Happy one year anniversary! Thank you for sticking around and reading about this awkward little man in his life struggles. Super long update again, hope you enjoy!
It's been five days. A sudden heatwave has overtaken the country; the humidity in the air has everyone gasping for breath as though they're all being gassed. And Levi. Hasn't. Slept. Since. It. Arrived.
And slowly, just, ever. So. Slowly. He's been driven to the brink of a meltdown. Ha. (It's not funny)
A few days ago he thought hey; maybe it'd be a good idea to "make small talk" with his co-worker, the one that constantly looks terrified and has weird eyebrows. Moblit, his name is.
After five days, Levi's entirely ready to make that last sentence past tense.
He's really fucking ready to kill someone.
Fuck the internet and it's lies. Small talk sucks. It's painful.
He doesn't fucking care that Moblit bought a second hand, blunt garden machete and tried to threaten a douche-bag with it while he was drunk the other night. But now that he's started talking to Levi he won't stop. Somehow it's been ingrained in Levi to be painfully polite towards strangers he hates. Moblit's not doing anything wrong, just being really bloody annoying.
Levi doesn't fucking want to come out his shell like his shitty key worker keeps advising him to do.
Reiner! Is! Fucking! Loud! And even Bertholdt has been getting on his nerves by simply breathing.
Levi's considering getting the cheese-grater out the drawer and SHREDDING someone.
ANYONE.
He doesn't get how Bertholdt does it; how he goes to everyone's door at Swansea whenever he wants -without really having a reason to, he just visits them out the blue (Sasha isn't too fond of that, but she usually makes an exception for Bert)- how he smiles all the bloody time and talks to all the staff every day and goes out drinking each and every weekend without fail. In fact, Bertholdt is the kind of person who recharges when in contact with people. Extroverts are things of insanity!
He turned down an offer to watch a movie in the staff's room and heard them talking beyond the door about how "Levi wasn't acting like himself" and "he was kind of rude, didn't look too well". HMM WONDER WHY THAT IS.
Sure they don't know about his insomnia but they could at least get the fucking message that he doesn't want to talk to anyone, that it's nothing personal, he's just been having a really shit week. He would tell them but that would require being in contact with them and his headache objects the notion.
Not that he'd willingly go out and talk to them anyway. He doesn't know them all too well, and doesn't know how to improve their relationship. Doesn't really want to improve it either. He's perfectly happy in his own company. Staring at the ceiling in his bedroom. Burning holes into the people being noisy upstairs. Ah yes this is the life.
And... Naturally fate would play its part and make it so that he has to see Eren. Especially now when he's such a mess.
God it was going good for him for a while. He was finally getting somewhere. Visiting Eren's house just like he wanted to, talking to Eren about cinematography and pets (his pet plant?), and trying to work a camera together. He saw stars in Eren's eyes even though Levi was rambling and fuck; even Eren's friends like Levi. That counts as having something in common.
They gave him tips after they recognised his feelings for Eren and co-operated to get Eren to notice him (they also cock-blocked him, but he'll get them for that next time). They made him feel like he'd been around them for at least half his life. They've been texting him on and off for the past week -Jean texted him every day and bloody hell that didn't do his headache and irritation any favours. Levi would ruin his good impression by spouting weird shit and freaking Eren out.
It's a wonder that Eren let him stay even after finding out he was pretending to be Annie. After he'd kissed Eren on the cheek and those trauma inducing phone conversations: it's a wonder he's still talking to Levi.
"You are officially a stalker with bad intentions. God help that poor boy."
Throughout the nights when he couldn't sleep, such memories would taunt him, reminding him that his infatuation -because why on earth would it be love if Levi still hardly knew Eren after a mere three months?- was similar to a highschool girl freaking out over attractive looks and meaningless quirks and over analysed glances.
"Eren? As in the "I'm obsessed with him and over analyse every second we have together" Eren?"
Sure, he agreed when Erwin said that. Because unbeknownst to most, Levi does in fact have a sense of humour. He's slightly self aware at the right times. Despite his self-deprecating jokes he knows he's tried far too hard to impress Eren, inviting him out using dumb excuses and going as far as looking things up online to simply speak to the man. He knows because trying to do the same around other people is bloody tiring and much less worth the effort.
It's because of Eren that the desire to make an effort to socialize even appeared. Is that even healthy? Speaking to people doesn't come naturally to him, nor is it something he particularly enjoys, his voice sounding foreign when he uses it. Okay, perhaps Eren's presence has encouraged him to be more healthy...
Levi doesn't want to come out his shell. He likes his shell and wishes it were even more secluded. But he wants to want to come out his shell; that's more than what he used to feel in that area. Which was nothing.
It bothers him that he'll have to socialize, but Levi knows he's made a commitment; he must reap what he once sowed. Uuuugh. He tells himself he gets to see Eren, but the excitement is dulled to a bitter-sweet pang in his chest when he knows he'll just make a fool out of himself. Then again Jean and Biscuit will be around so it's not like he'll be the only idiot there.
