(A/N)
It's Wednesday so here comes the update.
This happens to be my favorite chapter in this story so far, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Please don't try to imitate any of the illegal stuff that happens in this chapter. Not that I think you would, but I feel better saying it.
Until next Wednesday,
CheeZy - out
Eren's POV
„Are we there yet?" I whined and leaned my head back against the headrest.
„We're driving since ten minutes. Have a little patience, brat", Levi retorted. „Only a few more minutes and we're there."
I sighed and scrolled through the tracks on my phone, trying to find something that Levi would approve of. Except for the very first song, he had grunted a „Skip" to every song I chose. I pressed my thumb down on a Blink 182 song in hope he wouldn't say no to it.
„First Date by Blink 182? Are you for real? Skip."
„Seriously Levi, you're being super rude right now! Is there anything you'd approve of?" I rolled my eyes and simply switched the music off for now.
„Tch, not on your phone, no." There was a hint of amusement lingering in his monotone voice. He was teasing me and I knew I should've just given him a witty comeback but I couldn't come up with anything sassy to say.
„Whatever then. No music for the rest of the ride." I pulled the AUX-cord out of my phone and let it drop down into the footwell on my side.
„Fine by me." Levi shrugged and shook his head a little to flick a strand of his black hair that had fallen into his eyes back into its rightful place. As he did so, I could hear the faint clank of metal against metal and could spot a silver piercing on his ear hiding underneath his hair.
„You have your ears pierced?" I asked curiously. I hadn't noticed that before.
„Yeah, I do." He brushed his hair behind his ear to show me the piercings. Three to be exact. One ring, one metal bar and one with a blue diamond. „I need to cut my hair again, it keeps covering them up. What for do I have them if no one can see them?"
„I used to wear earrings, too. Then I started stretching and got one of those flesh tunnel thingies."
„Yuck." He stuck his tongue out to underline his disgust.
„It was a lot of pain and in the end I didn't like it. So I let them grow back to normal size," I reassured him.
„If you still had those tunnels, I wouldn't have gone on this date with you," Levi stated and pulled the car around a corner.
„Levi, you're doing it again. You're being rude!" I warned him but he didn't seem to care.
„Would you expect anything else from me?" He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes, still facing the road.
„Not really," I sighed and looked outside the window. We were in the middle of nowhere, only a large building, the size of a football stadium, was ahead of us.
„Here we are." Levi stopped the car in the middle of the empty parking lot.
„Is that an old shopping mall?" I asked and squinted my eyes to make out the big dirty letters on the front wall. „Sina?"
„The Sina Mall." Levi nodded and exited the car. „Hurry up."
I hastily fumbled with the door handle and left the car as well. Levi had climbed into the trunk already to retrieve our bags. He threw mine over to me and shouldered his own before he jumped back down.
„Come on." He nodded his head towards the building and started walking towards it. I was still slightly overwhelmed by the size of the mall but quickly stumbled after him.
„So what are we doing here exactly?" I asked when I caught up to him.
„You know what a scavenger hunt is?" He turned his head to look at me,his face as expressionless as always but I saw a tiny spark of excitement in his eyes.
„Yeah I do…" I answered hesitantly, the idea of what he was up to was slowly dawning on me.
„Good."
We had reached the main entrance. The glass doors were covered in dirt and a metal chain locked the handles together, making it impossible to get inside.
„Disgusting…" Levi muttered and straightened himself before he continued. „Alright. We're going to separate here. There are several backdoors through which each of us can enter. Some of them may be unlocked, but I wouldn't count on it. There's no electricity anymore so don't worry about any stupid alarms going off. Our goal is the big ugly fountain in the center of the mall, hard to miss. We will meet there in one hour. Yet if you turn up empty handed, you lost."
„What am I supposed to bring?"
„The mall was evacuated in an instant because some idiots thought the roof was about to collapse. That was eight years ago and the roof is still intact so they made a big deal out of nothing. But because of that sudden evacuation, there's still a lot of crap in the stores. Well, as long as none of the bums raided the entire place. So your job is to find something for me. And I will find something for you."
„Oh, so literally like a scavenger hunt!" I exclaimed excitedly. This was better than anything I would have come up with for a date.
„Yeah. And take these, you might need them." Levi reached into one of his pockets and held his hand out towards me.
„What's that?" I asked and looked at his hand instead of taking what he was handing to me.
„Bobby pins. In case you need to pick a lock."
„But wait, that's trespassing. That's illegal, isn't it?" I gasped and looked from his hand into his face and back at his hand again.
„So is drinking when you're under age." He rolled his eyes. „And there ain't any ‚no trespassing' signs around here so it's not exactly forbidden."
I sighed. „Okay. But I'm gonna make it your fault if we get caught!" I nudged his shoulder playfully.
„We won't get caught." He shook his head. „Now go, and make sure to find me something cool, you hear me."
