CHAPTER 13
Trouble Maker
At first Eren thought he lost his chance when he didn't see Levi in the hallway. How fast could the man walk with such short legs? Rushing out of the building, Eren easily spotted him since foot traffic was light given that everyone else was still in class. Taking long, fast strides Eren soon caught up to the ravenette. He wasn't sure of what to call him because he didn't want to come out as disrespectful to his professor. So he chose the safest option, "Dr. Ackerman. Dr. Ackerman, wait up."
Levi's heart pounded hard in his chest when he heard the sound of
Eren's voice calling out to him. He actually considered not stopping but decided against it because it might be seen as a confirmation of guilt that he was in fact the singer of No Name. Taking a deep breath before he turned around, he put his best poker face on hoping it would be enough. Looking the boy straight in the eyes with no fear, "Yes, can I help you? What's your name again?" he asked, even though he knew perfectly well this was Eren Yeager. Now it all made sense to him why the boy was so amused every time the drink was referenced that night. As he waited for a reply, he was struck once again by the majestic pull of Eren's amazing eyes, and he had to mentally slap himself not to reach out and touch the boy's cheek to pull him into a kiss.
Eren wasn't deterred by the question. He had suspected that it wasn't going to be that easy to get the singer to admit the truth considering how serious he had been about Eren keeping his identity a secret. Eren didn't answer right away for he was suddenly hypnotized by the sight of seeing Levi's eyes for the first time. Up close he could see their unique gray-blue color and, it was just one more thing that made this man so damn attractive—on top of the way the man had dresses like for class. What fucking kind of professor would ever show up to class flaunting their ass like some pop idol wallpaper in the flesh? If Levi didn't want Eren to recognize him, he should not have worn something that made every inch of him so damn sexy. Coming back to reality he responded, "You had said that we could ask you anything as long as it was out of class. What I wanted to say is I know who you really are. You can try to deny it, but I'm still positive that you are the 'Levi' I met a week ago. I would recognize you anywhere after that night."
"That's not exactly a question." Levi could once again see the color of desire in Eren's gaze. And even the way the boy hung his lips open a smidgen, was a screaming invitation. Levi knew that he had to handle with great care, or this would end badly. "And you are mistaken. You and I have never met before. It just must have been someone that resembled me. If that is all, I'll be going. Bye." He quickly turned away, wanting to end this conversation.
Eren impulsively reached out and grabbed Levi's wrist, stopping the ravenette from running away. "Ok, if you want it as a question. Are you Levi? The man that gave me the greatest night of my life?"
"No, I'm afraid I am not, kid. And I'm pretty sure I know what you are insinuating, but I will tell you point blank that there is no way I would EVER put my hands on a student, especially one as young as you. I'm not into younger partners. Now would you kindly unhand me before someone sees and gets the wrong idea," Levi spoke in a stern flat tone, indicating that this was not a topic that was up for further debate even though feelings of the greatest night of his life was mutual. He needed Eren to release him as quickly as possible. The skin under the boy's touch felt hot and was beginning to spread the heat over his body.
Eren reluctantly he released Levi, but as the man started to walk away, he shouted out, "The reason you sat back at the beginning of class was because you wanted to study your students' behavior. You wanted to witness their true nature since you know that this is something they might change in order to look good in front of you later. It was a way to learn their personalities, to access the atmosphere, as well as their expectations of both the class and yourself. If you didn't want to make it so easy to figure out, you shouldn't have added the part about being open to asking you questions right after you gave the assignment. It was a test done on purpose right?"
Turning back around, Levi looked at Eren with surprise. "Well I am most certainly impressed. Never has a student given me the correct answer so quickly or with such perfect logic put in such precise words." 'This boy might be harder to fool than what I had originally thought.' There was both a feeling of apprehension as well as excitement at the realization that this was going to come down to a battle of wills.
Hearing Levi acknowledge him, Eren's heart pinged with pride. He decided to go a little deeper to really prove to this man that he was worthy of him. "Also as a hint to see if anyone was paying attention, you told the class that your field of study is behavioral which is all about figuring out why people act the way they do and is based on observation and the understanding of what they have experienced in the past. With such an open invitation, it allows more one-on-one encounters with your students than what is usually limited to only seeing them if they needed help in the class. Do I need to go on, or have you seen that I am smart enough to see the truth to your identity as well?"
