Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/7943221. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Major_Character_Death, Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Category: F/M, M/M Fandom: Shingeki_no_Kyojin_|_Attack_on_Titan Relationship: Jean_Kirstein/Eren_Yeager, Levi/Eren_Yeager, Sasha_Blouse/Connie Springer, Marco_Bott/Jean_Kirstein, Armin_Arlert/Annie_Leonhart Character: Eren_Yeager, Mikasa_Ackerman, Armin_Arlert, Levi_(Shingeki_no_Kyojin), Erwin_Smith, Hange_Zoë, Grisha_Yeager, Ymir_(Shingeki_no_Kyojin), Krista Lenz_|_Historia_Reiss, Sasha_Blouse, Connie_Springer, Marco_Bott, Jean Kirstein, Original_Female_Character(s) Additional Tags: SO, bored, ereri, erejean(past), very_slow_build, smut_at_some_point, Gay Smut, maybe_some_fluff, idk_-_Freeform, sashaxconnie, jeanmarco, arminxannie_-_Freeform, may_be_stupid, who_cares, Carla_died, SO_SAD, oh well, Grisha_is_an_asshole, Ugh, bye, someone_else_in_the_story_will_die, I_am_so_sorry, Eren_will_suffer, i_am_so_terrible, omg, Hehehe, Oh_god, what, the, FUCK, is_-_Freeform, Wrong, with, ME_-_Freeform, eren_cuts, Depression, Self_Harm, Blades, Biting, eren_occasionally_has_dreams_about his_"previous_life", Bottom_Eren, Top_Levi, grisha_is_still_an_asshole, sorry_-_Freeform, I_really_am, Angst, So_so_much_angst, hahaha_there_is something_wrong_with_me, Deaths, not_just_one, an_almost_death, probably, but_for_reals..._Eren_is_going_to_suffer, Kenny_is_an_asshole_too, so_is Reiner, but_wait..._there's_more!, by_more..._I_mean_more_angst, Levi_and Eren_and_everyone_here_is_reincarnated_into_our_universe, but_they_never realize_it, even_if_Eren_gets_dreams_about_his_past_life.._He_never realizes_he_is_a_part_of_his_favorite_anime, I_swear Stats: Published: 2016-09-03 Updated: 2016-11-28 Chapters: 15/? Words: 32796 ****** It Hurts To Remember ****** by KuroNekoDarkMistress Summary Eren and Levi thought that nobody would understand, when in reality, they were more alike than they thought. Eren is a nerd and a bit of an otaku and Levi is captain of the football team, when they first meet, they don't thin much of each other. But, will their unmistakable "lack of interest" for each other be the beginning of something beautiful? Or is this some other way life decided to mess with them? Disclaimer: I do not own these characters at all... although, a few of them are and the story idea is mine. (a/n) I changed the summary because it doesn't match what is going on in the story now that I'm writing it out... Notes See the end of the work for notes ***** Chapter 1 ***** Eren’s POV: “Hey. Wake up. Eren. Wake up.” A soft, soothing, and barely audible voice said. “W-what?” I asked in a quite puzzled and sleepy voice. “We’re going to be late, please wake up.” Mikasa leaned in a bit closer at the edge of my bed. I finally opened my eyes and sat up to look across from me. My glowing, green eyes gazed up sleepily at her sharp, blue-grey ones. “Eren? Are you okay?” Mikasa asked, lifting her thumb to wipe away a stray tear from my cheek. I lifted my hand to where Mikasa had gingerly touched me. “I’m fine” I stated, hoping she wouldn’t worry about it. Anyone who didn’t know me would have believed me, I was that convincing. But, of course, Mikasa knew exactly what was going on. “You had that dream again, didn’t you?” she asked quietly, both of us uncomfortable in our own home. I really didn’t want to worry my sister, she has had her fair share of problems, no need to add more. To avoid my sister’s piercing gaze, I decided to look around. Taking up every detail possible. I noticed how half of the room was a mess, crumpled papers on the floor by the trash can (which should have been emptied out weeks ago), pencils and pens scattered across the floor to create an abstract design, gym clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed. My bed stand was almost bare, apart from a small reading lamp and my glasses. On my desk, there where colored pencils (fifty-two to be exact), an eraser, a sharpener, and a highly expensive sketch book were idly sitting there, awaiting another night of frustrated sketches, only to be thrown away into the overflowing trashcan. On the other side of the room, everything was in place. The bed was made, the clothes where in their proper place, not a speck of dust to be found. Mikasa’s notebook filled with songs, telling of mistreated souls and untold dreams, next to the piano, used every night to soothe, or attempt to soothe, the hardships of the day. I noticed how my sister was already dressed for the first day of school. “Mikasa, I have to get changed.” I said. Mikasa nodded and walked out the room and into the living room. Mikasa’s POV: Grisha’s suitcase, keys, and jacket where gone, much to my relief. I walked to the kitchen and took some things out of the fridge to make myself and Eren some breakfast. I made some scrambled eggs with sausage and was in the middle of turning them into burritos when I looked out the kitchen window into the street. A short, raven haired guy ran out of his house, he seemed panicked and had a hand wrapped around his wrist. Another man, who I recognized as Kenny (Grisha’s colleague), stepped out coolly and grabbed the smaller male before he had a chance to move, Kenny dragged the smaller male inside and looked around slowly, making eye contact with me through the window. His cold, hard stare made me think of Grisha, and sent goosebumps throughout my body in a frightfully bad way. I looked away quickly, and hoped he had gone inside. “Mikasa?” Eren called from behind me, I nearly jumped a foot into the air and turned around, relieved to see Eren and not someone else. “What is it?” I asked, voice smaller than usual. Eren raised an eyebrow at me and put on the most ridiculous smile on. “What or WHO were you daydreaming about?” he asked, nudging my shoulder slightly. I rolled my eyes and smiled, “no one, I was just lost in thought...” I answered, not wanting to share what I had just witnessed. Thankfully, Eren dropped the subject and focused on my infamous breakfast burritos. “Ooh, food” he said, taking one and munching happily on it. “Idiot…” I mumbled with a small smile threatening to show on my face. “Ah, but I’m your favorite idiot brother” He said, his smile growing wider. I laughed ushered him out of the kitchen and told him to get his stuff ready, because we were running late. Eren’s POV: Once I was ready, Mikasa and I made our way to school. As we were exiting the house, a raven haired guy from across the street was exiting, too. He made eye contact with Mikasa for a brief moment before continuing on his way. Mikasa paid no mind to the blank expression of the other male and focused on me instead. “Eren, you now I can carry my own bag… right?” she asked. I nodded at her, but made no movements to give Mikasa her bag. She sighed and continued to walk ahead, absentmindedly tugging on her red scarf. Up ahead, a certain horse-face made his appearance. “Hey” He said, bluntly. Mikasa gave him a small wave and I spared him a glance and a small smile. There was thick silence between us, and Mikasa decided to break it. “So… Jean… how have you been?” she asked. Jean looked startled at first, but then smiled big, “so you ARE interested in good-ol’-Jean?” he asked with a cocky voice. I coughed a bit and then snorted, “Ha! Just keep telling yourself that, buddy!” I said, voice dripping with false hospitality. “Oh, boy” Mikasa said. Instantly, the Jean and I started bickering. “What do you mean by that!?” He asked. “Nothing you should worry your little brain about!” I shot back. “LITTLE!? I have better test scores than you!” “Seriously? Horse-face? Is that why you went to summer school and I didn’t?” “Who are you calling Horse-face? You suicidal Bastard?” Mikasa’s POV: I wasn’t particularly interested in their bickering, so I decided to look around while the two males argued. I glanced across the street, where the shorter male had been walking this whole time. He stared straight ahead, grabbing his bandaged wrist. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a tall brunette with glasses pounced on him, making him wince. The brunette was loud and came along with another guy, he was tall and blonde. He seemed about as unfazed from the brunette as I felt about the two guys behind me. I returned my attention to Eren and Jean. Eren’s POV: “You are such a damn asshole!” Jean hollered at me. “Not as much as you!” I screamed, growing tired of him. “I don’t know how anyone likes you!” He yelled. I stopped everything, anger and sadness boiling within me. “Oh yeah? Is that why you dated me for two years!?” I shot back angrily. Everyone stopped in their tracks. The three people across the street stared at us. Mikasa looked at me in shock, I was blushing profusely and looking away, tears pricking the corners of my eyes, and Jean stared at me in with wide eyes. “Look… Eren…” Jean took a step towards me and put his hand under my chin, making me face him. I looked anywhere but at Jean, fearing that I might actually cry. I pulled away quickly and walked rapidly, leaving the group behind. Everything was awkward on the way to school. I stared intently at the floor, Mikasa held my hand. I hated this, I really did like Jean. I always did. That’s why I dated him in the first place. But my anger always broke through. I mean, I don’t care anymore, nothing I can do about it now. I lost my first love. When we approached the school, we found more of our friends. Sasha, Connie, Armin, and Marco where standing off to the side. Mikasa called after them, Jean and me following after her. I could feel Jean looking at me and I looked off to the side, obscuring my hurt feelings. Sasha and Connie both gave Mikasa questioning looks while Armin and Marco continued to talk about their schedules this year. Jean went over to hug Marco from behind and kiss his cheek. Jean had broken up with me because he had fallen in love with Marco and I was holding him back. I didn’t hate Marco, not at all. I could never hate him, he was my friend. So nothing really changed between me and Marco when Jean and I broke up. But Jean is the one making things awkward, and the one who reminds me that I lost my first love. I always blamed myself, thinking it was me who ruined everything. Despite Armin, Mikasa, and even Jean himself telling me otherwise. “Oh, hi Eren!” Armin greeted me with a warm smile. I swear, if I didn’t think of him like a brother, I would be all over him. I pushed my mixed feelings to the farthest corner of my mind and smiled at Armin. “Eren, are you okay?” he asked, face pulling into a frown. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” I said as coolly as I could muster. Before Armin had a chance to answer me, the raven- haired guy from this morning pushed himself through us, a tall brunette and a blond senior following him. I didn’t really get to see them clearly, but I know it was them. “Sorry, guys! He’s in a bit of a bad mood!” the brunette said to us as she tried to catch up with the shorter male. The tall blond offered us a small, barely visible smile, before calmly walking towards what I assume to be his friends. “I know those guys…” Armin said, seeming to forget our previous conversation. “Yeah?” I answered. “The short one with black hair and pale skin is Levi Ackerman, he is the captain of the football team. The brunette with glasses is Hanji Zoe, she has the highest scores in the entire district. And the tall blond one with blue eyes is Erwin Smith, he is the student body president.” Armin whispered. The bell rang and we each made our way to our homerooms for this year. “This is going to be a good year” I breathed out quietly. I walked around with Mikasa, seeing who’s homeroom we could find first. We found Mikasa’s first, she was a homeroom with Krista (the girl Ymir is always with), and Sasha. Then I walked over to my homeroom. Armin, Marco, Jean, and I were in the same homeroom, which I didn’t think was a bad thing. As soon as I sat down on a desk, Annie, a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes came and told me that I have to get out of her seat. “But, it’s the first day of school, we don’t have assigned seats yet.” I said, putting on my mask and trying hard not to get in trouble on the first day. She stared blankly at me and raised her hand slowly. My mask didn’t falter a bit and I continued to smile at her. Before I had time to react, she flipped me down and I hit my head hard on a desk, everyone turned to look at us. Annie sat down on the desk and I stayed on the floor in an awkward position. I really don’t know how Armin likes her. “Wow, Eren, are you really going to let a girl shove you around?” Jean snorted. I got up immediately and stared at Jean, the pleasant smile never leaving my face, though my eyes probably gave off something entirely different. Before things could advance any further, Marco stepped in between us, “Jean, let’s go sit down.” He said in that always-cheerful way of his. Jean immediately directed his attention to Marco and smiled wide. They both walked away, leaving me standing there with my bag in my hand. Seeing Jean incredibly happy like that really did a number on me. Not like jealousy or anything. I mean like, regret of not being able to make him feel the way he made me feel. I mean, he pissed me off once in a while when we were dating, but for once after my mom died, I felt like I belonged. I guess Jean never felt the same way in the first place. I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Eren, are you crying?” I turned to look at Armin, wiping the tears away before anyone noticed. “Oh, it’s nothing, really” I said, putting on my mask again. Armin didn’t seem to believe me though. I looked around the class before sitting down next to Armin and saw Marco staring dead at me with an unreadable expression. I decided to, once again, push all of my feelings down and lock them up and sit down. The rest of the day was majorly boring. Each and every one of the teachers I had made us play these incredibly cheesy ice breaker games. Specifically one game called The Name Game, which is basically just standing in a circle and stating our names and repeating the ones from before us, so each time a person went, the next person had another name added to the list of names to memorize, lucky for me, I got to be the very last one. In. Every. Single. Class. In total, I learned 120 useless human’s names. Yay. (I wonder if you caught the sarcasm in that) Armin and I had about 4 out of the 6 classes we had together. I shared 3 classes with Marco and Jean, and 2 with Connie. I am not really a nerd (yes I am) but I personally prefer being in school that at home. I loved to study, I loved to read, and most of all, I absolutely loved drawing. My favorite subject was math. Don’t ask me why, I just like it. I had English 2 for last period and I was sitting next to Armin and Connie. Once the bell rang, the three of us practically flew out of the room. All of us gathered outside the school and shared stories of our day as we walked to the park. “So” Sasha started while clinging to Connie’s arm, “You guys want to hang out tonight? I mean, we didn’t get to see each other over the summer because everyone was going on trips or was working.” “Yeah, I’m cool with hanging, what about you, Marco?” Jean said, elbowing Marco softly. “Oh, uh… yeah, me too.” He said, smiling. “I’m going, too. I’ll order some pizza!” Armin declared. “I’ll bring Movies!” Ymir announced. I hadn’t realized that she, Krista, and Annie where here, too. “I’ll bring the chips and salsa!” Krista perked up. “I’ll bring the soda.” Annie stated, barely showing any emotion. Everyone turned to look at Mikasa and me. “What about you two?” Connie asked. Mikasa and I turned to look at each other. “See. The thing is… we have to… go home…” I started, hoping Mikasa would help me out. “Dad doesn’t really like it when we stay out too long.” Mikasa said, much to my own relief. Everyone started to plead us to go and have fun with them, but Mikasa and I really didn’t want to upset my dad, especially if he was drunk. “Come on, you two, you finally get to see your favorite people after two months working! You should come and hang out with us! It will be fun!” Krista leaned in and gave us her special puppy eyes. Damn, that girl was good at getting her way. After a while, Mikasa gave in, “Fine, but only for a while, we have to get home by 10” she said. “We’ll bring the candy” I said, smiling at the group before Mikasa and I went to our house. We had to make sure my dad was still at work, he usually comes home by 11 or 12, so if we get back home by 10, he won’t get mad and we may probably have a peaceful sleep. ***** Chapter 2 ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes Mikasa’s POV: Grisha was not home early, and that sent a wave of relief through me. I went to our room and started looking for comforting clothes to wear. While I was looking for clothes, my mind went back to what Armin had told me. I know Eren has been through a lot. Carla died, Grisha changed and turned into our worst nightmare, his first love dumped him and was now happy in the arms of someone else. I could only imagine what Eren might be feeling. I remember Eren telling me that he had long ago stopped believing in God. To be completely honest, so did I. But, we were so young when Carla died. I remember it like if it was yesterday. It was Eren’s 6th birthday and we were walking to the store to get that toy Eren really wanted. It was about two months after my parents died and Grisha adopted me. Eren held my hand while chatting away about how exited he was about going home and showing his dad the Attack on Titan action figure set. Ever since he discovered anime, which is all he ever wanted to watch. We had taken a shortcut through the alley because Eren just couldn’t wait any longer. I remember getting a strange feeling in my stomach, like something bad was going to happen. Just then, out of the shadows a man with thick, black hair and blue eyes grabbed me and Carla. He held a knife to Carla’s throat and kept me down with his leg. Eren stood there, unable to move. Carla screamed and threw the man off of her and told me and Eren to go get help. I ran immediately, searching for someone to help, I hadn’t noticed that Eren didn’t come with me. By the time I came back with the police, Carla had a bullet through her head and the man was on the floor, he had been stabbed multiple times. Eren stood there in the same place he was when I left. Once Eren finally snapped out of it, he let out a blood curling scream, which will forever be engraved into the back of my mind. It was the same type of scream I let out when I witnessed MY parent’s death. I was shaken out of my thoughts when Eren snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Halloo, earth to Mikasa!” Eren said in the most ridiculous voice I have ever heard. I raised an eyebrow at him, or, tried to. Eren chuckled softly. “Mikasa, you don’t know how to lift one eyebrow.” He said, lifting his own eyebrow just to mock me. I ignored him and went to the restroom to change. Once we were both ready, Eren and I stopped by the store to get a bunch of candy. It was barely 4:30, so we had plenty of time to hang out with the group. “Mikasa, what type of candy should we get? Sweet, sour, chocolate, lollipops, or…?” Eren asked. I shrugged and told him to get one of each. Eren did just that and we went to go pay for the stuff. I grabbed about three packs of strawberry Pocky because, why not? I didn’t like the chocolate ones and I wasn’t willing to share these. We left the store and walked over to Sasha’s house. Armin and Annie where arriving at the same time we were. They were both awkward towards each other and it was pretty obvious that they liked each other, but neither one would make the first move. I knocked on the door and was greeted by Sasha’s mom, she told us to step inside and that the rest were waiting in the basement. Usually, when people think of a basement, they think of a dark, grey room with dusty boxes and even dustier shelves decorating the place and cobwebs in every corner. But this was the complete opposite. A few years ago, all of us turned this basement into a club or something like that. Since none of us had a large enough tree in our backyard to build a tree house. So we hung up Christmas lights and set up a projector there so we could watch movies and play video games. There was also a shelf filled with books for Eren and Armin. We had Armin’s grandfather bring in a mini fridge and install a small kitchen here with running water and a working stove. We had beanbags in front of the projector and a couch at the back. There was also a pool table. Though, back then, none of us knew how to play. It was basically one of those types of hangouts you see on TV shows these days on “How to Make Your Home a Paradise” or some shit like that. Once we got ourselves situated, we started the movie and started eating the food we brought for each other. After about three movies, we got bored and decided to play games instead. “Alright, guys.” Sasha said. “Who wants to play spin the bottle?” Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. “Sasha that is like what we used to play in… seventh grade. Why would we play that now?” Connie asked. “Aw, Connie? Are you afraid that once Sasha kisses someone else, she will realize that you aren’t good enough for her?” Ymir asked, a twinge of mock in her voice. Connie turned to Ymir, “It’s not that at all, plus, aren’t some of us taken?” Connie asked. Ymir smirked, “What does that matter? We each know each other well enough to know that we can trust each other with anything. I don’t see anything wrong with sharing a few French kisses. Plus, it would be fun to see what kind of punishments we can come up with for those who refuse to kiss.” Connie thought for a while. “Alright, but there are no limits, single or not, gay or not, EVERYONE plays.” I was about to object, but everyone was already in a circle and I slowly made my way to sit down next to Eren. Eren’s POV: I sat next to Armin and Mikasa sat on my other side. I had a bad feeling about this. But I ignored it completely. “Alright” Sasha started. “Here are the rules. We spin the bottle twice, the two people that are chosen have to share a French kiss in front of everyone. It does not matter if you are taken or not, gay or not, you have to do it. And if you refuse, the whole group will choose a punishment for the two players. There is no way out. It’s either a kiss or a punishment. Alright? Whatever happens in here, stays in here. No hard feelings or anything like that.” Everyone in the group nodded and we started again. First it was Annie and Armin. Mikasa and I practically squealed like fan girls when thy kissed. When they pulled away, both of them were as red as tomatoes and it was absolutely adorable. Then it was Krista and me. I kind of felt awkward about it, and so did Krista. To be completely honest, I wasn’t expecting Krista to be so good at French kissing, considering she swears she has never had her first kiss. When we pulled away, Krista was blushing all over and she had a small smile across her lips. I guess I was blushing, too. But not as hard. I guess it was alright, but I know this is all it was going to be. After that, more of us went. Marco and Sasha went, Ymir and Mikasa, Jean and Connie went at some point, the only reason they agreed is because if they didn’t, they would have to show up half naked to school the next day, and when it comes to punishments, we are very serious. We were getting ready for one last round. I was pretty confident that someone else was going to go, so I just relaxed and focused on my cherry lollipop. “Okay, the next two people are…. Jean…. And…” I was still turned away, but I never heard the name of the second person. When I turned back to the group, they were all staring at me. “What?” I asked. I looked down at the bottle and my blood ran cold for a few seconds when I saw that it was pointing straight at me. “Seriously?” I groaned. “I’ll pass” Jean mumbled. “No you won’t, if both of you have to do a strip dance tomorrow morning at school.” Ymir said. Everyone in the group giggled. “What is it with you and wanting people to take their clothes off?” Connie asked. “Have you SEEN Eren? If I wasn’t gay, I would hit that.” Ymir said. Armin laughed and said, “I feel like Eren would be in the receiving end either way, we all know you have that 9 inch strap on.” Ymir smirked. “It’s ten inches, and maybe… I don’t know.” Sasha decided to speak up at that point, “I always pictured Eren as a top, not a bottom.” “So… what I’m hearing is that all of you have imagined what it would be like having sex with me?” I asked. Everyone in the group nodded. “Actually, I was always one to think about what it would be like to watch, not participate.” Mikasa said. “Okay, can we stop talking about this? Why would you all think of having sex with him?” Jean asked, clearly frustrated. “To repeat what Ymir said… Have you SEEN Eren?” Marco said. I tried so hard to hide my red face and not laugh. “You guys still have to kiss, though” Ymir said before Jean spoke. Jean sighed and turned my face gently. I looked straight into his eyes, not really having a choice. His face was mere centimeters from mine and I could feel his hot breath on me, he smelled like caramel (probably because he ate some beforehand). I tried not to think about it, but this reminded me of how he kissed me for the first time the day we started dating. I screwed my eyes shut, willing the memories of his touch to go away unsuccessfully. Soon enough, Jean closed the gap between us. It started out as a simple, closed mouth kiss. But, since the rule was that we had to French kiss, Jean licked my bottom lip, asking for entrance. I hesitated a bit before letting him in. The taste of caramel invading my cherry flavored mouth. I relaxed more into the kiss, unwilling to open my eyes in fear of seeing his eyes boring into mine. His breathing was slowly becoming labored and the hand that was on my cheek traveled to my hair. His other hand rested on my waist, probably to keep my in place. My hands where on his chest. I could feel all of our friends' eyes looking intently at us as we made out. I knew it was only a few seconds, but it felt like hours that we were kissing. I opened my eyes slightly to find his closed, I squeezed my eyes shut again, memories playing in the back of my head like old films more associated with emotion than vision. Jean tilted his head to the side a bit to get a better angle. His lips were so soft and his mouth was so warm against mine. As our tongues explored each other’s mouth, I felt a twinge of sadness stab through my heart. This felt all too familiar. Jean sucked lightly on my tongue, because he knew I liked that. No. This was too much for me. I shot my eyes open and pulled away, tears streaming down my cheeks, I can’t do this. It hurts too much. “E-Eren” it sounded more like an uncertain question than anything else. I realized it came from Jean. I simply could not get my tears to stop, they just kept rushing in as I stood there. Jean didn’t move wither, nobody did. Marco had that unreadable expression on his face again. And Jean looked like he regretted agreeing to play. I wiped my eyes and walked to the restroom, ignoring Jean calling out my name. Chapter End Notes yay! Two chapters in one night! welp.... I now have to go to sleep or else I won't be able to function properly tomorrow. Much love~ kuronekodarkmistress<3 ***** Chapter 3 ***** Chapter Summary This is all Eren's POV. Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes I locked myself in the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My eyes were still puffy and red, with tears still streaming down. I absolutely hated myself. I washed my face with cold water and tried to calm down. I walked out the restroom and went outside to the front porch. It was barely 8:30. It was dark out, the light from our house was still on and my father’s car wasn’t there. Meaning that he hadn’t arrived. I sat down on one of those chair hammocks Sasha has. As I swung in the chair, I closed my eyes. Feeling the leftover summer breeze teasing my face. Despite the slight breeze, it was still a bit warm outside, but I didn’t mind. I closed my eyes as the sound of the rusty hinges on the hammock acted almost like a lullaby, urging me to calm down. Memories. Unwanted memories where coming into my mind. I remember how Jean walked me home every day because he thought someone would hit on me. I remember how he would accompany me and Mikasa to my mother’s grave every holiday, just to comfort me. I remember when he bought me all of the merchandise he could find of all my favorite anime for my birthday. I remember how he laughed at me when I told him I felt so bad for not being able to get tickets to the football game he had been so excited to go to. I remember how, instead of going there, we went to the park and we stayed there looking at the clouds and cuddled together until it was time for us to go home. I remember how he had reacted when I told him my father was a homophobe so we had to keep this a secret, and we did, for two years. I remember when Jean was acting so weird about a month before we broke up. I remember when he broke up with me the day before Christmas and told me how he realized he had feelings for Marco. Tears where streaming down my cheeks again, I couldn’t help it. Every time tears fall down, I force them to stop. I have been bottling my feelings up for the past 8 years and things just keep adding up. I had my head buried in my hands as I let out chocked sobs. I heard steps coming closer to me, but I chose to ignore it, I knew that no matter how much I would like to be alone, my friends would never allow that to happen. I slowly lifted my head up and wiped some tears off of my face. I really didn’t expect to see Marco sitting next to me. I looked at him, a sad smile gracing my lips. He forced a sad smile, too. “I’m sorry” he said, his voice was shaky. I was so confused. “For what?” I asked. He looked at me in the eyes and I could practically hear his mind trying to find the right words to say. “Look, I know how much you liked Jean, and, I know he was like your first love. I am so sorry I took him from you, I never meant to hurt you. You are my friend. You have always been my friend. Ever since I moved here in second grade, you have been my friend. I can still remember how you were the only one willing to talk to me out of the whole class. Thanks to you, I met so many people. I really didn’t mean to steal Jean from you. I don’t even know how it happened. And now you are here, crying because of something that was ultimately my fault. I wouldn’t blame you if you would want me dead right about now. Heh. Even I would want me de-“ I have heard enough. I slapped him. I slapped Marco. He looked shocked at me, his eyes looked very sad under the porch light. I stood up in front of him while he was sitting down. “Don’t you ever, EVER, think that I would want you dead. Do you hear me?” I growled, “I do not hate you. I don’t blame you. I don’t even think badly of you at all. On the contrary, I thank you. Thanks to you, Jean found someone who can truly make him happy. Please, stop thinking about me wanting you dead, I have lost one too many people in my life.” I was sad now. All this time, Marco felt as bad as I did about the situation. I held my hand out to help him up. Marco’s shocked expression turned to a happy one. Not like my “fake happiness” face, but one that actually shows true emotion. We went back inside once I calmed down and was ready to face the others. As soon as I went back downstairs, everyone turned to look at me. Well, everyone but Jean. He was in the corner, on a beanbag. Pretending to read a book, er, manga. I looked at Marco, asking for permission to go and talk to him. Marco smiled sweetly and nodded. I slowly made my way over to Jean, everyone else returned their attention to the game of Monopoly they were playing. I knew Jean noticed I was standing right in front of him, but he refused to look up. He thumbed the pages of my all-time favorite manga, Attack on Titan. I remember Jean telling me that he didn’t understand why I liked something so creepy. “Hey” I said, barely above a whisper. He slowly lifted his head to look up at me and gave me (what I assumed to be) a smile. I decided to sit down on the beanbag next to him and take the manga away from him. “Look, about me… you know… crying-“ Jean cut me off with a shush, I was just about to say something about it, but the look he gave me made me shove that comment down my throat. “Look, I feel really bad about this… and…” Oh no. Not this again, if he says he blames himself, I’m going to slap him… maybe… “I just don’t know what to tell you. I don’t exactly regret this because, well, I really do love Marco. But I hate seeing you like this.” He looked down, struggling to find words, or maybe he has them, but they won’t escape his mouth. “Jean, don’t worry about me. I am completely fine. It’s just… I have been swallowing down my feelings for who knows how long… and… well, that kiss, brought back memories. Memories that I desperately try to forget for your sake. But, I’m over it now.” I said all of this in such a soft voice, I wondered for a bit if he even heard me. “Yeah, it was the same for me.” He said after a while. I guess that answered my question. “Eren?” he put his hand on my shoulder. I panicked for a few seconds, thinking I started crying. “Yeah?” I asked. I looked straight at him, this time, I didn’t feel anything. Nor sad, angry, or nervous. “Please, don’t keep everything bottled up, don’t force yourself to think you’re okay. I… I care about you… In more ways than one. I might not be in love with you, but you are still my childhood friend. And I would hate…. I would hate for something to happen to you just because you can’t let your feelings out.” His eyes where watery. A single tear slipped down his cheek and I brushed it off with the tips of my fingers. “Alright.” I said. I guess that was it. I was over this situation. Everything was back to how it was before. I stood up and sat down next to Mikasa, setting my head down on her lap. She gave me a soft smile before screaming because she had to go to jail in the board game. “Honestly, why me? This is the third fucking time!” Mikasa yelled. I couldn’t help but start laughing. Mikasa looked down at me before laughing, too. After a few seconds, the rest of the group started laughing with us. It felt really good to be able to have such great friends. I knew that I would never be alone as long as I had them. By 9:45, everyone was getting ready to go. Since Mikasa and I where leaving at 10, everyone decided to leave at the same time. Tonight, Jean and I went back to normal (Which means we aren’t awkward towards each other, but we still fight like always), Armin and Annie started dating (Only because I kept bothering Armin about it, he tried to deny the fact that he had a crush on her), and we found out that Mikasa was, like me, bisexual (we found that out in a game of truth or dare). By 9:55, everyone said their goodbyes and we made our way back home. Mikasa and I saw that dad’s car still wasn’t there. So we were saved for the night. We got in and I decided to make dad some food for when he returned from a night of drinking. (Hey, if I don’t, he will wake me up and beat me half to death). Mikasa went to go take a shower while I prepared the food. Once I finished making the food, it was about 11:34. My dad pulled up into the driveway and got out of the car. This time, two people got out with him. They got inside and I didn’t have time to go to my room before my dad came. I had no choice but to stay and greet them. “Hi, dad” I said, my cheerfulness was very convincing. I did have years of practice, after all. Normally, my dad would either ignore my presence or beat me down. But today, since we had people over, he put on a mask, too and greeted me back. “Hey, kiddo. Where’s your sister?” he asked. This family was a little too good at acting. “Oh, I think she went to sleep already, she had a long day today.” I answered. I looked over at our guests. The tall man I recognized as Kenny. I met him a few years back when he came over for dinner when mom was alive. “Hello, sir.” I greeted as nicely as I did my dad. “Hey, kid.” He said. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Kenny?” He gave me a toothy grin. Kenny turned around and shoved the third person towards me. Even though it would go unnoticed by anyone else, I knew that Kenny had a very firm grip on the guy’s arm, probably because my dad does that to me. “This is my nephew, Levi” He said. I guess we weren’t the only ones who knew how to act. Levi gave me a blank expression and said hi. I smiled politely and offered them a seat. “Uh, dad, I made lasagna today” I said. He smiled at me, like he was finally pleased with me. I went to go get some plates and served the lasagna to them. “Eren, could you do me a favor and get your sister? I need her for something.” I nodded and went to my room. “Hey, Mikasa?” I said. Mikasa was on her bed, writing on her music journal. “Yes, Eren?” she asked. “Uh… dad needs you for something.” I said. She gave me a questioning look and I shrugged. “Alright” she said. She stood up and walked to the dining room with me. “Ah, so this is Mikasa.” Kenny said. They had never officially met each other, Mikasa has only ever seen pictures of him. I felt Mikasa tense next to me. “Eren, go show Levi your room, okay?” dad said. I knew I had no choice, so I motioned for Levi to follow me. "I wonder what they want with Mikasa" I thought to myself. Chapter End Notes Wow, I am on a roll! 3 chapters in two days! I really hope I can continue this, at least until Monday. I mean, with school starting and me starting to get really busy, this is hard. I will see if I can post another chapter tonight, just like I posted two chapters last night. Forgive me if I don't! Much love~ Kuronekodarkmistress<3 ***** Chapter 4 ***** Chapter Summary It starts out as Eren's POV. Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes I looked over to the male next to me. Levi’s expression didn’t falter a bit since he got here. When we got into my room, Levi stopped right under the door frame. “What’s wrong?” I asked. He looked at me then back into the room, well…. To my side of the room. “This place is a mess…” he said. I chocked back a laugh and looked at him. “What? You have OCD?” I asked, fighting back a smile. He turned to look at me with the same expression. “No. It’s just… disgusting” He said. “What are you gonna do? Clean it?” I asked. He nodded. I didn’t believe him. I stared at him. I was just now realizing all of his features. He had steel grey eyes with a little bit of blue in them, almost like Mikasa’s only… different. He had the cutest little nose I have ever seen, I mean, it took me all of my will power to not reach up and boop him like I would do to Armin. He had thin, pink lips. They were probably soft, then I wondered what it would feel like to have them pressed on my own lip- “Oi. My eyes are up here!” He snapped. I blushed a bit, I hadn’t realized I was staring. “Tch.” With that, Levi walked into the room and started organizing it. My eyes grew wide. I honestly thought he was playing. Mikasa’s POV: After Eren and the guy from this morning left, Grisha turned to me and told me to sit down. This was weird, Grisha was being so nice. I guess I’m just so used to him choking me until I am mere seconds from death. That’s why I always wear my scarf. Now he was asking me about my day and everything. Then he asked me what my REAL last name was. My eyes widened a fraction when he asked me to say it. It has been a long time since I ever used that last name. I always considered myself to be a Jaeger, ever since I lost my original family when I was five. “Uh… Um…” I stuttered a bit, trying to remember just what exactly my last name was. Grisha gave me this hard look that he gives me right before he kicks me in my stomach. “My last name is Ackerman” I said. Kenny’s eyes widened when he heard my name. He looked me over and then bore into my eyes. I knew he remembered me from this morning. “So… You’re the missing family member we mistook for dead, eh?” he asked. I was profoundly confused. What was this man talking about? I just then realized his eye color was similar to mine. Only, his eyes where more hard, and emotionless than mine. It was almost scary. Suddenly, without warning, Kenny stood up. “Well, then, Grisha. I guess this piece of shit was alive after all. I don’t know why you kept her in the first place…” I couldn’t help but feel a mixture of anger and hurt when he said this. I had just met the guy, he found out I was alive, then he said that I was a piece of shit? Wow. How kind of you to say. Grisha snorted, “I felt really bad for her at the time. I was originally planning on taking her to a foster home after a night or two, but Eren and Carla both pleaded me to keep her. Now Carla is dead and I don’t want her here. I guess the only one that does is Eren.” He said. I had enough of this. “I am standing right here, you damn asshole.” I said bluntly. Grisha turned to me with a death glare and, without a second thought, he punched my jaw. HARD. I couldn’t help but let out a short but loud yelp as I landed on the floor behind me. Kenny was laughing darkly and Grisha just stared at me. I knew what was coming as soon as Kenny left. “What the fuck was that for, dad!?” I heard Eren yell. Eren ran towards me and helped me up. I looked behind Eren to find Levi looking at me, he looked slightly concerned, but not a whole lot. Eren stood up and went over to Kenny. “Listen here, fuckface. Mikasa is NO piece of shit, if anything, she is one of the best things to ever come into my life. Now, do me a favor and get the motherfucking HELL out.” Eren’s eyes were dangerously dark. Kenny smiled down at Eren and turned to Grisha. “Would you mind if I?” he asked. Grisha smiled, “Not at all, be my guest.” Kenny lifted an arm and looked about ready to strike Eren, until Levi came between them. “We have to go, NOW” Levi stated. Kenny pursed his lips into a thin line, considering Levi’s words. He dropped his hand down and walked towards the door. “See you tomorrow, Grisha” he said before both of them disappeared behind the closed door. Grisha immediately turned to Eren and me. “You guys earned it today.” He said, his mouth twisting into a creepy smile. Eren was about to make a run for it, but Grisha kicked the back of his knees, causing him to fall down. Grisha grabbed a fistful of Eren’s hair and pulled his head back, he used his other hand to repeatedly punch Eren in the ribs. I was still paralyzed, legs unwilling to move and arms disobeying my commands. Once Grisha let go of Eren’s hair and dropped him to the floor, he gave him a few kicks in the stomach and slowly walked over to me. “Oh, Mikasa. You just couldn’t keep your mouth closed, couldn’t you?” He said in a mocking voice. Eren screamed from behind Grisha as he chocked me with all his strength. My lungs where getting harder and harder to fill and the blood flow from my neck to my face was being cut off. Tears slipped down my cheeks. Pretty soon, Grisha’s insane laughter and Eren’s screams where fading away to nothing until I saw nothing but black. Levi’s POV: Great. Just, beautiful. Today has been an awful day. This morning, Kenny twists my wrist in an unnatural position and I had to act like it was an accident. Hanji comes and tells me that Isabel decided to break up with me via… Hanji. Then, this kid saw the bruise marks on my back and stomach so I had to lie to him and told him I got into a fight, and this whole rumor started on who I fought or some shit. After that, Kenny MAKES me go out to dinner with him and his friend, where I met the oh-so-famous Eren Jaeger and his sister, Mikasa Jaeger. Only to find out little miss Jaeger is actually an Ackerman. Then Kenny decides to be a douche and talk shit to her face and Grisha joins. Stupid Eren decided to go against Kenny so I had to intervene and am now about to face certain death as we are slowly approaching our house across the street. As soon as we both got inside and Kenny locked the door, he didn’t waste any time in beating me. He grabbed my head and kneed me in the face. I knew my cheek was going to be all kinds of bruised tomorrow. Then he kicked my stomach. I landed on the living room floor with a thud. Kenny straddled over me and proceeded to strangle me half to death. My vision was slowly going back until Kenny finally let go of me and I could breathe again. My breaths were hard and labored and my head hurt like fuck. Kenny was on the other side of the living room. I honestly was confused on why he just… stopped. Not that I was mad. I quickly scrambled to my room and slammed the door. I locked it and turned my back to it, sliding down till I was on the floor. I had a hand wrapped around my throat. “Damn. I’m going to need to wear something different tomorrow.” I couldn’t let anyone see this. It would only cause trouble and that is the last thing I need right now. My thoughts went