„Sure, and no dead rat for me, please", I giggled and turned to walk away from the main entrance to find one of the backdoors Levi had mentioned.
„I wouldn't touch a dead rat with a ten foot pole", I head him yell over his shoulder as he went the opposite direction as me.
The walls that I walked past were covered in graffiti; comic figures, gang symbols, several fuck you's and anarchy signs decorating them from top to bottom and from left to right. I loved Levi's idea of the scavenger hunt as well as exploring an abandoned building. That was one of the things I had on my imaginary bucket list anyway and I was proud to put a check on that one already. Yet my only worry was that I'd have a problem getting inside. I never picked a lock before so I just wished to run into a door that was unlocked already.
I didn't have to walk for long until I found the first door. I had almost walked past it since it was covered in so much graffiti that I almost couldn't tell it apart from the walls around it. There wasn't even a door knob to pull it open by so even if I managed to unlock it, I wouldn't be able to open it without losing a few fingernails. So I didn't even try my luck and just kept going in hope to find a door that wasn't busted.
The next four doors followed the same scheme as the first one. I had circled half of the mall by the time I found a door that was hanging wide open with a bobby pin sticking out of the lock. I didn't necessarily want to take the same route that Levi took but hence that he had to circle half the mall himself to find a door he could open, I won't have any luck with the rest of the doors either. He must have been extremely fast, he came by this door before I did, picked the lock and snuck inside without leaving any trace behind except for the twisted bobby pin that was stuck in the lock.
I slowly took a step forwards into what seemed to be a storage room, kind of like the one we have at work. Out of fear we might actually be caught, I pulled the door closed behind me. Darkness spread around me and I suddenly felt like I was in a horror movie. With a quick movement, I fished my phone out of my pocket and switched the flashlight on.
As soon as I raised the light source to look around the room, I found myself face to face with a pair of steel grey eyes.
„Booh!"
I right away let out a high pitched scream.
„WAH SHIT! LEVI!" I yelled and stumbled backwards, my back hitting the door that had fallen shut behind me.
„You're too easy to scare, kid." His voice sounded like he was grinning yet when I raised my flashlight to his face again, he just stared at me with his cold eyes and murderous expression.
„Gosh, I almost crapped my pants!" I held my hand to my chest where my heart was beating like I just ran a marathon. My breath was going quick and I had this jittery feeling in my guts that I get when a giant wave of relief had washed over me.
„Please don't." He scrunched up his nose. „I already figured you wouldn't be able to open any of the doors. I just wanted to see if you would even bother trying instead of taking the same route as me right away."
He bent down next to one of the cardboard crates that were stacked on huge shelves and the floor all around the room and blew the dust off of it. The cloud of dust was dancing around in the light of my flashlight and I got lost staring at it.
„Oi, would you be so nice and shine your light at the crate instead of the dirt?" Levi grunted.
„Oh, sorry", I stammered and moved the light over to him. „Which shop's storage is this?"
When he ignored my question, I walked over to the crate and knelt down next to him, my light focussed on the lid which Levi was currently fumbling with. With a forceful tug, the lid opened and released another cloud of dust right above us. Luckily, the both of us had jumped back into safety just in time before any dust could rain down on either me or him.
I waved my hand through the dust filled air and leaned forward to check what was inside the box.
„Well look at that, I think I already found something for you", I cackled and pulled a long strip of small plastic packages that were all connected out of the crate.
„What is that?" Levi was still kneeling a few feet away from me, probably out of fear he might touch some dirt by accident.
„Mhhh strawberry flavored." I chuckled before I tossed the strip over to him. By now, Levi had pulled out his own phone and switched on the flashlight as well.
„Seriously? Flavored condoms?" He gave me the ‚for real?'-look and inspected the packages in the light of his flashlight before he tossed them back to me.
„Apart from them being totally disgusting, they're expired by now anyway."
„Aw what a shame." I giggled and put them back into the crate. The whole thing was filled to the top with those condom strips in a variety of all kinds of flavors.
„Tch, total shame", Levi muttered sarcastically and let out a silent groan when he stood back up.
„Getting old, huh?" I joked and copied him, watching as he made his way around the shelves and crates.
„Oh, trying to make jokes about my age? One wrong word and I'll make you walk home", he grunted when I followed him while he searched for the door that would lead us out of the storage room.
„I don't even know how old you are", I argued and almost bumped into him when he stopped all of the sudden.
„Take a guess, brat." He started fumbling with two bobby pins in the lock of the door we had reached, looking rather skilled like he'd do that every other day. I heard a few clicking sounds and the door swung open, revealing a dark shopping aisle with empty shelves.
„Twenty-three?" It was a random guess. After what Erwin had told me, that ten years ago he was sixteen and met Levi who seemed to be around his age, I actually figured Levi to be older than twenty-three but I felt better telling myself that he wasn't as old as I feared he was.