"I can definitely tell that you got a good head on your shoulders. But as they say, 'There is a thin line between genius and insanity' and I can see you are deluding yourself to see me as this person. You must really be obsessed with them to project this image on me. Let me be frank, it's an unhealthy attachment to have, period. If you can't let this go, I would recommend you speak to one of the school's psychologists. They can treat you to let go of such an unhealthy attachment."
Eren was hurt by those words. But his hurt soon turned to anger, and he shot back, "The reason I could answer your question so readily is because my parents had me learn basic knowledge in all the different branches of the medical field so I could pick a path to focus on from the beginning so I didn't waste time and energy if I decided I didn't like my original choice later. Don't try to gaslight me with this. It's completely unethical."
Hearing Eren call him out like that, Levi actually felt ashamed of himself. "You're right. It was wrong of me to make that judgment when I really don't know anything about you. But I hope from here on out we can limit our conversations to class related things."
Closing the gap between them, Eren bent down to Levi's ear and whispered, "Like I told you that night, I have been into you for the past six years. After watching you for all that time and spending that long night together, there is no way I would not recognize you." Since Levi hadn't pulled away from him, Eren went as far as to place a hand on Levi's hip. "I have studied your body, your voice, even the way you style your hair, and they are all unique." The hitching of Levi's breath did not go unnoticed to Eren. Steeping in a bit closer, he continued, "All of these are obvious tells. Watch. I am going to make you admit the truth sooner or later."
The hot breath fanning Levi's ear had frozen him in place; the intimate touch on his hip stirred up memories of their night together, and a small tremor shot over his skin as his body recalled the heat of their bare flesh pressed against each other. The enchantment of Levi needing to grab a fistful of Eren's hair and drag the boy down to his knees before Levi claimed his lips was broken when the sound of chatter pulled Levi back to the moment, and he pushed Eren off of him. Taking a few glances around before turning his attention back to the boy, "Don't EVER grab me like that so openly again," he demanded. "This might be some game to you, but this is my life you are fucking with. Have some kind of tacit." Wanting to end this situation immediately, Levi turned around and started running, trying to put as much distance between them as quickly as possible. It might look strange that he was running, but it still looked better than having a student groping him in the middle of a campus courtyard.
As Levi ran, he couldn't help but replay everything over in his mind. Shit, this was insane. Why hadn't he pushed the boy away sooner? And why hadn't he been sterner with his words. Fuck, did he ever need a cigarette. He really hated that he had to go so far off campus to get a smoke. But maybe that might be a good thing right now because it meant that Eren wouldn't be able to find him in his office later. Just when he thought there might be something good working into his life that "good" turned out to be the worst kind of trouble.
When he finally stopped running, even being a little out of breath didn't stop Levi from lighting up a cigarette. As his shaky hands lit the tobacco, his mind stormed. He would never be able say anymore that he never had sex with one of his students. That thought sent a vile, hard shiver through his body. Levi had never imagined he would ever become that guy. But it wasn't like he meant to sleep with a student. He had no idea who Eren Yeager even was before that night. Though officially, the boy probably had been on his roster for weeks. So technically, he had slept with one of his students.
Levi put his hands on top of his hand and crumbled to the ground. "FUCK!" 'There is no fucking way Hanji can find out about this.'
Eren decided that if L wanted to play it the dirty way then so was he. He really didn't want to have to take things so far but L, Levi, Dr. Ackerman—whatever the fuck that bastard wanted to call himself in the moment—lied to him. And on top of that tried to convince him he was crazy. That was something that Eren could not let go of so easily. Levi had called him crazy; Eren could get that crazy.
After he was done with the remainder of his classes, which he could barely pay any attention to anyway, he went to visit the one place on earth to get information about the band, The Jazzy Blue. Even though Eren had been out this way for concerts, he actually only had been in the store once before because it had some very strange hours sometimes and they never matched his flight schedule. But that was something he was going to remedy from now on. He knew that the band's schedule slowed down right after they finished a tour, but it didn't just stop. There would be small things in the next few months. All Eren needed to do was be in the shop at the right time and talked to the right people, and he knew that he would have a chance to see "L" face to face again.