back to that Eren kid. His “side of the room” was a fucking mess. I cleaned it though. I caught him staring at me a couple of times, though. He needs to learn how to stare without being noticed. That brat sure looks better up close though, even with glasses on. His eyes were like…. Emerald green, his nose was a bit slim and upturned, and he had full lips with a piercing on the left side of his bottom lip. A DISTRACTING lip piercing. He also had a slightly good build and was about a head taller than me. “Tch.” So far, that kid has been nothing but trouble. Eren’s POV: God, my ribs hurt like fuck. And my head hurt, too. But that didn’t matter so much. Right now, I was waiting for Mikasa to wake up. She was hurt pretty badly. And I was sure that she was going to die, but dad kept on telling me to quit hollering because she was going to be alright. I mean, he was right, though. But he is the reason I have to sit here and wait for Mikasa to wake up to see if she is well enough for the second day of school. I looked down at my feet and pushed my glasses up farther up my nose every few seconds. I don’t need them as much as I used to, I mean, I can see almost perfectly. But I cannot, for the love of anime, read a book without them. So I wear them 24/7. I also do not like the way I look without them, I feel like I look weird. “Eren?” Mikasa says while stirring in her sleep. “Yeah?” I answer softly. Her blue-grey eyes flutter open and are immediately filled with light. “Eren!” she screams, tugging me closer to her so that she can hug me. “Honestly, Mikasa, what has gotten into you?” I asked, not even trying not to sound amused. “Nothing” she responds, getting up and preparing herself for the day we have ahead. “Mikasa, are you sure you’re okay to go to school today?” I asked. Mikasa nodded her head and walked out the door. “Chill out, Eren, I’m not dead.” She said. I nodded, too and locked the door behind me. I saw Levi exiting his house, too. He had a hoodie on and his left cheek was fifty shades of bruised. I wondered if Kenny had something to do with that. He saw us and then decided to ignore us, so we did the same. We saw Jean on our way to school and decided that we were going to walk to school together from now on. “Hey” Jean said. “Hi” Mikasa answered. They both turned to me as if I was deciding on whether to blow up the earth or not. “Hi” I said cheerfully. Mikasa let out a breath and Jean looked at us. “Wow, you guys look… terrible” He muttered. “Why thanks, you don’t look bad yourself” I instantly shot back. Mikasa looked at me with stern eyes. “Sorry, sorry. Force of habit.” I responded. Mikasa looked ahead again and we decided to drop the topic. “London Bridge is broken down, broken down, broken down. London Bridge is broken down, my fair lady.” Mikasa started singing. It didn’t bother me at all. In fact, that’s what she used to (and still does) sing to me whenever I couldn’t fall asleep. She is always either humming it, singing it, or playing it on the piano. Thanks to her I know the whole song. I decided to sing along with her because, why not? I mean, I can actually sing, I just prefer not to. “Build it up with wood and clay, wood and clay, wood and clay. Build it up with wood and clay, my fair lady.” Jean looked at us while we were singing. “Wood and clay will wash away, wash away, wash away, wood and clay will wash away, my fair lady.” Mikasa and I were singing it like it was a normal thing to do. Which it was “Build it up with bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar, build it up with bricks and mortar, my fair lady.” Mikasa started smiling at me while she sung “Bricks and mortar will not stay, will not stay, will not stay, bricks and mortar will not stay, my fair lady.” I started smiling, too “Build it up with iron and steel, iron and steel, iron and steel, build it up with iron and steel, my fair lady.” Jean looked very amused, and I tried so hard not to laugh while I was singing. “Iron and steel will bend and bow, bend and bow, bend and bow, iron and steel will bend and bow, my fair lady.” We were almost at school now. “Build it up with silver and gold, silver and gold, silver and gold, build it up with silver and gold, my fair lady. Silver and gold will be stolen away, stolen away, stolen away, silver and gold will be stolen away, my fair lady. Set a man to watch all night, watch all night, watch all night, set a man to watch all night, my fair lady. Suppose the man should fall asleep, fall asleep, fall asleep, suppose the man should fall asleep? My fair lady. Give him a pipe to smoke all night, smoke all night, smoke all night, give him a pipe to smoke all night, my fair lady. London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.” By the time Mikasa and I finished singing, we were at school and Jean was clapping. Mikasa went to her homeroom and Jean and I went to ours. I saw Levi walk past me before I got in class, he looked…. Pained. He opened the restroom door and briefly made eye contact with me before going inside. I pushed my glasses up and absent mindedly played with my piercing using my teeth. I was debating on whether I should go check on him or not. “Hey, Songbird! You coming in or not?” Jean snapped me out of my thought. “oh. Uh… yes” I said, I walked inside and sat next to Armin, who handed me the latest chapter of this Manga we are both reading. I guess I can look for him later. Chapter End Notes I am so sorry if this is boring so far, but this was more like a filler chapter. I already have a plan for this fic and I know the beginning the middle and the end, but I need to find a way to make it go smoothly. I will try my best to get to the good part as quick as possible! Remember this story has a slow build! Much love~ Kuronekodarkmistress<3 ***** Chapter 5 ***** Levi’s POV: I have to get out of here. I just got to school, class hasn’t even started and I am already about to pass out. “Hey, Levi… Are you okay?” Hanji asked. She was clearly very concerned for my well-being, I almost felt bad for making her worry about me so much. “I-I’m fine” I said, turning my head so that my hoodie covered my face from her angle. “Levi…” She reached to pull my hoodie and I harshly pulled away and swatted her hand. I knew it wasn’t her fault. I shouldn’t get mad at her for what Kenny does to me. I stood up abruptly and walked out the class. “H-hey! Levi!” I heard Hanji scream behind me. I turned slightly to see her outstretched arm reaching towards me and Erwin holding her back. I mentally thanked him, the last thing I need right now is that crazy hell-spawn all over me. I rushed to the restroom, wincing every time I took a step. As I entered the restroom, I made brief eye contact with Eren. A flash of concern played across his face and stopped short of going inside his homeroom. My eyes were starting to water from the pain, I felt a sharp pain in the side of my head and I just couldn’t stand it, I went inside the restroom and went inside one of the stalls. I gave up on trying to lock it. My throat was burning, but I wasn’t thirsty, my cheek was very sore and it hurt when I blinked. The side of my head hurt like fuck and black dots where dancing in front of my eyes. I held on to the stall door for dear life and I wasn’t going to make it to the nurse’s office this time. Suddenly, the stall door opened and I fell into someone’s arms. I didn’t have time to react before I was out cold. “Levi… Hiechou, sweetie, wake up.” I felt a warm hand press against my forehead. My eyes shot open. Hiechou? Only one person I know has ever called me Hiechou. I sat up and hesitantly turned to my right. “M-Mom?” the word came out like a pitiful sound. It was way below me. “Yes, Hiechou?” There was no mistaking it. This was my mom speaking to me. But, where is she? “Mom, where are you?” I asked. I looked to my left and to my right. I was in my old room. All of my old trophies where just as I had left them all these years ago. “Why, Hiechou, I’m right here” The voice said. I turned to look at the chair right next to my bed. There she was. My mom. Dressed in the same dress she wore the day she died. I looked down to study my hands. Something was wrong. I felt weird, my hands where different. Sure my hands were always small, but these were childlike. I stood up and walked over to the mirror hanging from the closet door. My mom’s eyes followed my every move. “This can’t be.” I started. I looked exactly how I looked when I was 8. “What can’t be, sweetie?” my mom asked, voice like honey. I turned to look at her, she was glowing. Literally. There was light shining off from her. Then something dawned upon me. Did I die and that’s why I’m here with my mom? I couldn’t have died. Usually when I blacked out, the doctors would say it was nothing serious, so I might just be serious. I felt a warm hand on my forehead again, but… My mom was sitting right there. My mom opened her mouth to speak again. “Levi? Levi can you hear me? Are you okay?” The hand that was once on my forehead was now on my neck, two fingers poking the side of it. My mom continued to speak again, only, this wasn’t her voice. I’ve heard it before, I just can’t remember who’s voice it is. “His pulse is normal, he should be fine, I think. Levi is still conscious. Just keep talking to him until the nurse gets here. Okay” My mom seemed to have a conversation with herself, all while smiling and looking straight at me. I held my hand out and gripped the nearest object to me I was getting dizzy again. “W-what is this?” I asked, not sure whether I was talking to my mom or some unknown presence. My mom laughed. “Woah, you getting handsy there, buddy” I immediately let go of what, in my mind, was the headboard. That’s it, I was hallucinating. That’s why my mom is here instead of… wherever the hell people go after they die. I closed my eyes tightly, and opened them again. Slowly, my hallucination disappeared and I was left seeing black. I could just barely hear muffled sounds, but it was more of a background noise to a quiet, black room than anything else. Eren’s POV: Oh. My. Freckled. Jesus. Levi sure is lucky I decided to come here when I did, I could hear him struggling to stay up and when I opened the door to the last stall, he fell into my arms. I laid him down on the floor and immediately texted Armin to come here. In less than 2 minutes, the blond genius was checking up on Levi. He checked to see if he had a fever, then he checked his pulse. I kept talking to Levi as his eyes fluttered open for seconds at a time before closing again. “Levi? Levi can you hear me? Are you okay?” I asked, he opened his eyes and stared up at me like I was a ghost. “His pulse is normal, he should be fine, I think. Levi is still conscious. Just keep talking to him until the nurse gets here.” Armin said, standing up to go get help. “Okay” I answered, returning my attention to the mumbling male in front of me. I looked Levi over. I noticed just like his face, his neck had all kinds of bruised up. His bare chest had similar bruises. I don’t think he would want the nurse to see that, so I grabbed his hoodie to put it on him. He stirred again and put his hand out to grab something. “W-what is this?” he asked. I blushed heavily and laughed. “Woah, you getting handsy there, buddy” Did he HAVE to grab my cock? Couldn’t he have grabbed my arm? It was WAY closer than my godforsaken dick. He immediately let go of it and screwed his eyes shut. Then, he stopped moving. He was breathing (barely) but his hand went limp and his eyes unscrewed themselves, though, they were still closed. “Levi? Levi! Oh my fuck! Get up!” I started shaking him. Then the nurse walked into the restroom and asked me and Armin to help her get him to her office. Once Levi was on a bed and the nurse assured us he was fine, Armin went back to class (By this time, we were supposed to be in third period). I decided to stay there. For some inexplicable reason, I didn’t want to leave him alone. I mean, the only thing I know about him is his name, apart from that, he is practically a stranger. The nurse went to a meeting and told me that if Levi needs anything, that I should figure out what to do. That nurse was something special, she honestly didn’t care about her job. And everyone knows that by meeting, she means she’s going to fool around with the PE coach. I stared at Levi who was laying on the small bed. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed. I couldn’t help but smile. He looked so cute. He had a toned chest and strong arms. My eyes traced over every single detail on his body, his pale, milky white skin seemed to give off a light of its own. I sat down on the chair next to the bed and tried to make myself comfortable. (Which proved to be hard because the chair was hard on my ass). Thank fuck the chair was the ones that spin. That’s how I entertained myself for about 10 minutes. I stood up abruptly and was pleased with the feeling of having the room spinning before me. I challenged myself to make it across the room. I took 1 step. 2 steps. 3 steps. 4 steps. 5- oh... Would you look at that… I’m on the floor. I sat there on the floor for a few seconds until the room was stabilized once again. I sighed and got up so I could go back to dicking around with the swivel chair. Just as I sat down, I heard something. “Tch.” I turned to see Levi sitting up and looking at me like some kid off the streets. “Childish brat” he muttered. I honestly couldn’t care less if he thought I was childish. So what if I was? “Well, good morning sleeping beauty.” I beamed, making sure to give him the goofiest grin I could manage. “Tch.” He crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows deeper in. I decided not to talk unless he spoke to me. After what felt like a small eternity of awkward silence, he spoke up. “I want to go home.” I looked up at him. “Um… congratulations?” I offered. I have no idea why he was telling me this. Although, there was no way he could go home at this point in time. “Tch.” Honestly, what did he want me to do? Sing him a song? Put him on my back and take him there? “Could you PLEASE bring me some water?” he asked, putting emphasis on the PLEASE. Oh. That’s what he wanted. I stood up and went to go get him some water from the vending machine. When I returned, Levi had taken his pants off and was now half naked and sweating on the bed. “Um… here’s your water.” I said, turning my head to the side a bit. He took the water and chugged it down. If it wasn’t for the fact that this was school, and that he was starting to get annoying. I would have found this view highly erotic. I turned around and pretended to focus on the pencil and paper that just so happened to be on the desk. I took the items and sat down, willing my hands to draw something. Anything. I could feel Levi looking at me. I started out with a barely visible circle and a triangle, it resembled an ice cream cone. I lightly drew a cross in the middle and used it as a guide for where the facial features would be. I still didn’t know what I was doing, my hands seemed to have a mind of their own. I drew one eye, then struggled with the other eye. After a while of frustrated erasing I decided to just give up. “Fuck it.” I mumbled. It’ll be a girl with bangs covering a portion of her right eye. I proceeded to draw the nose. I have a saying with it. “Less is more” I didn’t like putting much detail in the noses of my drawings. Then I drew the mouth. It came out looking like a cheerful woman, so I decided to give her a womanly body (without exaggerating her body parts). I drew her hair as a side ponytail. The woman looked so cheerful in the drawing. I drew an apron on her. I looked at my finished “masterpiece” and a sad smile tugged at my lips. I drew her again. I drew my mother. I set the pencil and paper down and looked away. I kind of forgot Levi was still there. “Huh. I like the drawing” He stated dryly. I pulled my lips into a tight line and nodded as a way of saying thanks. I hadn’t realized he had his phone out until he shoved it in my direction. “I’m into photography” he said. I took the phone gently and looked at the pictures he took of me. Each one had a different filter or was in a different angle. They actually looked like the ones you would find on Tumblr with a quote in cursive writing over it. “Wow.” I said, genuinely pleased with the pictures. Usually, I don’t like people taking pictures of me at all. People might find me attractive, but I personally dislike the way I look. I kept on swiping, looking at the pictures of me, until I swiped one pic too far. It was a picture of a girl with red hair. She looked like she was really enjoying herself on the swing. The picture was taken from a high angle, like from a tree. The girl’s smile was absolutely dazzling and she posed for the picture, sticking her tongue out and winking. Just like that, the phone was snatched away from me, it took me a while to process the fact that the phone was no longer in my hands. “oh… Um… I’m sorry about that.” I muttered. He looked down at the phone and abruptly stood up. “Uh… See you later, brat” Levi said. He walked to the door and just before he closed the door behind him, I said “It’s Eren.” ***** Chapter 6 ***** Chapter Summary This whole chapter is Levi's POV Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes “It’s Eren” I know. Brat. I walked as fast as my short legs could carry. I want to- no. I NEED to get home. But, I need my stuff. Where the hell is that shitty four- eyes!? I walked past 6 different classes, cursing myself for not paying attention when Hanji gave me a complete presentation on her schedule this semester. I opened another classroom door and poked my head in. “Sir, may I help you?” I didn’t answer. I found who I was looking for and walked straight towards her. “Young man! I am talking to you!” I paid no mind to the hollering lady and turned to Hanji. “I need my stuff.” Hanji’s face lit up for a second before turning around to get my stuff from the empty desk behind her. “Are you okay, Levi?” She asked. I nodded stiffly and said goodbye. Once I turned to make my leave, the teacher was right in front of me. “How dare you interrupt my lesson and then ignore me!?” “Tch. Put a sock in it, lady.” I swerved my way around her plump body and calmly walked out of the class, ignoring her high- pitched screaming. I walked out of the building and started walking towards my house. He saw it. He saw the picture of her. I took my phone out of my pocket and unlocked it to find the damn photo I took of her. I felt my eyes starting to sting as my thoughts wandered to yesterday morning. *Flashback* “Wow, I wonder what happened between those two.” Hanji said after Eren’s little outburst. “Hanji, that isn’t any of our business.” Erwin said. “Ugh. Fine.” Hanji said, her face dropping before she gasped and turned to me like she remembered something important. “Um… Levi?” “What is it, shitty glasses?” I asked. I was already annoyed because her way of greeting me is smashing my already broken wrists. “So… uh… about Isabel?” I turned to her. Isabel said she wanted to talk to me, but, all this summer, she didn’t have the time. “Yeah? What about her?” I asked. I hoped she was about to say that Isabel was planning on coming to talk to me, but the face Hanji made had me thinking the worst. “Sh-she… she told me to tell you…” “Spit it out already!” Hanji looked down at the floor as we entered the school grounds. “She wanted me to tell you that she’s breaking up with you, okay? She said it wasn’t working out, that she saw you more like a big brother than anything else and that you should move on.” Hanji looked back at me when she realized I had stopped walking. “How could she have done this? Why didn’t she tell me herself? That coward! Sending Hanji to tell me! As if that would make this shit better!” I thought to myself as I pushed my way between Eren and a blonde girl with shoulder length hair. I heard Hanji apologize to them for me and I made no efforts to stop. *end flashback* I took this picture a week before summer started. I was on a tree branch and Isabel was on the swing, when she saw me not-so-secretly taking a picture of her, she decided to pose for it. I turned my phone off and angrily jammed it back in my pocket. I was a few houses away from my house when I stopped walking. “What the hell is he doing here?” I asked no one in particular. Kenny’s car was parked in the drive way. He would surely kill me if he found out I skipped class. “Fuck. I have no choice but to go back to school.” I said, once again to no one in particular. “Really? I think it’s a bit too late for that.” A voice behind me said. I did an about face and found myself (Almost) face-to-face with that Eren kid. “Did you follow me, you damn brat!?” I yelled. Eren just smiled at me and said, “No, actually, I was on my way to MY house until I saw you. You looked super pissed so, as opposed to getting socked in the face, I decided to just keep my distance. Since no one else was around, I assumed you were talking to me.” He said, shrugging nonchalantly. “Wanna go to my house instead?” he asked, not waiting for my answer as he was already on his way. “You can go, or you cannot go. Either way, the back door will be open.” He said. I stood there for a while, Eren had already entered his house. I thought about it for a moment. I don’t want to go to school, but I can’t go to my own house for obvious reasons. I decided to just forget it and go to Eren’s house. Though, I hope it’s neater this time. Whatever I was expecting from this kid, my standards where apparently too high because the room was dirt again. “OI! Didn’t I clean your room yesterday?” I asked him once we entered his room. “Huh? Oh yeah. It was clean, I swear, but then I had to find something… then this happened” He said, gesturing at the contents of the closet what where now strewn across the floor. “Where are your cleaning supplies?” I asked, getting right to the point. He looked at me weirdly, then pointed to the door across the hall. “Uh… bathroom.” He said. I walked in there and took out all the bottles and found the broom. “Get up, brat, we’re cleaning this entire house.” I said. His eyes widened as he stood up off his desk. “Woah, woah, woah, hold the motherfucking phone. What do you mean we’re cleaning? We might has well have stayed at school!” He said. “Well, then. Why didn’t you?” I shot back. He went quiet for a few seconds. “I skipped school because…” I couldn’t hear him because he was mumbling. “You know what? I don’t care. Go clean the kitchen or something, I’ll take care of your room.” He slumped down and walked out the room. I turned to the mess and