"Eren Jaeger if you don't wake up right now I will personally kick down this door and wake you up myself!"
Eren groaned loudly, making sure it sounded as pitiful as possible, and smiled softly when he heard his mom laugh through the bedroom door.
"Seriously, Eren." Carla said a little more calm. "It's the first day of senior year. You can't be late."
Eren wanted to argue that yes indeed, he could be late. Just because it was senior year, that didn't mean anything. If anything, he was more ready to put a middle finger up to Trost High and get his diploma, making sure to moon Principal Pixis on his way across the stage.
"Alright." He eventually responded, sure that his mom had left the other side of his door by now. He could hear the television blaring from the living room, already recognizing the voice of Maria's local anchormen robotically resonating through the thin-walled house.
The warmth of his bed was calling to him, like, siren of the ocean calling. The sweet song of sleep, sleep, sleep, go back to fucking sleep…
His door burst open suddenly, almost hitting the wall. Eren gasped, just knowing that his mom came back to keep true to her word, and he started yelling.
"I'm up, I'm up. See, I'm up!" He shouted, voice still craggy. "Don't hurt me."
His eyes were still squinted, trying to shield themselves from the sudden burst of energy he forced on himself. Only when he adjusted his eyes did he realize it was Mikasa, unsuccessfully trying not to laugh, standing in his doorway, already dressed for school.
"Jean said he'll be here by seven thirty. It's already seven." She said, tucking her long hair behind her ears.
"Shit." Eren mumbled. "Alright. Save me some breakfast."
Mikasa left the room, not as loudly as she had come in, and Eren, upon instinct, picked up his cell phone from his bedside table and walked to his desk, connecting the AUX cord from the phone to the speaker, immediately heading for the 'school' playlist.
Yeah, he had made it last year, making sure it was a list of melancholy indie that would suit his mood perfectly for school. Whoever came up with the term 'senioritis' needed a medal and a free trip to Moe's. Because they were so right. Eren's enthusiasm for school had decreased so much that it would make a perfect example for a pareto chart if rated on a scale from ten to zero. Ten being excited and zero not giving half a fuck.
Eren was at about a five right now. Senior year had its pros and cons of course, as everything did. Pros: graduation, eating outside, no more mandatory school. Cons: more responsibilities, national testing, and college applications.
Eren sighed heavily at just the mention of college in his own mind. He didn't really want to think about that at the moment, or anytime soon, but unfortunately, graduation would be here in a blink of an eye, and he really needed to start taking it seriously.
Or that's what his mom kept telling him. Carla was a woman with a bright smile and magnetic personality. All of his friends called her mom, as she was supportive to them all. As gentle as she was in motherhood, she could be just as fierce. As soon as junior year started, she began harping on Eren and Mikasa about national testing and thinking about college. Actually, she didn't really harp on Mikasa as much, but Eren, oh, she got in his ass.
Eren left his room after he set his clothes out on his bed, and walked across the hallway to the bathroom he and Mikasa shared.
Going through the motions of a regular morning, Eren thought about what this school year would be like. Never mind college and things, he was more concerned about soccer this year.
Just the thought made him crack a smile at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. He'd really been missing it; the freshly cut, green grass, the familiar feel of kicking the ball, running, and synchronizing with all the other guys on the team.
Last year's season had been great. They had gotten all the way up to regionals, and what was supposed to be the most important game in Eren's life had ended terribly for him, thus ending their season.
He got hurt. A nice little spasm in his left calf. He couldn't play for the rest of the game, nor could he stand. He refused to go to the hospital until the game was over though. He wanted to see his friends play, wanted to continue to cheer them on.
Eren wasn't a bragger, but his presence was pretty important in a game. He was considered the best player on the team, and sometimes he thinks it's just because he can play aggressively, but he does pretty well, considering soccer is life and if he could run away and play soccer forever on his bare feet he would.
Okay, maybe not.
He would at least wear shoes.
He wanted so desperately to do well at regionals. There were scouts there, watching both teams to see which players held enough value to be worth talking to. There were cameras, the stands were full, and everyone was there to see the age-old rivalry: Trost against Sina High.
Eren stopped thinking about it, not wanting to bring back any negative feelings. He was already in a mood because he had to wake up for school, and he didn't want to think about that horrible night.
He left the bathroom, hoping he was making good time. Because even though Jean was a good friend, he would fucking leave him at home and go to school without him. Plus, that would give him some alone time with Mikasa, and Eren was sure the fuckboy would appreciate it.
When he went back in his room, he started dressing quickly, hoping there was still food in the kitchen. It wasn't that mom didn't take care of them, but Eren was a teenage boy, and sometimes he wondered if his mom thought she was feeding mice instead of teens.
He sang along to Radiohead while putting on his black vans, which matched nicely with his dark jeans and white hoodie. Eren grabbed his bookbag, which he literally bought yesterday, and made sure there were enough supplies in there for the first day of school at least.
He unplugged his phone and turned off his speakers, quickly scanning his dirty room for anything he might need. Deciding that he was good, he left the bedroom quickly, seeing that it was 7:15 according to his phone.
Walking down the wooden-floored hallway, Eren ignored the blaring TV in the living room, and walked right into the kitchen, where Mikasa and mom were standing at the counter, eating and talking.
Carla started to sing 'Dancing Queen' as Eren walked into the kitchen, waving an arm elaborately in the air as she did so.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty." She said, gesturing to a plate covered with a paper towel on the counter adjacent to where they were. "Breakfast is over there."
Eren put his bookbag on the floor next to the island, and went to the counter. His stomach was already rumbling, and he could hear a choir start to sing in his head as he lifted the paper towel…
To reveal oatmeal with minced bits of strawberries sprinkled on top.
Eren turned around, a 'really' expression on his face. Mikasa laughed behind her glass of orange juice while Carla hardly bat an eye.
"Brown sugar is in the spice cabinet."
Eren made an indignant sound. "Come on, ma. It's the first day of school, and you send us off with oatmeal?"
