Bite Me.

39.

'Shit,' Levi growled as he stormed the last classroom in the school. He'd been unable to locate Eren since he'd stormed off, and all he could think about was what on earth he could have done wrong. What was so bad about him sticking up for Eren? Armin had had no right to talk the way he did, not to somebody he called his friend. Levi knew he shouldn't be thinking like this because he was no better himself- to be exact, he was much, much worse- but Eren was his boyfriend now. He'd not realised how possessive and protective he was until he'd found somebody who he got jealous over. And now here he was, flitting aimlessly here and there trying to find the one person who brought out both the best and the worst in him. He had clearly left the school, so all that remained was to tear apart the town in order to find him and dredge out what he could. The first and most obvious place to go was his home, and if not he could ask his mum where he might be. He climbed into his car, tapping his fingers against the wheel impatiently as he started up the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. He was surprised that he remembered the way to Shigansina estate, considering he'd been there a total of three or so times. He'd never been any good at remembering things as trivial as that. He climbed the stairs with great hesitation, concerned for if he didn't find Eren and as a consequence didn't reach him in time to cool his anger before it spiralled out of control, as it may well do. Just as he had nervously anticipated, Carla opened the door with a less than impressed expression.
'Levi,' she arched an eyebrow, showing no fear. 'Can I help you?'
'Ah, yes,' he couldn't believe he'd been reduced to a frazzled bundle of nerves by this woman so soon. 'I was wondering if Eren is here?'
'No. Was he not at school today?'
'No. I mean yes, he was, but then... I need to go find him,' he was just turning round when she yanked him back by his collar.
'Just a second,' she didn't release her grip. 'I think you and I ought to have a little talk...'
He gulped and allowed her to drag him into the dingy flat where she offered him a cup of tea. This wasn't exactly how he had pictured his day proceeding, but he wouldn't dismiss the chance to converse with Carla, hoping she could provide some insight or shed some light on the situation.
'So you and Eren are dating now, correct?' She sat down in the furthest seat from him, jumping straight to business. He appreciated her direct manner and it encouraged him to act in a more comely manner by nodding, not yet trusting himself to speak lest he might say something that would mean she's get angry and refuse to allude to her son's whereabouts.
'I'm going to be blunt-' so what was new? '-And tell you that I wish you weren't.'
He winced, but it wasn't entirely unexpected; he assumed that since she knew they were dating she'd probably know he'd not been the nicest of people towards her son- but just how much did she know? He trusted Eren enough that he wouldn't blab such a large secret as Levi's true identity... He did. He was sure he did. What kind of boyfriend would he be if he didn't? Well, a bad one, and that was truthfully what he was.
'He's seventeen and you're legally an adult, so while I can't exactly stop you, I will try to dissuade you. Eren is... since he was little, he's not been much of a social person. You've seen it yourself, he's got a very small group of friends and before he met you, he barely went to parties and he certainly didn't stay away from home for so long. He worked hard at school, though he never got that good grades, but he tried. Now he's with you, all of that has changed and I think he's out of his depth. He's not his usual self around you, I'm sure of it. He's so scared you'll dislike him that he pretends to be somebody he's not, and it's starting to affect him permanently.'
Levi froze in stunned silence, not recovering for a long time. He took a deep, agitated breath and moved to argue his case.
'I also noticed he's changed, but I think he's come out of his shell. I'm sorry that he's doing badly in school- I never meant for that to happen- but one thing you ought to know is that Eren has not just changed himself, but also me. Before meeting him and even for the short first week or so I knew him, I did awful things and believed that I was irredeemable and yet he has shown me otherwise. Please don't be angry with him just because he's been distracted trying to help me!'
She looked him over for a good few minutes, deciding carefully how to react.
'You're different to how I expected. I have heard a lot about how terrifying and cruel you are, but you don't seem it to me. I trust you when you say you're acting in his best interests, and I suppose he must too. Now that that's out the way and we've cleared the air somewhat, can you tell me where my son is?'
'I was rather hoping you'd be able to tell me... He stormed off earlier and I couldn't find him at school.'
'It's okay, I know where to find him. Shouldn't you be getting home? It's late, and I'm sure your parents would worry,' this was just a polite way of kicking him out.
'Of course,' he tried to smile, but he couldn't quite manage it. 'My parents, I highly doubt, but my brother could be on edge. Could you please tell Eren I stopped by?'
'What do you mean you doubt your parents are worried? I worry whenever my son isn't home on time,' she didn't want to seem like she was prying, but she couldn't really help herself- this was her son's first boyfriend and she wanted to find out what kind of background he had, as all she had to go on was Eren describing it as a 'weird' one. What did that even mean? His expression did look particularly pained when he told her,
'My parents are dead.'
She blanched, feeling absolutely awful and vowing never to be so nosy again for the sake of getting a profile on someone.