decided to start by picking up the dirty clothes. “Tch.” In less than twenty-four hours, this brat has already made a mess of his room. I separated his dirty clothes by color and placed them in different piles, ready to be washed. I picked up about 24 pieces of crumpled paper and threw them in the trash bin next to his desk. As I was organizing a few folders that were on his desk, a photo slipped out and landed face down on the floor. I picked it up and gasped softly. It was a picture of Eren and that tall kid that he called a “Horse-face”. Eren looked really happy in the picture that appeared to be a selfie. While the other kid looked at Eren with love- struck eyes. Eren’s eyes where shining and full of happiness and he flashed a toothy-grin, pearly white teeth that could blind someone. The “Horse-face” guy had a slight blush across his cheeks and had a shy smile on his face. Judging on how different they look from today and how Eren doesn’t have that piercing in that photo, I assume this was up to a year ago. I looked on the back of it and found some writing. “Me and Jean after our one-year anniversary.” I put the photo back where I found it and continued cleaning, that was none of my business. In less than five minutes, I was done. I heard music coming from the living room. “Hey, brother, what you thinking? Leave that old record spinning, you feel the rhythm, going. They call it lonely digging. Let's end your time to lay low, your knees a-bending, so, it's time to get up and let go. You're gonna come undone.” I didn’t recall ever hearing this song before, and I’m not much of a fan of this type of music, but the way I could hear Eren singing from the kitchen amused me. “Hey, mama, how's it going? Can't see your body moving, don't leave the party dying. They call it lonely digging. Your booty shaking, you know, your head has no right to say no, tonight it's ready, set, go” I walked towards the kitchen and stopped just at the door-frame. Eren was taking out some ingredients while swaying his hips to the beat. He used the butter knife he had in his hands as a microphone as he sang out the chorus to the lettuce and bread in front of him. “Baby can you move it round the rhythm, so we can get with 'em, to the ground and get us a rock and roll round, just a downtown body-body coming with a super-hottie, let's go, yes, no, hell no, baby, can you move it round the rhythm, ‘cause you know we're living in the fast lane, speed up, it ain't no game, just turn up all the beams when I come up on the scene.” It took me all of my will power not to laugh. Not once did he turn around, so I decided it would be a good chance to take my phone out and record him from where I was standing. He took out four pieces of sliced bread and used the butter knife to spread mayo on them, stopping occasionally to use the knife as a microphone again. “Hey, brother, what you thinking? That good ol' sound is ringing, they don't know what they're missing. They call it lonely digging. Let's end your time to lay low, your knees a-bending, so, it's time to get up and let go. Hey, brother, nice and steady, put down your drink, you ready, it's hard when things get messy. They call it lonely digging. Your booty shaking, you know, your head has no right to say no, tonight it's ready, set, go.” I could hardly contain my laughter as Eren made sandwiches while singing and dancing so ridiculously. He washed his hands and took out some cheese and ham so he could put it on the sandwiches. Then he danced while putting the sandwiches together. “Baby can you move it round the rhythm, so we can get with 'em, to the ground and get us a rock and roll round, just a downtown body-body coming with a super-hottie, let's go, yes, no, hell no, baby, can you move it round the rhythm, ‘cause you know we're living in the fast lane, speed up, it ain't no game, just turn up all the beams when I come up on the scene.” There was a long pause in the lyrics and Eren put random silly moves together, shaking his ass and throwing his hands in the air at some point. By now, I was biting my lip so hard, not laughing was becoming a problem and I had tears running down my cheeks. I held the camera pointing straight at Eren and his ridiculous presentation. “Baby can you move it round the rhythm, so we can get with 'em, to the ground and get us a rock and roll round, just a downtown body- body coming with a super-hottie, let's go, yes, no, hell no, baby can you move it round the rhythm, ‘cause you know we're living in the fast lane, speed up, it ain't no game, just turn up all the beams when I co- Oh, hey Levi! How long have you been standing there? Please tell me you didn’t just see that...” That last part came out faster than the song and Eren’s face was bright red. Oh, how I was going to ENJOY teasing Eren with this. Chapter End Notes This is it, guys, Labor Day Weekend is over. Going back to school. Which means, less time to work on this (And other) fanfics. Please forgive me! I swear, I will try my best to write as often as possible! Wish me luck with both this and my high school life! Much love~ Kuronekodarkmistress. ***** Chapter 7 ***** Chapter Summary All of this is Eren's POV Chapter Notes Guys!! I am sooo proud of myself for actually being able to complete this chapter on a Tuesday! This is the fourth day in a row that I have posted at least a chapter on. Let's see how long I can continue with this before all of my teachers start giving out homework at the same time! To be honest I had fun making this chapter and giggled to myself a couple of times. I hope you guys enjoy! See the end of the chapter for more notes Levi burst out laughing, much to my dismay. Levi let all of his laughter out and I was completely horrified. Levi was crying and his face was turning red from laughing so hard. “Oh…… my….. GOD! You. You looked so ridiculous! Ahaha!” After about five minutes, his laughter died of and was reduced to small chuckles. To be completely honest, he looked WAYYYYYYY better when he laughs than when he is all serious and acting like Mr. Grumpy. “Jesus…” he picked his phone up and pressed on something. When I looked on the screen, my blood ran cold. “W-wait! You were recording!?” I squeaked. He nodded slowly and put his phone in his pocket. “For the love of everything that’s not holy, please erase it!” I yelled. “Why should I?” He asked. “This is now, officially, one of my favorite things in the world.” He said, smile never leaving his face. I admired his smiling face for a while before returning to the kitchen. The next song came on and I heard Levi mumble distractedly to it. “I usually love sleeping all alone, this time around bring your friend with you, but we ain't really going to sleep at all, you ain't gonna catch me with them sneak pictures, in my city I'm a young God, that pussy kill be so vicious, my God white, he in my pocket, he get me redder than the devil 'til I go nauseous” I didn’t really hate that song, but I didn’t like it either. It was just one of those songs you sing along to just for the hell of it. I listen to a variety of songs and genres, but I am more interested in rock, rap, and k-pop. Levi looked kind of cute while he was mumbling to the song. I didn’t realize I was staring again until Levi looked at me “What?” he asked. I shook my head and turned back to the sandwiches. “You wanna eat? We left school during lunch and I didn’t get to eat breakfast this morning.” he nodded and sat down on the table. The music was still on in the background and I started singing out loud to it, too. “Ask me if I do this every day, I said, ‘Often’, ask how many times she rode the wave—‘Not so often’, bitches down to do it either way, often, baby I can make that pussy rain, often, often, often, girl I do this often, make that pussy popping, do it how I want it, often, often, girl I do this often, make that pussy popping, do it how I want it, often” I poured us some orange juice and sat down. By this time, Levi started mumbling the song along with me, though, I was singing more enthusiastically. I finished off my sandwich and stood up to make myself another one. I started to dance again, but not in a silly way like before. I was singing at the food again, not caring if Levi saw me or not. Music does that to me sometimes. “Infatuated by the fame status, she wanna ride inside the G-Class grey ‘matic, I come around, she leave that nigga like he ain't matter, that girl been drinking all day, need to change bladder, she's just happy that the crew back in town, she's 'bout to go downtown for a whole hour, if I had her, you can have her, man it don't matter, I'm never sour, I'm just smoking somethin' much louder, ask me if I do this every day, I said, ‘Often’, ask how many times she rode the wave—‘Not so often’, bitches down to do it either way, often, baby I can make that pussy rain, often, often, often, girl I do this often, make that pussy popping, do it how I want it, often, often, girl I do this often, make that pussy popping, do it how I want it, often.” My hips were swaying to the beat again and I saw Levi staring. I pretended not to notice. For some unknown reason. I sat back down and started eating. Levi started to sing little louder as he finished his sandwich. “Oh, the sun's rising up, the night's almost up, the night's almost done, but I see your eyes, you wanna go again, girl, I'll go again, girl, I'll go again.” I smiled at him and sang with him. “Ask me if I do this every day, I said, ‘Often’, ask how many times she rode the wave—‘Not so often’, bitches down to do it either way, often, baby I can make that pussy rain, often, often, often, girl I do this often, make that pussy popping, do it how I want it, often, often, girl I do this often, make that pussy popping, do it how I want it, often.” With that, the song ended and we were left with silence before a Japanese rock song came on. I finished my food and took the dirty dishes to the sink. “Hey, Eren.” I turned to Levi, who was standing at the entrance of the kitchen. “Where’s the washing machine?” He asked. I walked out of the kitchen and prompted him to follow me to the room next to mine. It was small, barely enough room the machines and a small child. Levi got my dirty clothes from my room on the way. “Where’s the soap?” He asked. I pointed behind me and turned to get it from its little corner. No matter how much I struggled, I just couldn’t get it. I decided to bend down a bit in order to get it. It was like the damn bottle was scooting away from me every time I got closer. “Hold. On. A. Second…” I bent down further and shuffled a bit around, forgetting that Levi was pressed against me. I felt a pair of hands on my waist. “Stop moving.” He ordered. “Hold on, I just want to…” He gripped on my waist tighter, “I said stop.” He growled. I didn’t understand, wasn’t he the one who wanted the damn soap? Why doesn’t he want me to get it? When I stood back up, the answer was evident. Though Levi was looking away, I could see the slight blush spread across his face and I finally figured out what was poking my thigh. I chuckled softly when I heard him mutter, “Kill me now.” “Um… I’m gonna get out now.” I squeaked. I sounded pitiful, even to me. I tried to squeeze between him and the machine in order to get out of the tiny room. “ack… uh… excuse me… ugh…” I cursed myself for trying to move because now, I was lodged between the machine and Levi’s awkward boner poking my butt. “I am so, so, sorry, Levi” I whispered. I tried to wiggle free, but that only proved to make this even more awkward for the both of us. “Just. Stop moving, you damn brat.” He whispered harshly. “Sorry.” I whispered, too. “Why are we whispering?” I asked. Levi didn’t speak as he tried to get away, too. Then, we both froze. The front door unlocked and I could hear someone slam the door. Oh shit, it’s all over. Dad is here. “EREN!” someone yelled. Wait. That isn’t dad. That. Is. MIKASA! Now we really are dead. There is no way out of this. I closed my eyes and braced myself for this. Mikasa’s footsteps came closer and closer down the hall until it came to a full stop. My eyes where still closed. This is it. I’m done for. “EREN FUCKING JAEGER WHAT IN THE FUCKING HELL ARE YOU DOING!?” I felt Mikasa’s rough hands yank me from my awkward onto the hall way floor. She stood over me as I was still on the floor, I could practically see the smoke coming out of her ears. “I was worried out of my god-for-fucking-saken mind during lunch because my stupid brother decided to skip school, come home, and fuck our front door neighbor in our laundry room! What the fuck, Eren!? I would have thought you had better sense than that! Armin, Jean and I came looking for you while the rest of the group stayed at school in case you came back! We even went to the park before we came here!” Wait. Jean came, too? “W-where’s Armin and Jean?” I asked, voice small and terrified. She jabbed her thumb behind her and just as I thought, Armin and Jean where right there. Both of them looked at me, an unreadable expression on their faces. “W-wait! We weren’t fucking!” I yelled in such a way that they couldn’t have believed me. I turned to look at Levi, he was staring down at the floor, his face was fifty shades of red, plus a bruise on his cheek. “We weren’t fucking. We were trying to get the motherfucking soap, then Eren and I got into an awkward position as we tried to get away from each other. And… yeah…” Levi said this in such a quiet and calm voice, much better what when I tried to explain. Armin looked at me and smiled. “I’m just glad you’re alright.” He said. God, I swear this human is too fucking cute! Jean looked at me and gave me one of his famous cocky smiles. “So, Eren. I didn’t know you were dating the football captain.” My immediate reaction was to flinch away from Levi like I just realized he was a bag full of insects. A short bag full of insects. “N-No it’s not like that! We were just bored so we came to my house and then we started cleaning, and then I was dancing and then I made some sandwiches and then we were gonna do the laundry, why would you think we’re dating? That is such a ridiculous idea! I mean, I just met him. What is wrong with you?” It all came out in a flurry of words, which only further amused Jean. “Alright, calm down, I’m just glad you didn’t kill yourself.” He said. “Cleaning?” Armin asked. Mikasa turned to me, with a less dangerous look in her eyes. “Dancing?” She asked, while ATTEMPTING (Emphasis on attempting) to lift an eyebrow. Levi snorted and took out his phone. “Oh, you have GOT to see this.” He said. He put the phone out for everyone to see. Jean, Armin, and Mikasa gathered around Levi to see the video. When Levi pressed play, the song immediately filled the hall. “Hey, brother, what you thinking? That good ol' sound is ringing, they don't know what they're missing. They call it lonely digging. Let's end your time to lay low, your knees a-bending, so, it's time to get up and let go. Hey, brother, nice and steady, put down your drink, you ready, it's hard when things get messy. They call it lonely digging. Your booty shaking, you know, your head has no right to say no, tonight it's ready, set, go.” I could hear Levi trying not to laugh loudly in the video. I kept on singing to the food in front of me, using the butter knife as a microphone. I washed my hands and took out some cheese and ham while dancing ridiculously. Oh, god. Was that ME singing? I sounded terrible! “Baby can you move it round the rhythm, so we can get with 'em, to the ground and get us a rock and roll round, just a downtown body-body coming with a super-hottie, let's go, yes, no, hell no, baby, can you move it round the rhythm, ‘cause you know we're living in the fast lane, speed up, it ain't no game, just turn up all the beams when I come up on the scene.” There was a long pause in the lyrics and I was dancing like an overly drunk guy at a club, shaking my ass and throwing my hands in the air. The camera shifted a bit, signaling Levi’s struggle on trying not to laugh or be heard. I just wanted to die right then and there. “Baby can you move it round the rhythm, so we can get with 'em, to the ground and get us a rock and roll round, just a downtown body-body coming with a super-hottie, let's go, yes, no, hell no, baby can you move it round the rhythm, ‘cause you know we're living in the fast lane, speed up, it ain't no game, just turn up all the beams when I co- Oh, hey Levi! How long have you been standing there? Please tell me you didn’t just see that...” That was when I finally saw Levi standing there with a face full of tears. He stopped the video at the part where Levi was laughing uncontrollably (cute). Armin giggled, Jean laughed as hard as Levi did, and Mikasa…. Well, Mikasa had a nosebleed. Mikasa turned to Levi and begged him to send her the video, so did Jean and Armin. “Guys! Erase the video!” I begged them. Each of them exchanged numbers in order to send the video. Eventually, Mikasa sent it to me. “That way, if we don’t show it to you 24/7, you can do it yourself. I swear, there were flower petals, sunrays, and bunnies coming off of Mikasa (And yes, she still had a nosebleed). I swear, she is so much like the fan girls in an anime I watched. “Eren, we’re going back to school.” Mikasa said, grabbing my arm. I knew I had no choice, even though she was younger than me. “You, too” She said, pointing at Levi. Levi’s eyes widened. “Why is a freshman telling a junior what to do?” He asked, clearly annoyed. “Well, its not like I’m gonna let you stay alone at our house.” She said in a dangerous tone. Levi and Mikasa seemed to have a deadly stare down until I cut in. “Alright, he’ll come with us. By the time we get to school, it will be fifth period, we can slip inside while we’re changing classes.” I really didn’t need any dead bodies in my house. Levi and Mikasa both looked at me then relaxed. “Hmph.” “Tch.” That was as much reaction I was gonna get from them. We all walked out of my house and back to school. Much like I had predicted, everyone was switching to their fifth period. Which meant, Jean and I had Art, Armin had Chemistry, Mikasa had PE, and Levi… I don’t know. Everyone said goodbye and we each went on our way. “I guess this was the end of Levi and I’s little adventure.” Chapter End Notes Please comment if you liked it, if you didn't, why or why not, or if you have any requests or suggestions! I am all ears (technically all eyes, but you know what I mean). And I was wondering, I know this is a Ereri fic, but I want to know if you guys want me to add an awkward/smutty/fluffy scene with Jean and Eren? Yay or neigh? (Note: not all at the same time) Also, my best friend reads the chapters before I post them and sometimes she changes some things. She wanted an Erejean moment, but I wanna ask y'all first. Much love~ Kuronekodarkmistress<3 P.S the song from the last chapter was "Lone Digger" by Caravan Place, the other one was "Often" by The Weeknd. ***** Chapter 8 ***** Chapter Summary It starts out as Jean's POV... this is just a filler chapter. I really hope the next chapter is when things get interesting. Not smutty, just a pinch interesting. Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes “I guess this was the end of Levi and I’s little adventure.” I wondered what Eren and Levi were REALLY doing. I chuckled a bit when I remembered the video, Levi sure was lucky enough to see that in person. “What are you laughing at?” Eren interrupted my thinking. I turned to look down at him, he was just a bit shorter than me. “Nothing, ye hobo.” I muttered, not seriously though. Eren flashed one of his famous smiles, “Alright, horse-face.” He said before walking inside the class. I didn’t know why I had art, I mean, I would much rather play football than draw some stupid flowers. I took my seat next to Connie. “Hey guys, what took you so long?” Connie asked in a hushed whisper. “Eren was at his house with Levi, that’s why we didn’t come back earlier. The teacher came in and sat down on a stool next to the board. “Okay, students! Today, I’m going to have you all do a drawing exercise so that I can see how far along you are!” This lady was as happy as Eren. I don’t know how they do it, but every day, they seem so happy, sunrays might as well be shooting out of their ass. “I will be pairing each of you up, then I will tell you what your assignment will be.” She took out her roster and called out two random names at a time. Connie got paired up with this girl with curly blonde hair, I think her name was… Kimberly? Anyways, she was the type of girl to show too much cleavage and too much leg to be appropriate. At the end, there were only four names left. Eren, Silvia, Anthony, and me. “Alright, next, it’s Silvia and Anthony… and then, Eren and Jean. Everyone, you may move around in order to sit next to your partner.” The class buzzed with movement and chatter, after about 2 minutes, everyone was with their assigned partner. “Okay, your assignment for today will be to draw a portrait of your partner. It does not have to be perfect, or detailed, or an exact replica. However, stick figures are not allowed, and you must turn in at least SOMETHING in order to get a grade for today. I expect my high school students to be mature about this and to try their best. Have fun!” With that, she went to her desk and sat down to grade what I assume to be her previous classes’ work. “Hey, Jean, mind if I go first?” Eren asked. I swear, Eren’s smiles light up an entire house for days. “Uh, sure… knock yourself out” He gently put his hands on my shoulders and motioned for me to sit facing him. Then, he put his (incredibly) soft hands on my face to straighten it up. “Now, make a face, any face.” I decided to give him the warmest smile I thought was possible for me, instead of my usual cocky self. Eren paused for a moment when I smiled, then he shook his head slightly and grabbed his drawing pad. He started out with a light circle and a triangle, much like he starts with all of his drawings. He made a simple outline of eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Then, he drew some ears. After that, he drew some light sketches of my hair. He looked up to see my face, concentrated emerald eyes bored into my own honey-brown ones. He looked back down and proceeded to draw my eyes. Eren had managed to draw every detail, every last lash on my eyes. He looked at my face again, this time, concentrating on my nose. He drew very little lines, letting the shading take the effect. He erased a few times and gave a few frustrated huffs before moving on to my mouth. His eyes lingered at my mouth for a moment and I could’ve sworn he