Love Me Not - {riren au}

Love Me Not ~ 3

Once Eren walked into the bookstore, he was met with a few employees. He knew most of them since they went to his high school. A majority of them were high school and college students. It made sense, since it was a very flexible job to have with a school schedule. It was also a good summer job for those leaving to college in the fall.

"First full day, excited?" Sasha asked as she stood behind the counter.

"Excited? I don't think anybody wants to work." Eren teased, greeting a few other employees as he walked.

"Only Sasha would ask if someone was excited to work." Jean rolled his eyes as he walked passed Eren and to the counter.

"Ew, I thought I'd never have to see you again." Eren smirked slightly and crossed his arms.

"This isn't my ideal situation either, asshole. I started working here first though." Jean looked in a bin under the register with all of the returns. He took the bin and left to put the books back on the shelves.

"Yeah, only after you got into debt." Sasha mumbled, causing Jean to glare back at her.

"I'm not in debt!" Jean called back before finally disappearing behind a shelf.

"He is." Sasha whispered, laughing softly.

"I'm gonna go clock in. Am I still training with you on register?" Eren asked.

"Yeah, that's what the boss said." Sasha shrugged. "Also don't forget your name tag!" She called after Eren as he walked away.

Eren went into the break room, clocking in. He took his sweater off and threw it in his locker while picking up his name tag. He pinned it to his shirt and went back to the counter.

"So, is today me ringing people up while you watch again?" Eren asked, starting to scan a book a customer just put up on the counter.

"Yeah, basically. I love training, now I don't have to do anything." Sasha reached underneath the counter and pulled out a bag of chips. She began eating them as Eren completed the transaction.

"Lazy." Eren teased, bagging the book and handing it to the customer along with a receipt after they paid. "Have a nice day."

-

Eren's first full shift was almost over. He was ready to go home and by that time, it was eight at night. The sun was almost gone and all that was left was a cool summer breeze.

The teen organized the counter and was cleaning when Jean came with a stack of books.

Eren was confused and watched as he plopped them on the counter.

"Some guy is coming up to buy all of these. This isn't all of them." Jean walked away once he spoke.

Eren nodded and ducked underneath the counter to get bags. He heard footsteps approaching and stood back up. He froze when he saw the person in front of him. Every thought in his head disappeared. He went blank. It was Levi Ackerman. He watched as Levi set more books on the counter and waited silently.

The teen practically stared the man down as he scanned each book and bagged them. What did he say? Did he pretend that he didn't know who he was? The thought of having to talk to Levi made him anxious.

There he was.. he looked the same. Same jet black hair and gray eyes. Same undercut that young Eren would wonder felt like against his fingertips. A few more muscles, same height. Eren was a few inches taller than Levi now, when back then it was the opposite.

"You good?" Levi asked, snapping Eren out of his trance. It seemed Levi didn't recognize him. Unless he did but didn't want to say anything.

Eren started scanning the books quickly, keeping his head down. "I'm fine, thanks for asking." He said quietly.

Levi didn't say anything in response and waited.

Eren bagged the books and looked at the total. His eyes went wide as he saw the total. Almost a hundred dollars. "Um..$92.68."

"Alright." Levi took his debit card out and swiped it.

Where was Sasha when Eren needed him? Of course she disappeared. He grabbed the receipt once it printed out and held it out to the man. "Have a nice evening." He said, gaze still low.

Eren hadn't made eye contact with Levi at all.

Levi glanced at his name tag. He did a double take once he saw the name. He thought it was Eren, but didn't want to assume. The spelling was unique, so it had to be the Eren that got all mushy four years ago and confessed his love. "You too, Eren." He smirked lightly as he turned and left the book store.

Once the man left, he hid underneath the counter for a moment to regain his composure. Levi was in the bookstore. He bought almost a hundred dollars worth of books. Did Levi remember him? Why was he excited?

His excitement faded when he realized that the man could've just read his name tag.

Eren wasn't important. There was no reason for Levi to remember him, and if he did remember him, it would be to make fun of him for what happened in the past.

-

Levi thought the kid looked familiar, but was surprised to see it was Eren. He was taller, which he despised, but didn't want to admit that to himself. Other than height, he did look the same, he just wasn't expecting to see him. The fact that the man ringing him up was Eren surprised him, didn't make sense. Of course Eren still lived in the town. It was a common bookstore as well. A lot of teenagers worked there.

Eren did get more attractive. He assumed that everyone was on him. Mikasa didn't talk about him when he saw her at family gatherings. Why would she though? A part of him had also expected Mikasa and Eren to get together. They weren't related, but Mikasa did call Eren her brother after all.

Levi barely showed to the events himself. He hated the mushy family time. He wouldn't have cared about whatever Mikasa said about Eren. He only went to the most recent event due to his friend Hanji making him.

Hanji ranted to him about how family was important. She had no family anymore and wished she could spend time with her family one last time. She said she'd accompany Levi if he was really that uncomfortable with going alone. (Quick a/n: last chapter I said he went with a ginger, I changed it and made it Hanji sorry for the confusion!)

Levi had to prove to his friend that he was definitely not uncomfortable with going. He just didn't want to. They ended up going and half of his family was convinced that they were dating.

-

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