Chapter 24: Confrontation

Hanji's POV

Music blasted in every corner of the room while the waitresses of the diner glided through the floor, with trays and thicklers in their hands. The people present in the diner were all enjoying their meal as the greasy yet satisfying scent of deep fried foods emanated in the place. Everyone were clearly enjoying their time yet me and Petra are just sitting across each other for almost 5 minutes already, with no obvious progress in our conversation. Eversince we had our orders taken, Petra never said a word to me as she just stared at the glass window. I, on the other hand, just played with my drink, rolling the straw across the ice cubes of my cola as if doing it will magically change the composition of the beverage. For a couple of minutes, none of us tried to dive into the topic which we obviously want to tackle since we are both unsure of what words are appropriate to say. Petra is probably being skeptical right now with Levi and mine's relationship while I am obviously jealous of the connection which she and that chibi once had. We have our own kind of issue with regards to that subject and right now, it is the clean freak which I want to blame. How could he be too adorable to attract a damsel (obviously Petra) and a misfit (me) to the point that it resulted to some kind of confrontation? As far as I can remember, scenes like these are only present in the movies.

I sighed, letting go of the straw as I leaned my back on the chair. I don't know if Petra invited me for a talk or if I was just mistaken because it was actually a silence party.

"Hi! Good evening!" My whole body flinched when a waitress suddenly appeared at the side of our table. She was smiling at us widely, her face shining from the mix of oils and the makeup she has on, but it didn't became a reason for her to be unpleasant. "We got your hashbrowns, eggrolls, and 2 donut burgers ready! Enjoy your meal!" She said in high energy after she placed the tray in our table. My mouth immediately watered from the sight in front of me but trying to work out with my manners, I held myself back. I waited till Petra got her burger and egg rolls before I indulged myself with my own meal. I bit a portion off my burger, moaning a little as the soft but crisp texture of donut complemented the greasy patties. It is my first time to pig out with deep fried foods again because eversince Levi lived with me, he has always been preparing a well-balanced food. What would you expect? He is far too organized, even with his meals.

As I enjoyed my food, I heard a soft chuckle in front of me. That is when I realized that Petra is slightly laughing in front of me. With a huge chunk of donut burger in my mouth, I faced her and tilted my head a little.

"You eat like a kid" She chuckled a little. "If Levi is with us, he is probably killing you by his glares by now" Petra said as she carefully sliced her burger with the use of the table knife and fork which were provided on the tray. On my case tho, the utensils were left untouched as I decided to eat my burger by hand.

I swallowed the food in my mouth before I placed the burger back on its plate. "He sees me eating in this manner everyday" I said, reaching for the table napkin in order to wipe my greasy hand. "And there is never a moment that he does not curse on me or call me shit. Trsut me" I laughed a little as I finished wiping the ends of my fingers. "But it does not bother me tho. Since I already got used to his cussing and jargons"

Petra looked at me curiously. Then she dropped the question which I have been really afraid to answer till now.

"Are you two together?" She asked me, dropping her fork and knife gently on the plate. Petra placed her elbows on the surface of the table and then she put her head above her hands as she observed me. I got a bit more anxious to answer.

"Well.... Yes?.... Oh wait I mean No" I faked laugh. "It is actually a bit complicated right now but I'm working on it"

Petra smiled sadly. "I'm really sorry about what happened in the aquarium" She started "I got too carried away when I saw Levi that I threw myself immediately on him. I hurt both yours and Oluo's feelings because of it" She let out a breath "I admit that deep inside, I still have this kind of desire to be with him again. But things won't work out in the same manner as it did before. Not when Levi's image of us was already bended, and when he has clearly found somebody else" Petra looked at me directly in the eyes and then I felt myself blush.

Levi has found somebody else. Does she pertains to me?

A goofy grin appeared on my face as I broke the eye contact "W-what do you mean by that?" I asked while faking a cough to hide the evident giddiness in my voice.

