Old Friends

Helping

I could already see Levi getting ready to leave the skatepark even before I had reached it. I started jogging over towards him, calling out his name to get him to stop walking away. He glanced back to look at me, his expression showing no emotion as he stopped in his tracks.

"You're late," he muttered, looking over me as I bent over slightly to catch my breath.

"Only by a few minutes," I mumbled quietly, looking back down at him as I straightened up. "I can't believe you were going to leave after only waiting just a few minutes."

Saying that was definitely a mistake. As soon as the words had left my mouth, Levi's brows shot straight up in a surprised and offended manner. "I've spent a lot of time in the past waiting for people who never showed up. You either show up on time or don't agree to meet me in the first place."

I was going to say something about how he basically made me come to meet him in the first place, but quickly decided against it. Instead, I just bit lightly down on my lower lip before mumbling what I knew he wanted to hear. "Sorry."

He just gave a slight nod in response, shoving his hands in his pockets and glancing around the area before starting to walk again, gesturing for me to follow him. I quickly did as he wanted, almost surprised at how fast I had to walk to keep up with him considering his height.

"Where are we going exactly?"

"To a friend's house. I need you to help me out with something."

I tilted my head in slight curiosity, unsure whether or not to ask for further details. "What do you need help with?"

"I'll tell you when we get there. God, Jaeger, It's like you don't trust me or something," he mumbled, pausing for a moment before glancing over, pulling a face that made me feel almost guilty for questioning him. "You do trust me, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" I assured him, letting a small sigh past my lips as he looked straight ahead again, seeming to be pleased with my answer.

Thinking about it honestly, I'm not sure if I really do trust him. I mean, I don't have any reasons to not trust him and I'm certainly not worried about anything that he might do. It's just that I also don't have any real reasons to trust him either. We have only known each other for just over a week, after all.

And there's also what Jean said about him...

'Just watch out for that guy. He's a manipulator.'

Fuck, I've got to stop thinking about that. Levi has given me no reason to distrust him, and I'm not going to let some dumb comment change my opinion on him.

I quickly snapped back into reality as Levi grabbed my wrist to tug me round a corner and down the driveway of what I assume was his friend's house. The house was just as large and magnificent as Levi's, and I started to wonder if all of his friends were from wealthy families.

He let go of me when we reached the front door, crouching down a bit as he searched under the many plant pots. After a few moments of looking he stood up straight again, a small smirk showing as he held a small key in his right hand.

"Does your friend know we're coming?" I asked hesitantly, my voice a little quieter than usual.

He didn't respond, just giving a small wave of his hand after opening the door to tell me to come inside. I was quick to comply, following him inside and waiting for him to close the door before trailing behind him upstairs. 

"Levi," I said, hoping for an answer to my previous question as he led me into a bedroom.

"Eren, for fucks sake just shut up already. No, he doesn't know we're coming. And he's not going to know that we've been here either," he said, starting to search through some drawers. "If you must know, I'm actually trying to get something of mine back from him. He's not even really my friend."

My brows shot up in confusion and slight shock, unsure what exactly was happening. "What? But you said earlier that he was. Who the fuck is he then?"

Levi quickly spun back around to look at me, his eyes narrowing as he glared over in my direction. "Are you accusing me of lying? Listen here, if there is one thing I hate most in this world it's liars. I would never tell you anything but the truth."

"But you did lie to me! You said earlier that we were just visiting a friend, and now you're stealing from some random stranger."

"I am not stealing from him and I did not lie to you!" He shouted, the tone of his voice causing me to flinch back slightly. "He was my friend but we had a fight, and I am just getting something of mine back," he insisted, his face suddenly contorting to one of hurt. "I can't believe you really don't trust me."

I let out a small sigh, biting down on my lower lip and looking down at the ground out of guilt. "I'm sorry. Really, I didn't mean to..." I sighed again, raising my gaze to meet his own. "I do trust you, I promise."

He simply looked away again, clearly unsure whether or not to believe me. "Whatever," he mumbled quietly, continuing to search through the drawers once more.

I watched him for a while in silence before glancing around the room myself, taking interest in a few printed out photos that were spread across the desk. Picking them up, I started looking through them, stopping when I saw one of Levi.

If the photo was anything to go by, they were definitely much more than just friends in the past. The image was of Levi and a much taller blonde, who I assumed to be the ex 'friend', kissing on a park bench. It was actually kind of cute, and I couldn't help but feel jealous of how happy they looked together.

I also couldn't help but feel that there was still a lot more that Levi wasn't telling me.

I quickly put the photo at the back of the pile, continuing to look through the rest. "Is this guy one of your friends too?" I showed a photo to Levi, pointing to a slightly older looking male with ash-blonde hair with slight stubble.

Levi gave a small shake of his head, his eyes kept on the photo as he spoke. "The shorter blonde is the guy who lives here - Erwin - I don't know who the other one is," he said, shrugging a bit before looking back down at the drawers. A small smirk formed on his lips as he found whatever he was looking for, and he quickly shut all of the drawers and shoved a brown envelope into his backpack.

"Put those photos back wherever you found them, kid. We need to go before Bushy-Brows gets back," he ordered, grabbing a pack of cigarettes from Erwin's bedside table on his way out of the room.

I quickly did as he said before following him down the stairs and out of the house, fiddling with the ends of my sleeves as he locked the front door before returning the spare key to its original spot. He held the tobacco filled cigarette between his pale lips, lighting it as we made our way back down the driveway.

I trailed along beside him, watching him in silence for a few moments. There were so many more questions that I wanted answers to, but I knew it was unlikely that he'd actually answer any of them. It was still kind of surprising that he had answered me when I asked about the guy in the photo.

Speaking of which, it almost looked like there was a hint of jealousy showing when Levi saw the image. It wasn't like there was anything romantic going on between them in that photo; they were just sitting on a bench like any normal couple of friends. 

Maybe he just missed hanging out with him; I can certainly relate.

Levi gave me a small nudge with his elbow, returning me to reality as I glanced back over at him. "I have to go sort something out. I'll see you tomorrow," he mumbled, blowing out some smoke before turning on his heal and starting to walk away.

I was about to ask why he was leaving so soon, and why it was even necessary for me to meet him in the first place, but simply decided to brush it off. He was busy, after all, and I guess I should just be glad he asked me to come along for company in the first place.

"See you tomorrow," I mumbled back in a quiet voice, watching him leave for a few moments before turning around to start walking home myself.