licked his lips. He furrowed his eyebrows a bit in concentration and started drawing my mouth. In five minutes, he was done. I took the paper from his hands and looked at it. I was amazed. In no longer than 15 minutes, he had drawn my face and shoulders. “Wow…. This is… this is really good.” I whispered as I continued to marvel at the drawing. Of course I had seen him draw before, hell, he even made me pose for him once. But he seriously outdid himself this time. Eren smiled once more and then shoved the drawing pad towards me. “Your turn!” He said, giggling (Adorably). “Oh no.” I groaned. Levi’s POV: “It’s nice of you to join us, Ackerman.” Coach Jackson said. “Sorry I’m late, Coach Jack, I had some stuff I had to take care of.” I said, hoping Coach Jackson would brush it off and continue with our training. “You know, Ackerman, I’m sure the freshmen would be glad to have you show them what they will be doing in our class.” Coach Jack snickered. He knew I hated working with freshmen, and considering I am football captain, it is mandatory for me to be here. Tch. “Why don’t you lead their training?” Coach Jack said, motioning for me to walk in front of the freshmen. “Tch.” I turned to look at Coach Jackson, a scowl quickly appearing on my face. “Now, now, Ackerman, all you have to do is show them our day-to-day routine. I sighed before turning back to the all-too-eager looking group. I got down on my hands and started off with twenty simple push-ups. I heard the girls giggle with their too high voices. “Tch.” When I finished, I rolled over on my back and did 20 sit ups. Man, these girls giggle too much. I stood up and did 10 jumping lunges, 4 knee tucks, 4 high jumps, 40 air punches, 10 lunge kicks, and 10 turning locks. I paused for a moment to wipe some sweat off my brow before going back down on my hands. I did 10 climber taps, 10 leg raises, and 8 leg-raised push-ups. When I got back up, Coach Jack laughed and patted my shoulder. “It seems you haven’t lost your touch, Ackerman. Today, you will take care of the girls for me. Go to the other side of the gym and show them the girl workout.” This was pure torture. Now, I have to work with high-pitched, giggling, hormone crazy girls trying to flirt with me in any way possible. Be it appropriate or not. I whistled and motioned them to follow me. Once we were far away enough from the boys, I turned to the girls. “Alright, I will demonstrate your routine. Obviously, you all won’t be able to finish it today, so just do as much as you can handle. I don’t need nor do I want to carry any of you. Now get into groups of 5 and no talking. Your voice frequencies are so high only animals should be able to hear.” I muttered. The girls instantly shut up and looked at me with wide eyes. “To begin, you will do 20 sit ups. Or however many you can handle. Then, you will do 30 second planks. You all should be able to handle that, considering you cling on to your boyfriends for hours on ends.” Some girls at the back giggled, making me turn to look at them. A girl wearing a short skirt, tank top, and painfully obvious extensions was talking obnoxiously loud with another girl who was trying hard to get her to shut up. “You.” I pointed at her, her eyes widened and she popped her gum loudly. “M- me?” She asked, her voice squeaky. “No, the wall behind you” I said as sarcastically as humanely possible. She squealed and walked sexily (Or she tried to, anyway) to me. I cupped her face with my hands and looked straight into her eyes, luckily she was as tall as I was. Her face was visibly red and I could see everything much clearer. Damn. Fake lips, fake lashes, fake hair, fake nose, fake body, fake nails, what was she? A Barbie representative? “Listen to what I have to say very closely.” I said in the huskiest voice I could manage. I could just imagine the disgusting fantasies going through her mind. “Get your fake self out of the clouds and pay attention because I will make sure you sweat so much, all of your fake body parts will come off. Am I clear?” I asked. Her eyes widened even more and her lip quivered. I let go of her face and she scurried back to her place, looking down the whole time. “Tch.” I was honestly proud of myself. “Alright, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted.” I glared at the girl, “you will do 40 Russian twists, 15 jack knife sit-ups, another 30 second planks, 40 oblique crunches, 25 vertical leg crunches, 30 second side planks on each side, 40 crunches, and 30 scissor kicks.” When I finished, I noticed a girl at the front of the line looked very familiar. “Mikasa.” She looked up at me. “Come and demonstrate to your classmates how it all goes.” I should have known something was up when I saw her smile. “Gladly” she responded. Eren’s POV: I could hardly contain my laughter as Jean miserably failed at trying to draw me. “Shut up, Jaeger!” Jean whisper yelled. We had already been called out 4 times for making noise, one more and we’re out. “Jean, I think it would be easier if-““I said shut up… I want to do this by myself.” He ripped the paper and took out another one. “Wait…” he said. “I’m waiting…” I answered. He looked up to glare at me. “Sorry, force of habit.” I answered with a shrug. Jean raised his hand. “Does the drawing have to be a realistic version or can it be cartoon like?” He asked. I then realized what his plan was. Last year, I practically forced him to take art lessons with me for a week, he learned how to draw manga-style because he couldn’t draw as advanced as the rest of the class. “Yeah, I guess that would be alright. Just remember, no stick figures.” She said. With that, Jean turned to me, his face more cheerful. He cupped my face with his hand. “There, don’t move.” “Alright.” With that, he started to draw a manga version of me. To be completely honest, it looked pretty good. (For his standards). It was better than what I expected. Soon, the bell rang and each of us turned in our work. “Alright, see you later, Jean” I said with a small wave. Jean grunted in response and walked to his last period class. I took out my phone and realized a whole bunch of my friends texted me during class. Much to my despair, they were texts about the damn video. Of course, Jean sent it to all of our friends. “JEAN KIRSTEIN!!” I yelled. From across the hall, Jean turned to look at me and I could have sworn he smirked. “I am going to murder him.” I said as I walked into my English 2 class. “Ah, Eren, how nice of you to grace us with your presence.” The teacher said so sarcastically I didn’t think it was humanely possible. I bit back an equally sarcastic response and shoved it down my throat. “Hello, Mr. Washington.” I said, making sure to give him one of my best smiles. “Go sit down, Eren.” He said, annoyed by my cheerfulness. “Today, before I start my class, I have to pass out these papers.” He started, giving each student a blue sheet of paper. “You will choose at least one afterschool activity in order to pass this semester. Now, you have a choice as to whether you join this class, get your paper signed, and then quit, or you may stay in it. But you have to turn in the papers to me, or else this semester’s credits will not be valid. Understand?” He asked, turning to me for some unknown reason. “Yes, sir.” The class chorused. I took a look at the sheet of paper and automatically saw something that spiked my interest: Arts and Photography. “I can totally join this.” I whispered to myself. There was another club I could join: the Brainiacs Club. I checked the box for those two and signed the paper. When I turned it in, Mr. Washington looked it over and raised his eyebrows. “So you into arts or are you just doing it to save your grades?” He asked. “Um… I am actually into arts.” I answered. Mr. Washington looked like he didn’t believe me. “Okay, everyone, turn in your papers and let’s begin class.” I was in for the most boring class session in the world. Levi’s POV: Wow. I was wrong. Completely wrong. When I called Mikasa out to do the routine, she did everything without a single problem. After class, I could hear how the girls, save for Mikasa, were talking about hot I am and what not. To be honest, it was disgusting how I could get any girl out there, but the good ones never stay. I walked out of the gym and got to my last period class. The one class I actually look forward to, English 3. “Ah, there he is. Mr. Levi Ackerman.” Ms. Adams said. She is one of those teachers that are pretty laid back about everything. “Hey Ms.” I said. She always says it’s okay for us to call her by Katherine, but I just don’t want to. “Just have a seat, pumpkin, and grab one of those blue papers.” I did as I was told and took my seat next to Hanji. “Hey, shorty, you alright? You scared me and Erwin this morning.” “Shut it, four eyes.” I mumbled, not being serious at all. “Yep, he’s back” Hanji said to herself more than anything. “Okay, my sweets, before we start, I have to tell you guys something very important.” She started, taking out a lollipop from her desk. “In order to get credits for this semester, each of you have to join a club. Now, before you start getting mad at me, all English classes have to do this by order of Pixis himself. Alright? I don’t care if you actually participate or not, but just give me the signed papers.” The class erupted in a chatter, everyone trying to figure out what to sign up for. None of the choices really interested me, except for the last one: Arts and photography. Hanji turned to me, I could practically hear her exited chatter. “Oh, Levi! There are so many clubs I could join! For example, the science club, the math club, the book club, the chemistry club, the biology club, the robotics club, the technology club, the brainiacs club, th-“ I stopped paying attention and started filling out my form. “Alright class, turn in your papers and feel free to grab a snack on your way.” She said, pointing to a box next to her desk. She is always hungry and feels bad if she eats and nobody else does, so she buys snacks for the whole class, as long as we clean up. I went to drop off my paper and decided to get myself a bag of mini Oreo’s. “Aww, are you gonna share some of those?” Hanji said, pointing at my Oreo’s. “Like hell I am, woman.” I muttered. Either way I ended up sharing. I can’t wait to go to the club. Maybe it will be a way for me to stay away from that damn brat (Eren). Chapter End Notes GUYYYYYSSSS!!! This is (literally) the worst chapter I have ever written! I really apologize for taking longer than I usually do. I swear I will try my hardest! And guess what? One of my teachers looked at my grades and figured out that I am a Gifted/Talented student, so now I have to take ALL AP classes and that means more homework, less sleep, and more tears. But, hey, I get to go to a better college for free, right? RIGHT? Anyways, I will be pretty much trying to figure out my new schedule all say tomorrow and hopefully the teachers are nice and don't give me a lot of homework. I will be working to make a better chapter and I think I will be posting every two to three days (Maybe every week) depending on how much time I have away from high school. Much love~ Kuronekodarkmistress<3 ***** Chapter 9 ***** Chapter Summary Sorry for taking long, I have become extremely busy, so I did this between classes and during lunch. I hope you enjoy! I will post as soon as possible next time, I promise! Much love~ kuronekodarkmistress<3 Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes Eren’s POV: “… And that, my dear students, is how you write a vignette. Your homework assignment is to write a one page long vignette, due tomorrow. Alright?” The whole class groaned as this is the only teacher to give homework on the first week of school. Let alone the second day. “Yes, sir.” We all answered. Just then, the bell rang and I stood up to leave. “Oh no you don’t, Mr. Jaeger. The bell doesn’t dismiss you, I do.” He said. I plopped myself back on my chair, as did the rest of the class. “If the bell doesn’t decide when I leave, then it doesn’t decide when I come in.” I muttered. A few of the girls at my table giggled. “Is that so, Mr. Jaeger? How about you meet me tomorrow for detention and see just how much of that is true?” Mr. Washington said, scowling down at me. “Nah, you’re good, Mr. Washington. I know you’re lonely, but making me stay here with you isn’t going to help you feel any better.” I answered with the most innocent look I could give him. He blinked twice before telling us to piss off. Just for the record, I have lunch detention with him tomorrow. I made my way to class 332 for the Braniacs club. I walked in to find Armin sitting in a corner away from the group of people at the front desk. “Hey, Armin.” I said. Armin looked up at me and his eyes seemed to sparkle. “Hey, Eren. I had a feeling I would see you here.” He said with a smile. “Uh, yeah. So what you doing here all by yourself?” I asked. He shrugged nonchalantly and looked back down at his chemistry book. “I already filled out the paperwork, by the way, you have to go sign in at the desk over there.” He said. I went and did as I was told. When I signed in, a very cheerful brunette shoved a sheet of paper to me. “This is a mini-quiz of the basics. If you pass this, you can stay, if not… then I don’t know why you signed up. My name’s Hanji, by the way!” I smiled her and then I remembered her from yesterday morning. “Okay? I’ll get on it.” I said, taking the paper and sitting next to Armin. “This is pretty simple…” I said as I answered all the questions without much thought. I stood up to give Hanji the paper. She read over the paper and her eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets. “This is great! You are the only one who has gotten all of them correct!” she shrieked. I shoved my glasses up and absentmindedly played with my lip piercing. “Um, thanks?” I said. “Oh, you have to go to tournaments with us! We could use someone with your brain!” She exclaimed, tapping the side of my head with the pads of her fingers. I nodded slowly and sat back down. “Woah, dude! You got a perfect score?” Armin asked. I nodded again. “Lucky, I got 8/10. I guessed on the last two.” He said. I laughed at his reaction, I am one of the smartest kids in my grade, of course. For about forty minutes, we all talked about the different experiments, tests, competitions and what not. I checked my watch and jumped out my seat. “Holy shit! I have to go to the Art and Photography club now!’ I yelled, more to myself than anyone else. Just as I was leaving the class, I heard Hanji scream, undoubtedly happy, “See you tomorrow, Eren!” I wanted to go back and ask her how she knew my name, but then I remembered I wrote it down on the quiz paper. Levi’s POV: I sat here in the Arts and Photography club and looked over the photos last year’s members took. “Tch.” Some of these weren’t even focused right. Others didn’t have the right filters. There was one where I couldn’t even tell what is was supposed to be. I could hear the not-so-hushed whispers of the other people in the room. ‘Is that Levi?’ ‘I didn’t know he was into photography.’ ‘He’s so cool’ ‘Why is the captain of the football team here?’ ‘Maybe he was forced’ ‘It doesn’t matter, I’m just happy he’s here’ ‘doesn’t he have a girlfriend?’ ‘I hope he doesn’t, I would be devastated.’ ‘A lot of girls like him, but he pushes them away’ I hated how thy always talked about me that way. I wasn’t interested in anyone at all. I have been hurt enough. “Sorry I’m late! I am in two clubs at once!” Said a familiar voice. I froze. Oh no. Why? This kid is going to get me in trouble so many times and now he just so happens to be in the same club as me? “Oh, hi, Levi” Said the voice. “Hi, Eren.” I said, trying to hide the bitterness in my voice. He sat next to me and listened to the girl in charge tell us about what we will be doing here. I already heard the first time so I tuned out. I looked at all of the people looking at the girl at the front of the line and seemed very concentrated on her words. I slipped out of my seat and went to the side to take a picture of them. I grabbed one of the professional cameras provided by the school (Which were pretty great) and took the picture. I forgot about the flash and everyone turned to look at me. The girl gave me a look saying ‘the fuck, dude?’ I shrugged and sat back down and looked at my photograph. It was one of those candid moments that you can’t just fake, no matter how hard you try. It would be perfect for a cover of a text book or something of that nature. Eren turned to me and took the photograph from my hand. “Wow, this is a really great picture…” He whispered, his eyes seemed to glisten in the light coming from the window. I took a picture of him, the light flashed again and he looked up. “Did you just take a picture of me looking at the picture?” He asked. “No” I answered sarcastically. He chuckled and looked at the photograph of himself. The girl at the front of the class was done with her boring speech and went on with the first club activity. For the rest of the time being, I could see other students glance up to look at us now and then. Whispering, gossiping, and asking each other questions. ‘What is Captain Ackerman doing with that kid?’ ‘Are they close?’ ‘Isn’t he that Eren Yeager kid?’ ‘You mean that smart one that aced all the test last year?’ ‘Yeah, he is so smart, a lot of people always beg him to give them lessons, but he refuses.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Who knows, I don’t think anyone has ever been to his house since his mom died.’ ‘Oh.’ Wait. His mom died? I didn’t know that. Wow, I know how that feels. I really hate it when people gossip, especially over me. Oh well, the only thing I can really do to make them shut up temporarily is give them one of my glares. “Alright, see you all tomorrow!” The leader exclaimed, releasing us to do whatever it is we have to do. “Bye, Levi.” Eren said cheerfully before walking away. I’m guessing he went to go find Mikasa, so I left on my way back home. As I was walking out of the building, I saw someone walk up to me. “Hey, Cap’n!” Someone hollered. I turned to find Reiner and Bertholdt. “Hi.” I answered in my famous monotone voice. “We are having another party on Friday.” Reiner announced, pushing his friend towards me. “A-are you going to come?” He asked timidly, almost pathetically. “Tch. It’s not like I have anything better to do.” I answered, immediately, his face lit up. “Okay! See you then!” Reiner yelled before walking away. “Tch.” Eren’s POV: I walked around aimlessly, pondering over the possible places Mikasa could possibly have run off to. Jesus, how hard is it to find someone who never dwells farther than 10 feet from me? I walked around some more until I found myself in front of the girls’ restroom. Just as I was going to walk into one of the halls, Mikasa came out of the restroom. “Eren.” She said. I turned around and flashed her a smile. “There you are, my activities are over, and we can go now.” I said to her. She nodded once and walked ahead, “good, I thought I was going to die of boredom.” She muttered. I stifled a laugh and walked behind her. I swear, this girl is something else. *time skip* “Ah, finally, today is Friday!” Connie exclaimed as he pulled Sasha closer to him. “Yes, what are you guys doing tonight?” She asked, allowing herself to get pulled. “Well, there is this party the upperclassmen are throwing, I hear everyone is invited.” Jean said. “Oh yeah, I heard about that party, too. It’s gonna be at Bertholdt’s house.” I commented. “We should all go.” Marco chimed in. “Yeah, it will be fun.” Ymir added. “A party would be nice…” Annie stated. “I’ll go if you all go.” Armin stated. I turned to look at them and almost doubled over laughing when I saw that they were holding hands. “I’m cool with a party, too.” I said. In just a matter of minutes, the whole group had agreed to go to the party. We were all meeting at Sasha’s house at 7. Everyone said their goodbyes and went on their separate ways. “Mikasa, what are you going to wear?” I asked as we entered our house. Usually, when Mikasa and I go to parties, we go in matching outfits. I guess we are used to it since my mom used to dress us up for our parties when we were little, it is now a habit, I guess. “I’m gonna wear my black dress and my scarf.” She answered, making her way to the shower. I nodded and went to our room. I took out my black jeans, black and red flannel, and my converse. “I guess this would be alright” I muttered to no one in particular. In less than an hour, we were all dressed up. I decided that, since there was about an hour and a half left before we had to leave, that I would draw something. Mikasa practiced her piano and sang while I drew. “London Bridge is broken down, broken down, broken down. London Bridge is broken down, my fair lady.” She started. I smiled, I have heard this song countless times and again. It was always so soothing, I will never get tired of hearing it, especially when Mikasa sings it. It seems we both are full of talents. She is great at sports, singing, and playing the piano. I am great at art and have exemplary grades, though, common sense isn’t so common within me, and I sort of have anger issues and am know as a 'suicidal bastard'. I started thinking about Armin. Armin was more of a technical smart. He was tactical, and always a plan for everything. He once told me that he purposely gets lower grades in class because he doesn’t like the attention it brings him. I will never understand that guy. “Build it up with wood and clay, wood and clay, wood and clay, build it up with wood and clay, my fair lady.” Mikasa continued. I was trying to figure out what to draw, I started to think of random ideas in order to find inspiration, but nothing worked. I looked up to see a very much concentrated Mikasa. I decided to draw her on the piano. I started with a simple stick figure sitting on a bench with their arms folded in a table. I looked up at Mikasa again. “Wood and clay will wash away, wash away, wash away, wood and clay will wash away, my fair lady.” I drew an outline of her body, making sure to give detail to her skinny, yet slightly firm figure. I drew her in an elegant dress, rather than that party one. I topped off the outfit with a scarf that looks like it’s blowing in the wind. I looked back at Mikasa, who was still singing with a smile on her face. “Build it up with bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar, build it up with bricks and mortar, my fair lady”. I drew her face on the oval. Soft, dark, doe eyes that dwelled with slight concern at all times. “Bricks and mortar will not stay, will not stay, will not stay, bricks and mortar will not stay, my fair lady.” Small, upturned, and slightly pink nose. “Build it up with iron and steel, iron and steel, iron and steel, build it up with iron and steel, my fair lady.” Thin, delicate eyebrows, pinched together as she tried to find the right key to sing in. “Iron and steel will bend and bow, bend and bow, bend and bow, iron and steel will bend and bow, my fair lady.” The soft pink hue of her cheeks, somehow giving proof of life. “Build it up with silver and gold, silver and gold, silver and gold, build it up with silver and gold, my fair lady.” I drew her thin, soft, pink lips that formed an ‘o’ shape as she sang with ‘tall vowels’ as she calls it. I looked back up at Mikasa. “Silver and gold will be stolen away, stolen away, stolen away, silver and gold will be stolen away, my fair lady.” I drew her long, black, silky hair in delicate wisps that flowed in the same direction as the scarf. ”Set a man to watch all night, watch all night, watch all night, set a man to watch all night, my fair lady.” I looked at the drawing and back at Mikasa, utterly pleased with myself. Mikasa was engulfed in her music, I found it amusing. I realized how much I cared for Mikasa. With her, I felt more than love. It was more than friendship, lovers, and family. It was the type of love that couldn’t be obtained. I suddenly felt a pang in my chest. An all-too-sudden feeling that something was terribly wrong, or that something bad was going to happen. I don’t know why, but it was the type of feeling that hits your chest, and no matter how hard you try to ignore it, it always lingers at the pit of your stomach. Nagging at you at times and again. “Eren, is something wrong?” a voice interrupted my train of thought. I looked up to see Mikasa looking at me with concern stitched to her facial features. I shook my head and smiled, “Nah, just thinking.” I said. We both realized that we should be heading to Sasha’s house, so we went on our way, the ever-so-persistent bad feeling lurking in the back of my mind, growing slowly as we approached Sasha’s house. I wonder what could possibly go wrong today… Chapter End Notes I am so sorry I left it at a cliffhanger, but I will tell you this, get ready for the next chapter because you might or might not feel some feels.... 