Eren awoke to the sound of his digital alarm clock playing a little tune, at 7:05 AM.
A few rays of sunshine peeked through the white curtains, bathing the room in a soft golden glow.
He stretched and tried to make the most of his comfortable bed before he had to get up.
He heard Levi groan from the floor, where his mattress was.
"What the fuck is that ? Turn it off."
Eren suddenly remembered that there was someone else living in his house. A wave of anxiety washed over him, and he took deep breaths to calm himself.
He leant over to his bedside table and silenced the alarm as quickly as he could. He looked over to Levi, who was propped up on his hands, looking around the room. As his gaze fell on Eren, the brunette looked away, sliding out from under the warm covers.
"I'm going to go have breakfast, you coming ?"
"I'm not hungry" replied Levi.
Eren ran a hand through his messy mop of hair, wondering if he should insist, skip breakfast too, or leave Levi alone.
"I'm worrying about breakfast because of him. Seriously Eren stop it" he chided himself.
"I won't die or vanish or set fire to your room" Levi stated with a smirk, sitting up.
Eren felt his face flush as he started fiddling with his bottom lip. He looked back up to see Levi waiting for him to do something, his expressionless face returned.
The poor boy hurriedly went downstairs, mentally swearing about how stupid he was.
He found his mother in the kitchen, drinking a mug of coffee.
"Hey honey. How did you sleep ?"
"Fine, Levi doesn't snore, so that's something" grinned Eren. "Why didn't you tell me the students were arriving earlier ? A little warning would've been nice ..." said Eren, his brow creasing a little, but making sure to keep any accusing tone out of his voice.
"I know how much you don't like being around other people, let alone share your personal space with them. I also know how much you have been stressing over somebody's arrival here. I thought it would be best if I didn't make you worry more than you already were."
"I get it" he sighed, "it was probably a good decision over all ... I just ..."
"Don't like it ? You and Levi will get along after a while, it will take a bit of time for him to settle in, but he seems like a good kid, just a little reserved. He actually reminds me of you, Eren. Be nice to him and give him time, okay honey? Give him a chance" smiled Carla, ruffling his hair.
Eren scrunched up his nose "I hear you ... I'll be kind, don't worry Mom. I couldn't bring myself to be rude to him even if I wanted to. Anyway, I better eat now if I don't want to be late to class" he said, grabbing a bowl from the cupboard.
He poured cereal into his bowl before adding milk.
His way of doing it was prone to debate with Armin, who did it the other way around. Their debates never ended, with Eren determined to stand his ground and defend his poor bowl of cereal, and Armin finding some intelligent answer to everything Eren said.
Eren sat down in front of his mother, and the two of them started chatting animatedly.
The tanned boy glanced at his watch before realizing that he was running late. He stood up in a rush, just as Levi walked downstairs in a pair of black jeans and a matching black sweater.
Eren couldn't help but think that black suited him a lot.
He mentally shook himself to get focused again and rushed up to his room, backing his bag as quickly as he could and throwing on a pair of faded denim jeans and a white Levi's tee shirt.
He attempted to fix his hair while brushing his pearly white teeth, but to no avail.
"Eren ? I'll drive you to school today, I'm passing by there and I don't want you and Levi to be late. We're leaving in five minutes" called Carla.
He hurriedly grabbed a pair of shoes before running downstairs, almost face planting as he tripped in the last step.
He heard Levi scoff, and as Eren looked up, he saw a slight spark of amusement in his eyes before it vanished as quickly as it came.
The brunette started walking towards the door.
" ... They're my shoes brat."
Eren paused in his tracks and looked down, and saw that they were indeed not his. He groaned before racing upstairs, then back down again with a pair that were his this time.
He turned on his phone as the three of them walked out to the black Hyundai. Eren was aiming to get his driving licence in January, and he was longing to drive places himself.
His phone dinged repeatedly, which made Levi shoot him an irritated glare, that held a hint of amusement once he saw Eren fumbling with the button to turn the ringtone down.
The messages were all from Mikasa, ranging from greetings to questions to "are you still alive ??".
Eren's equally tanned fingers flew over the keyboard as he typed a message telling her he was going to tell her everything face to face as he was on his way.
He wondered how Mikasa and Armin were getting on with their assigned partners.
Eren's mother dropped them off, after a short drive where neither of the teenagers had uttered a word.
Eren spotted Mikasa waving him over, Hanji standing beside her. If almost jumping on the spot could be qualified as standing.
"Hey Eren ! Levi." she acknowledged him with a curt nod, to which the raven responded imperceptibly with a slight nod of his own.
"Eren how are you mon ange ?" asked Hanji.
"Je vais bien et toi ?" he answered in a hesitant French.
"Ooh you speak French better than madame over here" grinned Hanji pointing over to Mikasa.
"Hey you didn't even hear me say anything in French !" she said indignantly.
"Well at least you made the effort, " the brunette joked. "You are lucky to have a roommate who is so kind, n'est-ce pas Levi ?"
"Sure" he muttered.
Sasha's roommate Petra joined them a few minutes later, her strawberry blonde hair lighting up in the morning sun.
