Hello! Sorry, I got distracted by Pokemon Go. LOL, Im such a loser, but I have no shame. But if you guys are in Minnesota and see a person in team yellow with my name, then you guys live in the same state as me.
Eren went back his friends in the auditorium. He face was still painted by a pout. He sat back down in his seat. He looked at his CD, wondering how it all happened. Eren's friends looked at him with concern.
"Dude, man, what happened?" Jean asked.
"Are you okay?" Armin asked.
"What did that fucking shortie do?" Mikasa asked.
"I'm fine… He… he… he wrote this," Eren showed his newly acquired autograph to his friends. They all looked at Eren's CD.
"Pfft! He wrote 'fairy' down?" Jean laughed. "That guy is hilarious."
"Hey man, shut up!" Eren exclaimed with puffed cheeks.
"Eren, I'm sure was just teasing you," Armin reasoned.
"But if you don't like it, I'll teach him a lesson," Mikasa offered.
"I'm fine guys," Eren reassured them. "I'll get myself eventually."
Eren's friends nodded in understanding. Mikasa took Eren's CD and marker to put them back in her purse. The four friends looked back into the front when they heard footsteps on the stage. Wings of Freedom came back. They standed in line in the front with Levi at his mic. The short raven haired man took his mic out and looked at the crowd. He saw Eren and smirked at him. Eren pouted behind his bandana. Levi looked back at the majority and opened his lips to speak.
"Okay brats," Levi said. "There are too many of you guys for our liking. We're splitted you guys into four groups. Look at your names on the seats and see what color you have. Green is with Mike. Yellow is with Erwin. Red is with Hanji. And then blue is with me. Come up here and group yourselves accordingly."
The members of Wings of Freedom separated themselves a bit more to give room to the teenagers to group in front of them. Eren and his friends stood up and looked at their names. On the paper, their band name was underlined with a red line. Eren was happy since Hanji seemed really nice. Eren and them went to group up in front of Hanji. They looked up at Hanji on the stage who looked like he was going to burst open from excitement.
"Hi, my babies," Hanji exclaimed as he jumped off the stage. "Follow me."
Hanji led them out of the room. He told them that were video recording the interview so they were going to their assigned camera room. Eren looked around and found the Titan band. Eren walked up to them before his friends could refuse him of talking to them. Eren bumped shoulders with the girl singer. The girl looked at him quizzically as her bandmates stared at him.
"Hi," Eren greeted nicely.
"Hey," the short blonde girl replied.
"I'm known as the Fairy. Don't tell anyone, but my name is Eren Jaeger. I was wondering what your name was," Eren introduced himself.
"Annie Leonhart," the blonde revealed her name. "Why are you telling me your name if you don't people to know it?"
"I just don't want one person to know me by my real name," Eren answered honestly. "I have a complicated situation."
"I see," Annie nodded her head.
Eren was about to ask another question when he felt something hit him in the back of his knee. The boy almost fell over, but someone caught him. Eren looked back and saw that Armin was the one who kicked him. Mikasa was the one who caught him. Jean was looking at him with a smirk.
"Why did you guys do that?" Eren asked indignantly with puffed cheeks.
"Don't run off without telling us," Armin answered. "Every time you leave without telling anyone, I always feel like you'll be coming back with one arm chopped off."
"Or something bad will happen and then you would feel the need to try to kill people," Mikasa commented.
"Or you just might commit suicide for what you believe is right," Jean added in.
"Whatever," Eren huffed. "This is Annie Leonheart."
"Hello, Noble Steed here, but you can call me Jean or Kirstein. I play the bass," Jean introduced himself.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you Annie. My name is Armin Arlert, but my codename is the Strategist. I'm the drummer," Armin greeted.
"My codename is the Black Knight and my name is Mikasa Ackerman. I play the guitar," Mikasa said.
"I'm Reiner Braun," the buff blonde guy joined the conversation. "Guitarist."
"I'm Bertolt Hoover, the drummer," the tall black haired lanky guy said.
"Ymir, the bassist," the blacked haired girl with freckles said. "Just Ymir."
"You guys were really good in your video," Eren complimented them.
"As were you guys," Reiner complimented them back.
