The Boy With Two Worlds - [Ereri/Riren]

Chapter Ten - New Greetings

Are you kidding me?

My mouth hung open in shock, fear, and anxiety coursed through me like a crashing wave that rumbled through my veins. Out of all the people, all of the people in this room that I could have been partnered with, it's the boy that I wanted to avoid, the boy who asked unanswered and unwanted questions.

Why is my luck so terrible?

When the raven who stepped up scanned the room to see who his partner was, his eyes widened for just a split second as he saw my stood figure, realizing I was his partner.

"Wow, poor Levi. He got the eye patch guy."

"That's not fair! Levi is way too hot for that weirdo. He doesn't deserve him."

"Oh shit, Levi got that Eren dude."

Eye patch. Eye patch. Eye patch. That's how everyone saw me as. The weird kid, the disabled kid, gross, digusting,

Different.

I clenched my fist, biting my lip and hanging my head as the whispers from students that didn't even seem to care about hiding their judgment continued. Mikasa grasped my hand, soothing me slightly as she silently told me to ignore them, and just pay attention to the task at hand, all the while she glared sharply at all the whispering students. Even if she wasn't physically speaking, I knew what that simple gesture meant.

I sighed, and looked up again to see the boy who I now learned was named 'Levi' hesitantly walking up to me. He shifted his eyes around, like he didn't want them to land on me, and when he reached my desk, he just stood there. Silent.

After all of the attention that was aimed at us faded, everyone mostly went back to their own partners to converse or the students who didn't have a partner yet continuing to wait. I slowly sat back down, not speaking, not moving, just letting the thoughts run through my head. I'm supposed to work on a project with this guy for a whole week, we have to talk, socialize, and work together for seven days, all the way until Monday where we have to turn in the finished product. How am I supposed to do this?

I swallowed, watching as the last few people got partnered -three having to work together as a group as there was an uneven number of students- then Mr. Pixis brought up the topic once more to finish explaining.

"Now that you all have your partners, I'll explain what the task will be. As I said, it will be a writing project, but, there are no limits to what you can write about. You can do art, photography, a simple novel or short story, whatever you and your partner come up with and agree on, as long as there is a descriptive piece of writing involved about the picture and or topic. You and your partner or partners must work together, no matter in what way. If I find out or see that only one of you have worked on the project, your grade will not be counted."

I took in every piece if information he gave out, and let it filter in my thoughts. Some students were nodding in understanding, some students were just silently listening, and some were not even paying attention, drifting off to stare at something else or whispering with their friends.

"As stated, you will have a week from now to work on your project, which means you must turn it in by next Monday or before if you get it finished quicker. If it is turned in no later than a day, you and your partner's grade will be cut. If there is an important or serious personal situation at hand, it is acceptable for your project to be turned in later, but only if completely necessary."

I could hear Levi's calm breathing, feel his presence, and just sense his body next to me as he stood close but still distant, like he didn't want to invade my personal space. I didn't even have the guts to glance at him. I would feel his eyes flicker over to me once in a while, but I tried my best not to pay any mind to it.