I Only Have Eyes For You

The first time Eren was rejected, it was by his crush back in grade school. They weren't really rejections just embarrassingly bad moments. Eren wasn't really suave, but he wasn't a total dork. He was just a hopeless boy with a crush.

They didn't go to the same school, but that was ok. Eren got to see her when she was walking to and from her school with her friends. She was extremely pretty with her long raven hair and fair skin. Those raven locks would bounce with every graceful step they took. She was the exact opposite of him. Eren didn't think he could walk inn a straight-line, let alone look good while doing it.

She seemed like the reserved type of girl and maybe even a little bookish with the way her glasses would rest on her delicate nose. There was definitely something about her that kept Eren glued to his hiding spot in his tree house.

His mom told him that the girl sounded like a real cutie.

Boy was that an understatement.

Eren couldn't even begin to describe how he felt when he saw her raven hair appear around the corner. His friend made fun of him on occasion, because of how flustered and distracted he would get at the sight of her. Armin had brought up "accidentally" bumping into her on her way home. While it seemed like a doable idea, he didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of her friends.

"Then try on a day where she'll be alone." Armin was full of great ideas.

It was around the start of the first quarter in autumn that Eren started to feel brave. It was still warm out, and the brunet started to notice that the pretty girl had been walking by herself for the past three days. It wasn't a big deal at first, but Eren thought that this would be his chance. He would do as Armin suggested.

But, life was never that easy. Eren was a unique child. His mom was his teacher as she had home schooled him for a few years. Occasionally he went to a school where he would spend time with a tutor and play with kids his age. His mom told him it was to socialize him. His anger issues kept him from attending a normal school system until his therapy was done. It was because of this that Eren was slightly behind socially. The grade schooler understood certain social cues, but he feared he wouldn't be able to talk to this girl without making a fool of himself.

He took a leaped and crashed and burned.

The green eyed boy and rushed a crossed the street when he started to see those sleek raven locks around the corner. It wasn't the smartest idea to cross the street without looking both ways, but at least the driver was a good one and stopped before he was hit. He was called a 'fucking brat' before the older man was hitting the gas again. On a normal day it wouldn't have bothered him, but right now was not the time. The girl of his dreams, the girl he was so eager to talk was right in front of him.

She was even prettier up close.

Before the girl had a second to comment of the rude, yet justified driver, Eren's brilliant mouth blurted "Levy, I'm Eren!"

The girl's slightly thin lips formed a small frown. A look of confusion was very evident in her pretty grey eyes. Time slowed down for Eren as he began to fidget under her hard stare. His smile stretched wider on his face to take a more awkward form.

Levy was pretty, but she was also very scary.

"My name isn't Levy, its Levi."

Eren, if he was being honest with himself, never truly heard the girl of his dreams speak. Hell, the only way he got the name 'Levy' was from her friends. The loud one with the ponytail could be heard down the street. The raven hair beauty seemed to have a quieter voice, if their reserved nature was anything to go by. Levi's voice was as quiet as he thought it would be. Eren was surprised by the evenness of it. In his short life, he had only heard Mikasa have such confidence in their voice. Levi sounded so sure in themselves.

Maybe it was the fact that Levi was more of a tomboy that made it so hard for him to speak to her. She was very pretty with her delicate features and long hair. It looked so shiny and soft up close in its low pony tail. Eren took in the raven's outfit. She was wearing overalls and a shirt. Maybe her prettiness was just too much of him. He should have had Armin come with him. He didn't think he could handle this.

Eren tried to recover, but his tongue wouldn't cooperate. Instead of words, all he got was senseless babbling and hot cheeks. He was starting to feel tears stinging his eyes so he tried blinking them away. Nothing had worked in his favor. Not the approach, not the compliment he wanted to give them and not even an apology for saying the wrong name. He was making a complete fool of himself in front of his dream girl?

"Levy is my nickname. My friend calls me that sometime." Levi still had such a nice voice.

Levi turned around and continued to walk down the street. It wasn't until Eren finally got a hold of himself that Levi turned around.

"By the way, I'm a boy."

The last part was shocking. Eren had never ran into a boy that was so pretty. People made fun of Armin for looking like a girl, but Eren didn't think his best friend looked like a girl. That was new and strange.

Was it bad to think a boy was pretty?