When Eren walked into the music store, he was totally taken by surprise. The same blonde girl that had been at the hotel desk that day was now standing behind the counter of the recorded shop. Making his way to the counter with a bit of nervousness, he noticed that this time she was wearing a name tag, and it read "Annie".
"Hi again. So I see you also work here. Is the hotel your other job?"
Totally ignoring his question, Annie said, "I just knew I would be seeing you again. What do you want?"
"Oh, wow, I'm a customer. Can't you be a little bit nicer?"
"Then how about you buy something?"
"Ok, so did I do something wrong?" Eren asked confused.
Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, "Not exactly, but I know your kind. You're a No Name fan. So you are just coming in to try to get some info on the band. Am I wrong?"
"If this is about last time, I'm sorry you had to stay and wait for me. I didn't realize how late it was."
"That's not what it is. I got well compensated for babysitting your ass. So I'm good with that."
"You got paid extra to wait on me? Why?"
"I don't really care. But I'm glad to see you're walking better." She said with a fake smile on her face.
Eren didn't know where to put himself in that instance. He was totally embarrassed and the smile on Annie's face sent chills down his spine. But she had told him something very interesting; and at this point he would take whatever he could get, and he got something good. Not wanting to get on her bad side even more, Eren decided that he needed to be satisfied with this little piece of information for now. "Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you again. I'll just come back later and hope you are in a better mood then," Eren said as he back peddled his way to the exit.
"I wouldn't bet on it," she said, as she watched Eren go out the door. Her attention was taken away when another employee called out from around the back corner.
"Hey Annie, is it safe to come out?"
"Dammit, Jean, you're late!" She yelled, annoyed by the fact that if Jean had been on time she would not have had to deal with Eren again.
"I know. I'm sorry. I was a little scared to come out with the way you were talking to that customer. Who was he anyway?"
Crossing her arms and looking to the side she answered, "Just some idiot named Eren."
"Is he a friend of yours?" he asked carefully.
With shape blue eyes and a look of disgust directed at her colleague, she answered, "No."
Jean pulled back his hands in surrender. "Ok. Damn, you don't have to get so hostile."
Annie turned back around to stare at the door, and under her breath, she murmured, "Maybe."
It had been a whole week since classes had started, but Eren had yet to approach Levi outside of class again. That should have been good news, but for some reason, Levi was unsettled. Eren had still come to class like a good student, even sat in the front row. But the boy never spoke one word to him the whole time. Levi didn't know if he should be happy or worried. It was like a switch was flipped, and he knew people did not change that fast. Thus, he discerned that Eren must be planning something. Still, Levi was grateful that Eren had a least backed down for the past week. It had given him time to process everything and find a solid resolve on this.
First and foremost, Eren was a student in his class—His student. Therefore, both ethically and logically, Levi could not allow himself to put his hands on Eren again. He had worked too hard to get himself where he was, both as a teacher and a rock idol, to destroy it for a teenage boy. It was bad enough that if Eren decided he wanted to be vindictive, he could leak L's real identity to the media at any time. No, Levi wouldn't put himself in a position where his professional career was also in jeopardy, no matter how good that boy's ass had felt. In Levi's mind, there was absolutely no justified reason to cross such a taboo line.
As Levi sat in his office answering emails, he was pleased that it was a Tuesday. He wouldn't have to see Eren today because he had seen him yesterday. While his fingers tapped away on the keyboard, he was happy to have this mundane task to take his mind away from the maelstrom that had become his life over the past few weeks.
He was hardly sleeping much between the combination of being too stressed out over Eren to fall asleep and then not being able to stay asleep with the dreams most nights. And though he did not wake up every night from horrible images, the other dreams were still starting to worry him. They all had the same one person in them. Although he didn't have any clue who they were, this person was even starting to show up in the nightmares when the monsters attacked. And that was very different. Nothing but blood and violence had ever stood out during those kinds of dreams. But that was also changing.
