Eren leaned back on the wall behind his bed, a long drawn out sigh bouncing off of the receiver and back on his cheek, the phone pressed tightly into his hand.
"Oh, c'mon Eren. You're free from
Shiganshina! Feel lucky that you can get out. Trost Sounds like a cool place, anyway. Skating rinks, parks, pools, that museum, and the small aquarium?! That sounds amazing. Much more than Shiganshina has.", Armin expressed with a disappointed tone. He was right. Trost was packed with things to do when Eren got bored, but that wasn't even the point.
"Yeah, I know. But it just sucks that I'm so far away from home. They really made me leave you behind.. They know how tight we are.. Why would they do that, Armin?", His voice cracked at the end as if the brunette on the other end was about to cry, and Armin's tone softened.
"..I know, I know. And why they did that.. I'll never know. Maybe they weren't thinking of you when they decided to make the move.. How is Mikasa handling it?", Eren went silent for a few moments and Armin almost thought he hung up, or possibly hit mute. "Eren?", He then called, trying to gain his attention once more.
"She's.. Doing just fine, actually. I honestly think that as long as she's with us then she doesn't care where she is. Tight friendship isn't really something she had back in
Shiganshina, ya know? She only had us.", He said absently, sighing once more.
Armin nodded though Eren wasn't able to see it. "Ah, I see.. Well, school's starting up soon. She'll have plenty of opportunities to meet people there. Say, do you know where you're going yet?", Eren made a face.
"Ugh, yeah..", He really didn't want to think about that.
"Oh yeah, where?", Armin sounded excited. He reeaally didn't want to think about this.
"Agh, this fuckin' private school a couple blocks away. Sina High School. I heard it's really prissy.. But it's the only school I can go to. It has the only bus route that passes through my neighborhood, all the other schools are too far away. Although, going to a private school doesn't really suit me.", Armin felt a pang of pity hit him. Poor Eren. He didn't do well with people that had their heads so far up their asses that they could see out of their mouths.
"Man.. I'm so sorry. To heck with that!", Armin exclaimed, and Eren couldn't help but giggle. Armin didn't curse much, so he substituted his words, and much like now, he sounded sort of silly. The blonde smiled despite himself, before glancing at the small digital alarm clock on his beside table. The neon blue letters blinked at him.
11:42 PM.
"Hey.. Eren? It's getting late, and I'm super tired. I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright? Grandpa's going to wake up with all this noise, and I don't really feel like getting yelled at and the phone taken away.", Eren groaned, not yet ready for his best friend to hang up. He wouldn't see him tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day after that. And that was new. Eren used to be able to see Armin everyday, and now.. He would be lucky to see him a few times out of six months.
"Do you really have to go..", Armin knew he was nervous to attend this new school. In just two days summer would end in Trost, and Eren would be forced onto a yellow school bus with sweaty, nervous kids. And he was one of them.
"Hey.. Just pretend like I'm there with you. Enduring that pain of a private school with uniforms.", Eren cringed.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go too, assbrain", Eren then said, not wanting to think about the uniforms. Or the prissy kids. Or. Anything. Now he wanted to rest. Hard. Maybe he'd never wake for school in two days. Maybe he'd slip into a coma? That sounded just a smidgen over pleasant.
Armin laughed, "Night, Eren!", He exclaimed with a smile.
Eren returned the smile, unknowing of his friends upturned lips, "You too, Armin."
And with that, Eren heard the beeps of Armin hanging up the phone, and the brunette slid to lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling before unknowingly closing his eyes and falling victim to slumber.
–
The next few days were uneventful for Eren. He would lean back on his chair outside and sigh into the warm, August breeze. He dreaded the next day, Monday. His mother, Carla soon came out to join him, sitting in the seat beside him. She knew he was nervous about attending this new school. "Oh, Eren.. Don't be so tense. You're a bright, beautiful boy! I'm sure you'll do just fine at Sina. I wish we could have sent you to Rose High School, I really do.", Carla sighed, letting her hand rub at Eren's shoulder gently.
"I'm not nervous. I can handle a bunch'a preppy kids, no problem.", The brunette stood, shrugging her off and returning back inside to call Armin before the night was over.
