.

The light of the day washed away as Pyxis entered the parking garage, heading towards his special spot and letting you out. You grabbed your folder and tried to smooth down your hair, heading for the door when Pyxis suddenly called out your name. You stopped and turned around to face him, your expression curious as you raised a brow.

"You really don't need to be nervous miss. I've known you for a short while but I can sense you're not comfortable here. Just be yourself. They'll like you, trust me," he smiled softly before getting back into the car. That was the nicest thing he'd ever said to you, and to be quite honest, the most he'd ever said too.

With a breath, you entered the building, and once you got to your floor you pushed the door open and greeted the room with a smile. Only a few acknowledged your existence while the others continued their work. Connie patted the dark green bean bag next to him for you to sit on, so you did.

"Did you finish your presentation idea?" He asked, his clearly pulled up and still unedited.

"Um...no, actually. I'm having a hard time thinking of something."

"Dude. It's due in two days."

"Dude. You've barely finished yours," you replied snarkily with a wide smile. Connie just rolled his eyes in response, but smirked at you anyways.

You liked Connie. You got along with him well and he'd been the most inviting out of the other interns here. You wished Armin had been more open towards you, but maybe he wasn't since he knew something was off about you. Maybe that was why he was keeping his distance.

"Hey..." Connie's voice got quiet and you leaned towards him.

"So, there's gonna be an intern party. I...I just wanted to see if you'd like to go. Most of us here will be there, but there'll also be other interns from other departments too. Would you...like to come?" You'd just been invited to your first party. A real one.

Back at home, parties rarely happened, and if they did, they were lame. You didn't have much friends back there, mainly because everyone just sucked. Or maybe you just sucked. Either way, that place was crap. The only good thing about it was your mom, but just thinking about her now made your blood boil.

"Y/N?"

"Hm?" You snapped back to it.

"Will you come? To the party...?" Connie looked like he wanted to ask something else, but he never did.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Whatever, seems fun," you shrugged and watched the corners Connie's lips turn up into a small smile.

At that moment, Armin walked in all flustered and frantic. Connie frowned and touched your shoulder, indicating he'd be back in a moment. The silver-haired boy hurried over to Armin and the two quickly conversed in a silent and panicked dialogue.

"Now what did you do to poor Connie?" You heard a sly voice above you and turned to see Sasha waggling her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" You asked.

"Don't play stupid," she snorted and plopped down beside you.

"It looks like Connie Springer has his eye on you, and if I were you, I'd be very careful with how you go about this."

You stared at her, not wanting to believe what she was saying. Connie was cute, but you weren't here to get a boyfriend. You were here for answers.

"I don't know what you're talking about," you lied, hoping she'd just leave you alone.

"Oh, I think you do," she leaned in, her lavender perfume strong now that she was closer to you.

"And I think you should skip that party," she finished before walking away, leaving you dumbfounded.

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"No." Levi was leaning against the stove as he glared at you, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"Why not?" You snapped.

"Because I said so. Your mother isn't here to tell you what to do and I'm your next best thing. You're under my roof, so you will follow my rules. You're not going to that party. It's too risky and I will not allow it," Levi fired back in his cold tone, his eyes like little menacing beads of fury.

"It's an intern party. It'll just be the people who work for you. You have me in that building, so what's so bad about hanging out with them?" In a way, Levi was right. Your mother wasn't here and you really couldn't have people discovering who you were. But you also couldn't stay here, trapped forever.

"Because the party increases your exposure. It's not at a heavily secured office building. It's at some random intern's house where random people will most certainly be invited. You're not allowed to go and that's final."

You gritted your teeth as Levi walked out of the room, knowing he wasn't going to talk about this any further. You took a deep breath and went upstairs to your bedroom where you could calm down. You wanted to go to this party because you felt it would help you get to know everyone better. The office just felt so...stiff. Everyone tended to keep to themselves, except for a select few.

And then Sasha had warned you not to come and Levi was forbidding you. But it was just a party. You would be responsible. If there was alcohol, you wouldn't drink it. Alcohol always led to something regrettable, so why even bother with it?

But...why was this party so important to you? Maybe because for the first time you felt like you could fit in somewhere. Nobody knew who you were. You were under a fake name. And maybe the idea of having that fresh start tempted you to make new connections, because here, nobody could judge you.

You walked over to the closet and yanked the door open, staring at the selection of intern style clothes Levi had bought you. There had to be something worthy in here, and if there wasn't, you'd just make it worthy.

"Okay...we can do this," you whispered to yourself and started to dig. This night was going to be your night.