The two bands continued to converse and make friends with one another. They were all seniors. The Titans went to Eren and them's school's rival school. They reached to the recording room, so the two groups stopped talking. They were in a recording room. The room was split into two. There was a big glass window, so they could see the outside. There was a recording system in front of the window and near it there was three tvs that each corresponded with one of cameras on the other side of the window. There were people who were at the cameras and the sound system. Hanji turned around to face all of them.
"Okay, we're here," Hanji announced with a charming smile. "Here's how it's going to go. One band will come in with me on the other side to be interviewed. Everyone else will wait in this room for their turn. Don't bother the workers here or you will be punished."
Eren blushed to himself as he gently scratched his cheek. Hanji was really charming and he was affected Eren too much. Mikasa gave him a pointed look, telling him to stop. It was useless to become attracted to celebrities, nevertheless rock stars, because it was unrealistic. It was common sense. Eren rolled his eyes, it wasn't like he was falling for Hanji romantically. The guy was just so hot.
"Who's going first?" A worker in front of the sound system asked.
"How about 'Nothing?'" Hanji asked.
"Okay," Eren replied.
The band walked with Hanji into the other side with a couch and one single chair couch. Hanji greeted each of them as they sat down. Eren was seated the closest to Hanji who sat in the single chair. Next to him were Mikasa, Armin, and then Jean. They all practiced a little, so that they wouldn't stutter on a question. The video being recorded would uploaded online for fans to see more of their characters.
"The cameras will start rolling soon, but don't pay attention to it. It's okay if you guys get nervous, you guys just have to relax. Just focus on me and the conversation. It'll only be for ten minutes, so it'll be over fast," Hanji reassured the teenagers who in turn nodded in understanding. Hanji looked at their surroundings. "Hey, can we get like a plant in here to give the scene some color?"
A worker went out the room for a bit and came back with a potted tall plant. He put it behind the chairs, between Eren and Hanji. With that, all the workers started to give each other signals. A cameraman came closer to them, while the other two got different angles of them. The floor cameraman gave the signal to start. Hanji turned straight to the camera.
"Hello guys, this is Hanji from Wings of Freedom. I'm here with the band "Nothing," who were ranked in third place in their video auditions," Hanji started as she turned to the band members. "Why don't you guys introduce yourselves?"
"Hello," Eren greeted as he waved. "Mr. Fairy here, I'm the singer for 'Nothing.'"
"I'm the Black Knight, I play the guitar for the band," Mikasa introduced herself with a nod.
"I'm the Strategist," Armin bowed. "I play the drums."
"And I am the Noble Steed," Jean gestured a hand to himself. "I'm the bassist."
"Okay, now that that's settled," Hanji put the attention on himself again. "We're here today because the fans have questions. I think the most obvious question is why the outfits and codenames?"
"We were our outfits to hide our identity, because in this world there are people who would object our actions and decisions to be here," Armin answered smoothly. "Needless to say, that's why we also have our codenames."
"I understand," Hanji replied politely. "It's a harsh world out there. Then, may I ask how you guys came up with your codenames?"
"Well," Eren started first. "I was at the store to buy a new mic. I came across a peculiar color for duct tapes, you know, the one on my mic. I was really surprised, because it was the same color of my eyes. I found out that it was a newly found shade of green called 'fairy green.' I couldn't turn down a perfect name."
"Ah, yes, some people were wondering if you were wearing fairy green colored contacts," Hanji explained. "So your eye color is natural?"
"Why yes, Hanji," Eren chuckled a bit. "I'm perfectly natural."
"Sorry to be nosy, but some fan were asking if there was also a probability that your codename had anything to do with your sexual orientation. These days, people are more lenient to homosexuality, but I understand if you don't want to answer," Hanji assured Eren.
"My sexual orientation?" Eren repeated the words. "That is certainly… a secret."
"My, my, such charisma is oozing out of you," Hanji laughed lightly. "Okay, I'll back off. So how about you, madam Black Knight?"
"I picked this name because I'm actually a lot stronger than these guys sitting here," Mikasa explained. "I can't count how many times I saved these guys from getting beat up."
"Really now? It can't be that often," Hanji grinned.
"No, it really is," Mikasa shook her head with a smile as she remembered the past. "It came to the point where people started running away when they saw me."
"Boy, I would love to see a sight like that," Hanji laughed. "And you, Strategist?"
