A Fanboy And A Dollar (Ereri)

Chapter 22

Eren's POV:

Levi's use of cigarettes had started bothering me. I didn't mind much at first since it would usually be less then a pack a day, but it was growing in numbers as he grew more stressed and worn out. Interviews and calls would be all that would bombard him at every corner he happened to step in.

"Levi you're gonna get lung cancer and die early if you keep this up," I grumbled at him as I stepped out of the house to sit beside him. It was pleasant outside and a cool breeze would kiss the tips of my ears every time it rustled the grass in a race towards an invisible finish line.

He huffed slightly in a sort of passive disagreement. He had no concern of his health as long as he felt better. Dangerous.

"Look, Eren. Don't bother worrying about me I'm just burnt out."

I closed my eyes and smiled. "It's hard to not worry about you when you're the one thing on my mind." I opened my eyes and faced him, glancing over his slightly flushed face and tired eyes. "But also I really want you to know that I'm here for you. Don't ever believe that you're a bother to me. I... I love you, yeah? So long as it makes you happy I'll worry and want to know everything bad running through your mind."

Levi drew the cigarette out of his mouth and drove the smoldering butt into the ground before stepping on it. He crossed his arms and huffed again, but the scarlet staining his cheeks told me he wasn't indifferent or anything. At least I hoped so.

"Eren it would make me happy if you didn't stress out about me. I don't want to be the cause of anything going wrong with you." Levi sighed again and tried to stand up but stumbled and fell back down again.

"The fuck is wrong with you?" I asked playfully in a futile attempt to lift the mood. I regretted asking the question with the choice of words I did because Levi's cold, not-so-playful stare was all that he responded with as he attempted to stand again; this time without stumbling.

As he turned around to enter the house he mumbled something that I couldn't make out clearly. I frowned, but before I could inquire he had shut the door.

The wind that had kissed me earlier was now sending needle pricks through my arms.

Mabel's POV:

The great and mighty Lord Levi whose social media I had prowled through was no more.

I was confused by the bluntness of what had happened. Apparently Levi had tweeted out that he was no longer going to be producing music or going on tours. And that was it.

I wanted to question Eren about this since he was the main reason I even looked into Levi, but I didn't even know him very well. I was too timid to ask about things I knew would come off as obnoxious for him. He's probably already been questioned about Levi's quitting, and I knew for sure some of my acquaintances would be bugging him.

Sighing, I turned on my laptop to message one of my friends while I used my phone to prowl. Looking into other people's more interesting lives was always better than living an uninteresting life and trying to believe that it was something unique. The bitterness that came with "normal life" was nothing new. As a child I was pampered with promises of me being something actually special to this world, but my existence mattered to virtually no one.

My eyes squinted at the hurt comments that were debating about Levi's quitting. A lot were in denial and were trying to come up with theories as to why this happened. "Maybe he got kidnapped and his kidnapper didn't want anyone to think something off." "He might be having some sort of mid-life crisis." "His lover boy might be to blame here." "Levi probably wants a normal life."

I bit my cheek at the last comment. Why would anyone want to trade in an extravagant and rich life full of surprises and adventure for something typical and boring? I couldn't wrap my head around that thought, and the reason behind that was most likely my constant need for something different. I wanted to live in a fantasy land where I was someone special instead of one of the characters in the background. If I was a character in a story I'd be the "woman 3" or the "girl watching from the crowd." I'll never be the main character and it hurts to see someone throw away the only thing I've ever wanted.

I typed to my friend and acted like I usually acted. It wasn't hard to hide something that bothered you if you didn't want it to be a bother for someone else; especially over text. She didn't seem to have the issue I was having, and I wondered what it was like to be fine with having an uninteresting and uneventful life.

Eren's POV:

Levi was definitely acting distant. I lightly pestered him about the cigarettes and now he doesn't want to talk to me.

I laughed off one of his silences and gently grabbed his hand because I wanted to try de-stressing him with a TV show. His hand left mine in the blink of an eye and he gave me a snarky look.

"Hey!"

Levi didn't respond to my surprise at his rejection and instead grabbed a bag and walked to the door. "I'm going on a meeting trip to see the people I'm gonna make unemployed. See you."

"Huh? Ah- Levi-" He shut the door. I clenched my teeth lightly in annoyance at his sudden shift in mood. Did he suddenly regret his decision to stop being a rockstar? Was I to blame?

Does he not love me anymore?

I placed a hand over my face and frowned. I heard Mikasa stroll in and then heard cupboards opening. Before I could draw my hand away, she asked, "Levi stressing you out?"

"Yeah," I mumbled into my sweaty hand, placing it onto the counter instead of on my face. "I want to make him happy but I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

Mikasa chuckled lightly as she picked an armful of snacks out to take with her back to her room. "I don't think you're the one doing anything wrong."

"What do you mean? He seems off."

Mikasa stopped and looked at me before entering the hallway to go back to whatever she was doing. "I think Levi is the one who's doing something wrong."