Chapter 1
Three ear-piercing gun shots rang out over the city. Everyone could hear them yet no one seemed to care- that is except for one brunet who unknowingly craved all things deemed dangerous.
"Did you hear that?" Said brunet whispered to the blond beside him while keeping his eyes locked on the area he was sure the shots came from.
"Eren," the blond whined, tugging on the brunet's sleeve. "We should leave. It sounded close." He continued pulling on Eren's jacket sleeve, gasping upon noticing that the brunet was now walking towards the sound instead of away from it. "Eren, please!" He pleaded through gritted teeth, wanting more than anything to pull his reckless friend away from the danger he was bound to involve himself in.
Eren heard his friend's pleas but continued moving forward. He wanted- no, he needed to see what was going on. He knew who fired the shots- everyone in the city knew. But that didn't lessen his urge to see just exactly what was going down this time. He would be lying if he said that this didn't excite him- 'excite' not doing his feelings justice. Anytime he heard gun shots, his pulse began to race and his body began to tremble in anticipation, and before he knew it, his feet would begin moving on their own until he ended up in a full-blown sprint towards the action.
"Armin," he called out quietly. "It's the SC. We have to go and check it out." That being said, Eren quickened his pace until he was running at full speed, dragging his blond friend along with him.
"Eren!" Armin shouted in between gasps for air. He wasn't nearly as fit as his friend was, but he made up for that with intellect-something the brunet lacked. "We can't! It's dangerous!" He tried again, digging his heels into the ground in an attempt to stop the burnet. But his efforts proved fruitless when he began stumbling forward, narrowly escaping a face-plant by colliding into Eren's back.
Eren halted as soon as he felt the pressure on his back. He looked over his shoulder at the blond- a hint of concern colored into his turquoise eyes.
"Mikasa," Armin breathed out as he bent over, resting his hands atop his knees, "will be mad."
Eren turned his head back into the direction of the previous gun shots, panting slightly-but nothing compared to the loud gasps erupting from his blond friend. "Sorry, Armin," he muttered under his breath. "You can go home if you want." He could feel the blond's eyes burning holes into the back of his head but chose to ignore it. "I'll see you at school tomorrow," he added as he lifted one hand up to wave before once again picking up his speed until he fell into a comfortable run, leaving the blond behind.
Armin, now standing up straight, watched as his friend ran towards the impending danger. He desperately wanted to hurry home and crawl into the safety of his bed, but he feared what he would be told the next morning. He kept replaying different scenarios in his head that all resulted in the same thing- him waking up to a somber house then being told the two words he would never want to hear from his grandfather… Eren died.
Shaking his head to clear his mind of those plaguing thoughts, Armin decided it best to go after his friend. He took in a deep, shaky breath, exhaling loudly before he began running after the brunet. It wasn't like this hadn't happened before- the blond recalled. Multiple times now, he had been dragged by Eren practically into the middle of various gang fights- not just two groups arguing, no. The blond had literally been pulled up to the sidelines of gun shots, curses, and often times, blood- but only if the fight involved the SC, of course.
His brunet friend had quite an obsession with the SC- what with the SC being the most popular gang in the city. Armin wasn't sure what the term 'popular' meant when describing a gang. He knew that the SC, shortened for 'The Scouting Legion', was the most well-known gang in Trost, but he wouldn't go so far as to say they were well-liked. They had shot and injured- not killed, as far as the blond knew- just as much as any other gang had; it was just their motif that was unclear to him. They always appeared to be chasing after branch-off gangs, often referred to as 'The Titans'.
Based on various news reports, Armin concluded that the Titans could range from teenagers wanting to steal alcohol from the local liquor store to crazed murders. And, the fact that the SC always seemed to be out to stop the Titans would cause one to think that the SC is a group of heroes, but Armin wasn't all that convinced. Maybe, he thought, they are Trost's own, little group of heroes, but he most certainly did not want his friend involved in all that.
