Chapter Fourteen: The Confrontation - Part 2
The meeting was set to later in the week, on Friday morning, before Eren's first class. Armin agreed to watch Claire after Eren had promised him a full explanation following the meeting. Eren and Levi had dropped her off at his dorm a half hour before the scheduled meeting time and made their way Levi's office.
"You look nervous Eren."
"I'm not nervous, you're just too calm," she snapped back, playing with the hem of her blazer. She'd nearly torn apart her closet while trying to decide on what to wear, in the end, she settled for a simple but cute cream blouse and navy high-waisted skirt with black tights and a long, beige blazer to add a bit of sophistication to the look. She completed her ensemble with her most comfortable pair of heels and turquoise scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. Levi wore sensible black slacks, paired with a white button down and a gray blazer, finished off with a dark purple tie with a few black details stitched into it.
"If you don't want to say anything, then you don't have to. So long as you're present and answer the few questions that are directed to you, I can do most of the talking myself." Levi paused and leaned back in his cushioned office chair, resting the back of his head comfortably in his opened hands. "The universities' relationship policy is annoying, but it exists for good reason. It's to protect honest, hardworking students from being undermined and treated unfairly at the risk of romantic or sexual involvement with faculty. I never thought much about until recently, but it is a good thing."
Eren simply nodded, while the new information processed in her mind. "I guess it is good then. I'd never really known such a thing existed."
"You would have if you'd read the student handbook." He smirked and stood from his chair. "Come on, it's about time to go, Erwin is a stickler for punctuality." He walked around his desk opened his door, holding it for Eren as she stood and exited the room. She paused, and waited for him to lock his office, then walked with him, side by side, towards the stairwell, then into the section of the building that held the office of the Dean of Students.
"Make sure you address him as Dr. Smith, and please, try to calm down. If you're too nervous, your responses may come off as forced."
"R-right, sorry, I'll be fine." Levi studied her for a moment then looked down at his watch, after another minute and a half had passed, he lightly rapped on wooden the door.
"Come in." The response was muffled, but Eren was sure she'd recognized the voice.
Levi pushed the door open and allowed Eren to enter first. He gently let it shut behind him, and joined her in a seat directly in front of Dr. Erwin Smith's desk.
Eren smiled, her nervousness evident by her rigid, mechanical movements. "G-good morning sir," she stammered out.
"Good morning Eren," he nodded his head in Levi's direction, "Professor Ackerman," then turned back to Eren. "What brings you to my office today?" His piercing blue eyes bore into Eren's wide and anxious green ones.
"A-actually sir-" She stopped speaking when she felt Levi's hand over her own, he gave it a light squeeze then pulled his hand away.
"I believe I already debriefed you on why we are here when I set up the meeting time, did I not?" Levi raised his brow and set his full attention on the giant of a man in front of them.
"Ah yes, if I do recall, this was about your wish to start a relationship with this student?"
"Actually, it was to inform you that I have already begun a relationship with this student. We would both like to let the school know that we are seeing each other. We are both adults who are interested in each other, and have mutually decided to pursue that interest."
"Is that so?" Erwin quirked a thick blonde brow.
"Yes it is."
"And what do you have to say about this Eren?" he directed his attention back to her.
"I-I agree with what Le-Professor Ackerman says sir. I'm interested in him and he seems interested in me, so we both decided to start dating."
"I see." Erwin stared at her a moment, then spoke again, "Are you aware of the universities' policies and procedures concerning this kind of situation?"
Eren shook her head, "Not completely sir, I know that they exist, but I don't know all of the details."
"Alright, first of all, you're to report the status of your relationship to the university whenever it may change as soon as possible, just as you've done now. Second, you may not take any classes that Professor Ackerman teaches or aids in teaching, nor can you go to him on campus for any form of tutoring or advising. Under no circumstance might you two ever show any forms of public affection while on the campus grounds, this includes but is not entirely limited to hugging, holding hands, and kissing, no petting of any kind nor sexual or otherwise inappropriate language may be shared between the two of you. As far as disclosing the existence of your relationship to other faculty members or students, that is left to your own discretion, though it is ill advised for you to flaunt it."
