Categories > Anime/Manga > Attack on Titan > 67 Days
Happy lights.
Funny name, Eren always thought. They were supposed to imitate the sun and ward off the unrelenting darkness, but they didn't make him feel any better. He definitely wasn't happy. It was all false advertisement – though it wasn't like they wanted people unhappy. The suicide rates for this month of darkness were through the roof.
The lights shone brightly, the stark contrast from outside blinding Eren as he entered his home. He paused briefly, blinking away the spots in his vision, shutting the door against the cold as he waited. His vision cleared quickly enough and he set his groceries down before setting his coat on the coat rack. It was followed by his hat and gloves, then the two lighter jackets he'd worn under his coat. His cold, wet boots were left by the door, leaving him in warm, fluffy socks.
He had to take three trips to get all the bags to the kitchen, carrying five or six on each arm to avoid having to go back again. Eren quietly started putting things away, the rustling of bags and the opening and closing of the fridge or cabinets the only noises in the otherwise silent house. That was how it always was. Silence was the only noise, and it was deafening sometimes, roaring in Eren's ears loud enough that he couldn't even hear his own screams.
'Sometimes' usually wasn't often. Usually, there were others with him, all of them suffering the same silence, creating their own noise and distracting each other and themselves. But now there was silence. All of those people had gone, leaving him to the suffocating, silent darkness. All gone to the mainland of America, all to have fun in the light without him. Not that he hadn't brought it upon himself. He'd been the one to nominate himself to stay. Someone had to look after their home, he'd said.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Eren wandered over to the television set, picking up the remote. His finger hovered over the power button, but he hesitated. Nothing would be on, he realized dimly. They may be part of a lucky few that had internet and cable, but it was meaningless. The shows on the television were mind-numbing and stupid. The news would likely merely be talking about the looming darkness over Alaska, reminding him of his predicament. He set the remote aside and turned away, feet padding softly on the carpet as he made his way to his bedroom.
The small tune of his computer starting up was comforting, yet eerie. The way it echoed in the room only reminded him of how alone he was, and the hairs raised on the back of his neck. Still, he did his best to ignore it, curling up on his bed and bringing the laptop to sit in front of him. He decided against pulling up Facebook; the amount of happy people talking about their boringly happy lives and picture-perfect relationships had always irritated him, and now he knew it would just make him yearn for another human's presence even more. Instead he opened his Tumblr.
He was assaulted immediately by a collage of cat pictures. Leave it to a blog site. He scrolled through his dashboard, once cracking a smile at an inflatable balloon man for a blood drive ("THE BEAST DEMANDS SACRIFICE," the caption said), but not a single thing earned laughter. Not like the usual.
Maybe he could go on Shamchat. That sounded sort of fun. Play as Kaneki Ken or someone, maybe a cat and see how all the other characters react. Or maybe he'd go on Chatango. Find someone interesting to talk to. He could try playing on an LAN server on Minecraft, meet some new people. Back up to Shamchat. Drunk!Dean Winchester could be a popular one.
Nah, back up, Chatango sounds good. Human interaction.
Eren scrolled through the list of online users on the chat, setting his ages to 18+. No kiddos, please, he thought absently as he read the short bios.
ADownUpMakeItRain - Female, 21
loves playing Zelda, roleplaying, and talking to other nerds!
Kinkmeme - Male, 18
looking for pet, good master ;) ~ add me on Instagram kinkxmaster69
that-curvy-bree - Female, 19
new! Add me on Kik ;) ;* itsbreexoxo
xXtreehuggerXx - Female, 25
Talk to me if you're depressed, or even if you just need a friend. I'm here for you.
Humanitys-Strongest - Male, 29
Bored insomniac. Questioning this site.
That peaked Eren's interest. Chatango seemed to attract very specific audiences – the social networking slash sexting obsessed teens, the nerds with too much hope for finding a non-sexual roleplay buddy, and people that liked to sit and talk about how depressed they were. The last would literally sit there for hours and talk about how shitty their life was without actually talking about it, and never gave a response you could actually respond to.
Today there seemed to be a few more interesting characters. Eren clicked on the first, fourth, and fifth, switching to each tab to send them a greeting. Friendly to the first, insert corny Zelda joke here. The second got a meek hello. The third –
His fingers hovered over the keyboard. What to say? Why was he even thinking so hard about this?
titanicjaeger: Hello fellow bored person
Eh, that should do it.