She came up behind Levi, placing her chin on his shoulder with her arms wrapped around his shoulders.
"Well I hope he didn't traumatize you Eren. The poor thing is a little shy you see."
Levi immediately pushed her off him with a death stare, cursing at them in rapid fire french, that made Petra and Hanji crack up.
"I swear to god Petra your body won't be found again."
She threw him a condescending look replying, "It's okay shortie, I'll shut up now."
She slipped over to Eren, smiling sweetly at Levi.
"Congratulations Eren, you really got the jackpot there. I owe you ten dollars if you are still alive in a month" she smiled, giving him a warm hug, to which he responded, amazed at how she had put him at ease despite him disliking strangers.
Levi calmly told her to shut up, keeping a menacing glint all the same. Petra grinned and raised her hands in mock surrender, beginning to turn towards the entrance to Maria High School in an unspoken agreement to make their way to first period, which was Algebra.
They all started walking towards class, and Mikasa pulled Eren to the side, asking him about how it went.
"Honestly it wasn't that bad, Levi wasn't ya know, a total ass. I kinda want to get to know him now. Besides," he added, "I promised mom that I would try and befriend him, so that's what I'm going to do."
"Just promise me you won't stay near him if he hurts you. I don't want to have another ... broken Eren ... " Mikasa trailed off, seeing Eren's pained look. "Just be careful alright babe ?" she whispered, pulling him into a hug.
Eren buried his face into her hair that had it's usual comforting smell of lavender.
That time of his life brought back painful memories, that stung like salt water on a wound. He certainly didn't want to go back to that period of his life.
They walked on in silence before Eren said "And how is it to be with Hanji ? You and her are kind of complete opposites."
"Honestly she's like an energy drink, but as a whole she's good-natured, and we get along better and better", said Mikasa, giving a soft smile.
Eren was glad to hear that maybe, just maybe, the next six months wouldn't be so bad.
※※※※※※
The morning classes went by quickly, with the French students integrating their lessons.
Levi had decided to steal Armin's seat for some unknown reason, sitting beside Eren, to his great discomfort. Levi noticed, but said nothing of it, and Eren, never one to stand up for himself, just let it be.
Armin retreated to Erwin's side, making the tall blonde smile. The two of them seemed quite close despite only being acquainted the previous day.
Per usual, Connie, Sasha, Marco -hence Jean's presence - and Christa joined Armin, Eren and Mikasa for lunch. Christa being with them inevitably meant that Ymir would also be there, to the group's amusement.
As they all sat down in the cafeteria, Hanji and Petra approached them, Erwin and Levi in tow, both who seemed caught up in a heated discussion.
"Can we eat with you guys?" asked Petra.
"Of course" replied Armin, gesturing to the chairs beside them.
They both sat down, the two boys ending their conversation and doing the same.
There was a short silence before Historia asked the exchange students how they were settling in.
The conversation flowed nicely, Eren happily listening and sometimes joining in, Jean shooting him snarky comments, Hanji chattering with Armin about science, Sasha eating away at Connie's food, and Levi staying silent and expressionless, unless he got the opportunity to dig at one of his friends.
He didn't say anything to Eren to the brunette's surprise, but he almost would have preferred it to his cold silence.
"Hey, my partner Annaëlle wanted to know if she could come join us. Do you guys mind ?" piped up Historia, twirling a lock of blonde hair with her finger.
"No, the more the merrier" said Marco with a shy smile on his face. Everyone voiced their agreement.
A girl with straight auburn hair walked over to them, wearing a pair of loose brown pants with a black belt, paired with a white woolly jumper with little cut out designs. She had sparkly green eyes and a smile on her face, almost contagious.
On her way, she almost crashed into a student and tripped over her own feet, making everyone assume she was a little clumsy.
Historia rose, greeting her with a hug, earning a jealous glare from Ymir.
"Coucou !" grinned Annaëlle joyfully.
During Annabelle's arrival, while everyone wasn't paying attention to him, Levi slipped away unnoticed.
Eren turned away from the new girl, wanting to see how Levi would react. But to his surprise, he had vanished.
"I'll be back in a minute" Eren whispered to Mikasa who was sitting beside him. She cocked an eyebrow but said nothing, letting him go.
Eren stepped out into the hallway, searching for Levi's choppy black hair and identically colored outfit.
He felt like he had gone through every path in the labyrinth that were the high school's hallways. Just as he was about to give up and return to the cafeteria, he spotted a guy with her black hair sitting on a bench outside, in the corner facing the town's park.
The size of said figure confirmed it was indeed Levi.
Eren walked towards him, before stopping a little way behind him, not wanting to disturb him.
"I can hear you trudge across the courtyard. You're just about as quiet as a fucking elephant Eren" muttered the raven, not bothering to turn around.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. I just wanted to make sure that ... You were okay I guess." Eren ran a hand through his chestnut hair.
"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be ?"
"I - I mean - it's not common to randomly leave" stuttered Eren.
"I don't like people, brat. That's it", Levi answered curtly.
"Okay ... I'll head back then" he added. "You coming ?"
"No."
"Oh."
