Eren walked down the street quietly humming along to a song on his iPod; ear buds stuffed in his ears. He was just walking back to his apartment carrying a bag of snacks; an umbrella held in his right hand. He had gotten an odd assortment; shrimp chips, ramen packs, chocolate milk, strawberry poki, mochi assortment and a few take out fridge dinners. Nothing fancy but enough to last the week and keep him going when he needed a boost; not too expensive and enough to last a while.
The weather wasn't great this evening; it had been cloudy before he left the apartment but had started pouring after he left the store. Luckily he had brought an umbrella before he left so he wouldn't get soaked. Thanks to his mum's teaching; he had learned to be better prepared for things to prevent unnecessary problems.
As he walked down the street he spotted a figure leaning against the wall. They appeared to be female and were sat on the floor their legs curled up under their chin. He couldn't fathom what someone would be doing out this late in such crap weather. He approached them quietly his awareness around him; so far they seemed harmless but he didn't know for sure. Should they attack he was pretty good at hand to hand combat and self defence. "Excuse me?" he said hesitantly gripping the umbrella tightly.
The figure looked up from under their hooded jacket and to his shock he saw it was Jeanne Kirstein. They had been frenemies for years and as far as he knew she was dating some bike riding mechanic student. "Jeanne?" he said in shock approaching her slightly. Since high school he had come to know Jeanne had a pretty shit temper and a low tolerance for lashing out. She was very cute; but was one tough cookie.
She looked up at him quietly; and to his shock her face was streamed with tears and she looked pretty bashed up. Upon closer inspection her clothes and body were a mess; and it looked like she had been out here for some time. She was soaked to the bone; her clothes filthy. She had red welts on her hands and from the uncovered shoulder he could see they were on her body too. She had a swollen cheek, cut lip and a black eye.
Eren was thrown out of the park; he was used to seeing Jeanne so cocky and confident. She was outgoing and sassy and knew how to handle herself. Yet here she was at 11 o clock at night sat out on a street corner in a bad state soaked to the bone.
"What do you want Yeager?" Jeanne muttered defensively. She was sore, tired, hungry and her eyes were swollen from crying. She was at her lowest point right now; and of all people it was Eren fucking Yeager who had to see her like this. Karma gods must be having a fucking ball right now; laughing their sick asses off.
He knelt down beside her covering her with his umbrella "Jeanne what the hell happened to you? What the fuck are you doing out so late?" Eren asked concern in his tone. Yes he didn't like Jeanne too much; but he knew she was capable of showing kindness when she felt like it. He just hated how cocky she acted and what stubborn bitch she was; that and her pride was a pain in the ass.
But seeing her now she looked like hell; more like a girl despite looking like shit. A broken one to say the least but still a girl; like she would break at the lightest touch should he touch her. He had never seen her look so fragile in all the time he had known her; it was kind of scary.
"I got into a fight with my boyfriend" Jeanne said quietly her voice hinting anger. She didn't want to talk about it too much. Things hadn't been good between them for the last year; and it had gotten worse in the upcoming months since new years.
Eren raised an eyebrow; what kind of fight had she got into to end up on the street and battered like this? Red flags started to rise and he didn't want to leave her alone like this.
Her eyes were puffy as if she had been crying; this surprised him as Jeanne was such a tough cookie she never seemed like the type to cry. He didn't like her much; but he knew it would be wrong to just leave her like this. He got up slowly and grabbed his phone from his coat pocket; he browsed through his contacts until he found Marco Bodtt.
He was frenemies with Jeanne at the best of times; but he got on ok with Marco. There were times he actually wondered why they were even friends. Compared to Jean; Marco was like pure cookie dough sweet inside and out.
"Hey I found Jeanne out here in the rain; she looks pretty roughed up. You know what happened?-Eren
Jeanne didn't even look up at him; she did look suspicious of what he was doing but said nothing. She was in no mood to talk; she just wanted to be left alone in her misery. Her hair was like rats tails now but she didn't care; she looked how she felt which was miserable. Eren her rival and on/off friend was now seeing her at her lowest which she would never live down.
After about ten minutes Eren's phone buzzed with a response. When it came to Jeanne; Marco went full on brother mode. He was very protective of her and cared about her immensely; they had grown up as kids and were best friends.
"Is she ok? I was worried something like this would happen for a while; don't let her go home whatever you do!-Marco"
The red flags burned and sirens went off in his head; if Marco was this worried then something had got to be up. What kind of guy was Jean's partner to have Marco respond in such a way and leave Jean in such a state? Not wanting to make Jeanne uncomfortable he continued to act cool; but would still be on alert "You eaten at all? I mean being out here on an empty stomach aint a good idea" Eren said firmly.
