Is This What They Call, Love?

Chapter 4- The Tree

Levi was currently banging his head against a mental wall.

He couldn't figure out if asking Eren to lunch was too forward of him, but he also couldn't find it within himself to regret asking in the first place, seeing as she seemed to be totally fine with this new arrangement.

Fortunately, no one could tell that he was having a mental struggle. Levi's face held no emotions whatsoever, the result of many hardships in life. But that didn't stop Eren from seeming to understand that something was wrong. She seemed to be able to read him like a book, which was a bit disconcerting.

"Hey, are you okay, Levi?" she asked nicely, but with a small look of concern on her face.

Levi would swear to everyone and their grandmother's dog that she was some form of psychic, he just couldn't prove it yet. Instead, he replied, "Tch, I'm fine," rather gruffly. He had to hold back a wince since he didn't mean to come off so rudely.

"If you say so..." she said hesitantly and continued walking down the hallway.

All thoughts about Eren and her potential powers of deduction came to a halt when Eren announced, "We're here! This is my favorite in the whole school." Levi looked up and instantly knew why this was Eren's favorite place.

They were standing in front of the prettiest cherry blossom tree he had ever seen. It was taller than most and the leaves were cascading to the ground in a ghostly dance. They made a pink, flowery blanket around the tree. The air smelled heavenly, and there was just enough light shining through the foliage to give it an ethereal look. All he could do was stare in awe.

"So... do you like it?" Eren asked shyly. It took him a moment to get his bearings. He finally managed to reply, "Like it? I can easily understand why this is your favorite place, and I haven't even seen the rest of the school yet," he finished with a small smile.

Eren looked delighted. "That's a relief. I thought you wouldn't like it because you seem the type to not enjoy nature much like others would." A look of embarrassment came across her face as she finished, and she covered her mouth with an apologetic look aimed at him.

Deciding not to take offense to that, seeing as she didn't seem to mean it that way, he only replied, "It is the second most beautiful thing I have ever seen." And that's when he realized he said "second", and decided this would be a good time to go buy a shovel, since he was obviously digging his own grave at this point.

"Oh really? What is the first?" She asked with an interested look. The obvious answer was herself, but seeing as that wasn't exactly a good idea, he instead decided to play coy.

"Hmm... I won't tell you. But I will let you guess though, and if you guess correctly, you can have a prize." He couldn't help but feel like an idiot.

"Oh? How many guesses do I get?" She asked excitedly, so he guessed this wasn't a totally botched idea from the start.

"Infinite. As many as you need." He figured she would never guess, seeing as it was so obvious.

"Wow, you really don't think I will get it, huh?" She asked with a look that screamed that she thought he was acting a little ridiculous. Which was true so he couldn't really have a say in the matter. 

"We shall see," Levi said with a little grin, to which Eren harrumphed while folding her arms.

"France," she guessed.

"How did you know I had been to France?" he asked with a small frown. 

She gave him another look but this one seemed to say "Really?". Instead, she merely said, "You have a French accent." Levi just about had to knock his head against something. He seemed to turn stupid around her. "Oh... and wrong."