Chapter 14 – The Siren's Call

Eren opened his eyes to a vast expanse of darkness. It was cold and empty, like a bottomless pit of nothingness. He turned around, his eyes searching for a way out or something of importance, but nothing was there.

"Hello?" He called into the dark, hoping for someone to answer.

He walked around for what felt like hours, looking, searching for something. What he was searching for was a mystery to him, but it just felt right, like he was supposed to find something or someone. But maybe not. Maybe he was just overthinking things. Maybe he wasn't supposed to find anything, and all of these nightmares he was having meant nothing.

"Eren!" A voice tore through the silence, dry and broken.

He turned, but like all the times before, there was no one there, just blank darkness. He heard the voice again and again, but couldn't see a single thing.

"Er...pl...se...g..t..up..." This time the voice was sorrowful, barely audible, skipping like a broken record.

"I'm here!" He yelled. "I'm right here!"

Silence.

"Captain!"

A new voice?

"Captain, what's wrong?!"

"He won't get up."

"…He's dead."

"No, he's not! He's not, he can't be!"

Eren could hear the sound of people struggling, but still couldn't see anything.

"Eren!" The person yelled. "Get off me, he's not dead! He needs treatment! Hanji will—"

"You can't treat a dead man! We need to go! Titans are closing in on us!"

"No! Wait! …Eren!"

The struggling stopped and everything was dead-silent again. What was that? ...Who were those people? He pondered for a moment.

He'd had similar dreams like that in the past few months: people yelling, someone saying his name, then silence. It disturbed him, it seemed all too familiar to be a random dream. But that's where his thoughts came to a halt. He knew for sure that he'd never experienced something like that before, so where did the memories come from?

"Eren, wake up." Someone was touching his shoulder. "We're here."

He peeled his eyes open to see Mikasa hovering over him. Her hair gently draped across her shoulders, the evening light shimmering against the dark strands. Her skin was pale, complimenting the darkness of her eyes. The way her eyelashes fell on her cheeks…she was just… She was so beautiful, like a porcelain doll that'd never been taken from its box.

Eren huffed before propping up on his arm, "Mm…Mikasa?"

"Mhm. We're here." She smiled, the corners of her mouth gently upturned.

"Oh, already? Jean didn't wreck the car?"

Mikasa chuckled, "No."

Eren shifted his leg around to step out of the car, wobbling a bit as he did, then looked ahead of his sister to see Jean and Connie laughing with their arms swung around each other. Gazing up to the awning of the club, Eren noted the name 'Liquid Love' and glanced at the line of waiting people. The twisting feeling in his stomach growing at every step he took toward the doors.

"How long are we gonna be here?" His voice was quiet as he whispered to Mikasa, out of earshot from the others.

She gently smiled, "If you don't want to be here we can leave."

"No, no, I'm fine. Just…" He trailed off.

"Nervous?"

A nod was all he could muster, his stomach still fluttering with butterflies.

The closer they got to that building, the more Eren wanted to leave. It gave him an uneasy feeling that he couldn't quite place. He didn't think he was scared, but that unsettling mix of anxiety and worry had him on edge.

"Ah, Jean," A man in a black suit gestured. "I thought I wouldn't see you again for a while." The man stared, his face acutely curled into a condescending sneer.

Jean laughed off the expression, "Yeahhh…some things came up. But this night is special. My buddy, Eren, here has never been to a club like this. Hehe." He patted Eren's shoulder. "Right, Eren?"

Eren stuttered and looked down at his shoes, "Oh, yeah, r-right…"

"Hm." The black-suited man leaned down, inspecting his expression. Eren cowered under the guy's large stance and intimidating scowl, bending his shoulders inward to make himself as small as possible.

The man boomed with laughter seconds later, slapped Eren's shoulder hard with his palm, and stepped aside to let the group in. "Alright, get in there, but don't do anything stupid to make me drag your asses out."

Jean saluted, "Yessir," with two fingers to his forehead and turned back to his friends. "See? Told you guys I could get us in." He laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, enough of your gloating, let's party!" Connie shouted with a raised hand. "Woohoo! C'mon guys!"

As Connie ran off into the crowd with Jean and Sasha, Mikasa held onto Eren's arm, noting that he looked paler than normal. She gripped his shirt sleeve, hoping it would be enough to ground his emotions for now. He didn't look at her, just kept staring at his feet.

Why do I always find myself in these situations? I just can't catch a break, I guess. But what if Levi finds out I came here? Would he be mad at me if I got drunk? No, he probably wouldn't care. I'm just a brat to him anyway. But I'm also his caretaker. What if he falls again and I'm not there? I should be there right now, helping him. No, no… I'm just overthinking it…

He pulled his eyes up to see Jean romping around on the dancefloor across the club. He looks like he's having a blast. Eren thought. He glanced at Mikasa for a moment before returning his eyes to the floor. Maybe I should try to have a little fun while we're here. You only live once, right...?