He'd already gotten a response from the other two. The first with a simple I see what you did there~ and the second with a friendly mirrored greeting, asking about his day. He answered them both ('I've got an arsenal of jokes' and 'it could be worse') before switching back to the third tab. The man sent a response just as he opened the tab.
Humanitys-Strongest: Bonsoir. Or is it daytime where you are?
French? Eren vaguely remembered French class. He looked at his clock. 8:47 pm.
titanicjaeger: nope, bonsoir is right. Not that you could tell if it was daytime from looking outside though. Dark as fuck out there
Humanitys-Strongest: Well, yes. If it's nighttime, I wouldn't exactly expect it to be light outside.
titanicjaeger: -.-
titanicjaeger: i'm in Alaska, dude. Got a whole two months of night ahead of me. oh joy
Humanitys-Strongest: Ah. I see.
There was nothing after that, and Eren let out a soft sigh. Not the first time he'd been left with a conversation-ending sentence. He returned to the other two, realizing he'd left them hanging as he spoke to the man. The first person was slowly losing his interest, but the second was keeping his mind off of things.
xXtreehuggerXx: So if you don't mind me asking, what time is it over there?
titanicjaeger: 9pm ish. You?
xXtreehuggerXx: Around 10pm. Where are you?
xXtreehuggerXx: ahh! Wait that makes me sound stalkerish!
titanicjaeger: lol no it's okay. I'm in Alaska.
xXtreehuggerXx: Oh, brrr! I could never. Oh, isn't it dark there right now? A month of it or something? It just started I think. Don't most people leave?
titanicjaeger: two months actually, 67 days, but yeah, all of my housemates left. I said I'd stay behind to watch the house. It's really dark and the suicide rates increase my sister didn't want me to stay
xXtreehuggerXx: Well I wouldn't either! You poor soul. How are you taking it?
titanicjaeger: well its okay so far but like you said the month just started. The happy lights help a bit though.
xXtreehuggerXx: Happy lights?
titanicjaeger: yeah, they're supposed to make it seem more like there's a sun. Something about serotonin and melatonin but I don't believe that shit, besides they're expensive. I can't afford all these lights on my own. Most of the time they're off I only use them if I need them
xXtreehuggerXx: Well, I don't know... that doesn't seem like a good idea... shouldn't you have them on like 8 hours or something? So it's more like a regular day. That can't be healthy.
titanicjaeger: prolly not. But still. I think spending all my money on the electric bill will make me more depressed honestly
xXtreehuggerXx: Hmm. You do have a point. I guess you would know better than me. How often are you online?
titanicjaeger: it comes and goes. Sometimes I'm on a lot.
xXtreehuggerXx: Well, I'm online 12pm to 1pm (my lunch break) and about 5pm – 10pm on weekdays, and I have this tab open all weekend. If you ever need to talk to me, I'll be here then.
titanicjaeger: thanks, I think I'll be okay but I'll probably still talk to you
He was being completely honest. This woman seemed nice. He glanced up at the third tab only to see three unread responses. He hastily clicked on the chat and read through them.
Humanitys-Strongest: An acquaintance of mine told me I should say sorry for my assumption.
Humanitys-Strongest: So I apologize for being an ass. It's normal.
Humanitys-Strongest: tell me you didn't log off brat
titanicjaeger: I accept your apology. not the nickname though, I'm 22!
Humanitys-Strongest: And I'm turning thirty next month.
titanicjaeger: I'm not a brat you're just old
Humanitys-Strongest: Sure. Speak of the devil. It's this old coot's bedtime.
titanicjaeger: bullshit, come on, I was joking. Sorry?
Humanitys-Strongest: Apology accepted, but I'm not kidding, I have work at five in the morning and it's 10:15. I probably won't sleep, but I have to try. That's what being an adult is, brat.
titanicjaeger: more like being an old coot. Whatever. Do you have skype?
Humanitys-Strongest: I think so...
titanicjaeger: ..... how do you not know
Humanitys-Strongest: Pretty sure I made one about a year ago for work. Never used it.
titanicjaeger: you should skype me tomorrow when you have time, it's the same as this username
Humanitys-Strongest: Don't you have friends to bother with your presence?
titanicjaeger: pffft nope. Just you old man, all my friends went to NY
titanicjaeger: living up to my brat status
Humanitys-Strongest: I see that. Fine, we'll see.
