Levi was already bored. He had woken up this morning and been irritated, but now that he had made it to school the irritation had given way to boredom and the bell hadn't even rung yet. "Hey," A voice next to him drawled.
Levi closed his locker to see Furlan leaning against the locker next to him. "You're here today." he announced dryly, and on time when unsaid. It was still 5 minutes before the start of the first class. That was incredibly early for both of them to be in school and ready for class.
Furlan had a lopsided relaxed grin on his face as he shrugged before he coughed dramatically into his hand. "I was sick yesterday."
Levi snorted, not believing him for a second. "Whatever."
"Anyway, can't miss football practice again Coach won't let me play if I do." Furlan explained as they began to walk to class. He mimicked his coach's deep voice. "Church! If you want to run at defenders your ass better be running to class!"
Levi laughed at his friend when suddenly a snot-nosed kid stumbled into Levi. He bumped into Furlan with a grunt.
"Watch it!" He growled shoving the snot-nosed kid hard into the lockers, the kid hit the lockers with a loud clash, his bag and books going one way, him sprawled on the floor in the other. Levi's eyes wandered over to the direction where the snot-nosed kid had come from to see Floch and Boris laughing. He narrowed his eyes at the boys who had likely been the reason for the snot nose boy being shoved into him. He didn't like those two guys, they were bullies but mostly they were arrogant pricks and that pissed him off more.
"Get to class gentleman!" Mrs. Hobes' voice cut through the hallway walking out of her class room towards the snot-nosed kid just starting to sit up on the ground.
He glanced at the teacher and then at the snot nosed boy on the ground she was helping up, "Disgusting." He muttered curling his lip and walking away with Furlan.
"Floch's gotta watch it." Furlan said to him. "He's been trying to play all ghetto too lately. The kids never stepped foot in the hood. Someone's gotta tell him to sit the fuck down."
"Won't be mad to see his face get stomped in." Levi agreed quietly.
"You gonna do it?" Furlan asked.
"Tch. not worth my time." Levi shook his head. Floch was an asshole but he was also a popular asshole and Levi did not need to be in trouble again. Besides, Levi didn't have a beef with him. If Floch wanted to pretend he was something he wasn't there were plenty of real hoodlums that would enjoy stomping his face in. "I'll see you at lunch."
"Mr. Ackerman." His English teacher called. "Go to the office."
Levi bit back a groan and stood up throwing his bag over his shoulder knowing he wasn't coming back this period. He had been waiting, most of the period for this, Mrs. Hobes had a stick stuck up her ass and wouldn't have let the incident this morning go. All for an almost fight, not even a fight. He had just shoved the snot-nosed kid away, didn't even hit him, didn't even start it. Yet here he was again walking down to the office for a speech he had heard countless times before.
"Principle will be with you in a moment, sit down Levi." The assistant told him when he got to the office.
Levi dropped into one of the chairs against the wall and started his usual practices of counting floor tiles until he was called. He reached twelve before the door opened but Levi didn't look up from the spot it had decided to stare at on the floor and kept counting. "Levi, you can go in now." The assistant said with a wave of her hand, not even bothering to look up at him.
The principal, who now stood in the doorway still talking with a man and likely his daughter stood next to him. He loitered near the entrance not sure if he should enter or not, choosing to look at the picture on the wall instead of eavesdropping. The man looked a little familiar, maybe from CPS, Child Protective Services, and if so Levi definitely didn't want anything to do with him.
"Levi?" The girl asked, blinking over at him as he finally looked over at her. Then all of the sudden the girl practically tackled him in a hug.
"Oof, get off me." He pushed her back instantly. Finally getting a good look at her big ass nose and warm brown eyes and then realized why that man had looked so familiar. "Hanji?" He asked surprised.
"You do remember me, you jerk." She said smiling and shoved him back playfully before hugging him again. This time he couldn't help hugging her back.
He was glad she couldn't see the smile that threatened to come across his face."You're annoyingly hard to forget, Glasses." He muttered letting her go.
"Man you really haven't grown huh, shorty." She smirked down at him.
"Shut up." He grumbled dodging the hand that tried to pat his head. He was only like two inches shorter than her after all and she was still abnormally tall. At least he was no longer a full head shorter than her.
"Levi, it's good to see you again son." Hanji's father said, smiling at him. "How are you?"