Peeling a sweaty arm from over his throbbing eyes, Levi reaches beneath his pillow to pull out the calendar underneath it. He holds it above him, lying on the cool sheets of his bed. This calendar. It's been around since the beginning and hasn't judged him once. But it will; give it time.
As he flips through the pages it tells him he's only interacted with Eren thirteen times. And not all of them were in person. None of them were for very long.
He looks at the dated box of May Thirteenth: "If Eren doesn't want to go to his house then I'll make a place for him to go. He did it for me after all." It feels as though he's gotten to know Eren a little better since then. Levi's found out how mischievous he can be, had a proper conversation with him over text -in person, even- discovered what lies beneath the cheerful demeanour Eren wears around his friends and come to think of it... Hadn't he visited the shop to see Levi? Sure the sweets and chocolate were cheap there but he could've went anywhere else. Levi replaces the calendar under the pillow and sighs.
By the end of that night Eren had looked a lot happier as well- oh, wait, that was when he told Levi not to... Yeah. Hmm. Considering the fact Eren is letting him join his club he must've brushed it off (what tolerance). Levi still has a lot to learn in that department. Maybe, hopefully, Eren understands Levi's awkwardness is simply a part of him. Not that he wants to be like that, but he is.
However if Levi met anyone like himself, if he were in Eren's position, he'd probably have knocked the stalker guy out at least once. Clingy people are annoying. Oh the irony!
Now he'll see Eren weekly, without fail. Without needing dumb excuses that would be painful to reflect upon! Given how much Eren fangirled over the camera and competition, it doesn't seem likely that he'd simply cancel the meetings out of the blue. Unless Eren got an actual actor. There's always that.
Even with that pessimistic thought in mind, Levi realizes he's become startlingly optimistic. Who knew infatuation would do him this much good? Granted, it hasn't all been smiles and rainbows (well, maybe the rainbows, if you catch the meaning). He's experienced more self-doubt and pining and overreactions these past three months than the protagonist of a bad soap opera does during a series.
Nevertheless; if you'd told the Levi of three months ago that he was listening to his co-worker rant -willingly (some of the time)- and learning to become more self aware and trying to impress a guy, he would've told you to fuck off for even daring to speak to him. Then he'd scoff at the idea.
No wonder all Eren's friends had a crush on him when he had this kind of impact on people during such a short space of time. There'd better not be competition though. He'll slay their asses, foe or lesser foe. It doesn't seem as though there's any immediate challenge so Levi can take the time to get changed into non-sticky clothing and make his way to Eren's house.
Along the way his posture becomes more upright, the image of Eren's sweet smile and sunlit, chocolate hair burned into his memory.
Twenty minutes later he's knocking on the door to Eren's house (the place could use a good clean, that's for sure) and a few loud footsteps later, Eren opens the door. Green eyes are half closed in fatigue, hair sticks out in odd angles, shoulders slouch under the material of a Cookie Monster onesie.
Wow, he really is a sweet-tooth, and a childish one at that. How cute. Suddenly eyelids and thick eyebrows raise in alarm and Eren tries to hide behind the door.
"Shit!" Eren squeaks. "I bloody forgot about the meeting today and slept in." What a lucky bastard. "Uh, come in, Levi. I think the Bozo bro's are in the living room. I'm... I'm gonna get freshened up." Eren leaves the door open for Levi, trudging down the hallway. Levi follows him, surprised that he can let loose a small smirk despite his painful light-headedness.
A few paces later Levi finds himself in the small, homey living room and sees Biscuit and Jean on the sky-blue couches. "Oh, hey."
Jean stands up immediately and walks over to him, both in their casual suits and grinning at him. "That idiot forgot but we were waiting for you!" Jean touches his shoulder and tries to guide him in.
Levi bunches his shoulders at the contact in an attempt to brush him off. "Yeah. Don't touch me." Jean drops his hand and returns to the couch undeterred.
He's kind of gotten the hint that Jean wants to flirt with him -if that can be told by how often he texts Levi with meaningless "hi's" and "wuu2's" that only serve to deaden the conversation. Does that count as flirting? But, well, Jean gave him advice on how to get on Eren's good side so he mustn't actually be interested in Levi.
If anything that just makes him even more annoying. Levi kinda liked Jean better before he was texting him all the time. And before Levi's early summertime insomnia kicked in.
Sitting on the other couch, Biscuit and Jean lean in his direction. "So you been up to anything?" Biscuit asks. And damn, if that is the one question Levi doesn't want to hear.
"Nothing much, work, the usual." he replies, already wishing the conversation was over.
"Oh yeah, Jean said you work at the Pound Saver shop? God, working in retail fucking sucks." Biscuit groans empathetically and sinks into the couch as he rambles. "I've got my job at the second hand shop up the road from that place. So boring. All there is is dusty bloody furniture, dumb customers that want their refund way after the return date, and all those Facebook type mums with an excessively highlighted blonde bob and fuck ugly Ford minivan-"
"Screaming brats that send the old Pokemon cards and expensive records flying all over the place-"
"And I gotta go to my manager each time to tell him we've got a Sharon."