Levi's attention was taking away from the email he was writing when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in." Turning his eyes to the door, his stomach dropped when it was opened by Eren.
As he opened the door to Levi's office, Eren questioned why had he talked himself into thinking that this was a good idea. It had already been over a week and neither he nor "Dr. Ackerman" had said one word to each other. He knew that it was his fault for maybe going overboard with some of the things he said, but the man did push him quite hard that day.
"Is there something you actually need for my class or are you here to harass me again?" Levi asked with a scowl on his face as he watched Eren close the door behind him and then walk closer to his desk.
Eren was too busy appreciating the sight of seeing Levi in a suit that he didn't realize the man was waiting for a response. Shaking his head he said, "Oh, sorry. I mean… no, I'm not. I mean… I came to apologize and hope that maybe we could start over again. Here I brought you this as a peace offering." Eren stepped directly in front of Levi's desk and offered him a Starbucks cup.
Levi raised one eyebrow skeptically. He could see that the boy was struggling just standing there. "So should I take it that you are trying to bribe me now? What is it?" 'Oh, God. Why the hell do his hips have to look so good in those jeans?'
"It's Earl Gray tea. You seemed a bit tired yesterday in class. So I thought you might enjoy this." Eren had remembered in an interview a few years back where L had mentioned that he loved to drink the stuff. Holding the cup out, he hoped that Levi would accept it.
Levi was hesitant on whether to take it or not. How did the boy know he liked to drink tea in the afternoons? Had it just been simply a guess? It was the pleading look on Eren's face that made Levi give in and take the drink into his hand. "Thank you. But just because I'm taking this doesn't mean that I will forgive you so easily. It's not drugged is it?"
"Of course not. God no. I'm not that stupid. That would be a crime. And it would get me nowhere. I really came here to apologize." Eren didn't know if this would work, but he prayed that it would at least make it easier with the man.
"You know what else is a crime? Sexually harassment." Levi needed to put a stop to things before Eren even thought he actually had a chance.
"I'm… I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean to be so forceful. It's just something came over me."
Levi could see that this was going to need some serious discussion with setting boundaries. For both of them. "Eren, sit down." He waited for the boy to take a seat before he continued. "Do you even understand the severity of the things you were implying? You had insinuated that I had had sexual relations with you, a student of mine."
"It's not like I was your student at the time."
"Shut up and let me finish." Levi paused a moment to stair Eren down, putting the boy in his place. "Now, I'm not saying that I am this man you meet, because I'm not. But what do you think would happen if it was even suggested that I had sex with one of my students? What do you think would happen to me then?"
"You could lose your job."
"And do you want me to lose my job?"
"No." Eren definitely didn't want Levi to lose his job. If he lost his job, Eren wouldn't be able to see him anymore. And that was the last thing the brunette wanted. He realized that he would have to keep special care to make sure his mouth didn't get both of them in trouble.
"Good. So now that we have talked about it. Can you promise me that you are going to stop insisting that I am that person from now on, yes?"
Eren really didn't want to agree to this but he knew if he didn't Levi would never let his guard down around him unless he did. And he wanted to be accepted by the older man. "Fine, I won't accuse you of being that person again." 'Even though I know you are.'
Levi nodded his head as conformation. He was happy things seemed to be over and done with on this point. But before he could stop himself curiosity got the better of him. "What makes that guy so special to you anyway?"
Eren didn't know how he should answer, unsure if it was a trick. He tried to judge Levi's mood, but the man's face was blank. "I don't know. It's hard to explain. Are you sure you really want to know?"
Levi thought might as well. He was already in it this deep. "You accused me of being this man. I at least should get to know why you were so desperate. Think of it as wiping clean the slate, and I'll overlook it. You know my field, so I am just interested because of that."
"Well… first off it's the way he moves. He has a way of making every little movement look sexy, even when he is not trying to. It might just all be because of the way he looks. He's got a tight ass body that makes your mouth water." Eren didn't even try to hide his heated gaze directed at Levi while he spoke. There was more than one way to get the singer to cave, and with the amount of passion that man used to claim his body that night, Eren knew it was only a matter of time before his lips were on that body again.