"Actually, these guys here have told me countless times that I'm the smartest out of this group," Armin boasted about himself with a innocent voice. "They were the ones to nickname me the Strategist when we were younger."
"So then, Strategist, welcome to The Stone Wall company, how smart are ya?" Hanji asked with a voice imitating a certain Spongebob episode.
"How smart am I? How SMART am I?" Armin played along. "I solved what ten plus nine equaled to."
"So?" Hanji asked with a suppressed laugh.
"Without a single calculator," Armin glared at Hanji playfully.
"Alright, alright, I believe you," Hanji laughed. "What's your story, Noble Steed?"
"Let's see," Jean started. "When me and fairy boy over there first met at school, the first thing he said to me was, 'oh my gawd, it's a dude that looks like horse!'"
"And what did you do?" Hanji asked as he eyed the laughing fairy boy.
"I nearly punched him. I said nearly, because," Jean looked at Mikasa. "Black Knight over here knocked me down."
"Lol, I see," Hanji chuckled. "And how did you guys become friends?
"The Strategist over here made them take me to the nurse room," Jean answered. "I don't know why, but afterwards, we started to hang out. They still called me a horse. I was going to just accept the title, but then we watched 'Shrek' together. From there, I proclaimed myself as a noble steed."
"My god, you guys are hilarious," Hanji laughed once again. "You guys seem to know each other really well. How did you guys meet each other?
"You already how we met Jean, it was during the first year in middle school. Me, the Black Knight, and the Strategist met each other in first grade. The Strategist was being bullied and me and the Black Knight jumped in," Eren explained. "We just sort of clicked with each other. If someone pissed off the four of us, a lot of things could go down."
"Heroic and feisty," Hanji stated. "Can you guys tell me how you all got into music?"
The four friends looked at each other. There was a silent agreement between them. They all knew the answer, because it was the same answer for each of them.
"Well… I'm sure for most people," Armin started. "Music is something personal. We all fight our own battles."
"Music was a safe haven from those battles," Jean continued.
"For us, we just wanted to try to be like those who made music," Mikasa chuckled a bit from how corny they sounded.
"We want to be part of that safe haven for the current and future generations," Eren finished. "It's funny how we all think like this, and yet we had just recently made up a name for our band."
"What is the reason for your guys band name, anyways? It's a really unwonted name for a band or anything in general, I should say," Hanji further asked.
"This idiot jokingly said," Jean pointed at Eren. "'I'd totally call us 'No Name' but that's overrated so I'm calling us 'Nothing.''"
Eren's friends laughed at the memory from a few weeks ago. Hanji laughed with them as well. Hanji grumbled about how that was expected from the fairy.
"But then the idiot said something smart," Armin commented.
"Yea, it actually made me feel something, despite how corny it sounded," Mikasa said as she turned to look at Eren. "Tell Hanji what you said."
"Hey, it is not corny," Eren exclaimed to Mikasa before he turned to face Hanji with seriousness in his eyes. "I said that we are people who are constantly told that we're 'nothing.' Personally, the thought makes me mad, but what can I do? You can only be something if people recognize you for what you're worth. So I said that we are gonna be called "Nothing" so that we can turn it into 'something.' So that every time someone said 'it's nothing' or 'you're nothing' we as a band will be on the minds of those who are treated as worthless. By us becoming something, we make way for those who are treated as nothing a chance to become something themselves. From the moment we were born, we are all free. Every person is worth something, and those who deny us that don't matter."
"Wow," Hanji nodded as he stayed silent for a moment. Hanji, in that moment, knew that the four teenagers in front of him were going to be 'something.' "You have such a romantic personality, Mr. Fairy. I think I like you."
"Eh?" Eren questioned as he reverted back to his usual demeanor. "Thanks."
"Dude, you did not give us the full speech last time," Jean said.
"I do not need to disclose all of the information on you guys. You guys already knew most of it in your hearts," Eren replied.
"You guys sure are a rowdy bunch," Hanji commented. "Here's the last question and it's from the fans. Are you guys fans of Wings of Freedom, if yes, who is your favorite band member? Although, I guess I already know Mr. Fairy's favorite."
"Ahaha," Eren gave a nervous chuckle. "I can't deny that I really like Levi. He's a type of singer that I admire and know that I can't be like. His voice style is different from mine."