"I'm so glad I don't work with you man." Jean pats his brother on the back and chuckles at the dismay in his expression. (Yay they've forgotten about Levi at this point. Lucky, lucky him...)
Biscuit snarks back at him. "Me too. You'd make my life even more of a hell than you already do."
"Excuse you! I'm a good brother. I visit you at work so you're not lonely and make you lunch." Jean huffs. Levi wants to go home, so he sighs and looks out the window.
"Actually," Eren's voice echoes from the stairs as he clambers down them, now dressed in a loose red t-shirt and blue jeans with the ends worn out, and everyone glances in his direction. "Mikasa does. And I know for a fact that you don't even know where we put the bread." Pointing at Jean accusingly, he sits next to Levi, who gets a pang of pride in his chest at being the Chosen One. Eren rests an ankle on his opposite knee and crosses his arms.
Jean raises his hands in exasperation, letting flop with a clap onto his knees. "I didn't know we had a bread bin in the pantry. Sor-ry."
This is even worse than the arguments they had during the resident meeting last week. Levi searches longingly for the smart people of this friend group. "Where's Armin and Mikasa?"
"Mikasa's sleeping, I think. She had work super early this morning." Eren shrugs. "ARMIN YOU COMING DOWN?" Armin calls back an equally loud "NO". Poor Mikasa. Levi might live in the same building as a lot of other people but at least they don't shout (at least, not all the time) and here the walls are paper thin. Cheap rent indeed...
"Oh no," Eren whispers in mock sadness. "My main Brain man is gone."
"He's your only brain. There's nothing in that thick head of yours." Eren dead-pans a glare at Jean. And stares. His eyes crinkle far too much as he smiles in a way that clearly says "shut up shit-head". Levi sniggers a little at that.
Smiling properly, Eren looks at him. The sleep is washed away from his eyes but his hair's just as messy as it was before. "Actor man, we're going to get you used to acting in front of people! You done any stage work before?" Levi shakes his head, realizing he can't maintain eye contact with Eren yet again. He forces himself to though, for three to five seconds mind you. Don't look at him like that; the internet's advice is a last resort.
"Alright, well back in the good ol' days of highschool, my drama class played this "Improvising Game". I thought it'd be a good way to break the ice before we start getting into serious business." Eren nods in agreement to himself. "Armin made a list of stuff we've gotta do after you left last week, like writing the script and whatever. But until then, why not have some fun yeah? I'd love to see how you act, Levi!" his eyes shine as bright as his smile.
Even Levi can't damper that extent of enthusiasm and his lopsided smirk returns as he tells Eren "sure". Has he been waiting to see Levi in action? The thought warms his chest, although he finds himself getting a little nervous as well. He really... Doesn't fucking know how to act. But Levi's not allowed to embarrass himself anymore, he promised himself that.
Eren goes on to explain the rules, and Levi can't help but note how the more he talks: the more he motivates the twins, prompting them to ask questions and leaning in towards Eren, and even he finds himself intrigued by this game.
Basically, they have to make up a skit on the spot: they can be any character, in any setting and in any genre. To keep the game going, someone swaps in with one person acting and based on the last thing they said, the swapped-in person uses it to create a whole new skit with different characters and so on. Since Eren's gotten the twins so hyped up, they want to go first and gleefully race to the middle of the living room.
"So what, do we plan it together?" Jean fidgets with the hem of his shirt.
The brunette waves his hand in disagreement. "No, no, just start talking and work from that." Eren explains, amusement flickering across his face.
They turn to each other, searching each others eyes. "You bastard!" Biscuit gives a full blown shriek and stage-slaps Jean, who stumbles back in surprise.
"Woah, Maria, darling what was that for? That hurt! Come kiss my boo-boo." Pointing at his "damaged" cheek and leaning in to his brother, Jean suddenly has an English accent...
In a fit of rage, Biscuit flings up his hands. "I found them! IN OUR BED!"
"Y-you mean..." Jean retreats, protecting his chest with his forearm.
"YES, THE KNICKERS OF THAT WOMAN YOU'RE CHEATING ON ME WITH!"
"Darling, you're misunderstanding it all..."
"How could I be?!"
Jean hides under his hands, covering his mouth with a deep gulp. "They're... A man's knickers, actually."
"What?!"
"Yes, um, they're my father's, in fact." Levi's eyebrows shoot up.
Biscuit breaks character, his high pitched exclamation mixed with a giggle. "W-what?!"
"Please, don't start laughing in your hysteria at this news. It's not a new development!" Jean maintains a poker face unlike his brother. "Even before our wedding night twenty years ago, my father and I have been in an intimate relationship." He clutches his shirt over his heart in a solemn gesture. "I'm sorry it has to be this way, but, I am in love with him. You were my beard, Maria."
Nodding understandingly, Biscuit bites his lip. "I also have an unnatural love for-"
"STOP." Eren interrupts, forcing the twins to break their characters. "I'm going to switch with Oreo, um Biscuit, since he spoke last. Then me and Jean are going to do a completely new skit." he jumps up from the couch to stand beside Jean. Biscuit sits beside Levi, who unblinkingly stares at him. Then at Jean.
