High School Sweet Hearts
Chapter One
Anything in full sentences italicized when someone is talking means they're speaking in French.
"Your waitress for tonight is Mikasa. She'll be right with you!" The girl smiles at him and walks off, her blonde curls bouncing with each step.
Mikasa, huh?
It's not a common name. Or, as far as he knows, it's not. She's the only Mikasa he knows, so he's sure it's her.
But Mikasa as a waitress doesn't seem so likely. He glances across the table at his daughter, who's babbling on about some toy she saw on TV earlier today that she really wants. "I'll never ask for another toy again!"
Of course, when graduating from high school he didn't think he'd be raising a child by himself.
So Mikasa being a waitress suddenly doesn't feel like such a big deal. But still, he was sure she went off to some fancy college. She graduated top of their class.
When she makes it to their table, he notices she looks the same. She still keeps her hair somewhat short, only reaching her shoulders. She's not wearing much make up. She still even has the scarf.
"Hello, I—Jean?" she stops. She looks like a deer caught in headlights for a moment before slipping back into her withdrawn demeanor. "How long have you been back in town?" she asks.
"It's my first night back," he says. "One of my sister's is getting married in a few weeks."
She nods. She remembers reading somewhere that one of his sister's was getting married. Probably on a slow morning when she was skimming through the newspaper. She never bothers to read it otherwise.
"How've you been?" he asks after a pause.
"Good. I've been good."
"What about Eren?"
Her answer surprises him.
"I don't know. I haven't talked to him for nearly two years. What would you two like to drink?" the subject change is abrupt, but she probably does need to get back to work, he realizes.
"I'll have a pepsi."
"Can I have a pepsi too, daddy? Please?"
"No, you'll be bouncing off the walls."
She pouts, but looks up at Mikasa with a large grin. "I'll have a water, please!"
Mikasa nods and walks back into the kitchen. Jean watches her go. Two years? That is unlikely. He wonders what happened between the two. They'd been attached to the hip when they graduated from high school. Everyone was sure they were going to run off get married before going to college.
Jean never knew. He left New York for California the moment he graduated. This is the first time he's been home in seven years, and he still feels like he needs more time.
Senior year had been terrible for everyone, him especially.
He decides against thinking about it for now. He's only home for a month. After that, he's free. Well, not completely. His gaze moves to his daughter, Sofia. She's flipped over her placemat and is currently drawing something that appears more like a mess of scribbles with the crayons that the hostess had given her. Her hair is blonde, but it has natural brown highlights throughout it. (He's glad that her hair isn't exactly like his; he was always made fun of as a child because of his hair.) Her eyes are a bright blue like her mother's, but other than that she takes mostly after him.
It still shocks him sometimes. The thought of him being a father is terrifying to him, but he thinks he's done pretty well in the past five years. Especially for the whole thing not being planned and raising her alone. Her mother walked out the moment she was born and hasn't been heard from since. Not that Jean minds. It was intended to be a one night stand, but things don't always go as planned.
"Hey, daddy?" she looks up from her drawing. "Do you know that lady?"
"You mean our waitress? Yeah, she's an old friend."
"An old friend?"
He nods. "We were friends back in high school. I haven't seen her in years."
Sofia nods back to her dad, her concentration shifting back to the placemat. Mikasa comes back with their drinks and asks if they're ready to order. Jean doesn't need to look over the menu to order; he still remembers the entire thing from his high school days. This diner was the place where everyone used to hang out. He gets his usual and Sofia says that she wants pasta. Jean adds that she doesn't like sauce or parsley on it, only butter.
Mikasa leaves for the kitchen again and it hits Jean with some sort of odd déjà vu. He can't quite place why he's getting this feeling, though. She's not the one who left, after all.
The next time she returns, she serves them their food and asks if there's anything else they need.
The two eat in silence most of the time, and a new place (to Sofia, at least) doesn't change that. Sofia likes to eat her food quickly while it's still warm. It always reminds Jean of Sasha. He wonders what happened to her after high school. Really, he wants to know what happened to everyone. After leaving, he dropped all contact with his past classmates. It simply hurt too much to have any sort of interaction with them. Even years later, the thought of it seems wrong to him.
Mikasa brings out the bill and takes their dirty dishes. When Jean's signing the bill, he decides to add his number under his name. It wouldn't hurt, right? Maybe Mikasa will take the time to text him, or even call him, and fill him in on what's happened in their small town in the past seven years. Or maybe she'll ask about Sofia, seeing as no one here besides Jean's family knows about her.
"Ready to go?"
"Yeah!" Sofia jumps from the seat, making her way towards the door. She stops at the short table next to the hostess's stand and grabs a sucker. Jean sighs, but lets it go. He holds the door open and Sofia skips over the threshold. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Mikasa staring at the slip of paper. She glances up at him and their eyes meet for a short second before Jean turns away and follows after his daughter.
And so begins my new au! The idea struck a few nights ago, so I'm kind of surprised I have the first chapter up already! But I'm seriously pumped for this. I hope you guys like it!