It wasn't until high school that Eren got the courage to approach Levi again. It took time and a little help from Armin, but he found out Levi was an upper classman. Carla had enrolled him in a nearby high school. The brunet was excited for meeting new friends and…enemies. He met a boy named Jean Kirstein that was a total jerk. Everyone was nice and a character in their own right.

Eren was a little sad that he did not see Levi in the halls. While it was shocking to hear the girl he had been pinning over in his younger years had been a boy that did not change the fact that Eren still wanted to see him. The boy must have moved because he hasn't seen the boy walking home since seventh grade. He had asked Armin if he had seen Levi in school. Armin had told him that Levi was two grades above them, so they didn't share the same lunch period. His blond friend also told him that, while upper classman did not share the same core classes as them, they did share electives with them.

That's how Eren found himself taking band for beginners. The class was…ok. Nothing really stuck with him. He was always off beat and he had trouble reading music. He chose to play the saxophone. It was the only instrument that he thought was cool. It reminded him of his mom. She was a big fan of jazz.

To his luck and surprise, Levi was in his class. The boy, looking more masculine, sat in the and played with the flute section. How did he play such a hard instrument was beyond him. The older boy was also more advance than the whole class. The teacher seemed to realize that and moved him to an assistant. Most classes was spent with the class split up: one side would work with Levi and the other had their teacher. Eren never had the pleasure of working with Levi, but he did have small conversations with the boy. The raven didn't seem to remember Eren from all those years ago, but that was ok. It was an embarrassing time.

It wasn't until a year had pass that Eren was going to ask Levi to the winter dance. He didn't know how courting a boy worked. The internet wasn't that helpful, because it said it was individual base. He hoped the other was ok with flowers and chocolates.

Eren was very unimaginative.

He saw his crush sitting outside the school with his brunette friend. The girl was adamantly talking about something. They were waving their hands around and everything. Eren was ok with her audience. He would just approach and confess to his crush then ask if they wanted to go to the dance with him. He had begun taking steps towards them, but life was never on his side.

A blond walked up to them. Eren recognized him as one of the raven's friends. No big deal…he would just continu–

"Oh come on you two! Go get a room." The brunet was yelling at them; her head thrown back in laugher while the raven had a scowl on his face. The blond had his hand on the small of Levi's back. It was pretty clear what was going on there. Eren supposed it was his fault for being so stupid. Of course, Levi had a boyfriend.

Why would a gorgeous upper classman want to go out with a sophomore? Levi was in his senior year. He would be going to his senior prom. That was way better than the stupid winter dance.

"Oh, hi! Eren, over here!" Hanji, if he remembered correctly, call out to him while he was trying to retreat. The flowers and chocolates were still in his arms.

Play it cool, he thought.

"Hey, Hanji. Levi, Erwin." He gave them both a nod. Hanji was in an advance biology lab with Armin. She was the only reason why he knew anything about the raven. The green eyed boy probably knew that the girl had figured out his crush on her friend. He saw her eyeing the treats in his hand.

"Ooooo, who are those for?" Eren just shrugged his shoulders. He could feel Levi's grey eyes on him. The teen hadn't gotten much taller since they last met. Eren was going through his growth spurts. Last year he was 5'4. Now he was 5'7. His mom told him he was growing like a weed and at this rate he should be well over 6'0 feet in his twenties. Levi on the other hand was still small, still 5'3. It was really cute and Eren often fantasized about hugging him. His body would engulf the other in warmth. Levi wasn't as feminine now as he once had been. His long silky locks were cut and trimmed into a serious undercut with a part in his fringe. He no longer wore glasses, Eren guessed it was just contacts he wore at school. His frame was no longer thin, but lean. It was evident that he had broad shoulders. He looked very sturdy. Eren often saw Levi in the conditioning room, walking towards whatever sport he was a part of for the season. His face was still delicate, but it had a sharp edge to it. His eyes were no longer child-like, they were heavy lidded and observant.

He had constant bedroom eyes.

"You know horse-face chickened out asking Mikasa to the dance. He told me to leave the stuff on her dresser and say it was from a secret admirer." Eren gave a laugh at the end and hoped it sounded natural. He couldn't freak out now in front of them…not with Levi watching him like a hawk.

"Oh, well good luck with that." Hanji looked like she was slightly disappointed, but Eren ignored her. Instead he just walked as quickly – and naturally – as possible to his house. Most kids didn't hang out around the school after the final bell had rung.

