Chapter Three: ...Ready for It?
Some mentions of past Jeankasa in this chapter!
The first month of the semester passes quickly with snow taking over the lives of the citizens of Trost. For the first time in college, Mikasa actually has a few snow days (and cold days). She still has quite a bit of work to do, given all of her classes were pretty high level. Her professors have still been posting lectures and notes online, so she's spent her snow days curled up in blankets with hot cocoa on the couch, her laptop situated on her lap. Sometimes Sasha would study with her, other times she would brave the weather to see Connie.
Genetics had been canceled for nearly three weeks in a row, so Mikasa hadn't had much contact with Eren over the last few weeks. They would occasionally message each other, but that was about it. She still feels like shrinking into herself whenever she thinks about how she forced the idea of a dinner date on him. (He did seem into the idea, though.)
As if on queue, her phone dings. Seeing Barista Boy pop up on the screen make her face light up, to which Sasha most definitely takes notice and grabs the phone before Mikasa can even begin to reach for it.
"Who's barista boy?" she asks, holding the phone in her right hand and extending her arm as far as she can in the opposite direction of Mikasa.
"Sasha, give it back."
"Who's barista boy?"
Mikasa sets her laptop on the coffee table and leans over Sasha, reaching for the phone.
Sasha pushes her back onto the couch, her lips turned ever so slightly downward. "When did you stop telling me about boys? Do I talk about Connie too much?"
"Sash, no. It's nothing," she sighs, crossing her arms.
"It doesn't seem like nothing. Who's barista boy and why is he asking about cooking you dinner?"
"Dinner?" Mikasa asks, moving to reach for the phone again.
"Oh no," Sasha says, moving further away from the black haired girl. "You have to tell me a little about this guy before I give you the phone back."
Mikasa sighs, settling back into the couch. "Do you remember right before the semester started and we went out drinking and I forced you stop at that kind of dumpy coffee place on East Main Street?"
"Kinda? I was pretty drunk, Mika."
Mikasa rolls her eyes, "Trust me, I know you were, but you should still be able to figure out where this is going."
The room is silent for a second. Sasha's eyes suddenly widen and she gasps loudly, "NO WAY! The dude with the eyes?"
Mikasa laughs, "That's really descriptive, Sash. But yes, the dude with the eyes. His name is Eren, he also goes to Trost U, he's in my genetics class, studying to be a doctor."
"So, he's what, a freshman? That's kinda gross, Mika."
Mikasa shakes her head, "No, I would never. He's a senior, also about to graduate."
Sasha pauses for moment, contemplating. "How the hell has he managed to get this far going into medicine and not taken intro to genetics?"
Mikasa shrugs, "It wasn't required."
Sasha nods, although she appears only somewhat satisfied with that answer. "Okay, I guess. But dinner, Mika? You've gotten far enough with this guy where he's offering to cook you dinner and you didn't tell me?" She looks hurt, but Mikasa can't tell if it's genuine hurt or if Sasha is trying to guilt trip her.
"We haven't gone anywhere, Sash. We had an impromptu coffee date where he works, and I wouldn't even go as far as calling it a real date. We talked for a bit and then he had to work, so I left. It's really not a big deal," Mikasa opens her hand in front of Sasha, waiting for her phone to be returned.
Reluctantly, Sasha sets Mikasa's phone into her outstretched hand. "That's still something. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I…" Mikasa pauses, closing her fingers around the phone. "I didn't think he would actually ask about dinner? It's… I didn't plan on it going anywhere. I have too much to worry about. It's our last semester and I'm starting law school in the fall. I don't really have time to think about boys and dating when I need to focus on school. So I didn't mention it because it wasn't supposed to go anywhere."
"Is it going anywhere?"
"Uh, give me one second," Mikasa replies, unlocking her phone and opening Eren's message.
From: Barista Boy
hey! i was wondering if you wanted to come over sometime soon and i could cook you dinner?
It was simple. It wasn't too wordy. It was to the point.
To: Barista Boy
yeah! when?
Her phone dings a second later.
From: Barista Boy
is tomorrow night okay?
Tomorrow night was a Friday. That made sense. No class to worry about on Saturdays if she has a late night.
Mikasa breathes in deeply, staring at the reply. What was she expecting to happen? What did she want to happen? She didn't know him that well and she definitely wasn't one to rush into things. But does she want to draw the line at, what, kissing like a nervous teenager who's never been on a real date before? Was this even a date? He didn't say date.
"Mikasa."
"Huh?" Mikasa snaps out of her thoughts and focuses her attention on a concerned Sasha.
"Whatever internal monologue you're having is stressing me out so please, chill. Whatever you're overthinking is probably fine."
"He didn't say it's a date. What is it? Also, I haven't had sex since like, 2015? Freshman year of college? Does that make me out of practice?"
Sasha holds back a laugh. "Okay, you really need to chill. He's asking to make you dinner, so it's definitely a date. And does he seem like sex on the first date kind of guy?"
Mikasa sinks into the cushions of the couch, "I don't know, Sash. I mean, he is inviting me to his apartment for our first date. Doesn't that kind of scream sex on the first date?"
"Do you not want to?"
"I…" she tilts her head. "I think I do, but not that fast?"
"You really like him, huh?"
"What makes you think that?" Mikasa sets her phone in between them, glancing between the open message and her friend.
"You want to wait. It's kind of cute."
"I don't want to start all over," Mikasa says quietly. "I don't know him that well, but I really do like him. But… I don't know. We're both graduating and have big futures ahead of us. It seems crazy to start a relationship now, right? So maybe rushing is good, but also…"
"Okay, you really are overthinking this," Sasha says, readjusting herself on the couch to fully face Mikasa. "For one, don't worry about it. See how the date goes, see if there's a second one. There's no need to worry about a relationship before it's happening. Also, if you guys end up doing it, that's not a bad thing."
"I seriously feel like a stupid highschool girl right now," Mikasa says, burrying her face in the pillow she's situated on her lap.
"You've only had one serious relationship. If you see potential in someone, that can be scary."
Mikasa turns her head and stares at her best friend for a few seconds. "When did you get so wise?"
Sasha leans against the arm of the couch, a large grin crossing her face. "You learn a lot after being in a relationship for like, what, seven years."
"Eight years," Mikasa corrects, laughing. "How do you not know that you and Connie have been together for eight years?"
Sasha waves it off and laughs, "We're basically an old married couple at this point."
"Do old married couples have wild sex on the couch with one of their roomates in the next room over?" Mikasa has her eyebrows raised.
Sasha sits up straighter, "I apologize for that! We've never gotten that drunk since."
"I'll never unhear it. 'Oh Connie, yeeaaah!'" she mimics, laughing.
"Oh, come on, don't pretend that I didn't walk in on you and Jean freshman year in our dorm room. What about the sock on the door handle policy?"
"We didn't want the whole dorm to know we were fucking!"
"Oh, they did Mikasa. They did."
Mikasa groans and shoves her face back into the pillow. "So, what do I do?"
"I'd start by finding out if Eren likes girls who scream or not."
Mikasa throws the pillow at Sasha's face.
To: Barista Boy
tomorrow sounds great! should i dress fancy?
From: Barista Boy
sweet! And yeah, let's pretend we're real adults and dress up. i can even buy champagne. send me your address. is picking you up around seven okay?
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