'I'm-'
'Don't apologise,' he cut her off. 'I never knew them, so it's no loss to me.'
'But still... Growing up without parents, that's hard. Didn't you have foster parents?'
'No,' he struggled to formulate a believable lie as to how he had survived growing up parent less. He wasn't entirely sure he could, and glossing over things tended to be the best way to cover them up. 'I didn't.'
'So Archer isn't your brother by birth, then.'
'No,' the conversation was becoming strangely intrusive and he felt as if he was pinned down under a microscope. What business did she have probing into his home life? He took a wild guess and assumed that she was trying to figure out what kind of person her son's boyfriend was, and this made him wonder whether she accepted her son's preferences or not. He was a little disappointed that Eren wanted to keep it on the down low but then he had people who might actually care, and he hadn't had 200 years to come to terms with himself. He wanted Carla to like him then, if it meant that Eren would be more confident from his mother supporting his relationship. She'd already told him outright that she didn't accept who her son was dating, but he didn't think she cared so much that he was a man as that he was borderline abusive and according to her sources, most likely a drug dealer or some similarly illegal vocation.
Perhaps if she came to like him a little more, Eren would feel braver. He decided that he would answer her questions to best credit himself without being too dishonest- she was just a concerned mother, after all.
'Archer and I grew up on the streets, for the most part, and we were family enough for each other.'
She felt terrible for ever judging him so harshly when she had never known any of this... He had grown up on the streets, what more could be expected of him if he'd never learnt morals or how to properly treat people. His entire learning experience as a child must have been violence and struggle.
'Why didn't anybody intervene?' She knew this question was stupid before she opened her lips; she knew full well the extent of the corruption and laziness in the CPS.
'You have to understand Paris was overrun with orphaned children at this time- we were just another pair of trouble-makers who the officials would rather dead.'
'Paris?' She couldn't believe she hadn't caught the faint French accent earlier. It was barely detectable, but it was there and the way he said his brother's name was unmistakably French. 'How did you end up in school over here?'
'Hard work,' he brushed it off, and she frowned thoughtfully. Was he essentially trying to say he had broken the law to get here? Because no amount of hard work could get you into a sixth form without GCSEs. She knew Eren had been in trouble with police numerous times- such was the norm in the area they lived in- but he'd never done something genuinely wrong. It was all underage drinking and anti-social behaviour. Was Levi still involved in illegal things, and what kind of things had he been involved in?
'You don't deal drugs, do you?' She just had to ask. Her family had been so corrupted and broken by drugs enough times that she was never going to allow such things under her roof.
'Stupid way to make money,' he shook his head. 'Of course not.'
She got the distinct feeling that if she asked what he really did, she'd not receive an answer, so she didn't push any further.
'I know I seem nosy and invasive, but I'm just trying to look out for him.'
'I understand,' he smiled warmly at her. 'He's the kind of person you just want to protect from everything.'
He surprised himself with the affection hidden in his tone- that was unlike him.
'You really do like him, don't you?' This shocked him even further. Was he really that obvious? He'd thought it had been all in the nuances that only his brother was able to pick up on. He'd spent so long hiding emotion, but it had all been negative emotions so now that he was finally feeling happy for the first time in... well, in forever, he was having difficulty concealing it. Added to that, Carla just seemed exactly the kind of approachable person who he would end up oversharing with and inevitably mentally punching himself later for being such a dimwit.
'I agree with you- I'm not good for him at all, but for some stupid reason I can't get him out my head. He's good for me and I think that's why I've let myself be selfish with him. If you think he's really being affected by me, I can leave and he'll never have to deal with my shit again.'
She stared mouth agape at him, astonished by his words and just how unlike anything she had seen in a boy so young he was. She was about to ask him an important question, when the door opened.
'That'll be him,' she sighed with relief; she really hadn't wanted to ask the question. Eren appeared round the door and when his eyes landed on Levi, his expression darkened and he folded his arms across his chest.
'What are you doing here?' He spat. 'I thought I made it pretty clear I don't want to talk to you.'
'Eren-' Levi tried to ask what was wrong, but he didn't get that far because by then Eren had walked past him to his room and slammed the door.
'He'll get over it,' Carla patted his shoulder, and he flinched. 'He just needs time.'
'I'm not very good at time.'
'If you're going to be with him, you'll have to learn patience. It's hard to know when he needs space and when to comfort him.'
Levi thought about his own brother, and how he always knew how to manage each of his own strange moods which scared off all other outsiders. He was well aware that he was a complex enough person, and that Eren probably didn't need his issues piled onto his shoulders. Nevertheless, his heart was telling him that if he didn't go in there it would only get worse and he'd never again be brave (or stupid) enough to do anything about it.
'I'm going to talk to him,' he told her before following his boyfriend through the door.