Deviate | Levi Ackerman x OC

Ch. 17

You have got to be kidding me.

I bolted upright, moving far too quickly and further making my head spin. My cellphone chirped from beside me, flashing an unsaved number as an incoming call. My room was exactly the same as I'd left it what felt like ages ago. I reached over and rejected the call to put a stop to the ringer.
"Thank god. Thank you for finally getting that, I could hear it from my room," Vi commented, leaning on my doorframe with a toothbrush in her hand.
I had to force myself to take a breath as I'd unconsciously been holding it while I adjusted to my surroundings. The paradox that my shared apartment and roommate somehow felt less real than the place I'd just visited in a dream was almost laughable. I ran my hands across my plush blanket, trying to get a handle on the many emotions that were flooding through me.

"Morning, Attie Cake!" Vi exclaimed, plopping down on my bed next to me. "You were sleeping hard over here."
"Uh, yeah. I guess I was catching up on all the hours I'd been missing out on lately."
She laughed, clearly very amused by that. "Attie? Operating on a sleep deficit? Never."
I smirked at her. "What about you? You're awfully bright eyed and bushy tailed this a.m. for having the late shift last night."
"Eh, it wasn't too crazy," she replied. "Fortunately the storm gave way right before I clocked out, so it was pretty smooth sailing overall."
I nodded, still a little spacey as I came back down to earth. I felt like my brain was short circuiting as it couldn't process the drastic turn of events in such a quick turnaround.
I could feel Violet's eyes burning holes into me so I tried to pick up where my distant memory of one of our last interactions left off. "So... what's the plan for today?"
She shrieked happily. "I am SO glad you asked! Oh Attie, we are going to have the best time!! It's been ages since we've gotten to enjoy some R&R together!"
Vi took off, rattling on a seemingly never ending list of things we could do to spend our day off. I couldn't bring myself to rain on her parade, but she was going a million miles a minute and I was still trying to reacclimate. As much as I tried to match her excited energy, I couldn't shake my disappointment. I'd spent countless times over the past month or so trying to shift – if that's even the right word for it – back here without success. But the one time I was prepared to and even anticipated staying right where I was, the fantasy took a backseat to my far less desirable reality. After some back-and-forth, we decided to spend the day doing some of our favorite things: brunch, thrifting, and loading up on snacks and treats for a marathon of our favorite tv show.
Violet was completely overjoyed, clapping her hands with glee and took off to get dressed. I got up from my bed, stretching and feeling surprisingly well rested for what felt like such a busy night. Entering my bathroom, I glanced at myself in the mirror. My face and all of its features still looked exactly the same and there was no noticeable difference anywhere else I could see, either. I turned on the faucet and splashed some water on my face to help me further root myself back in reality. After brushing my teeth, putting on some basic makeup and picking my hair up, I hurried to throw on a t shirt and my favorite pair of jeans and head out.

I don't think I've ever felt so out of place in my life. Sitting in our favorite cafe and stirring my mocha, I felt almost overwhelmed by the radical changes and the onslaught of options here compared to the regular routine I'd settled into the last few weeks. I never thought I would prefer a world where you can become Titan food in a matter of seconds to this, but I couldn't shake my longing to go back.
"So, Attie," Vi cleared her throat, bringing my attention back. "What's new with you? Even if we do share the same home, I feel like I haven't seen much of you at all lately with our opposite schedules."
I took a sip of my drink, pursing my lips as I thought about my response. "Nothing really over this way. Same old, same old; soul-destroying work at the office, avoiding the drama ever-bubbling over in our mutual social circle, and thoroughly relishing my first semester out of school."
She held up her drink to clink with mine. "That is what we love to hear! Anything on the boy front?"
I chortled at the suggestion. "Absolutely not, Vi. Usually so much more trouble than it's ever really worth."
"That is not true! Okay, well maybe it's kind of true. But hasn't it been..."
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Ages? Is that what you're trying to ask?"
"I'm just saying," she shrugged, "A girl's got needs."
I spit out my coffee, coughing as I cleared my throat. "This girl is doing just fine, thank you."
"Fine, fine," Violet held her hands up in surrender. "I'm just trying to look out for you! If you want to ride solo and maybe a little touch starved forever, I support it."
I shook my head at her with a laugh, leaning back in my chair. I could never share the details of my last interaction with Levi with her, but her concern for my well-being in all areas was touching, if not a little overbearing. Based on what she said, I must have some godlike restraint to have stopped things where I did last night, too, being as intimacy deprived as she made me sound; just another amusing anecdote I'd be keeping to myself, I thought with a grin.
She gave me the lowdown on all the gossip and happenings at her job and told me all the details about some plans coming up that she wanted us to get into. This was actually really nice, a nice way to break up the monotony and reconnect after life had gotten in between us. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still sad to be 'back'. The conversation lulled as our meals arrived and as my focus shifted to the plate before me, I couldn't help but wonder what was happening back there; would the expedition be successful, or yield a lot of casualties? How was Hange, Levi's new squad, Levi himself?
"Astrid," Violet asserted, breaking through my million thoughts. "Are you okay? You seem a little dazed."
I took a bite of my food and chewed it slowly, using that time to formulate my response. "Yeah, I apologize. Last night was really needed, I guess. I don't think I've slept that hard in years. Practically did a factory reset on me."
"Well needed and well deserved, my girl," she beamed. Her affectionate term instantly made me think of Hange. "You have been running yourself ragged for like, months."
"Living the dream, trying to climb the corporate ladder and all that," I aimlessly commented as we were brought our bill. I felt bad being so distracted but it seemed unavoidable at this point. Everything and everyone around me in some way brought me right back.
After finding a few treasures at the local thrift store and loading up on plenty of goodies from the market close to our apartment, we brought our hauls upstairs and broke to change into our comfy clothes for the next phase of the evening.