Eren didn't talk to them until a couple months later at the graduation. He wasn't invited. He didn't get an invitation. He sat on the steps leading to the main entrance to the school. Mikasa was over a friend's house this weekend. Armin was helping his grandfather clean. Eren had nothing better to do than be here.

The sun was out and everything was perfect about the weather. The only thing that was bothersome were the strong gusts of wind that would blow on by every now and again. One blew right on by, whipping up his hair. He didn't register the main doors opening, but he heard the countless chatter. The graduates of Trost High were all walking down. The girls were careful walking down the concert steps, lest the trip and fall in their heels. Most of the boys were talking to each other. Parents were pausing every minute to capture the moments. Everyone was having a great time. Some of the graduates were cliquing up to take group photos.

Eren wished he didn't come here alone.

"Eren!" Hanji was making her way towards him, following her were Erwin, Levi and four adults. "What are you doing here?" Eren just shrugged his shoulders. He noticed how Levi was standing closer to Hanji than Erwin. The four adults were Erwin's and Hanji's parents, Erwin assumed. The man and woman had blond hair just like Erwin and blue eyes. It was interesting to see the family genes were strong. Hanji's parents were just as eccentric as she was. Her mom had brown hair with pink highlights through it, and Eren didn't know the gender of the other parent. There were more tone down in appearance, but Eren knew where Hanji got her crazy smile from.

"Well, since you are here could you take pictures of all of us?" She was tugging her cap down and fixing the tassel. The parents were nodding in agreement so he spent those ten minutes talking pictures of the Smith and Zoe family. Levi was in a couple of them, but he opted out of the family pictures.

Eren noticed he didn't show up with anyone.

Eren also noticed that the dark green gown was much too large on Levi's small body.

"Thank you so much, Eren." Hanji gave him a bear hug and kissed his cheek. We will be sure to visit you when you graduate!

Eren thought that would be pretty cool.

"Levi, are you coming?" It was Erwin, who asked the question.

"No, I'm just going to head home; too much social interaction for one day."

"If you say so! I love you, short munchkin. Bye Eren!" Hanji and her family took their leave Erwin's family just smiled and left. Erwin, himself however, wasn't so quick to leave. He stared back at Levi…as if waiting for something.

Nothing came and Levi was dragging Eren by his home. "Let's go brat, you're walking me home."

Eren felt his neck heating up.

Levi was touching him.

Levi was touching him!

Levi was touching HIM!

He tried to get his mind around it. He was trying to breath. He was trying to –.

"Hey," Levi was staring at him from the corner of his eye. "those flowers and chocolates weren't for your friend, were they?"

Eren didn't know how to respond. "Yea, they were."

"Cut the shit, kid. I knew you were lying. Your ears get all red when you do." There were lips on his ear. "Like now." The raven haired boy whispered.

Eren was ram rod straight after that. He continued to walk by Levi's side, but the other teen was no longer holding his hand.

"I broke it off with Erwin. He's just too perfect and I don't want 'too perfect'. I want to be with someone who is real, not some Ken doll."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Why not?" Levi was looking at him again and Eren fought really hard to not babble again.

"I…I don't know. We barely know each other and you're telling me this."

Levi didn't say anything. He did have a faint smile on his lips. It was after this that Eren realized that they were walking into an area he was not really familiar with. He knew the street names, but have never bothered walking down here. There were many apartment building and a small patch of lawn in front of them.

"You got a phone?" Eren dumbly handed it to the other teen. It wasn't until after a moment that Eren realized he never got his phone back. He looked back at Levi, who was staring right back at him. "I'm going to be moving soon. I got accepted at this college in the big city." Those grey eyes were looking down at his phone. "Hanji will be going to some big shot science school and its miles away. I don't care where Erwin is going for time being, so let's keep in touch."

He gave Eren back his phone. Their hands brush each other and Eren was sure every predator could hear his heartbeat. He felt his face getting hot, but he ignored it. "Sure, I'll be sure to tell you how exciting junior year is going to be." He laughed at his own bad joke. Levi still had his neutral expression, but Eren was hoping those upturned corners were some type of some smile.