The next morning, Eren awoke with a startle, looking straight at the ceiling above him, mouth open and leaking drool. He felt his messy hair, and the dried saliva that ran in streaks down his cheek onto his pillow. The blaring sound of his alarm clock buzzing loud in his ears.
5:37 AM.
"Fuuuuck.", Eren slurred, throwing his arm over his eyes, and using his other hand to pound down on the snooze button with enough force to break it.
He stood up with wobbly knees, throwing his legs over the side. With rocky legs, he stumbled out of his room and down the hall to Mikasa's room, where he knocked on the door absently, with intentions of waking her. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find that she was already awake, uniform on, scarf intact, and bookbag laying on her bed. She turned to face him, a bit surprised. "Eren. You need to be ready by 6:30, you know that right?", She asked him, and he nodded.
"Yeeeeah. School sucks, doesn't it Mikasa? But..", He smiled, "The uniform looks really nice on you.", He gave her a subtle wink and a thumbs up, "Wait'a go, sis", He encouraged her, rolling out of her room and shutting the door before he could see the blush that coated her cheeks, her scarf bunching up over her nose, and quickly grabbing her bag so she could wait outside of the house in the cool morning air.
When Eren stumbled out of the bathroom, he was shoving his pants over his waist, buckling the belt and cramming his feet into his shoes, and throwing his backpack over his shoulder, tasting the minty feel of his toothpaste. He was so not ready for this.
When he got outside, Mikasa greeted him, but gave him a look. "Eren..", She sighed, leaning forward and fixing his tie, smoothing his white shirt and blazer down, straightening his collar. "I'll wake you up early tomorrow, if you want.", She offered in monotone.
Eren nodded with thanks, "That'd be great, Mika.", He used to small little nickname he'd given his little sister a few years ago, smiling at her. She was entering tenth grade just like him. Sophomore year.
"Bus." Mikasa muttered, the ear piecing screech of the bus breaks meeting his ears. The driver smiled at them as they boarded, finding a seat near the middle next to a kid with short black hair and freckles.
"Are you new?", the boy asked, and Eren nodded with a small grunt, glancing at him briefly. "Nice to meet you! I'm Marco! Marco Bodt!", Marco was friendly, and Eren couldn't help but spare a smile to the polite teen.
"Eren Yeager.", He offered his hand, and they shook.
"I can show you around later, if you'd like? I've lived in Trost all my life. Sina really is a good school.", Eren tried not to scoff, but never the less he nodded.
"Sounds great, bro.", He said, and Marco gave a satisfied nod, turning back to look out the window. They didn't speak for the rest of the ride to school, but it was a comfortable silence, and that was a-okay with Eren.
When the bus stopped in front of the school, Eren and Marco stood, Marco following Eren outside. They conversed with small talk, like asking if they were nervous, tired, how they felt about school, etc. That was, until Marco stopped mid sentence when explaining to him that the school didn't have many sporting teams. "Sina's pretty focused on academics, so when it comes to things like football, track, and soccer, the board doesn't find them necessary especially because-", That's where he stopped, gazing over Eren's shoulder. Eren looked confused and twisted a bit to see what he was looking at, "Jean!", He then exclaimed, rushing passed him to meet a tall boy with ash blonde hair and a deep coloured undercut. That's a shitty bleach job. Eren thought, simply angry that Marco would leave him behind so easy. He was offended. And then he heard Marco call to him, "Eren! Come over here!", and even though his instincts told him to run. Run far away from Marco and cry to Armin that people at Sina were already shitty bastards and he wanted to come home, his feet moved in the direction of the two.
"Hey." , Eren mumbled, and Marco beamed. Maybe this was why he wasn't running. Marco was too damn polite for him to just be rude to him and forget ever meeting him. They were friends now, right? His first friend.
"I'd assume you're Eren? I'm Jean Kirstein. Nice to meet you.", The boy smiled as he held out his hand to Eren. He gazed at the long fingers stretched towards his body and narrowed his gaze a bit. He didn't like his fake charm. But Eren kept a stoic expression, slapping his hand onto Jean's, before turning, hands in his pockets.
"See you later, Marco.", He said, though a fast pacing of steps rung in his ears.
