x: it should be called 'bittersweet sixteen' instead
s: At least you remember the party this time.
a/n: Alrighty, gotta dash! See you guys again soon, whether it be tonight or tomorrow!
/
When sophomore year rolls around, you're getting ready for your sixteenth birthday and making a fantastic guest list. You still crush on Mikasa on and off, but you have better things to do with your life now, like focusing on beating Jaeger's record, getting laid with someone who actually knows that you exist, and passing Trigonometry. You talk to Marco about your confusion with Eren's sexuality sometimes, and he thinks there may be more to it than just simple homophobia. You tell him that you're not scared of gay people – you just don't get them.
So, when there's this really cute girl, probably on swim team – you assume so because she's got broad shoulders and a winsome smile – you trip over yourself to get to know her. You two date for a bit, but you're exhausted more than you're actually happy, so you break it off before things get too serious. You also felt kind of uncomfortable with spending so much time with her.
The creepiest thought you had, in the brief months you were seeing her, was that you would've preferred for Eren to be kicking your ass from here to next Tuesday instead of listening to her rant on and on about girly stuff that wasn't important. At least Jaeger actually cared about, you know, deep shit.
Anyways, the party is finally green-lit. Your parents let you have the house to yourselves (a terrible idea, really), and Connie helps you decorate before company files in to trash the place. People come with booze, hookahs, other drugs of less legal methods, and you're pumped. You're ready to have your sixteenth birthday party in full swing. You blast music the whole evening while people start to drink and smoke, mingling and dancing. Some people chat, getting a feel for whether the person they're sitting next to is really worth the drunken one-night stand.
At some point in the hazy evening, you remember talking to Armin. He says something about how Eren doesn't know how to come to terms with his emotions, especially because he feels them so strongly, so they end up misplaced. You're not really sure why he's bitching about his relationship to you, so you just smile and nod, totally sloshed. Whatever. Not your problem.
Marco pushes you off of him gently after you've mumbled the kind of things that happy drunks mumble. "I love you, man. I seriously mean it. You're great." Compliments keep tumbling out of your mouth, and you mean every one, even if you won't remember saying a single thing in the morning. Eventually, you're carted back to a room that's probably yours, after the responsible teenagers at this party have the decency to clean up behind themselves. You're reminded of the party when you were fourteen, and the smoky tenderness of the intimacy you had there. You dreamt about that sometimes. It was the perfect sort of fantasy to insert whichever girl you were into lately.
For some reason, when Eren stumbles in, he flicks the light switch on, and you hiss. "Fuck you," you mumble without much energy, shutting your eyes more tightly. You just want to be asleep. "Who invited you, anyways?"
"You did, asshole." Your classmate kicks you and you don't even fight back. "You invited the whole team, remember?" He does both of you the immense favor of cutting off the light.
For whatever reason, you end up talking about bitter dreams for the future with him. It's kind of nice, because neither of you have the energy to yell, and it's easier to forget that you're a total tool and Eren's got a stick up his ass when you're both quiet. You manage to ask him something about Armin. He sounds kind of upset, so you worry that you messed up, but he manages some mangled words.
"He's growing up, you know? I'm starting to realize he's strong enough to get by without me." You know it's different, because he's probably talking about a potential break up with his long-time boyfriend, but you've had a similar realization with Marco, just weeks ago. "It sucks."
"Yeah," you agree. "I hope you two are still friends, whether things work out or not. You don't have many, loser."
He laughs a bitter laugh that makes you join him. "You're the last person I want to hear that from, Kirschtein." The two of you brush hands, but you don't have the energy to get freaked out. Eren looks right at you and murmurs, "Happy birthday, horse-face."
"When you say that, it feels kinda gross. Take it back."
"It's midnight anyways, sucker. Your birthday's over anyways, so just shut the fuck up and accept my shittiest congrats." You hate the feeling that bubbles into your chest at his crass remark. You hate him, and Marco's words about your strange obsession with Jaeger leave a bad taste in your mouth all of the sudden. You laugh and slap him weakly so you can stop thinking and go the fuck to sleep.