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Sandy earth crunches beneath Levi’s shoes. He’s barely taken ten steps onto this beach and he can already feel the stuff between his toes. Tch. Kind of annoying. A breeze ruffles his hair, carrying with it the smoky scent of burning wood and that briny, slightly rotten tang of the sea.
He had agreed to accompany Hange to this bonfire party thing, and so far he was mostly not regretting it.
They’d just gotten off for summer vacation the other day, and this past semester was rough. Hange’s biology students decided to riot during the final week of classes for some unknown reason (privately, Levi guesses their teacher’s eccentricity was rubbing off on the class), and Levi had just gotten news that his band program would be significantly cut next year. School was quickly becoming more awful than usual, so Levi agreed to conspire in Hange’s elaborate summer plan: to take a full day’s road trip to the beach and get wasted. They’ll be here for two weeks.
Hange goes off and makes drinks for a bunch of their friends, and he doesn’t really feel like following. Or hanging out by the bonfire. People are already drunk; he’s not exactly trying to join them (he doesn’t know anybody else here, anyway). Left to his own devices, he approaches the shore. It’s been years since Levi’s seen the ocean. The soft rush of the waves calm his mind and help him remember to breathe. Salty air fills his lungs. It’s nice.
“What’re you doing?” A man approaches him, breaking into his quiet reverie. Levi hisses internally.
“I’m looking at the ocean, what the fuck does it look like I’m doing?” He steals a sideways glance. The guy’s tall. (Too tall. Why is everyone so tall?) The way his cropped hair falls in his face annoys Levi for some reason, and he knows it makes no sense to feel that way.
“You seem lost in thought,” the man mutters around the cigarette he just shoved in his mouth (which, much to Levi’s chagrin, he lights). Nodding to the tide in front of them, he asks, “You like the ocean?”
What the hell kind of question is that? “Do you know many people who dislike the ocean?”
The blond takes a drag. He at least has the decency to blow the smoke away from Levi. “I do, actually.” He’s probably from here. Levi can tell from the way he’s poised on the beach like he owns the place. Chatting up strangers who are just trying to look at the fucking water.
“Alright, fair enough,” Levi sighs. “I like that there’s a lot more than what meets the eye.” If Hange wasn’t busy intoxicating their preppy friends at this very moment, perhaps the two would be taking a skiff out to watch some bioluminescence. Maybe they will soon.
“Ooh, I like that answer.” Levi, still staring out to the sea, feels eyes rest on him. “I’m Erwin, by the way.”
Glancing up at the giant, he’s surprised to meet intense, bright blue eyes. “Levi,” he responds tentatively.
Erwin cocks his head slightly. “You here with anyone?”
He nods, then gestures toward the bonfire. “My friend, that freak in the glasses over there. They love bartending for free, for some reason. I should check in with them, actually.”
“Was nice meeting you,” Erwin calls. Levi waves halfheartedly in response.
Levi interrupts his feral companion while they’re busy slinging drinks at people. His interference is probably a good thing, too. He knows how strong Hange’s concoctions tend to be, and pacing is a must. “You like doing this? You’re basically working.”
Hange grins. “I really like it! Turns off my brain for awhile. And I get to get my friends shitfaced. It’s a power move, really.”
“Creepy piece of shit,” he mutters, shaking his head. Eventually, the night chill sets in, and he reluctantly returns to the bonfire.
“Whoa, someone brought a guitar??”
Please, no. He recognizes the voice of the guy he just met, and his stomach plummets at the inevitable. What would a bonfire be without shitty guitar playing? Levi suddenly remembers, with deep clarity, why he typically avoids parties like the plague.
Erwin’s already chatting with someone else—some woman, barely taller than Levi, who seems just intoxicated enough to be entertained by this lousy shtick.
“So, anyway, here’s Wonderwall.”
Levi wants to die.
This mediocre guitarist plays the most mind numbingly annoying covers of popular songs that any teenager with access to a guitar could learn. It’s a lot to deal with sober. The miserable thought gives Levi an idea.
He goes back to the makeshift bar and finds Hange almost immediately. It’s hard to lose someone who is that loud and obnoxious in absolutely everything they do.
“Hey, four-eyes. You got any more of that real strong homebrew?”
“Of course,” they answer, sliding a mason jar across the shoddy counter. “Drink responsiblyyy!”
Levi scoffs. “It’s not for me.”
A gasp from Hange makes him roll his eyes. “Levi, you sly dog!”
“Gross. It’s not like that, you fucking degenerate. I’m not you. Just trying to get someone drunk enough to shut up.” He leans his elbows onto the counter, immediately regretting it as it threatens to give way.
Hange stares past Levi at the small bonfire crowd. “Who? Guitar guy? He’s cute,” Hange teases, fire reflecting in their glasses. It looks positively evil.
“Oh, please.”
