-Sticking with 1st person again! I like it a lot more that 3rd person. This chapter gets kind of graphic and mentions drugs, so I'm really really sorry if it makes you feel uncomfortable! Enjoy the Levi feels in this one (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ-

"Levi," I asked, my voice shaking, "Can you come over here?"

Levi gulped, and for a second I thought he was going to leave the restaurant. That thought was crushed when he sat down across from me, bringing his stuff with him. He didn't look at me, but he did talk to me.

"What are you doing here, Jaeger? You have to work tomorrow." He threaded a hand through his hair.

"I wanted to get out of the house," I said, my voice still shaky, "You have to be at work tomorrow, too."

Levi shook his head, "I'm not going."

"Why?"

He brought his eyes up to mine, and they were swirling with an emotion I couldn't put my finger on. It was my turn to avert his gaze now, focusing on the couple that had gotten closer since I had gotten here.

"Fucking look at me, Eren." Levi said, his voice just as shaky as mine. I brought my eyes up to his and his gaze was absolutely piercing.

"Why do you think I'm not working tomorrow?"

Guilt washed over me, "I'm sorry." Levi didn't reply.

It was minutes before anyone spoke.

"Did your uncle do this?" I asked, my voice so quiet that I was surprised Levi heard me.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Levi rubbed the back of his neck, "He's an angry person, Jaeger."

"Why?" I asked again quietly, desperately wanting him to open up.

"Fuck, Eren, how would I know?" Levi said angrily, rolling his eyes. I stayed silent and swallowed hard.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, i didn't mean to snap like that. Hey, look at me," Levi said, a new softness in his voice. I looked at him, "I'm sorry. Okay? I'm in a shitty mood. You don't deserve to be dragged into it."

I frowned, "Maybe I want to be."

"You don't."

"Okay, maybe not. But I at least want to know."

Levi sighed, "You don't give up, huh?"

"Not really."

"You're hard headed."

"I know."

Levi clicked his tongue, "Why do you even want to know about me, kid? I'm not… I'm not something that you want to know about."

"Thats debatable."

"Not really," Levi rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Why do you care…"

I wrapped my hand around his cup of coffee and took a sip, "Because… I just do, Levi. I don't know why. If I had a choice, I wouldn't. But I do, and I'm kind of stuck here, wanting to know and wanting to help, for no reason except the fact that I care."

Levi's eyes had closed, and he took a deep breath. I wasn't prepared for what he said next.

"I watched my mom die when I was 13," He roamed his eyes over my shocked face before continuing, "I came home from school one day and saw some guy beating the shit out of her. I was 13, I couldn't do much. So I sat there and I watched the fucker kill her. He bashed her head in with his foot and turned around to see me standing there, and he told me if i told anyone that he'd fucked me up, although I can't think of what would fuck me up more than seeing my mom killed in front of my eyes. So I didn't say anything. I sat by her. I don't know how long, but i sat by her dead body for a long time. Finally my uncle came over and saw us, saw me, and thats that," He took another deep breath, hands visibly shaking as he took a long sip of coffee from his cup.

"And thats when everything turned to shit and stone, Jaeger. My uncle was my guardian after that, and he royally fucked. me. up. He's a guy who sits on his ass drinking Heineken all day and collecting disability benefits because he fucked his knee up, and he takes out his years and years of rage on me. He began doing that when I was 14. Yeah, he spared me a year. Fucking yay. I swore that when I was 18 that I would be out of there as soon as possible. I wasn't. I'm twenty-fucking-five and because of him, i've only ever trusted 2 other people, and I was completely alone and fucked up for 13 years, and I'm still living with him because its a roof over my head and food to eat. Its shitty; A tiny little trailer that is badly insulated and dirty as hell. Anyways, yeah. He beats my ass. Its gotten bad lately, probably because he started doing drugs," My eyes widened and Levi rolled his eyes, "don't act like you didn't expect the mention of drugs, Jaeger. I even did a few. Thats not something I'm willing to discuss now, though, if thats okay with you. He does cocaine. I'll go into the kitchen some mornings and see it smeared all over the table that I had cleaned the night before, or on the rug in the bathroom. I don't clean it up though, thats his job, because if i touch his precious fucking coke, he'll choke me out," Levi tenderly touched the bruises on his neck, "And tonight he was fucked up on a different drug, definitely not coke because he was acting way different. He came at me out of nowhere while I was cleaning the bathroom, saying i had stolen his whiskey, and he almost killed me. I could see my entire life flash before my eyes, but then he backed off, kind of looked at me, and stumbled away."

