A/N: Hi hi! I know it's been long since the last update and maybe you care or not about the reasons as to why I haven't updated this in a long time. If you care, proceed to read, if not, it's okay, just skip over to the chapter.

I've had this third chapter (and fourth) drafted on my pc for the longest possible, and I intended to keep on writing chapter drafts just to see what direction I'll be taking things, but then my pc crashed, and I could not, for the life of me, afford to get it fixed. I've been sitting for my entire summer break last year without a pc, was not able to write anymore, and so my interest slowly died, not only in this fanfic, but also in SnK in general, and so when I finally got my pc fixed, I was way out of the SnK fandom to get myself to keep writing this. But as it is I finally brought myself to catch up on the manga again, I went back and started reading the drafts I abandoned for months, and it sparked my need to resume working on this. I literally changed just a few words here and there, as I ended up quite liking how the first draft came out. Excuse me if it's a little crappy in comparison to the previous chapters. Hopefully you forgive my long, unpardonable disappearance.

Enough with the rambling now. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you, everyone who followed and fav'ed and reviewed, it definitely helps out a lot.

FORBIDDEN

CHAPTER III: Breaking Boundaries

"Your test will be tomorrow and I won't accept any excuses. You either get good grades or you don't ever show up to my class again. Am I clear?" Harsh tone colored each word he spoke. A horrifying glare was being sent at the students, drawing cautiousness and nervousness among them, with the exception of one, particular student, who always looked nothing but indifferent about his statements. Cold gaze meeting the other's as silence settled down.

She's been doing this a lot, he thought, staring. Not that she hadn't stared at him before, but the way she was doing it for the past week was quite… interesting.

Carefulness became his all-time wear ever since the incident in the infirmary. Drawing attention to him -her attention, specifically- wasn't going to do him any good. A man in his thirties should know better to consider his actions before committing them. Though, when it came to Mikasa Ackerman, he no longer was a man in his thirties. Childish, clumsy, lightheaded, or so the way her aura made him. His self-restrain would threaten to break at any moment, foolish words never stopped dancing at the edge of his tongue, and perhaps by now he had made a few slips he regretted, such as offering her another ride, which she declined, and it could have all been forgotten, had she not pointed out how people could get the wrong idea.

His heart had skipped a beat at such words coming from her of all people.

He'd been so careful ever since, glancing at her less than he used to, even trying to spend more of his free time with other teachers. Most of them didn't really like talking to him, probably because he scared them the same way he did his students, though there was that one teacher; Petra Ral. She was an art teacher, nice, friendly, and most importantly, the most loved teacher in high school; perfect. Levi wasn't a man who would spend a lot of time in a woman's company, and he figured it was the reason he felt so frustrated by Mikasa's presence. When most of the women he'd met would look away from him, she didn't. She returned the exact same glare he aimed, and she wouldn't move her gaze away until the bell rang or Eren called her.

Petra, on the other hand, didn't look at him that way, but she'd smile and greet him when he passed by her classroom. She'd ask for his help to carry some boxes out of her car sometimes too, and she was the only teacher who ever talked to him so openly. There was Hanji as well, but she had a different way of treating him than Petra.

Levi wanted a distraction, no, he needed it, and he believed that spending time with any other woman would be enough of a distraction for him, enough for those strange feelings to disappear and vanish for good. He didn't want to deal with them anymore. It was frustrating and confusing, and he hated feeling frustrated and confused about his own feelings.

He'd noticed slight changes in her for the last few days. She'd stare less at Eren, and spend a lot of time with her friend, Armin, or her classmate, Sasha. Something must have happened between them. Normally, Mikasa would be inseparable from Eren.

Only when he was passing by a couple of students did he hear about Eren dating one of the girls, whom he forgot her name anyway. Was that it? So they weren't in love after all? What a relief! Indeed, he'd felt a rush of relief spread through him at the news, as if god above had given him a chance he didn't ask for in the first place. Confusion started to leak back into his mind, and to add up to it, Mikasa passed by, at that same moment, throwing a swift gaze at him, only for a smile to settle upon her pink, small lips. Did she smile? He doubted his eyes.