"You don't think he really..." he trails off while still staring at Jean, his face feeling colder than before. "Um..."
Jean rolls his eyes with a snigger. "Just because I'm pansexual that does not mean I'm into incestuous relationships." Pansexual? That's... Not something Levi has heard of. He'll have to ask later. (He's sure Jean will love to explain his sexuality to him)
"I also have an unnatural love for..." Eren repeats, getting into character as he shifts into an Texan accent, frowning as he rests his hands on his hips in a show of confidence. "Peanuts."
"So the Mafia is chasing us because we needed a loan to pay for our obsession with peanuts?" Jean runs his hands through his hair, grimacing through his... Russian accent? What's with him and accents?!
"Looks like it." Eren glances off into his imaginary world, grabbing Jean's shoulder and pulling him down to the ground. On his knees Eren peers over an imaginary surface. "Shit, they're coming! What do we do?"
"Throw rubber ducks at them."
Eren lights up like he's heard a brilliant idea. "Right! The German Grenades!" he fishes into his pocket, squeezing empty space and adding "squeaky" sound effects. "Alright rubber ducky, do your thing!" he darts up, miming an exaggerated throw and quickly "hiding" again. He cups his hands around his mouth, blowing into them so it sounds like an explosion (he must've had an exciting childhood. One that he's still in).
"Chester!" Jean exclaims. "We did it! What do you say we go to the bar to celebrate?"
"I'm always a slut for alcohol; let's go." Eren helps Jean to his feet and they walk around in a circle. Jean explains to the duo on the couch "scenery change". They both sit on the floor and Eren calls up "the bartender" and orders two Suicide Shots (isn't that tequila? Christ).
"Barney, I only met you today but I feel like we've known each other our entire lives."
"My name isn't Barney. It's Slacajov."
"Alright then Slackie-"
"In Russia Slackie means penis. You die now." Jean mimes holding a large gun (it probably looks cool in his head) "Today will be-"
"Uh, switch?" Levi calls out a little louder than he'd intended.
"Awesome!" Eren grins at him, breaking out of character. "Get up here man."
Aaah, this was a bad idea. Levi's not even up there and he's nervous. Eren's never going to want to keep him in the club after the shitty performance he's about to pull off. Eren has a seriously far-fetched imagination. Jean was surprisingly good..? Both of them were really random too. Even so, Levi stands up, silently walking past Jean who hurries back to the couch.
"Today will be..." he begins, looking at Eren with the straightest face he can muster (it's not all that hard). "My last day in this town." he opts for a Spanish accent.
"What?! Why are you leaving?" Eren pleads with him, grabbing his shoulders with a pained expression. Levi can feel himself flushing, eyes darting from Eren's eyes to his lips to the ceiling and back again in hope that he doesn't whimper.
Sadly, Levi forces his way out of Eren's grip (damn his character). "I-I can't tell you, Colin." That should do the trick.
"Julio." Oh, okay. "P-please you can't leave, there's so much I still have to tell you, so much, so much time I need to spend in your company." Eren clenches his fist, staring forlornly at Levi.
"I know it's hard, being a Mexican minimum wage worker in this shitty hotel restaurant. But aren't you happier now that you've left the homophobic bastard you call a father? He tried to force you into the military! Julio... I knew I met a great man that day in the gym when we were working out." He peers into Levi's eyes, capturing him with his gaze. Levi shrinks a little under the intensity.
The words begin pouring from his lips in a passionate frenzy. "I discovered how brilliant you are, knowing three languages and your passion for reading. When you were reciting the poetry of Pablo Neruda and Garcia Lorca to me beneath the stars as we lay on the hotel rooftop, it filled my heart with joy..." Oh boy. Rein in the imagination Eren, um.
"Our discussions over several cups of coffee enlightened me, you became my muse. And when I began sleeping beside you in your bed, I would wake up to see your sleeping smile and," Eren pauses to stare at Levi. "I swear I... I fell in love with you." Levi's eyes widen.
I-It's just a drama piece, just playing pretend, just a really fucking convincing character-
Levi grits his teeth, his face aflame as he's rooted to the spot. "T-That's not fair." he spits, his heart swelling in his throat.
"Why not?" Eren stubbornly stays in character, pouting as he faces Levi.
Breathe. His breathing becomes shallow. "I have to leave town whether I want to or not. I don't have a choice."
"Don't!" Eren shouts. "Don't listen to your father-"
"It's not my father, Colin." Levi pauses for dramatic effect, a sharp pang in his chest not leaving. "I have a life threatening bone disease that can only be cured by a doctor three thousand miles from here." Might as well go for the most cliche plot twist there is. (However Eren seems to eat it up)
"A doctor to cure your disease? Three thousand miles away?!" Eren clutches Levi's thick hands in his, and Levi blames his character for not being able to look him in the eye. "That's nothing Julio! I would travel across the whole world eight times for you! To the moon and back, that's how far my love for you reaches!"
