Revelation

316 14 3
                                    

Eren

"Hey there." I greeted Mikasa as I approached her standing near a vacant table in the cafe. She gave me a watery smile which melted into a surprised 'o' when I wrapped my arms around her. I felt her stiffen underneath me as I murmured "It's good to see you again."
She was still wearing that ratty old red scarf I had given her a million years ago. Who knows whether she even washed it. I felt apprehensive at the thought of the germs on that thing, and was surprised at the effect Levi's obsession with cleanliness had on me.
I pulled away only to see tears brimming in her eyes. Her lip trembled as her face became dusted with pink.
"Hey, it's okay..." I patted her head. "Just tell me what happened and you'll feel much better."
"I.." her voice broke. "I can't do this."
"What?" I held her shoulders.
Her face scrunched up even more, her nose bright red. "I can't live with myself, Eren."
I waited for an explanation, but she just shook her head morosefully. "You'll understand when I show you."
I frowned in thought, feeling pangs of anxiety. My hands drifted to my sides. "Okay."
"Just... close your eyes."
I obeyed, waiting for her to take out whatever it was from her gigantic purse kept on the table.
Nothing happened. She didn't tell me to open my eyes at all, so I stood there waiting for two minutes.
"Hey, what-"
And then her mouth was on mine.

I didn't react. I couldn't. I was paralyzed from head to toe. I was floating, and not in a good way. Shock vibrated in every nerve cell of my body.
And then all I could see in my mind was Levi.
That's when my eyes snapped open and I insinctively pushed her away. I saw a familar figure in my periphery and snapped my head to see him walking out the door.
It felt like he was walking out of my life.
"Hey, Levi!" I shouted but my voice felt weak to me. I gave one last crazed glance towards Mikasa who was staring at me with stars in her eyes and tears running down her face.
My sister just kissed me, I realized.
And Levi saw.
The next moment I was feeling the evening breeze on my face as I sprinted out on the road. It smelled like rain, and I looked up in a daze. Sure enough, black rainclouds hung low in the sky, as if watching my every move.
My eyes flitted over to the entrance of the bank, but I saw no raven head there. It would have been impossible for him to be that fast even with a head start, with his short legs and all.
For some reason the thought was incredibly funny to me and I laughed aloud like a maniac as I jumped out of the way of beeping cars and angry drivers giving me the finger.
I stumbled to a stop on the roadside and looked around in a panic, trying to see even a hint of him. Despair was catching up to me quick, but I ignored it and concentrated on any fast-moving objects.
That's when my eye caught a shoe whipping around a street corner. It was perfectly polished, and in that split second the shine was what had caught my attention.
I only knew one person like that, and I bet everything on the possibility that it was him.
I took off again, dodging passerbys and sometimes pushing them out of my way before yelling out a 'Sorry!', like that would stop them from smacking me on the back in revenge.
Soon I had Levi in my sight. He was incredibly fast and way more graceful in his movements, not even stumbling once after shouldering people aside.
We were in a dark, gloomy street now, with almost no one to be seen. I suppressed the nervousness in my gut, assuring myself that he wouldn't go anywhere dangerous.
I was breathing hard, my legs burning from the effort of keeping the shorter man in sight. I didn't thinking he had noticed me yet because he was way ahead of me, so I guessed my slower pace was an advantage.
Finally he turned another corner and after running along a couple of old buildings he disappeared through the side door of a...
Farmhouse.
Or at least it looked like one. It was low built, with the exterior made of oak, decorated with lanterns hanging by the sides of the main entrance and on hooks along the walls.
No, more like a country club.
A few people were trickling in through the main door which was guarded by a pair of bouncers, so I decided to blend in with them. Praying that I was inconspicous enough even though I was gasping for breath like a fish, I stepped through the door.
Almost. One of the bouncers blocked my path with a bulky arm, scowling. "You aren't a member."
"No, I'm a guest." I replied on impulse.
"Who's guest?"
"Levi Ackerman's." It was a risky move, but I hoped it was enough.
"Are you from the bank?"
Uh-oh.
"Yeah, but it's fine, he told me I could come."
"Well, he didn't us anything." The other bouncer, a bearded guy narrowed his eyes at me.
"No, I'll inform him once I get inside, and he'll confirm it." I was amazed at the confidence in my voice. "It's a surprise visit, you see." I added with a crooked grin.
The bouncer slowly retracted his arm. "You better not be lying."

