"Hello. Ackerman speaking," Levi answered sharply when someone had dialed his landline phone. He was in the middle of having his quiet book reading time and it would always set him off whenever someone would ring him up at such a time.
"I haven't heard your fantastic voice in a while, little man," a familiar voice told him.
"Please don't call me that, stupid Four eyes," Levi sighed. "What do you want? I'm a little busy right now so make it quick."
"Ah well Eren's claims you haven't been answering his phone calls and he's getting really worried over this and I was wondering that maybe you didn't tell you were moving away?"
"It doesn't matter. It's not like he knew me personally anyway."
"Levi, do not take this so lightly; the boy is worried sick and it's even worse now that he's being overworked from studying. You're so conceited sometimes without even knowing yourself,"Hanji alarmed him sternly. "At least answer a phone call of his. I'm sure it'll lift some weight off his shoulders."
"Hanji... you already know that I can't. He's no longer my concern and I don't plan to associate with him in the future. I understand what you're trying to say but-"
"No you don't. You don't understand what I am trying to say," Hanji interrupted and Levi was sure that she was probably glaring like mad. "You said you liked him."
"No I do not," the man snarled. "Stop talking bullshit. I'm hanging up. Good day."
"If you liked him, you would have never wanted him to suffer because of-"
He slammed the land line phone down and had to hold in the urge to throw it out the window. He hung up before she could finish but he already knew what she was going to tell him because he was not an oblivious man.
You would have never wanted him to suffer because of you.
---
His eyes stung from looking at the same notes for hours and he felt completely dehydrated. The dim light of his lamp created shadows upon his poster plastered wall as the low light of the moon shined onto his face. He never really studied but if he was going to want to attend his desired university, he would have to work hard to boost up his grades a little more for final exams. It was difficult for him to study because he didn't give a shit about subjects that he knew wasn't gonna benefit for his future.
The music competition was nearing and he was completely terrified; what he messed up? Of course being the prodigy he was, he would never get nervous about this sort of thing but now that Levi left his side, he was sure as hell that he would make at least one mistake.
He was worried about the man, but he wouldn't really admit that he missed him because he highly doubted that anyone would miss such a grumpy douche bag. His mind was filled with many math and science equations but he couldn't quite shake off the image of Levi's face swirling inside his head.
He shouldn't matter anymore, Eren thought to himself.
He was going to move away soon anyways, so the memories with the older male shouldn't be brought with him. He had to learn to forget, and it was something he was not always good at. Everything was going to be very chaotic for Eren for the next few weeks and he was not looking forward to it at all. He didn't know if he was going to pass any exams with the thought of packing or the music competition on his mind. Everything was just so stressing and it made him feel like his brain was going to explode.
He wanted to disappear without having to die, and he wished it was possible to do so.
---
Night of the competition
Eren was scrambling all over his house and trying to find everything he needed before he and his family left. His heart was beating as hard and fast as a drum inside his rib cage and his legs wouldn't stop trembling. He wasn't always this nervous, but he worked long and hard to perform on this night and there was no way he was gonna let his hands play a small mistake. He memorized everything until it burned into his brain and dreamed about it at night; he was sick and tired of playing the song, but he knew it was going to be enjoyable once he played it in front of a crowd.
"Eren, slow down. You're making too much noise," he mother told him as she wrapped a white scarf around her delicate neck.
"We need to get there early," Eren yelled as he stuffed several pieces of paper into his black back pack.
"Eren, if we head now we would be at least thirty minutes early," she replied with a small smile playing on her lipstick stained lips.
"That's the point!" he exclaimed. "I need to review the song a few times once I get there."
"You've played that song over a hundred times," Mikasa shouted from the bathroom.
"I know, but I just want to make sure," he said.
His mother sighed and shook her head but didn't stop smiling. "Alright whatever. It's your night to shine anyways so we might as well do what you want."
Eren grinned and dashed out the door as soon as the last word left her mouth. He felt pretty pumped for that night and he couldn't wait to get on stage and play until his fingers fell off. He then had to wait five minutes in the car until Mikasa and his mother came along. As usual, his father wasn't able to attend but Eren was already used to it so of course he didn't feel so bothered about it.
The whole car ride to the competition was mainly quiet, excluding the classic piano music blaring through the speakers of the radio. Eren's eyes scanned the score that was gripped in his hands as the fingertips of his other hand tapped, playing the beats and counting of his song. No, it felt wrong to call it his song, it was their song after all.
They were heading toward the performing arts theatre in his town and Eren could hardly wait, but he also couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt building up inside the pit of his heart; was it really correct of him to be going without Levi? Then again, he had the option to drop out but it wasn't a great option to Eren after all the practice and trouble he went through. Before he knew, their car halted to a stop in front of an extravagant looking building. It was huge and had many windows of all shapes and sizes and reminded Eren of glass figurines that would go on sale around Christmas time.