Levi tuts at him, rolling his eyes at how cheesy Eren's words are. "Hush you sentimental fool, you can't leave behind everything you have here."
Eren rubs his knuckles with a soft thumb. "Julio... When do you leave?"
"I must leave now." Levi sighs brokenly, watching the small massage of his hand. His throat feels ticklish. He drops Eren's hand. "And you mustn't come with me. Farewell, Colin." Levi turns to leave, returning to the couch before Eren can say anything else.
Eren's left standing in the middle of the living room. He sniffs, though it sounds like a sob, and reaches out in Levi's direction. "Farewell, my dearest Julio." he says. Eren continues mock-sobbing, hiding his face in the crook of his elbow and running out the room, his footsteps pounding up the stairs.
As soon as he's gone, Levi hides his face in his hands and groans. Really? Was the declaration of love really necessary? Just as his eyes begin to sting, he pulls his hands away and sits upright, blinking quickly and looking at the twins. They stare back at him in concern. It makes his stomach twist, embarrassment beginning to settle there. They glance at each other and sigh as though they're exhausted.
"That was... Intense." Jean mumbles and bites his lip.
Biscuit shakes his head, hazel eyes wide from shock. "That was a dick move, even if he doesn't know."
Sitting in silence, they all wait for Eren to return.
"I swear I... I fell in love with you."
Maybe, if he's lucky, Levi just passed out from sleep deprivation or sun stroke and all of that was a dream! That's what he'd hoped to be true about the time he kissed Eren on the cheek. Luck is probably not in his favour then, huh...
Is that what Eren wants? To have some hot foreign guy sweep him off his feet and read poetry to him under the stars? He sure put a hell of a lot of thought into "Julio's" back-story... That can't have been thought up of on the spot, right?
Internally, Levi pats himself on the back. He brushed it off like he should have, he could've frozen up but no, he continued on with the scene. Yeah, great job Levi; kudos to you for putting yourself up for a fake confession.
It was surprisingly romantic. Cheesy, yes. But very romantic.
And... Also not directed at him.
...
Biscuit breaks the silence. "Slackie isn't Russian for penis."
"I don't care what you think. I want a divorce, Maria."
Eren stumbles into the living room, clutching a stack of notebooks. "Heeeeey y'all. It just so happens that I write scripts in my spare time and you should totally check them out! We might find one we can use for the competition. And that would be a lot less work. And. I'm lazy and don't want to write sixty pages worth of script again."
He sets the notebooks on the coffee table, plopping down next to Levi. Watching as everyone picks one up to read, Eren's trying to read their reactions. For Levi, the scriptwriting explains the whole poetry thing Eren enthused over earlier. He picks up a brown paper notebook with the words "Script Book" scrawled in Sharpie pen and what seems to be an attempt at cursive. He flips open the first page at the same time as the twins, though they do so much more quickly, skimming the work in front of them.
The handwriting is messy, some of it joined while some letters are separate, although it's surprisingly structured even without lined paper. "...And It Was Beautiful. Written by: Eren Jaeger." It begins. "Fade in: ext. A university -day..."
He doesn't understand the random lingo that continues to pop up over the script, however the description, the dialogue and narration all link together to tell a story about a young man from a made up town who's enduring his new at university; a cheerful, yet sometimes sarcastic character with a quirky, "literature enthusiast" room-mate (now knowing of Eren's love for gay characters, the room-mate will probably be the love interest).
At this point, Jean and Biscuit have tired of their chosen script and moved onto a new book, but Levi continues to examine the work in front of him. The plot seemed kind of generic to begin with, but the narration and word choice in the description pop out, making him see it in his head like the movie it was intended to be. Just as he's getting to an exciting part sixteen pages in (although all of it is intriguing, even though it's a comedy) he notices some handwriting that's not Eren's.
"What is it?" Eren picks up on his confusion, peering over his shoulder to look at the notebook. "Oh," he says slowly, carefully prying the book out of Levi's hand. He stares at the book, his expression unreadable. "That's the annotation my mum added. This must be the first script I wrote when I was thirteen." Ah. Oops...
Closing the little notebook, Eren peers at them all. "So, what do you guys think? You reckon we could use any of these?"
"I thought it was good. Well written, I liked the characters. One of them was a historical fiction. Pretty interesting." Biscuit shrugs, obviously trying to convey his interest by nodding and pointing to the book he liked.
Jean nods. "Yeah, it was great! It hit really deep and... It was well worded." Jean smiles at Eren, however Eren's smile seems a little forced in return.
He turns to Levi. "What about you? What'd you think?"
Even though English wasn't Levi's best subject in highschool, he does like reading. Kind of wishes he could've finished the one he was reading...
"I liked how you got a really good feel for the characters, and you only needed good word choice, like... how you said he was "bouncing" along the corridor rather than just walking, because that would be easier to visualise and act. Like, you wouldn't expect someone who's having a bad day to go about all jumpy and happy." He tries to remember what he read, pausing to stare up at the white ceiling in thought.