Heroes or not, they were dangerous, and Eren could get hurt by getting involved with them- this being the sole reason why Armin was now barreling through the many pedestrians who were smart enough to move away once four more gun shots rang out.
As soon as he forced his way through the herds of people, Armin's eyes fell onto Eren, who was standing a short distance away and watching as a gun fight erupted before him. He ducked his head and started towards the brunet, halting upon seeing something small and sharp, he concluded a knife, flying towards said brunet. Blue eyes widened as he opened his mouth to scream, but his scream stopped halfway as he watched some masked person shoulder into Eren until they were both falling to the ground.
Eren felt his head crack against concrete as he was shoved to the ground. He gritted his teeth as a searing pain shot up the back of his head- his vision blurring but not completely going black. He blinked away the dark spots that were beginning to appear in his line of sight, hearing more gun shots whizzing past him.
Armin stared in horror at his friend now lying in the middle of a full-blown battle. He took one step forward, only to have one gloved hand wrap around his waist while the other covered his mouth. He tried to speak, scream, anything, but his voice was muffled by the hand, so he craned his neck the best he could with the hand holding his face to peer up at his captor- who, the blond soon noticed, was masked as well.
Armin broke the gaze after a few moments, allowing his eyes to fall onto the dark green bandana with the SC symbol tied around his captor's bulky shoulder. His panic eased slightly, but not enough. His friend was still out there, and the person who appeared to be trying to save Eren was significantly smaller than him.
The blond relaxed his body, feeling his captor's arm loosen around his waist slightly. Taking his chance, he chomped down on the hand covering his mouth, opening his mouth once again after hearing a low groan come from the masked being. He broke through the person's grip around his waist and staggered forward, regaining his balance seconds later then charging towards Eren.
Pressing his hands against cool pavement, Eren tried to push himself up into a sitting position but was promptly pushed back down by a person lying over him. Turquoise eyes darted across the being atop him, stopping abruptly when a dark green bandana with a symbol on it appeared in his line of vision. "SC," he whispered in awe.
Eren couldn't believe it. He was just saved by a member of the gang he so desperately wanted a part of. He always knew that the SC was good, so this simply served as his confirmation. "You're a member of the SC!" He shouted to the person sprawled across his chest. "Can I join you?!" He felt his lips twitch up into a smile as the person turned to face him- narrow, dark eyes, the only thing visible due to a solid black mask, met with bright, turquoise orbs. "I'm really strong," Eren continued. "I'm on the football team!" He watched as the small eyes squeezed shut.
"Something wrong?" The brunet questioned- his sudden serious tone stunning the masked person. He shifted his eyes across the person's body, gasping when he saw a small knife lodged into his savior's gloved hand. "Your hand," he whispered.
"Eren!"
Eren turned away from the wounded hand to see his blond friend running towards him with another member of the SC hot on his tail. "Armin?" He questioned aloud before sighing in relief once he realized there was no longer any pressure against his chest. He looked up to see his savior kneeling beside him, allowing himself to be helped into a sitting position by said savior.
"Are you okay?!" Armin question through gasps of breaths as he fell to his knees beside the brunet.
"The fight?" Eren glanced around upon realizing that there was no longer the piercing sound of gun shots surrounding him.
"I guess they left," Armin answered- blue eyes flooded with concern as he directed his attention from Eren to the person on the other side of Eren and then to the person standing behind them.
Eren felt a gloved hand move across the back of his head, causing him to wince slightly. He darted his eyes to the side, watching carefully as his rescuer, who was still kneeling beside him, closely examined the back of his head.
After a few moments, the person Eren had dubbed as his savior stood up and moved to stand beside the other member of the SC. The blond and the brunet watched as the two whispered quietly two each other before turning on their heels, exiting the scene.
"W-wait!" Eren called out. "I want to join you!" His eyes widened as the shorter of the two turned around momentarily to shake their head and roll their eyes before turning back around, leaving with the taller person.