"It's healthy." She responded, throwing her hands up to defend herself. "Athletes have to eat healthy, right?"
Eren was about to tell her she was right, but then he paused, raising a hand and pointing a finger at Mikasa's plate.
"Is that bacon!?"
Mikasa smiled softly. "I got up early enough to make my own breakfast."
Mom laughed at Eren's flustered expression, and started singing 'Dancing Queen' again as he pillaged the pantry for cereal.
There was a sad amount of Pops left in the box, and they were probably stale. Eren put the box back in the pantry and began to stress weep.
"Mom." He whined, going towards her. She was standing in front of the sink now, rinsing her plate off and washing a few other dishes when Eren hugged her from behind.
"Why do you do these things?" He asked dramatically. Carla laughed loudly, and Mikasa was nibbling on her piece of bacon in the background.
"There is nothing wrong with oatmeal. And you know, when you go into the real world, I'm not going to be there, and neither is Mikasa, to make you breakfast. If you want something, you're going to have to get it yourself."
Eren closed his eyes and forced himself from rolling them. Leave it to parents to turn things into a lecture.
"You're tearing me apart, Carla!"
"Oh my god." Mikasa muttered behind them.
Carla laughed. "Hey, someone's moving into the house across the street."
As if on cue, Mikasa walked forward, looking out the octagon shaped window above the sink to see what she was talking about. Eren looked too, raising both his eyebrows.
"Somebody bought it that quick, huh." He stated.
"Yea." Mikasa said. "Miss Dooney was only buried two weeks ago."
"She died in that house." Eren stated quickly, shaking his head. "I hope whoever is moving in there knows that."
Carla huffed. "I'm sure they do. It's like when you buy a car, you have to get facts before you buy. Like 'show me the house facts.'"
"Stop." Mikasa said.
"The yard's a mess." She continued. They watched a moving truck back into the driveway, and saw a lady getting out of the passenger side. She was young, thin, with light red hair that wasn't too common in their area. Pretty.
"Oh, it's a chick." Eren whistled. "Should I go introduce myself?"
"Eren, she looks like an adult." Carla mentioned.
"I'll be eighteen in March." He countered. Mikasa smacked the back of his head.
"Well," Carla sighed, "She's going to have a fun time finding someone to clean that yard. My god, look at the bushes. They're so…bushy."
"Did you get enough sleep last night, mom?" Mikasa asked. Eren burst into laughter, avoiding a quick swat from Carla.
"Go away!" She shouted. "Both of you. All you two do is make fun of me."
"You do it to yourself, mom." Eren said, going back to pick up his bookbag. He took one last lingering look at the depressing oatmeal on the plate, and decided he could stick it out until lunch.
He left the kitchen, heading into the living room. Tired of hearing the news casters, Eren turned to his favorite music channel, and began humming along with the song that was currently playing.
He sat on his couch and messed with his phone, scrolling down social media sites with little interest, enjoying the music; the leisurely time he had before he had to go back to hell.
Leave it to Jeannyboy to come in and interrupt that serene atmosphere.
"Yo!" He called out, walking through the front door of the house like he lived there.
"Get out." Eren said nonchalantly, still looking at his phone. Carla came out of the kitchen and greeted him with enthusiasm.
"Jean!" She squealed, rushing over to give him a motherly bear hug. Mikasa came out of the kitchen slowly, adjusting her backpack over one shoulder.
"How was the countryside?" Carla asked, still gripping Jean's arm.
"Oh, it was great." Jean responded. "We always love going out there. Mom always has a nice time with her side of the family."
"And the horses?" Carla asked.
"Fine and fast as always." He answered with a dazzling smile. There was a reason why mothers loved Jean Kirstein. He had a charm about him that pulled in single mothers, wanting him to date their daughters. He was a 'kind' rich kid with a mind that knew how to fool parents.
"Of course he had a good time." Eren interrupted, standing up and grabbing his bag. "He's always comfortable around his kind."
Mikasa laughed, which made Jean's smile falter a bit. Carla was smiling softly, trying to shoot Eren a disciplinary look.
"Eren, be nice."
"Yea Eren." Jean added, squinting at him and smiling. "Listen to your mother."
"What?" Eren asked, throwing his hands in the air. "I was talking about his family."
"No you were not." Carla said, finally letting go of Jean's arm. "You look so nice, Jean."
Jean's idiotic smile brightened again, and Eren scowled. Sometimes he just wanted to tell him to stop.
"…and it was on sale for one fifty. That's a pretty good deal for a polo cardigan." Jean finished.
Eren let his mouth drop in annoyance, and glanced at Mikasa, who was looking right back at him with the same expression on her face. She smiled and mouthed 'fuckboy.' Eren started laughing again, interrupting their conversation.
"Eren!" Carla yelled.
"It was Mikasa this time!" Eren argued, laughing.
Carla huffed. "Alright, you three. Go, I don't want you being late for school."
The trio called out there words of parting and headed out the dark green front door. Carla came up behind them, stopping at the threshold.
"Have a nice day!" She rang, closing the door behind her.
"Man, your mom is so nice." Jean said. Eren groaned, knowing this was about to take a foul turn, because it was Jean and the universe wasn't nice.
"Ya know, I don't see how she's not in a relationship." Jean continued, clicking the button on his car keys to unlock his pretty little silver corvette that his mom passed down to him. "She's so…pretty."
"Jean." Eren said in a warning tone.
He got in the backseat while Mikasa sat in the passenger. Jean's bookbag was in the back seat as well, in its brown leather glory.
"What?" Jean asked. "All I'm saying is your mother is very nice and beautiful."
He started the engine, the car rendering a nice purr. As much as Eren got annoyed with Jean's rich boy status sometimes, he had to admit, he liked riding in this car.
Jean backed out the driveway carefully, waiting until he was fully out and straightened to plug in his phone to the radio. Eren took the time to look to his side and observe the house across the street. There was car parked in the driveway next to the moving vehicle now. The trunk to the car was opened, as was the garage door, and Eren noticed there were two other people along with the lady in the garage. One of them was shorter than the other.