Erwin turned to Levi, "I'm going to have to ask Eren a series of personal questions, if she wants you to stay, then you may, but to protect her privacy, I ask that you please leave. I will inform President Zackeley of this matter, and if any loose ends need to be tied, expect either him or myself to contact you directly."
Levi nodded then turned to Eren, "Will you be alright by yourself, or should I stay?"
"I'll be fine on my own, thank you." She offered him a small, reassuring smile then turned to face Erwin. Levi nodded once more then stood to exit the office.
"What questions did you have for me sir?"
"As I said, these are going to be personal, so if you feel uncomfortable with answering them, then you may decline to do so." He paused and waited for Eren to agree before continuing on, "First, I'd like you to tell me how you two met."
"Well, the first time I ran into him was last year, when I was visiting my friends. We were out shopping and then we stopped to grab a bite to eat, I got up, tripped, and he literally caught me. The first time I actually talked to him though, was at the same holiday party where I met you and Dr. Zoe for the first time."
"Okay, now, can you tell me how you two came to be in this relationship?"
"Well, I don't know if this is what you're asking for, but we both ran into each other quite often. Then we just started talking, had dinner a few times, and it just went from there."
"Thank you, that was fine Eren. Now tell me, has Professor Ackerman ever offered you anything extra, say free tutoring, money for tuition, or grade manipulation?"
"No? Why in the world would he do any of that, he's not even my professor. We hardly even talk about school when we're together." She narrowed her eyes at Erwin, feeling offended by the question.
"I see. So he's never bribed you in anyway, or used his position to coerce you into seeing him?" Erwin stared at her with a serious and stern expression.
"N-no sir, he hasn't, and he isn't the type of person who would do something so low anyway."
"Very well then. What is it that you hope to get out this relationship? He's obviously settled in his career and lives a stable, comfortable life, but you two have a large age gap. And lastly, does the age difference bother you?"
"With all due respect sir, those questions are a bit too personal. I honestly can't tell you what I hope to gain from our relationship, I've never been in one before, so I don't have any set goals or anything like that. I've already discussed our age difference with Levi and we're both fine with it, so I don't see why you need comment or inquire about it."
"I apologize if I've made you uncomfortable Eren, there are just certain things we have to know since this a special situation. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have no questions for me, then you're free to go." Erwin leaned back in his seat and folded his hands on his desk.
"No sir, thank you for your help." Eren nodded respectfully, and then stood to exit the room.
"If you ever need anything, then please, don't hesitate to call on me. I'd be glad to help in any way possible."
Eren turned and smiled, "Of course, thank you," then exited the room.
She was greeted by Levi, sitting in one of the waiting room chairs, staring intently at his phone.
"All finished." She sighed, walking towards him.
He stood and joined her; they made their way to the door and back out to Armin's dorm to retrieve Claire. "See, that wasn't terrible, was it?"
"It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't exactly good either. Erwin- I mean, Dr. Smith seemed a lot different here than when I first met him. He's so much more intimidating behind that desk."
Levi chuckled, "Oh? You've met before?"
"Yes, it was the night of the holiday party. He introduced himself to me and he seemed genuinely kind."
"He's fine to be around outside of school, but that man is a stickler for policy. He's the type that's willing to go through almost any means necessary so long as the ends meet."
"Hmm," Eren hummed, feeling too tired to speak a reply.
"You alright?"
"Fine, just tired, it's been a long week."
"Tell me about it." They both looked at each other and laughed. Eren pulled out her phone and called Armin. Soon after the call, the young blonde man brought a happy and energetic Claire down, then he and Eren left to go to class, while Levi got her settled in his office while he lectured.
Eren's teacher retracted his Friday class cancelation, so Claire was left to her own devices for an hour while her temporary guardians were in class. The day ended relatively quickly, and Levi took Eren home, then returned to his own, ready and waiting for Caroline's return so she could take her daughter back.
The next week, Eren was back in tip top shape and working as much as she could to make up for the lost time. Soon the last week of January and the first week of had February passed and Valentines' Day was just around the corner.