"I didn't get all the way through, but you created a good sense of "oh my god I'm completely new and lost" but the character seemed to take it as a challenge, rather than getting all upset about it and going for help." he glances at Eren who gazes at him in return, vaguely wondering if the main character was based on himself. He did want to go to university, he's got a sense of adventure, and yet again with the literature loving love interest...
"So it made sense why he was so eager to pick a fight with the boy in his class; because he likes a good challenge. And the other guy, well, why wouldn't you want to pick a fight with someone who flaunts how rich he is? So you've got good characters, the plot... Was it going to be a romantic-comedy?"
"Yeah!" Eren agrees delightedly.
"It's really obvious that the main character was going to fall for both and get stuck between them, then choose the room-mate. Also the room-mate, even though he was pretty funny and an active character, he seemed slightly too perfect to be believable. Even if you'd included the sad back-story I can tell you were going to add."
The glee drains from Eren's face. "Oh. So it was predictable."
Levi shrugs, not wanting to disappoint him. "That was your first one though, right? You've probably gotten better since then. And you know, that's just what I think. Normal people quite like cliches. That's why those "quick read romances" you find at train station shops are so popular. Besides, we couldn't use that, unless you've got access to a university...?"
"Aaah man that's right, we're on a low budget. You might have to play several different characters too."
"I can probably do that."
"And that means we're going to have make as much use as we can with the people we've got. Mmm that sucks. There's not much you can do with only one actor and a couple of extras."
"What can you do with only one actor?"
Eren ponders this for a moment, glancing at the pile of notebooks on the coffee table for inspiration. "Usually the survival "last man on earth" kind of story. Zombie apocalypse. Say, I remember I saw a great Indie film where this guy tried to rescue his baby even though he was turning into a zombie."
"Um... Nice."
"Or... There was another one where a guy was narrating his letters to his dead girlfriend and on his way to her grave. Something like that could work. Usually you only need two people, like, for interaction purposes. Otherwise they'll have nothing to react to and the story becomes boring." Eren explains. He runs his fingers through his hair as he speaks. Levi really wishes he could do it for him.
"Guy on a deserted island?" Biscuit chips in.
Jean purses his lips, scratching his clean shaven chin. "Someone held hostage?"
"What's to say it has to be a person the character interacts with? In Harry Potter, Ginny was pretty content in talking to a book."
"...Using the props as characters?" Eren's hand drops into his wriggles closer to Levi."That's actually a really good idea!"
"Yeah?"
Biscuit cracks his joints, stretching his leg. "Looks like I'm going to be "borrowing" stuff from my shop."
An idea pops into Levi's head. During the past week he'd researched a few indie films (it'd make for good conversation topics with Eren, he'd told himself; he was right) there'd been one about a girl who visited a charity store and tried on different clothes; each outfit taking her to a new world. "We could use the shop, if it's alright with your boss. Couldn't we?"
"Yeah and the whole plot could be about... A crazy shop with... With magical items!" Again, it sounds like a plot anyone could come up with, but Levi can tell Eren will be able to write it so that it becomes unique. "Although, we wouldn't be able to use the shop for the amount of time we'd need to shoot. It's got to make up at least forty-five minutes." Eren tells them.
Just then, there's a shuffle at the other side of the room. A sickly pale man stands by the living room door, blinking when everyone turns to face him like he's been caught. He waves, his hand jerking up and down like it's possessed.
"Oh, hey Daz!" Eren greets him. Isn't this the guy that drove Eren away from home? Eren is awfully cheerful towards someone who's "too dependant" on him. "You're just in time to help us come up with script ideas. Unless you want to go upstairs?" He must know Daz quite well if he can read his body language... Either that or he's really sensitive to Daz's mood. Wait, why is Eren letting him help? He didn't mention Daz being part of the Film Club...
Daz smiles, a quick flick of his lips, and makes his way to sit beside Eren. There's silence for a moment, Daz seems to be getting his bearings, and he glances at Levi. "Who're you?" he tests out the words, his voice quiet as though he's been scolded for being too loud.
"Levi."
"Oh, okay. Hi." He adjusts himself on the seat and stares down at the coffee table. Levi's gaze flickers around the group when he notices they've all gone quiet.
"When I was fourteen," Daz begins, and Levi's already confused. "I went with my youth group to Berlin. I wasn't really familiar with all the shops, they have a lot more shops in the bigger cities, you know. Especially in rich countries like Germany."
Daz's pale eyes flicker towards Eren, and he moves further away from Eren on the couch before he continues. He's still staring at the coffee table. Levi's tried a similar tactic when speaking. It's bringing back memories he doesn't want to face again.
"They eat a lot of sausages there, even for breakfast. They had cheese too, at the hotel we were at. The buildings... Some of them were different but they had a lot of sandstone ones, like they do here-"
"Daz," Eren interrupts him, chuckling quietly. "Where are you going with this story?" His eyebrows pinch, like he's trying hard to be patient.
"Um... There's a shop called Levi's." A slow flush rises to the man's cheeks, the reddish tint deepening when he looks at Eren. It's a look Levi's all too familiar with and he finds himself feeling a little possessive over Eren. "I saw one in Germany. His name reminded me of it."