M83 blared in the car, which neither Eren or Mikasa minded, and Jean pulled off.
"Eren, your mom's fucking hot."
Mikasa muttered something under her breath, while Eren laughed and rolled his eyes.
"There's the Jean I know and remember."
Jean cackled. Yes, Eren described his loud laugh as a cackle. It was much too harsh and sharp to be considered 'laughing.'
"I'm just saying, I'll be eighteen in April. Maybe I could be your stepfather one day."
"Your mom should have swallowed you." Mikasa said dryly, smirking as she did so.
Jean looked at her and looked away quickly, a shocked expression on his face. He slowed down when he pulled to the front of their neighborhood.
"Well, that's the only thing you've said to me this morning, 'Kasa."
Eren frowned, shaking his head. Jean was already fucking up.
"Hello Jean." Mikasa said nonchalantly, looking out the window.
Jean tried to smile, but it wasn't really working. Eren could tell he was struggling with finding words to say to her, so he intervened.
"But seriously though, the vacation was good?" Eren asked. He didn't really care about the answer, he was just trying to save Jean.
"Yea." Jean answered, eyes trained on the road. "The horses have gotten a lot better. I'm already ready for winter break."
Eren nodded, even though Jean couldn't see him. Jean really did like riding horses. Every winter break, Jean would go back to the countryside for a week or so, and spend time with them. Something about the cold air was refreshing.
"Have you talked to Armin?" Jean asked quickly, not to anyone in particular, although he already knew Eren would be the one to answer.
"Last night." Eren answered quickly. "He was gonna pick us up, but he bad to be at school early this morning for an NHS meeting."
"Oh okay. He's gonna be really busy this year."
Eren didn't answer, he didn't even nod. He really didn't want to talk or think about Armin right now.
"Hey, did you guys hear about soccer this week?"
That immediately caught Eren's attention. "No! What about it?"
"Hanji wants to start tryouts this Wednesday." Mikasa answered for him.
"How did you get the memo and I didn't?" Eren asked loudly, already annoyed.
"It was sent as an e-mail." Jean said. "You know, those things that aren't exactly text messages, and show up on an inbox online. That thing you never check."
Eren scoffed. "Cellular contact is much more efficient."
"Anyway," Jean said, ignoring him, "she wants varsity boys and girls to be there so we can demonstrate what we do to the newcomers."
Newcomers meant a variety of things. It meant freshman that were thinking they had a good chance of getting on the team, or sophomores who were finally branching out, or juniors who didn't get it their sophomore year, or even some seniors who wanted to be a part of something their final year.
"So, do varsity players still have to try out?"
"I don't know." Jean answered, shrugging his shoulders.
He turned right onto a road that Eren had the displeasure of traveling down for four years. They were close to Trost High.
"Hanji will probably make us condition." Mikasa said, still looking out the window.
Eren and Jean hummed in agreement, and the rest of the short ride was spent in silence as they pulled up to a large and familiar school campus with green grass and red bricks.
"Home sweet home!" Jean shouted sarcastically. Both Mikasa and Eren cheered with feigned enthusiasm. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Trost, but that senioritis was no joke.
"Oh!" Jean said quickly, pulling into a close parking spot. "I forgot. We have to compare schedules."
"Mikasa has literally no classes with me." Eren said angrily.
"You say that like it's my fault." She answered, pulling her schedule out of the front pocket of her dark purple bookbag.
"It is. You have all the smart classes!"
Jean reached in his pocket, and handed Eren his schedule over the seat. Eren took it hurriedly; interested to see what classes they might have together.
It was a given that they would have their career class together, as they had all the other years of high school.
"Okay." Eren said. "We have 1st and 3rd Engineering, and Statistics 7th."
"So, on odd days, I'll have you almost every class." Jean tried to sound disgusted. "As if I need that much Jaeger in my life."
"And practice after school." Eren smiled, throwing the paper back towards the driver's seat. "We'll be joined at the hip."
Jean laughed (cackled). "Hey Mikasa, can I see your schedule?"
Eren pursed his lips. He could get out of the car now and save himself from witnessing this awkward interaction. Or he could stay and get a good laugh out of it.
Mikasa handed him the paper and Jean took it slowly, as if it was holding the answer to a lifelong question. It was painful to watch.
"Hey, we have D.E. English together!" He said happily. "That's it though. And only on even days. 6th period."
Mikasa took back the paper, folding it and putting it in her book bag. "Cool." She said. "I'm gonna go meet Annie."
"Where is Lionhart?" Eren said, grabbing his bag too, opening the car door.
"The senior tables." She answered, smirking at his habit of purposely saying Annie's last name wrong.
"I'm going with you." Eren said, closing his car door and stretching. Jean got out too, and Mikasa was already walking away.
"Hey, we're going to the senior tables. The whole crew's probably gonna be there. You coming?"
Jean shrugged. "I think I'm going to go ahead and head to Engineering. Pick my locker early."
He was getting his bag out the backseat. Eren said goodbye as he walked off. He knew Mr. Mac didn't allow students to pick lockers, they had to be assigned, but he chose not to call him out on it.
Eren sighed heavily as he walked closer to the gated entrance to the bane of his existence. There were already teens milling around the front, in the grass, and by the small fountain. There were freshman, standing alone, looking over their schedules to keep appearances up.
Eren squinted. It might just be him, but the freshmen were getting smaller and smaller since Eren passed to sophomore year. The few he saw in the yard looked like they were still in sixth grade. And…hold the fuck up…was that a roller bookbag he just saw!?
"Eren!"
Eren looked behind of him, and smiled when he saw his friend walking quickly towards him.
"Come here." He smiled, holding his arms wide open. Krista practically jumped into his embrace, and hugged him tight.
"Eren!" She said again, but this time it was much louder since she was directly in his ear.
"Look at you." He said, smirking. "Trying to make everyone drool on just the first day."