There was an uncomfortable feeling in the air, making Eren shift his weight from one leg to the other, hesitating about wether he should just let Levi be, or stay for a bit.
He chose the first option, before stopping midway to the cafeteria and opting for the second one instead.
He sat down on the corner of the bench, as far away as possible, to not take up Levi's personal space.
"Why did you come back." It was supposed to be a question but the monotone voice used gave no indication of it whatsoever.
"I felt bad leaving you here alone ... Besides, it's only right I make sure you aren't being left to the side" Eren added, uselessly trying to justify himself.
"Anyone ever let you know that some people prefer to be alone ? In case you didn't get it, I prefer to be alone" said Levi sarcastically.
Eren bowed his head in shame. He started absently fingering his bottom lip, biting it until he felt the copper taste of blood enter his mouth.
He couldn't help but wonder if they were ever going to get along. Even if it had only been two days, he was beginning to lose any hope of a friendship - or even mutual respect.
Eren stood up, murmuring a soft "sorry" before walking towards the school's double glass doors.
He stepped into the bathroom, and took a minute to compose himself. He turned on the tap, putting his hands under it to splash his face. He looked up at his reflection in the cracked mirror, at those turquoise eyes staring back at him.
He tried to reassure his anxious mind, telling himself that Levi was naturally harsh and that it had nothing to do with him. Then why won't he make an effort ? What will I say when I see him again ? How can I try and get closer to him ? Will we ever be friends ? What did I do to make Levi hate me so much ?
The sound of water running pulled him out of his thoughts, reminding him that Armin and Mikasa were surely waiting for him.
He sighed, making note to ask Petra, Erwin or Hanji about Levi, and how he could try and be friends like them, or at least amicable.
Eren arrived into the cafeteria, sliding into his usual seat, where everyone was laughing at Annaëlle's French accent when she spoke English. She wasn't bad at English, on the contrary, she was amongst the best of the class according to Petra.
Armin and Mikasa noticed Eren's downcast expression and Levi's apparent absence, and gave him worried glances.
"It's fine" mouthed Eren, shooting then a half-hearted smile.
He then turned towards Annaëlle, who was recounting an adventure she had in France, in a french-english and English.
"- and then 'boom', the door closed and we locked out under the rain."
The bell rang, and they all stood up, pleasantly talking with one another. Eren approached Petra who was talking with Hanji, matching his pace with theirs as they went towards their Litt class.
"- oui c'est different - oh Eren, I didn't see you ! How are you?" asked Petra, noticing Eren.
"I'm good thanks ... Well actually I had a question for you two."
"Is this about monsieur you-know-who ?" guessed Hanji, their mouth twisting into a smile.
"Eren let me tell you this ; don't worry about it too much, he wasn't ever the type of person who, how can I say this ... who is openly affectionate or sociable. Before I got to know him better, he didn't like me. At all. In fact he used to make sure I was always far away from him. But then Hanji who was close to him, found me and made friends with me. No - what's the word ?" asked Petra smiling sheepishly at Eren.
"Befriend", said Eren, the corner of his mouth tilting up.
"Ah yes, that's it ! So Hanji befriended me, and she wouldn't stop pestering Levi about bringing me over to their group - Erwin was friends with him too, like brothers the two of them - alors Levi finally said yes. It took a while for him to trust me, he used to ignore me the whole time until the very last year of primary school where I was getting bullied for having braces. He stepped in and beat the girl up. He stayed with me and we got the chance to talk a bit. Turns out he did care after a while. He just didn't know how to show it. He doesn't know how to be vulnerable you see, Eren."
"And then Petra and Levi went on a date and -" started Hanji, ruining the moment.
"Hanji ! La ferme. It lasted a day and we realised friends suited us better. Besides, I think he might've done it to make me feel better about myself. It worked en tout cas ("in any case")," admitted Petra ruefully.
Eren who was listening intently, let his tense eyebrows relax into their normal position. "Petra, thank you. And you too Hanji," he added with a grin. A 'thank you' said everything.
"With pleasure chéri" she answered ruffling his hair.
A wicked look came onto Hanji's face and they whispered loudly, "I have secrets for you Eren, would you like to know them ?"
"Hanji" warned Petra.
"One day Petra was walking beside a lake, and she sat down on a little half bridge whatever it's called in english - ponton in french - and a little while later, a frog jumped out of the water. So Petra fell into the water. She couldn't swim, so Erwin had to go into the water to rescue her. His eyebrows wet is quite shocking. It's like they doubled in size. I remember when - sorry I get lost in my thoughts. So, Petra got pulled out of the lake. A fish was in her top but she didn't know that, and when she felt something slimy against her skin, she fell back into the lake" cackled Hanji. "I also remember her mistaking somebody for her father and she ran up to him, covered in cream against the sun, and gave him a nice big hug. The man got so scared.. She got a nice telling off from him."
"HANJI " growled Petra. "Thankfully I like you Eren, and it is by far not the worst thing that has happened to me, but Hanji doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut, isn't that right Hanji ?"
"Quoi ? ('what')" they answered innocently.
The three of them shared a laugh as they continued on their way.