Part 12

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Since the next morning was a glorious Saturday, I had the wonderful luxury of sleeping in, and I took full advantage of it. Despite my restless sleep, the additional time balanced it out to leave me at least somewhat refreshed. I got out of bed and dressed, only to realize I had nowhere to go for the entire weekend. I didn't even have homework to keep me distracted. I felt morose. Back home, whenever I got stressed or stir-crazy, I could always leave the house and go for a walk, get cigarettes, meet my friends at the mall, whatever. Here I was stuck on campus, and every time I went outside carried its own risks. It was going to be a long, boring weekend.

Fate was only too eager to contradict my last thought, as the floor beneath my feet started to quake with the cadence of giant footfalls. I dashed into the kitchen, ready to hide. The footsteps stopped outside the building, and I waited in suspense, expecting the roof to open at any second. Instead, there was a polite tap with the tip of a giant finger on the front door.

"Eren?" a voice I recognized called. "Are you in there?" It was Joey. My heart fluttered. I took a deep breath, then went to open the door. I was greeted by a giant hand with long, elegant fingers.

"Eren! Hi!" Joey proclaimed from high above, looking both excited and nervous to see me. Since it was the weekend, he wasn't dressed in the usual school uniform, but rather a nice pair of jeans and a crisp polo shirt with a breast pocket. He had attempted to tame his messy brown hair, but it still stuck out in small tufts at random angles off his head. "Hey, so I was thinking, since you're new here and all, maybe you'd like to, you know, go out and see the sights a little off campus. Um, I could take you around and show you, and then there's a local diner just down the street, we could go have brunch..." He was rambling, clearly having rehearsed his speech in his head before he got here and was clumsily purging his words now.

"Sure! That sounds great!" I interrupted. I came outside and closed the door behind me. I didn't have anything to take with me, since I didn't have my phone anymore and human money was useless here, so I didn't need my wallet or purse. "I'm actually all ready to go right now!"

He was surprised, then his face lit up with a joyful smile. "Wonderful! I wore this shirt with a pocket, so you can ride in that if you want, or..." He pulled a glove out of his pants pocket. "I brought a glove with me, so if you prefer I hold you in my hand, you won't be uncomfortable if my hands get all clammy like they did last time." Pink tinted his cheeks at the memory.

I chuckled. He was adorable. "I think I'd prefer your hand, personally."

The pink in his face deepened to red. "Alright." He put on the glove and lowered his hand to the floor. I climbed up into his palm, and his hand twitched underneath me. I could feel the warmth of his flesh through the soft glove, and his pulse racing. "Ready?" he asked me. I gazed up at him and nodded. Gradually, he extended himself to his full height. Even though I had been through this same process several times, I still marveled at the thrilling elevation, at the incredible view, at how the weather became slightly colder and windier from being so high up. Regardless, I felt warm and safe in his huge hand, even if he was a bit shaky.

He started walking with gentle steps, being as careful as he could not to jostle me about. As he became more confident that I was secure in his hand, he picked up the pace a bit, cutting through the grass until we reached the big metal gate at the entrance to the school. We passed through the gate into the world beyond. The city outside was clean and trim, with well-manicured vegetation, massive bright white sidewalks, and towering buildings that gleamed in the morning sun. The street was busy with giant cars that roared past. I was dazzled by the great scale of it all. Everything was big and bright and impressive, almost overwhelming to the senses.

"Are you hungry now? We can go to the diner first if you want," Joey suggested.

"Yes, I am. That would be delightful," I agreed.

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