Just Five Days // REMASTERED (IN PROGRESS)

Chapter 16

"Now you just have to apologize to Armin," I chirped as we entered the mess hall for dinner. Levi groaned loudly, nudging me with his elbow and piercing into me with his stormy eyes. I noticed that Armin wasn't at the dinner table. "Let's go wash our hands," I announced to Levi who nodded curtly in response. 

We left the table and headed towards the student bathroom, only to find Armin washing his hands and whistling to himself. Our sudden entrance must have startled him, as he gasped and looked up, first at me and then at Levi, pure dread in his eyes. He backed up to the wall,putting his hands up. I turned and saw the menacing glare in Levi's eyes. Nudging him, he snapped out of it and rolled his eyes. "Hey, Armin, what's up?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"H-hi, Eren.

"Armin, Levi has something to say to you." Levi let out a snarled sigh, lifting his upper lip in disgust.

"Look." He paused, full of thought. "I've been an asshole to you." He sighed loudly, dreading what he was going to say next. "I'm sorry. I should be more, uh, polite. You're the brat's friend. I don't want to kill you or anything. Jaeger said you were worried 'bout that. I'm not gonna hurt Jaeger, either, don't worry. So, uh, yeah. That's about it."

"Why were you mean to him, Levi?" I asked condescendingly, folding my arms paternally. Levi shot me a quick glare before focusing on Armin again, whose face was a mix of confusion and fear.

"I, uh, I was jealous, okay? I was scared that when the whole handcuff thing was over, that Jaeger would leave me and I just didn't want that. There. Sorry, Armin. I promise to be nicer to both of you nerds."

"It's okay, Levi. But I do have a question," Armin smiled, looking at me for reassurance. I nodded, urging him to continue his thought.

"Okay," Levi consented with a soft exhale, pushing his ebony hair back with his free hand.

"What are you two, exactly?"

"Armin," I said, figuring that was coming. "Levi's my boyfriend." His eyes widened. He nodded, his shiny blonde hair bobbing up and down.

"Okay." Armin paused, looking at his feet. "Good to know." I wrapped my left arm around him, giving him a brief hug, before pulling back with a smile.

"Alright, good talk," Levi said, obviously done with the conversation. "We're cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool," Armin replied. "Take care of him, and if you're a dick to my best friend I swear, the rituals I'll perform will not be friendly." Armin was a practicing Wiccan, and he was constantly threatening to hex people, even though it was against his religion. 

"Creepy little shit," Levi muttered when we left the bathroom. Sitting down at the dinner table, I squeezed Levi's hand out of view, smiling at him.

"Thank you, Levi,"I nodded, grinning at him, happy to have my friend back. He looked up at me and smiled back. It was an interesting smile. The corners of his mouth turned down, but it was an obvious smile. That was the first time I'd seen him smile a real smile, with teeth and everything. "You're smiling," I muttered, more to myself than anything, trying to assure myself that it was real. Levi Ackerman was smiling at me.

"You're worth smiling for." He paused. "And apologizing to Armin for." He laughed a real laugh, not a smug snicker or a spiteful laugh. My heart about exploded, shattering into a thousand pieces. His perfect features were smiling, for me. I knew I was in trouble as I struggled with the fact that I had fallen in love.