"So it is nothing more than a sexual attraction?"
"No, there is more to it than just that. But I have to say, the sex was totally out of this world. I never thought sex could ever be that good." Eren closed his eyes for a second as images of that night with Levi on top of him flashed through his mind, and he allowed all the lust they invoked to be seen on his face.
The look on Eren's face was one Levi had seen that night as he was thrusting hard inside the boy, and it caused a jolt of arousal to grow in his groin. 'He is just a kid, Levi, and your student.' The only thing he had accomplished by telling himself that was keeping him in his chair and not climbing over his desk to kiss Eren's open lips. Because it didn't do anything about the hardness that was taking shape between his legs. 'Focus.' "So it is all about the sex. You had a great lay kid. Congratulations. But sex is just sex."
"No, I said it wasn't." Eren took a deep breath to control the anger he felt building at those words. Hearing Levi say this to him, Eren wander if that truly was all Levi had thought about their night together. But if that was the reason why did Levi go so far as to do all the other stuff. Why had he told him he was the exception? Why did the man give Eren his name? "He was soft and gentle in ways that had nothing to do with getting each other off. Affectionate and attentive to the point that I wished I could give him the world, if he'd only let me, because he deserved it. He is also extremely witty which makes just simply taking him enjoyable and never boring."
Now that was something Levi wasn't expecting. He realized that he might have shown more of himself to Eren than he had thought. But he hadn't shown the boy more than a glimpse at what he could be capable of. And again the thought arose in him that if Eren knew the truth would he still be interested? Levi didn't believe that for one moment, so he thought to test the boy. He was going to show Eren the kind of man he truly could be. And then the boy would leave him alone. "Ha! Yeah, but he didn't let you. And the fact that you are grasping at straws suggest that this guy must have run off. Ever thought maybe the sex really wasn't all that great for him? Though, you were probably at least useful for the night."
Eren tightened his jaw at Levi's response. He would not let this man take this away from him. "No, we made a connection, a real one. The kind that is so strong and deep, you could feel the other person was feeling the same exact thing. Somewhere in the middle of it all we made love without making love. And if that is not something that has meaning, then nothing has meaning."
Levi was lost for words. How did this kid have such confidence? How did he so effortlessly make Levi long to be wrapped tightly in his arms and never released? This conversation had started as a fun way to play around with Eren, but with the way it was going it looked like fate was the one playing around with Levi. They were at least ten years apart and Eren was quite possibly his biggest fan and the boy was a student in his class. Any one of those things would have been enough reason for Levi to not want anything to do with a person. So why was he here hanging on every word coming out of the boy's mouth?
Getting his emotions back in line with his resolve, Levi's body cooled back down. Without saying a word, he rose up from behind his desk, walked past Eren, and opened the door. "I think we both have a better understanding of this situation, and we have also come to an agreement. As far as I'm concerned this matter has been settled, and I look forward to enjoying our student-teacher relationship."
Eren watched Levi stand there holding the door open as he spoke. It was quite clear that he was being dismissed by the man. But at least Levi didn't denyingly rebuke his words or appear to be angry with him, so something positive must have come out of their strange conversation. Eren rose from his seat and went to where Levi was standing. "I'm glad we had a chance to talk this through." Eren gave Levi a weak smile that didn't quite touch his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow in class."
The boy turned and walked out into the hallway, and Levi slowly moved to shut the door, but before it was closed all the way, Levi called out, "Eren, my door is always open to my students." Levi didn't wait to get a response before he finished closing the door between them. He leaned backwards against the door and with a thump, knocked his head on the wood. This boy was going to be the end of him.
A\N: So up date on the writing situation. I have officially written new content.(an Eren chapter) Writing from Eren's POV has always been at times a challenge, but now that has gotten even harder. However, I will not let this deter me, and I will do my best to keep this story moving along at a steady pace and get it done. Though, what I am working on rn has so much feels connected to the manga, it hurts. but we will push through this.
On another note, I would really like to know what do you all think about the videos that I link for each chapter? Like do any of you actually watch them?
And also, WOW, thank you to all of you for all your support. It was way more than I could have imagined.
