At the curb, a stranger sitting on a small black motorcycle started his bike getting ready to leave. As if on instinct I yelled, "HEY! WAIT!" The man, who was wearing a helmet, looked up to see me running with my dad right on my heels. Out of pure luck, for some reason he hesitated, and for some reason I jumped on the back of his bike. "GO GO!!" I yelled in a panic, he revved the engine twice and we were down the road just before my father reached us. I looked over my shoulder to see my father's figure become smaller and smaller.
We get about 4 blocks away before getting caught by a red light. He uses this opportunity to question me. He flips open the face shield on his blue and black helmet before speaking in a deep voice. "So, kid, why don't you explain to me what the hell is going on? Who the hell was that?" I see into his piercing, cold, silver eyes.
Before I could answer the light switched, illuminating us in a neon green glow. As we gained speed, I confess "U-um it was my father...."
Suddenly the brakes were hit and we pulled up to the curb. A car slammed its horn and zoomed by us as the man put the kickstand up and turned around in his seat. "Listen, kid, I'm not gonna help you run away from home, I thought he was some kidnapper or pedophile. Kid, I gotta take you back to your da-"
"NO, YOU CAN'T PLEASE!" I interrupted. "He's furious with me! I can't go back home I don't know what he'll do..." I pleaded with panicked eyes where salty tears slowly return.
"Tch, the hell did you say that got him so pissed off?" The man asks. My heart skips a beat.
Should I really tell this stranger my sexuality? I shake my head and respond truthfully, "I-I came out to him..... But the thing is, he's really religious....and he basically disowned me...." My shaky voice barely got out the words. The man sighs.
He stares at me, but his cold gaze turns away as if he was contemplating something. He finally breaks the silence. "Alright...here." he takes off his helmet finally revealing his face. Short hair, so dark you can compare it to the feathers of a Raven, laid over a clean undercut. His bangs fell just short of his thin eyes. Those eyes which were dull yet so vibrant. A silvery blue or grey is what I would describe them as.
I was caught up in admiring the man, but I was brought back to reality when he spoke. "So, kid, you wanna tell me your name and what the hell made you think to jump onto the back of a stranger's bike?" He rose an eyebrow.
I stuttered, "U-uh it's Eren! And I uhh don't really have an answer for the second one. It was just by coincidence you were even there." I explain, rubbing the back of my neck.
He narrowed his eyes and continued to interrogate me, "How old are you kid?"
I rebelled, "First of all I'm not a kid, I'm turning 18 next week, also I just said my name was Eren."
He chuckles, "With that attitude, I think I'll call you brat instead heh." Before I could retaliate he slipped his helmet over my own head. "Does it fit?" He asks smoothly. I nod my head yes. He smirks and tilts his head to the side, "good" he says with a playful tone as he flips down the face mask suddenly. I flinch when the mask closes with a smack.
He turns back around and puts his hands on the handles. "So, brat, you got any friends you can stay with? Any other family?" I think for a second, I don't want to intrude on Armin and his grandpa right now, but Sasha's parents would never let me stay over, Connie is off on vacation for the weekend, Marco is probably working, there's no way I'm going to Jean, and Mikasa doesn't have anywhere I could sleep. Dammit, I really don't want to bug Armin but I guess I have no choice. I take my phone out of my pocket and find it dead. Of course. "My phone's dead can I use yours to call my friend?"
He groans, "The one day I don't bring mine with me, sorry 'bout that, let's go."
He kicks up the kickstand, "By the way, you never told me your name." Between revs of the engine, he mumbles, "Levi."
The bike rolls forward as I grab onto his shoulders so I don't fall off. The street lamps become more frequent, hinting we are getting closer to the city. Because I've never been to the city I get my hopes up a little. "Wh-where are we going?!" I yell over the engine and through the helmet.
"To a phone, it's right past the bridge." As he says that a huge red steel bridge appears shortly in front of us.
While crossing the structure I'm in awe of the pure size. I look out at the water below, and then to the lights lining the steel bars caging the top. But when we get to the other side of the bridge, my breath is taken away.
Huge skyscrapers tower over the people below. Even though it was so late the city is still alive. Pedestrians crowd the sidewalks and cars are lined up along either side of the street, bumper to bumper. The skyline I used to look at every morning was now right above me. After a few more blocks Levi pulls up to a curb between two cars. He reaches in the pocket of his black leather jacket and pulls out a couple of quarters, handing two to me. I take them after pulling off the helmet. I pause, confused at why he gave me 50 cents. His face becomes annoyed and he points with his thumb without looking away to his right. I look over and see a payphone. I have never used one of those in my life. "Ohh heh sorry." I apologize realizing my stupidity and jump off the bike.
As I get to the box, I see Levi swing off one of his legs and lean against his bike. He crosses his arms as he stares off, emotionless. I put the coins in the slot and pick up the phone. I dial Armin's number, good thing I remember it by heart, it rings a couple times. Come on Armin pick up pick up! It rang a couple more times before a familiar voice answered.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Armin! Hey, it's Eren-" I get cut off by a squeal.
"OH MY GOD DUDE YOU HAVE TO TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED....wait what phone are you using?"
I pause, "I'm on a payphone, long story, but I can tell you what happened later, I need to ask you something....."
He calmly says, "sure, what is it?"
I sigh, "I need a place to stay tonight but I don't want to intrude on you or your grandpa so it's okay if you say no."
Armin goes silent for a second, "Of course, you're always welcome, don't worry about grandpa he's doing fine."
