A/N: So I realized that I forgot to add an author's note in the first chapter that I posted, and hence I forgot to tell you guys that some elements of my story are similar to "Around the Corner", iliankasmoulinka91. I highly recommend that you read that story if you are a fan of mine. It's very well written and also serves as the inspiration for this story :). I've been planning this story for a couple of years, and the beginning is very similar to Around the Corner. But this is my story, and a very different one. Just wanted to make that clear and give credit where credit is due. Also, feel free to ask questions in the review section, and I'll answer as many as I can. As of right now, I have the entire story planned out, but I don't have a schedule, so I'll post whenever new chapters are ready!


Chapter 2: What Goes Around Already Came Around

Eren

"Eren," Armin warned slowly from the back seat. "You're going a bit fast…"

Reiner laughed and turned around from where he was sitting in the passenger seat. He playfully punched Armin on the arm. "It's fine," he said nonchalantly. "We're not even going that fast anyway."

"Yeah, 70 in a 35 isn't too fast." Connie sat in the backseat with Armin. He was clutching the back of Reiner's seat so hard that his knuckles were white, but he was smiling along with Reiner.

Eren grinned and stepped harder on the gas. They were going so fast that the trees started to blur together into a greenish-brown blob bordering the sides of the road. Eren was pushing his car to its max. "It's fine," he reassured his friend. "This road is as straight as straight can be. And plus, there aren't ever any cops here."

Armin laughed nervously. "You say that until…"

He didn't have to finish his sentence. They shot past a particularly large bush, and behind it was a car. Parked. Waiting. As soon as they had passed, Eren could see red and blue flashing lights in his mirror.

"Fuck."

Reiner started to laugh, and Connie hastily put on his seat belt. For a split second, Eren thought about gunning it, but ultimately pulled to a stop on the side of the road. He sighed and rolled his window down.

"Told you," Armin said from the back seat.

Eren turned around and was about to retaliate when he saw the cop walk up to his car. He left Armin with a glare, to which the blonde boy smiled.

The cop had grey eyes, with black hair that was parted in the middle. Eren would have thought him scary if he wasn't so short. "License and registration." He spoke as though he was bored, and that this was just a waste of time.

Eren handed him his wallet and reached over Reiner's lap to get his paperwork out of his glove compartment. It was crumpled and wrinkled. The cop took it with a face of disgust, and unfolded it, flicking away a piece of dry gum that was stuck to the back.

After a moment, the cop handed Eren back his things. "Stay here," he said, before returning to his patrol car.

Eren watched him walk away.

"I told you," Armin reminded him again smugly. "'But Armin, there aren't any cops on this road. It's okay to do double the speed limit.' It seems, my friend, that I was right, once again."

Eren reached down to the side of his seat, pulled the lever, and leaned back. His seat unfolded and crashed down on top of Armin. Connie, who was already laughing, laughed harder.

"Ow, Eren!" Armin swatted the back of Eren's head. "You're crushing my legs, you idiot. Lift the damn seat up, would you?"

"What's the magic word?" Eren turned around, asking him in a sing-song voice. "You have to say the magic word if you want to get out."

"Fuck you," Armin laughed and tried to swat Eren's head away, but he moved away from his friend's hand. "Fine. Please."

"Not that magic word," Eren taunted. "The other magic word."

"What the hell is the other magic word?!"

Eren didn't have time to think of what the other magic word was. He felt Reiner punch him on the arm, and when Eren turned around, the cop was standing right by his window once more. He still looked bored. And annoyed.

"Do you know how fast you were going?" he asked blatantly.

"I was hoping that you'd be able to tell me," Eren responded, leaning out of the window with a smile on his face.

The cop was having none of it. "Mr. Jeager," he drawled. "I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car."

The smile immediately vanished from Eren's face. "What?" he asked, incredulously. "What for?"

Now it was the cop's turn to offer him a slight smile, barely perceptible. "I have reason to believe that you are intoxicated."

"What do you mean? How did you come to that conclusion?"

"I have my reasons. Now get out of the car. Now."

Eren grumbled but obliged. He took off his seatbelt, and slowly got out of the car.

"Hands on the side of the car," the cop ordered.

Eren did so, and locked eyes with Armin through the window. Armin gave him a slight smile and a thumbs up.

The cop patted down a grumbling Eren and put his hand on his shoulder to turn him around. Now facing the cop, Eren saw that he was indeed very short. The name that was pinned to his uniform read L. Ackerman.

It took a moment for Eren to register the name. "Ackerman…" he said to himself, slowly. "Do you perhaps know a certain... Mikasa?"