Krista laughed. It was like a faerie laugh. Small and high pitched. "No, of course not."
Eren and Kirsta began to walk, Eren's arm around her small shoulders. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. How was France?"
"Beautiful!" Krista chirped. "I took so many pictures. You got my postcards right?"
Eren nodded enthusiastically. "They're on my white board at home."
"And Mikasa got hers?"
"Yea. They're on her wall."
"Good. I was hoping everyone got them."
They made more chit chat while walking towards the senior tables outside. They were the lunch tables specifically designated for seniors, and underclassmen would get in trouble for eating out there if they were caught, as if the seniors would ever let them get close enough.
Krista and Eren heard Connie before they saw him. When they walked around the corner, they saw Connie beating on the metal table with a pencil and his fists, and Reiner unsuccessfully trying to freestyle while standing on top of the table.
Krista slipped from Eren's grip and ran up to the table. As soon as Connie heard her high pitched sounds and little feet tapping on the concrete, he stopped beating, and smiled wide.
"Lenz!" He yelled, arms wide opened. He looked a little dejected when Reiner jumped down from the table and hugged her first.
Reiner spun her around, and Krista laughed wildly. "I've missed you too!"
Annie and Mikasa were a few feet away, standing up to go greet Krista as well.
"Reiner, you have to let her go eventually." Connie said, still standing with his arms wide open for a hug.
"But I've missed this angel." Reiner said, laughing heartily. Eren walked up, smiling too. Eventually, Reiner let Krista go, but only so she could hug everyone else. When she was done making her rounds, he pulled her into a side hug.
"Okay." Reiner said quickly. "Where the hell is Jeannboy, freckled jesus, potatoe, coconut, bitch, and sweaty?"
Connie cleared his throat. "I don't know about Jean. Marco's picking up Mina, Sasha is already in the culinary lab, Armin had an NHS meeting this morning, Ymir's probably just fucking late, and shouldn't you know where your own boyfriend is?"
Annie smirked.
"He text me this morning saying he would meet us at the tables." Reiner answered. "I guess he's late."
"Jean's already in engineering." Eren added. The group nodded.
"Speaking of Bert, how are you and him coming along?" Krista cooed, making little heart symbols with her fingers.
"We're really good actually." Reiner said, smiling. "We got to hang out a lot over the summer."
"You know what that means." Connie said in a deep voice. Mikasa and Krista both smacked his arm, and he laughed.
"Yeah." Reiner agreed. "We got a lot of practice in."
Eren grimaced, and Annie mocked throwing up.
"By practice I hope you mean football." Eren said, checking his phone for the time. The bell would ring soon.
"Of course." Annie said mischievously. "They've been practicing sacking, right?"
Reiner laughed suggestively.
Krista squeaked. Connie muttered 'gross.' Eren laughed.
"Okay, I can't." Krista said. "I'm going to class. The bell's going to ring soon and I don't want to get mistaken for a freshman in the masses and be trampled over."
"What do you have?" Reiner asked.
"My career class. Nursing." She said.
"Oh, yeah, we're going in the same direction." Reiner said, pulling Krista along.
"Let's go Eren." Connie said. "I don't really want to be lost in the crowd either."
Eren threw up a deuce to Annie and Mikasa, who were in the same biomedical class together, along with Reiner and Bert, as they walked off.
"Why'd Jean go to class early?" Connie said, walking in stride with Eren.
"He said he wanted to get there early to pick out his locker." Eren shrugged.
"Mr. Mac doesn't let us pick lockers." Connie said with confusion in his voice.
"Yeah, well…" Eren broke off. "Jean drove me and Mika to school."
"Oh," Connie said, automatically understanding. "Was it awkward?"
"A little, yeah. I don't really think he's comfortable around Mikasa anymore."
"Is she still mad?"
Eren furrowed his eyebrows and tucked his hair behind his ear. "I don't know. Maybe. I doubt it. Mikasa's not really the kind of person to be mad forever, but she can hold contempt against someone."
"Well, they have to be on good terms right? If he offered to take both of you to school."
"I don't know." Eren said again."We're kind of a packaged deal. It would be way too fucking rude to just pick me up and not her."
"Well, you should be getting a car soon, right?"
"Hopefully. Then we won't have to deal with the awkwardness anymore."
Connie agreed, and he and Eren got into a conversation about soccer that lasted the remainder of their walk to class.
888
By the time lunch rolled around, Eren's stomach was weeping. Jean and Connie were laughing and talking about what the team would be like this year since the loss of last year's seniors.
"We're gonna hold it up!" Connie said as they walked towards the cafeteria. "But now we won't even be on the bench for a minute. Coach is gonna have us up for the whole game."
"Hopefully." Jean said. "We also have to vote on who's going to be captain once she decides who's on the team and who's not."
"It'll be you." Eren said. He was a short distance ahead of them. His stomach was making him walk faster.
"You think so?" Jean said, scratching the back of his head. "I don't know. I think it'll be Marco."
"Nah." Connie said, sure of himself. "Not Marco. He's good, but he's not you."
Jean didn't have time to ask what that meant before they reached the crowded cafeteria.
All the seniors were allowed to go to A lunch. So, Eren recognized most of his classmates, and breezed past the nervous freshman blocking every walkway possible.
"It told Mr. Mac we should have left early!" Connie said. "He hates us."
Jean groaned. "He gave us so much fucking book work. And it's only the first day."
Eren agreed. Mr. Mac (Connie like to call him Mr. Macadamia; he'd always get bookwork for that) was cool, but he was also very serious when it came to work and learning. His teaching wasn't fast paced, but his projects were insane sometimes. And just because he assigned a project didn't mean he slacked on class work and homework either.
Eren wasn't even sure if he wanted to do anything in engineering at all. He liked the class, the things he learned were interesting, and he could see himself in the field, but he didn't have an overwhelming passion for it like some students (Jean.)
The lunch line moved slowly, considering it was the first day, and some freshman didn't even know their student number, so they had to fish around their book bags for their schedule for it. It would be easier if everyone just had a school badge.