"You too sir." He said, nodding at the man. "I'm good, thanks." he refocused on Hanji. "What are you doing here?" he asked her; he couldn't believe she was here in front of him.
"I'm going to school here, dummy." Hanji rolled her eyes at him. "We just moved back."
"Really?" Levi tried (and failed) to keep his usual monotone voice.
"Yeah! Today's my first day."
"She's in your English class, Levi." The principal interjected for the first time, reminding Levi that he was still in the school office about to get chewed out for the fifth time this month. She was watching him a little too closely for his liking, probably worried he'd hit Hanji for hugging him. He'd hit people for less after all. "I can't speak with you now. Why don't you walk Ms. Zoe to class and we can talk later." She told him, her eyes flitting between the two students.
"Have a good day, dear." Hanji's dad told her. "I imagine I'll see you soon Levi." He smiled at the pair.
"Come on." Hanji said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of there. "You can tell me all about this place on our way."
Early September 1988Levi was absorbed in his drawing when he was rudely interrupted. "Hey, give me the green." The tall girl with glasses as big as her face said to him.
They were coloring in their dinosaur handouts. "No, get your own, glasses." He grumbled, turning away from the girl.
"But I need it for the feathers." She whined ignoring the insult.
"Dinosaurs do not have feathers stupid." He threw back, going back to coloring his own.
"Yes they do, I read it in a book, shorty." She said, "They had feathers, they're actually related to chickens."
"Now you're just lying, glasses." Levi retorted.
"Hey, Levi, it's not nice to call names." the teacher corrected him coming over to the pair.
"It's okay Ms." Hanji told her. "I don't mind, besides I call him shorty."
"Well you still lied." Levi argued.
"I did not. You just haven't read enough books." Hanji retorted.
"What are you talking about?"
"If dinosaurs had feathers." Levi answered, crossing his arms.
"And if they were related to chickens." Hanji added.
"Well dinosaurs were like people, they were all very different and some had feathers and some didn't." The teacher told them diplomatically.
He and Hanji shared a look doubtfully. "I think you're wrong." Hanji said, speaking for both of them as he shook his head in agreement.
"Hey shorty, you should add fire coming out of your T-rex's mouth!" Hanji told him excitedly, finally looking at his drawing.
"But dinosaurs don't breathe fire, that's dragon, glasses."
"But it would look so cool!"
Levi shrugged, that was a good enough reason for 6 year old Levi. The teacher walked away seeing the two children getting along.
Furlan's jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw Levi walking over to their usual lunch table in the back of the cafetera with a girl. Levi, the antisocial midget that didn't so much as grunt at anyone, was walking over with a girl he'd never seen before. The girl was talking animatedly to him and Levi looked as if he was half paying attention, he didn't even do that with him (his best friend). They sat down at his table. Levi didn't bother introducing the girl, simply started eating his food.
"Hi I'm Hanji," She introduced herself. "I was Levi's friend in grade school and just moved back here." She explained.
So Levi had been capable of making friends at some point, he thought, interesting. "Furlan," He grinned. "I didn't know Levi had other friends." he quipped, shooting the guy in question with a playfully hurt look.
She smiled widely, "So he's still as antisocial as he was before?"
"Oh yeah, me and my sister are just about the only people he talks to."
She chuckled. "Yeah, I more or less didn't give him a choice other than to be my friend."
"Us too!" Furlan laughed.
"Are you two done?" Levi scowled at both of them.
"Oh not at all," Hanji shook her head, grinning.
"Now, tell me Hanji was he always this much of an asshole?" Furlan asked, leaning in conspiratorially.
Hanji turned out to be the best thing that had happened at school in months. She was funny, witty and clearly very smart, but she was also not the least bit bothered by Levi's rudeness. She was a treasure trove of juice information about his best friend that he had only just scratched the surface of. "No!" He yipped with glee.
"Oh yeah, he knew all of the superheroes. Captain America was his favorite. My older sister used to jokingly call him captain cause he was so obsessed with him." Hanji had an evil grin, just as large as his, across her face.
"Shut up shitty glasses, at least I didn't like playing with shit and bugs."
Hanji barely blinked at the insult. "Oh bugs are fascinating though, shorty."
"Was he always OCD about germs?" Furlan asked.
Hanji furrowed her brow. "Um not really?" She looked at Levi perplexed. He refused to look at either of them. "I mean you didn't like playing in the mud as much as me but I won't say OCD." She switched the subject, seeming to understand that Levi didn't want to talk about it. "But I've always been more of a mess than him. My mom thought he was the perfect child because he didn't track mud through the house like I did everytime we played outside." she laughed lightly.
