Arabian Nights (Discontinued)

One Jump Ahead

They turn around a corner, pushing past passersby and knocking over cartons of fruit to stop the guards. "Are they still after us?" the blond asks, sprinting desperately to keep up with Eren's pace. He looks over his shoulder to see that, yes, there are indeed guards still after them. Three to be exact. "Three!" he says aloud, grabbing his hand and pulling him down an alley. "Not too much further!" he calls behind him, taking a flight of stairs he sees at his right. They hurry up them, step after step, before finally coming out on the roof and Eren takes a flying leap onto the next building, but when he looks he finds he wasn't followed. "What's the matter?" Eren asks, holding out his hand as if somehow he can reach across the gap between them and pull him across. He looks at him with wide blue eyes, shaking his head.  "I can't do this!"

"Yes, you can!" he yells, noticing the guards hurry up the stairs. "You can do it!  You'll be fine! Trust me!"

He hesitates a moment and something shifts in ocean eyes before he comes sprinting to the edge and launches himself over to where Eren is, immediately crumpling to the floor. Not the most graceful, but he got there. "You okay?" he asks panting, taking his hand and helping him up. 

"Yeah,"

"Good. Come on,"

They're off again, running at full speed away from the guards who're stuck on the other roof before deciding they have a better chance on the ground and going back downstairs. They're getting closer to their destination, but Eren knows he needs to think of something else, some sort of diversion that will send the guards in a completely different direction. "This way," he says, pulling him towards a flight of stairs that exits onto another street. Perspiration drips down his forehead and stings his eyes, but he pushes forward, the adrenaline of a chase carrying him as fast as his legs will take him. He chances a look over his shoulder and notices two more guards in hot pursuit of them. Turning back, he's met with three more and he shoves the blond to his left towards more stairs. He yelps, but sprints up the steps with Eren frantically climbing behind him. The guards clamber after them, a bit slower due to their heavy uniforms. They exit on the roof and Eren looks around quickly, trying to assess their next move. "Now what?" the blond pants, as if reading his mind. 

"Hide," he says, pulling him over to a pile of carpets he notices. He shoves him out of sight before he can protest and grabs one of the heavier carpets. The guards appear at the top of the stairs at that moment and Eren takes off towards the edge of the roof, jumping from it and throwing the carpet at a nearby roof. He himself lands on an overhang and bounces back to the building, grabbing the sill of a window and pulling himself inside.

The guards peer over the edge, seeing the shattered tiles and the gaping hole in the roof where the carpet went and assuming it to be their suspect. They immediately go back downstairs to investigate and once their footsteps fade into the usual bustle of the street, Eren takes the opportunity to climb back onto the roof in search of his companion. He sees the blond emerge from his hiding place, nearly tripping on the carpets as he steps towards him. "You're alive!" he says in shock and Eren grins. "I am."

"But you — I saw — you — y-you jumped!"

"Well," he shrugs. "I have my ways."

"That you do," the blond breathes, letting out a sigh. "I . . . can't believe you just did that. That I did that. We just did that."

Eren chuckles and nods. "Yes, we just did that."

The blond shakes his head, as if regaining his senses. "I'm . . . I'm sorry, I just . . . I've never done something like that before. Near death experiences are not a common occurrence in my life."

"You know, I could sort of tell."

The blond gives him a look and Eren just laughs. "Come on. I know a place we'll be safe."