'kay? Anyways, you know I am always up for suggestions, please, make yourself known, comment if you have anything you think will make this story better, tell me if you don't like something. Or if you just want me to include a random short story between the chapters... (It can be about anything) I am open for negative or positive feedback. anyways, thanks for reading this far! Much love~ kuronekodarkmistress<3 ***** Chapter 10 ***** Chapter Summary This starts out as Eren's POV Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes “Calm down, Eren, you’re just nervous.” Connie said. “Yeah, what’s the worst that could happen? It’s just a party.” Jean said. I took a deep breath. “I don’t know about this guys, but I’ll go with you guys.” Armin patted my back and we all left in different cars. Mikasa and I went with Annie and Armin in his grandfather’s pick-up truck. Sasha, Connie, Ymir and Krista went in Ymir’s car. And finally, Marco and Jean went in Jean’s motorcycle. Once we arrived to the party, we all went our separate ways, each finding others to mingle with. Mikasa said she really had to use the restroom, so I walked with her through the crowd of people that were sweaty, dancing, possibly drunk… or high… or both. Mikasa had a death grip on my hand, as if I was going to be swept away if she wasn’t careful. And the way people were trying to drag me into an uncoordinated dance, I thought it was highly possible. We made it through the crowd (Not before Mikasa and I almost lost a few articles of clothing) and made our way to the back of the house, where we assumed the bathroom was. “You wait here, and don’t drink anything unless it comes from a CLOSED bottle or can” Mikasa said before rushing off to the (Thankfully) empty restroom. I stood there, guarding the wall, as many people passed by. There were all kinds of people at this party. Shy people that have no business being here and are obviously only here because they were threatened by their friends. Popular kids who you would see in literary any party you go to. You see the crack heads trying to have a heated conversation with impaired’ friends. Then, you have your ‘innocent little lambs’ who have never been to a high school party in their lives. After that, the mini-whores and mini-sluts who might as well be naked here. Occasionally, there is this one adult that is looking at the younger teenagers in the most inappropriate of ways. “You waiting on someone, too?” Said a girl that was a human representation of a delicate, beautiful china doll. “Yeah” I answered. She was so pretty, I didn’t think it was possible for a human being. She had long, curly, dark brown hair that was pulled into cute pigtails with bangs covering her eyebrows. She had big, brown, puppy-dog eyes that could easily persuade you to give her all of your life savings. A cute, small nose with freckles decorating her cheeks like tiny chocolate sprinkles. She also had maroon tinted, full, pouty lips that makes her face look that much kissable. “I’m waiting for Michael right now. I’m Mackenzie, but you can call me Mac, and you are?” She held her tiny hand out and I engulfed it in my own hand. “I’m waiting for my sister, Mikasa and my name is Eren.” She nodded slightly. “I’ve seen you around, I’m in your last period class with Mr. Washington.” She said, I could hardly hear her over the loud music blaring behind us. We talked for a few more minutes about how we both had gotten really annoyed with our last period teacher in more than one occasion before Mikasa and a guy who I assumed to be Michael showed up. “Hey, babe.” He called out to Mac. She offered him a warm smile and he wrapped her in a bear hug. “Who’re those two?” He asked, glaring at me specifically. “Oh, babe, meet Eren, and I think that’s his sister Mikasa.” Mac said. I raised both my arms up defensively to show that I wasn’t intending to do anything with his girlfriend. He still didn’t seem convinced and wrapped a protective arm around his short girlfriend’s waist. “Michael, could you get me some soda?” Mac asked the guy, he gave me a look that I guess was a warning before he walked away. “Sorry about him,” Mac said once he was out of ear shot. “He is a bit of a jealous type.” She said. I smiled almost apologetically and Mikasa laughed. “A little? That guy was shooting daggers at Eren!” She exclaimed. Mac laughed, too. Her laugh was like a little bell, soft and light, only heard because there was a pause in the music. “Awkward silence!” I yelled. Everyone turned to look at me and I gave them one of my signature ridiculous half smiles. Everyone resumed to what they were doing once the music was back on track. “So, are you guys just here by yourselves?” Mac asked. Mikasa nodded and I shook my head. “Actually, we were here with a few friends, but then we got separated as soon as we entered the door.” Mac nodded and beckoned us to follow her once her boyfriend came back. She led us to a separate room, where there was even more alcohol and drugs than in the main room. Though, not as many people and quieter. As we walked through the room, we were offered many drinks. Mikasa grabbed a beer and I made way with a mix of… who knows, but it tasted fruity and had a strong taste of vodka. Mac and that guy led us to the very corner where a group of people where chilling. “’Sup guys.” Michael said. The whole group turned to look at me and Mikasa. “Let me introduce you guys. The one with the goggles is Matthew, the twins are Logan and Blake, the blonde one hanging on to Mr. Perfect over there is Melissa, Mr. Perfect is Leo, and the platinum blond one that looks like an elementary kid is Nicolas.” Mac said. Mikasa and I smiled and sat down on one side. I had a feeling I was going to get either high, or drunk, or possibly both. Levi’s POV: I was really tired of this. I had girls coming at me left and right. At first, I didn’t mind, Reiner did tell me I needed a distraction, and those girls really did distract me, but now my head hurts and I feel like I’m going to puke. I went upstairs and almost got lost in the maize of rooms. “Damn this rich kid.” I said, cursing Bertholdt for having a huge house. I made it to the room I usually stayed in and flopped onto the bed. My head was killing me. This girl walked into my room, claimed she had followed me here and was hoping she could show me to a good time. I didn’t really have anything to lose, so I agreed to her proposal. Without wasting much time, she went down on me. She unzipped my pants and did as she pleased without any regards as to what I had to say, which, wasn’t much, considering my head was clouded at the moment. This girl had absolutely no gag reflex and I was starting to wonder just how many times had she done this. I suddenly felt cold air hit my skin as she removed her mouth from where it had been. She stood up and took a condom out of her back pocket. She took her pants off and resumed in doing what she pleased. In minutes, we were both panting and moaning, I knew that this meant nothing and that I was just looking for a distraction, I wondered if any of the other girls understood that, too. Soon, we both collapsed on the bed and I got up to fix myself up. She did the same and went on her way. “There goes distraction number six.” I muttered. I wasn’t exactly proud of that… but it was my record for how many times I did it in one night. I decided there was no use in staying up here all by myself, so I went downstairs to check on the party. I heard a lot of screaming, which wasn’t unusual in one of Reiner’s parties. However, when I finally made it downstairs, I realized those were screams of terror. There was guy in the middle of the “dance floor” holding an AK47 and was shooting at random. He looked pissed as hell and people were running to and fro, trying to escape the lost bullets. I froze, I couldn’t move once I realized who that was. Eren’s dad. I had been in this situation more times than deemed necessary, but I will never not be scared. I looked straight ahead until I saw someone who caught my eye. Eren. He was running with Mikasa and all of his little group. I ran after them, too. For some unknown reason, I felt that I needed to go with them. Eren and Mikasa might be the prime target of this shooting and I felt the need to help them escape as much as I could. I we almost made it out, until Grisha came and stopped us from getting through the door. Eren and I were in the front of the whole group and all of them were just as scared for their lives as I was. The crazy man said no words, just smiled creepily and pointed his gun at Eren. I urged Eren to get behind me as slowly and as calmly as possible, but I could tell his legs refused to obey him. Just then, Grisha’s finger pulled the trigger and blood splatted on my face and Eren’s. “Mikasa!” Eren and I yelled. Grisha was busy entertaining himself with another group of kids, injured bodies falling left and right, and I immediately got down to revise Mikasa. Eren was cradling her in his arms. Mikasa looked up and smiled weakly. “E-Eren.” She said. Tears were pricking my eyes. I didn’t know her personally. I didn’t know any of these people personally. In another situation, I wouldn’t give a sweet damn about any of these people. But the hurt expression in their faces, and the half-dead girl in Eren’s arm was something not even I would wish upon other people. I have been through this countless times. With my mom, with my aunt, with Farlan, with Petra, with Gunther, with Eld and Oluo. It was too many times I had lost someone dear to me. “Mikasa, you’re going to be okay, everything is going to be fine!” Eren yelled as we all went outside. Eren laid her on the floor while we waited for the paramedics. “Mikasa, you are going to live! You hear me!? Live!” Eren yelled. Mikasa reached up to wipe a tear off of his face. “Eren, I-I love you, so, so much. You are so special to me. You saved me. You saved me from the hell I was living.” She said weakly. She was losing blood quickly, despite me applying pressure on her chest where the hole was. Tears were streaming down from her eyes. “Mikasa! You are strong! Stronger than almost anyone here! If anyone can survive anything, it’s you! P-please, Mikasa, don’t leave me!” Eren yelled loud, he held her hand and squeezed tightly. This was all too familiar, I didn’t have the heart to tell Eren white lies, that his sister wasn’t going to be fine. Everyone in the group seemed to know that but Eren. Eren was hanging on to that last shred of hope he thought he had lost. “Eren, please, take care.” Mikasa said, smiling again. “London Bridge is broken down, broken down, broken down. London Bridge is broken down, my fair lady.” She started singing in a soft, delicate voice. It was sad and I didn’t know why she was singing, this seems like the worst time to be singing. Eren was in full tears now, he was singing along, too. Everyone else had a devastated look on their faces. They were both singing, and it was very sad to watch. Mikasa slowly and gradually got softer. They got to the end of the song. “London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.” Eren was sobbing loudly now, cursing everything under the sun. Mikasa squeezed Eren’s hand softly to grab his attention. “Eren, please, make the most of your life. I will be here by your side, no matter what…” Mikasa was saying this at barely above a whisper. “No, no, no, no, you will be with me alive!” Eren said. “Goodbye, Eren.” Mikasa said, her hand went limp and time stopped for all of us. Jean and Armin kneeled down beside me and Eren. Mikasa died smiling and next to the person she probably loved the most. Her eyes went from shining blue-grey, to a deathly dark gray. The sirens in the background were dulling out. The sound of Eren’s screaming snapped me out of my trance. I stood up and pulled him away from the lifeless body. Grisha was taken down by the police and was currently being arrested, giving us nasty looks as he walked past us and into the police car. Eren entered hysterics as the paramedics took Mikasa’s body away. There were many injured people, but I think Mikasa was the only one that actually died. I knew exactly how to deal with Eren, take note that I had been through this type of situation time and again, so I volunteered to care for Eren. I know for a fact that the paramedics can’t declare Mikasa dead yet because there is still a chance that they might be able to revive her, so we had Armin go with her to the hospital and everyone else would follow in their own cars. But, I don’t know if Mikasa would really be revived or not, I guess we will just have to wait and see. Chapter End Notes Okay, I am soooo sorry about this. And, rest assured, Mikasa is NOT who was intended as the "Major Character Death", but I am not sure if I want her alive or not, because her life stance affects the rest of the story in more ways than one. I'm still trying to figure out which direction I want to go, so please, just, bare with me. Also, that Mackenzie girl, keep her in mind, she has a role in this story that I don't think you guys will be ready for. Anyways, you know the deal, I would appreciate any comments that you guys would like me to read and I will post as soon as possible. Much love~ kuronekodaarkmistress<3 ***** Chapter 11 ***** Chapter Summary Warning: this contains indications of self harm towards the end, please do not read if you are triggered by this in a bad way. Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes Eren’s POV: I was shaking now, unable to think or speak clearly. My mind was hazy and I felt numb. I didn’t know what was going on, but for some reason, I was walking. I was walking inside a car I didn’t quite recognize. Then, and only then, did I realize the short, raven-haired male calmly urging me to stop shaking and to get in the car. It all felt like a dream. One minute, I was at a party with my friends and my sister. The next minute, I’m cradling my sister in my arms, crying and screaming as life slowly left her body. “You have to calm down and stop shaking so much” The shorter male said. I looked over at him as he buckled up in the driver’s seat. “How the FUCK am I supposed to calm down when my sister is probably dead!?” I yelled. Levi turned to me with an emotionless expression plastered on his face. “Trust me, I know more than anyone how it feels to lose someone. Right now, you need to calm down and breathe.” His calm, steady voice was starting to piss me off, I felt like such a child, like he was patronizing me. I stared into his cool, blue-grey eyes. He didn’t move, he didn’t speak. He just looked back at me. I had so many feelings swelling up inside of me. Anger, sadness, shock, hurt. I couldn’t decide how it is that I felt. Slowly, my breathing slowed down, and so did my heartbeat. I could think clearer. I looked out the window to find that we hadn’t left the driveway and there were people crying left and right. One specific human caught my attention in the blobs of people. “Mackenzie” I whispered. She was being taken away by the paramedics, by the looks of it, she was trying to assure her friends that she was fine. From here, I couldn’t tell what was wrong with her off the bat, but I did notice a lot of blood on her leg. “I hope she’s alright.” I muttered to no one in particular. Levi pulled out of the driveway and we made our way to where the paramedics had taken Mikasa. “Eren, you need to drink some water.” Levi said in a monotone voice. I was kind of thankful he wasn’t bothering me, telling me that everything was going to be okay, telling me that he is sorry. I don’t want to hear any of that right now. I took up his offer on the water and practically inhaled the water. After a short eternity, we made it to the hospital. Levi talked to the nurses as I was too troubled to form words. The smell of the hospital was bringing back some unwanted memories. As we passed by the different halls, I could hear a wide variety of noises. From nurses calling out orders, to family members insisting that they have to go with the patient. From doctors being called into random rooms, to the tap-tap-tap sound of different shoes hitting the ground. Levi and I walked at a steady pace, making our way to Mikasa’s room. I walked inside and found everyone with their heads down. Annie was holding a crying Armin in her arms. Jean was staring down at his feet and Marco looked up at Levi and me. “Eren… I’m so sorry. They declared her dead as soon as we made it here.” Marco didn’t bother smiling, he knew it wouldn’t help. Connie held Sasha as she entered hysterics. I went to remove the blanket from Mikasa’s lifeless body, I wanted to look at her. I begged and begged the god I don’t believe in to let her open her eyes again. to have her look up at me and smile. To have her sit up and yell at me for whatever reason. To have her nag at me for not wearing a sweater even though it's not cold. But it just didn’t happen. I honestly ran out of tears, so I just stared down at my deceased sister and breathed shallowly as my heart shattered in my chest. For a long time, I stared into nothingness, not exactly daydreaming, not exactly lost in thought, but not exactly aware of what was going on. I was in some sort of trance. I realized it was about 4:30 in the morning. Sasha, Connie, Armin, Annie, Jean, Marco, Ymir, and Krista had stayed with me because they didn’t want to leave me alone. They didn’t want a repeat of when my mother died. I didn’t want a repeat of that either. Sasha and Connie were both asleep until Armin woke them up and slowly, everyone was leaving, bit by bit. Everyone said goodbye as they left the room and headed back to their families. “Hey, Eren, please take care of yourself, Sasha and I will come over to your house tomorrow.” Connie said, obviously half asleep, but his words were sincere. “Eren, you will get through this…” Sasha whispered, also sleepy, but sincere. “Eren… I-I can’t even b-begin to imagine… what you must feel like right now… e-even though I loved Mikasa as my sister, the both of you shared a stronger bond. I beg of you, please… get through this without hurting yourself.” Marco mumbled out. He was definitely at a loss of words, and tears were forming in the corner of his eyes. Jean placed a hand on my shoulder and didn’t look up or say anything, I didn’t want him to, either, if he spoke a single word, his wall would break and he might not be able to build it back up. I know this hurt him as much as it hurt the rest of us and he is trying to be strong for the rest of us. I like that about him. Annie walked toward me and gave me a hug (Awkwardly, but she did it). Armin walked behind her. “Eren, do you want me to go home with you? You know your dad is at a prison or whatever the hell they did with him… I don’t want you to be alone and- you know…” Armin didn’t bother continuing. I did nothing. I didn’t nod. I didn’t comfort him by telling him that I wasn’t going to do that. I wasn’t going to lie to my best friend. But I felt bad because I didn’t want him to worry even more. “Please, Eren, I can’t lose anyone else.” He said. I managed a small. Barely noticeable nod. Armin hesitantly nodded back and followed his girlfriend, possibly to drop her off. Levi was the last one in the room, but he didn’t move, he just stared out the window in the small room. “Aren’t you going to leave?” I asked him. I couldn’t do anything if he was here with me. “Why should I?” He asked with a straight face. “So that you can go do what you just assured the blond one you WOULDN’T do?” He was right and I knew it, but for some unknown reason, I snapped. “Well, what’s it to ya!?” I half yelled. “It’s not like you have an obligation to take care of me. If I do something, it won’t be any of your business.” I spat out. I knew I shouldn’t be saying this. I knew I shouldn’t be making plans for suicide, too. I also knew that I shouldn’t be talking to Levi this way, especially when he was trying to help. “I’m going to take you home.” He muttered. He didn’t even wait for a response before dragging me to what I assumed to be his car by the arm. “The hell you won’t!” I yelled, retrieving my arm. “Eren, I’m not going to baby you, but I also can’t leave you alone like this. Your friends all left and you don’t even have transportation home. “So!? That doesn’t mean you get to just