"Hurry up, shit!" Connie yelled, already starting to eat some of his potato wedges. Eren was so close to following in his footsteps. He needed food desperately. Trying to be a decent person and waiting to pay for his food before eating it was not working. Jean laughed.
"Did you not eat breakfast this morning?" He asked Connie.
"Sasha didn't come by this morning, so no."
Eren laughed. "Still haven't popped the question?"
"No." Connie answered quickly, eating another potato wedge. "We're just friends. How many times do I have to tell you idiots that?"
"Until you're actually telling the damn truth." Jean responded. Eren pointed at him in agreement.
"I hate you both. Jaeger I hope you fail our next test."
Eren answered with a perfectly straight middle finger in Connie's direction. A few of the freshman in line looked nervous, as if the familiarity amongst upperclassmen was awkward for them.
By the time they reached the front of the line, Eren had already eaten half his potato wedges, and Connie ate all of his.
They maneuvered out of the crowded building and headed outside towards the senior tables.
"All I'm saying is that you'll never know until you try." Jean said. Eren looked at him and Connie, just tuning into their conversation.
"I don't wanna fuck up." Connie said sadly. "If she doesn't feel the same, and I put myself out there like that just to get rejected, it's going to make everything awkward."
"I wouldn't take relationship advice from Kirstein anyway." Eren said.
"Fuck you." Jean said, throwing a chip at Eren. He easily dodged.
"Eleven o'clock tonight. Bring lube if you're ready." Eren said, bursting into laughter at the same time Connie did.
Jean smiled.
The rest of the group was already at the tables, much to Eren's relief. It was good to see the family all together.
"Yo!" Connie said, wrapping a free arm around Marco's neck after he set down his food. "I missed you freckled sweetcheeks."
Mina, who was sitting next to Marco, laughed, and stopped once she saw Eren.
"Hey guys!" Eren waved.
"Jaeger bomb!" Sasha yelled. Eren went to her end of the table, sitting on the end next to Mikasa.
"Stop calling him that." Reiner said. He was sitting quite close to Bert, with Krista on his other side. Ymir was sitting next to her.
"Mind if I sit here?" Jean asked Ymir.
Ymir waved a hand dismissively. Jean sat down.
"The gang's back together." Connie said, as he pulled up a random chair and sat at the head of the table.
"This isn't Scooby Doo." Sasha said, smiling.
Connie cleared his throat. "I don't remember asking you to speak."
Sasha spit out an insult to Connie, something about being short, and the whole table laughed. It was good natured fun.
"How was everyone's summer?" Marco asked.
There was a collective answer of 'good' and 'nice' and 'fun.' And one 'shitty.'
"Why?" Marco asked Eren.
"Because all of you fuckers went out of town and left me here."
They laughed.
"Do we have assembly today?" Ymir asked, a fry hanging halfway out of her mouth.
"You know we do." Reiner answered. "It's the first day. Pixis has to make his 'welcome home and welcome' speech to the student body and faculty."
"We should all just put up a middle finger, slowly, as he walks onto the stage." Connie said, making everyone laugh.
Jean spoke. "You know he always does the same shit. Class of 018, 017, 016, and when he says 015, we should all just put up a finger."
Ymir smirked. "I'm down."
Reiner agreed.
Bert spoke. "Won't we get in trouble?"
"Not if he can't see our faces." Eren said. "Let's all just kind of hang our heads low when he flick him off."
"Deal." Connie said.
Annie rolled her eyes. "You guys are idiots."
Connie stared at her. "If you had a dollar for every time you've said that to us…"
"She'd have enough to afford that soccer trainer she so desperately needs." Ymir said, smirking as she did so.
The whole table 'oooooohed' and Annie laughed dryly.
"Okay bitch." She said. "I see how it is."
"Love you, Lion." Ymir said.
"Who do you think is going to be captain of the team?" Mina asked, drinking her milk.
Eren looked up at her. She looked away.
"Well, earlier I was saying Jean for the boys, and I think Mikasa should be captain for the girls." Connie answered.
Everyone nodded in agreement accept for the two people mentioned.
"Fuck soccer." Reiner said suddenly.
Connie let out a loud 'ha', knowing he was doing this on purpose.
"All you guys do is kick a ball around until it eventually gets in the net."
"Get the fuck out." Eren said, pointing in a random direction. "Bert can go with you."
Bert started laughing, face turning red just a bit.
"And all you do is hit people." Jean said. "Fuck football."
Bert stopped laughing. "Now wait just a minute there, Jean."
Everyone stilled, waiting to see what he would say.
"Weren't you the one who tried out for the football team and didn't get in?"
Eren almost choked on his milk.
Mikasa and Annie smirked. The rest of the table erupted into laughter.
"You have been shut the fuck down!" Connie said, laughing as he pointed at Jean.
"Good point, Bert." Ymir said.
Marco sent Jean a reassuring look. "It's okay, Jean. At least you're great at soccer."
"The only thing he's good at." Annie said.
Jean huffed, finishing off his milk. "Why is everyone ganging up on me?"
"Because you're a fuckboy." Ymir answered.
Jean glared at her, ready to retort with a nice insult before he was interrupted.
"Room for one more?"
The whole group looked to see where the voice was coming from.
"Coconut!" Reiner screamed.
"Boy, get your sweet ass over here!" Connie yelled.
Mikasa looked at Annie. She was looking at her lap.
"Where have you been?" Krista asked, standing up to hug him. Armin didn't have any food, and Eren wondered if he had already eaten.
"I ate inside with some of the chess kids." Armin said.
Eren bit the inside of his cheek.
Krista sat back down. "Jean, scoot down so Army can sit."
Eren watched his best friend sit at the other end of the table. When he got settled in, his blue eyes scanned the table and found Eren's.
His smile faded a bit.
"Hey, Eren."
"Hey, Armin." Mikasa and Eren said.
"How was the meeting?' Krista asked, still eating her food. She took little mouse bites.
