ONE ʙʏ ONE

ᴏɴᴇ

The sky turned as stormy as the raven's eyes—eyes that were fixated on brunette locks. The lecture was lost in the stare. Levi Ackerman, the dark figure, found his new obsession when he transferred to Maria High. Falling for Eren Yeager the moment the confident boy protected him.

Lightning struck in the distant horizon, causing Eren to twitch heavily. His right arm jerked as if the electricity hit it. Luckily, his desk was against the wall, so nobody in the class noticed the habit. Well, nobody except for Levi, who was sitting behind him.

"You twitch." Levi pointed out in his mind. "You twitch in fear." His slender fingers wanted to reach out and comfort his crush. "I'm behind you. Turn around, and I'll hide you. I'll keep you."

Biting his tongue, he resisted the urge to wrap his arms around the shaking boy. What drew Levi's attention to a bright-eyed optimist? You would think the looks, the scent, the personality. It was a psychopathic bond of 'just because'.

The bell rang, signaling third lunch to head to the cafeteria. The corners of his mouth tugged as Eren turned.

"You wanna just go to the library today?" The boy beamed, rolling his backpack onto his shoulders. Levi copied him by instinct and nodded silently.

They sat for a moment to let the hallways clear out before taking to the library. Eren held his backpack strap in one hand while the other dangled by his side. It drove Levi crazy. He had to shove his hand into his pocket to stop the urge.

Another crackle of lightning sounded from outside. Once again, Eren jolted, this time yanking his shoulder bladed forwards. It was a huddling movement that triggered annoyance in Levi. Eren's face heated up in embarrassment from the tendency.

He hated what his father had trained him to do. If he could only stay still, he wouldn't freak out other kids.

"I know it's none of my business," Levi remarked, running a pale hand through his mane, "But how long have you had that twitch?"

Eren's featured darkened, despite the fake smile plastered on his face. "I'm not sure. I wish it'd go away. Jean's been mocking me since middle school, Marco too."

Levi mentally wrote the names down for future reference. It was just in case he needed a reason to put them in their place. Taking his chance, Levi pulled his hand out of his pocket and laid it on Eren's shoulder in a friendly way.

"Don't listen to assholes. They only talk shit." He reassured, lightly squeezing Eren's arm.

"Thanks, Levi."

The library was mostly empty—a few students here and there. No one was going to bother them because they were too focused on finishing homework due that day. The two retreated to their corner that was hidden by two large bookcases of classic fantasy novels.

Eren crashed onto his beanbag, slinging his bag to the side. Levi sat on his chair and hung his feet on a shelf.

"What do you want to do for the free period? I was thinking we sneak into the computer lap and play Battleship." Eren suggested, adjusting his seat clumsily.

The shorter male was too lost in thought to notice the voice. He was planning something a little different—Something with revenge. Eren called his name twice before finally getting a reaction.

Levi hummed and blurted, "Oh, sorry. What were you saying?"

"Free period? Computer lab? Battleship?" Eren rephrased.

"Yeah, sounds good, but if shitty glasses is in there, we're heading to the front office. I know a guy there that'll let us stay."

The brunette noticed the tranced gaze in Levi's eyes. The raven was on a different planet of his own.