They did keep in touch. They talked on the phone, played games together and sometimes they even Skyped. Their lives continued on. Levi told him how college life was treating him. Some people offered him some nasty stuff, but he refused. He said he knew how that stuff made people different. Eren reframed from asking about that issue further. Levi proved to be a chatter box if you let him, so Eren knew he would tell the brunet in time. Eren talked about how being kings of the school in their senior year wasn't as fun as television made it seem.

"Where's the singing, the dirty dancing, the letterman jackets?"

"What the fuck have you've been watching, kid?"

"Grease…high school musical…stuff. Does it matter?"

That led to Levi teasing him about being a wild cat for weeks. He got to talk to Hanji. Levi gave him her number. She was doing fine. She was walking in some lab assisting researchers. She was still very eccentric.

Did you ask him out yet?

She sent him that text one day.

He didn't know how to respond to it. So he didn't. It took him a few days to give her an answer. He was closer to his crush, now, more than ever. Did he really want to mess that up? Could Levi even see him that way? He was going to be graduating his senior year soon. He hasn't done anything special. Hell, he didn't even go to prom. He stayed up with Levi that night on Skype, shooting the breeze. The only thing he had done way get better at playing the saxophone. He wasn't as skilled as Levi in band, but it was something. His mom was proud of him.

His mom asked about the girl he had a crush on when he was talking about Levi. The brunet told his mom that maybe it just wasn't meant to be. The girl he liked turned out to be a boy, which was fine. He felt that he was always making a fool of himself in their presence. He knows Levi didn't remember their first meeting that day. The sign was in the stars, they were not meant to be.

His mother told him he was such a drama queen. Mikasa agreed on this too.

On the day of his graduation, he has his two best friends, Mikasa and Armin, and the adults that make his life better: his mom, Armin's granddad, and Mikasa's parents. Hanji and Levi flew out to see him graduate. Levi was out of school of the time being. He said the job he was looking for only required an associate's degree. Hanji had two more years, and she was talking about going for her master's.

They took a plenty of pictures. His mom was laughing at something Hanji said. Mikasa was talking to Annie and Armin was talking to Jean and Macro. Everyone was having a blast. It made wearing the ugly dark green cap and gown worth it. Levi was sitting next to him on a park bench. The raven was wearing a simple white bottom down and dark wash jeans. He looked so elegant to Eren.

"You really got tall on me, brat." Eren gave up trying to hide his blushing. He'll just blame his flushed face on today's exciting events

"Really, you sound jealous?"

"Please, in one hit I could bring you to your knees."

I bet you could, the brunet thought.

Eren looked around them. Parents and graduates were going to after parties and such. He didn't know were his people were, but he was sure they were close. Just like him and Levi were pretty close now. Why was he such a coward? Why couldn't he just spit it out? It shouldn't be so hard. Mikasa told Annie that she liked her, and now they are dating. It's a fifty/fifty chance. He could get his heart broken or this would make his life. The thought of him and Levi being friends was great, but the thought of them being more made his heart want to soar. He would shout it to the world, he would feel invincible, but he could also feel very defeated and lonely. Eren didn't want to jeopardize their friend ship. Levi wasn't a delicate flower not matter how his face looked like it. Levi was a kind, gorgeous, and short foul mouth individual. Levi could literally roll with the punches. So just do it!

Tell him you like him.

Tell him you like him.

I like you, Eren thought.

I like you…

I like you…

I like you

"I was thinking about moving back. There are a bunch of jobs down here and the weather is way bette –"

"I like you!"

Holy shit, he did it!

Holy shit…he…he did it. Before he could realize his mistake and apologize, he heard Levi laughing. He was full blown laughing. Eren had felt humiliated. He felt the familiar burning of tears picking at his eyes and he didn't bother blinking them away. Instead he put his head in his hands to try to hide away. This was such a stupid idea.

The brunet felt a hand on his back, rubbing circles. "Hey, Eren."

"Yes, Levi?" He didn't want to look into those beautiful grey eyes. It would hurt too much.

"Look at me." It took a great amount of effort, but Eren did as he was told. He saw Levi smiling at him.

"Did you know…did you know that I'm a boy?" Levi had a softer smile on his face.

Eren was going to reply, but all he found himself doing was laughing. He hugged the short man to his broadening chest and breathed in his shampoo.

The brunet decided that he would shout to the heavens later, but for now he will bask in Levi's scent until his friends and family come back.