Chapter 4: Misunderstanding
Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin
Previously: Mikasa saves a young woman and Evan comes to help. Sasha's happy Mikasa is crushing on Evan and makes plans.
Mikasa felt nervous. "I'm not sure this is such a good idea."
"It'll be fine. Don't be nervous," Sasha patted her shoulder. "Since we have a sub today, everyone will be slacking, except for like the four crazy exercise freaks." She shook her head like she couldn't believe how anyone could skip a free day like that. "Evan will be one of them. You're a gifted athlete—"
A trio of girls walked by, talking amongst each other. After they'd passed, she and best friend followed. Sasha not too subtly checked to see if anyone else was around. "Now remember, you have to get ahead, the others will stay at a moderately slow pace. Once you reach the turn near the Douglas fir, hide and wait for the other three to pass. Then come out and pretend to have pain in your ankle and stretch it out."
"What if he's faster than the others?"
"I'll run with him for a bit and let the others get ahead. Then I'll fall back and let him move on."
"This is a little crazy. What if you all show up when I'm in the middle of faking it? The guys are gonna be all over me. And what if they want to run along with me?"
"They're too lazy," Sasha waved her hand. "And I'll scream loudly in excitement or something once we get close so you'll have a warning."
"You thought of everything, didn't you? Maybe you should go into the military as a strategist or something."
"Nah, I'm not a morning person."
Outside, under the clear blue sky, boys and girls stood around in groups, dressed in sweatpants and thin jackets because of the chilly weather. The wind blew gently, gray clouds gathering in the sky. Butterflies danced in Mikasa's stomach. "He's already blown off so many girls."
"You're not most girls. Worst comes to worst, he'll tell you no."
The substitute teacher told them they would be doing a mix of jogging and fast walking on the trail. Mikasa and Sasha slowly walked toward Evan, getting closer to the dirt path disappearing into the forest to their right.
They stretched for a minute before two students took off. Mikasa followed quickly after. She continued on for two minutes before the third one passed her. Once she'd reached the curve, she sat on the large rock and clutched her ankle, feeling foolish. This better work. The rational part of her told her she was acting like a moron and it wasn't too late to back out.
Sasha's plan seemed to be working because she only heard one pair of feet crushing the ground before Evan appeared.
He slowed down and stood before her. "It's a spr—just a little pain," Mikasa blurted. He peered at her intently, silent. She couldn't help the cold feeling in her chest. "It, uh," she mumbled, unable to shake off the feeling of intimidation. Say something, you idiot! She screamed internally for choking. "I just—"
"Klutz," he said. Evan then took off running, leaving Mikasa behind, gaping like a fish.
Sasha was the next person to come up to find her frozen in her spot, mouth open, and asked. "So, uh, how'd it go?" She asked in fake optimism, probably figuring from her facial expression that it had gone the opposite of well.
Mikasa jumped to her feet, embarrassed. "He called me a klutz and ran off!"
"Wait!" Sasha tried to keep up with her quick pace but failed.
Mikasa was too worked up to listen to her assurances, slowing once Sasha had stopped giving chase, nervous about catching up with Evan.
Evan. She perfectly recalled the sneer on his handsome face as he'd looked down on her. She took great pride in staying fit and was very insulted, cursing herself for letting her best friend talk her into such a dumb plan. The bastard! She fumed, face red, ego bruised.
It had taken Evan a blank stare and one word to reduce her to the same level as the air-headed bimbos she looked down on.
She couldn't believe she'd turned into one herself over some hot douchebag. I've never been so humiliated in my life!
Needless to say, Mikasa was in a sour mood as they waited outside the boys locker room for their friends. Because the universe wasn't done screwing her just yet, Evan had to come out before her friends. "Hey, easy day today, huh?" Sasha asked casually.
He ignored her, eyeing Mikasa up and down. Evan snorted and walked away, offering only one word once again: "Liar."
Mikasa's face burned. She was utterly mortified. Sasha laughed nervously beside her. "He probably figured out the trick and got mad." Armin and the guys chose that moment to come out.
"What's wrong?" Connie asked. Mikasa didn't answer, walking away, leaving Sasha to make up some excuse to cover for her.
Mikasa was in a funk for the rest of the day. For the first time in her life, she had a crush on a guy. And she had ended up humiliating herself in front of him.