"Dammit," Eren cursed, slamming his fist into the ground. He could feel his eyes brimming with tears. He was so close this time, yet they turned him down; they didn't even offer any encouraging words like 'maybe when you're older'. But, he wasn't going to give up; he would never give up. If they wouldn't let him join, then he would just force his way in.
"Eren?" Armin stared at his friend- brows knitted in worry. "We should get you home. I don't think you have a concussion, but you should still rest." He scrambled to his feet then bent down, grabbing the brunet's elbow and pulling him to his feet.
The two slowly made their way back to Eren's house. Armin opted to remain silent as he heard the small sniffles coming from the brunet. He wouldn't scold him for his actions because he knew that Eren would probably get an earful from his mother and Mikasa as soon as he got home anyway.
And, twenty minutes later, the blond sighed as he saw Eren's mother running down the porch steps with Mikasa in tow. He explained how Eren was rescued by some unknown person and hit his head on the pavement before saying a hastened goodbye then fleeing the scene. He didn't want to be there to hear what Eren's mother and Mikasa had to say.
After thirty minutes of being yelled at by his sister and mother- both going on and on about how "stupid" he was and how he "could have been killed"- Eren welcomed the silence his room offered. He collapsed onto his bed, replaying the previous events over and over again in his head until he thought his heart would jump out of his chest. Sure, he felt bad for getting his friend involved, and he maybe felt a little frightened due to the fact that some member of the opposing gang had targeted him and thrown a knife at him. But, that didn't change the fact that he wanted to join the SC.
The SC's a gang that rids the city of other dangerous gangs, and Eren wanted to be alongside them.
He fell into a deep slumber with a small smile playing on his lips.
"I said I'm fine, Mikasa!" Eren swatted his sister's hand away from his face while they entered their homeroom classroom. The brunet took his seat behind Armin while Mikasa claimed her seat beside Armin.
"Hey, Eren! I heard you had a run in with the SC yesterday!" Connie, a friend of almost every person at Shinganshina High, shouted as he hopped up onto Eren's desk.
"I did! One of them saved my life! You can ask Armin; he was there." Eren peered up at the smaller boy sitting atop his desk before craning his neck to get a better of the view of the blond seated in front of him.
"Is it true?" Jean, a boy Eren wasn't particularly fond of and often referred to as 'horse face', questioned the small blond as he approached said blond's desk.
Armin only offered one, small nod before returning to his notes. He, unlike the others, didn't think what had happened was 'cool' or 'amazing'- as the others took to chanting out around the brunet. He didn't see what was so great about Eren almost losing his life.
Jean allowed his eyes to linger on the blond for a second more before giving a low hum in response as he turned to lock eyes with the brunet. "I guess they didn't let you join since you're here?" Jean asked, intending on the question being rhetorical since the answer was blatantly obvious.
"Shut up," Eren growled. "I'll join them. You'll see." He narrowed his eyes as he matched Jean's gaze- the two staring daggers at each other.
"You're an idiot," Jean muttered, breaking eye contact after a full two minutes. He used the reason that he couldn't stand to stare at Eren's "ugly face" a second longer. "It's like you are just asking to die."
"I'm not weak." Eren retorted immediately.
"You can't even throw a football properly. I would know since I'm the Vice-captain." Jean started towards his desk behind Mikasa, only to be stopped by a hand clamping onto his wrist. "What the hell, Jaeger?" He hissed, looking over his shoulder at the brunet, whose face was hidden behind his messy, brown bangs.
"I'm gonna kick your ass," Eren whispered, tightening his fingers around Jean's wrist.
A short, dark-haired man paused in front of Classroom 104. He listened to what appeared to be a fight in his class, and he already knew who it was between- that being due to the rather vulgar language erupting from the two boys.
With a loud sigh, the man smoothed one hand down his tie before gently rubbing his other, bandaged hand. He then shoved the door open and stepped inside.
"And just what the fuck do you brats think you're doing?"
A/N- So, I don't need to be starting another multichapter, but I am.
Sorry in advance for any grammar errors, and
I hope everyone enjoys!