During class, his heart would tremble uncontrollably at her presence. Sometimes he'd even forget what he was about to write on the board, and as a payback for making him forget, he'd call her to write herself, and occasionally Eren, who'd be distracted looking out the window or whispering something to Jean. He'd sit at his desk and she'd take the marker from his hand, fingers lightly brushing his in the process, and she'd start writing. He'd stare at her sneakily from the corner of his eyes, and at some point, he could see her glance at him too, which would double the speed his heartbeats were at. What a strange, yet a lovely feeling! Exciting and tempting, for each time he gazed at her he'd wonder whether she'd gaze back at him, as if it were some kind of a mind game.

So childish of him, definitely, but then again he never got to be childish even when he was a child.

"Is there something you want to say, Mikasa?" She had stopped by his desk after the bell rang. Everyone else left the classroom but the two of them, but she'd been silent for a couple of minutes now and he was growing impatient.

"Actually I was going to ask you the same thing, Mr. Levi." She responded, biting her lip before continuing, "You know… I've noticed a few things and…" His pulse raced with each word she said, and he was fighting to keep his calm in front of her, "You always stare at me and sometimes that makes me wonder… Am I doing something that is bothering you?"

"No, it's not that." He answered simply, leaving more room to other questions to invade her mind.

"So?" She insisted, "If you're not angry with me, then what's with all the staring?"

"Don't you have other classes to attend?" He was avoiding her question.

"It's break time, Mr. Levi." She said, reminding him of the fact that he seemingly forgot.

Shit! He cursed silently.

"I still have plenty of time to talk."

"Mr. Levi!" Petra suddenly called from the door, "I hope you're not busy…" She asked, her eyes on Mikasa.

"No, Ms. Ackerman was just about to leave." He said before pushing away from his chair, gathering his belongings, "Don't forget your homework, Ackerman, and study hard for the test tomorrow." He added before picking his bag and walking over to Petra.

"Are we ready to leave, then?" Petra inquired.

"Sure." Levi gave a nod as the two walked out of the classroom, leaving Mikasa inside.

His treatment made her blood boil, the way he decided to ignore her now of all times, after all the times she had caught him staring at her, and not just in the classroom. Sometimes even during the break, or when leaving the school grounds, he'd be around pretending to be preoccupied by other things, when his eyes would watch her secretly. She still managed to catch him eyeing her from afar a few times. She'd wondered what those gazes meant, why he was looking at her specifically, of all students. Something had changed, ever since that day he took her to his apartment, or had it always been like this and only now did she notice? Because her mind was no longer thinking about Eren, she managed to notice more things? And if that were the case, she wondered for how long now had he been watching her, for how long had he been sending her those curious gazes without her awareness?

She was starting to look at him more often; precisely just to note the number of times he'd glance at her a day, but recently she'd been staring at him because she wanted to, because she grew used to it and because every time she looked at him, she'd discover a new thing on him. He was actually really short, which she knew before, but didn't really pay attention to, but now that she noticed it again, she found it strangely adorable.

One time she shot him a glance, and he was running his palm over his dark hair, his bangs pushed back then falling on his forehead again, and her heart pumped at the beauty that displayed in front of her. He usually wore a grumpy face, a scary one, or so most of the students thought, but she realized that his eyes were actually pretty. They were narrow, half-lidded, which made his stare all the more compelling. She couldn't tell exactly what color they were, and she found it strange that she hadn't noticed that yet, but perhaps taking a closer look at him sometime would be nice. One day she saw him carrying a few boxes to his car, his sleeves were rolled up, which gave her eyes access to see his muscled arms, and she wondered if he exercised often at the gym. She wondered if she'd ever meet him by accident there if she decided to go as well.

He was her teacher, but she was allowed to think like that about him. She wouldn't be the only student on earth who had a crush on her teacher, although having a crush on him, specifically; she must be the first one.

And she wished it only stopped at that, but lately her eyes would land on places she'd rather not stare at in public, in front of all her classmates. Eren had once caught her staring at him, and she prayed for dear god he hadn't noticed where she was looking. She was caught off guard by the way his lips moved as he explained the lesson to them, and she knew he noticed her glancing at him but she could care less. Eren had been the only boy who kissed her, and when she thought about it, she wasn't sure whether to call it a kiss or not, since he was thinking of someone else while he kissed her, but she did wonder what it would feel like if she kissed someone other than Eren, someone like, say, Levi. That was wrong, so wrong to think about and she knew, but it wasn't like she would kiss him anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to think about it, right?

