Chapter 1: Red Zoned
Mikasa
"Hey," Sasha called. "Go grab one of the newspapers in the bin. Not that bin, Mika, to your left."
Mikasa found the bin that Sasha was pointing to, and dug a newspaper from the pile. "Who reads newspapers anymore?" she asked, tossing it down onto the counter. "I come in here almost every day, and I've never seen anyone take one of those."
Sasha slid the newspaper back towards Mikasa. "That's for you," the brunette said. "Sometimes there are some job listings in them."
They were standing on opposite sides of the counter, at the convenience store in which Sasha worked, or as she liked to call it, "slaved away".
Mikasa flipped through the pages of the newspaper. "You know I'm not looking for a "job" job, I just need something to hold me over for the summer, or until I go to Uni." She was having some trouble reading the tiny print, but nonetheless found something that caught her eye. "Look at this," she said, passing the newspaper back to Sasha.
"A babysitter?" Sasha asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mikasa sighed, for she knew exactly what Sasha meant. Children always made Mikasa uncomfortable. It wasn't that she was bad with them, they would just get on her nerves, and she didn't know how to get them to stop being upset. "I dunno, Sash, it's something."
Sasha shrugged. "I mean if you want to, but you don't want to be stuck with some brat."
"Yeah, but then I'll just quit. It pays well though."
"Well duh," Sasha remarked, "that's because the lady that posted this lives in Stohess. That's rich people's territory right there."
Mikasa sucked her teeth. "I'm not sure…"
"Oh come on," Sasha said, blowing a bubble with her gum. Mikasa reached across the counter and popped it. Sasha narrowed her eyes at her but didn't say anything. "You got to get some money if it is just for the summer, which, I say, will most definitely be our hot girl summer."
"I will most definitely not be participating in your "hot girl summer", Sasha. But I do need the money. I can't keep borrowing money off Levi."
Sasha clapped Mikasa on her shoulder. "That's what I'm talking about girl! Time for some financial independence!"
Mikasa grinned, and the bell chimed behind her, signaling that someone had just come into the store.
"People always come in when I'm on break…" Sasha grumbled under her breath.
Mikasa looked over her shoulder to the entrance. Four boys had just entered. She recognized them all from school but wasn't able to name all of them.
The boy in front was walking backward, and two of the other boys were laughing at something he was saying. One was tall, with broad shoulders and blonde hair. He played for our football team, Mikasa remembered. The second boy was the shortest of the bunch, with a buzzed head. The fourth boy was looking around the store, not paying attention to the other boys' antics. He too had blonde hair and was of medium height.
The boy walking backward, who had brown hair, and although not as tall as the football player, was still quite tall, said something else, and the two boys laughed again. They laughed even harder when the first boy backed up into a display, knocking the entire thing to the ground, and spilling snacks everywhere. He turned around, and Mikasa was caught off guard by his eyes. They were strikingly green and looked right at her.
"Sorry," he grinned sheepishly but made no move to pick up the fallen display. Instead, he stepped right over it.
"Aren't you going to pick that up?" Sasha called after him.
"It's your job, isn't it?" The boy asked over his shoulder.
The fourth boy looked anxiously at Sasha, and then back at the green-eyed boy. "Eren…" he said, "come on…"
"Your friend's right," Sasha said, an attitude in her voice. "Pick it up, man."
The green-eyed boy turned around. "What happens if I don't?"
"Eren," the blonde boy said, leaning over to pick up some of the snacks. The two other boys, Football and Buzzcut were giggling behind him.
"You better pick it up," Mikasa warned icily. The two boys immediately stopped giggling and looked over to the green-eyed boy.
The green-eyed boy put his hands on his hips and leaned towards her. "And what are you going to do about it?"
Before she had time to even think about what she was doing, Mikasa pulled her hand back and slammed a fist into the green-eyed boy's face, just below his eye. He fell back, sitting down hard on the ground. His eyes were wide open, looking up at her in shock. He touched the spot where she had punched him softly.
"You… you fucking punched me!" The green-eyed boy stood up. "You fucking punched me, you bitch." He took a step forward, but the football player grabbed his arm.
