"You've got to be kidding me."
Armin had his regular look of mild distress as he pointed to the corner of the cadets mess hall.
"What? …what're you pointing at?" Eren squinted through the bodies, moving his head back and forth to try and catch a glimpse.
"On the platform, in the corner." Armin squeaked.
Mikasa turned over her shoulder and looked to where Armin was pointing.
"Oh." Her voice was quiet and toneless. She gently shook her head, and turned back to her soup.
Eren dropped his spoon and stood up onto the bench, peeking over the heads of the small crowd to the little platform in the corner of the room to where Jean was grinning smarmily, his right hand waving dismissively at the tiny gathering of people around the platform and in his left he held an acoustic guitar;
"One moment please." He ducked under the guitar strap and stood proudly clutching it with his chest puffed, "You'll all be thrilled to know that the wait is finally over. This fine night I will be playing you some of my personal songs - I know how you've all been dying to hear them."
"Woo!" Marco called loudly from where he was stood directly in front of him.
"Ladies, keep your pants on - at least until after the show." Jean winked.
From behind Eren Connie excitedly leapt over the long mess hall table as he sped towards the scene, "Aren't you guys coming? This is classic!"
He was instantly followed by Sasha, who made a loud, enthusiastic noise that was probably an affirmation of Connie's statement, but it was completely muffled by the mini baguette she'd stuffed in her mouth. Before she pelted to the corner in pursuit of Connie, she'd managed a spectacular leap over the table holding her soup bowl, whereby the entirety of the liquid flew from the bowl in a round soupy mass, which she then impossibly caught in the bowl again when she landed, not spilling a single drop.
Eren groaned and scowled as he jumped down off the bench and grudgingly made his way over.
Following Eren with his eyes, Armin audibly sighed and stood, glancing at Mikasa who wordlessly followed on like a shadow, standing sombrely at the back of the crowd of cadets as Eren grumbled curses under his breath.
"First off is a little number I'd like to dedicate to-" Jean clocked Mikasa stood at the back and immediately flushed bright red, "-ah - uh - all the beautiful girls in the room, you know who you are!" He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck.
"Get on with it!" Eren shouted from the back.
Jean immediately switched, growling;
"Oh you think this is easy tough-guy? I'd like to see you sing in front of a crowd like this - I bet you don't even know what a note is."
"Asshole - tell that to my fists!" Eren bayed, rolling up his sleeves, but was stopped by Mikasa's hand on his shoulder.
"Eren, don't." She said faintly as his face twitched in a rage and his arms shook with pent up tension.
Armin looked worried.
"That's right!" Jean smirked infuriatingly, "No-one wants to hear your childish yelling today Jaeger. We're gathered to hear some breathtaking music."
Eren snarled.
"What's the name of the first song?" Marco politely interjected.
"I'm glad you asked Marco." Jean blustered, "This one has a special place in my heart, and will soon have one in all of yours too. It's called 'Wonderwalls'."
A ripple of snickering ran through the crowd but Jean soldiered on, playing the first simple chords with confidence. His voice was a little rough, but he was able to hit all the notes, perhaps with more practice he'd've been quite the vocalist, and his guitar skills weren't to be snubbed either;
"Today is when I realised it,
A love so strong I just can't hide it,
Why walk a winding road when you can ride it?"
.
"Giddy-up Jean!" Reiner heckled and Jean winced, but quickly brushed it off;
.
"Mind, body and soul,
With three walls you protect them all,
Oh you are sensational,
Wanna live in your wonderwalls…
.
The steady drum of my heart, can't fight it,
You've heard it all before, but you're the finest,
And why stay single when you can bride it?
.
You're in total control,
Strong like bricks and hair like coal,
Could spend my life and never get cold,
Inside the heat of your wonderwalls…"
"Hey Jean!" Eren yelled across the room, interrupting, "You suck! Ever heard of a key? You should try playing in one."
"Speaking of keys - they should find one to lock you away with you absolute psycho!" Jean unhooked his guitar and went to throw it on the ground, but Marco intercepted it as Jean leapt from the platform and shoved through the crowd who had already parted into a circle surrounding the two.
"Not this again…" Bertholdt bemoaned.
Not a second later, the fight broke out to jeering, groaning and fist-pumps. Jean dodged a punch from Eren then socked him in the face.
"That all you got?!" Eren roared, crazed as he returned the favour.
Taking the punch, Jean smirked again, panting;
"I would hit you harder, but my guitar teacher Ms Petra would be furious if I busted up my hands while taking out the trash-" He punctuated the last word with a swing, but he missed and suddenly Mikasa stood in between them.
"Stop this." She commanded, though quietly and the two hunched over boys huffed, still staring daggers at one another, "Eren, come on."
She grabbed his sleeve and dragged him off, trailed by Armin.
"You guys didn't think he was any good did you?" Eren pouted as they retook their seats.
"No, but that doesn't mean you should fight him at every given opportunity." Mikasa chided.
"I'm with Eren on this one. He sucked." Armin smiled, picking up the remains of his loaf of bread.
Eren's face melted into a wide beam, and some blood trickled from his nose, "Really? You think so?"
Armin blinked, "Absolutely. I mean, he rhymed 'it' with 'it' three times in one verse…"
"Yeah…he did." Eren grinned, "What are 'wonderwalls' anyway?"
I did say that the next mini-chapter would maybe make the mini-chapters link a bit clearer (though some have already guessed it haha) and yes…the link is horses…and this chapter is about Jean…I'm not sorry.
If you don't know what song this chapter is referencing then…i really don't know what to say to you hahahaha but I can say that the amount of fun it is to write a terrible bro lovesong is unsurpassable