Perhaps in her dreams she would.

Oh, speaking of dreams

Her dreams normally revolved around Eren, nothing sweet or happy, just plain nightmares of him shutting her down, rejecting her feelings and turning his back on her, which he did, in the end. But now her dreams focused more on something entirely different. After having spent a long day staring at her teacher, in her sleep she'd finally get the opportunity to do more than just staring. She'd see herself holding his hand, tracing his well-defined jaw with the tip of her finger, messing his soft, shadowy hair up and watching what expression he'd make closely. Her recent dreams, however, were beyond just fluffy moments she shared with her teacher. It started by making out on his desk, to touching him inappropriately, and she'd wake up in the middle of the night panting, half-satisfied and half-frustrated. After all, he was her teacher and she was his student, and as far as her dreams could go, sharing such moments with him would get her in big trouble.

Oh, she'd lied about it to Eren already, and she hadn't told him it was a lie, yet. She wondered if it would even be a lie when she'd finally decide to tell him. She was fantasizing about her teacher anyway, and in her dreams, she slept with him already.

A part of her refused to tell Eren it was a lie, just to see what sort of expression he'd make when their teacher was around, but a part of her also didn't want to tell him, because she loved the idea of having something going with her teacher. As wrong as it sounded, she liked it, because it was risky, challenging, all the things she was down for. It wouldn't really be a problem for her to try and approach her teacher as more than just his clever student. Those stares he aimed at her often must mean there is something going in his mind about her, or how she liked to assume anyway. But if she were to really make a move, it would probably be easy enough. Levi surely looked like the inapproachable, tough kind of guy, but he also used foul language around her, and it didn't seem like he was one to hold back from something he wanted, because she believed he wanted her.

But she wouldn't try something before making sure what all those glances were about, and what other way could she know other than just straight up ask him? It didn't really make her feel nervous, hesitant, or anything of that sort. She never was hesitant about things that involved what almost everyone else was intimidated by. Most of her classmates wouldn't dare say a word back to their teacher—no, they wouldn't even dare look directly into his eyes, but she did and she enjoyed every bit of it. She'd love to see what he was going to do to her for such behaviors, but he normally just brushed it off, shot her a couple of glares before turning to write on the board. His lips at a point would part, as if he would say something to her, but they'd shut instantly.

Did she intimidate him?

Or was it that she was really special to him that he'd blind himself from the rebellious manners she maintained around him?

Both would be nice, in all honesty.

She'd decided that once all the students were out, she'd stay and talk to him, ask him if there was a reason as to why he always looked at her the way he did, but he refused to answer her, and even looked for a way out. He was lucky—too lucky Ms. Ral, their art teacher, arrived, and he used that chance to run away without giving her a proper answer.

So there really was something, something rather more than just glaring at the student who'd talk back to him. He wasn't really good at hiding it, because if it had been otherwise, he would have been more direct with her, which he wasn't, much to her satisfaction. How fun it would be to mess around and see him get all flustered and confused, embarrassed and clueless because he was but a fool, old man who could be serious and wear a grumpy face all while doing his job, but become clumsy when someone tried to dig into the depth of his heart.

So he had a heart after all!

Of course he did. He was only human, one who didn't grow up as a kid should. He wasn't taught how to express his feelings, or deal with them. He wasn't taught how to be a gentleman and impress women. The little things he learned were the basics that one needed to know in order to live independently. He was taught how to cook, how to do laundry, how to cut his hair on his own, how to drive a car, how to read and how to fight to defend himself. But no one ever taught him about love, and how confusing it was, or how insecure it would make him feel, despite being at this age. He wasn't taught what love was, that he couldn't even tell if he were in love. He knew it wasn't a lustful desire at least, for he never really had inappropriate thoughts about her; if anything, just a chance to stroke her hair or maybe her cheek, but nothing more. Her presence alone was enough. Seeing her attending his class and sitting in her place was satisfying and he wouldn't ask for more. Talking to her was too much, especially when it didn't involve things in relation to math. But as much as he hated all those weird feelings he'd get when talking to her, he loved them at the same time, because only she could make him feel that way.

