Long Time, No See - Levi x Reader (Modern!AU)

14 - Reintroductions

The walk to school alongside Levi was calm and quiet, not like I quite expected it to be anything but calm and quiet. 

Not to be overly sentimental or anything, but I had admittedly thought about this sort of scenario a lot. I'd thought the odds of it happening were astronomical, and in a way they were, and in a way I still couldn't quite believe that this was all happening right now. But it was happening, and it was vastly different from what I imagined.

Truthfully, what I had imagined was something from out of a storybook or maybe even a movie. Instead of seeing him here, the clever set-up from a friend we unknowingly shared, I'd see him only in passing, at first. 

We'd lock eyes and time would slow but all too soon the moment would be ripped from us and we were brought back to the present. From there, I figured I would try to find him again, persistent as I was, except in a perfectly angsty twist, he'd either pretend to forget, or actually forget, who I was. 

And it would break my heart. Only when he realized how much he had hurt me would he try to make things right. But he would be too late, for I would have found the love of my life and in true poetic justice, I'd be the one to forget about him.

Maybe I read too many books.

Well. Back to what was really happening... 

I found myself looking to the surroundings we passed by more than I did yesterday, imprinting the details to my mind.

All the houses we passed as we left the neighborhood we unknowingly shared until only moments ago were similar in build and in color, and only varied in decoration. Where one house would have garden gnomes, their neighbor might have rosebushes. Where one house had a line of flowers leading to their front step, another used simple flat, gray stones.

Oh, and we passed now the rogue, the renegade of the neighborhood. Not only was their house painted a different color, but their roof was also adorned with solar panels. I stifled a smile. I bet they drive an electric car, too.

Aside from that lone ranger, the rest of the neighborhood was rather uniform. It was just the usual suburb, I supposed. It was cute, sure, but all I knew was that it was a damn good thing that I memorized my address and knew the decoration outside of it very well, otherwise I'd never get back to it.

The rising sun peeked out now from between two houses as we walked, shining right into my eyes and making me squeeze my eyes shut momentarily by instinct alone. My eyes adjusted slowly and if Levi noticed the way I'd nearly bumped into him in my slight surprise from being temporarily blinded by the sun, he didn't mention it. Not verbally, anyway.

What I missed was the quick glance sent my way as my shoulder bumped his. Though initially confused, he quickly clued into why I'd stumbled a bit and let the smallest of smirks grace his lips because I was, as he had always called me, an idiot. The smirk was gone before I could see it, and so I was never aware that it was there.

But he knew, of course, and immediately wiped it from his face quickly to ensure I remained none the wiser.

I'm not sure what it was. Maybe it was only because I was actually paying attention to the walk today, and the sights that I'd have to grow more accustomed to seeing day in and day out on my way to school, or maybe it was just because Levi was here, but everything just seemed... brighter. 

It wasn't much, not enough for concern or for me to think that I was crazy, just... everything looked a little prettier this morning. Everything came to me in sharper focus and in stunning detail, and I cursed myself internally for not having paid attention to it yesterday morning.