... Looks like Levi's met the stalker person he claimed he'd knock out.
This is what Levi looks like to Eren? A bumbling idiot who can't even get to the point of his story, trailing off with his own train of thought that leads to nowhere? Levi's never empathized with anyone more in his life.
He hates Daz.
There's no way he's going to let himself drop to that level of awkwardness. It's embarrassing. But... the thought that he may very well end up like Daz, how similar he is already to him, lingers in his mind.
Eren attempts to recall his train of thought before Daz arrived. "So what did we have... A shop with magical items? Props as characters? How do we turn that into a story if we can't use the shop when we need it...?"
Jean raises a finger like a light-bulb just went off in his head. "We could film at home or outside, show the stories of all the people who bought stuff. What happens when their objects start going crazy, things like that."
"And the shopkeeper too! He gets a back-story too." Eren builds on Jean's idea. "That way, we could split it up so it's... I don't know, three customers. Three's a magic number. They each get about ten minutes of film time, then it's ten minutes for the shop keeper's story. We could include bloopers to make up the last five minutes or something."
"And since we're short on actor's, we'd only need two people." Levi adds, ever the practical planner. "The customer can just be an actor dressed up differently each time. And the shopkeeper could be several people too."
Eren reaches out for a notebook on the table, grinning widely as he retrieves a pen he'd apparently taken along with the pile. "Ooh yes, I'm liking this. Gotta write this down."
"Well hey, you don't have to write all of it. Why don't we split the work? That way we'll get it done quicker." Biscuit says.
Eren did say he was "too lazy" to write it all down... Levi agrees with Biscuit."It'd make the characters sound unique if a different person wrote each one."
Stopping mid-sentence, Eren tries to work his mind around all the information. "Aah, okay, that'd definitely be easier. Tell you what, each of us has to write about a person buying a magical object and all the shit it puts them through. Try and use as few settings and characters as possible. Write about... Ten pages? It usually adds up: one page per minute on screen. But even if it doesn't it's just a draft. Say Daz, what "magical" things do you think we could use in the movie? It can be anything."
Caught off guard, Daz jumps when he realizes Eren's diverted the attention to him. "Um, a hula hoop?"
Eren nods. "That'd be easy to find, yup. How could we make it magical, do you think?"
"It could be a teleporter." Jeans muses. "I saw that on Internet Icon last year with the Brothers Riedell, you remember that?" He turns to Biscuit who gasps in awe at the memory.
"Yeah! And they ended up in the most stupid places. I can't believe they made such a high quality video from those few props." He addresses the group. "To make things easier, why don't we just go to the shop- Oh, wait, maybe next time," Biscuit reaches into his pocket as a buzzing phone jolts him. He unlocks with screen with a swipe. "Jean, that's Dad. We better head over now." he says, groaning as he trudges out the room.
"What, it's already half four? That went quick." Jean stands up alongside Biscuit. "See you guys later."
"See you." Eren and Levi call out simultaneously. Daz nods at the twins. He's a lot quieter than Levi, that's for sure. Suddenly he stands up too, mumbling something along the lines of "I might as well go too" and darting out the room.
"Oh, er, bye." Eren blinks at Daz's abrupt departure. He turns to Levi, wiggling his eyebrows. "Looks like it's just me and you, Julio." he chuckles, eyes crinkling at the sides.
Levi rolls his eyes, ignoring the roll in his stomach in remembrance. "I left you a goodbye note on that bed we shared, Colin. I knew I wouldn't make it after the surgery. I didn't have the heart to tell you." He pauses, not really wanting to go back into that persona. "So is Daz going to be part of the film then?"
"Oh, eh, no. I try to make him feel useful, it's good for his self-esteem. He said he didn't want do the film, though." Eren shrugs. "Fair enough I guess. Just means he'll be missing out on the prize."
Levi's interest piques. "There's a prize?"
Humming in agreement, Eren leans back onto the couch. "There's a £5000 winning prize. That's kind of why I wanted to enter the competition in the first place. I thought it'd be a great way to save on living costs if I went to university. And that winning the competition would at least get me somewhere, like even just some recognition in the film business, if not university."
He tilts his head in shame. "But that was kind of selfish of me, so instead I'm... Planning a surprise that involves everyone. Something that everyone will like. I'll pick up the necessary info, figure out what one thing will please everyone." Eren sighs. "If that doesn't work then I guess we'll split the money. I don't know. We'll all talk about it. I was waiting until the end to think about it, that's how I do things best."
Wow, if they win and split the money, Levi could end up with nearly a thousand pounds...
"What kind of surprise?" Levi glances around the room, not wanting to stare too long at Eren.
"Ai, I don't know if I should tell you... It... involves leaving the country?"
That might've been a little too honest of Eren, yet Levi's head snaps toward him. "I'm in."
"Have you travelled?"
"Never left the country."
Eren frowns. "That's a shame. You're really missing out. You need to be confused by a country's culture at least once in your life."
"At least once..." Levi muses.
"Yeah. But in a good way confused."