I smile, "Thank you Armin you're the best!" I exclaim.
"Wait Eren at least tell me why you're on a payphone," Armin asks frantically.
I laugh, "Basically my phone's dead, also I got a ride from someone, and they brought me to one." As I explain I can't help to look at Levi over at his bike but when I look over, his emotionless eyes are locked on me. We make quick eye contact and he raises one eyebrow, I swiftly look away from his intimidating glare and say bye to Armin and thank him again.
I make my way back to Levi and notice something I couldn't when on the back of the motorcycle. He was kinda short, like a lot shorter than me, I'm sorta average at 5'7", but dang. He furrows his brow when he notices me staring for too long, "What?"
I blink, "Uh n-nothing!"
He narrows his eyes, stands up, and mounts his bike once again with a "Tch". I sit myself back behind him and he gives me his helmet again. "So, where to?" Levi asks.
"You know where Maria is?" He nods and I continue, "to my friend's house, I'll show you how to get there."
He replies, "Got it."
We make our way out of the city, going back over the bridge and onto the highway. The bike's engine got louder as we picked up speed. Slowly the engine would pick up before dropping again, shifting into the next gear. We pass cars on either side of us. It felt like I was flying, I see why people love motorcycles so much, it's so freeing. I look past Levi to the speedometer, 65. It makes me wonder, I open the mask and speak loudly in his ear so he can hear me over the wind and engine. "So how fast can this thing go?!"
He chuckles and playfully tempted, "Heh, you wanna see how fast this goes huh? Well brat..... hold on tight!"
Suddenly, the bike jumped forward, underestimating the power I frantically took my hands off Levi's shoulders and tightly wrapped my arms around his slim waist so I wouldn't fall off. He chuckles and hits the throttle even more. Cars go by in a blur as we weave through traffic, sometimes coming barely a foot away. I'm left speechless, my heart races as my adrenaline builds to an unbelievable high. I see the thin red arrow on the speedometer rise, 70, 75, 80?!
He keeps it at about 82 mph as we pass between two trailers. I finally get out words, "Oh my God! Hahaha!" I cheerfully yell. My smile brightens, this is the most fun I've ever had. My eyes move to the rearview mirror on the side handlebar and I lock eyes with Levi, he was looking back and forth from the road to me, smirking. My heart skips a beat when his silver eyes meet mine.
Suddenly we enter a tunnel, the sound of the bike echos and enhances off the walls, the lights fly by in a blur. We break the tunnel to see the clouds have cleared, letting the moon show itself in its entire glory. The shine of the moon illuminates everything around us. I see the traffic up ahead and obviously, Levi noticed as well for he started to hit the brakes, finally, the crazy ride was over. Just in time as well for we get off at the next exit.
"How was that?" He asks as we get on the smaller streets leading into Maria.
"It was incredible! I've never gone that fast!" I say, still feeling the adrenaline pumping through my veins.
"Hm that's nothing, its max is about 140," he says nonchalantly.
"Wait, you could have gone that much faster?" I ask.
"Not with you on the back of it," he pointed out. "I've learned to be very careful on this especially. It's dangerous riding a motorcycle no matter how fast you're going."
"Yet you still sped even with me " I sassed.
"You looked like you needed it, the least I could do was let you have a little fun after the night you've had." He explained.
I smile to myself, he was right. It definitely made me feel better, even if it was temporary, his intentions were sweet.
The only exchange of words after that were directions to Armin's house. We pass my street and I get a pit in my stomach, "I live down there..." I point down the road and look down. Levi stays quiet as he listens to my directions.
As we pass the church tears rise to my cheeks, not wanting to cry, I sniffle a couple times trying to resist. Once again my eyes travel to the mirror and I see Levi looking with softer eyes than usual. He slows and pulls over under a lone street lamp. I say nothing as he turns off the bike. Levi hangs his head and quietly speaks, "Listen brat, I get how you feel."
Confused a bit I mumble, "how so?"
He takes a deep breath and calmly confesses, "I came out to my people when I was 16 and they were not happy, I haven't spoke to my old man in years."
I stutter, "U-uh w-wait so y-you-"
He stops me and nods, "Mhmm"
"S-so how old are you now?" I hesitantly ask.
Levi replies immediately, "26."
Still in shock I apologise, "S-sorry." He starts his bike without a word and another mile down the road we get to Armin's house.
I climb off the bike and take off his helmet. He takes it and sets it in front of him. I awkwardly rub the back of my neck, "Umm t-thanks for...everything...Levi." I turn to walk into Armin's house and I see the curtains in his room move, however.
"Eren, wait a sec...." My heart jumps, I turn around to see him rummaging around in a bag. He pulls out a pen and holds out his arm, I stare at him confused. "Just give me your hand idiot!"
I slowly lift my arm and he roughly pulls it forward, bringing me closer. Holding my hand, palm down, his soft cold hands grips mine tightly, sending a electric current down my spine. He clicks his pen and brings it to the back of my hand. He talks as he scribbles, "Because your phone is dead...and I know we just met buut...here's my number, message me if you need anything! So don't go off jumping on random stranger's bikes anymore, you're just lucky I wasn't some creep."
He releases my hand, which is now tingly, and I look down at the 10 little neat numbers of blue ink that stand out from my pale skin. "U-uh th-thanks."
He smirks and I respond with a small smile, "see ya around Eren?" I nod and he slides his helmet over his head and revs the engine twice more before driving away. I give a small wave and watch as the small red taillight disappears in the darkness.