The Exchange Student

Chapter 19

Hanji kept Eren in stitches with their antics, gasping for air as he laughed at them and Annaëlle, who had a very peculiar way of laughing, like a diesel car starting up, or an old man wheezing on his deathbed.

Levi watched him, a tint of a smile playing on his lips at the happiness displayed on Eren's tanned features.
The raven did however make sure no one was watching - especially not Hanji, or he would never hear the end of it. He refused to break the promise he made to Eren.

Mikasa had decided to come along with them, but the awkwardness was palpable between her and Eren whenever their eyes met. She was curled up on a sofa with Petra, who was quietly talking to her, but with some hand gestures that made it seem like they were having a bit of a disagreement. However, that didn't last for too long, as Hanji began another ridiculous story from their highly eventful life that grabbed their attention.

Eren was in such a fit of laughter that he began coughing violently, choking on his mirth, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

Levi rose from the sofa, walking over to the kitchen to bring Eren a glass of water to ease his coughing. Eren gratefully accepted the glass, butterflies awakening in his stomach as his fingers brushed against Levi's as he took the glass, crossing the raven's eyes. He quickly looked down at the clear water, bringing it to his lips to avoid giving even the slightest hint to the others.

Relentless hiccups soon followed the coughing, everyone around him chortling at the poor brunette, aside from Levi, but even he couldn't help a small smirk, that once again Eren tried to keep an image of forever, to burn into his mind. Each of those small emotions he showed him was like shooting stars for him, small and gone in a flash, but beautiful and precious.

A strong hiccup jerked his hand towards him as he drank, causing the water to slosh over onto Eren's face and drip down onto his tee-shirt. He groaned in annoyance as a cold drop of water trickled down his torso, interrupted by a hiccup that Hanji cackled at happily, nudging Annaëlle to say something in french to her, sending them both into a fit of guffaws. Whatever it was, Eren wasn't sure he wanted to know when Levi's eyebrow raised over his smirk.

"Go change out of that tee-shirt, I'll dry the sofa," Petra commanded, rising to grab paper towels.

"I can do it don't worry !"

"Go. Now," Petra said sternly, grinning when Eren grudgingly did as he was asked to.

"Carla The Second," he complained playfully as he left.

Eren stepped into his room, pulling off his wet tee-shirt to replace it with a new one. His gaze floated past the full-size mirror in the corner of the room. The smile etched onto his face made him want to give that boy in the mirror a hug. He looked truly joyful, radiating happiness in his Caribbean eyes. He really felt at home and comfortable with that group of friends gathered in the sitting room. As he pulled on the white polo he randomly grabbed from his closet, a soft knock sounded on his door.

"Come in ?" he called out.

Raven hair briefly peeked out from the door, sending Eren's heart into a frantic beat, before Mikasa's head followed, freezing him instead. What on earth was she doing here when they weren't really on speaking terms at the moment ?

"Hey, Eren ..." she began, avoiding looking at him, playing with the sliver bracelet on her wrist she received from her grandmother, as she always did when she was extremely nervous, which wasn't often, any less and she wouldn't show she was nervous at all. Eren often envied her for her ability to hide her nerves, but in return, she always said she would do anything to have his kind heart, which always made him feel better about it. That showed him that she didn't need to want his kindness, she already had it.