get to take me wherever you please! I can take care of myself, you know? Why do you even care about what I do or don’t do?” I yelled, earning a few hushes from the nurses in the hall. “Hell if I know. For some reason, during the party, when I saw you I felt like I should follow you, now here we are. Now, I will say this once, and once only. I’m taking you home, Eren. Whether you like it or not.” Levi said in a calm voice. It vexed me how he was so calm. I foolishly wished he started screaming, too. But I was the only one who was raising their voice here. Levi grabbed my hand with more force this time. I guess he didn’t want to risk me getting away, again. As we were walking past the many, many rooms, I walked past a familiar group of people. I saw Michael standing outside a room, when he saw me, he gave me the cold glare again. “Hey, kid.” Leo said. “Don’t mind him, he is just worried about Mac.” He said, attempting to escape from his girlfriend’s clutches. “Ah.” I said, as a way of showing I understood. And, just like that, I was dragged away from them. I really wanted to know what had happened to her and if she was okay, in the short time I had known her, I had become fond of the tiny human. Oh well, I wasn’t really in the mood to talk to Mr. Jealousy anyways. When we reached the car, Levi got in and I walked around to the other side. Suddenly, everything felt heavy. I looked out the window and saw that the sun was starting to rise through the crowded houses, it would have looked very pretty any other day. But right now, it all looked grey and dull. It made me sick to my stomach. The busy town was beginning to come to life, yet in my eyes, it seemed dead and bothersome. I realized I didn’t want to see, hear, or talk to anyone. I wanted to be alone. Every little thing was starting to piss me off and I started to bite into my hand to the point where a warm iron taste filled my mouth. “Eren, stop that.” Levi said. I hadn’t noticed he was staring straight at me. I put my hand down slowly and examined my injury. I have a really strong bite and strangely, it didn’t hurt. I felt numb. “Goddamn it, now I gotta bandage it for you, or else it might get infected.” He said with a scowl on his face. Somehow, his scowl made me feel like such a child. “Sorry, captain.” I said without thinking. He turned do me suddenly. “What?” He asked. I froze. Shit. Why the fuck I call him that? “Oh, I’m just so used to hearing people refer to you as Captain Levi because you're the football captain, it kind of just slipped.” I said. Nice save, though, I knew that wasn’t the reason. He just nodded slightly and started the car in order to drive to my house. By the time we got to my house, it was about 6:30. We stopped by a pharmacy to get ointment and bandages to wrap my now-aching hand because neither he nor I had any at our houses. He took the keys from my hand because I wouldn’t be able to unlock the door on the count of my hands being uncontrollably shaky. I wasn't cold, but I was still shivering. Levi opened the door and guided me in the house. When he turned on the light, everything was a complete mess. I guess my dad went on a rampage when he got home from work. Work papers were strewn across the floor, there were broken beer bottles all over the place, shattered plates, destroyed picture frames, torn family photos, and it matched the feeling inside me. It made me feel worse than before. Tears were starting to accumulate in my eyes when realization settled in. I lost another family member. First it was, mom, now Mikasa? And Satan himself knows Grisha is no longer my dad and will never come close to being one. My head started to pound, and my heart hammered inside my chest. I felt bile starting to rise up my throat and I couldn't breathe quite right. I didn’t notice how or when I got here, but I was in the restroom and the door was locked. Before my mind could register what was going on, I was staring into the mirror with blood-shot eyes, tears flowing down my face. I held that same blade in my hand again, like old friends being reunited. “I’m sorry.” Chapter End Notes I am so sorry for making Eren suffer! The worst part is, this is only the beginning for Eren, though. Things WILL get better, I promise you, but this is based on a true story and I am trying as hard as I can to remember the details and researching as much as possible to make it accurate. Do not worry, this story will be better than the real life one and it will have it's made up happy moments, but for now, just bear with me. I am also sorry for killing Mikasa, but I felt that it was necessary in order for what happens later on to make sense. As I told you, I more or less already have a plan for this, but I still need to figure out how to make it go smoothly. Also, for all of those people who are reading this and cut... DON'T DO IT! I can tell you right now, you will regret it, also, it's not worth it. You are all beautiful, magnificent, and amazing creatures with beautiful hearts and amazing futures ahead of you. It might take a while, and it might be hard, but you WILL get through it, please stay alive because, even if you have no arms to hold on to dear life, there is always going to be someone holding on to you. You are important to many people, whether you know it or not. Anyways, enough of my babbling. Much love~ kuronekodarkmistress<3 ***** Chapter 12 ***** Chapter Summary sorry I took so long.... Anyways, here is the next chapter... I still have no idea how to transition this story as smoothly as possible. Anyways, enjoy! Chapter Notes Still Eren's POV: I was telling myself to stop, but my hands refused to cooperate. My glove was on the floor, abandoned and ripped from its usual place. My mind raced as the blade came in contact with the fleshy part of my wrist. I didn’t apply force, it was just there. Barely, just barely, could I make out the sound of Levi banging on the door. “Eren! Open the damn door!” It sounded so far away, yet it was so close. The pounding on the door never ceased and I heard a loud, ear- piercing scream. My vision was slowly but gradually becoming hazy. The blade slid smoothly across my tanned skin. One. Crimson red slowly emerged from the torn skin. I lifted the blade and placed it just millimeters from its original position. The banging was getting louder, coming closer, and the screaming never stopped. I then realized that I was the one screaming. Though, I didn’t stop by any means. By now, all I could see was a blurred vision of my red stained wrist. Two. The blade glided once more, with shaky, yet sturdy precision. My hand was completely unsteady, yet the blade stayed in a straight line. I felt no pain. I felt nothing as the blade made more cuts over the scarred flesh. Millions of cuts all on my wrist. Each for a different occasion, each telling a different story. I looked down at the freshly made cuts. I had ran out of space, so I started cutting over previous cuts. This cut tells a story of how I felt abandoned. That one of how I was afraid. That one of how I felt threatened. That one of how I feel alone. That one over there of how misunderstood I am. Those three over here of how I am constantly judged. Oh, and this one of how unaccepted I am. Let’s not forget about that one, it was when I felt rejected. Three. I feel so controlled. Four. I feel so powerless. Five. I feel so overwhelmed. Six. I feel so guilty. Seven. I feel so abnormal. Eight. I feel so guilty. Nine. I feel so depressed. Ten. The door was kicked open. The blade slipped from my hand and fell on the floor. Drops of blood slowly slid down my wrist and joined a collection of drops on the floor below me. I stared at my wrist. Ten new additions to the compilation of cuts and scratches. Every night, I would come here. To make a different kind of art. It required no paper. It required no pencil. It is the type of artwork that will never be appreciated, nor has it ever been seen from prying eyes. I smiled down at my accomplishment. I looked up slowly to find Levi staring at my blood stained arm with wide eyes. The door had been kicked open, not damaged or unable to close again, but certainly had a dent or two. He was completely frozen. I felt numb. I didn’t feel anything, I didn’t want to feel anything. Levi walked cautiously towards me and crouched down to retrieve the offending item from the floor next to me. “Eren… Oh, God, Eren… why?” Levi asked. The way he said it. He didn’t sound mad. He didn’t sound sad. I couldn’t really think of a word to describe how he sounded. I guess it was between disappointment and pity. He placed the blade on the sink and gently grabbed my purposely injured arm. His fingers ghosted over my cuts, getting the dark blood on the tips of his pale fingers. He let go of my arm and walked away without so much as a word. I knew this was going to happen, I guess this was way more than what he bargained for. I stood there in the middle of the bathroom. Tears still running down my cheeks and blood seeping through the cuts at a steady pace. The cuts weren’t deep enough to kill me, but it was still enough to leave a scar. I looked at the mirror. Any other person would be in immense pain right now. I felt it, I felt the stinging, but it was more like watching myself from a third person point of view, like a dream. The pain was there, but it didn’t seem real, it never felt real. I liked this feeling. I stood there for a short eternity before Levi walked back in. He had the first aid kit, some tea, and my phone. “Yeah, Eren is here, I will pass him to you.” He said into the phone. He passed the device hastily towards me. I looked at the caller ID “Blonde Genius<3” Oh no. What was I going to tell Armin? “Hello?” I asked with a shaky voice. I mentally cursed myself for sounding so broken, but I couldn’t help it. “Oh My God, Eren! Are you okay!? I was so worried about you! You didn’t answer any of the phone calls I thought something bad had happened!” Armin screamed in a flurry of words. “Armin, I’m alright. Don’t worry about it.” I whispered, not having any faith in my voice. “Eren, everyone is on their way to your house, we should be there in about 15 minutes.” Armin said, hanging up when I didn’t respond. “That is more than enough time to fix you up.” Levi muttered, though, I don’t think he was really talking to me. Levi went straight to work on my arms as soon as I put my phone away. He led me closer to the sink and gently dabbed all the blood away with a damp cloth. I still felt numb, so I didn’t move as much, though I felt a bit uneasy under his gaze. If I wasn’t feeling so gone right now, I probably would have noticed how hot he looked wearing nothing but a muscle shirt because his dress shirt was full of Mikasa’s and my blood. Levi occasionally looked up at me as if to measure my reaction whenever he did something or accidentally applied more pressure than what was needed. Once the cuts were cleaned and disinfected, we both decided that having a bunch of band-aids on my arm would not be a good idea, so he wrapped it up with bandages, then he moved to my hand, which still had the bite mark on it. Levi wrapped it up to prevent it from getting infected. We both walked out of the restroom and went into the living room to have some of the tea that Levi had prepared. I didn’t really want to drink anything at all, so I sat on the couch, nursing the mug in my hands. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. “Come in” I said. The knocking was making my head hurt too much. The door opened to reveal a whole bunch of my childhood friends. I looked at each of them as they walked inside. Ymir. Krista. Marco. Jean. Armin. Annie. Connie. Sasha. They all had grim faces, lack of sleep was evident on their expression. Jean walked up to me and looked at my bandaged arm. “What happened there?” I didn’t want to tell them, I didn’t want to worry them. After all, I promised I wouldn’t do this. “Nothing.” I answered, looking anywhere but at my friends’ faces. Armin walked closer to me, too. He figured it out already, everyone else did, too. “Eren. Why?” Jean asked when Armin couldn’t bring himself to do it. I looked down at my clenched hand. I slowly lifted my hand up to my mouth without realizing. “Eren, stop biting your godforsaken hand.” Levi ordered. I blinked twice, then put my hand down. Everyone was seated on the furniture, everything was still a mess and they all looked around. Everyone sat in thick, awkward silence. We looked around nervously. For some reason, they were waiting for Mikasa to walk in through that door and say that this was all a game. That it was a joke. That this wasn’t happening. So naturally, we almost jumped out of our skin when the door was suddenly knocked on. I looked at my friends, and my friends looked at me. I was pretty sure I had no family left here, so it couldn’t have been someone I knew. I looked at Levi with pleading eyes, I didn’t want to see anyone else, I wasn’t ready. Levi swiftly stood up and walked to the door with cool, confident steps. He opened the door without hesitation and looked up at the tall, uniformed man. “May I help you?” Levi said. His voice was so controlled, I bothered me that I couldn’t be like that. The man looked down at the shorter high school student and started to speak. “Yes, my name is Officer Hannes. I am looking for, uh, Eren Yeager?” Everyone turned to look at me, and the cop must have figured out I was the one he was looking for because he looked straight at me and said in a calm, almost patronizing voice, “We are going to take you in for questioning for Grisha Yeager’s case. Also, we are going to need to investigate on where you would be able to stay.” My face instantly paled. “D-do I have to?” I asked in a small voice, I wondered if anyone heard me at all. Levi nodded and walked over to me. “I’ll take you.” I looked up at him. He had a bored expression on his face, I mentally cursed myself for looking so damn vulnerable. I nodded, once again, feeling so inferior in Levi’s presence. “We will stay here… and… organize everything.” Marco said. Plans were made and everyone did as they agreed to do. My friends stayed at my house to help clean all the shattered memories. Levi and Jean went along with me to the police station. It was an awkward car ride, since all of us went on Levi’s car and there was no music to distract us from the situations. I sat in the back seat, Jean and Levi in the front. I looked out the window for most of the ride and we eventually made it to the police station, where the tension was so thick I could grill it. When I walked in, I was immediately taken to a separate room. I couldn’t be more nervous than I was now. Levi’s POV: I sat there on the waiting room doing exactly that, waiting. In my opinion, this was taking entirely too long. I looked to my right, where the so called “Horseface” was sitting at. He looked seriously worried. I had no idea what was going on in this brat’s life. I don’t know about his past, all I know, is that for some ungodly reason, I got myself into this mess. I don’t know myself why I decided to care for him, why I decided to comfort him, why it bothered me that I never realized his reason for wearing those gloves all the time. I thought it was all because of fashion, how could I have been so stupid. Jean, as I have heard others call him, had his face buried in his hands and he was tapping his foot on the floor rapidly. I could hear an occasional sigh coming from him. Not loud, but just barely enough for me to hear it slightly. After about twenty minutes, a very nervous looking Eren came out. He didn’t say anything, he barely looked up from the floor, I guess he was just out of it. Jean immediately stood up and asked the officer what was going to happen. We found out that, since Eren’s father was going to be convicted of many things, including child abuse, Eren was probably going to be sent off to a foster home. I didn’t reply to any of this, afraid that I might say the wrong thing and make this worse. For some reason, I felt like I’ve known Eren for a long time, though I don’t have any memories to back that up. I felt like I had to protect Eren as long as I can, and I hated that because I had grown to hate others except for a small circle of people I socialize with. Even so, it had taken years for me to grow to like them, and Eren comes and after a few days, I felt like he was more important than I realized. They had agreed to let Eren live on his own for now, because Eren shows that he has practically raised himself and his sister since his mother died, so they decided that, if Eren can live by himself normally and continue studying, he can live by himself. Considering he has no family here. Eren said nothing the whole time. Nothing at all. When we got back to his house, he refused to eat, drink, sleep, shower, or anything. I guess reality hit him all too hard. I know how it felt to live on his own, so I tried my best to comfort him after all his friends left. “Eren. Eat.” I said. He looked at me from the other side of the room. He was on his bed, covered in blankets with such a miserable face on, I wanted to hug him, but I resisted. He mumbled something incoherent as he buried himself further under his cave, but I was pretty sure it was along the lines of no. “Eren. Eat. Now. I won’t repeat myself.” I said, more sternly this time. I was sitting on his desk, examining his drawings. He didn’t really give me the go ahead to go through his stuff, but he didn’t seem to mind either. I kept an unamused expression the whole time while I saw drawings of flowers, realistic looking hearts, fan art of anime I’ve only ever hear of, not seen. There were also drawings of people, such as a woman who I later found out was his mom, one of his dad, of his friends, a couple of people around the school doing random things such as reading a book, or playing football. I came across through one that looked strangely like me, holding a trophy, along with people who looked like Reiner and Bertholdt. I was momentarily amazed at his talent for drawing such a candid moment. “I’m not hungry.” Came a response from the depressed human. I stood up. “Eren.” It irked me how stubborn he was being. But if it was anyone else, I wouldn’t even waste my breath and let them die if they want to. The question is, why do I care so much about him right now? I stood over Eren and yanked the blankets away from me. He laid on the bed with a shocked expression. His eyes were bloodshot red, I instantly felt like I had just witnessed a kitten get kicked harshly. I felt my facial features soften and I knelt down so that I was at his level. “Eren, please, eat something, anything.” I said. Almost pleading but not quite. He looked anywhere but at me and I grabbed his face gently so that he would look at me. “Eren, I understand that you are in no mood to eat anything, but you have to eat or else, you might end up with a really bad disease. I’ll go make you something simple, like…. Macaroni and Cheese.” I said. I remembered that if I ate too much while I was sad, it will most likely get thrown up. Eren looked at me for a while and nodded slowly. “Thanks.” He muttered, but I could tell he really meant it. I stood back up and walked to the kitchen. I guess I’m just going to have to baby him for a while. I looked outside the kitchen window to see Kenny walking into the house. I should be worried, but Kenny wouldn’t give a sweet damn if I return home or not, as long as it doesn’t affect him in any way. I got a box of Macaroni and Cheese I had seen before when I made the tea, then I started to prepare everything. I was in the middle of draining the Macaroni when I heard a huge THUD coming from the bathroom. My blood ran cold as I quickly maneuvered my way around the kitchen and towards the source of the sound. “This fucking suicidal bastard!” I screamed while I, once again, started kicking the door in an attempt to get it open. I could feel myself start to panic. “What is he going to do this time?” Once I barged in, I found Eren on the floor. I rushed over to see what had happened. Eren was on the floor. He had no blood, no bruises, I hid all the pills earlier, and he seemed to be breathing normally. I didn’t think that taking him to the hospital would have been such a great idea, so I picked him up (more like dragged him) and took him to his room. I called the one person who could possibly know as much as a doctor. “Hey… can you come to Eren’s house? There seems to be a problem” I said into the phone. “Oh, yeah. No problem, short stack.” ***** Chapter 13 ***** Chapter Summary IDK how to explain this chapter, it has like... no drama or anything, but it does give insight on the possibility that they are reincarnated into our universe where Eren dreams about his previous life, and Levi just feels like he belongs with Eren... IDK you guys give some insight if you want. Anyways, this is just a chapter I posted to show that I am NOT, in fact, dead. More like, inactive on the count of, too many fucking AP classes giving me 6 hours of homework and study, and I'm having varsity choir every day after school from 3:15 to 4:30, then I have to finish all my daily chores, and after that I have to help my siblings with THEIR homework and omg I'm going to stress myself to death!! But, fret not! Because even if I do die, I will continue writing fanfics from the depths of hell once I take over ;3 much love~ kuronekodarkmistress<3 Eren’s POV: I guess it would have been a good idea to eat, sleep, and drink some water because I was feeling like shit. My vision was becoming blurry and I felt like I really had to barf. Against my screaming, aching muscles, I stood up to go to the restroom. I felt terrible, sick, gone. My head was pounding like the drums that Marco plays. My heart was not too far behind it. I felt the hammering in my chest and the banging in my head. I made it inside the restroom slowly. “Maybe I just need to wash my face” I muttered to no one in particular. I bent over the sink and tried to open the faucet, but my hand never reached the handle before I was out cold. Levi’s POV: Eren was on his bed and seeming to have the worst nightmare possible. “You really have become fond of him, haven’t you, Levi?” Hanji said. I turned my attention from the sleeping boy to glare at her. I didn’t bother denying it, but there was no way I would say it out loud. Not in a million years. Besides, it’s not like I know exactly what my feelings towards him are. It could be protection, fondness, admiration, pity, fear, like, love, or the fact that the aura around him seems so familiar, yet out of date. Like I have known him for more than I realize, yet I am pretty