"It was really nice. There are a lot of freshman that have good credentials so far. This year's induction ceremony should have a lot of people."
"Look at you, already embracing your duty as president." Connie said.
Armin laughed. "Well, I don't even know how I got there, but I'm there. So, how was everyone's break?"
Eren wanted to shout out that they had already talked about that, and he should have been there earlier, but he drank the rest of his milk and noticed how it was hard to swallow.
888
The rest of the day went by kind of slow. Eren had Government 5th period. Sasha was in that class with him.
When he reached Statistics, he noticed the classroom smelled like cheese, and he saw Jean, already sitting in the back, on his phone.
"Why does it stink in here?" Eren asked, setting his book bag on the desk.
"Because you're in here." Jean said, still looking at his phone.
Eren was so used to insults being passed between him and Jean that he just stopped replying to all of them. It was just how they communicated.
"Why do I have to have a math?" Eren asked. "I already have all my credits."
"For the sake of rigor." Jean sighed, putting his phone in his pocket. "And it's an honors course."
Eren frowned. This was his fifth honors class, aside from his two Engineering classes, A&P and Government. He wasn't so sure how that was going to work out. He hadn't had honors classes before.
A few more students came into the room, all them sitting a part from each other. It seemed that no one really knew each other in here, and Eren was never more thankful for Jean's presence than right then. He was going to need someone to cheat off of.
The bell rang, and the teacher walked in. More like bounced in. The teacher was a young male, probably somewhere in his twenties, and his hair was in a greasy pony tail at the nape of his neck.
"Good morning class! Oh, I mean, good afternoon. I forgot, this is seventh period, last class of the day. My bad."
Eren already didn't like him.
"We have assembly today, so we won't have much time in here. So, I'm just going to pass out this syllabus and you can take it home, get it signed, and bring it back by the end of the week."
He was one of those teachers that licked their fingers while passing out papers, and said 'here ya go' to each and every single person.
Eren groaned, and Jean laughed.
"Here ya' go!" The teacher said to Eren. "Here ya' go!" He said to Jean.
"Thanks Mr. Moore." Jean said.
The teacher smiled. "You are welcome."
Eren looked at Jean. "Already kissing ass."
"I looked through our textbook for this class, and believe me, you better start kissing ass too." Jean said, throwing the syllabus in his bag.
888
The announcement was made for seniors to report to the auditorium. Then juniors. And so on and so forth.
The auditorium was spacious and carpeted, the seats were raked. It always smelled brand new when you walked in. All school plays, meetings, and awards ceremonies took place here.
Eren and Jean found the rest of the group quickly. There were only two seats left in that row, and one of them was next to Mikasa.
Eren looked back at Jean and raised an eyebrow. Jean waved him off.
Eren took the seat next to Mikasa, and Jean took the seat next to Eren. The whole group took up the whole row.
"We still putting the fingers up?" Connie asked. Eren nodded, saying that he was. Jean said yes, figuring he'd go along with it.
"Where's Armin?" Jean asked, leaning forward in his seat and looking down the row. "He's not sitting with us."
"He's in SGA, so he has to sit with them at the front." Krista answered.
Eren didn't say anything.
The dean, Mr. Shadis, walked up to the podium, which was centered on the raised stage.
He cleared his throat in the mic.
Connie plugged his ears.
"Good afternoon, Titans!"
There were cheers, mainly coming from the juniors and sophomores.
"He's so loud." Annie said, checking a nail.
"You think we'd be used to it by now." Eren said.
Shadis was a naturally loud, domineering man. Some people's presence just required attention and respect, and he was one of those people. Eren remembered being in his office a few times, for petty scuffles, or talking back to the teacher.
"I am your dean, Keith Shadis. For those of you who do not know me, you should hope to never be in my office."
There was a soft murmur of laughter.
"Well, I'm not here to make a speech. But I'm here to introduce your principal, Mr. Dot Pixis. Let's give him a hand as he comes up."
The crowd started clapping as Mr. Pixis entered from left stage. Eren, Connie, Jean, Reiner, Ymir, and even Krista started looking at one another with shit eating grins on their faces.
"Good afternoon, Trost High."
Pixis wasn't as loud as Shadis, but his voice certainly was craggier.
"Before I say anything else, where's the Titans of 018?"
He held out a hand to the freshman section, and they caught on quickly, cheering as loudly as they could. There were boo's coming from every direction, from Eren as well.
"Titans of 017?"
The sophomores cheered. Connie always said it was funny to hear how everyone's collective voice got deeper by each class.
"Oh, the sophomores sound nice. What about the Titans of 016?"
The juniors were alright, but they weren't loud, or as hyped as anyone else. There was nothing exciting about being a junior. It was that awkward stage between 'you're still an underclassmen so you have no power here' and 'we're almost over everyone.'
"And how about the Titans of 015?"
The senior class cheered, loudly, the loudest. Eren and his assailants did as they planned, and put up a nice middle finger to the stage. Connie even stood up with his.
Pixis seemed to notice, because his eyes narrowed in their direction, and Krista put her finger down quickly, laughing as she did so. Jean put his down too. Eren, Reiner, Ymir, and Connie were still going strong.
Other students must have noticed, because they started laughing. Some started following in their footsteps.
"Alright. That is quite enough." Pixis said, his voice back to its serious tone. Even some of the teacher faculty was snickering, hoping no one saw them as they stood on the sides of the room.
They put their fingers down, leaning down the row to high five one another. Annie sighed.
"Idiots."
"Keep working on that trainer, Lion." Ymir said.
The rest of the assembly was spent with Pixis, explaining the rules and guidelines of Trost, the lunch schedules, and the various clubs that were available. All that information was mostly for the freshman.
Seventh period was close to ending by the time Pixis was done. They weren't really in there for a long time, considering 7th period was the shortest of the day.
"Alright. Thank you for your attention, and now you will be dismissed by classes."
Freshman were allowed to leave first, much to the seniors dislike. Then sophomores. Then juniors.