Beams of light shot through the dark, indigo night sky from the ground and the sound of water splashing from fountains could be heard everywhere. Many people with instrument cases and books spilling with sheet music made their way inside. The place had the same atmosphere as a cat walk; everyone the stage was there to show something or rather, show themselves off as Eren could put it. The musicians looked absolutely stunning and the German teen had to admit that they were very beautiful and elegant, kind of like peacocks and cranes.
The boys wore suits and the girls wore skirts and dresses and sometimes even suits. The boy felt so out of place but he knew that this place was his calling. His family got out of the car and stared up at the building with awe. He's been here before and he knew it because he had an incredible memory. It had been long, restless years but he could still remember...
Oh right, this was the place Eren went to when he went against Levi many years back. He felt as if he were just hit by a train and the air was knocked violently from his lungs. Out of all places they could have chosen for tonight, why did it have to be this damned theatre? Eren groaned aloud as Mikasa sent him a questioning look and they soon headed inside.
The inside was a whole different story, the place looked a some modern castle with its red carpet and gold looking furniture along with portraits of famous composers. The air smelled of faint rose musk and the lights nearly blinded his eyes. The sound of quiet chattering and instrument tuning could be heard down the long hallways as Eren and his family went along their way to find the theatre area. There were a couple of signs there to guide them and he sighed with relief when he found one directing where back stage was.
"Eren, you know where we'll be, right? Good luck, my dear and never forget how proud I am of you," his mother said just before he entered the back stage. He smiled as his mother pecked him on the cheek and Mikasa patted his back. He walked down another long hallway and was greeted by staff as he grinned back and greeted them in return. There was quite a lot of people so it was going to take a while before they reached his name but Eren was thankful for that. He chatted with a few other musicians but kept in mind that they were his rivals so he shouldn't be too friendly. He wasn't really scared of big competition because he already knew he was the best.
He wasn't conceited, he just knew what was the truth and what wasn't. There was a small television screen high up on the corner of the room and it looked so out of place. Back stage was mainly empty and only consisted of a few chairs and a table stacked with water bottles and extra reeds for wood wind instruments. Eren noticed how some of them played a few mistakes and he smirked to himself.
He knew that they played well, but not perfectly. A lot of them composed pretty good pieces so watching them play was enjoyable. He changed a lot of the lyrics of his song from when he first wrote it but he knew it was going to be better than the rough copy of course.
When each name was being called, he couldn't help but feel so excited but nervous because his name was getting closer ad closer and before he knew it, he was already being called down to the stage.
"Next up is Eren Jaeger."
Eren felt pretty surprised when they didn't call Levi's name as well since they were supposed to be a duo in the first place, but then again maybe Levi talked about dropping out before he even disappeared.
It took effort to move his feet and his legs were as wobbly as loose wooden flooring. He could hear his breathing gradually slow down and his dress shoes tapping against the smooth, shiny stage. This was it, this might be his new beginning or even his fateful end.
There was a piano positioned flat in the middle of the stage and like Eren remembered, it was a Steinway & Sons grand piano. The whole theatre was deadly silent and the teen could feel many pairs of eyes focused on him and small whispers and murmurs slowly started to be heard to his ears. They were talking about him and they were all looking forward to his performance because Eren Jaeger did not disappoint. He sat down gracefully on the piano seat and adjusted it a little and raised his fingers above the keys. They trembled a little as he played the first note but his hands were swift and sure.
He was playing the intro of the song, which was slow and soft and he absolutely hated it. He couldn't believe he was playing the piano out of school when he swore not to do so due to past experiences. If he won alone, he would have wanted to play something more aggressive like the violin. His feet tapped along to the slow beat and he was soon singing in his soft, melodic voice and he could have sworn that everyone was holding their breath.
Singing in front of hundreds of people was absolutely nerve ranking compared to singig in the small café. He felt rather timid because this song was supposed to be very sharp and professional whereas the times in the coffee shop were carefree and giddy. It was like molding an object into something it wasn't. He felt like his voice was going to crack because of the many long hours of practicing and he could hear it shake just a little and he knew he had to get his shit together.
And I wish I could have reached you before you left.
AN:
i'm so sorry i haven't updated for so long i've just been trying to relax more since writing can be quite stressing, but fret not! i will try to update sooner.
anyway small update on my life but i'm having music problems as well.
my new school's band program is really sucky so i won't be able to go to competitions or trips and to top it all off, i'm the only alto and bari sax in concert band. i'm just really upset bc my teacher doesn't teach me properly and always makes us play through a score even if we mess up the counting and DOESN'T stop to correct us like ?? what ??? are ?? you ?? doing ?? we're also playing grade 7-8 leveled song so i'm just so done
i really thought this band program was going to be better and now i'm just disappointed and i really miss my old school's band and i'm just really upset i'm going to break a vase.
also the lower D on my alto doesn't work. i use the school's alto because it's free :/
anyways sorry for my whining but i really hope you guys had an amazing thanks giving (to yall canadians) and don't forget to leave a comment and vote! thank you so much for reading! <3
~Your Friend Takeshi