„Close enough." Levi shrugged. An answer to how old he actually was, I did not get. „Voilà."
He stepped aside to let me walk through the door first. I have to admit, I was slightly creeped out by the darkness and the silence. I waved my flashlight around, letting it wander along the shelves which were completely empty except for a thick layer of dust.
„Hurry up, I don't want to spend more time than necessary in this dirty shop." Levi shoved past me and skipped towards the gate that locked the shop away from the big halls. Like it wasn't a big deal, he dug his fingers under the gate and raised it just enough for us to walk through the small space.
Light that came from the outside flooded the shop and I hurried over to Levi to duck underneath the gate and leap into the open space of the mall. He followed shortly after me, leaving the gate open so we could get back outside again later. After both of us had switched off our flashlights and pocketed our phones again, I took a look around.
The roof was mostly made out of glass and the bright light of the sun shone right through the dirt that had gathered up there and dipped the whole mall into a mysteriously brown and orange color.
„Wow!" I gasped and my voice silently echoed back from the walls.
The smell of disinfectant reached my nose and when I looked over to Levi, he was pouring a few drips of disinfectant into his hand before rubbing it all over his hands and wrists.
„Let's start the hunt, shall we?" He turned to look at me and I couldn't help but grin. He looked dead serious yet he sounded like an excited little boy who just got promised ice-cream for dessert. Well, a little boy with a very deep voice.
„No dead rat for me, please", I repeated myself from earlier and winked at him with a cheeky grin.
„And no flavored condoms for me, please." A smile played around his lips but the corners of his mouth didn't turn upwards.
I'll get him to smile one day.
„Let's shorten the time limit to 30 minutes, shall we?" He suggested and I nodded. After all, this was a date. I wanted to spent time with him and not on my own, wandering empty shops and deserted halls until I could meet up with him again.
/
We split up and each of us walked off into a different direction. A lot of the shops hadn't bothered to shut their gates like the one we came through. I passed by the plaza that Levi wanted us to meet up at. He was right, the fountain that was placed in the middle looked rather ugly. Not to mention that it was dirty and rusty by now which didn't make it look any prettier.
I mumbled the names of each store that I passed by out loud; Victoria's Secret, Street One, The King's Castle, Headquarters.
I was about to walk past Headquarters when something in the shop window caught my eye. On a small pedestal was a faceless display dummy, wearing a white shirt tucked into a pair of white skinny jeans. But the clothes weren't what had caught my attention. It was the accessory. From top to bottom, the dummy had brown belts wrapped around it, making it rather look like some kind of bondage fetish accessory than something you'd wear in public. Lucky for me, the gate to the shop was all the way up and there were no existing doors that could have been locked. I could walk right inside.
It was a quite small shop, the walls used to be of a light grey color before they got covered with brown stains and wooden shelves were all over the small space still filled to the top with clothes and accessories. Some shelves had fallen over and spread their contents over the floor.
I kicked one of the packets that seemed to contain the belt stuff across the room, having it slide all the way to the back where it stopped in front of a showcase which weren't exactly a showcase anymore; the glass was broken and shards were scattered all around the metal frame. When I stepped up to it to throw a look inside, I spotted a beige cropped jacket being on display, lying on a dark green surface. It wasn't crumbled or dirty, it looked as if someone had just placed it there. I reached out my hand, careful not to cut myself on the remaining sharp shards that were sticking out the metal frame and pulled the jacket out of the showcase. Turning it around in my hands, I could see several patches on the upper arms, the chest pocket and a big one on the back, all of them showing a crest with what looked like two white wings crossed over each other on a grey background. They were all sewn on perfectly except for the big one on the back which was almost torn off completely.
This is it, I thought. That's what I'd get him. It would totally fit along with the rest of the patches he had sewn on the jeans vest he was wearing today. Also, wings are a symbol of freedom and as far as I knew, freedom meant the world to him.
A wide grin spread across my face and I quickly took my backpack off my back and searched the small pouch in the front for my tiny pocketknife. Once I had found it, I flipped it open and cut the remaining threads that kept the crest connected to the back of the jacket. When I was done, I put the knife back into the pouch, picked up the crest, folded it once and put it into my backpack as well before I then threw the bag over my shoulder again.
When I walked out of the store, I first checked left and right before leaving, not wanting Levi to see me and spoil his surprise. I then casually walked back the way which I had come from, heading back to the fountain.
By the time I got there, Levi was already waiting for me, sitting on the edge of the fountain with his legs crossed and his nose buried in a book.
„What took you so long?" He asked without looking up from the book and flipped the page over.
„I still have ten minutes left", I defended myself after I threw a look at my phone to check the time.
„Anyway, are you done with your hunt? Because I am." He closed the book with a loud clap and got up from the fountain, brushing dust and crumbles off his behind. „Disgusting."