"Ah yes, Shortie's voice matches harder rock songs," Hanji nodded in understanding. "Your voice is a good rock voice, but I think it matches for more emotional plays. You're voice is truly beautiful. You, Black Knight?"
"I personally like you, Hanji," Mikasa confessed. "I like the band, but personality wise, you seem the most fun person."
"Why thank you, madam Black Knight, and you are most definitely right. I am the funnest," Hanji bowed. "How about you, sir Strategist?"
"Erwin," Armin answered bluntly. "He seems like a fun person to play chess with."
"Ah, when the Strategist meets Commander Eyebrows," Hanji chuckled. "Last but not least, the Noble Steed."
"Mike," Jean said. "I just love the way he plays the bass. It really calms me down."
"I see. I like the sound of his bass as well, although sometimes it puts me to sleep," Hanji nodded. He saw the floor camera started up the signal to wrap up. "Well, I guess that's all we have for today. Why don't you guys give a farewell?"
"Hey guys," Eren started. "We are the band 'Nothing,' thank you guys for all your support and love. I hope that you guys will continue to support us during this competition and even after that. We'll try our best to be well liked by everyone."
"Thank you and goodbye," Eren and his friends said and waved. Hanji joined in on their wave.
The floor cameraman was counting down with his fingers. Once he finished counting down, he pointed his index finger and twirled his hand. It was a signal to stop recording. Hanji stood up, signaling for the others to do so as well.
"That was really good," Hanji said as he led them to the other side of the room.
"We try," Armin replied.
"You guys can go back and wait in the auditorium or wander around for a bit," Hanji told Eren and them. "We're all coming back to the auditorium after we're done. We'll be explaining the next phase for the competition."
"Okay," Eren nodded with his friends.
They gave their goodbyes to Hanji and their friendly rivals. Eren lead his friends back to the auditorium. Once they reached the auditorium, they sat back in their seats. The four of them looked at each other for some kind of approval before taking out their phones. The four of them sat next to each as they played their own game apps on their phone.
Soon people started filling in the room. The Titans had yet to come back even though everyone else from their group was, so Eren guessed that they were the last to be interviewed by Hanji. Eren and them put their phones away, understanding that the waiting time was almost over. They chose to casually talk to each other. Suddenly a group of people, a different band, stood in front of them. The shortest one had a scar on his face and stood in front of his band mates. The tallest one was to the guy's right. There was a chubbier looking guy the short guys's left. Behind them, was a dark haired girl with the creepiest smirk on Earth. Lastly, there was randomly an average looking guy with their group. Everyone in the room looked at the comotion that was about to start.
"Hey look, it's the baby that cried," the short one said. Eren raised one eyebrow, a moments away from punching the short bastard.
"You wanna say that again?" Eren growled as he stood up face to face with the short guy.
"I said, you guys only got third place because you cried like a baby. Otherwise, how else would a shitty band make it here?" The short guy elaborated.
"A shitty band? Punk, you wanna try and say that again?" Jean stood up as well.
"Guys, just calm down, it's not worth it," Mikasa told her two agitated friends.
"Yea, baby," the short guy grabbed Eren's shirt and pushed him back to his chair. "Listen to the girl and chicken out like a little bitch that you are."
Mikasa caught Eren and then glared at the short guy. She stood up with clenched fists. She opened her mouth to speak, "Look, you short ass motherfucker. Next time you touch him, you're dead. Just because you got a small ass penis and no balls doesn't mean you can go barking at us like it's our fault. It's not our fault that you guys suck and all of you guys are ugly."
"Looks like this bitch wants to fight," the girl behind the short guys spoke up.
"Now, now, guys," Armin turned to his friends. He held out an arm to stop them from advancing to attack. "Just stop, you guys know better than to start a fight. Especially you, Black Knight."
"You guys have stupid ass names too," the tall one commented.
"You're all just a bunch of pussies. You guys are gonna get kicked out in the next round," the chubbier one threatened. Armin's eyebrow twitched at the word "pussy." During the time he was being bullied, all his bullies called him that, so it was a taboo word in front of Armin. Armin turned around and glared at the band in front of him.
"I suggest you shut the fuck up and stop trying to start shit you can't finish," Armin growled in a low voice. "Otherwise, you're gonna find yourselves proclaimed dead tomorrow."
"Hah?" The short guy growled back.