"It's time to go, Eren," he said, pulling him towards the exit. The boy with the buzzcut looked at Mikasa in awe, before following him out the door. The blonde boy quickly followed suit.
Mikasa looked back to Sasha, rubbing her knuckles. "Ouch," she said, after some time.
"Holy shit, Mika! That was fucking incredible!" Sasha exclaimed, literally jumping up and down behind the counter. "You laid that asshole out!"
Mikasa grinned and bent down to start picking up the fallen snacks. "Whatever," she laughed. "Do you think you can cut out that ad from the paper? I think I'll give that lady a call."
Eren
Eren brought a hand gingerly to his cheek, feeling where the black-haired girl had just punched him. At that moment, the car in which they were riding rode over a bump, sending his hand forcefully into his face.
"Fuck! Watch where you're going, Connie," Eren yelled from the backseat.
"And slow down," Armin added. He was sitting across from Eren in the backseat of his Benz. Connie was driving, and Reiner had his feet on the dashboard in the passenger seat. Armin's hands were gripping the back of Reiner's seat as if his life depended on it, his knuckles white. "Did you hear me, Connie? Slow down!"
Connie looked over his shoulder at the two in the backseat. "You guys are in the most capable hands you could possibly hope to-"
He was cut off by the blaring of another car's horn as he swerved slightly into the opposite lane. Connie jerked the steering wheel hard to the right, throwing the occupants of the car to the side. They barely managed to collide with the car, which was still blasting its horn.
Eren leaned forward and slapped Connie lightly on the back of his buzzed head. "Watch the fucking road," he yelled, not actually annoyed with him, "before you total my fucking car."
Reiner, feet still on the dashboard, unphased by what had just happened, chuckled softly. "I'd love to see you scrape up enough money to pay for the repairs," he said.
"It's not like Grisha wouldn't pay for them himself," Connie huffed. Eren slapped the back of his head a second time, and Connie laughed. "What?" he complained. "I'm right, naturally."
Eren sat back in his seat with a grin on his face. He once again brought his hand to his face. "Reiner," he said. "How's it look?"
"You're definitely going to have a black eye after that," he commented, not even bothering to look at Eren's face. "I mean, that girl did give you one hell of a punch,"
Eren swore under his breath.
"She rocked your shit dude," Connie smirked.
"Shut up and drive, before I slap your bald head again."
"Who even was that girl, I swear we went to school with her," Reiner asked, still not turning around.
Armin had since released his death grip on the back of Reiner's seat. "That was Mikasa… Ackerman, I think. Remember, she brought her brother for the career day in like sixth grade? The cop?"
"Oh yeahhhh," Connie sighed. "That dude was scary shit, I remember that."
"He was even shorter than you are, Connie."
Eren sighed and looked out the window. Connie was going much too fast for his pleasure, and that was saying something because Eren was always speeding. "I just can't believe she fucking punched me," he said to nobody in particular.
"You were kind of being an asshole," Armin joked. "Only a little bit."
"Graduation was just last week, everyone feels like they're the shit," Reiner stated, finally taking his feet down and turning around. "Especially you, Eren."
Eren found himself smiling. "Fuck off," he said, and Reiner burst out laughing.
"Connie," Eren said, "you just passed your street."
They had since dropped Reiner off, and Eren sat in the passenger seat, content to let Connie drive his car for a little longer. Eren knew how much he liked it. Armin sat in the backseat, leaning forward between the two.
"You sure I can't borrow her?" Connie asked sarcastically. "Only for a little while."
"Yeah right," Eren laughed, "I'd have to pay twice the amount of the actual thing in repairs."
"Fine," Connie sulked, but Eren could see the corners of his mouth twitched as he tried hard to suppress a smile.
After they had dropped Connie off at his own house, Eren got behind the wheel and Armin slipped into the passenger seat. As usual, the two of them would hang out after Eren's even after the departure of their friends.
They had known each other for so many years that Eren wasn't even sure how long it had been. It must have been first… no… second grade, he thought to himself as he drove. Jean Kirstein, Eren remembered, had been throwing rocks and wood chips at Armin, and even though Eren hadn't known either of them, he still stepped in. He still had the scar from when Kirstein's tooth had, after being knocked out by Eren's fist, had lodged itself in between his knuckles.