"It'll be fun, she said. Enjoy it, she said." Mikasa stared ahead, expression dark, unable to keep the memories from replaying over and over in her mind, chipping away at her dignity bit by bit.
Fortunately, whatever Sasha had told the boys had mercifully kept Armin from trying to talk to her. The bell rang and she quickly gathered her things and swung her backpack around her shoulders.
One last class and then she could go home and scream into her pillow and give in to her disgrace.
Around her, students continued to converse. She ignored them but couldn't block a particularly shrill voice coming from behind her.
"...came forward. My mom's an exec, you know, so I know."
Mikasa didn't have to turn around to know Courtney had just tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder.
"She was running an errand and saw those creeps harassing that woman. She does a lot of kickboxing and yoga and stuff so she beat them up and left because she had to get back to her sick brother."
It couldn't be. Mikasa's eyes widened. Taking out her phone, she quickly used the school's wifi to get on the internet. The teacher came in and began taking attendance. Thankfully, she was the first name called and easily spent the next minute checking out the local news stations. Yup, this is it.
She was even more eager for the end of the period now. For once, she turned into one of the students she disliked who started packing up before the time was up, making it hard for her to hear the teacher. It was easy to track Evan down, following him as he passed by her locker on his way out the building's side entrance.
Mikasa dashed after him, shouldering some of the students, muttering apologies. "Evan," she called after him once they were outside and in the faculty parking lot. He kept walking, past the cars and to the grassy lot with the baseball field sitting to the right behind the chainlink fence. She called after him again and saw his shoulders stiffen before he stopped, turning around and pulling out his earphones. "I need to talk to you."
"I have to get home. I can't—"
"It wasn't me," she blurted. "I just heard. I guess some girl came forward and claimed she was the one who beat up those thugs and saved that woman. But it wasn't me." Mikasa looked him in the eyes, not backing down as he stared unflinching down at her. She wasn't the type to be unnerved so easily but something about him prickled at her at times like this, when their eyes made contact and a small part of her felt unexplainably wary.
Then he relaxed, the tension leaving his shoulders. "I believe you."
She exhaled, not realizing she had been holding her breath, surprised. "Really? Just like that?"
"I like to think I'm good at reading people," he shrugged. "I should've known it wasn't you. I figured since you ignored my existence in the interview, I'd return the favor."
So he has been giving me the cold shoulder. The frosty expression from earlier hadn't been her imagination. "Did you check it out? The article? It wasn't my name. It was dark and that woman didn't get a good look at my face and didn't realize that girl wasn't me."
Evan had the grace to look embarrassed. "No, I heard it from a classmate and—"
"Took it at face value."
"Yeah, pretty stupid now that you mention it."
They stood in awkward silence.
"I'm sorry," Evan sighed. "Once again, I misunderstood and acted like an ass."
"Yes, a stupid ass."
He grinned at that. "Next time, if something like this happens again, I promise I'll take your side. Wait, so if it wasn't you, why were you acting so strange earlier today in P.E.?"
"I guess I kinda picked up your weird mood and just," she shrugged lamely. You couldn't come up with a better lie than that?
"Oh." Evan seemed to buy it.
"I have to meet my friends now," Mikasa announced. "I'll see you around."
"Yeah, see ya."
The end of the day couldn't come soon enough.
Tension he didn't know he still had loosened as he stepped into the house. Sliding into his slippers, he followed his nose to the cream-colored kitchen with dark cupboards and a tiled floor. Petra's home. His guess was right and his eyes zero-ed in on the ginger-haired woman in skinny jeans and a white lace top. More importantly, what she'd just pulled out of the oven and held between her oven mitts.
"Eren," she smiled, "good timing."
It's weird how normal it feels to be Evan to the outside world and Eren at home, he thought. With months of practice, he'd gotten used to both names and switching between the slightly different personalities of each. "That smells so good." His mouth watered.
"I had the day off and I thought I'd make some banana bread."
He reached out and got his hand slapped.
"It's too hot. Wait for it to cool down."
"Sorry, Mom," he rolled his eyes.
"So," Petra waved a gloved hand over the steaming treat to help it cool faster, "how was school?"
Eren sighed, "I've been taking your advise and trying to be friendlier and all that. It's a lot of effort you know."
"People won't be as quick to jump to conclusions if they know you better."