"I mean that for Levi, the thing between the two of us is in the past now. And he is propably getting fond of you as the two of you becomes closer with one another. Trust me Hanji, Levi does not think of you merely as a friend or company. His expression alone screamed so many words when you mistook us in the aquarium. And to be honest, I never saw him that scared before because Levi has always been one of the toughest guy that I have ever met in my entire lifetime. It was only revealed when you came into the picture" She smiled dreamily. "Never have I saw him reacted that way towards me so I am sure that you are someone different for him"

I fought the urge to grin more and squeal from too much compliment that I am getting so I bit my lower lip and reached for my cola. I drank the beverage and gulped every excitement down my throat.

After I have drank an amount, I placed the beverage down and looked at the woman in front of me. "Petra, I think that he was scared during that moment but not primarily because of me" I said as I remembered the events back in the aquarium. "I told you, things between us are a bit complicated after all"

Petra threw a confused look at me. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I think that he was more afraid of getting discovered rather than me seeing you two. He kinda lied to me after all when we first met" I chuckled a little, picking the burger up once again to eat it.

"He lied to you?" Petra asked, clearly baffled.

"Yehesh" I replied, my mouth full of burger which I swallowed afterwards. "Yes. He lied to me in order to get into my apartment cause Levi was technically broke and homeless that time" I smiled at the memory of our first meeting. "Can you believe that the cold and distant Levi just said that he was gay?" I laughed while Petra' eyes widened.

"He did that?" She asked, her lips curling upward as she was about to laugh.

"Yep. And I was really stupid to believe it" I replied "I discovered the truth tho during that scheme in the aquarium so everything is fine now"

Petra shook her head as she chuckled. "And what happened after that?"

"Well, of course I got mad and I walked out of the place, staying at my best friend's house but afterwards, I confessed" I bit another portion off my burger. "No matter how much I deny it, I actually love that chibi even when I thought that he was a gay" I said and then I started chewing the food.

"You must be thinking that I am planning for a catfight right now because I asked you for a talk" Petra said which made me swallow my food sooner than I intended to. Because of that, I broke into a series of cough. I pounded my chest as Petra gave me my cola. I drank it immediately.

"Sorry" I said as soon as I placed the beverage down. "What you said just shocked me" I faked a laugh to hide the evident affirmation in my face. Seriously, what Petra said was the exact same think that I was expecting. I mean the present girl who just confessed to his guy got called out by his past. This should lead to a series of heated arguments and physical fight between the two woman right? Since that is what I usually see on movies. But instead, the two of us are having good dinner and friendly conversations.

Petra smiled at me. "Don't worry. I won't do anything. Especially since Oluo and I are trying to work things out now" She said, her face slightly blushing. "I mean yeah, he might not look like it but he is actually a great guy. And despite getting rejected for a lot of times, he never gave up on me" Petra started eating her meal once again.

"Awe, you are finally giving him a chance" I smiled dreamily. Finishing my burger. "So why did you asked me for a dinner?" I asked my mouth full. Petra laughed.

"Just to do what every ex girlfriends does whenever their man has found a new one. To ask a favor to always take care of him" She said finishing the last bite of her burger. "Oh and if you want to attract Levi, you have to slightly let go of some of your habits" Petra told me, pointing out on the messy way of my eating.

I swallowed the last of my burger. "Nah. There is no need. I'll make him fall with who I really am. If he does not, then I'll force it onto him" I laughed at my statement but afterwards, Petra joined me.

"I never had that much confidence with our relationship" She stated "We hid it from our university director and we never really had a relationship because of mutual feelings. It actually started with a lie when Levi tried to save my butt from being embarassed"

I looked at her curiously. "Embarassed from what?" I asked.

Petra leaned towards the window. "Everyone in our faculty knows my feelings for him so one afternoon, they locked the two of us in a room. They were expecting that something good will happen on us after that but in reality, there was none. We didn't even talked that much since he was too busy with his laptop while I was too shy to start a conversation" She chuckled. "We were bombarded with a lot of questions after we got out and I never got to answer one. Levi probably saw how uneasy and embarassed I was so he suddenly declared that the two of us are dating" A sad smile appeared on her face. "I am not sure what happened next but after a couple of weeks, our fake relationship just became true. We started going out and do what every normal couple does. Crash into each other's place, watch movies every weekend, eat together during lunch breaks, and go home together before the day is done"

An unbearable envy suddenly emerged in my heart. The two of them looks so perfect probably when they were still together.