He closed his eyes and found the long scar that spread along his neck, "He threw glass from a broken window at me for this one. I have smaller scars from that on my head, but i don't feel like showing you." He opened his eyes and smiled at me, a mixture of sadness and anger floating around in his eyes.

I simply started. I had no clue what to say or do.

"I freaked you out, huh kid?"

I felt tears sting my eyes, but luckily none came out.

Levi sighed, dropping his head, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so graphic, you're only a-"

"No, don't be sorry. Don't be sorry at all. It's good, I'm glad you told me. It'll help me understand you a little better now." I say, trying to calm him.

"You're a good person, Jaeger," He said quietly, "And i can't fucking believe I've grown to trust you after two months."

"Me neither," I said, giving him a small smile.

"Lets pay and get out of here," He said, pushing the coffee towards me. I finished it and Levi payed, then we got up and left.

"Wheres your car?" I asked when we were in the parking lot.

"I walked here."

I sighed, "Okay, you're just going to have to tell me-"

"No," Levi cut me off sharply, "I'm not letting you drive me home, you don't need to see where I live."

"I'm not letting you walk home," I said flatly.

"I'll call Hanji then."

I ran a hand through my hair, "What time is it?"

He looked at his watch, "10:23."

"Do you want to go to, like… the park or something? I don't really want to go home."

"You have to go to work tomorrow."

"Fine just… Let me drive you at least half of the way, okay?"

"You're so fucking…. Okay, brat, drive me. I'm an adult, I don't need you to, but since you seem sooo eager, I'll let you." He said sourly, walking over to the car and swinging the door angrily and slamming it.

I frowned and sat in the drivers seat and brought my car to life.

"Take a left out of the parking lot and drive from there," Levi said, looking out the window and holding my book on his lap.

We drove in silence and I wasn't comfortable with it. I didn't want him to be upset at me. I gripped the steering wheel. He probably didn't want to walk, and i wasn't gonna prod.

"Take the next right," He said, his voice oddly strained.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly, throwing a glance towards him. His head was pressed against the window.

"Not really," I saw him glance at me out of the corner of his eye, "My turn is coming up, Jaeger."

"Oh!" I exclaimed, turning quickly. The houses were getting dingier the farther we went.

"Take the 3rd right then drop me off by the streetlight."

Levi nodded and stayed I quiet.

When his turn came up, Levi unbuckled his seatbelt, "Bye," he mumbled, getting ready to get out of the car. Something washed over me, a strange confidence. I unbuckled myself, grabbed Levi's wrist, and yanked him towards me for a hug.

He was still at first, and I realized he was shaking. It was a faint shake, but it was definitely there. I hugged him tighter and buried my face in the crook of his neck. He slowly wrapped his arms around me and hugged back, his shaking intensifying.

I don't know how long we sat there. I do know that by the time I pulled away, he had stopped shaking and his scent was engraved into my nose. He smelled like nicotine, detergent, and lavender. He didn't make eye contact with me after the hug. He simply muttered, "Thank you," and got out, heading down the street with my book in his hand.

I turned my car off and hunched over my steering wheel for an hour and a half after he got out.

-x-

The sun decided to shine the next day, and I was happy for it. I was getting tired of rain. I walked into the store, as usual, and began work. As usual.

1:00 rolled around and I was about to go to the break room, when I realized I forgot my lunch in the car. Mikasa let me drive to work because she got a ride from her co-worker. I groaned and headed back to the parking lot. When I got to the car, I bent over to rummaged around in the backseat, looking for my bag under all the jackets and shoes that had accumulated back here. I should really clean it out, all the jackets were really nice. No wonder i couldn't find a decent one lately.

"Oi, Jaeger," I heard behind me.

I spun around and saw Levi, a smirk plastered across his face. I felt my cheeks flame, realizing what the view had looked like when I was bent over, "What are you doing here?" I asked, flustered and embarrassed.