"So you like bugs?" Furlan asked, steering the conversation to another topic.
Her eyes lit up. "Yeah, anything outdoor really or science in general." They talked for the rest of lunch, mostly getting to know each other rather than Levi. Levi does however chip in some teasing of both of them throughout. Mostly her though, it is funny to watch him with her. He clearly was close with her when they were kids and liked her alot. Levi listens to her speak carefully and focuses on and thinks about what she's saying. He softens almost imprespectively with her like he did with his baby sister Isabel. Furlan had never seen that with someone who wasn't a 12 year old and maybe twice with himself. The bell rings and he gets up to throw his tray away. Levi makes to follow him but Hanji reaches out, touching his elbow to stop him and let Furlan go a few steps away from them. He's still close enough to over hear them.
"Hey, you know the last thing you told me? Before we lost contact?" She asked somewhat nervously.
"Yeah," He sighed heavily. "She died a few years ago."
"Oh I'm so sorry Levi." She hugged him.
"It's fine, Glasses." He said, pushing her gently off of him. "It was a while ago."
Hanji turned her sympathetic eyes on him. "No it's not, your mom was a great woman. She shouldn't have died so young."
"Come on, you're going to be late." Levi changed the subject not wanting to talk any further about it as Furlan waited for them to finally join him.
He was chilling with Furlan at a park that looked more like an abandoned lot near his apartment complex. It was getting late but Levi was in no rush to go home on the off chance that his Uncle Kenny decided to grace him with his presence. Furlan had stayed after school for practice leaving Levi with nothing to do except mull over what had happened today. Hanji was back. It's so strange to him. He had forgotten she existed to be totally honest. She was from a part of his life that no longer existed anymore and the Levi she knew no longer existed either.
Unlike him, She hasn't changed and he was willing to admit that he admired that about her. She was still as energetic, bright and happy as she had been when they were kids. But it also meant she wanted to be his friend. He had decided he wasn't thrilled about the idea. He didn't want to be her friend, besides they were nothing alike now. It was only a matter of time before she figured out the quiet kid she'd been friends with a million years ago was long since dead and gave up on him anyways. She shouldn't want to be friends with him anyway. He had no future and she did. He should drag her down because of a past that was no more. Not being friends with her from the jump would save them all trouble. It would be best for everyone.
"You know, I like Hanji." Furlan said to him, trying to start a conversation. "It must be cool that she's back huh?"
Levi narrowed his eyes at him in a half glare and grunt in distaste, hoping he'd drop the subject.
"Oh come on, she's funny."
"If you mean crazy." He corrected him disdainfully.
"So what? She was fun to talk to at lunch, you know, cause you're such an amazing conversationalist." Furlan snipped back at him.
"Don't get used to it. I'm not planning on sitting with her again." Levi told him.
Furlan looked surprised by his words. Levi scowled at his expression. It was a 20 minute conversation; Where did Furlan get off becoming so attached to her? "Well maybe I'll be friends with her anyways." He said brushing Levi off.
"No." He said back. "You shouldn't, she doesn't need to be friends with us."
"Why not? She's new, bro, she's gotta make new friends." He argued, shaking his head at him.
"Yeah, but she doesn't need ones like us." He snapped back. Furlan was also in foster care. He was also always getting in trouble in school and outside of it. Hell, he was worse than him, Furlan knew damn well what Levi meant. "So don't be her friend." He said coldly, getting up and beginning to walk home. "I'll see you tomorrow." He threw over his shoulder.
"How was your first day dear?" Hanji's mom asked during dinner.
"Great, you'd never guess who I saw!" She said excitedly.
"Who?"
"Levi!"
"Levi? Oh, that's good, how is he doing?" She asked.
She paused remembering what he had told her. "Well he's okay. You remember how he told me his mom was sick? She died a few years back I guess." Hanji told her.
"Oh god poor boy how terrible." Her mom said sadly.
"Yeah but he seems alright now." She shrugged, not wanting to dwell on the sad topic. "Anyway he introduced me to his friend Furlan and I met a kid named Moblit in biology class."
"Moblit?" Her father questioned the strange name.
"Well I guess his name is actually Ben but no one calls him that." She told them, narrating the rest of her day.