The Raven

Chapter Eight: Confrontations and Confessions

I've always hated people staring at me. I've never been one for crowded places or publicity. It's not that I'm nervous or anxious, I just feel far more comfortable observing from the shadows. I only step into the limelight when it is absolutely necessary and I literally mean when it's a 'life or death' situation.

So imagine how uncomfortable I am now.

I'm standing in the entertainment room with Jean, Connie and Sasha. It's been three days since my encounter with Levi in the training room and ever since, I've been trying my best to avoid him and reign in my annoying feelings. The only time I've seen him or even exchanged more than three words with him has been at meetings or on missions. I'm not sure what he said to Petra afterwards as an explanation but in truth it never really crossed my mind to be concerning.

Now it's concerning.

Petra stands in front of me, her amber eyes shiny in the light but angry and accusing nonetheless. There are so many people around us and all are silent and in shock. Everyone has stopped what they were doing to watch the drama in front of them unfold. I try to block them out but I can feel their eyes burning into me, waiting to see what I'll say.

I can't seem to find my voice. I remain stony-faced and unmoving, staring at the seething woman in front of me. The only other time I've seen Petra like this is when she's hunting titans or defending Levi from the opinions of others. She almost scares me.

Almost.

"Well? What do you have to say?" Petra's voice is loud and determined so that the whole hall can hear her. She takes a step towards me, having to glare up at me because of my height. "Are you or are you not fooling around with my husband?" She repeats.

I try not to flinch as she says 'my husband'. There's butterflies in my stomach now and sweat gathers at the back of my neck. I can feel my expression faltering, slowly breaking down as everyone awaits my answer eagerly. A quick study of my surroundings shows that Jean is biting down on his lip from either anger or nerves, I'm not sure. Connie looks shocked and Sasha looks furious.

I'm about to open my mouth in my defence but then my eyes meet Erwin's across the hall. His face is completely emotionless but his eyes are stern and even he's waiting to see what I will say. I swallow hard, wetting my throat because I know that if this blows up in my face I can forget about being a captain. I need to show him of all people that I deserve my title, far more than Petra.

"Now look here-" Sasha steps forward, pointing her potato angrily at Petra however I hold out an arm and prevent her from moving towards her. She cuts herself off in surprise and looks towards me expectantly.

Inhaling deeply, I focus my gaze and make sure Petra sees how serious I am. "I am insulted that you would think me capable of fooling around with someone else's husband and even more insulted that you decided to confront me about it in public," I say, my voice never wavering. "Levi and I are both captains-"

"I saw you in the training room! I saw you on top of one another-" there are tears in her eyes now, but she'll get no pity from me.

"As I was saying, we are captains and are both of the same skill level. It's only natural that we would engage in friendly hand-to-hand combat in order to further improve our skills. I don't know what you think you saw, but I can assure you that it was just training and nothing more."

Her brows draw together. "You-"

"I don't have time for little wives who stalk their husbands because of fleeting suspicions," I cut her off and watch as her cheeks colour from embarrassment and fury. "Why don't you trust Levi rather than confronting women he works with?"