"But then something happened which led to our break up. That was the worst mistake that I have ever done" Petra looked at me, her expression trying to mask the sadness which were evident in her voice.

"Levi told me about that" I said and then she looked at me, shock. "Though he kinda changed a bit of a details to make his story convincing. Like he regarded you as guy and stuffs"

She slightly chuckled. "So he did talk about me?"

"Yes. And I am sure that he also felt something for you since he looked so affected when he was telling me that story" I told Petra as I tried to lift the atmosphere around her.

"Its a good thing that he atleast did"

Petra's phone started vibrating on the table. She looked at the screen before a smile appeared on her face.

"Whats that?" I asked, my inquisitive side dominating myself.

"Its Oluo. He is already outside so it seems like I have to go" She said, standing up from her chair.

"Oh, let me accompany you out since I'll also be going home now. Levi doesn't have an idea that I met up with you after all" I got up from my chair, fetching the last hashbrown from my plate and eating it as we walked out of the diner. Outside, we saw a black car parked just across the road. The door at the driver's side opened, revealing Oluo. He walked at the passenger's side to open the door for Petra. She went in and just before the door was closed, she waved her hand at me. I waved back, seeing the black car start before it drove away.

I walked towards the nearest bus stop after which fortunately has one bus ready to go. I got inside of it and for the next couple of minutes, I just stared at the window as the bus moved. It halted when it reached near my apartment. I got out and immediately walked to my unit, feeling the excitement building up inside of me again. As soon as I got in front of the door, I opened it widely, and to my happiness, Levi greeted me with a frown.

"Well good evening to you too" I said smirking as I removed my shoes.

"Where did you go? You didn't even texted me" He said following me when I already walked inside.

"Just had a dinner with a friend" I said going towards the fridge. I opened it to fetch a small bottle of water which I immediately drank.

"Who? Nanaba?" The chibi asked while he was leaning at the counter.

"Nope. It was Petra" I revealed and Levi looked really shock when I said that. "She suddenly appeared in front of our building and she asked me for a dinner" I opened the fridge once again to place the bottle back. "We just talk tho, don't worry"

Levi raised an eyebrow. "I never said that I was worried" He told me, looking at a different side to avoid my gaze.

"Oh yeah?" I teased as I walked towards him. I leaned my face in front of him so when he looked back at me, we were just inches away. "But I saw your expression just now. You were clearly worried of how our meeting has gone" I stated. His expression softened. "Who were you worried of, Petra or me?" I asked directly eventhough I am afraid for the answer. I am not sure what will happen to me if ever he said that it was Petra.

Levi pushed my face away with his right hand. "Shut the fuck up four eyes. You are mumbling some shits once again" He said rolling his eyes.

I whined as I removed his hand from my face. "Just answer it!" I huffed. Levi looked at me directly.

"You-"

Before he could even finish, I cut him off with a kiss. It was just a smack but it was enough to keep him frozen in his place.

"Levi ackerman is worried about his shitty glasses. There is nothing cuter than that" I giggled by myself as I celebrated. Levi bowed his head low but before his expression could be hidden, I saw a small smile on his face.

"You heard it wrong Hanji" He said which made me stop. "I didn't admit that it was you. I was about to say that 'you should go take a shower' cause you seriously stink right now" The chibi said, smirking at me. I slouched my back as my face made a disagreeing look. That chibi really know how to kill the fun.

I walked past Levi but before I could even go a distance from him, I felt his hand reach for my arm, pulling me towards him. Levi then stood on his toes, leaning up to plant a smack on my lips.

"Just kidding. I was worried for you. I am afraid of what you and Petra talked about after all" He said stepping back on his feet.

"You were?" I asked. He nodded and then he turned his back at me.

"And I am also serious about you taking a shower. You smell so greasy" He yelled as he walked out of the kitchen. I, on the other hand, just smiled like an idiot in there as I muffled a squeal. What Levi did and said just seriously made me fall for him all over again. That chibi really knows how to make my weak heart go wild.