Glancing at the books on the table, Levi remembers the tender expression Eren wore when he took the book from him. "Sorry if I pried into your, um, your personal book. I thought we could look through them all."
"Oh no," Eren reassures. "It's my fault since I brought it through." he sifts through the pile on the table, t-shirt stretching to reveal a slice of skin at the small of his back. "I write my diary in script format and I just picked up anything that looked like a script, so some of that and the old stuff got mixed in. I tend to keep the sentimental stuff."
"It was really good though, what I read."
Eren smiles warmly at him. "Thank you. Your feedback was really descriptive. Do you write?"
"Eh... I've never tried it as a hobby. I read a lot though so that's probably why."
"Readers make good writers." Eren encourages him, raising his eyebrows and nodding. "Should try it."
"Eren," Mikasa's strained voice calls from another room on the floor they're on. "You're a noisy piece of shit. You're also making dinner tonight as an apology for waking me up."
"Love you too!"
So... That's a word he throws around casually. Good to know.
"You staying for dinner Levi?" It's a little odd that Eren wouldn't let him in the house the other week and now he's inviting him to dinner...
"I haven't slept in five days." Levi replies. The headache hadn't left for the entire afternoon. But... He's alive~
Green eyes widen in absolute shock and horror. "JESUS CHRIST LEVI. Why the hell did you show up today?! Go to bed!"
"It's too hot though. I can't." He would if he could.
Eren points to the potted plant that stands proudly by the window. "My pet plant's name is Simon. Simon says you gotta go to sleep."
"I thought the plant's name was Rupert?" Mikasa asks.
Groaning, Eren leans forward and rests his forehead on his hand. "Mikasa, we've talked about you ruining my tasteful humour with your practicalities and logic."
He's told everything he's already heard before: Lavender, sweet tea, a warm shower, a damp face cloth, and blah blah blah (Eren stop sounding like his doctor, please). Eventually he excuses himself, telling them he's going back home for dinner.
Eren sees him to the door, reminding him to write his part of the script. Levi lingers by the doorway, knowing, hoping, that if they were to ever start going out, this would be when they kiss goodbye. Maybe they wouldn't even have to say goodbye, and it'd be a regular thing for Levi to stay over for dinner...
But instead, Eren waves him off, calling out a dramatic "Farewell, my dearest Julio! Until our next starlit poetry session!" (yeah, that was never funny to Levi) and he heads back home, the weather not being as harsh as the afternoon heat. But it's still humid. How long while it take before he finally passes out?!
When he arrives home that night, Bertholdt darts out the living room with a gleeful grin. "Guess what!"
Sighing tiredly, Levi closes the door to their flat behind him. "What..."
"I'm getting a house! It's in Lossiemouth, aaand I'm going for the viewing on Friday. I'm probably going to take it." Levi looks down at the man bouncing beside him.
Getting a house...? "What, so you're leaving?"
"Yup!" He chuckles softly. "Don't worry Levi, you can visit me. After all, we're totally best friends."
"Oh. Yeah, of course." Levi wanders down the hall. "I'll visit you. There's a beach there, right? That'll be nice to have over the summer."
Bertholdt follows him down the hallway. "You mean you'll actually visit me?"
He shrugs. "I don't see why not."
"Awesome! When it gets done up and decorated properly I'll throw a party, you in?"
When Levi nods, he means it. "I'm gonna go to bed now. I'm not feeling too good."
Bert stops just outside Levi's bedroom, retreating back into the living room. "Night, Levi! Get well soon!"
When he's stripped down to his boxers and lying on the covers of his bed, he raises his hand above him. Eren touched him a lot today... Held his hand like a lover would... He reminisces the feeling of Eren's warm, soft hands trailing over his knuckles, but with that comes the memory of the fake confession. Humiliation heats his entire body, turning his face a rosy red. It could've been worse, he tell himself.
If he'd actually confessed to Levi as a joke then it would've been a different matter. He wouldn't be able to brush it off. And Eren seems like the kind of person to use such a word easily, so there's always the fact he'll probably have to face it one day.
He remembers Daz, thinking back to when Eren helped him feel included and useful during their group work... Then back to when he complained to Levi about how Daz drained him. He never wants to be that kind of person to Eren, draining him of his happiness isn't in the plan. Eren sure has a lot more patience than Levi, being the type keep going forward with each new day, living in the moment.
And Eren decided to be honest about the prize money. It didn't really bother him now, but if he'd worked until September thinking he'd get nothing, only to find out Eren had gone behind his back to take all their earnings? Levi wouldn't be the only one mad, he can tell.
Now he has to take a shot at writing a script huh? Should be interesting...
The sky gradually darkens; it begins raining heavily outside -hallelujah!- and Levi sighs with the relief of finally being able to cool down. He stretches under the pillow to reach for the calendar, the ballpoint pen sitting on his bed-side cabinet, and he writes in the dated box.
Getting somewhere; still getting there but there's little rewards along the way. Even if they're simple things like congratulating himself for putting other people first.
"The day I fell in love with Eren a second time."