Capturing Flight [Riren/Ereri] ✔️

Chapter 3

"Hey, Kid?" I asked, setting a dish of pasta down on the coffee table before lightly tapping his cheek in an attempt to wake him. "Hey, Kid?" I repeated more forcefully this time and I smirked as he groaned and his eyelids began to flicker. I must say, he seemed a bit out of it, as if he was under the influence of some kind of drug. But he didn't exactly seem that way earlier and I certainly didn't give him anything.

His eyelids were still for the most part closed. But when he finally came to his senses that something was off, he suddenly jolted up, eyes instantly flicking open as he hissed out in pain, gripping his newly stitched side. But all his attention shifted when he finally noticed me, he stopped worrying about his injury and his eyes widened as he jumped up as quickly as he could, throwing the blanket from his body and stumbling away from both me and the sofa.

I was not up for this again. I sighed standing back up and taking strides across the room to where the brat was now limping his way towards the apartment door, "Don't you want something to eat before you leave?" I inquired, leaning against the kitchen sideboard and keeping a straight face as the brat peered over his shoulder to look at me.

"W-what?" he challenged, looking completely and utterly confused by the question.

I glanced towards the coffee table where the pasta resided and he followed my eyes, "I made you spaghetti, do you want it before you leave?"

He looked intrigued, I didn't want to scare him anymore by not letting him leave - not that if he declined I would have actually let him leave in the state he was in - but I stayed calm, keeping my distance, he had to believe that I wasn't a threat.

"You made me food?" He asked sceptically, though I could see the glint of hope in his bright eyes as they flicked between me, the door and the spaghetti. "Why would you make me food?"

"I found you hurt in an alley and I couldn't just leave you there, so I brought you back to my place - stitched you up," His eyes widened briefly and I think he just realised his mistake. His hand moved back to his side and he looked down to the bandages wrapped tightly around his waist, "I figured after all of that you'd be hungry," I finished, forcing my lips into a small smile as he began to take his defences down.

Cautiously he started to take steps back towards the sofa, and I gave up my spot leant against the work surface to join him.

As I sat down on the chair next to him he shuffled up a little more, distancing himself from me as he slowly leaned forward to pick up the plate.

"So whats your name?" I asked as he began to wind some spaghetti around his fork.

He spared me another side glance before replying, "Eren."

"Ok...Eren, can I ask how that happened?" I gestured towards his side, trying to get to the point, but he ignored me, instead lifting the heavily loaded fork to his mouth, and busied himself with chewing for the meantime. So I sat in silence just watching him eat since prying wasn't getting me anywhere soon.

But by the time he was finally finished with his last mouthful, it was no longer of much concern to me and I had otherwise preoccupied myself, propping my feet up on the table and watching Breaking Bad. I had bearly even noticed when the kid - Eren, got up until I heard footsteps, and turning, saw out of the corner of my eye a figure headed towards my bedroom.

Immediately I flicked the TV off, heading towards my bedroom myself and what I saw was angering to say the least. "Eren," I queried, trying not to lose my cool, "what are you doing?"

He turned to face me, those infamous bright green eyes lighting up the dark room as he stood there stunned, like a deer caught in headlights. "You, umm, you said I could leave once I'd eaten, but I need a shirt."

And that's where I found him, rummaging through my perfectly organised closet in search of a shirt. I was just about to answer when a loud knocking came from the apartment door.

"Mr Ackerman?" A loud voice resonated around the house and I dragged my attention away from Eren and towards the voice. "Mr Ackerman it's the police, open up!"

And I was just about to, that was until a firm hand gripped my arm, followed by pleading eyes as he slowly dragged me away from the door to behind the sofa where he crouched down - hiding?

"Mr Ackerman please, we have reason to believe you're home and if you don't open up now we'll come back with a warrant."

It's needless to say I was conflicted, it was pretty obvious based on the brat's behaviour that it wasn't me they were after and that only left to my imagination what he had done to have the police so hot on his trail. But those eyes, damn those bright eyes, I couldn't just hand him over without knowing what he'd done especially since he seemed so harmless.

In the end, I couldn't do anything and sat down next to Eren, on the floor, behind the sofa. And we waited in silence until the knocking and voices ceased and footsteps could be heard getting quieter from behind the door.

I wanted answers from Eren, I wanted to know what had happened, why he was hurt and why he had the police after him. But he was one step ahead like always and didn't waste a second before jumping to his feet and rushing back into my bedroom. A moment later he emerged in one of my shirts, with one of my bags slung over his shoulder. His next destination was my fridge, pulling it open and stuffing anything he thought looked edible into the bag.

He was stealing from me - the brat was stealing, and after all I'd done to help him! It wasn't hard to guess his next move and so I sprung up, charging as fast as I could to the door and finding myself there just in time to block his pathway.

"Move." He growled, no longer seeming like the scared kid he had been mere moments ago.

"No," I stated firmly, and the anger in his eyes washed away a little leaving the desperation in them clear as day.

"Please, I need to get out of here. Please just move." He said again, this time throwing himself at me in an effort to shove me out of the way.

"Eren...what did you do?" I urged, looking into his eyes now beginning to fill with tears.

Is it pathetic that that single vulnerable look he gave me derailed everything - this kid I'd met mere hours ago? I shouldn't have cared, I didn't care, did I?

Bt all it took was one more shove and I was out of the way, watching as he charged down the corridor, towards the stairs. I didn't think about it, I couldn't think about it, I was just gone. Charging down the hallway after him, catching a glimpse of his brunette hair as I turned the corner running down the stairs.