"It's your lunch break isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but I-" I was cut off by my phone ringing, and I whipped it out quickly. I was about to silence it when I saw who it was; Armin.

"Sorry, I have to take this," Levi shrugged and I answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, Eren. Are you busy?"

I looked at Levi, who was picking lint off of his pants, "Um, kind of. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just calling to apologize for the other night and not calling you-"

I chuckled, cutting him off, "You're fine, Armin, I should be the one apologizing. I was kind of rude, so, sorry."

I could hear the smile in his voice, "It's okay, Eren. You want to go down to the lake when you get off?"

"Yeah, I'd like that. You should spend the night if you can, since tomorrow is Saturday."

"Okay! Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Okay, I know you're busy, so I'll let you go."

"Bye, Armin, see you later!" I hung up.

"Your best friend?" Levi asked, getting into his car. I got in on the passenger side.

"Yeah. He wanted to do something after I got off."

"What's he like?" Levi asked, starting his car and headed down the road, towards Hanji's restaurant, I'm guessing.

"Well," I started, "He's really gentle, sensitive. He's small, and he's got that boyish feel to him," I smiled, "He's a really good listener, really intelligent too. Thats how he got into Rosewell University. He's, overall, just a really good person."

"Hm," Levi hummed, "It must be nice to have someone like that."

I turned my head to look at him, and he glanced at me quickly. I gave him a sympathetic look, "Yeah. It is"

We reached the restaurant and went in.

"Hey guys!" Hanji exclaimed, excitement radiating off of her, "I missed you yesterday!" she playfully punched Levi's arm and gasped when she saw the bruises on his neck, now a bright purple color and little blood dots splotted in them. Levi looked away, "We'll talk about it later."

"Does he…?" Hanji nodded to me shyly.

"Yeah. I told him pretty much everything last night."

She opened her eyes wide, "Wow, Levi."

"Can you just seat us?" He asked, rolling his eyes.

We sat at our usual table, and Hanji went to fetch us our drinks immediately, coming back and setting them down quickly. I looked over the menu once and decided to get a chicken salad sandwich.

"How long have you known Hanji?"

Levi shrugged and sipped his water, "Since I was 14. She was 12, so, yeah shes been with me through everything except my moms death."

"So shes your best friend?"

"Yeah," He smiled at me, "Shes pretty cool."

"What about Irvin?"

"Well I've known him since I was born."

"Really?"

He took another sip of his water, "Hes my moms best friends son. We were around each other constantly as kids, but we're not that close any more. I know I can always call him if I need help with something, though."

I was hesitant with my next question, "What about Annie?"

Levi's eyebrows shot up, "How do you know about Annie?"

"She told me that you guys met when she was 8."

"Did she say anything else?" His eyebrows were still sitting way above where they normally do.

"No."

His eyebrows lowered, "Good." It was quiet for a few minutes.

"Sooo..?" I said, leaning forward towards him.

"What?"

"How do you know her?"

He shrugged, "I'll tell you eventually."

I sighed, "Are you sure? You've pretty much told me every-"

"Jaeger."

"Sorry," I mumbled.

We ate in slightly uncomfortable silence.

-x-

When we got back to the building, I was strangely exhausted.

"I want to ditch work," I grumbled, clicking my seatbelt off and smiling at Levi, "Lunch was nice. See ya later," I turned to get out.

"Oi, Jaeger," Levi said, "Not so fast." I felt a cold hand pull me backwards. I collided with Levi's chest, immediately wrapping my arms around him. He held the back of my head and we sat there for a few minutes, and my timer went off all too soon. Levi chuckled and pulled away, "We should do that more often."

I smiled and laughed aloud, blood rushing to my cheeks, "Yeah, I wouldn't mind that."

"One more thing," Levi said, "Give me your phone." I did. He typed something in and handed it back to me.

"My number is there now."

"Thank you." I said, my blush intesifying.

Levi rolled his eyes with a small smile, "Bye, brat"

"Bye, Levi."

I was giddy when I went back to work.

-x-

"Shit," I cursed as I submerged myself into the water, "It's the hottest part of the year and the water still manages to be freezing cold."

Armin laughed and waded in, "Well it has been raining a lot lately."

"Still," I said, swimming out father.