They bade each other good night. Eren didn't know when the corners of his lips had twitched up into a faint smile, but it amazed him. All he'd done was talk to some guy for fifteen minutes. Maybe it was because he wasn't talking about depression or demanding his ASL.
He glanced at the clock. 9:16. Fuck it. He was going to browse Tumblr some more, and if he passed out, great.
.-.-.-.-.
"Fuck!"
Eren nearly jumped out of his chair as Skype let out an annoying ringing noise, signaling someone was calling. He placed a hand on his chest, willing his heart to stop racing. The noise had startled him, making him nearly fall off his bed. The username read Humanitys-Strongest. Eren snorted in amusement. How creative. But he also felt himself smiling. The person had actually tried to contact him.
Eren clicked the answer button, making sure his camera and microphone were off before rolling back onto his stomach, legs swaying back and forth in the air. The call connected, and there was a moment before a small speech bubble appeared – it seemed the other guy didn't connect his camera either.
Humanitys-Strongest: Well there you go, I fucking called. Happy?
titanicjaeger: very, but you don't seem like you are. Something wrong?
Humanitys-Strongest: Only the fact that four-eyes hid my fucking wallet, now I have to go to lunch with her
titanicjaeger: well at least there's free food involved. Make her pay for her sins lol
Humanitys-Strongest: Oh, way ahead of you. Lobster sounds fantastic.
titanicjaeger: oh my god XD
titanicjaeger: lobster sounds so gooood
titanicjaeger: but way off budget. Ughhhh paying back college...
Humanitys-Strongest: I don't think it's worth the price myself. What did you go to college for?
titanicjaeger: oh? Old coot is taking an interest in this brat? I went into medicine and dentistry. Both boring, both pay well, but I don't exactly have the best job options when everyone's gone
Humanitys-Strongest: Right, Alaska.
Humanitys-Strongest: Ugh, she's not shutting up. Want to turn on the microphones? Maybe she'll stop fucking blabbing then. Or maybe she'll start interrupting you. I don't know at this point. Up to you.
titanicjaeger: sure, why not?
Humanitys-Strongest: Let me just plug in my headphones before you start talking
Eren waited patiently, inwardly excited. He really wanted to hear another voice in the big, empty house, and he had been wondering what his new online friend sounded like. He went ahead and turned his microphone on, then made sure he would be able to hear the guy when he started talking. Just in time, too.
"Testing, testing, one two three," came a bored-sounding monotone from the laptop's speakers, A deep baritone, fitting of the man's personality. "Hear me, brat?"
"I hear ya, old man," Eren replied brightly. He felt like, even years later, he'd never be able to explain how happy he felt hearing another person's voice. A smile instantly lit his features. He could hear another person in the background, babbling about something without even pausing for breath, along with what was probably the radio. "Do you hear me okay?"
"Just fine," was the response, and suddenly the voice in the background stopped. "Oh, look at that, she shut up."
"Glad to know I was of some help," Eren laughed. "Tell her I say hi."
"Shitty glasses, the brat sends greetings."
"Hi Levi's new internet friend!"
The voice was very faint but Eren still picked up the words. He cocked his head. "Levi, huh? I like it. I'm Eren."
"Way to go, four-eyes, just tell some kid I met my name," Levi scoffed, but he didn't sound upset. "Nice to know your name now, Eren."
Sweet Jesus, why did a chill run up his spine when Levi said his name? Was it that sultry voice? The amused tone? The smirk he could practically hear in his tone?
"Y-Yeah. Yours too, Levi."
"Put him on speaker," came an insistent whine from who Eren could only assume was the friend Levi mentioned before.
"Why should I?"
"I want to talk to the only person online that's managed to catch your interest, even if it's just barely!"
"Well, brat? Willing to talk to this crazed lunatic?"
Eren shrugged before realizing Levi couldn't see him. "Sure, yeah. What's her name?"
"My name is Hanji Zoe, sweetie!" came a bubbly voice, along with radio noise. One of them must have noticed, because it quickly went away. "Nice to meet you, Eren!"
"Nice to meet you too, Hanji," Eren greeted politely. "You a friend of Levi's?"
"She's a parasite."
"Levi and I are besties!"
The responses were given at the same time, and they immediately broke into argument, accompanied by Eren's chuckles.