With a little more poise than before, Eren paced over to the bar. His heart was pounding in his ears, but he wasn't backing down. It'll be fine. I'll just order a couple drinks and that'll be the end of it. The bartender peeked up from cleaning the glass in his hand. His green eyes piercing through Eren like an arrow.

"What'll it be?" He asked, tone cold and solemn.

Eren jumped, almost knocking over the stool next to him, "Um... I've never…uh…"

After he placed the glass down on the counter, the barman rested against the wooden structure.

"You new to alcohol or somethin'?"

"N-no, sir…" Eren's resolve collapsed in on him.

"Hm. Looks like you are. Not my business though." The man said with crossed arms. "So, you lookin' to get wasted or just tipsy?"

Eren opened his mouth to speak, but paused midway. He hadn't thought about it. He just presumed he'd be sitting in the corner all night while his friends had the time of their lives, the way it always was.

"Well…what do you suggest?"

"If it was me I'd say vodka, but you don't seem all that hardcore."

He was right. Eren had never touched a bottle of alcohol in his life, too busy with his nose buried in his studies to care about the daily frat parties and invites he'd gotten. But when it came down to it, he was curious. Curious about how it felt, questioning the side effects all his friends complained about after a night at the pub or local fraternity house.

"No, please, I'll try whatever. Strong or not."

The green-eyed man smirked. "Oh? Confident, are we? Alright, damn, I'll whip up a quick Jägermeister."

He turned his back to the bar and went about his job, swiftly pouring Eren's drink into the glass he'd just cleaned. Eren watched him closely, mesmerized by the way the guy's hands moved. He nervously looked away when the man twisted back around and slid the alcohol-filled cup across the marble counter.

"Thank you…" Eren said as he twisted the glass in his hands.

"You're so damn formal. You an English major or somethin'?"

That was new. No one had ever asked Eren his college major before.

He smiled down at his hands. "Psychology, actually."

"What type?"

"Um…personality psychology."

"Oh, my sister went to school for a social psychology major. I was just curious. Enough talking though." He motioned to Eren's cup. "Drink that before it goes stale."

Eren gulped, hoping no one could see his uneasiness. "Right…" He brought the cup to his mouth in a long, drawn-out motion, glass brushing coldly over his lips.

The sip was short but, with the slight taste of bitter alcohol lingering on his tongue, he felt so energized. Maybe it was just his fast-paced heartbeat, or the adrenaline flooding his system, or maybe both. Either way, he wanted more. He didn't want the feeling to end, so he took another drink, and another, and another. Six drinks later he was lazily draped over the bar with a severe case of 'what-the-fuck-am-I-doing-with-my-life?'

"Go easy on it, jeez. The last thing I need is some kid crumpled over my bar puking his guts out."

All he got was a slurred 'I know' out of Eren. The man moved to hold Eren's arm after serving a couple of girls their drinks. He proceeded to walk around the counter, pull Eren up on the stool closest to him, and slide his glass out of reach.

"Alright, that's enough for tonight, Mr. Psych Major. Lord help you tomorrow cause you're gonna have one helluva hangover."

Eren mumbled and slumped against the counter, staring up at the guy he'd met barely two hours ago. Was he always that handsome...? No… I don't know… Maybe. Ah…shit, I can't move. I want to go home. He could hear the man saying something to him, but couldn't make out any words. What's he saying? Something about…leaving…?

"C'mon, you came here with friends, right? You should find them and go home. It's not safe around here for guys like you. I've damn-near busted my ass off making sure no pedo spiked your drink. Wouldn't make much difference though, you're plastered enough as it is."

"Mmm...no…I don wnna goooo…. Mm mm…"

"Don't try this shit with me, kid, you're hammered and you need to sleep."

"You're bein'…ridicu-lush…'m not that drunk…" Eren straightened, started to stand with wobbly legs, and nearly toppled to the floor. Leaning heavily into the guy trying to assist him, he held his shirt in a vice-like grip.

With a sigh, the bartender wrapped his arms around Eren to support his weight. The man's cool touch made Eren shiver; he felt so hot, so bubbly and warm inside, like he was cocooned in the warmest, fuzziest blanket in the world, and he loved it. He loved the way his skin tingled with anticipation, loved how the music vibrated his chest, loved when the person holding him gripped his waist ever so slightly, an action so subtle Eren almost—almost—didn't notice.

He circled his arms around the man's neck, using the body in front of him as an anchor to hold steady. The room was spinning, folding in on itself and reshaping, but Eren held firm. He could smell the man's cologne now, couldn't quite place the scent though. It was musky, that's all Eren could think. Heck, he could barely even do that now, teetering between passing out and throwing up.

"Damn."

Eren could see that the guy's eyes were wandering across his entire body, unlike his hands, which were sitting perfectly still. "Mm?"

"You're just pretty."

"No…'m not…"

The man smiled. "Yeah, you are."

"Mm..." He couldn't think straight, all he wanted to do was stay in this complete stranger's hold and fall asleep.

"Hey."

"Hmm…?"

"Can I take you home?"

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