He'd seen her sitting with Armin during the break. Petra had forgotten to bring a book and he had to wait for her while she went to get it. And as usual, his eyes searched around for her. The way she'd made his heart pound just moments ago, only thinking about it made his heart race even faster. He'd seen Eren approaching them, it was about time that idiot apologized to his friends, and he'd seen them hugging for a while. Petra didn't take too long before she arrived, and she was carrying some boxes with her. He'd thought she forgot a book! But he offered her help anyways. Her car was being fixed and thus she asked him if he could drive her home on his way since they'd both leave at the same time today, and he couldn't say no. She'd been nice to him and that was the least thing he could do to thank her. And he even owed her one, for she was the one to help him get out of the maddening situation Mikasa was putting him in.

For once, he didn't want to face reality. For once, it scared him, confused him, and he was at loss for words. He was caught, and she of all people noticed. Of course she noticed; it wasn't really something he worked hard to hide. He didn't even try to hide it, for he knew she was normally too busy with Eren to even notice him glancing at her more than she'd know. But he'd also noticed how she changed. How she wasn't around Eren as much, how she wasn't so sad or upset anymore, and how now, even she started returning those curious gazes at him.

When he got back home that day, he had a quick meal and a shower, then sat on the couch where she had fallen asleep once before, and he'd thought what things would be like if she were to lie on the couch beside him now, resting her head in his lap while he stroked her hair to sleep. The chances of her coming to his place anymore were so low if not nonexistent. But he'd enjoyed her presence at his place anyway, even if it would never happen again.

"You look so lost." Armin pointed out, sneaking a suspicious peek at Mikasa over his book, "Are you sick?"

"No". She answered.

Eren put his own book down and glanced up at her, "You've been doing that a lot, you know; losing yourself in thought." And he gave her a look as if trying to tell her he knew what it was all about.

"I'm just… I'm a bit tired. That's all." She explained, in hopes for them to believe her, or at least Armin, since Eren knew better not to.

"You know, there are a couple of things that could make you so absent-minded. You either did something wrong and you're thinking how to fix it before anybody notices, or…" Armin paused.

"Or…?" She insisted for him to continue.

"You're in love." He finished and the way her eyes widened said enough to him.

Eren, however, sent her a pointed look. As much as he loved her, he really hated knowing that she had a thing going with their teacher. It was so wrong, so wrong and he couldn't possibly stay silent about it forever.

"Which one is it then, Mikasa?" Armin broke the silence, and she looked him in the eyes, hesitant about answering.

Both. She wanted to say, but she wasn't sure about her own feelings, whether she really was in love, for all she'd be thinking about were naked pictures of her teacher. She was more or less lusting for him, but wouldn't really call it love. "It's neither." She finally answered, and she wasn't practically lying either. She wasn't in love, and she didn't do anything nasty, at least not yet.

"So I'm wrong? Weird! I wonder what's keeping your mind busy then." He smiled faintly, hoping he'd get an answer but she only lowered her head and looked at her book.

"You guys, we have a math test tomorrow. We shouldn't be wasting our time." Eren snapped suddenly, "Mr. Levi will kick all of us out of his class if we fail."

"Speak for yourself, Eren." Mikasa huffed, her dark irises eyeing him coldly between thin lashes.

"She's right! Mikasa and I aren't the ones having trouble solving math problems, Eren." Armin seconded her statement, more or less trying to tease his friend.

"Then why don't you both shut the fuck up and help me study. What the hell kind of friends are you, making fun of me?" Eren furrowed his brows at the two of them in irritation.

"Well, for one, we had to wait for almost two hours before you arrived because you had to go out with Annie, so it isn't really our fault." Mikasa shot, arms crossed against her chest.

"I wonder what you were doing for two hours." Armin mumbled, and Eren's face turned bloody red instantly, "Was it your first time?"

"The hell are you talking about? We were watching a movie, I told you!" Eren shouted in defense.

"We're supposed to be studying but we're doing something entirely else. You were supposed to watch a movie, and you could have ended up doing something else as well." Armin implied, and Eren's blush darkened, "So long as you use protection, I don't really see a problem, unless you guys haven't planned for it."

"I can't believe we're talking about this. I thought we were friends." Eren rested his face on the table, dropping the pen and sighing deeply.

"Sorry, I'm just teasing you. Don't get mad, Eren." Armin said, patting his friend's back.

