Just Us {LeviHan}

Chapter 8: Under the Night Sky

Hanji's POV

We planned to go to the dance together. I might dance a bit, Erwin would dance, and Levi would be off to the side. I get to have the best of both sides. Because it wasn't a formal dance, I wore long, black pants and a pale yellow blouse. For once, my hair was down and ironed straight. I debated for a while if I should wear my glasses or contacts. I decided to still wear glasses. I would only dress very nicely if it's prom, and prom isn't until next year.

I waited outside the gym for the boys, and I was surprised to see what I spotted. Erwin went all out on his outfit. A blue tuxedo with a matching blue tie. He has a white buttoned shirt and a red rose in his suit pocket. His blonde hair was slicked back with some sort of gel as he plastered on a smile. When my eyes wandered to Levi, I was taken aback by the difference. 

Levi was less formal than Erwin. Yes, he wore nice, black pants and a white dress shirt, however, his black jacket was not matching that formal-like style. He didn't even wear a tie or a bow around his neck. He kept messing around with the highest button. He'll button it for a few minutes before unbuttoning it to breathe. He doesn't like wearing these sorts of things.

"No dress?" Erwin chuckles as he walks up to me. "Compared to all the girls here, they're all wearing dresses."

"If and when I go to prom, that's the only time you'll see me in a dress, Erwin." We both laugh as I turn to Levi with a smile. "I was hoping for you to wear clothes like Levi's. This isn't a formal dance, Erwin. Levi, you look amazing."

"Thanks...?" He tilts his head before looking away.

A small chuckle escaped my lips as I saw Erwin elbowing Levi. My hand covered my mouth as I watched. It was cute. "Levi, I know you haven't been friends with a girl for a long time, but listen here, when a girl dresses up, you need to tell her that they are cute."

"If you're forcing the compliment, it means nothing to me. Only speak from your heart. That's what I believe."

"Straight and honest answer, Hanji," Erwin says as he walks to me. "But as always, my answers are always straight to the point and honest. Levi... he's just... brutally-."

"Shut up, you're not straight to the point and honest, Erwin. You always try to charm your words or make things too complicated."

I smiled, pointing to Levi, "I think you're the one that's straight to the point and honest with your words. You just hide it, don't you?"

"I rather not talk about it." Levi then walks into the smaller gym where they have fruit punch and chocolate chip cookies. Every school dance has fruit punch and chocolate chip cookies at the snack table. Later tonight, I'll have a chat with him. Right now, I feel like dancing.

Erwin held out his arm for me to take as we walked into the gym. As usual, the gym was ear-numbingly loud as I could feel the ground shake with every beat. The second I walk in, this wave of warm atmosphere fell on me, and it was difficult to breathe. We pushed past people to get to an empty spot on the gym floor to dance for a few songs. 

The song changed, and the most popular music began to play. A few cheers from the other student deafened me as the lyrics began. Hearing this song, I felt it move through my bones and I danced. My sides began to hurt as I laughed with Erwin. We kept dancing and singing the song. We danced from the fast-paced songs to the slow songs. 

When I felt I had my fill, I dismissed myself from Erwin and went to the snack bar. 

To my utter surprise, I found Levi dominating the blackjack table. Apparently, at this school, they have blackjack tables for people who don't want to dance. They were betting with cookies. It was interesting seeing how good Levi was. From afar, he used his stone-cold face to display, and with his tone, it was difficult to tell if he was bluffing or not. 

I took a small plateful of chocolate cookies and stood near Levi. "Hey, can we talk?" I ask him. The other kids snickered at him. From a whisper, I heard one of them say, "Someone's in trouble..."

Levi ends his turn and leaves. He leans down to the person who whispered those words and spoke threateningly. "She's not my girlfriend."

"Good. She doesn't belong to you."

Levi turns away and walks toward me. "Let's go. It's pretty hot in the gyms. We can go outside to the balcony."

"Sounds great." I hold up my plate of cookies with a smirk growing on my face. "I got my snacks."

"That's a lot on your plate, you know. Save for the others, greedy one."

"They always have a lot. And besides, everyone is too busy dancing. I would hate to have all these cookies thrown in the trash and wasted, Levi. Don't you think so?"

"Or we can raid it before they throw it out. We will just stay here for a bit longer. Is that fine?" Levi rummages through his pockets and pulls out a plastic bag. "I did that for the other dances I've gone to. Good midnight snacks for tomorrow."

"You're smart, Levi."

"I hate food waste, Hanji, that's it."

We walk onto the balcony and found ourselves under the starry sky. No clouds were in the sky as sat on the stone benches. A chill ran down my back, and I felt a heavy jacket fall over my shoulders. When I turned around, I found Levi taking a seat next to me. He was without a jacket. 

"Thank you... you didn't have to."

"Just trying to be nice." He murmurs to himself. He takes a deep breath and sighs heavily. "You heard what they said, right? About the girlfriend thing?"

"I did. I heard. I've been hearing it for a long time, though. It doesn't bother me. Does it bother you?"

"It does."

He's not sugarcoating it... that's good. I smiled softly, nodding my head. "About how I don't deserve to be with you? Or the fact that you're being associated with me? The new girl on the block."

"I don't like it because you came from a better school than ours, and they see it as if you're a goddess. You're beautiful, you're smart, you're...  you're great." Levi's tough skin was stripped away as he opened up to me even though it was a tiny bit. "And I don't like that they continue to look down on me by using you as an excuse. You shouldn't be looked down upon because you're with me."

"Just... hold up your head and don't let it bother you as much." Levi froze before he turns to me. Our eyes met and this tension between us disappeared. "I know what it's like to be looked down on."

"Bullied too, huh?"

"I was too different from the other girls. Other girls wanted to study, and yes, I still wanted to study. But it got too annoying for me. I didn't like the atmosphere of just studying. I invited a few friends to go out. Have some fun. Zeke was the only one that accepted me as a friend. You remember Zeke, right? From the mall. Anyways, Zeke and I hung out a few times. Rumors went around that we were a couple. We weren't. After that speech and debate match, we weren't a couple, and people called me out as... well, I don't want to repeat that word that they called me."

"That's why you came here?"

"In a way. But I do love the science at this school. I'm in love."

"Is that why you didn't speak a word to Zeke? He looked pissed when you didn't say you were attending this school."

"I didn't want to continue that rumor, Levi." I shook my head, "Not like that." I wanted to drop my head and let everything go, but I looked at the sky, chuckling at the beautiful, twinkling stars. "My old high school and this high school aren't that far away, but I prefer this school's beautiful view. Don't you think so?"

Levi looks up to the sky, smiling softly. "It is beautiful."

"You're smiling."

He changes his smile, shaking his head. "No, I'm not."

"Do it again, Levi, it's cute."

"Call it cute again, and I'll punch you in the face."

I couldn't help but laugh at Levi's attempts to be strong. He was still smiling at me. For some reason, that smile was the only thing I could remember about that night... aside from the cookies we stole from the snack table. It was a wonderful moment.