„Yes, I'm done." I nodded proudly.
„Good." He waved his hand, motioning me to follow him and walked past me, into the direction I had just come from.
„Where are we going?" I asked when I followed him, jogging a little until I had caught up with him.
„You'll see soon enough." He answered drily and kept walking.
„How come you know yourself around this place so well? Do you come here often?"
„Petra used to work here, so I came here a lot when the mall was still open. She didn't have a car and I was the only one out of our squad who did back then so I had to pick her up from work every other day." He shrugged, turned around a corner and headed towards a set of stairs.
„Was Petra your…" I started but didn't finish my sentence because Levi threw me an angry glance.
„No she wasn't. If you haven't noticed yet, I'm gay." He scoffed and walked up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. „I've never had a girlfriend. Or boyfriend."
„Are you serious?!" I gasped. Someone as sexy as Levi must have had the girls and boys running after him all the way through high school and college. He must have had at least one relationship.
„I'm not made of boyfriend material, Eren." He stopped in the middle of the stairs to turn around and look at me. „I'm not the kind of person someone would fall in love with."
„But-" I wanted to argue. Everyone is someone to fall in love with. Even him. Everyone has their troubles, struggles and imperfections. And someone out there will be able to look past those flaws and love them for who they are.
„No." Levi cut me off. „Don't make me talk about this."
„Sure…" I fell silent and followed him up the stairs and then around another corner.
There were only a few food stalls up here surrounded by tables and chairs. Levi walked right past them, heading for a dirty glass wall at the end of the hallway. The sun was shining right through it and I only now noticed that it was quite warm inside the mall. Stuffy and warm.
„After you." Levi stepped aside and opened a glass door which I hand't even seen because it looked almost exactly like the windows.
I stepped outside, the sun in my eyes and wind blowing through my hair. I heard the door fall shut behind me before Levi followed and stood next to me. We were in a roof garden, old fancy looking metal tables and chairs standing on cracked flagstones, wild plants winding around the furniture and the railing, lightened up by the bright light of the sun coming through the glass roof above us.
„Holy shit, this is beautiful!" I exclaimed as I looked around.
„It's always beautiful when mother nature takes back what once was hers." Levi sighed, sounding content and rather happy and when I looked over to him, he had his eyes closed and took a deep breath before opening them again.
„Where do we sit?" I asked and walked through the spaces between the tables, looking for a good one with a nice view.
„There." Levi pointed at a crumbled stone wall that was separating this part of the roof from another section, probably used by a different café than this one. Without great effort, he jumped up on the wall and held out a hand to help me up.
„Thanks", I panted when he helped me climb up the stones and sit next to him on the flat surface, facing the overgrown roof garden that had an amazing view over the top of the roofs in the distance.
„Here." Levi muttered and I tore my eyes away from the beautiful view in front of us to look at him. He was holding out a small package, only the size of my palm and I reached out my hand to take it.
„Is that what you got for me?" I grinned and examined the package, turning it around in my hands. „You even bothered to wrap it up, wow."
Levi just nodded and I could feel his eyes on me while I removed the newspaper pages that he had wrapped around it. Something black fell down on my lap and I quickly crumbled the paper in my hand into a ball and set it aside so I could pick up what was now on my lap.
It was a necklace, made out of black leatherette with three charms dangling at the bottom. I took the them into my hand and raised it towards my face to get a better look at them. One of them was a golden key, the top was shaped like a diamond while the rest of it looked like one of those very old keys, like the ones that opened treasure chests in pirate movies. The second one was a white plectrum with a wolf printed on it. When I turned it around, I could read the word ‚Hunter' on the other side. The last charm was a dark green laurel wreath, extremely detailed and looking rather fragile.
„Let me explain." Levi cleared his throat before I could say anything to him about the necklace. „I came across a jewelry store and picked each charm because of a particular reason. The key stands for your curiosity. Keys open doors and chests, lead to treasures and reveal truths. You're such a noisy brat, wanting to know everything, it just fits you. The wolf plectrum is more of a joke because you keep behaving like a dog yet the word ‚Hunter' stands for your name. Jäger means hunter, doesn't it? Now to the wreath. Just out of curiosity, I did a bit of googling yesterday and found out that your first name can be interpreted as a wrong spelling of the german word honor. I actually just wanted to know if it had any deeper meaning because I never came across your name before but the honor thing was all I could find. Anyway, as you probably know, a laurel wreath is given to someone to honor them. So basically, all those charms represent something about you."
I looked from the charms up to Levi and back at the charms again.
„Wow…" That was all I could say right now. „Just wow… You put so much thought into this, I don't even know what to say."
He shrugged and stared off into the distance. „I'm glad you like it."
„I love it!" I pulled the necklace over my head and let the charms dangle loosely around my neck. „Thank you."