AN: It really has been too long. But the good news is that I'm fully moved in! I made it to my new state/house safely, and I've painted my room, plus unpacked. I'm still adjusting, but everything's chill. I'm just happy to be on a less hectic schedule. In other news, I completed my Madoka Magica one shot and uploaded it, as promised. Some shameless self promotion there if anyone wants to check it out. I also briefly dressed the Orlando tragedy over on that fic. I've already gone through the emotional coping process, so now I'm ready to move on and stride toward real change. We gotta keep ourselves safe, you know? Because the hatred doesn't stop with this.
Chapter Twenty Eight- Levi
The hallway was short and only lead to an open, smaller room. It was dim and there looked to be another door on the right. A separate entrance to the kitchen, I considered. There were a few sofas in this room, a group of girls flocked around the largest on the left, and a single man sat smoking on the one directly before us.
"I thought you quit" reverberated Reiner's low voice from an inch or so behind me. The music was noticeably quieter in here and there was less need to shout or strain your tone.
"I did" replied the man, "For eleven days. Then I realized, fuck that." He inhaled deeply from the cig, directing a long, judgmental stare upon the two of us as I was herded even closer. "Who's this?" He finally asked, not even needing to gesture toward his obvious subject.
"Ymir's friend" Reiner smoothly replied, leaving my side to sit on the arm of the couch. He quickly uncapped a beer glass that I hadn't realized he'd been holding.
As I stood still quite awkwardly, I felt a sudden and heavy gaze on myself and immediately noticed Levi thoroughly looking me up and down. "Why's there a straight girl in my house?" He bluntly inquired, his tone not quite aiming the question at one person in particular.
"Petra was straight" Reiner input in the absence of any other comment.
"Petra was an exception." The oddly intimidating man kept his focused on me and I began to feel my internal organs squirm the slightest.
One of the girls on the other couch then cleared her throat, tossing her heavily dyed hair over one shoulder. "What are you talking about, asshat? You've got plenty of straight girls in here." She batted her lashes sweetly, ending the statement with a tight smile.
Levi blew a particularly large cloud of smoke in her direction. "Do I really have to say 'cis straight girl?'" She simply blinked again, paying no attention to the gray plume probably stinging her eyes. Her condescending silence ticked on for a few more seconds until the opposing party squinted at her irritably. "Are you fucking serious? Go back to your Tumblr rants" he retorted.
And yet he wasn't done there. Yanking the loosely hanging cigarette out from between his lips, he now targeted that intensely uncomfortable stare on the girl. "You know what, while you're at it, go join the GSA. They could use some more politically correct fucks for their equality marches and whatever other shit they do. Go do vain outreaches and try to win over this bigot-infested country.
"Meanwhile, the rest of us with actual, logical brains can plot how to cut the whole fucking South off. Let 'em float off into the Atlantic until a particularly large family of Great Whites lop all of their dumbass heads off." He finished his little rant by sinking further into the cushions, taking a heavy and angry drag from his cig.
"Oh sure, and leave those poor southern kids to try to swim over if they want any chance at a relatively decent life." As the statement made it back to my ears, my joints very hurriedly locked up and I felt my jaw instinctively freeze. Shit, I promptly thought, it was me who said that.
I made a quick scan of the room, and I was surprised by how unaffected everyone seemed to be while I was freaking out over the very notion that I had talked.
Levi released a dark chuckle as the blood continued to drain from my face. "The Mexicans do it all the time. Maybe the white kids deserve a challenge."
Reiner rolled his eyes, deciding to step in. "You're being extra pissy today."
Without averting his eyes from me, he inhaled, exhaled, and then glared through the smoke. "You would be too if your boyfriend felt the need to pick a fight every damn time some idiot calls him a fag. The brat has no respect for his own wellbeing, and it's really starting to piss me the fuck off. If he keeps going off like this, he's going to end up with a criminal record. Then what? That shit sticks with you the rest of your life."
Reiner leaned back against the wall, taking a long swig from his bottle. "You're right, I'd be irritated too. But I don't have a boyfriend so," he shrugged, "Good for me, I guess?"
The room fell into a continuous, soft noise that consisted of the girls to my left and the thundering music at my back. My existence seemed to have been forgotten for the moment, so in temporary relief, I relaxed my shoulders and moved to a less obvious and awkward position. I rested against the wall closest to the two guys, questioning, again, why I was subjecting myself to all of this unneeded stress.
AN: I hope everyone's been doing well. Tell me about the start of your summer, or maybe even finals, if you took any this semester. Either way, I'll talk to you guys again much sooner this time, lol. Sayonara.
