𝕠𝕣𝕡𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕤 ➸ 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐧

6 - One Step Forward

The next morning was chaos - Levi was up to an early start, and had practically de-moulded every inch of their new home. Their apartment smelt like bleach, the toxins from all the cleaning products being the very thing that woke Hange from her comfortable sleep. When she'd waddled out of her bedroom, dressed and ready for the day, she found Levi clearing out the cupboards and cabinets in their small kitchen. She walked away, as though she saw nothing - she'd expected it because Levi was a total clean freak, no matter how much he denied it.

"Hey four-eyes, you just gonna sit there and watch me toil away?"
"You look like a cleaning fairy."
His face darkened, which made Hange giggle to herself. He walked over to her slowly, while she pretended to be enthused in some science magazine. He grabbed her ponytail and directed her head to face him.

"You're a little shit," he said, looking into her eyes, as he shoved a mop into her hands.
"Go clean the bathroom," he directed, with a nod.
"Where did you get all of these cleaning things anyway?" she said, as she peered over the frame of her glasses to see a heap of cleaning products and items in their cramped living room.
"I asked for Mrs Sato and she gave them."
Hange blinked, surprisedly, as she hurried into the bathroom and ran the mop around the tiles until they sparkled. She marvelled at her hard work, raising an eyebrow.

Tossing the mop into Levi's heap of cleaning supplies, she glanced around for Levi...who was nowhere to be seen.
"Rivi?"
"I'm here, four-eyes."

She heard his voice echo from his bedroom. The door was open and Levi was stood at the window shaking down his bedsheets. She raised her eyebrows, as she watched the stout teen struggle.

"Need any help there?"
"Nah, I'm good," he strained, as he desperately tried to keep his sheets from falling out of the window. Hange took matters into her own hands, pulling the sheets upward and then back into the bedroom.

"I told you I was fine."
"Sure, you were shorty," she said, adjusting her glasses.

"I'm gonna go grocery shopping. There's nothing in these god-forsaken cupboards apart from a tin of beans and two cans of tinned pineapples - it's beginning to disgust me to look at them. Will you be okay on your own?"
"Dude, I'm not a baby. I'll be fine. I'll ring the high school to transfer us."
"Okay, you be in charge of that, I'll be back in about...half an hour," Levi said, before heading out.

Hange spent most of her afternoon on the phone with the high school receptionist, making arrangements for the two of them to attend school as soon as they could. When Levi was back, he stacked the fridge and cupboards neatly, and notably, pretty quick.

"Any news on the high school?" he asked, hoisting himself onto the kitchen counter, while Hange slammed the phone down.

"That old bastard was so rude...either way we start on Monday. I'm surprised anyone was in the office on a weekend, but at least we've got a place. There's probably gonna be some walk-in paperwork involved but we'll have to see," she explained, as she chewed on half an apple Levi had handed her.

Time skip to Monday morning

"Four-eyes, hurry up, we're gonna be late on our first day!" Levi shouted from outside of her bedroom. The two had purchased their school uniform on the Sunday and were still getting used to the idea of attending a new school.

"I can't find my second hair-tie! It was right here this morning!"
He barged into her room and looked at her hair.
"You have one in, surely that's enough."
"I have thick hair, it will droop with only one."

"Tsk, you're so annoying," he said, dropping his school bag to the ground as he sat Hange on her bed. He opened her ponytail, and began splitting her hair into three pieces.
"Levi, what're you doing?"
"Shut up, I can't focus. It'll mess up, otherwise."
Hange had figured halfway that he was plaiting her hair, but decided to keep quiet for the time being.

"There, it's done. Now come on, before we're late." She took a quick look in her pocket mirror, at her plaited, hazelnut locks - he'd done a perfect job. 
"Thanks, Rivi," she said, flashing him a grin, as they both closed the door behind them and buried their faces into the warmth of their scarves. The cold air hit them immediately as they walked into the street, frosty windows visible as far as the eye could see. Snowflakes began to gently fall to the ground, as the two of them turned a corner.

When they reached the school, they were both surprised to see how big the campus was. It was nothing too grand, but it was...well...normal. Something neither of them were used to. All their life, they'd been to the same old building, which was grey and dingy, compared to what they could see before their eyes. The gates were bright green, and the building was coated in a fresh lick of white paint. The windows gleamed, each framed by a thick, white, wooden frame. The students all looked a bit dead - that was expected of a Monday.

Hange took a step forward, then stopped, noticing how Levi was glued to the spot.

"Hey, you okay, Levi?"
"I...yeah..."

Hange smiled at him, then took his hand in hers. He glanced straight into her eyes, his steely blue orbs glazed over with nerves. 

"It's gonna be okay. I'm right here," she said, softly smiling, while she moved his bangs out of his eyes. He silently swallowed, as he gripped her hand and the two of them marched forward, through the green gates and into the reception.