The cop's eyes snapped up to meet Eren's. "Eyes aren't red," he said to himself, completely ignoring Eren's question. "I'm going to have to ask you to walk in a straight line."

Eren turned and moved to where the cop had directed him. In his mind, Eren struggled to remember what Armin had told him yesterday. Remember, she brought her brother for the career day in like sixth grade? The cop?

"I remember you," Eren said while walking on the suggested line. "You're Mikasa Ackerman's older brother. Although you look like you could be her younger brother." From inside the car, Eren heard Connie laugh.

"How do you know my sister," the cop asked, flashing a light into Eren's eyes once he had finished on the line.

"Well," Eren responded. "I wouldn't really say that I know her, perchance."

"Looks like you've been in a fight," the cop said, pointing to Eren's face.

"What do you mean?"

"Your eye. It's bruised."

"Damn, really? I didn't think it would. I didn't even look in the mirror today." After the cop was silent for a moment, Eren continued. "Well actually, a funny story. That would be your sister's doing." He chuckled.

The cop, who Eren could have sworn was warming up, turned icy cold, immediately. "What the fuck did you do to my sister." His eyes flashed, deadly.

"Woah, woah, woah," Eren backtracked. "I didn't do anything to her, just a disagreement."

For a moment, he thought that the cop was going to punch him. "Get the fuck out of here," he seethed.

Eren didn't need to be told twice.


"What the hell was that about?" Eren asked his friends once they had started driving again. "I could have sworn he was about to kill me."

"What happened?" Reiner asked. "We couldn't see what was going on."
"Well, when I told him that it was his sister that punched me, he got pissed. I thought I was dead, man."

"Who cares, you're fine."

From the backseat, Connie yawned. "Was he like that back in the sixth grade?"

"Who knows," Eren laughed off the rest of his nerves. "He might have been even shorter. Where are we going?"

Armin cleared his throat. "I don't care where we go, I just want food."

"Honestly, I'm starving," Connie seconded.

"Just go into Hanes' breakfast place," Reiner instructed.

"But doesn't the food there suck?"

"Not anymore," he answered. "Last year he really cleaned the place up. It's way nicer now. The food got like ten times better, too."

Eren took a right. "Hanes' it is."


Mikasa

If it wasn't for Sasha, Mikasa would have totally missed her appointment. As it turned out, she slept right through her alarm, or it hadn't gone off. Either way, it was Sasha's call that woke her up.

She had been dreaming, but like with all dreams, it faded fast from her memory. Mikasa struggled to remember for a split second, then picked up her friend's call.

"Sash? What time is it?"
"Hey, Mika!" Sasha said, obviously feeling much more awake than Mikasa. "It's currently 11:34. Listen, I need some advice-"

11:34? Shit.
"Holy shit, Sasha, I overslept. I'm supposed to be at that babysitting thing at twelve." Mikasa berated herself. It would take her at least twenty minutes to get ready. And then another fifteen to get to the address the lady had given her over the phone. If I don't eat breakfast, I should be fine, she decided.

"Alright then, the advice can wait. I'll just ask someone else. But hey, good luck."

"Thanks, Sash," and she hung up.


Mikasa was in and out of the shower before she could fully rinse the soap from her raven hair. She dried herself as quickly as she could, and was still a little wet when she got dressed. On her way out the door, Mikasa was able to grab an apple.

Her car, an old and barely functioning Hyundai Elantra, threatened not to start when she got inside. Frustrated, Mikasa slammed her fist on the dashboard, and the engine miraculously turned on.

Just as her brother was pulling over Eren Jeager for speeding, Mikasa too was speeding down the road, only this time, she wasn't pulled over.

Mikasa was proud of herself as she pulled into the driveway. She made it to the right address with only seconds to spare.

She was taken aback by how nice the house truly was. There was a three-door garage and an intricate walkway that wound its way up to the front porch. The garden was nicely kept, with flowers of all different colors in various stages of bloom. The house itself wasn't the largest house she had ever seen, nor the nicest, but Mikasa could tell that it had been very expensive. This babysitting gig better pay good, she thought to herself.

When she rang the doorbell, she could hear it chime all throughout the house. Even that sounded expensive. But there was no answer. Mikasa waited another minute before ringing the doorbell again.

The woman that answered the door looked surprised to see her for a moment and then smiled.

"Uh, hi," Mikasa smiled, giving off a little wave.

The woman's smile was warm and made Mikasa feel happy on the inside. Her smile was so infectious, that it broadened Mikasa's own. "You must be…." she faltered, looking down at her feet.

"I'm Mikasa," she interjected, and the woman smiled again. "And you must be Carla."