"No we absolutely are not you insane fuck."
"I am not a parasite! Meanie!"
"You leech me of my sanity."
"Oh, bull! This is a two-way beneficial friendship. I'm buying you lunch!"
"Ah, yes, how could I forget? I'm thinking five-star restaurant lobster course. Sound good?"
"You wouldn't."
"Wouldn't I?"
"Don't you dare, short-stack!"
The arguing stopped abruptly as Eren burst into laughter. The friends audibly huffed in unison, though they sounded amused. Eren managed to calm himself enough to ask, "Is he really short?"
That sent him and Hanji into a fresh wave of laughter. "No, fuck you both, you are just stupidly fucking tall!"
"How tall are you, Eren?"
"I'm five seven. You?"
"No way! Me too! Shorty over here is five three," Hanji snorted, then squeaked slightly. "Owwie! Levi!"
"Shut your whore mouth, shitty-glasses."
"You guys must be good friends," Eren hummed, eyes shifting to the clock. "It is getting to lunchtime... maybe I should go make food." He paused. "But I'm not hungry."
"What did you have for breakfast?"
"Uhh. Nothing? I woke up about an hour before you called."
Levi sounded irritated. "Eat something then, brat. Take care of yourself. It's too easy to let yourself deteriorate in the situation you're in."
"Food will help you psychologically," Hanji added brightly.
"Yeah, yeah. You worry too much," Eren directed at Levi with a playful roll of his eyes, even though he knew the man couldn't see it. "I don't even know what you look like, but I already know you're too grumpy."
"Shut the hell up and go eat."
"Fine, whatever. Talk to you later."
"Who says we'll talk later?"
"I do, you fucking killjoy."
"Later, Eren!"
Then the line went dead. Eren didn't realize until he was minimizing Skype that he was grinning like an idiot, and he found himself blushing, even if he was all by his lonesome. He couldn't explain why he was so pleased to talk to Levi and Hanji, but it certainly lifted his spirits to communicate with them, even if he couldn't see them. It was comforting, and he clung onto human interaction like a lifeline, and really, that was exactly what it was. Rolling his shoulders, he stood up and padded to the kitchen to obey their orders and make himself some food.
Funny name, Eren always thought. They were supposed to imitate the sun and ward off the unrelenting darkness, but they didn't make him feel any better. He definitely wasn't happy. It was all false advertisement – though it wasn't like they wanted people unhappy. The suicide rates for this month of darkness were through the roof.
The lights shone brightly, the stark contrast from outside blinding Eren as he entered his home. He paused briefly, blinking away the spots in his vision, shutting the door against the cold as he waited. His vision cleared quickly enough and he set his groceries down before setting his coat on the coat rack. It was followed by his hat and gloves, then the two lighter jackets he'd worn under his coat. His cold, wet boots were left by the door, leaving him in warm, fluffy socks.
He had to take three trips to get all the bags to the kitchen, carrying five or six on each arm to avoid having to go back again. Eren quietly started putting things away, the rustling of bags and the opening and closing of the fridge or cabinets the only noises in the otherwise silent house. That was how it always was. Silence was the only noise, and it was deafening sometimes, roaring in Eren's ears loud enough that he couldn't even hear his own screams.
'Sometimes' usually wasn't often. Usually, there were others with him, all of them suffering the same silence, creating their own noise and distracting each other and themselves. But now there was silence. All of those people had gone, leaving him to the suffocating, silent darkness. All gone to the mainland of America, all to have fun in the light without him. Not that he hadn't brought it upon himself. He'd been the one to nominate himself to stay. Someone had to look after their home, he'd said.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Eren wandered over to the television set, picking up the remote. His finger hovered over the power button, but he hesitated. Nothing would be on, he realized dimly. They may be part of a lucky few that had internet and cable, but it was meaningless. The shows on the television were mind-numbing and stupid. The news would likely merely be talking about the looming darkness over Alaska, reminding him of his predicament. He set the remote aside and turned away, feet padding softly on the carpet as he made his way to his bedroom.
The small tune of his computer starting up was comforting, yet eerie. The way it echoed in the room only reminded him of how alone he was, and the hairs raised on the back of his neck. Still, he did his best to ignore it, curling up on his bed and bringing the laptop to sit in front of him. He decided against pulling up Facebook; the amount of happy people talking about their boringly happy lives and picture-perfect relationships had always irritated him, and now he knew it would just make him yearn for another human's presence even more. Instead he opened his Tumblr.
