I can't help it. There's something-someone- behind me, I know there is. I can't fight the urge to check the hallway behind me and glance over my shoulder. There's nothing there, but I can feel a shadow my eyes can't pick up.
My breath becomes ragged, and my steps ring in my ears as I hurry to the kitchen. It's dark, so dark, but my eyes have adjusted. Not enough to see the shadow, but enough to run.
As I round the corner and step into the kitchen, the words become louder. Victor grins, and I can feel his grin splitting his face in two. I shake my head soundlessly, and I can feel him hovering behind me. His mouth is covered in bloody bandages- when did that happen- I'm losing it. I know I am.
I crouch next to the trash can, in the corner next to the cupboard. I'm short, but I can't hide completely. I never can.
My toes tremble in my shoes. My fingers twitch, and my eyes are wide open, buried against my knee as my breath rushes in and out.
It's too close. I don't know if Eren is still awake. My parents are out, yes, but I'm dreadfully exposed. Anyone walking into the kitchen could see me as if a spotlight was aimed on me.
Victor grins. His smile shows off the blood trickling from his mouth under a mask covered in words. He steps around the kitchen sink, and I know he's found me. He always does.
I'm whimpering. Victor passes through the trash can, transparent hands reaching for me, and I scramble backwards, knocking into a cabinet. My breath covers the sound of all but the whispers, and I sprint back into the hall, feeling lightheaded.
I stop.
I know that sound.
That squeak of a sole on the floor. Eren's shoes.
No. I can't let him find me like this. Now I'm facing two enemies- one real, one not. One nice, one not.
I back away, caught. The hallway is a cage, with someone on either side. Still backing away, my breath is almost silent as I fight to gasp in oxygen. I trip, and I know it's over.
The moonlight from the door to the outside illuminates the shoes as they step around the corner and stop. I know he's seen me, the infallible Levi, lying on the floor as he trembles. I can't do anything but try to breathe as I curl into a ball, trying to hide from the inevitable.
Then he's running, and my vision is sparking as I lose the fight to breathe. My lungs make odd sounds as they try frantically to pull in air and fail. His knees thud to the ground in front of me, and I whimper. Arms circle around me, his breath ghosting over the back of my head as he asks me questions I don't understand. Grabbing my arms, he uncurls me forcefully, and I'm too weak to resist. He lays me on my back on the cold tile and holds me down, straightening my limbs until I'm splayed out like a starfish. Then he bends down and hugs me, and it's like he flipped a switch.
I begin sobbing as my lungs start working again, and his arms secure me to his chest. The world disappears until all I can feel is Eren around me, protecting me, defending me. My tears wet his shirt but he does nothing other than comfort me. Victor's gone, they're all gone, and Eren is all that remains.
It takes minutes until I stop crying. My breathing is close to normal again, and Eren gradually releases me. He doesn't talk, and I can see the concern in his eyes illuminated in the weak moonlight. "T-thank you," I whisper, voice rough, as I close my eyes.
He leans forward and hugs me again. "I just want to make sure you're alright." His voice makes his chest rumble, and I relax, too tired to move. Eren will be there. He'll protect me from the demons in my mind. He'll save me.
The last thought that flutters through my exhausted mind as he picks me up is the realization that I trust him completely.
AN: This is the first that I've written and am willing to publish. It's just a one shot of Eren and Levi, but I might expand it later or depending on feedback.