"I hate you." The boy said, though didn't actually mean those words.

"Alright, seriously, now we shouldn't waste our time. Let's help Eren with his struggle a bit." Mikasa suggested, and Armin nodded.

"About damn time you remembered to help me." Eren finally lifted his head off the table, pen in his hand again.

"Here, give me your notebook. I'll show you!" Armin held his hand out, but Eren kept his notebook away.

"No way! I'm going to try and solve the problems on my own. You just tell me if I got the results right or wrong." Eren said with an insisting tone.

"Yes, but if I don't show you the correct way to solve the problems then…"

"I'll figure it on my own." He insisted still.

"What do you need our help for then?" Armin sighed, his hand retreating. He should have gotten used to Eren's hot-headedness by now.

"Just do as I say, okay? Please?" He begged in a pleading tone, and both Mikasa and Armin eyed each other as if they had just lost a fight. He always used that tone to convince them with whatever he had in mind, and it always worked on them.

"Okay, fine. Do ask if you don't understand something, though." Mikasa warned him.

"I will, thanks guys!" He smiled and looked down at his notebook, so determined to solve the problems he'd been struggling with for an hour now, yet not planning on giving up any time soon.

"Kids, what do you want for dinner?" Carla entered the room suddenly, a big smile upon her lips as she watched the friends studying together.

"Mac and cheese." Eren answered.

"Well, I was thinking maybe your friend Armin would pick, since he's the guest here." The mother replied, looking over at Armin.

"A-Ah, thank you, aunt Carla, but I'm fine with anything. Your food's always delicious and reminds me with my mother's." Armin said shyly.

"I'm flattered. So Mac and cheese it is?" She asked again to confirm, and all three of them nodded, "Alright. Dinner will be ready soon! Study well, kids!" She turned around and left, closing the door behind her.

"When are your parents coming back, by the way?" Mikasa inquired, looking at Armin.

"In roughly two months, I guess. It's not bad living with my grandpa, though, and if they're having a good time, they can stay away as much as they want so long as they don't forget they have a son." Armin chuckled.

"But no one can ever replace your parents." Mikasa said in almost a whisper, and Eren and Armin's gazes fixed on her immediately. "I need to go to the bathroom. Excuse me." She put her pen down and stood up, leaving the room in a rush.

"That's right. Her parents' anniversary is next month, isn't it?" Armin asked, seeming to understand why Mikasa had said that.

"Yeah… I almost forgot. If I say something stupid to her, you'd better tell me so I can apologize." Eren said with a very serious tone.

"Don't worry, I will." Armin reassured him with a smile. "What do you say if we go out together this weekend, just the three of us? We can try and cheer her up a bit." He suggested.

"That sounds cool. We can do that. But first, we'd better pass that math test tomorrow." Eren went back to focus on the problem he was solving, and so did Armin after him.

Tomorrow came sooner than expected. Stress was written over most of the students' faces, some were determined, however, like Eren, who had been studying for the test so hard, and some weren't really concerned for it, like Mikasa and Armin.

Levi walked by the desks, handing the students their papers, his eyes entertained by all those terrified expressions almost everyone was making, their hands shaking as they proceeded to grab the paper and read it, and as usual, only one student wore a dull expression, Mikasa.

She leaned against her seat, arms and legs crossed, dark eyes staring into his, a few strands of hair falling over them, and that beautiful image blinded him from seeing Connie's foot stretching underneath his desk, and he tripped, accidentally dropping the rest of the papers he was holding. Luckily he managed to balance himself in time, though the subjects scattered on the floor, and everyone stared at him awkwardly.

His glare turned to Connie then, who was trembling in utter horror, "Springer!" his tone was loud, and Connie could swear demonic flames were glowing in his eyes, "Perhaps you'd like to stretch your legs on your way out of my class."

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Levi." Connie got up from his chair and held his hand out to grab the scattered papers all over the floor, "Please forgive me! I didn't get enough sleep last night because I was studying. Please don't kick me out."

"Back to your seat." He sent him a threatening glare and the boy retreated, sitting back on his chair. He then sighed and turned to see the entire class eyeing him, and he huffed, his glare sharpening, "If you're staring at me, it better be because my face has the answers to your test." He shouted at the students and they all buried their eyes back into their papers as he leaned down to gather the scattered ones, and as his hand reached to pick another one, he saw someone's hand reach to it before his, and when he looked up, it was hers.