"Guys," Armin said to his friends. "This isn't a battle of bands."
"This is fucking war!" Eren exclaimed as he jumped the short guy.
Armin and them followed Eren's cue. The four of them only got a few punches in before they felt hands pulling them apart. They looked at who was pulling them apart so that they could yell at them. When they saw who it was, they all paused. Each member of the Wings of Freedom had intervene their fight. Eren was being held down by Levi. He blushed as he quickly thought up a lie. Suddenly tears welled up in his eyes. Levi backed off, alarmed.
"They started to hit us," Eren sniffled as tears fell down his cheeks. Armin, Mikasa, and Jean followed Eren's cue once again. They all put on their scared and vulnerable faces on."We didn't know what to do but to fight back. I couldn't let them hurt us."
Levi and them were taken aback at their sudden actions of crying. Once Levi gain control of himself, he rolled his eyes. He huffed out a small laugh, "Nice try brat, but we saw you guys give the first punch."
"If you were already here before that, at least say something," Eren said with no shame as he revert back to his usual self, still pumped with the adrenaline from before.
"And hey, we still didn't start the fight," Armin informed them.
"You, Strategist, aren't as innocent as you seem. I don't know if I can trust you," Hanji replied. "Though, I'm not blind. I know you guys didn't instigate the aggression."
"Busted," Eren gave Armin a smirk.
"Shut up," Armin rolled his eyes as he nudged Eren with his elbow.
"However, you guys should know better than to get violent," Erwin said and then turn around to the other band. "As for you guys, it's smarter to not start a fight you can't win. Try some shit like this again, you guys will have a ticket to get your asses out of here."
"Go back and sit in your seats," Mike ordered them.
The other band stood up. They all huffed in annoyance before they walked away. Jean, never missing a beat, tried to stand up against Mike's arm.
"That's right! You better run," Jean yelled at them. "Don't fuck with my crew."
In return the other band flicked them off. Jean sucked his teeth in annoyance as he settled down. Mikasa rolled her eyes.
"Bitches," Mikasa commented.
"Dang, you all are really feisty," Hanji laughed.
"Yea, we get that a lot," Eren replied.
"Anyways, sit your asses back down, we're not done for the day yet," Levi told Eren and them.
"Okay, sorry," Eren replied as they went to sit back down.
The four quickly sat back down in their seats. They weren't embarrassed, because even if they were fighting in front of the band that they admired, they were fighting for their own worth. The members of Wings of Freedom shook their heads in disbelief with smiles. They went down the stairs and up the stage. Levi stood in front of his mic.
"Sorry about that," Levi said to the audience. "Let's talk about the competition. The next phase is the actual competition. As you all know, you guys will be paired up to perform against each other. You will be performing at the stadium in downtown. The audience will be your guys judges as well as us and some people from the garrison department. You guys can choose your own song choices. You guys won't be judged on song choices, but your talents in making the songs your own and how much of a stage presence you guys have. The first battle of the bands is next week, on Friday night. The details will be emailed to you guys later. With that, you may leave."
Everyone stood up, getting ready to leave. Eren stretched as he followed his friends out of the auditorium. He was getting tired from the eventful day. Soon they left the building and were in Armin's car on the way back home. Everybody was on their phones as Armin drove.
"Guys," Armin spoke up. The rest of them looked at Armin. "I'm going to go meet up with Thomas after I drop you guys off."
"Okay, don't get AIDS," Eren replied as he went back to his phone.
"Fuck off," Armin rolled his eyes.
Armin dropped off his friends at his house. They all went inside to clean up their appearances, before going back outside. Armin went back to his car, saying that he'll be back. Jean said bye to them as he got in his own car. Eren and Mikasa waved at their two friends as they went off. After they disappeared from their sights, they went inside to relax after greeting Armin's grandfather.
Eren sat on the couch on the basement, on his phone. Mikasa was on her bed, on her laptop. They were minding their own business as the hours went by. Soon enough, the door opened again, announcing that Armin was home. The blonde came downstairs with a pissed off face.
"Eren, I'm choosing the first song," Armin growled.
"Okay," Eren quickly nodded to not anger the blonde.
"What happened?" Mikasa asked.
"Now is the time to ask, 'what did the cunt do?'" Armin responded as he went back upstairs.
Thanks for reading. You are all loved.