Deviate | Levi Ackerman x OC

Ch. 1

I forced my way through the front door just as the first huge crack of lightning lit up my humble apartment. Taking a deep breath before a resounding rumble of thunder followed shortly after, I wiped some of my now drenched hair from clinging to my forehead. I'd managed to make it safely inside before the theatrics of the storm set in, but I was not fortunate enough to avoid the downpour that gave way before I made it into the lobby. I placed my carryout dinner on the closest counter and began shedding my wet layers.

The lights flickered and dimmed slightly with each strike of lightning, trading some of the yellow fluorescents for a magnificent and fearsome natural white glow instead. I stopped in front of my bedroom windows to watch the cracks dance across the sky but made my way to a quick shower before the weather could knock the power out altogether. The water felt warm, soothing, and especially welcome after the day I'd had. After brushing my hair and changing into my go-to choice in pj's – an oversized t-shirt and underwear – I made my way back to the living room for the next part of my evening.

Whatever constitutes "one of those days", today had certainly fit that bill. Truthfully, much of my life lately seemed to fall into that category. I grabbed the Chinese takeout box from its paper bag and walked over to plop down on the couch. Turning on the tv, I mindlessly flipped through the channels with one hand and dug my phone out with the other. One notification flashed across my screen: another link from my best friend, Violet, likely to a video of a cat or her latest celebrity crush. I smiled to myself and began to eat; although the gesture seemed small, she was one of the few things that kept me grounded and provided a semblance of normalcy lately.

Was there a planet in some kind of perpetual retrograde? Had I perhaps activated an ancient life-ruining curse? Or maybe the universe and all the powers-that-be in it decided to simultaneously conspire against me. Whatever the cause, one thing was abundantly clear: my luck had reached some record lows as of late. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it somehow always did. My dad's passing last year naturally took the cake, but that didn't mean the months that followed were a breeze by any means, either. My semi long-termish boyfriend had blindsided me when he abruptly ended things between us, there were some growing pains in my already limited social circle, and my work seemed to only grow more mind-numbing as the days drudged by. I was thankful to still have Vi by my side through it all, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little worse for the wear now than I was this time even two years ago.

After making it to the other side of all of that, I realized I had to take more pride in and savor the small victories. I tapered my expectations in my life and began prioritizing my happiness, whatever that looked like. And tonight, that just happened to take the form of chicken lo mein straight out of the box and one of my comfort shows as a rather nasty storm blows through the world right outside my windows. The irony that a show about man-eating giants would bring me any sort of comfort was not lost on me, but something about it was intriguing. It certainly helped to distract from much of the "suck" I had been handed over here, that's for sure.

I knew that I should eat, but I found myself picking up forkfuls of noodles and mixing them back in again rather than any of it making it to my mouth. I wasn't sure if it was the hours of worthless busy work my boss had dumped on me all day or the torrential rain I'd gotten caught in briefly on my way home, but I felt so drained, somehow even more so than usual. I suddenly felt my phone vibrate from the arm of the couch and looked down to see Vi's name and photo on my home screen. I swiped to answer the call.

"Attie!!" She greeted enthusiastically. I couldn't hold back the grin that pulled at the corners of my mouth; her energy was contagious and often dragged me out of my doom and gloom whether I wanted her to or not.
"Hey Vi. How's it going?"
"It's going great! It's slammed tonight even despite the rain. Is it bad at home?"
"Yeah, it's not showing any signs of letting up this way, either."
She chattered on about the good crew they had working tonight but my eyes were fixated on the storm again. I hummed along sporadically to let her know that I was still there, but the sky before me was literally electrifying and captivated me more than I had realized.
"I'll be home kind of late tonight, so you can go ahead and lock up now, so you don't have to check two or three more times before you even make it to bed."
"Ouch," I feigned offense at the direct callout. "I'm sorry I just like to check and maybe double check our security measures at night."
"Or all the time," Vi teased further with a chuckle. "No shade, Astrid babe. Just trying to make it easier with a direct reminder that you can't wonder if it did/didn't happen before you fall asleep."
I rolled my eyes. She knows me too well – could've gone without the formal first name, though.
"Yeah, yeah," I got up from my spot on the couch and double checked the front door lock. "Done – now it's your problem in a few hours."
"I'll be sure to treat it with all of the attention and care it so deserves," she countered. "Hey, you're off tomorrow, right? We should do something! Maybe the farmer's market in the morning? Or load up on dollar store candy and treats to marathon binge the new season of our show?!"
I could hear her beginning to bubble over as her excitement and ideas gained traction and smiled to myself. Truthfully after the past couple months I've had, I would be more than content to simply stop existing until my alarm goes off on Monday morning. But seeing that Violet would absolutely not let that fly, I was happy to play a part in whatever her enthusiastic mind could muster up.
"Those sound great! As do the other million options you've already concocted during this phone call, too. We'll figure it out together once I can put an end to this otherwise dreary day, deal?"
"Deal!" I could hear the joy in her voice. Although she was often higher energy than myself, I know how much it meant to her when I made an effort to meet her at her highs rather than trying to water her down.
Suddenly an especially angry crack of lightning ripped open the sky before me, causing the lights to dim to their lowest point yet.
"Whoa," Violet had obviously caught a glimpse of the same sight from her job. "Did you see that?!" An equally ambitious rumble of thunder bellowed before I could respond.
"Definitely. I'm hoping the power doesn't let me down here."
"Get to bed then, Attie! Good night, love you!"
"I love you, too, Vi. Have a good night, I'll see you later."

I ended our call and hurried to clean up the dinner I didn't eat much of. While I was engrossed in storm watching from the comfort of inside our apartment, I like it much more when I am adequately prepared – in this case, in my bed, already turned in for the night rather than being caught in a pitch-black living room. I leaned over to my nightstand and plugged my phone into its charger. Although I didn't watch much of the tv while I was in front of it before, it provided an ideal background noise as I pulled my blankets back and crawled into my usual spot. For a show that's so packed full of action and chaos, I'd tuned in on a rare moment of mostly dialogue for which I was unexpectedly thankful – despite having followed this series a while now, it was all too easy to get sucked in in one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-hours-of-your-life kind of ways. I scrolled mindlessly on my phone for a few minutes before I succumbed to the exhaustion I'd been trying to avoid.

I couldn't have been asleep for that long when I began feeling someone grabbing my arm and shaking it. I groaned quietly, hoping that would put an end to it – Violet could be a little much when she was still wired after her shift.
"Cooome oooon, waaake uuup," her singsong voice sounded far away despite feeling her repeatedly nudging me.
I groaned again, a little more forcefully this time, still trying to wordlessly communicate to her. Alas, this effort was unfounded too; there was a short break, but after a few moments passed, I felt hands on both sides of me.
"Vi," I finally croaked out, still mostly in a stupor. "Sleep."
"Vi?" There was another pause as I could make out that this voice, much clearer and closer now, very much did not belong to my roommate. "Does he-? No way. Stroid, it's me!"
My eyes darted open as I felt whoever this was lean their bodyweight onto me.