He was assaulted immediately by a collage of cat pictures. Leave it to a blog site. He scrolled through his dashboard, once cracking a smile at an inflatable balloon man for a blood drive ("THE BEAST DEMANDS SACRIFICE," the caption said), but not a single thing earned laughter. Not like the usual.
Maybe he could go on Shamchat. That sounded sort of fun. Play as Kaneki Ken or someone, maybe a cat and see how all the other characters react. Or maybe he'd go on Chatango. Find someone interesting to talk to. He could try playing on an LAN server on Minecraft, meet some new people. Back up to Shamchat. Drunk!Dean Winchester could be a popular one.
Nah, back up, Chatango sounds good. Human interaction.
Eren scrolled through the list of online users on the chat, setting his ages to 18+. No kiddos, please, he thought absently as he read the short bios.
ADownUpMakeItRain - Female, 21
loves playing Zelda, roleplaying, and talking to other nerds!
Kinkmeme - Male, 18
looking for pet, good master ;) ~ add me on Instagram kinkxmaster69
that-curvy-bree - Female, 19
new! Add me on Kik ;) ;* itsbreexoxo
xXtreehuggerXx - Female, 25
Talk to me if you're depressed, or even if you just need a friend. I'm here for you.
Humanitys-Strongest - Male, 29
Bored insomniac. Questioning this site.
That peaked Eren's interest. Chatango seemed to attract very specific audiences – the social networking slash sexting obsessed teens, the nerds with too much hope for finding a non-sexual roleplay buddy, and people that liked to sit and talk about how depressed they were. The last would literally sit there for hours and talk about how shitty their life was without actually talking about it, and never gave a response you could actually respond to.
Today there seemed to be a few more interesting characters. Eren clicked on the first, fourth, and fifth, switching to each tab to send them a greeting. Friendly to the first, insert corny Zelda joke here. The second got a meek hello. The third –
His fingers hovered over the keyboard. What to say? Why was he even thinking so hard about this?
titanicjaeger: Hello fellow bored person
Eh, that should do it.
He'd already gotten a response from the other two. The first with a simple I see what you did there~ and the second with a friendly mirrored greeting, asking about his day. He answered them both ('I've got an arsenal of jokes' and 'it could be worse') before switching back to the third tab. The man sent a response just as he opened the tab.
Humanitys-Strongest: Bonsoir. Or is it daytime where you are?
French? Eren vaguely remembered French class. He looked at his clock. 8:47 pm.
titanicjaeger: nope, bonsoir is right. Not that you could tell if it was daytime from looking outside though. Dark as fuck out there
Humanitys-Strongest: Well, yes. If it's nighttime, I wouldn't exactly expect it to be light outside.
titanicjaeger: -.-
titanicjaeger: i'm in Alaska, dude. Got a whole two months of night ahead of me. oh joy
Humanitys-Strongest: Ah. I see.
There was nothing after that, and Eren let out a soft sigh. Not the first time he'd been left with a conversation-ending sentence. He returned to the other two, realizing he'd left them hanging as he spoke to the man. The first person was slowly losing his interest, but the second was keeping his mind off of things.
xXtreehuggerXx: So if you don't mind me asking, what time is it over there?
titanicjaeger: 9pm ish. You?
xXtreehuggerXx: Around 10pm. Where are you?
xXtreehuggerXx: ahh! Wait that makes me sound stalkerish!
titanicjaeger: lol no it's okay. I'm in Alaska.
xXtreehuggerXx: Oh, brrr! I could never. Oh, isn't it dark there right now? A month of it or something? It just started I think. Don't most people leave?
titanicjaeger: two months actually, 67 days, but yeah, all of my housemates left. I said I'd stay behind to watch the house. It's really dark and the suicide rates increase my sister didn't want me to stay
xXtreehuggerXx: Well I wouldn't either! You poor soul. How are you taking it?
titanicjaeger: well its okay so far but like you said the month just started. The happy lights help a bit though.
xXtreehuggerXx: Happy lights?
