The Sound of You - Ereri - (Boyxboy)

Chapter 4: Seasons Greetings

HEY I'M NOT DEAD! :D So to those of you who read my story, I apologize for not updating in over a month. I have been on a short, unannounced hiatus. I have had a lot of stuff to do lately involving school, but until finals, I'm all good now!

I plan on updating more frequently, I'm am going to try once a week. Let's try a new update every Tuesday night! I will try my best! After this I will also try to write longer, and better written chapters. I have been taking some classes, and looking back on previous chapters, they seem really short and inadequate... I will also try to pick up the pace a bit more. I feel like I am moving really slow... eheh, sorry! Anywho, I just wanted to do a quick, short chapter. I hope you enjoy the update!

EREN'S POV

It has been a week since Levi and I became roomates, and nothing really important or abnormal has happened. We have hardly seen each other, what with him having mainly morning classes and I afternoon classes. Evenings are usually spent with him at the dorm, and me hanging out with any of my friends, or going to a party sometimes; though I can't quite remember the last one...

The few times we had been in the room together, it was mainly him ignoring me or yelling at me for who knows what- at which point it was my turn to ignore him. It was now winter break, so I was curious to find out what his plans were for the weeks off and the holidays.

"Hey, Levi?" I called out. No response; no surprise.

I poked my head out of the bathroom, where I had previously been brushing my teeth, to find Levi sitting in his bean bag with a weird, trapezoid shaped instrument in his lap. It looked kind of like a really small piano with its strings, but had no piano keys.

I walked out of the bathroom, curious as to what the strange instrument was. I stopped when I was directly behind him, examing the musical device from over his head.

"Hey, wha- OOF!" I was cut off with a hand swinging back to slam against my chest.

"OW! What the hell!" I huffed at him, temporarily having the wind knocked out of me.

"Reflex," he mumbled emotionlessly, as he continued to tweak at the strings on the instrument, rubbing them down with a small cloth.

"Yeah, okay," I responded sarcastically. "All I wanted to know is what that thing in your lap was!"

"Instrument," He deadpanned, yet again. I rolled my eyes, thinking Yeah, no shit. I sighed and walked around to the front of him, sitting down on the floor, to which he grunted his disapproval.

"What is it called?" He stopped polishing it, and sighed, looking up to meet my bright,curious eyes with his dark, bored ones.

"You're not going to leave me alone until I answer you, right?" I smiled at him and held up a peace sign.

"Now you're catching on!" I heard him make a 'tch' noise as he held up the stringed instrument.

"This is called a qanun. It has 78 strings, its typically played in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeastern Europe. There, now you're educated, now you can leave me alone." As soon as he finished talking, he looked back down at the instrument, picking up the cloth once again.

I reached up to pluck a string, which sounded like a guitar string snapping in cartoons. Levi looked back at me in what I could only translate as disgust, and proceeded to thoroughly rub off where I had touched it with the cloth.

"Will you play it?" I asked, curious to hear this mystery instrument played. He looked up at me with slight confusion in his eyes, which soon dissipated into his usual blank slate stare.