It was dimly lit inside and the air was stuffy, and for a while I couldn't see anything except for the outlines of people sitting on tables and chairs haphazardly arranged together. There was a balcony overhead where someone was crouched, fiddling with some speakers. Someone passed by me with a tall drink in his hand.
A restaurant?
No.
Slowly my eyes adjusted and I could make out a platform at the end of the room. There were speakers at either end of it, and other machines below it.
A stage. For a performance.
What the hell was Levi doing at this concert?
I strained my eyes to catch a glimpse of him in the small crowd but it was near impossible with the darkness of that place. Everyone was settling in after grabbing snacks and what looked like wine glasses.
Deciding that I looked suspicious just by standing in one place with such a confused expression, I grabbed a seat far away from the stage. At this point almost all of the chairs were occupied, so I had no other choice.
I caught my breath and tried to listen to what the people were saying, but they were getting quieter and quieter. All of a sudden, the speakers turned on and a woman's voice yelled out. "Good daaayyyy!!!"
Everyone cheered and raised their glasses. A spotlight shone on the centre of the stage.
The woman's next words astounded me to the point where I almost gasped out loud.
What the hell is this??
__________________________________
Levi

My breath escaped in a puff through my mouth as I adjusted my shirt collar. The bandages on my eyes made everything translucent, but that didn't matter in this dim place anyway.
"Ready, Levi?" Hanji turned to me, placing her glasses on a counter and smoothed the bandages on her own eyes.
"You better be." Mike muttered beside me. "You called us on such a short notice. We barely managed to come here on time."
"Yeah, thanks for coming you, you two." I was genuinely grateful that they were here with me.
"What's with with the spontaneity anyway? You always plan these a week before."
"Now's not the time, shitface. And remember what song I told you to play. Who knows, maybe you can't process sudden information properly."
"All right, shortie." Mike bumped me on the shoulder. I started to give him a glare but realised he wouldn't be able to see it and kept my face neutral.
"Showtime." Hanji grinned and grabbed a backstage mike. "Good day!!" She shouted, stretching the 'day' unnecessarily.
We heard muffled whoops of the crowd.
"Thank you for coming to hear No Name rock the stage once more!! It's a pleasure to have you all here. Presenting the vocalist- Levi Ackerman, the drummer- Mike Zacharias and the guitarist- Zoë Hanjiiii!!!"
The crowd yelled louder this time, making the knots in my stomach tighter. But I was done being nervous. This was exhilaration.
On cue, the three of us strode onto the stage. The claps were deafening but I didn't mind. Mike took a seat behind his drums and Hanji picked up her guitar, strumming it a few times.
I walked over to the spotlight, dragging the mike along with me and took my position. As soon as I did the audience screamed, mostly the girls, waving wildly like they expected me to wave back.
"Kneel down, you pigs." I commanded and the women including some men went wild as the ones standing actually dropped to the floor, their faces similar to tomatoes.
"No, I'm not gonna sing this one today." I almost smirked at their dumbfounded expressions. "I'm currently in the mood for..." I glanced at the sound engineer Isabel below the stage and nodded, signalling for her to begin. She gave me a thumbs up.
The audience whispered excitedly to each other, trying to guess what song it would be.
This is for you, Eren. You asshole.
My throat tightened as the memory of him kissing the girl popped up in my head, annoyingly vivid. I started to feel the pain welling up and pushed it down quickly. Not today. Not when I was here. The place I could call home.
The place where I was free.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!!" Hanji screamed. "Grab your tissues, or your partners, or grab both!!!"
The beat started as the audience whooped once more.
___________________________
As Hanji threw herself into the performance, she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her friend. Erwin had told her about their conservation right before Levi's urgent call for the concert. She'd thought that he would be with Eren now, and they'd be confessing their love for each other.
She shook her head, chiding herself for thinking like a schoolgirl. To everyone else she was just moving her head in tune to the beat.
___________________________________
This song didn't require very fast movements for Mike, so he allowed himself to be distracted by thinking about the mysterious turquoise-eyed brunette who'd changed Levi so much. He'd always seen him as the angry midget of the group, being very tall himself. But since the young man's arrival he'd become much calmer, and you could see how his eyes brightened when he saw Eren.
Neverthless, those two are the most dense people I've ever seen, so I hope to god that they'll be together soon.
___________________________
Levi looked on as hands jumped in the air in ecstasy, the warm air pressing on him from all sides. The comfortingly chaotic sounds enveloped him from all directions, and he completely lost himself in it.

The CEOWhere stories live. Discover now