Ordinary Hero (Attack on Titan // LeviHan)

Chapter Seven

It took  a little while for us to re-navigate our way to Hanji’s apartment. Thanks to the wrong turn I missed, neither Hanji or I had any idea where we were or how to get to our destination. Luckily, due to our determination and slight cooperation, we found ourselves back on the right track – of course, I had a few run-ins like I did before. We almost ended up crashing into the person ahead of us, who I swore must’ve been going below the speed limit. After the first incident, I tried to keep my anger to myself, since I didn’t particularly want another scolding from Hanji. Along with her scolding came plenty of teasing, and I wasn’t up for that again. Every so often, I found myself honking the horn once or swearing under my breath. Then, I’d receive a glare from Hanji, and I knew that it was my cue to calm down. Eventually, after fifteen to twenty minutes and plenty of bickering about which routes to take, Hanji and I found ourselves in the parking lot of her apartment building. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair, turning the engine off. I looked over at Hanji, who let out a single laugh. “We made it,” she exhaled.

“Yeah, we made it,” I added, shaking my head. I opened my car door and stepped out, Hanji following me shortly after. She took the lead this time, walking just slightly ahead of me as we headed in the direction of the building. “Okay, we’re just gonna go in, grab what we need, and head back out. No offense, but I don’t really wanna spend my afternoon here,” I commented, grimacing as I looked the building up and down. I held my hand up to my eyes to shield it from the sun so I could get a better view. It was about six stories high, painted a hideous pale peach color. The paint job was horrible, chipping away and revealing a minty green color underneath.

Hanji shrugged, turning back to face me as we rounded to corner to the main door that led into the building. “None taken, I hate spending time here as well. I hated having to claim that this was where I lived. Maybe the whole ‘pay your rent or you’ll get kicked out’ was a blessing, not a curse. Besides, now you’re letting me stay with you!” she laughed under her breath, smiling. Her smile was nice, she wasn’t subtle when it came to smiling. Her cheeks rose up, her eyes closing. I almost had to turn away, but luckily Hanji handled that for me. We had come to the main door, and she reached to grab the door. She held it open for me, and I felt a bit stupid. It was typically the guy who was supposed to hold the door open for the girl, and now it was the reverse. I should have been a gentleman and insisted on holding it open for her. Maybe I could do that for her next time.

The first thing I noticed when we walked inside was the man sitting behind the counter. He had dingy blonde hair that hung in front of his eyes which was in desperate need of a wash. A cigarette hung from his lips, held up and balanced between his pointer and middle finger. He pulled the object from his mouth, breathing out and releasing a puff of smoke into the air as he squished the cigarette into the ashtray next to him. He was wearing an faded navy blue suit with the tie hanging loosely from his neck. I glanced over to Hanji and furrowed my brows together, as if silently asking her if he was aware of our presence or not. Instead, I saw Hanji standing as still as a statue, petrified. Her eyes were about as wide as those of a deer caught in a car’s headlights. She took my hand in her own shaky one, and motioned for me to follow her, her brown eyes never leaving the man at the desk. She took a few steps toward the staircase and I followed clumsily behind her, until she stepped on a creaky board.

Hanji cringed at the sound, and the man stood up from his desk. “Well, what do we have here? Miss Zoe?” he asked, stepping out from behind the desk and up to Hanji and I. He stood in front of us, crossing his arms over his chest. He had several inches on me, and even a few on Hanji. My eyes darted over to Hanji, who stood there with her head tilted down. Her eyes were glued to the floor, and her shoulders were hunched, nearly touching her ears. I wouldn’t be surprised to find her tail between her legs, she looked like a puppy getting yelled at. “It’s been months, Zoe. Where’s your rent?” he questioned, leaning in and glaring at Hanji. He seemed to act as if I wasn’t even there.