"Eren..!", It almost sounded like Mikasa. He turned a bit, seeing her black hair and red scarf, smiling a tad. She passed Jean, and he could have swore he was oogling at her, eyes wide and intrigued. She caught him by the shoulder and pressed what felt like paper into his hand. "You forgot your lunch money. Have a good day.", She smiled faintly over her scarf, and Eren nodded.
"You too, Mika.", He turned, walking forward, with a slight wave of his hand.
"E-Excuse me!", Jean exclaimed suddenly, making Mikasa turn to look at him, her smile now gone as her attention was ripped from the sight of seeing her brother off safe. "You have the most beautiful black hair..", He commented, a small blush dusting his cheeks, eyes wandering over her face.
"Thanks.", She mumbled, a small glare making its way into Jean's line of site, turning to hopefully catch up with her brother, having no problem sprinting to grab ahold of his arm and get his attention. Jean looked floored.
Jean was pouty all through first period, a class he didn't have with Marco, thankfully not Eren, and disappointingly not Mika? Jean thought for a moment and wondered if that was her name or not. It sounded too.. Different to be a birth-given name. Though, she was Asian.. What relations did she have with Eren, then? Eren was bright eyed and tan skinned. She was pale, skin baby smooth with eyes so dark and gleaming that you could swear you were looking into the world of a painter, using dark black inks to swirl into the irises of her eyes. Although, Eren's bright eyes were actually incredibly mesmerizing. Shining, a greenish-blue. They made him feel like he was swimming in the finest of waters, soft and cool on his skin.
Nah, it's just warm and the lack of sleep is getting to my head. The tall boy shrugged, sitting through the rest of his World History lesson with little to no interest about the Roman Empire, though it was an intriguing subject, he had more important things to think about.
As second period came, Eren sighed, walking with Marco to get his Biology book. "Who was that girl this morning that gave you your lunch money?", the freckled boy asked, holding his books close to his chest as he waited for the other, being in Ms. Zoë's Biology class with him.
"Oh, that's my sister Mikasa.", He muttered, grabbing his binder and standing up straight, closing his locker and turning to Marco.
"But... She was Asian..?", Marco gave him a quizzical look that made Eren start laughing. You'd think at least one person would get it. Maybe it was because he saw Mikasa as his biological sister by now because she had been there for him since they were kids. It wasn't a big deal to him anymore that they weren't blood related.
"She's my adopted sister!", Eren laughed, accidentally bumping into Marco's shoulder as the two began walking to biology.
Eren's lunch was right after fourth period, and by that time he had found that he shared his first period alone, second period with Marco and Mikasa, third period also alone, although he had made friends with a kid named Reiner who was really cool, and his fourth period with Jean, though Reiner as well.
Marco had waved goodbye to him at his locker, saying he wanted to go find Jean and talk to him before he had to go to lunch, unsure when his other friend's lunch was, even as Eren cringed, Marco laughed, giving him an apologetic look, "I know, I know.. Bye Eren.", They waved at each other, before the brunette heard a big slam. He jumped, looking at his other side, it was his new friend Reiner, grinning at him, Eren grinned back.
"Hey man! You got 5th period lunch too?", He asked, and Reiner nodded.
"Hell yeah I do. Wanna sit together?", Reiner looked a little sad when he said it, and Eren could only nod. He threw his stuff in his locker and slammed it, walking with his bigger built friend.
"What's wrong, Reiner? You look a little sad..", Eren asked, a bit concerned. He may have just met him, but Reiner was one of the coolest people he'd ever met, right with Armin. Which was rare. He was into the same bands, old and classic, he loved things like arm wrestling and soccer, and had a motivation to out-do people. Revenge, movies, drawing shitty stick figures on scrap paper, and all sorts of dorky shit that Eren loved. Especially comics. He learned that Reiner loved comics.
"It's just.. This is my first year too, ya know? I was forced to move when custody was given to my mom." That's right his parents are divorced. "And so.. I had to leave behind my bestfriend.. Bertholdt. We've sat next to each other every day at lunch since the first grade..", The blonde let out a laugh, "I miss em', ya know? Tall, skiddish, and hilarious.", He put his hand on Eren's head, tussling his hair, "You remind me of him. Except shorter and you have that angsty-teen vibe goin' on.", He then began laughing louder while Eren glared at him and pushed him.
