Escort Part I

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Summary: Petra doesn't want to walk alone to her car.

Petra leaned back in her chair and stretched. One hand covering her mouth, she yawned. Proofreading a second time to make sure everything was right, she smiled, satisfied. She saved the document and submitted it, an hour still left until it was due, and began putting the books away.

The librarian was making his way over when she was almost done. "Just one last book to put away," she told him.

"I can put it away for you," he offered.

"Thanks." Quickly packing up her notebook and her laptop, she pulled out her keys, walking down the stairs to the first floor.

It was the weekend, and considering the time of night, the place was mostly deserted. Once again, she'd put off a big assignment until last minute and spent the past six hours hunched over her laptop, going over her notes and scanning books for references. In her peripheral vision, she noticed a familiar young man putting his things away. So I wasn't the only one procrastinating tonight. The thought made her feel better.

Cool air greeted her as she stepped through the large doors. Halfway down the stone steps, she came to a halt. Construction had taken up half the parking spots the library offered and the street had been packed when she'd arrived, forcing her to park a couple of blocks down the road. She hadn't minded too much at the time, mind swirling with ideas for her project. People, couples, and families and their pets had been out and about in the bright sun.

Now, just an hour from midnight, the street looked dark and menacing. It wouldn't have been too much of a problem except she knew there were a couple of bars on the way to her car as well as plenty of dark alleys potentially full of psycho rapist axe-murderer freaks. Her imagination drew inspiration from anything horror-related she'd ever come across.

Footsteps came from behind her, followed by the sound of locks turning. Petra stared at the back of his head as he passed by. Behind her, the librarian checked the doors to make sure they were secure and disappeared inside. Seconds ticked by and her thoughts raced at the speed of light.

The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could make up her mind. "Hey, wait."

He paused and turned, curious to see if he was the one she called had out. "Yes?"

"Um." Her mind scrambled to form a sentence. She slowly descended to the bottom of the steps, taking the time to get her thoughts in order. "We had that philosophy class together last quarter, right?"

"Yeah, I remember you. Forgot your name though."

"Petra," she blurted out and he nodded, waiting for her to continue. "So, uh…" She hesitated. She barely knew him. But he wasn't a total stranger.

Once again she cursed herself, this time for her obsession with dark procedural shows, remembering all the gruesome acts committed by crazy killers and their genius ploys of luring naive victims without effort. Considering the fact that I'm the one who approached him, I'd be the serial killer in this scenario. Mentally, she slapped herself for getting side-tracked and spacing-out on him.

He checked his watch. "Well, it's late—"

"I'm just gonna say it!" She took a breath. "Where are you headed?"

"Why?"

"It's not weird! I promise! I'm not asking because I'm some creepy stalker or serial killer or whatever! Because, you know, if this was a TV show I totally would be! But I'm not!"

He stared at her, unblinking and unnerving.

"It's dark and I don't wanna walk alone," she admitted sheepishly. "Can you walk me to my car, please?"

"Why didn't you just say so?"

"I don't know. Because I like to make a fool of myself?"

He nodded before agreeing. "Okay."

"It's this way," she gestured to her left. Feeling a little more relaxed as they walked, she asked, "What's your name again?"

"It's Levi."

"Oh yeah! You're Hange's friend, right?"

Levi made a face. "You remember Four-Eyes but not me?"

"I've had a few classes with her. And she's pretty loud and crazy and hard to forget."

"To put it lightly."

"Were you finishing an assignment last minute, too?"

"Nah, it's due next week and I wanted to finish it now so I could go to this bar for a friend's birthday that weekend."

"I wish I had your self-discipline.s" Petra sighed. "I'm constantly telling myself I'm not going to procrastinate but it's just so hard!"

"It gets better with practice." He pressed the round silver button and they waited for the crossing sign to glow green. Her eyebrow furrowed slightly in confusion when he suddenly took the lead, walking right in front of her, forcing her to move to his left. "I see that you're an anime fan." He nodded to her Tokyo Ghoul sweatshirt.

"Are you?"

"Not me, my cousin. She's constantly harassing me into watching one anime or another."

Petra opened her mouth, but nothing came out as their surroundings caught up to her. Was that why he had quickly walked in front of her? By forcing her to move to his other side, he'd placed himself between her and the drunken men stumbling out of the pub. She couldn't deny it made her heart all weak and fluttery. Probably just a coincidence, she decided.

"You're not compiling a list of anime for me to watch, are you?"

"Hm? No, don't watch Tokyo Ghoul."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the anime sucked. Especially the second season, I mean don't even get me started! You should read the manga, it's way better! There are no plot holes, no censoring, the art is amazing, the characters have more depth and development, you really get to see the MC's mental state deteriorate, there's so much symbolism and meaning, and—"

"Okay, okay, don't watch the anime. Read the manga. Got it."

"Sorry, I got a little excited." She gestured to the street corner. "The parking garage where my car is parked is down there around that corner. Is yours there, too?"

"They charge a lot," he grumbled.

"There are a lot of office buildings around here and they have no choice but to park there so the rates are crazy."

Levi wrinkled his nose. "I really hate the traffic here."

"Are you not from around here?"

"I moved to the city when I started at Sina University. It's been three years but that's the one thing I'm still not used to." He paused. "That and the pet population. Seriously, how many cats and dogs do you people need?"

Petra's eyes sparkled and she pulled out her phone. "Wanna see my dog?" She shoved the screen under his nose. An adorable beagle stared at him, head tilted to the side. "His name's Marshmallow."

"Marshmallow?"

"Because he's the sweetest, cutest, and softest little dog ever!" She cooed. "Wait, let me show you a video!"

"He's hyper," Levi said, watching the video of them playing.

"Uh-huh, he loves going to the park and playing fetch and getting belly rubs and—"

"We're almost there," he said quickly. Checking the road, they dashed across the white lines and entered the concrete structure, brightly lit by blinding overhead lights.

"Well, that is me." Petra stopped before a small blue car. "Thanks for walking me here."

"You're welcome," Levi replied. He hesitated for a second, watching her place her bag in the passenger seat before going around to the driver's side. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, and thanks again." Her smile slipped when she saw him turn and walk toward the exit. "Where are you going?"

He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "To my car."

"But that's the exit."

"It is."

Then it hit her. "I thought you said you parked here."

"No, I said this place is expensive. My car is parked across that plaza with the drug store and the arcade."

Her eyes widened in realization. "But that's even farther from the library and in the opposite direction."

"I like taking walks," Levi said. "It's calming." Without another word, he left.

Petra slipped into her seat, mind still running. Then she hit her head against the steering wheel. I'm such an idiot! He had gone out of his way to escort her to her car and she'd just let him walk away without even asking for his number. Should I go after him?

"Gah!" She slapped her face. Running after him seemed a little desperate and trying to follow after him in her car was even weirder.

Why hadn't Levi asked her? Did he think she'd get weirded out? Think she might believe he'd only acted as a gentleman to gain a favor to make her feel obligated. Or was he nervous? Did it just not occur to him because he wasn't interested? She really hoped it wasn't because of that. Starting her car, she drove home, optimistic about running into him again. It was a big university and the chances were slim, but she was still hopeful.

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