Miraculously, the man stops strumming at the sight of Levi approaching. “Oh, hey. It’s Levi, right? …What’s this?” Erwin asks, as he hands the glass over.
“Couldn’t tell ya. Hange made it special for you.”
Erwin looks in the direction Levi points, revealing the sight of a wildly gesticulating Hange chatting with a confused patron. Levi guesses from the partygoer’s face that Hange’s doing some oversharing.
After a pause (and realizing how sketchy it must sound to receive a drink made by a total stranger), Levi quickly course corrects. “Don’t worry, it’s not, like, poison or anything. Well, no more than alcohol normally is.”
Erwin finally speaks up. “She your… friend?”
“They’re my friend, yes.”
“Oops. They’re your friend. Thanks.”
Levi knows what hes really asking. “And we’re coworkers, chill the fuck out.”
Erwin answers with a hearty laugh and takes a long swig from the jar. “Holy shit, that’s strong,” he splutters, coming up for air with a ridiculous expression on his face.
Unfortunately, the alcohol makes things much worse. Now he’s roping inebriated strangers in, loudly announcing that he needs to show everyone “this new song I’m learning.” Levi audibly groans when he recognizes Leavin’ on a Jet Plane.
To his credit (but not really), Erwin at least gives an entertaining performance: his singing is dramatic, if entirely off-key from his playing. He really is in the beginning stages of learning this song. He seems to vaguely recall where each chord goes, but it’s a painful slog through each verse: pausing and staring at the fretboard with every chord change level of painful. Let’s just say the song is far from performance ready—clearly, it’s far from even being drunk-at-a-bonfire ready.
In an absolutely mortifying turn of events, he starts singing it to Levi directly. About halfway through the song, he changes the chorus and instead starts belting out “Levi on a jet plane,” and he thinks he’s being so clever about it. But this non-consensual serenade is really, really obnoxious.
After surviving 2 and a half horrible songs, Levi’s ready to get the hell out of there. But for one, Hange is nowhere to be seen for once, and secondly, a now very drunk Erwin has sidled up to him, slurring out a “Hey, so, if you want, I could show you a couple chords… whaddaya say?”
“No, that’s alright,” Levi manages, scooting away due to secondhand embarrassment. He feels a little guilty that this person is in such a sorry condition, partly because of him. But mostly because of Hange. And because of Erwin. Who the fuck drinks moonshine like it’s iced tea??
Erwin giggles. “You sure?”
“Pretty sure.”
“Aw, you’re no fun, lemme teach you,” he persists, an annoying elbow nudge to Levi’s shoulder. He needs to put a stop to this.
Levi sighs, lowering the other man's arm with a gentle hand. “Erwin, I’m a professional musician. Teaching music is literally my job.”
Erwin’s eyes widen and he beams at Levi. “No shit? That’s so cool!” Then, after a seemingly sobering twenty seconds of thought, he deflates a little. “Oh, wow… I just made a total ass of myself then, didn’t I?”
A dry laugh leaps from Levi’s throat. “It was pretty painful to have to witness that whole thing totally sober, yeah.”
“You don’t drink?”
He shakes his head, thankful for a normal conversation for once.“Hange’s getting shitfaced tonight, so I’m driving. Plus, didn’t really feel like getting wasted my first night in a new town.”
“You guys visiting? How long?”
“We’re going back the Monday after next.”
Erwin looks like he’s trying to mentally calculate time, then shakes his head. A futile attempt, after all.
“I’ll be here about two weeks,” Levi chuckles.
“Ok sweet… could I hit you up for a guitar lesson? Is that weird?”
“It is weird. But I’m in,” Levi hands over a copy of his business card. “It’ll give me something to do except chase after Hange while I’m here.”
~~
(“Another successful gamble,” Erwin mumbles to himself as he stumbles to the bus stop, Levi’s phone number clenched in his fist.)
~~
“See, if you place your thumb behind the fretboard, like this—”
“But thats so hard and awkward. Why would anyone do it like that?”
He sighs. “I was about to explain that, before you cut me off.”
“Shoot. Sorry.”
Levi’s patience is wearing thin. His newest student is barely more coherent right now than he was shitfaced at last week’s bonfire. Through gritted teeth, he elaborates: “It’s proper form, it helps smaller and growing hands avoid pain from repetitive stress. But for someone like you, who has monstrous hands and doesn’t need that accommodation—”
“Yeah, big hands are both a blessing and a curse,” Erwin smirks.
“Interrupt me again and I’ll stab you.”
“…sorry.”
“Anyway. It should give you more flexibility. So you can stop taking a goddamn year to get from G to C.”
Erwin turns around to face Levi again. “Hey, are you doing anything after this?”
Oh my god. “Teacher student relationships are improper. y’know.”
“I mean, if everyone’s an adult, I don’t see why it’s a big deal.”
Levi considers this point. “...Fine. But you’re driving. Only fair that I get to drink, after what you put me through last time.”