titanicjaeger: yeah, they're supposed to make it seem more like there's a sun. Something about serotonin and melatonin but I don't believe that shit, besides they're expensive. I can't afford all these lights on my own. Most of the time they're off I only use them if I need them
xXtreehuggerXx: Well, I don't know... that doesn't seem like a good idea... shouldn't you have them on like 8 hours or something? So it's more like a regular day. That can't be healthy.
titanicjaeger: prolly not. But still. I think spending all my money on the electric bill will make me more depressed honestly
xXtreehuggerXx: Hmm. You do have a point. I guess you would know better than me. How often are you online?
titanicjaeger: it comes and goes. Sometimes I'm on a lot.
xXtreehuggerXx: Well, I'm online 12pm to 1pm (my lunch break) and about 5pm – 10pm on weekdays, and I have this tab open all weekend. If you ever need to talk to me, I'll be here then.
titanicjaeger: thanks, I think I'll be okay but I'll probably still talk to you
He was being completely honest. This woman seemed nice. He glanced up at the third tab only to see three unread responses. He hastily clicked on the chat and read through them.
Humanitys-Strongest: An acquaintance of mine told me I should say sorry for my assumption.
Humanitys-Strongest: So I apologize for being an ass. It's normal.
Humanitys-Strongest: tell me you didn't log off brat
titanicjaeger: I accept your apology. not the nickname though, I'm 22!
Humanitys-Strongest: And I'm turning thirty next month.
titanicjaeger: I'm not a brat you're just old
Humanitys-Strongest: Sure. Speak of the devil. It's this old coot's bedtime.
titanicjaeger: bullshit, come on, I was joking. Sorry?
Humanitys-Strongest: Apology accepted, but I'm not kidding, I have work at five in the morning and it's 10:15. I probably won't sleep, but I have to try. That's what being an adult is, brat.
titanicjaeger: more like being an old coot. Whatever. Do you have skype?
Humanitys-Strongest: I think so...
titanicjaeger: ..... how do you not know
Humanitys-Strongest: Pretty sure I made one about a year ago for work. Never used it.
titanicjaeger: you should skype me tomorrow when you have time, it's the same as this username
Humanitys-Strongest: Don't you have friends to bother with your presence?
titanicjaeger: pffft nope. Just you old man, all my friends went to NY
titanicjaeger: living up to my brat status
Humanitys-Strongest: I see that. Fine, we'll see.
They bade each other good night. Eren didn't know when the corners of his lips had twitched up into a faint smile, but it amazed him. All he'd done was talk to some guy for fifteen minutes. Maybe it was because he wasn't talking about depression or demanding his ASL.
He glanced at the clock. 9:16. Fuck it. He was going to browse Tumblr some more, and if he passed out, great.
.-.-.-.-.
"Fuck!"
Eren nearly jumped out of his chair as Skype let out an annoying ringing noise, signaling someone was calling. He placed a hand on his chest, willing his heart to stop racing. The noise had startled him, making him nearly fall off his bed. The username read Humanitys-Strongest. Eren snorted in amusement. How creative. But he also felt himself smiling. The person had actually tried to contact him.
Eren clicked the answer button, making sure his camera and microphone were off before rolling back onto his stomach, legs swaying back and forth in the air. The call connected, and there was a moment before a small speech bubble appeared – it seemed the other guy didn't connect his camera either.
Humanitys-Strongest: Well there you go, I fucking called. Happy?
titanicjaeger: very, but you don't seem like you are. Something wrong?
Humanitys-Strongest: Only the fact that four-eyes hid my fucking wallet, now I have to go to lunch with her
titanicjaeger: well at least there's free food involved. Make her pay for her sins lol
Humanitys-Strongest: Oh, way ahead of you. Lobster sounds fantastic.
titanicjaeger: oh my god XD
titanicjaeger: lobster sounds so gooood
titanicjaeger: but way off budget. Ughhhh paying back college...
Humanitys-Strongest: I don't think it's worth the price myself. What did you go to college for?
titanicjaeger: oh? Old coot is taking an interest in this brat? I went into medicine and dentistry. Both boring, both pay well, but I don't exactly have the best job options when everyone's gone
Humanitys-Strongest: Right, Alaska.
Humanitys-Strongest: Ugh, she's not shutting up. Want to turn on the microphones? Maybe she'll stop fucking blabbing then. Or maybe she'll start interrupting you. I don't know at this point. Up to you.
titanicjaeger: sure, why not?