He nodded, "I don't think anyone believes any weird things about us. Or most don't. Some crazy ones are still convinced I'm a creature of the night." She snorted at that. "I've been trying to be a 'normal' high school student. We don't need some Becky the Vampire Slayer wannabe breaking in and trying to stake us in our sleep."
"It's not Becky."
"Becky, Betty, same difference," Eren waved his hand. "And we definitely don't need a Belle trying to find her Edwin. Gross," he shuddered.
"It's not—never mind." Petra shook her head before repeating words he'd heard a hundred times already. "The point is, we have to be normal. Or at least make people think we are. We can't attract attention." The very reason they'd changed identities was to fly under the radar.
Having the entire town thinking they were a family of vampires was the very opposite of incognito.
"Yeah, I know." Eren snorted, "But if anyone here could be mistaken for a blood-sucking leech, and rightly so, it'd be Levi."
"Don't let him hear you say that," Petra giggled. She took a bottle of chocolate sauce and the milk out of the fridge. Eren's eyes followed her hands the entire time, pouring a glass of milk, cutting up slices of banana bread, and adding the sweet sauce. As soon as she was done, he was stuffing his face.
"Ah lubv jugh."
"Swallow first, then talk," she chided.
Taking a big sip of milk, he swallowed and grinned, "I said I love you."
She was in a good mood. He figured now was his best chance. "I have to tell you something," Eren began cautiously, stomach in knots.
Then a bark came from behind, followed by a black and silver body running into the kitchen. Walking after the dog was a man dressed in black jeans and a collared black shirt. Levi took a seat next to Eren at the barstool. Petra nudged a plate toward him. Next, she filled up the doggy bowl. "How was the walk?"
"Fine. She's very hyper."
"That's good, though. More energy means more exercise."
"Yeah," Levi nodded, glancing at the husky. "She needs it, too. We've been careful about feeding her but she's starting to go a little round around the edges."
Eren's mouth was conveniently full of banana bread to speak.
Petra turned her attention to him and he wondered if she suspected he was the one giving Luna one too many doggy treats. Or five. "Eren, you said you had something to say?"
And suddenly, being scolded for messing with their beloved pet's diet didn't seem so bad.
He swallowed, sitting straighter. "Now," he held up a hand, "don't freak out."
That immediately put them on edge.
Okay, not the best way to start a conversation when you don't want people to panic. Eren thought.
"What happened?" Levi demanded.
"Nothing! I swear! I waited three days to make sure—"
"Something happened and you kept it to yourself?" Petra frowned in disapproval.
"I wanted to take care of it myself. It's fine. We're fine. There was this girl—Mikasa, remember?—I thought maybe she saw my eyes but she didn't. It's okay."
"You let it out in front of her?" Levi hissed. "Don't you ever learn, brat?!"
"She was in trouble and I was trying to help and—" Eren took a breath. "Nevermind, let me start over."
This time, he explained the situation properly: how he had been walking home when he saw a classmate rushing into an alley. He'd kept an eye on the situation to make sure she didn't get hurt. He hadn't rushed in until his eyes had caught the shape of the thing the man had in his jacket. No matter her skill, he wasn't sure she was going to get away unharmed so he'd stepped in to help.
"My adrenaline was pumping and when I saw the gun, it happened. The idiot was too focused on his gun and I punched him right in the face when he looked up. I saw her reflection in the window and she froze. She looked a little confused when I turned but didn't say anything, more focused on the gun on the ground. She hasn't been acting much differently since then."
"You're sure, Eren?" Petra didn't look pissed and he felt safe. At least she was on his side.
"Yes," he nodded.
"We should leave," Levi said unhappily. "Better not to risk it." Eren's heart fell at his words. "Don't give me that look. It's one of our rules. It's how we've survived."
Petra shook her head, "It's the longest we've stayed in a place. And it's a good place. We put a lot of effort and money into this."
"Bailing now is too paranoid." Eren quieted when Levi glared at him. Luna seemed to sense his somber mood and vied for his attention. He petted her half-heartedly.
"Paranoia is what's kept us alive."
"I want to be sure before we decide to skip town," Petra said.
"She didn't get a good look, did she?" Levi asked.
"No," Eren shook his head vigorously, "it was less than a second."
Petra nodded. "Even if she did, I doubt she'd have jumped to 'crazy' conclusions. People tend to dismiss things out of the ordinary, coming with a rational explanation first, thinking it was their imagination or a trick of the light or the trauma of the event."
