Yours Truly, Levi

Waterfall

Two days pass. The only times you ever speak to either Levi or Jason is when you're refilling their water canteens, and the only time they speak to one another is when they absolutely must. Even then, the speech is taut, hiding the emotion that each person is holding in.

The other crew men seem to notice the tension, and they watch the three of you with fascinated, judgmental stares and converse with one another in hushed whispers. The entire camp is thrust into a steely silence peppered by snippets of conversation from the other men that you overheard.

"Turns out that those three are all in a gay romance triangle."

"I heard that Mariolo finally put the moves on the shrimpy one he'd had his eye on."

"Did Bozu and Heichou ever bang?"

"No, but I think the Captain and the Corporal did!"

"No way. I know Levi-sama doesn't swing the other way!"

"No way, they all look as gay as... something... really... well, gay. Especially the water kid."

"So Ackerman and Mariolo did bang?"

"Maybe they had a threesome."

"Damn!"

The scuttlebutt is worse than the gossiping women in your town who seemed to know everything about everyone. Only now, they are all big burly men, and they're all talking about you. It felt awful.

As you complete your task filling water canteens, you feel the weight of the men's gazes on your every move. Finally, it becomes too much.

I have to get away from here, you think. But where?

The waterfall, you remember. I'll go there. And I'll just take it easy for a while. Plenty of food, clean, running water from the falls. Maybe you can even take shelter in a tree for the night before retuning.

Once your mind is made up, it takes about twenty minutes to fill the rest of the canteens, collect your personal effects (a blanket, your knife, an extra set of warm clothes, and your canteen), and begin the trek.

As you walk, you think about Levi. What is it about him that makes you so... happy to just be with him? It doesn't make sense. And why just Levi? Why can't you feel happy around Jason, or the other men?

The waterfall is tall and roaring. As you hike up the hill, you begin to feel your fears and anxieties dissipate. The water rushing down the side of the cliff made a relaxing, soul-satisfying sound. You take a deep breath, drinking the sight in. Trees surround the cliff and you pick a soft-looking pine to curl up beneath, just far enough from the water's edge to not feel the spray. Above you, a still pool on the top of the cliff leads into the falls, wide and still and calm. Your chosen spot conveniently overlooks the entire shoreline, and you gaze into the open ocean, wondering how you ever survived believing that the world within Wall Sina was what the entire world was like. Now you know so much about the world beyond the walls, how beautiful and vast it is. How will you ever go back, now that you've gotten a taste of what the big wide world had to offer? That is, if you ever get off this island. Even if you did... you'd probably never get to see Levi again.

"All this beauty, this vast wide world, and all I can think of is Levi," you mutter. "I'm sick of this! I don't want to be in love with him anymore, not when he clearly doesn't love me back!"

This time, you can't stop, slow, or control the tears that spill down your cheeks. "I just want Levi," you whisper, breaking down in sobs.

Your first love is your first heartbreak.

For just how long you sit there, you lose track. Sleep finds you eventually, rocking you gently into a warm, dreamy slumber. There are no dreams, no worries; you just sleep.