Humanitys-Strongest: Let me just plug in my headphones before you start talking
Eren waited patiently, inwardly excited. He really wanted to hear another voice in the big, empty house, and he had been wondering what his new online friend sounded like. He went ahead and turned his microphone on, then made sure he would be able to hear the guy when he started talking. Just in time, too.
"Testing, testing, one two three," came a bored-sounding monotone from the laptop's speakers, A deep baritone, fitting of the man's personality. "Hear me, brat?"
"I hear ya, old man," Eren replied brightly. He felt like, even years later, he'd never be able to explain how happy he felt hearing another person's voice. A smile instantly lit his features. He could hear another person in the background, babbling about something without even pausing for breath, along with what was probably the radio. "Do you hear me okay?"
"Just fine," was the response, and suddenly the voice in the background stopped. "Oh, look at that, she shut up."
"Glad to know I was of some help," Eren laughed. "Tell her I say hi."
"Shitty glasses, the brat sends greetings."
"Hi Levi's new internet friend!"
The voice was very faint but Eren still picked up the words. He cocked his head. "Levi, huh? I like it. I'm Eren."
"Way to go, four-eyes, just tell some kid I met my name," Levi scoffed, but he didn't sound upset. "Nice to know your name now, Eren."
Sweet Jesus, why did a chill run up his spine when Levi said his name? Was it that sultry voice? The amused tone? The smirk he could practically hear in his tone?
"Y-Yeah. Yours too, Levi."
"Put him on speaker," came an insistent whine from who Eren could only assume was the friend Levi mentioned before.
"Why should I?"
"I want to talk to the only person online that's managed to catch your interest, even if it's just barely!"
"Well, brat? Willing to talk to this crazed lunatic?"
Eren shrugged before realizing Levi couldn't see him. "Sure, yeah. What's her name?"
"My name is Hanji Zoe, sweetie!" came a bubbly voice, along with radio noise. One of them must have noticed, because it quickly went away. "Nice to meet you, Eren!"
"Nice to meet you too, Hanji," Eren greeted politely. "You a friend of Levi's?"
"She's a parasite."
"Levi and I are besties!"
The responses were given at the same time, and they immediately broke into argument, accompanied by Eren's chuckles.
"No we absolutely are not you insane fuck."
"I am not a parasite! Meanie!"
"You leech me of my sanity."
"Oh, bull! This is a two-way beneficial friendship. I'm buying you lunch!"
"Ah, yes, how could I forget? I'm thinking five-star restaurant lobster course. Sound good?"
"You wouldn't."
"Wouldn't I?"
"Don't you dare, short-stack!"
The arguing stopped abruptly as Eren burst into laughter. The friends audibly huffed in unison, though they sounded amused. Eren managed to calm himself enough to ask, "Is he really short?"
That sent him and Hanji into a fresh wave of laughter. "No, fuck you both, you are just stupidly fucking tall!"
"How tall are you, Eren?"
"I'm five seven. You?"
"No way! Me too! Shorty over here is five three," Hanji snorted, then squeaked slightly. "Owwie! Levi!"
"Shut your whore mouth, shitty-glasses."
"You guys must be good friends," Eren hummed, eyes shifting to the clock. "It is getting to lunchtime... maybe I should go make food." He paused. "But I'm not hungry."
"What did you have for breakfast?"
"Uhh. Nothing? I woke up about an hour before you called."
Levi sounded irritated. "Eat something then, brat. Take care of yourself. It's too easy to let yourself deteriorate in the situation you're in."
"Food will help you psychologically," Hanji added brightly.
"Yeah, yeah. You worry too much," Eren directed at Levi with a playful roll of his eyes, even though he knew the man couldn't see it. "I don't even know what you look like, but I already know you're too grumpy."
"Shut the hell up and go eat."
"Fine, whatever. Talk to you later."
"Who says we'll talk later?"
"I do, you fucking killjoy."
"Later, Eren!"
Then the line went dead. Eren didn't realize until he was minimizing Skype that he was grinning like an idiot, and he found himself blushing, even if he was all by his lonesome. He couldn't explain why he was so pleased to talk to Levi and Hanji, but it certainly lifted his spirits to communicate with them, even if he couldn't see them. It was comforting, and he clung onto human interaction like a lifeline, and really, that was exactly what it was. Rolling his shoulders, he stood up and padded to the kitchen to obey their orders and make himself some food.
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