Young Adults

CHAPTER 20

The next morning, (Y/n) woke up on her back, eyes fluttering open as she tried to process her surroundings. 'Why do I feel disoriented?' she wondered. Then, yesterday's events rushed back: the late-night call, the laughter, and the unexpected flutter in her chest.

Her gaze drifted to her hand—still curled around her phone. Realization struck in an instant, causing her to sit up quickly. 'No way...' The device felt cold against her palm, and she pressed the power button to check the screen. Ten percent battery left.

A groan escaped her. Because of her phone's battery saver settings, the alarm hadn't gone off as intended. 'Good thing my body decided to wake me up on its own,' she mused wryly, noting she was just eight minutes behind her usual schedule. It could have been much worse.

She exhaled in relief, running a hand through her hair as she dragged herself fully upright. 'Better get moving before something else decides to go wrong.'

Getting up and beginning her usual morning routine, (Y/n) tried to shake off the lingering grogginess. She dressed quickly, double-checking her bag before heading to the bus stop. Still, the promise of an exciting day lingered in her thoughts, thanks to Levi. Remembering their conversation from last night made her cheeks burn with a sudden rush of heat.

Once she'd said yes, it felt as though a thick wall had been torn down between them. She discovered that, beneath his reclusive exterior, Levi actually had a funny sense of humor—something she hadn't fully realized until now. She couldn't recall the last time she'd laughed that much during a simple phone call.

They had even exchanged perspectives on everything from the past week: those repeated chance encounters, the times they ended up around each other without meaning to. Levi, for his part, had been reluctant to share too many life stories in depth, but (Y/n) had happily filled the silence with details about her own life. She told him how her parents met when they were young, how they raised her with warmth and trust, and how the arrival of Caidence had injected a new kind of light into their family dynamic. Shy or not, (Y/n) was undeniably family-oriented.

At one point, she found herself confessing how guilty she felt for lying to her parents about "shopping nearby" instead of admitting she went downtown to watch him race. Just recalling the thrill of that night—and how he looked riding through the streets—made her heart flutter all over again.

"Let me take you home tomorrow."

Her heart had practically ground to a halt when he made that offer last night—unbearable to even process. Yet somehow, despite stuttering and tripping over her own words, she'd managed to say yes.

'This can't be real,' she told herself. But the splash of cold water on her face was proof enough that her life wasn't some dream at the moment; even a quick pinch affirmed that she was wide awake.

After finishing up in the bathroom, she returned to her phone to check how much it had charged while she got ready—and immediately noticed over twenty Skype notifications from her friends.

"Ah, crap..." she muttered, realizing she'd never hopped online as she'd promised. Scrolling through the repeated texts—her name in all caps, questions about where she'd disappeared to—she felt a pang of guilt. Finally, she fired off a quick message to Mikasa, apologizing and promising to explain everything in their math class later that day.

She debated how to dress: something comfy or something a bit more put-together. 'If Levi's giving me a ride home,' she thought, 'I don't want him thinking I'm a total bum...' Yet, another part of her insisted she stay true to herself—if he liked her at all, he probably didn't care too much what she wore.