When the seniors were released, Pixis came back to the mic.
"Oh, and Mr. Springer!"
Connie stopped, and so did everyone else to look at him.
"See me in my office after school."
The crowd erupted into laughter, while Connie threw his hands up and started yelling.
"Why just me though!?"
Krista was giggling like crazy. "It's like he knew you were the one who came up with the idea and everything!"
888
Armin met the rest of the group in the parking lot, saying that he couldn't take Mikasa and Eren home because he had to stay for SGA.
Eren didn't really say anything, but he nodded and said that was alright. Mikasa hugged him goodbye, and they waited for Jean to come out of the building.
"What's wrong with you and Armin?" Mikasa asked.
Eren blinked.
"I don't want to talk about it right now."
Krista left with Ymir, Reiner and Bert had to stay after for some sort of football meet and greet, and Annie was already walking towards her car, heading to work at the gas station around the corner.
Marco and Mina were a few feet away, standing close to each other and laughing. Mina was riding home with Marco, and Marco was probably waiting for Jean.
"We have to talk about it eventually." Mikasa said.
"Does it bother you too?" Eren asked quickly. "Or is it just me?"
Mikasa shrugged. "I'm happy for him."
Eren jerked back like he had been slapped in the face. "I'm happy for him too!"
"Are you really?" Mikasa asked, finally looking at him.
Eren flared his nostrils, and sighed. "Does it seem like I'm not?"
"Yes."
Eren was about to respond, but Jean called out, walking towards them in the parking lot.
"Sorry." He said. He was smiling wide. "I had some business to take care of."
"What kind of business?" Eren asked, already sounding skeptical.
"You know Miranda?"
"Junior Miranda?" Eren asked, raising both eyebrows.
"Yeah." Jean said. That's all he said. That's all that needed to be said. Eren could pretty much figure out what that meant. He'd ask for details later.
Mikasa was looking at her phone.
Marco walked up, while Mina stayed behind. He started talking to Jean about something or another, while Eren turned around and looked at Mina.
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.
Eren turned back around, seeing that Jean and Marco were already done talking, and Jean unlocked the car.
"See you tonight!" Jean called out.
"See ya'!"
Mikasa got in the passenger seat, and Eren in the back, just like that morning.
"What's going on tonight?" Eren asked.
"Marco's coming over for food and video games. I haven't really gotten the chance to talk to him all summer, and we need to catch up."
Eren hummed, and they left school.
888
When Eren and Mikasa walked through the front door, they immediately knew something was off. The television wasn't blaring like it should be, given a certain person being home. Which meant that Carla wasn't in the house, which was odd, because where else would she be?
"I thought she had today off." Eren said, slowly walking into the living room, squinting for evidence of his mother. Mikasa walked into the kitchen, laying her bookbag down on the island.
He shrugged. His mother was a responsible adult. Wherever she was, she was fine.
Eren went back to his room, opening the door, and wrinkled his nose. He knew that his room was dirty, but something smelled off. Like, something didn't belong in his room and it was letting him know it didn't want to be there.
"Shit." Eren cursed. He went over to his desk, and dug under a pile of random papers to find a half eaten tuna sandwich.
See, this…this was the reason Carla was always telling him to clean his room. This shit was unsanitary, unnecessary, and unacceptable. Eren wasn't a clean freak, but he knew when things had gone too far, and this was it.
"I'm gross." He muttered aloud.
Because he had nothing else to do, Eren started tidying up his room. He plugged his phone in his speakers, letting 'MGMT' fuel him. He sang along, out of tune, while folding up and hanging clean clothes, separating them from the large pile of dirty ones.
He still hadn't taken the sandwich out yet. He'd do that last when he had to leave his room to go to the laundry room.
Eren frowned, finding that a nice amount of his laundry were boxers. Much to his embarrassment, even though he was a growing boy, a lot of those boxers were remnants of the last few weeks of his summer break. When there's nothing else to do, and all your friends are out of town or too busy to hang out, you gotta stay home and slap it.
He'd said that to his mom once, and she slapped him.
Either way, it was time for everything to get washed up. Eren grabbed the laundry basket, and walked over to the desk, where he put the spoiled tuna sandwich on top of the pile.
His music was so loud that he didn't even notice the voices up front. The laundry room wasn't really its own room. It was in the garage; the washer and dryer placed in a corner. The garage door was in the kitchen, where the voices were currently coming from.
"…Mikasa, why don't you go get Eren and tell him to come meet the new neighbors."
Eren stopped, eyes widening. He attempted to quietly turn around and go back to his room, but he wheeled around too fast, basket hitting the wall, knocking the plate off the pile of stained boxers.
He swore time slowed down before the plate actually broke, but when it did, he heard a gasp (most likely his mother's), and Mikasa came around the corner quickly.
"Why?" She asked, eyeing the sandwich, broken plate, and boxers littering the hall.
"Shut the hell up!" Eren whispered harshly, hoping the 'new neighbors' wouldn't hear him.
"I'll get a broom." Mikasa muttered, walking down the hall.
Eren peeked around the kitchen, and saw Carla standing on one side of the island, glass of wine in her hand, while three people sat across from her, two of them with glasses of wine in their hands.
"Eren Jaeger!" Carla said, setting her glass down a little harder than necessary. "What did you break this time?"
Parents fucking loved to take a couple accidents and mistakes and apply them to everything their child did when something went wrong. 'Eren, what did you break this time?' 'Eren, wake up. You're going to be late for school again.' 'Eren, stretch properly. Don't hurt yourself this time.'
"Sorry mom." He said, trying to sound lighthearted, and hoping his face wasn't pale. "I was bringing a plate out and I dropped it.
He could hear Mikasa sweeping up shards of the ceramic plate as they spoke.
Carla smiled, but it was crooked.
"Well, Eren, since you're here, introduce yourself. These are the new neighbors from across the street."
Eren was trying not to look at them at first, hoping their faces were for some reason trained on the wall next to him, and not his stupid expression. He forced a smile, and tried not to look creepy.