Jeanne shook her head slowly; the last thing she ate was at lunchtime when she was leaving the campus. She had been about to cook dinner when her boyfriend started at her; then the argument ensued. It had gotten very loud and violent; and eventually she escaped by hitting him over the head with a frying pan; grabbing her coat with all her things in it and ran out the door. Jean was the type to leave her keys, phone etc in her coat so she knew where it was.
As if to validate her point; her stomach gurgled loudly. She moaned weakly and gripped her stomach; due to the adrenaline, fear and running she had used up a lot of energy. She had then broke down in the street and cried for 2 hours until it started raining. Then Eren arrived; and here they were.
Eren wasn't happy about this situation; here was Jean alone in the middle of the street. Bashed up, bruised, hungry and obviously traumatized by a fight with her partner that had gone ugly. "Guess I'm playing host then" he said bluntly. He didn't mind looking after Jeanne; especially since he was worried about her. She would owe him big time; but he was the type to not just abandon someone when needed.
Jeanne looked up at him in a state of confusion; he usually couldn't stand her. Hell most days they were at each other's throats when they didn't tolerate each other. So why the hell was he helping her? He had no reason to; they weren't friends or anything; at the best of time they were just work partners or allies when needed to be.
Eren raised an eyebrow "What you wanna catch your death out here? The radio said it's gonna be raining over the next few days and it's only gonna get worse" he explained bluntly. Not eating wasn't good for the body; getting sick from wet clothes wasn't any better. She obviously didn't want to go home; so staying alone in the street wasn't an option.
Jeanne sat where she was and pondered her options for a moment; she then slowly got up wincing in pain. That made Eren realize she was obviously hurt in more places he couldn't see which worried him. He would have to have a good look and sort her out with the medical kit when they got home; they could be serious injuries.
She stood beside him quietly under the umbrella her expression bitter. She was grateful for his kindness; but knew at some point he would start asking questions. That was a subject she didn't feel obligated to answer; at least not yet.
"So we going or what?" she said gruffly. While she was so angry and upset inside; she might cry all over again. She would be damned if she did it in front of Eren; she would never live that down.
Eren smiled gently "Sure; follow me" he said quietly. While he was used to Jeanne being an ass sometimes; he was relieved that she was being compliant.
The pair walked together down the streetlamp lit street as the rain fell down around them. Water was dripping off of Jean but at least she was not getting any wetter; and that was the main thing. She was out of harm's way; at least for now.
Eren shook his umbrella quickly before removing his shoes; Jeanne simply stood in the doorway and removed her shoes. She felt incredibly awkward seeing as she had never set foot in his apartment before.
"I'll go make some noodles and tea; take off your clothes and I'll grab you a towel" Eren said casually walking down the hallway. A hot shower would help warm her up; and at least make her feel a bit better than she did right now.
"Huh?" Jeanne said loudly in a confused tone. What the hell was he playing at? Was he gonna try something funny after just helping her out? She was confident in her sexuality; but she was not a slut by any means.
Eren looked back at her confused look "What? You wanna stay in those wet clothes?" he asked curiously. Was she still being this stubborn even though he was helping her out like this?
Jeanne frowned crossly "Of course not dumb-ass; but an explanation would be nice" she retorted. She at least deserved some form of explanation; that much she was owed.
Usually Eren would get annoyed at this; but she was right in this situation. In her opinion; she had just been helped without any idea of why; or what was going on. Most people would want answers at this point "My mum raised me to never leave someone in need; you look like you could use some help right now so I'm being a nice guy" Eren explained bluntly.
Jeanne said nothing; but her eyes brightened a little at hearing that. Eren usually came off as an aggressive; hot headed little fucker. She never thought he was capable of being such a nice guy; it made her see him in a different light...kinda. "T...Thanks I guess" she said quietly looking away. The atmosphere became uncomfortable; and so where her wet clothes.
Eren hummed contentedly then pointed behind him to the hallway "Bathroom in on your right; my room is on the left. I'll look you out some dry clothes and stuff; I'll knock before entering" he warned politely.
With that he headed off into the direction of the kitchen to sort out some food; it would be a nice change to not eat alone for once. Yes it was awkward that it was Jeanne; but he hoped she just wouldn't be too much trouble.
Jeanne stood in the doorway quietly and removed her shoes; her hair dripped with water and her body shivered as she realized how cold she was. She was kind of glad Eren found her when he did; otherwise she would have gotten sick.
I'm gonna owe him for this" She thought quietly to herself and sighing. She would have to find some way of paying him back; she wasn't the type to go without thanking someone for helping her. It went against her moral code; but she could at least think on it in the shower.