"Hey, fuck you man!", He smiled despite everything and Reiner smiled back, pushing off the lockers he was smashed into, and kicking his leg out in front of Eren's feet causing him to trip and almost land on his face. As they both cracked up at his fall, he grabbed the other by the ankle and pulled it so he too lost his balance and fell with him.
As they sat on the ground, laughing away at their displays of friendship, two shadows came to bring them out of their broment. "Get the fuck up, cocksuckers. It's time for lunch if you didn't know.", Jean sighed, hands placed on his hips.
"Who the fuck do you think you are Kirstein? Don't tell me what to do you goddamn horseface.", Eren said, him and Reiner both getting up from the ground.
"What the fuck did you just call me?", Jean asked, raising both of his eyebrows in question, taking a step forward like he was willing to fight the smaller boy.
"I called you a horseface, dumbass. Are you deaf? Or are you blind? You have a long ass face. It's annoying."
"F- sH! You're annoying Yaeger! Stupid prick! Marco's too fuckin' good to be your friend!"
Marco blinked, frowning, "Jean!",
"Like you're any better than me, you dick.", Eren grabbed Jean by the front of his shirt, Jean doing the same to Eren.
"Eren.", Reiner interjected, though the brunette ignored him
"Jean, don't condone fighting..", Marco mumbled, grabbing his shoulder, which Jean shrugged off so he could keep eyes on Eren.
"Hit me, c'mon Kirstein. I dare you.",Eren encouraged.
So Jean did. Right in the crotch. Jean really never had been the gentle type.
As he dropped Eren's shirt, the other boy groaned in pain, holding his nether regions as he curled up on the ground, Reiner and Marco soon at his side as Jean walked away. "See you at lunch, Marco.", Jean held up a hand signaling his leave.
The freckled boy looked back and then to Reiner. "Can you help him to lunch? I need to talk to Jean about this..", Reiner nodded, and he stood, rushing to catch up with his friend as he began telling him that he couldn't just do something like that to people.
When Reiner and Eren walked into lunch, Eren was more calmed than he'd been earlier. "Man, thanks for staying.", The brunette mumbled, slightly irritated that Marco had up and left him for the third time that day for Jean.
"Ah, it was no problem. S' what friends do, yeah?", He said, and they both found a table. Sadly, it was one where Eren was facing Jean and Marco at the table in front of them, but he couldn't complain much, because at least he was close to his friends. Which was mainly Reiner, but that wasn't the point.
The both of them got their lunch trays and returned, a small spark lighting in Eren's eyes as he saw the contents of the plate.
Fruit, sandwich, and.. Mashed potatoes? He thought with a shrug, taking a large bite out of his sandwich and looking towards his blonde friend, "You know, Jean's a total dick.", he told him.
"Fuck yeah he is. If I was Marco, I would have punched him in the nose by now. Especially the way he treats little Freckled Saint Teresa.", Eren smiled with a nod. Freckled Saint Teresa, huh?
They continued to chat and bash Jean, muttering about how much of douche hammer he was to each other and giggling at the names they made up for him.
Jean's P.O.V
"So, there's no need to worry! Mikasa's just Eren's sister!", Marco smiled at me, seemingly glad that he could rest my worries.
"Adopted, huh? Never would'a guessed..", I said honestly, hand on my chin in thought. Maybe I have a chance. I smiled, a big happy smile, thinking about that shining head of black hair and that big, beautiful red scarf she'd been wearing this morning. As to why, I didn't know. It was the middle of August. Who wore scarfs in August?
Marco looked at me, a smile forming on his lips to match mine. "What?", He asked, questioning my sudden happy mood. I swear, nothing made me more happy than knowing I had a chance with Mikasa. That was her name, and it was beautiful. Just like her.
"Nah, it's nuthin'. I'm gonna go put my tray up, be right back, dude.", I stood, walking up to dump to contents of my tray and hand it off the the dishwashers. I then turned on my heel, double taking when I could have swore I saw a red scarf, although it ended up just being some freshman in a deep red sweatshirt. I frowned, before hearing the call of my name.
"Hey, Kirstein.", I was not ready when I felt the tug at the waist of my dress pants, blushing a bit when I felt myself being dragged towards someone else, the garment already so loose on me that it pulled from my body.