"Hi." He said.
The lady he saw that morning, with the reddish colored hair, green eyes, and pretty face, was sitting between two men, a glass of wine in her hand daintily, one leg crossed over the other.
"Hello, Eren. My name's Isabel. Isabel Magnolia."
Eren nodded. The man to her right spoke next. He had dusty brown hair, blue eys, and a welcoming expression.
"I'm Farlan Church. Nice to meet you." He said with a small smile.
The man to the left, the short one Eren noticed that morning, didn't look so welcoming. He just looked blank, like he didn't care to be there, or anywhere actually. He was dressed nicely though, with black jeans and a dark green cardigan that brought out striking steel eyes. He cleared his throat.
"I'm Levi."
Eren nodded again, this time quickly.
Carla smiled. "I was across the street when you and Mikasa got home. I went to introduce myself, and then invited them over for wine and cheese. Except we ran out of cheese. I need to go to the store." She muttered.
She had a habit of getting off topic.
"And we really appreciate it." Isabel said. She took another sip of wine and spoke. "So, Eren, Miss Carla said you and your sister just started your senior year today. Are you excited?"
"Oh, just call me Carla!"
Eren stepped further into the kitchen. He hated talking to adults about school, because they didn't really care to hear how teens really felt about school. They just wanted to hear 'it's fine' and 'yeah it's fun' or 'it's cool.'
"Yeah." He answered, forcing a smile. "I am. I don't know about Mikasa."
"Oh!" Carla said suddenly. "I was telling them how you two play soccer."
"Oh, yes." Farlan joined. "Soccer is my favorite sport."
Eren breathed a little bit easier. "Did you used to play?"
Farlan tilted his head. "For a couple years in high school."
"That's cool." Eren said, meaning it this time.
Mikasa came back into the kitchen, a dustpan full of broken ceramic and moldy tuna sandwich. She walked over to the garbage bin and threw everything out.
Eren really hoped their guests didn't see the latter part.
"Well, if you'll excuse me," Eren said, backing out of the kitchen and away from awkward conversation, "I have some laundry to do."
Carla, Farlan, and Isabel nodded and smiled. The Levi guy though…didn't do or say anything.
Eren assumed he didn't really want to be there, or he was just as bad at awkward meetings just like himself. Either way, he turned around on the barstool, and listened, or maybe not, to the conversation everyone else was having.
Eren turned the corner and quickly grabbed his laundry basket. He practically speed walked through the kitchen, opening the door leading to the garage.
He stayed out there until Carla came out and said it was time for dinner.
888
It was eleven o'clock before Eren accepted the fact he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon.
It was eleven fifteen when there was a soft knock at his door.
"Yeah." Eren said, already knowing who it was.
Mikasa cracked the door open, and slipped in. Her satin pajama pants fluttered around her as she tiptoed over the wooden floor. Her arms were wrapped around herself.
"If your cold, put on a shirt." Eren said, eyes going back to his phone screen.
Mikasa went to the clothes drawer where she knew Eren kept his random shirts. There was a Trost High shirt in there, and she slipped it on. She had a habit of sleeping in sports bras, saying it got hot at night and shirts were unnecessary.
"I don't know if you should wear that." Eren said as Mikasa went to sit at the foot of his bed. "It's always been small on me. And if it's small on me then your muscles of steel should tear through it."
Mikasa laughed through her nose, and Eren smiled.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked.
"Nope." She said, leaning back so that she was against the wall. She lifted the cover and put her feet underneath, kicking Eren's over.
"You can't just get in my bed and demand space!"
"I can, and I did." She responded, moving stray hair out of her eye. "So, we need to talk."
Eren grunted, putting his phone on his pillow and sitting up. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but neither of them cared. Stuff like that never bothered them.
"Okay," Eren began, "This is about one of three things. One being Jean, two being Armin, or three being those awkward ass guests mom invited into our abode."
Mikasa pursed her lips. "Let's start with Armin."
Eren sighed and plopped back down on the bed.
"Eren." Mikasa whined, closing her eyes, "You can't run forever."
He groaned. "I can, and I will."
"You are being so immature."
That caught his attention.
Eren sat back up, throwing the covers off him until most of them were laying on Mikasa. A serious expression was on his face.
"Fine. What do you want to talk about?"
"You're mad at him."
Eren shook his head quickly. "I'm not mad at him."
"Then what's the problem?"
"I don't know. I just…I'm just…mad at the situation I guess."
Mikasa paused and breathed out. "You know he's been working so hard…"
"Mikasa, seriously, next fucking topic. Jean." Eren said quickly.
Now it was Mikasa's turn to be aggravated.
"What about him?"
Eren shifted. "So, like, what's going on between you two?"
"Nothing."
"So, did he text you and say he was picking us up this morning, or did you text and ask?"
"He text me and asked. I said sure."
"Oh. Well, you two didn't really talk today."
"You're point?" Mikasa said with a little more attitude than Eren expected. He lifted his hands in a 'don't shoot' gesture.
"Are you still mad at him?"
"Next fucking topic. The new neighbors." Mikasa responded.
"Mika…"
"They seem nice. But…strange."
"I hope they know a person died in that house." Eren brought up again. "Seriously, that shit's creepy."
"The lady was pretty." Mikasa said. "That guy, Farlan, seemed nice. The other one, Levi…"
Eren interrupted her. "Short guy, short hair, small talk, and probably a small…"
"I'll tell mom." She stopped him mid speech.
Eren laughed and smiled. "But really, you don't see many people move in and out of these suburbs often. It's like, their families settle here and that's their family house…forever."
Mikasa laughed. "You think that'll be us?"
Eren scoffed. "Oh, hell no. No more Maria for me. Or these fucking picket fenced houses. And certainly no short guys with sleek eyes. They say not to trust a guy whose eyes aren't easily visible."
"You only say that because your eyes look like they came from 'A Bug's Life.'"
"….Get the fuck out."