She sat in front of him, picking the dispersed papers on the floor, and the way her hair kept falling to her front was distracting him. He'd try so hard to look away, to ignore how pretty she was in that uniform of hers. It was the same uniform every other girl at high school wore, but it looked so beautiful on her. His hand reached to pick the last paper, only for hers to grab the other end of it, and they sat there as their gazes joined, staring at each other in complete silence. She decided to let go of it and hand him the ones she gathered, and he took them, the two of them standing up. "Thanks." He murmured.

"No problem." And she answered, returning to her seat.

Levi continued to lend the rest of students their papers, now trying harder not to lose his focus, and once he was done, he returned to his desk and sat down on his chair, watching the students. Everyone was concentrated on solving the subject and they couldn't possibly get the chance to look around them. They were way too occupied to even have time for that, which assured him, for he could stare at Mikasa all he wanted.

She'd press the pen to her lips, roll it in between them, and then bite it so lightly before she wrote her answer down. Her hair kept falling on her eyes every time she leaned down to write something, and she ended up pulling a hair-band and tying back her hair into a ponytail, and how gorgeously stunning did it make her look, such a pleasant view to his eyes. She looked up at him upon feeling his gaze on her, only for him to look away, his eyes then spotting Sasha attempting to copy Connie's answers, "Oi, Braus!" He got up and walked over to the two, "Might as well leave your paper blank and let me answer it for you."

"No, no, I'm so sorry Mr. Levi. Please forgive me I won't do it again." She spoke in a freaked-out tone, shaking and trembling with closed eyes.

He was going to kick her out; both Sasha and Connie, for the two were getting on his last nerve. But his glare softened inexplicably, and he refrained from doing so. Instead, he took a deep breath in, "This is your last warning."

"Yes, thank you very much Mr. Levi. You're so kind." The girl sobbed in relief then went back to read the test subject.

The rest of the class passed in silence.

"Were you two out of your fucking minds? You decided to cheat during not any exam but math? Mr. Levi could have kicked you both out and called your parents for all we know. You're so dumb." Jean reproached Sasha and Connie after the test was over. "He could've gotten you expelled!"

"I told her it was a bad idea but she wouldn't listen to me." Connie explained, denying any responsibility in what happened.

"He wasn't even looking at us. He was looking at Mikasa and I thought I could copy a few answers before he wakes up from his daydreams." The girl rambled aimlessly, and Eren who was standing nearby heard what she said, his attention then turned to the conversation.

"Why the fuck would Mr. Levi be watching Mikasa? She's one of the best students. He wouldn't need to worry about her trying to cheat. Clearly he was just fooling you to see whether you'd try to cheat or not. As expected, you fell for it. You always do. Is there nothing inside your head but food, jeez?" Jean kept on scolding Sasha and admonishing her for her stupid actions.

Eren, on the other hand, also had something going in his mind. He'd seen the way those two looked at each other while everyone else was busy with their test. When she got up of her seat and went to help him pick up the papers. He'd seen those sneaky gazes Levi was sending her, and then how they both took a long moment of staring into each other's eyes before they decided to stand up and break it off.

He'd seen all of it happen in front of him, and he hated every bit of it to the fullest. He almost snapped at Mikasa at that moment, but he held himself back from committing such a foolish thing in front of everyone. He could get both of them in trouble for all he knew, and he didn't want to. It actually reminded him. Where was Mikasa? He didn't see her leave the classroom. He'd been in a rush to leave to get some fresh air after that stressful test, and he'd waited for neither Mikasa nor Armin. But he'd seen Armin talking to Marco earlier, yet Mikasa was nowhere to be found.

"Left your mind back in class?" Annie's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts, making him forget what he was even thinking about.

"Annie, hey!" He leaned down and planted a kiss to her lips. "How are you?"

"I'm good. How was your test?" She asked as they started walking in the hallway.

"Mind-wrecking, seriously. But I did my best. I hope it was enough." He stretched a bit to get rid of the stress.

"You studied with your friends, didn't you? I'm sure Mikasa and Armin helped you enough." She knew they were both great students. Eren wasn't bad either, but Math wasn't exactly his strongest subject.

