Chasing Summer

Awakening

Sometime during the night, I had roamed back into the living room in search of warmth. It was still raining out, bolts of lightning streaking through the night sky, bathing the room in white light. For some time, I just sat there in front of the fire, looking out the window to watch the storm from a safe distance.

I can't remember when I dozed off, but when I woke up again, Eren was sitting up on the couch with hair that stuck up in every possible direction imaginable. The green blanket I had given him was pooled around his midsection like a nest, covering up his legs, which were now tucked beneath his bottom. All in all, he looked ridiculously cute for someone with terrible bedhead, and I just sort of lay there on the floor and stared at him.

His face was turned towards the window, giving me a great view of his side profile. He had soft features, but a strong jawline that accentuated his chin and lips. His whole face was kind of mesmerizing to me, and if I had the ability to draw, I would sketch it in light hues, but I couldn't draw to save my life. Stick figures were my forte.

As I continued to look at him, he suddenly dropped his eyes in my direction, jumping up a bit when he saw that I was awake. "Hi," he said in a rush, voice raspy with sleep. "Did the thunder wake you up?"

"No. Is the storm still going on?" I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes with the heels of my palms.

"Yeah," he responded, "but it's not as bad as it was before."

I glanced out the window. It was still pretty dark out. "Damn. I can't even tell if it's morning or not." The sun didn't do its job until about ten o'clock. That's when it officially decided to enlighten the people of Shiganshina.

"I think the power's back on, if you want to check the time."

I stood up, my limbs stiff and sore from the awkward position I had slept in. I raised my arms above my head, my back giving out an audible pop when I leaned to the side. That was the last time I ever slept on the floor.

A small chuckle from behind me made me look over my shoulder. "What?"

Eren pointed to my head, a smile on his face. "Your hair is crazy."

"My hair is crazy? Have you seen yours?"

Absentmindedly, he lifted his hands up to run his fingers through the mess of brown locks. After a while, he gave up with a sigh, dropping his hands into his lap. "Do you think my wheelchair survived the storm?"

"Who knows," I told him. "Once it stops raining, I'll go out and check. As for now, I'm going to go make myself some tea." I held up a finger before he could ask. "I'll carry you into the kitchen with me, but don't make this a habit."

He bit down on his bottom lip, attempting to hide a smile that refused to be hidden. "I won't. I promise."

"Cross your heart and hope to die?" I teased, but of course the moron went and drew an X over his heart with his pointer finger. He looked so sincere that I ended up having to cover up a smile with my hand. I pretended to yawn against my fist so the action could look believable, but it still wasn't very convincing. Eren didn't seem to notice.

After I lifted him up into my arms, he asked, "So, you're graduating this year?"

"Yeah."

He considered this, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Petra said you were leaving town after graduation. Is that true?" As he spoke the words, a strange expression settled on his face. It almost looked expectant. But what could he possibly be expecting from me?