A/N: No comment. Just read! :)
Chapter Seven: The 'I' in 'Lie'
He still couldn't feel his toes.
Levi clenched and unclenched fists, squeezing his hands tightly until he felt the sharp sting of his fingernails breaking the skin. His hair was now mildly damp but still dripping every now and again like a ticking clock, drops pitter-pattering against the wood floor like the rain did against the class windows.
He pulled the blanket wrapped around his shoulders tighter around his thin, shaking frame and buried his face in the fuzzy wool material. Eren was talking to Jean only a few feet away, and Mikasa as well. He had invited them over (not really, he more-or-less forced them to come over with a threat) after the 'incident' Levi experienced.
Eren had explained it as this;
One minute, the two were sleeping soundly in Eren's bed, and the next moment, Levi was getting to his feet and he walked out the door. Eren had assumed he was going to use the restroom, but when Levi didn't return after ten minutes, Eren got worried and went to search – which is when he found the front door wide open and Levi laying on the grass nearby looking like he was just punched in the stomach.
Apparently vampires didn't sleepwalk…
Levi listened to the dull whispers of the trio as the snipped and bickered back and forth to each other. The sounds reverberated in his skull and forced his formerly dim headache into a god damn parade of pain, enough to make his eyes hurt and his ears ring.
Eren walked over to him and knelt down in front of where he sat on the sofa. For a moment, Levi was zoned out, staring at the wall ahead of him, but his eyes trailed down sluggishly until he met Eren's. The dark circles under his eyes and his pale, clammy skin made him truly look dead.
"Levi? What happened?" Eren asked. Mikasa and Jean were now sitting down on either side of the sofa, clearly more intrigued and curious than worried and concerned like Eren was.
When did they get there, anyway?
"It was cold." Levi mumbled. The color in his once beautiful grey-blue irises had now faded to a murky color like pond-scum. "There was ice…and I walked out into the hall. You were gone…" He paused as his vision began to fade, but he quickly snapped himself back into reality. "…you…you weren't there…and…the stairs fell and I was in water. I could breathe…but I thought it was…because…I'm dead…and…" His words began to slur together and he closed his eyes. "…I fell…up…and…then I was…here…"
His head fell to the side and his breathing evened out – he was asleep.
Eren sighed and hung his head, scratching furiously at his hair for a moment, before he rose and picked up Levi like a child, the raven's head resting on Eren's shoulder. Eren brought them to the bed and laid him down.
"So it was a dream?" Jean wondered aloud, looking to Mikasa and Eren for their opinions.
Mikasa shrugged. "I should have just killed him when I had the chance…he's become a nuisance."
Eren gave her a wild look, one daring her to repeat herself.
She didn't.
There was a light knock at the door.
Eren didn't even get halfway across the room when the person invited themselves in. A tall man, his blonde hair cropped neatly and slicked to one side, beating blue eyes like the sea looking over at Eren with amusement. His gaze traveled down to Levi, then back at Eren. The man's thick eyebrows raised, as if he was intrigued.
"So that's the Levi I've heard so much of…" The man spoke loudly, with confidence and a strength that seemed to create a barrier of power around him. He didn't seem like the person one would want to get angry. "…he's pretty small…but then again, you've always liked the small ones, haven't you," His eyes flickered up to meet Eren's, but the brunette was looking at his feet. "Eren Jaeger." Whether he was finishing his sentence or simply trying out Eren's name to taunt him, Eren didn't know, but either way, it made him extremely uncomfortable when the Duke spoke to him directly.
"Sir…" Eren's mind wandered, and the forming of words failed pathetically. He snapped his mouth shut.
Mikasa rose from her seat and bowed. "Duke Smith. It's good to see you, sir."
Erwin Smith, the Vampire Duke of Germany and Italy alike, nodded.
"Please, I've asked you before, and I'll ask all of you again, call me Erwin." A portion of the sentence was aimed at Eren, like a subtle threat.
Erwin crossed the room and stood at the foot of the bed. "What's with you, Eren? You're always picking up the little ones. Doesn't matter the hair or eye color, as long as their shorter than you, am I right?"
It was a game to Erwin. Ever since Eren had fallen head-over-heels for Erwin's nephew, Armin Arlert, everything went to shit. Unfortunately, Eren was also the reason that Erwin's nephew, Armin Arlert, was killed…
Eren didn't answer. He kept his mouth shut and gaze glued on Erwin, making sure he didn't make a move to kill Levi in his sleep.
Erwin sometimes did that.
"What's happened to him?" Jean spoke up, asking the question on all of their minds. Erwin circled around the bed and placed a giant hand on Levi's head, brushing the near-dry hair out of the way of his closed eyes.
"He's in Trance…" Erwin sighed. "…there's no stopping it."
Eren's jaw dropped.
Trance. A legendary illness that those who were once-human-turned-vampire magically get. It was a rarity for turned vampires to be created, so nobody actually knew if Trance was real.
It was said that some fall victim within a week. Others take months. Sometimes, it takes years for the illness to develop. But in all cases, rather they were false or real, the turned vampire died a week after presenting the first symptom – sleepwalking nightmares.
Vampires, naturally, were not supposed to dream. They would have visions of their lives, but they wouldn't actually dream.
Dreaming was a sign that Trance was beginning – a process where the human part of them attempts to take over, and the vampire side becomes violent, malevolent and dangerous, either to themselves or others. Either way, it resulted in a bloody, horrible death.
Eren felt like he was going to drop to his knees.
Trance…
Of course it was Trance...
A/N: Pretty plot-y? Right? Nah? Maybe? Whatever. Just because Levi is potentially dying from some really bad vampire illness doESN'T MEAN THERE WON'T BE ANY ERERI! NO WORRIES! THIS WILL BE ERERI!
I need help tho…should this be rated M or not…I don't even know…fuck me…
I'm gonna do it.
And now, I must retire for lIKE A FUCKING WEEK because I gotta study for all these midterms...sorry...