Levi crossed his arms. "I still don't like it."
"We'll check her social media page and her friends' as well."
"Already did that," Eren said quickly. "She doesn't use it much and her friends have the normal crap on their pages. I've even eavesdropped on them a few times," he admitted, "when they were having their little club meetings. They only care about Wald's murder like the rest of silly cliques at school."
Levi and Petra were quiet, absorbing the information.
Eren had been dreading telling them about the article that had come out that afternoon, nervous and pissed at himself for screwing up yet again. The past few days, Eren had kept an eye on things, trying to be an adult and making sure that nothing that could hurt them leaked out. "There's something else..."
"There's more?" Levi looked ready to throttle him.
He told them about the liar who had claimed credit while Mikasa kept quiet. Surprisingly, they didn't freak out about the interview.
"We're safe," Eren insisted. No one knew what they were. Sane, normal people wouldn't believe stories about glowing eyes. Especially coming from a girl whose mind had been racing, having been attacked in a dark alley. He really, really didn't want to mess it all up for them again.
"Okay," Petra finally said. She looked at Levi.
"We'll stay," he finally nodded. "I didn't want to yet but I'll call a friend and have him check into their activities."
"It has been a while," she said. They hadn't wanted to risk too much communication in fear of being discovered.
Eren looked relieved.
"But you're still in trouble for not telling us when it happened." Of course Levi wasn't going to let it go.
Eren could feel the long lecture coming and after the stressful day he'd had, he wasn't in the mood to sit and listen to them berate him for an hour and a half. "Since you're already mad I might as well confess to another crime: I've been feeding Luna one too many doggy treats and that's why she's getting fat."
"Eren!" Petra scolded.
"Sorry." He then looked to the dog staring accusingly at him. "But it's her fault, too. She knows I can't resist her puppy-dog face and takes advantage of me."
Luna turned said puppy-dog eyes on the adults, getting pats and ear scratches.
Topic safely averted, Eren attempted to sneak away.
"Where do you think you're going?" Levi's voice stopped him at only three steps.
"I, uh, have a lot of homework to do."
"I don't think so."
"Good morning," Petra said cheerfully, sitting at the head of the table.
Eren slowly lowered himself into the chair to her left. "Levi's gone?"
"Yeah, he went to meet the accountant." She poured a glass of orange juice and pushed it toward him. Eren flipped over the plate and began piling up the food, wincing the entire time. "By the way, you have to help him with the garden today after school."
"What?" His shoulders slumped. "He kicked my ass yesterday under the pretense of 'training' and my ribs are still creaking. My arms and legs are ready to fall off too. And now I have to help him clean shit too?" He complained.
"That's your punishment. And watch your language."
"Why don't you just throw me under the bus?" Eren grumbled. Petra's expression became stern and he quickly spoke, "I know I have it coming." He still just wanted to complain a little.
"Glad to hear that." Petra smiled charmingly. "Because Levi and I talked last night—"
"Oh." His stomach fell. That was never good.
"—and we want you to befriend Mikasa and her friends."
"What?" Eren stared, eyes wide in shock.
Petra sighed and put her coffee down. "Eren, we planned long and hard to make sure our stay here would be long-term and safe. Instead of risking sneaking into five different homes in the kind of areas with a neighborhood watch, it'd be easier if you befriended them and invited them over. We can hack their computers to make sure we're in the clear and it'll help dispel rumors about our supposedly haunted house/vampire den." She smiled in amusement at the last bit.
Eren looked unsure. "Befriend them?"
"Yes."
He shrugged casually, "I gave up trying to make friends after what happened that time."
Petra's face softened. "You'll be fine. You helped Mikasa out, so it shouldn't be too difficult to approach them. It'll be okay."
"I don't know. What'll we talk about? I never really went out of my way to be nice to them or anything—"
"Don't overthink it," she patted his hand. "You've been keeping your classmates at an arm's length. You need to leave your shell now and approach them."
"You make me sound like a turtle, hiding in his shell," he snorted.
"You have various interests. Sports, video games, movies, TV shows, and all that. I'm sure you'll find some common ground."
Eren perked up. "I do know they're interested in Old Man Wald's murder."