Oh.
God.
Suddenly I felt squishiness and warmth in my pants and I looked down, startled out of my daze to find the end of Eren motherfucking Yeager's lunch tray down my front and his mashed potatoes pressing to me and all of my undergarments.
I gasped, horrified, quickly looking back to Marco who had a look of complete and utter shock. A laugh. Two laughs. Three, even. People buzzed with laughter, loud and mocking in my ears as a small squak came from my body, seeing the smug look on that stupid fucking brunette's face. "I'm going to kill you.", I muttered through clenched teeth, seeing the other boy stand.
"Awe, poor Jeanie. Punch a dude in the nuts, and he puts mashed potatoes in your pants.", Eren shrugged, taking the other end of the plastic tray and sliding it from my body, holding it properly, the potatoes almost completely off of the tray, having disappeared into the hidden valley that was my trousers. Eren leaned in close, lips almost touching my ear as he stood up a bit on his tip toes to fully reach.
"Nice undies."
I could feel my face burning a deep red in sudden embarrassment. Earlier that morning I had decided on a pair of fuckin' batman print tighty-whities. How fucking embarrassing.
I pushed Eren to the side as quick as I could, rushing out of the lunch room and to the nearest restroom, my face burning red and a tray of goddamn mashed potatoes coating my thighs and gluing my legs and pants together. I unbuttoned the dressy material and got many paper towels, sighing as I wiped at the mess that the biggest asshat I had ever met, Eren Yeager, had made.
Eren's P.O.V
I laughed. I know it was horrible to do, but I just had to. I caught a glimpse of Marco from across the way and as guilty as I felt, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. Jean was a fucking dick nibbler for punching me in the pocket treasures, so of course I'm going to get revenge. "Hah, Nice.", Reiner nodded approvingly as I sat back down next to him. It was pretty nice.
"Horseface better've learned his lesson.", I mumbled as the bell rang to continue on to class. I high-fived my new best friend as we stood, parting ways since our lockers weren't particularly close.
Normal P.O.V
"Fuck yeah!", Eren practically screamed, stretching up. Mikasa smacked his arm lightly, in a warning manner. Carla had taken the liberty in picking them up from school, and Eren couldn't be more grateful. He really didn't want to face Marco, and he was the only one he knew on that stupid fucking bus, so he thanked his mother in appreciation as he hopped into the front seat, growling at the traffic in front of them. How annoying.
The brunette huffed, before leaning forward to switch to his favorite rock station that provided him the best music of the 80s and back.
Upon cranking up the volume, he smiled.
I'm alone
Yeah, I don't know if I can face the night
I'm in tears and the cryin' that I do is for you.
I want your love - Let's break the walls between us.
Don't make it tough - I'll put away my pride
Eren smiled, windows rolled down, rocking in his seat as he turned the volume up loud for people waiting outside to hear.
He sang loud and proud, his favorite band ringing in his ears. Aerosmith was a genius band to him, and he absolutely adored Steven Tyler. Probably one of his idols.
He looked out the window as the chorus began, the traffic getting on his nerves more than ever. He wanted to feel the wind in his hair.
"Baby, you're my angel! Come and save me tonight! You're my angel, come and make it alright!", He moved with the beat, glancing at his mom as he sang and she simply shook her head, smiling. Though he took a double take as he realized who he's been looking at while he sang.
Fucking Jean was staring right at him, wide eyed and amazed. Eren smirked to himself, deciding to humor his schoolmate.
"Don't know what in gonna do!-", He ran a hand down his chest, touching his heart, a shy look on his face as if he was a school girl. "About this feeling inside..", Eren continued to sing, almost obliviously as he got lost in the feeling of the music, and then his head lolled back, looking straight at Jean once more,
"Baby, Baby, You're my angel! Come and save me tonight!-", In that instance, The hair on the back of Jean's neck began to stand up, staring at the same boy who'd shoved mashed potatoes in his pants with a mad blush covering his cheeks. It was as if Eren was singing to him, and that made him feel funny inside. And, maybe he was.
Suddenly, Jean wasn't so angry about the mashed potato incident anymore.
Even as the traffic moved up and Eren was long out of sight.
Even as he climbed into the car with his mom and she questioned his blush.
Nope. Totally not mad.