sure I have just met him. “Levi, you don’t have to worry about him, you know. He was just overly exhausted and malnourished. When he wakes up, it’ll be like it never happened.” She put a hand on my shoulder that I desperately wanted to shake off, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I nodded at her then decided to check my phone. The battery was running out, and I had about a million notifications. Mostly from the football team wondering if I was alright. However, none were from Kenny, it was as if he didn’t give a shit that I was gone for almost 48 hours. Not that I wanted him to care, nor that I expected him to care. Hanji left, claiming she was going to finish the report we were supposed to do together. As soon as she was out, I crashed into what I assumed to be Mikasa’s bed. I didn’t exactly feel comfortable sleeping in my deceased-relative’s bed, but I didn’t care. I went to sleep. Eren’s POV: Hot. It was unbelievably hot. I opened my eyes and looked around. I felt like a giant. I WAS a giant. I looked around to see more huge creatures. They were all so creepy. And they were coming towards me. The only thing to come to my mind was “Destroy Them.” Without any self-control, I swung my arms around in random patterns, hitting the multi-sized freaks. I went on a rampage and it was like playing a video game, only that I was no longer in control. There were people “flying” around me using zip-line like machines strapped on to them. Out of all of them, I recognized one. “Levi.” I said (I actually said “RAAAHHH!”). In a flurry of giant, naked humanoid thingies, I realized that I, or whatever embodiment I had taken over, couldn’t move anymore. The creatures were eating me. Like, actually tearing the (what I assume to be) flesh right out of me. I kept on growling, fear and anxiousness taking over the “fight mode” I had previously been in. Everything was getting darker and it was like I died. Then, I felt the need to scream, “NOOOOOOOO!!!!” I sat up with tears streaming down my eyes. I looked around to find a very concerned Levi sitting right next to me on the bed. I was still crying and panting. “What’s wrong?” Levi asked, eyebrows furrowed, and his cool eyes staring down at me. That was the thing, no matter how many times I had the same exact dream, I could never remember exactly what happened or what I was afraid of. The only thing I remember is feeling unbearably hot, and being scared, stressed, and panicked. “I-I don’t know” I said, staring forward, not being able to move. I could feel myself trembling. Just a second ago, I was sweating, now I’m freezing. Levi shoved a hot cup of green tea with honey at me (it was the only type of tea we ever had in this house). I thanked him quietly and attempted to calm myself down enough so that I’m not spilling hot tea all over myself. “Do you remember anything? You were screaming pretty loudly…” Levi pointed out. No matter how much I raked my brain over, I just couldn’t remember. I looked around at my surroundings and, of course, everything was spotless and clean. I put the empty tea cup on the bed stand and tried to stand up. “Where are you going?” Levi asked. “Bath.” That was the only thing I managed to say before glumly trudging my body to the restroom. “Leave the door unlocked, that way I can help you if something happens again.” Levi called out after me. I nodded and left the door a bit open, just in case. I turned on the water and waited for it to be hot enough to summon demons before putting a stopper on the drain. I am not really the type of person to take baths, but I just didn’t care at the moment. I got inside the (slightly Clorox scented) tub and fought against the scorching water threatening to burn my already sensitive skin. It hurt like hell and it felt even worse against my thighs and wrists (because of the cuts), but I resisted. Soon, the burning wasn’t as bad as it was when I first got in the tub, but the sensation was still there. I took a deep breath and slid further down the tub until my face was under the water. It burned my face, too. The water was hot enough to make human soup. I maneuvered my body so that I was in a fetal position under the hot water. I had no particular reason for doing this. But I liked the feeling of the boiling hot water against my body. After about a minute or so, I slowly returned to the surface. I let go of my breath slowly and looked round. The mirror was fogged up and you could see the steam filling the room. I turned off the water before it overflowed but kept the plug in. I just sat there in the water, making no efforts in actually washing myself. The heat of the water was making me a bit light headed but I refused to move. Slowly, I closed my eyes, not actually falling asleep, just resting my eyes while being fully aware of my surroundings. I heard the door hinges creak, Levi came into the restroom. “Tch. I can’t believe this. Did he really fall asleep in the tub?” He asked. I wondered for a moment if someone else was with him. “No, I didn’t, Levi.” I said, still not opening my eyes. Just then, something dawned upon me, I was stark naked in the tub full of hot water and there weren’t any bubbles to cover any part of my body. “Eren, are you going to wash your body at all? Or are you going to sit there in your own dirt?” He asked. I could tell he was actually serious but I just wasn’t having it. “If you care so much, why don’t you wash it for me?” I asked. I guess I wasn’t thinking when I said that because when I realized what I said, I immediately wanted to take it back. Levi didn’t say anything, he just looked straight at me with his arms crossed. His glare made me feel so inferior, so childish. I sat up in the tub and looked up at him defiantly. I was not about to let this shorty make me feel like a kid. Levi stood in a way that was just screaming with sass, I just couldn’t even look at him with a straight face anymore. I looked down at my wrinkled hands on my lap, silently announcing my surrender. With a scary, dry laugh, he walked out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him. “Well, that went well.” I murmured to myself before grabbing the soap and washing myself properly. ***** Chapter 14 ***** Chapter Notes ugh, this is such a shitty chapter! But, to be fair, I made this up in like... two hours, as opposed to me sitting down and actually thinking about what I'm gonna type. Oh, well. I hope this satisfies you for a while... Personally, I think this chapter is mainly about Levi trying to comfort Eren before the drama picks up. Idk in how many chapters (maybe in 2 chapters, maybe next chapter) but there will be some drama. so yeah... See the end of the chapter for more notes Levi’s POV: You know, I am actually proud of myself. In any other case, I would have freaked out over the fact that I could see him stark naked over the crystal clear (yet noticeably scorching hot) water. But I guess it is because I feel like I’m caring for a child. Right now, I feel like Eren is my responsibility, partly because of what happened to him, and also because of his childish ways of handling things. I mean, I guess he thought he looked tough or something, but to be honest, he looked like a kitten trying to be a scary lion. It was adorable (in a way), but his eyes had this dangerous glint in them. I went to the (clean) living room and sat down on the sofa. I decided to turn on the TV for no particular reason, but when I did, something that came on caught my eye. “Yesterday, there was a shooting in one of the houses in 2056 Richmond St. The culprit was identified as Grisha Yeager, father to a teenage son and an adopted daughter. Police say that Grisha was drunk and on drugs at the time of the incident and confessed without hesitation, claiming that he was going to ‘teach the bastards a lesson for going out without him’. There was only one casualty, however, many were injured. Charges were pressed after this incident, and it was later found out that Grisha had abused his son and adopted daughter on many occasions. That is all the information we could uncover. Now, for the weather…” I turned it off. I was really not in the mood to hear any of this. Even though this was yesterday, it felt like it was months ago that I had witnessed the death of Mikasa. It seems like months ago, I didn’t even know these people existed. And now, I made myself responsible for this brat, all because of a feeling in my gut telling me it was necessary. I guess I just feel sympathy for him, maybe, who knows? I heard Eren getting out of the tub and pull the plug. Sounds of water escaping in a miniature whirlpool down the drain echoed inside the small house. Soon enough, the bathroom door opened and out came a wet Eren. “God damn it, Eren, do you even know how to dry your hair?” I asked, standing up and taking the towel from him in order to dry his hair for him. He didn’t say anything, he just fiddled with the second towel that was loosely wrapped around his waist. To be completely honest, he didn’t look half bad with water droplets all over his bare chest and torso. But for now, I needed him dry before he gets sick. “So, anyone who knows me also knows that MY DAD was the shooter. Great, can’t wait for that asshole, Reiner, to come and try to beat me up over something that wasn’t my fault.” Eren muttered while jabbing his thumb towards the tv. “Oh, so you heard it?” I asked him. “Yeah,” he answered, “you can hear everything in this house, except for our room, for some reason, it seems to be the only room that is almost soundproof.” I kind of had an idea on why that was so. “Go change” I ordered, turning to sit back down on the sofa. Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. Well, not really a knock, more like banging and kicking. “Jaeger! I know you’re in there!” There was a familiar yell. “Speak of the devil…. Godfuckingdamnit, Reiner.” I muttered. I turned to look at Eren, who was now almost as pale as I was. “Oh no…” Eren squeaked out. I ushered him to his room and went to open the door. “Eren fucking Jaeger! You are going to pa- Levi!?” Reiner couldn’t believe the captain of the football team was at the house of a fucking psycho. “Levi, where the shitballs is that German fuck up? I swear I will knock all of his teeth out!” I groaned in a clearly annoyed tone, I sounded and felt like I was talking to a three year old. “And why would you do that, exactly?” I asked, getting very bored at Reiner’s temperament. “Obviously because he is the reason why people got shot that day! He is the reason why my parents found out about the party and why people are blaming ME for his damn demented father! Eren is the son of that bastard, and he deserves to pay for what his father did! For all you know, Eren is just as demented and fucking psycho as his father!” I sighed, “Well, good luck getting to him because I’m not going to allow you to hurt him.” Reiner looked like I just turned him in to the FBI, so betrayed. “Why are you covering up for that piece of shit?” He hollered at me. I honestly did not have the time or the patience for this, so I shut the door in his face and ignored his angered screaming. “Eren?” I turned to go towards Eren’s room. Eren was on the piano with his head on the flat part thingy that covered the keys (I don’t know what it’s called, but Eren had his head on it). He was holding a journal close to his chest, clinging on to it as if it was going to disappear if he let go. Eren was sobbing. Like, full out bawling. He alternated between silent cries, to hics, to screams, and back to the silent cries. An occasional sniff, and tears just streaming non-stop. This is the worst I’ve seen him since we came from the hospital. I wrapped my arm around him, not really knowing what to do. I remembered the poem that I had read before and decided to alter it a bit to tell Eren, who was still in my arms, crying. I cleared my throat and said on a soothing voice. “Eren, don’t cry for her. She isn’t gone. Her soul is at rest, Her heart lives on. Light a candle for her to see And hold on to her memory, But save your tears, For she’s still here, At your side, And through the years. Those little things That made you smile And made your life Worth the while Cherish those You soon will see That comfort will come So gleefully So light a candle for her to see And hold on to her memory, But save your tears, For she’s still here, At your side, And through the years.” I finished the poem, Eren calmed down considerably and I was mildly shocked at how I managed to spew that out without stuttering. Eren still didn’t move, and he was still crying. Chest heaving with shaky breaths. After a moment, he lifted his head up. “Levi, c- could you just… talk. About anything… anything at all. Just… talk, I want to hear your voice.” I blinked at his request, but I didn’t deny him. Actually, I always found it soothing whenever my mom used to read to me. I looked around and found a Harry Potter book on the shelf. I motioned for Eren to go to his bed, and he did. I turned to a random page and started reading from there. “‘No problems, were there?’ ‘No, sir-house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin’ around. He fell asleep as we was flyin’ over Bristol.’ Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning. ‘Is that where-??’ whispered Professor McGonagall. ‘Yes,’ said Dumbledore. ’He’ll have that scar forever.’” I turned to look at Eren, who was now sleeping, with the journal tucked under his folded arms. “Stupid brat.” I mumbled with a half-assed glare. “At least stay awake if you make me read to you.” I said, turning off the light and letting him sleep. It seemed like the only thing he would be doing for a while. I went to go take a shower and decided to take some of Eren’s clothes. I closed the door behind me and stepped in the shower. “I really hope everything will be fine when he goes to school tomorrow.” I mumbled to myself. Chapter End Notes I know this is terrible.... plz don't kill me! I swear, I will try my best to make better chapters! much love~ Kuronekodarkmistress<3 ***** Chapter 15 ***** Eren’s POV: “Everything is not okay.” I mumble as I walk into the school. Levi was close behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. He leaned in closer to talk to me. “Hey, I have to go now, please be careful. I’m not exactly trusting Reiner to think properly for once.” And with that, he left. I gulped and stalked over to my homeroom. Everyone in the classroom turned to look at me, some with pity, and others with anger and accusation. I pointedly ignored all of the stares and sat next to Armin. “You alright?” He asked. Marco and Jean turned in their desks to face me, too. “You know, you didn’t have to come today, right? You have had a rough time, I’m sure the teachers would understand.” Marco whispered, taking my hand in his own and smiling at me. “It’s alright.” I muttered, forcing a smile on my face just for the sake of it. “Are you sure? You can just skip, we’ll cover for you.” Armin whispered, too. His blue eyes were filled with worry. “Yeah, um… Eren, if you don’t feel well, I can take you to your house.” Jean suggested, looking at me like I might break down at any second, and to be honest, I almost did. I shook my head and looked up at him. Even though we were both sitting down, he was still taller than me, especially since my head was practically connected to the desk. Jean’s eyebrows were drawn together in a concerned way. “I’m taking you to your house anyway.” He said as the bell rang. I wasn’t sure if he was just stubborn or if I looked as bad as I felt. Jean’s POV: If Eren even tried to make himself presentable for school today at all, then he must have been pretty terrible because he had fifty shades of dark circles under his eyes. Even his glasses didn’t cover them up. His hair was all kinds of messed up, and not in his usual adorable way. His skin was a kind of almost sickly pale and despite it being scorching hot, he’s wearing a large turtleneck sweater and pants. I practically forced him onto my motorcycle, there was no way Marco, Armin, and I would let Eren stay at school if there was a strong chance of him breaking down in the restroom without us knowing. The short ride to his house was filled with thick awkward silence. “Hey, Eren.” I started, not really sure on how to ask this. Eren grunted, signaling that he was listening. I cleared my throat and forced the words out of my mouth. “I-is it alright if stayed at your house with you? You know… to make sure you’re alright?” I sounded unsure, even to me. I felt him nod against me back as he held in to my waist. I sighed and parked the motorcycle in his driveway. I got off, realizing that Eren wasn’t going to get off unless he had some type of motivation. I walked around the vehicle to help him off, something I hadn’t done to him in forever. He looked up at me, but there was no sparkle behind his eyes, no smile tugging at his lips, no nothing. It absolutely destroyed me. I may not have romantic feelings towards him anymore, but he is still special to me, and the fact that he is so broken now, the fact that his smile may never be the same again really takes its toll on me. I held my hand out cautiously for him to take it and get up. He looked at it with no interest and got up without my help. He shuffled to his front door and unlocked it. I looked inside and my mouth fell agape, I have been to Eren’s house countless times, and it was always a mess, despite Mikasa’s countless attempts to clean it up. There was absolutely no mess, everything was in order, and it smelled like Clorox. “Levi deep cleaned everything while he was here.” Eren said, as if he read my mind. I nodded and stiffly walked to the couch where Eren sat, playing idly with his lip ring. After a while of awkward silence, Eren turned to look at me. “I miss her, Jean. I miss her so much.” He said, he sounded as broken as he looked. “I know, Eren. We all miss her. She was… she is important to everyone.” I whispered, tugging him closer to me so that his head was against my chest. I know it probably wasn’t the smartest move by my part, but Eren needed comforting, and I was going to give it to him. Eren didn’t push back on me or told me to stop, so I assumed he was okay with me holding him. I took my chances and reached up to run my hand through his hair in an attempt to tame it down. He sighed and closed his eyes when I did that, my thoughts instantly drifted off to last year when I used to do this to him just for the sake of it. Eren snaked his arms around my chest to hug me, and, as if it was by reflex, I kissed his forehead. We both froze, Eren brought his head up to look at me with wide eyes, and all I could do was stare at him, mirroring his expression. I didn’t know why I did that, there was no explanation whatsoever, and what we did next was even more confusing to me. I don’t know if I was the one who started things, or if it was Eren. But somehow, Eren’s soft lips met mine and we started making out on his couch. Eren’s hands made their way into my hair and he raked at it with his fingers, drawing out a small moan from the back of my throat, only for it to be muffled by Eren’s mouth. I opened my eyes to find his closed and closed them again. I wasn’t thinking at all, all I could focus on was Eren’s lips on mine, his body pressed flush on my own and my hands roaming up and down his waist and back. My breathing was becoming more erratic than I would have liked, and Eren tugging at my hair was not helping this case get any better. My body was reacting in a way that I knew was definitely not okay for either of us, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care, all I could think about was Eren. Eren. Eren. I let go of his lips to kiss at hi jawline up to his ear. Hell knows I wasn’t in control of my actions anymore, and I don’t really think I cared at that specific moment. I felt Eren shudder above me as I licked the shell of his ear and smirked. ‘Yup, still got it.’ I thought to myself. I knew all the places where I knew would drive Eren insane. I lightly grazed my teeth along the soft flesh of his neck and felt his breath hitch. I darted my tongue to lick at the sweet spot in his neck before placing my lips there, ready to suck on his skin. Eren let his head drop back to give me more access to his neck, his hands on my shoulders to keep himself in place. A soft moans and gasps spilled from his lips and further amused me. I drew myself back just short of leaving a mark on his skin, it was pink, but it would be gone in a few minutes. Eren leaned down to attack my lips once more, this time, allowing his tongue to pass through my lips in an open mouthed kiss. His tongue swirled around mine and moved in sync with my own. I don’t know how long we were stuck in the heated kiss, but Eren pulled away eventually, panting and looking quite disheveled. “J-Jean… I…” Eren looked away. I guess it was awkward since he was straddling me on the couch, his hands on my chest for balance. “I’m sorry.” He whispered, biting his lower lip, I reached up to brush a bit of hair away from his face and pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay, I’m sorry, too.” I muttered. Eren sighed and got off of me. He sat on the chair opposite from where I was sitting, still looking quite red, but I decided that this look suited him better than the one from before. I took my phone out of my pocket to check the time and realized it was almost time for lunch. “Eren, I-“ “You should leave” Eren cut me off, standing up abruptly. My mouth hung open at the sudden request, “Eren, are you sure?” I asked, not wanting to leave Eren alone, but not wanting to do something stupid. “Y-Yeah, I just need some time to myself” He said, looking down at the floor like it was the most interesting thing he has ever seen in his life. I nodded and made my way to the door. “Eren, if you need anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to call me, or Marco, or anyone for that matter. Please don’t force yourself to go through this alone.” I said, barely above a whisper, but I was fairly certain that he heard me. He nodded stiffly and I went on my way, closing the door behind me. ‘I really hope you can get through this’ End Notes Much like my other fics... I don't really know if I will continue posting these or not. But I will try my best to get the next chapter out there! If you have any suggestions on what you think would be a great idea to put on my fanfic, please, feel free to let me know! I appreciate anything you have to tell me. Good or bad, let me know what you think! Much love~ Kuronekodarkmistress<3 Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!