"Yeah, we ended up talking about meaningless things most of the time and barely studied as much as we planned." He sighed, remembering yesterday's events.

"Really?" She raised a brow at him, a bit curious as to what they were possibly talking about.

"Yeah, it was funny. You know how we watched that movie, yesterday? Well, Armin was somehow convinced that we were doing something entirely else." He shook his head at his friend's crazy ideas.

"Doing what?" She questioned, now more curious to know.

"Well, you know…" But he didn't seem to be able to say it.

"I don't. That's why I'm asking you, dumbass." She sent him a pointed look and he blushed.

"He… He thought we were doing… 'that'…" His response was still vague, although she seemed to understand what he meant.

"'That' hm, that gives an endless amount of things we could have been doing. I could have been kicking your ass for one." She decided to tease him into saying it, instead.

"Annie, you know exactly what I mean…" He frowned a bit at her.

"Still won't be sure I got it right until you tell me." Her shoulders shrugged, intimidating, blue eyes fixed to his big, turquoise ones.

"He thought we were having sex. There. I said it. Happy?" He spat it out at last with an angrily shy voice, and she smirked.

"And how did you feel about your friend thinking we were having sex?" She followed with the questions, making him wonder where she was going with all of this.

"Well, I…" he was embarrassed, for sure, but not that he would admit it. "I don't know." He huffed.

Her brow rose in interest at his reply, "Wouldn't you be embarrassed if your friend knew we had sex if we actually did?"

"I… No. I wouldn't be embarrassed." He claimed with a convincingly, confident tone, "I just… I never really thought about it?"

"Never thought about what? Your friends knowing we had sex, or us having sex?" She felt the heat spreading from his body as his cheeks burned in an adorably, pink blush.

"Both. Why are we talking about this now… and here?" he was flustered, but most of all irritated by the sneaky ears listening to their conversation.

She gazed at him with questioning eyes, "Are you saying you wouldn't want to?"

"I didn't say that." He justified defensively, "I just didn't think you would want to." A hand rested on the back of his head as proceeded to explain with a much calmer voice, "We haven't been dating for that long and… I wouldn't really mind if we waited a bit more until we get to know each other better…"

A relaxed sigh left her mouth, "But would you want to?"

His eyes locked into hers, silence tying them both into the moment as they gazed into each other's eyes. A soft smile formed across his face as he answered tenderly, "Of course I would."

"What a perv!" the girl simply snapped and proceeded to walk away, breaking their eye-contact.

"H-huh?" she left him dumbfounded. So that was her plan with all those questions! "Wait, Annie!"

Temptation and need filled dark eyes as they traveled up and down the figure sitting across from her. While everyone else picked their bags and left the classroom, she simply sat there, stealing a few more gazes at ease, as everyone was too exhausted after that test to even notice where her eyes were going.

She'd remembered how he'd refused to talk to her yesterday. How he'd simply left her alone and went with the art teacher. She didn't want to hate her art teacher. That woman was so nice to everyone, but she still hated seeing her around him, even if she were just a friend to him. Perhaps she'd need to claim a place in his heart before anyone else would. Perhaps she'd have to.

She removed her hair-band, shook her head a bit as her hair spread around her shoulders, and she noted how he shot her a very quick glance. She stood up, hanging her backpack over her shoulder as she walked over to him.

"I assume you don't have time to talk today either, do you?" She crossed her arms against the wooden surface of his desk, looking down at him.

He didn't bother to look back, only fixed his eyes on the paper he was holding and spoke, "Make it quick."

"Well, you see. It's up to you to make it quick or not. You didn't answer my question so technically it's your turn." Her tone was playfully serious, and he made the effort to look at her now.

"What exactly do you want me to say?" his brows were furrowed, drawing an interesting line across his forehead.

She gave him an indifferent shrug of her shoulders, "I just want to know why you keep staring at me. That's all."

He placed the paper he was holding down. He never really grasped what was written on it, only used it to distract himself until she was out f his sight. His back pressed against his chair as he eyed her darkly, "I could say the same thing back at you, Mikasa. I've noticed."

Oh? Her brow rose, and so did her curiosity, "What else did you notice?"

"You know, this isn't the way you talk to your teacher." He decided to keep his tone contained, despite his desperate need to soften it as he spoke to her, "If people heard you, they might start getting the wrong idea."

