Erwin x OC | The Girl From Outside

Chapter 29 - Departure

*2 Weeks Later*

The day of the expedition

Erwin's hand was around my waist, pulling me closer to him. The morning sunlight was pouring through the windows, telling us it was time to get up. But we didn't want to get up, because neither of us were sure if it was the last time we'd ever be this close to each other.

"Erwin" I whispered. "We need to go"

"I know" he groaned, opening his eyes.

His icy blue orbs locked with mine and it was as if we were having a conversation made up completely of eye contact. There were a million things I wanted to say, but the time for talking was long gone.

I swung my legs around so that my feet were on the ground and I stood up, stretching before walking across the room to grab my uniform.

"Today's the day" I muttered.

"Yeah" Erwin replied bluntly, also getting out of bed. "Are you okay?"

I shrugged. "I'm a little worried about Eren, do you think he can handle it?"

"That doesn't answer my question" he chuckled. "And...I don't know. But that's the purpose of this expedition, we're just leaving and then coming back. It's not a big deal"

Just leaving and then coming back, huh? I like the sound of that.

I slipped on my shirt and started buttoning it up.

"Charlotte" Erwin spoke up, his voice taking a more serious tone. "I want you in the command squad today"

I spun around. "What?! The command squad? Why?"

Erwin's long range scouting formation was genius, and it had saved countless lives since it's invention. I was usually in Hanji's squad, placed near the back of the formation. The command squad was at the front, lead by Erwin.

"I wont force you if you don't want to" he replied. "I suppose I just wanted you by my side. I want you where I know you're safe"

I sighed sarcastically. "You're hopeless without me"

Erwin didn't reply, he just chuckled and carried on getting dressed.

After a few minutes of getting ready, we both headed out of the door and into the corridor, our fingers interlocked, as per usual. Something felt a little different today though, Erwin was holding onto my hand tighter than he normally did, almost as if he was nervous.

As I was mounting up my horse, Hanji approached me. Of course, she still had her signature bubbly smile plastered on her face, but something was different this time. She seemed anxious.

We were all nervous for the expedition. Finding out about Eren's abilities had put everyone on edge, but a part of me wanted to see what Eren could do first hand, so that I might be able to figure out the extent of my own power.

"Hey" Hanji said as she trundled over. "You ready?"

"Ready as anyone ever is to risk their life" I smiled.

The section Commander returned my smile. "Our squad is near the back today, towards the left" she said.

I paused. "Actually Hanji..."

Hanji just looked at me, waiting for me to continue.

"Erwin asked me to go with the Command squad"

"The command squad?!" Hanji echoed. "That's a pretty dangerous spot, near the front"

"Yeah, I know" I nodded, not really knowing what to say.