"Wait up, Eren" Armin yelled, swimming quickly to catch up.

I dived under the water and came back up, gasping, "Fuck, it's so cold."

"Its not that bad," Armin said, swimming up to me, "Can you touch?"

I set myself sink down to where I was on my tippy toes, water coming up to my middle of my neck, "Yeah."

Armin sunk down with a concentrated look, but when he sunk down, the water came up to his mouth. I laughed aloud.

"Shut up, Eren! I can't help that i'm short."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." I said, chuckling a few more times. I sank under the water and swam around, shaking the water from my hair.

Armin yelped, "Something just brushed past me."

"Do you want to go back to the shore?"

"Yeah," He said, heading back already. I followed him.

When we got back, we wrapped ourselves in towels and and sat there, looking at the sun that had started making its way down the sky.

"I move on campus the 20th." Armin said, looking down into the water.

"Are you excited?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm really nervous that you and Mikasa won't be there, though."

I nudged him, "You'll be okay, Armin. You're cool, you just have to stop being so nervous."

He sighed, smiling over at me, "Yeah, I know. The idea of being away from you guys scares me. I mean, we've never been farther away than 20 minutes away from each other. Then suddenly, its 8 hours away. Its scary, Eren."

I slung my arm around him, "You'll get through it man. I know it."

Armin smiled brightly at me and my heart clenched a little. I was just as scared as him; but not because he was going away. Well, it was partially that, and partially me being scared the same reason as him. I was always around to help him make friends, but he was horrible at it on his own. I sighed and squeezed him.

"Hey, Eren, it's getting dark. Lets go back to your place and order some chinese food."

I smiled and got up, dusting myself off, "Good idea."

-x-

"Are you excited?" Mikasa asked, her mouth filled with orange chicken. Her and Armin were having the same exact conversation I had with him a couple hours ago. I slurped my noodles and tuned them out, watching a rerun of Seinfeld.

I finished my noodles and pulled out my phone, tossing around the idea of texting Levi around. I decided against it and took Mikasa and Armins plates into the kitchen and rinsed them off. I couldn't get Levi out of my mind; His words replaying in my mind over and over again.

"We should do that more often."

I shuddered.

"Hey Eren," Armin said, poking his blonde head around the corner, "You wanna go up and play some video games?"

I smiled, "Yeah. Could I talk to you first, though?"

"Yeah, what's up?" He said, a look of worry crossing his face.

"Nothing, lets talk about it in my room so Mikasa doesn't here."

We walked up to my room and I shut the door. Armin plopped down in my computer chair and i fell onto my bad.

"I've got a crush on someone," I said, looking up at the ceiling.

I heard Armin choking and looked up to see his holding a bottle of water, and he was sputtering some out of his mouth, "Thats gross, Armin."

"Okay, okay," He said, coughing a few more times, "You have a crush on someone? How come you're just now telling me?"

I shrugged, "Because it just really hit me."

"Who is it?"

"He's a janitor at my work. He's beautiful Armin, really, he's pale and like your height, and his hair is fucking beautiful…" I trailed off closing my eyes.

Armin whispered, "He?"

Fuck. I flew upright, "Shit."

"You're gay?" He exclaimed.

"Shut up!" I hissed, "Yeah, I think I am. I mean I'm definitely not straight."

"Obviously."

I rolled my eyes, "Don't tell Mikasa. I'll tell her on my own eventually."

He nodded, "What do you like about him?"

"He's just… so mysterious, I guess. He's fucked up. He's abused by his uncle, and i swear to god it just makes him even more beautiful. I'm just attracted to him, Armin. He's honest and just… ugh." I covered my face, which was burning up.

"Wow, sounds like you've got it bad. What do you mean he's abused by his uncle? Like, sexually? How old is he?"

"No, physically. He's 25."

"Um, Eren, please don't be mad but that whole thing sounds dangerous."

I stayed silent for a second then let out a long sigh, "I know. I don't care. I really like this guy, and it's hard for me to explain."

I heard Armin scratch his head, "Just be careful."

I looked over at him and smiled, "I will, don't worry. Come on, lets play some games."

We stayed up till dawn and Armin fell asleep on my floor, so i slipped a pillow under his head and crawled into my bed, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.