So he was playing dirty, now, firing at her with her very own words. She merely smirked at his statement, "Or perhaps they'd be getting the right idea. After all, that's not the way a teacher looks at his student."

There was silence then and for a second, his mind going blank. Nothing came up for him to say in return, defend himself and prove her wrong. She was right. It wasn't a proper way for him to look at her, and he probably shouldn't even be looking at her now for she looked intolerably stunning and each time a thought crossed his mind to say, he'd forget. And there he was now, the girl who made his world stop, who made his heart beat faster than it ever had, who made his thoughts mix and clutter, the only girl who made him feel so many different things stood before him, waiting for him to tell her about it all. But she already knew, and he knew it too.

He knew that she felt the same things for him. He could have her all right now. He could end his struggle at this moment and confess everything to her. It would sound wrong, but he had a feeling she wouldn't reject him or push him away, and he wasn't sure if that was what he wanted. If she did welcome him, if she truly did return those feelings, wouldn't it still be wrong for them to indulge in such things? And so a part of him, just a tiny part who still had a bit of maturity and conscience hoped for her to shut him down and reject him. But he wouldn't risk it, whether she'd reject him or not, he would never be the one to initiate it. Silence was the best choice he could ever make right now. He didn't need to make a decision.

"You're a smart girl, Mikasa. Don't waste your time with someone like me." And he finally spoke, words bitter but honest. He only wished her well, and he couldn't value himself as good enough for her. He wasn't as beautiful and young as she was. He didn't have a whole new life waiting for him. He didn't want to take her future away out of selfish reasons, to take a future he probably wouldn't live long to see it.

"I'm a smart girl, Mr. Levi…" She answered, the rest of her words stuck at the edge of her tongue, for a moment, making every second more tempting, "If I walk away now, that will be the biggest waste of my time."

And her words spun him like a windstorm, as if he were hung upside-down then thrown back onto his feet, and he was more tempted than ever to tell her, tell her the things she wanted to hear, the things he wanted her to hear, the things she already heard every time she looked into his eyes and he looked into hers. It was forbidden, so forbidden and wrong and only thinking about it was a sin. But for her, he could be the biggest sinner.

He could be, but he wouldn't, still. And all of the words that threatened to slip for him were held back. In no way would he allow her to mess him up more than she already had, and he seemed to be succeeding, for she looked down and turned away, walking to the door. He watched her and almost called her to stay, to try a bit more, perhaps he'd end up telling her, but he stayed still and only watched, letting such a glorious chance slip from him, or perhaps it wasn't a chance? Perhaps she was only testing him? He didn't want to know, either way. He'd hate to know. And he stood up, about to walk to over to the window, only for him to hear the door shut. He looked behind and he saw her there, leaning against the closed door, her hand hiding behind her back and held onto the knob before she pushed off of it and walked straight up to him.

He couldn't understand the process of the situation. All of a sudden she was pulling at his collar, bringing him in for a kiss she didn't hesitate to force upon his lips. He couldn't breathe, and it felt as if she just sucked out all of the air from his lungs. It choked him, but in a surprisingly good way, and his eyes had widened in response to the sudden contact she made, but closed after a couple of seconds.

For the first time in his life he felt so weak. His control got lost in the middle of that kiss that melted every bit of his lips. His body became a puppet in her hands, allowing her to do to him as she pleased. He was out of all and every urge to stop her, push her away and scold her for crossing the boundaries so recklessly. Instead, he relished in the moment, savoring the sweet taste of her tender lips.

The weight of being a responsible adult was shook off his chest, experiencing for the first time what it felt like to let someone take charge of the situation, without having to worry about making a choice he'd regret, simply because he didn't make the choice. Because he was a human and he could make mistakes too, and there was someone out there who wouldn't hate him for his mistakes.

Because he was a human, he was committing a mistake by not trying to stop her.

To be continued.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading. I hope the events aren't moving that fast for some of you. I also want to include more of EreAni in this fanfic, as well as other (possibly one-sided) pairings and whatnot. Just a little heads for you to know what's coming. I'm a multi-shipper myself, but I know some of you aren't, so I apologize if you're only here for a specific pairing.

Again, thank you for reading and being patient with my slow-ass updates.