"Eren—"
"Don't worry, they aren't the type to do anything illegal. They even admit it to themselves a lot. The other groups pretend like they would but they're just full of shit." He stared into space thoughtfully. "They made a club and I can join if I want. Actually," his eyes lit up, "it's the Historical Landmark club. Our house, this place, Blackthorne Manor, is a historical landmark, isn't it?"
"Yes, we had to sign some agreements not to build, rebuild, or replace certain parts, like windows or stories. Basically anything that would compromise the aesthetic structure of the house."
"Yeah," Eren nodded. "That's good. I can use that!"
"Now finish up your breakfast and get your backpack. I don't want you to be late for school."
He was reluctant at first, but he's excited now. Petra thought happily. Everyone his age should have friends. She was glad it didn't take much to convince him. Much as he wanted to make friends, their nomadic lifestyle made that difficult. He stopped trying completely after—
"Thanks for the ride," Eren opened the door and stepped out.
"I'd say good luck but you don't need it."
He rolled his eyes but grinned nonetheless, eyes twinkling.
Squaring his shoulders, becoming Evan once more, he strode through the school halls. When lunch time came, he clutched his tray and scanned the cafeteria for them. Where are they? At the right exit, he saw Jean's head disappear. They're sitting outside.
Evan followed, giving them a minute to settle, and taking that minute to calm his own nerves. Shoving down his anxiety, he took the plunge.
Armin was the first to notice him. "Oh, hello."
"Hey," he greeted, trying not to exert too much force and break the blue tray in his hands. You've been shot at by gun-toting manics. They're just high school students! He nodded, "Uh, mind if I sit with you?"
"Of course!" Sasha patted the soft grass next to her. "What's up?"
"Well," Evan smiled sheepishly, "I have to join a club. Looks good on a college application and all that. So..."
"Why not the basketball team?" Jean made a face. "Or soccer? You'd be really good. I've seen you in gym class."
"I wanna focus on my studies," he shrugged. "I'm sorry. I know it's kind of an unspoken rule that when a group of friends make a club you shouldn't join but—"
"Don't be silly! We'd love to have you!" Sasha interrupted.
"Really?" Evan's eyes lit up. I didn't even have to use my trump card.
"Of course," Armin said. "More members mean more brainpower and distribution."
"Meaning a little less work for each of us," Connie grinned.
"Thanks guys," Evan beamed.
He didn't have to struggle to come up with a topic to keep from falling into uncomfortable silence when Armin, bless the dear boy, asked, "Did you read the chapter for Grahn's class?"
"Yeah," he made a face. "I don't like the book. Just because it's a classic doesn't mean it's good. I did kinda crappy on the essay so I need to get at least eight-five to cover for that."
"Shouldn't be too hard. His quizzes are pretty straight forward," Connie said.
A few more minutes of small talk consisting of complaining about teachers and assignments, he decided to take his leave. "Well, anyway, I have to go return a book." Evan picked up his tray and stood. "Thanks for letting me join." They barely knew each other and he didn't feel quite comfortable yet, spending the entire lunch period with them. "I'll see you later."
"Bye!" Sasha said loudly, waving like everyone, except for Jean, who gave a small nod.
"Oh my gosh!" Sasha squealed. "I can't believe he joined our club!"
"Why did you say it was okay?" Jean complained.
"C'mon man, he's new and barely has any friends."
"Connie, you're only saying that because he's popular with the girls so you want to be friends with him."
"That's not the only reason! I'm not that shallow!"
"It doesn't matter. Evan has every right to join," Mikasa said. "We can't say no just because we want it to be only the five of us. We'd get in trouble."
"And who knows, maybe he'll invite us to his place." Armin's words did the trick.
"That would so wicked!" Connie popped a grape in his mouth. "We'd be the first people in school to see the Blackthorne Manor!"
"It's got a rich history and it's an architectural masterpiece." Mikasa was eager to explore such an exquisite piece of history and art.
"Maybe he has a pool!" Sasha's eyes were lit up. "It'd be so nice to hang out there in the summer," she smiled dreamily.
"And since there will be six of us, we can finally break into teams evenly without one person having to sit out," Armin added.
Mikasa stood up, "I have a class with Evan later. I'll go print a form for him now and give it to him then."
He's joining the club. What does that mean? Her mind raced. Did he like her? Did he want to be close to her? He could've joined any team or club of his choosing, yet he had chosen theirs. Stop overthinking it. You're starting to sound like Sasha. Still, she couldn't deny the thrill that shot through her body.
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