They drove the rest of the short ride to Eren's in silence.
When, about five minutes later, Eren pulled into his driveway, he prayed that nobody was home. He didn't want to have to explain his already bruising eye and cheek.
Armin followed him inside, and Eren swore under his breath when Ava called out to him. She was nine years old, with the same brown hair and green eyes that he had, but minus the two front teeth. If Ava was home, that meant that his mother was home.
"Eren!" Ava squealed excitedly, running into the foyer. "And Armin!" she squealed even more excitedly. She ran up to Eren, high-fiving Armin on the way, and jumped forward, landing on his feet.
"Ouch, Ava, don't mess up my sneakers, I just got them the other day."
"Oh," came a voice from the kitchen. "You and your shoes."
"Hello, Mrs. Jaeger," Armin called out.
Eren's mom walked around the corner with her hands on her hips. "Armin," she said, sternly. "If I have to tell you to call me 'Carla' one more time, I'm going to… well I'll think of something."
Eren was already halfway up the stairs, and Armin was following him when Ava rushed up after him. "Can I play with you?" she asked, grabbing a hold of Eren's legs.
"I'm afraid not, little one," Eren frowned, shaking her loose.
"What are you two going to do up there that your sister can't join you?" Carla asked, still downstairs in the kitchen.
"Same as always, mom," Eren yelled back. "We're going to play video games and smoke crack!"
Ava giggled. "That's not appropriate, Eren," she said through her laugh.
Eren smiled back. "I'm only joking." He stuck his tongue out at her, and she mirrored the gesture. Eren laughed, and pushed Armin into his room, kicking the door closed behind him.
Mikasa
It was almost seven o'clock when she finally got home, after spending the rest of her day at Sasha's, once she had gotten out of work. She tried to enter her apartment quietly, but it wasn't any use.
Levi was sitting on the couch, reading a book. His eyes darted upwards to meet Mikasa as she closed the door behind her. "You're home late," he said, closing the book and standing up. Her brother's eyes were cold and grey, reminding her of rainclouds that hadn't yet taken in enough water to rain. His hair was a dark black, just like hers, and parted to the sides.
"Sorry," Mikasa uttered quietly, readjusting her bag over her shoulder. They stared at each other for a moment before Levi stood up, placing his book down on the coffee table. At his full height, Levi stood at a very unimposing 5 feet 3 inches, but Mikasa knew that there was nothing unimposing about his character. "I was with Sasha."
Levi nodded in understanding and walked past her into the kitchen. He opened several cupboards but ultimately closed them after a brief scan of their contents. "We don't have any food," he remarked.
Mikasa sighed. She thought back to her discussion with Sasha earlier that day. "It's alright, I'm going to get a job this summer before I go off to university. That should help, right?"
"I guess it would," Levi chuckled. "We do have mac and cheese," he said, opening another cupboard.
"What kind?"
"It's Kraft."
"Damn," Mikasa pouted. Kraft mac and cheese had always been her least favorite. "But food's food," she said as Levi started to boil a pot of water.
After they had eaten, Mikasa found herself in the shower.
The bathroom fan hadn't worked properly for god knows how long, so whenever she showered, the room got incredibly steamy. Not that she minded. After a long day, Mikasa liked to take a long shower and relax.
She washed her hair slowly, massaging the shampoo into her scalp and taking her time. Mikasa looked down to her hand and rubbed her knuckles, which were still red from where she had punched the green-eyed boy, Eren.
She couldn't quite remember his last name, but she could recall that she had attended school with him and his friends, not that they had ever talked before; it had been a big school, with lots of kids.
Too bad he had to be an asshole, Mikasa thought, dejectedly. He was kind of cute. She remembered the way that he had first turned around and looked her in the eyes.
As the hot water ran down her body, Mikasa felt butterflies in her stomach.
She sat on the edge of her bed with a towel wrapped around her chest, staring at her phone. The cut-out section of the newspaper that Sasha had given to her earlier that day sat on the bed next to her. Mikasa glanced nervously from the paper to her phone, before finally dialing the number listed.
"Hello?" she asked once her call had been picked up. "I'm calling about the babysitting job?"