Sweet Serial Killer [ Riren ]

SIXTEEN

SIXTEEN
♜ ♜ ♜

Walking beside Levi, rebelling against school rules along the way, made Eren feel oddly content. His previous nerves were starting to fade and ebb away the further they got from the looming bulk of the school behind them.

He was still jittery, his stomach doing anxious somersaults, but he felt slightly better knowing that Hanji Zoë was helping him ditch school. With her on his side, and Levi's reassurance, he was pretty confident he could avoid discovery.

"So," Eren decided to start up a conversation. "Are we going to your house?" He looked at Levi curiously, and the older teenager shook his head, his bangs falling into his dark eyes as he did so. "No," he stated simply — firmly.

Choosing to drop the subject, Eren began another one. "This is actually my first time skipping," he confessed. "I was offered to ditch a while ago with some of my friends. Their names are Reiner, Connie, and Jean. I was going to but Mikasa found out and threatened me into backing out." He laughed sheepishly.

"You can't let her manipulate you so much," Levi insisted, his tone sharpening. "It isn't healthy. She's not your mother, your sister, or your girlfriend." On the last part, he seemed to pause, his eyes narrowing almost . . . Dangerously?

"Is she?" Levi inquired, his voice dropping to a more sinister level. Eren blinked, alarmed. He raised his palms into the air, chuckling. "No, no!" He clarified. "God, no. Mikasa is like a sister to me." He smiled fondly.

"I see." Levi's response was short, brisk, clipped. Eren felt strangely uncomfortable as a silence fell over them. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and decided to break it. "Uh, where exactly are we going?" He questioned.

"To McDonald's. I'm fucking starving. And I bet you skipped breakfast," Levi stated, observing Eren intently as if to confirm his guess. Eren nodded. "Yeah, I wasn't really hungry. But McDonald's does sound good . . ." He hesitated. "I just don't have any money to pay for any food with." He sighed.

"Nonsense," Levi waved him off carelessly. "I'll pay for you." Eren's eyes widened and he emitted a faint gasp. "N-no! Levi, no. I'm not gonna make you pay for me. It's my fault, I should have brought money. I was just planning on not having lunch, I should have taken something anyway . . . Dammit. I'm not going to let you pay because I'm a stupid ass," he insisted, his cheeks flushed a faint crimson.

"Don't call yourself that," Levi ordered, and Eren blinked. "What?" He asked, and Levi replied quietly, "Do not call yourself a 'stupid ass' or I will shove my boot down your throat." Eren jumped, genuine fright springing into him.

"O-okay," he stammered, startled. Why did Levi care if Eren belittled himself? He seemed to taunt his other friend, Hanji, even behind her back. It was all playful, obviously, even with Levi Eren could tell. And Levi even seemed to label Eren as a brat. So why was he so against Eren calling himself a stupid ass?

"Now, I am going to buy you a meal since you decided to skip lunch. Do not protest, or else. Think of this as a thank you for ditching with me," Levi decided for him, and Eren huffed, reluctantly giving in. How could he not? It was Levi.

"Alright . . . Thank you, Levi. Seriously. I really appreciate it," Eren told him sincerely, a wide smile beginning to tug at his lips. Levi seemed to muffle his expression into that of neutrality, his mouth twitching. "No problem . . . Eren."