"That would be me," the woman said, gesturing for Mikasa to come through the door. "I'm sorry about your name, sweety. I'm not too great with them, and I've never heard of any other Mikasas."

"Oh, it's quite alright," Mikasa chuckled. "Don't worry about it, it happens all the time. You have a very beautiful home, by the way." Now that she was inside, Mikasa was able to take in the scope of the house, which seemed to be even larger now. They stood in the foyer, with stairs leading off to the right, and a kitchen straight ahead. "It's very nice."

"Thank you, dear," Carla was absolutely beaming. "I must say, you are very pretty, Mikasa. And you have splendid manners."

"Oh, I don't know about that," she blushed.

Carla made a gesture with her hands. "Nonsense, girl. If only my son had manners like you. You two are about the same age, you might even know each other!"

Before Mikasa could ask what her son's name might be, a little girl ran into the room. Upon seeing Mikasa, however, the girl shrank back and stood by Carla.

"Mikasa," Carla said kindly, "this is Ava, my daughter. Ava, this may be your new babysitter."

The girl wrinkled her face and stuck her tongue out at Mikasa, who raised her eyebrows and stuck her own tongue out. Ava giggled and jumped up and down.

"I like her, Carla," she giggled.

"Why can't you just call me mom?" Carla asked, mussing up the girl's hair, who giggled even more. "Why have you been calling me that?"

Ava cocked her head and looked up at her mother. "That is your name, isn't it?"

Carla grumbled and sent the girl back to continue watching TV. When she turned back to Mikasa, she gave another smile. "Well," she said. "It seems as though you've already made a good impression on her. That's not something that happens very often."

"Am I not the first person to sign up?" Mikasa laughed.

"You would be the fourth. But my little Ava is very picky, you see." Carla leaned in closer to Mikasa. "And sometimes a little brat," she whispered.

She nodded. "Most children are at that age."

Carla backed away and clapped her hands together. "Well, I know how I feel about you, and I'm sure that my daughter feels the same way. Personally, I'd love to have you around, but if you need some time to decide or spend some more time with Ava, I would understand."

"Actually," Mikasa smiled. "I think it would be a great fit."

"Oh, isn't that just lovely!"

Mikasa was about to respond, but her grumbling stomach interrupted her before she could. I guess that apple wasn't enough, she thought to herself.

Carla fixed her eyes on her. "Are you hungry?"

Mikasa waved away her question. "I woke up late and wasn't able to eat breakfast, that's all."

"Well then, let me cook you something. What do you like?"

"Oh, that's not necessary," Mikasa flustered.

At that moment, Ava came running into the kitchen, jumped, and landed on her mother's leg, where she promptly wrapped her arms. "Can you make pancakes, Carla?"

Carla gave Mikasa an eye roll, which made her smile. "You had pancakes for breakfast, Ava."

The little girl's face soured. "But they were sooooo good."

Carla crossed over to her and tapped her on the nose. "Well, you can ask Eren to make you some when he gets home."

Mikasa's eyebrows narrowed in thought. Eren…, but before she could say anything, she heard the front door open, followed by footsteps in the hallway.

"Speak of the devil," Carla said.


Eren

He had barely managed to step into the kitchen before his little sister assaulted him.

"Pancakes!" she exclaimed, jumping onto him. Ava wrapped her arms around his leg and held fast. "Can you make me pancakes?" she asked.

Eren mussed the girl's hair. "Maybe later," he said, to which Ava sighed and withdrew herself from his leg. He watched as she retreated back into the living room to watch TV.

It was at that moment that he realized there were three people in the kitchen. Ava, his mother, and… no way.

What the fuck is she doing here?

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. Eren couldn't find his words, instead turning to his mother for clarification. But the moment she saw the other side of his face, her eyes widened.

"Oh my gosh, sweetie! What happened to your eye?" She crossed the room to him quickly, reaching up to cup his face with her hands. "Did you get into a fight?"

Eren stepped back, swatting her hands away. "What is she doing here?" He asked, pointing to Mikasa, who quickly lowered her gaze.

"Oh, this is Ava's new babysitter, Mikasa." When she saw the way that the two were glaring at each other, she added: "do you know each other?"

"From school," Mikasa offered. "A little bit."

Carla nodded slowly, and turned back to Eren. "What happened to your eye?"
Eren looked at Mikasa, who had crossed her arms over her chest. She held his gaze, strongly. Why the fuck is she Ava's babysitter? "I fell," he said, lamley.

"You… fell?" He could tell that his mom didn't believe him for a second.
"No, I mean, Connie. Yeah. Connie hit me. On accident. Yeah," Eren spit out, looking back at Mikasa.

Carla stepped back and shrugged. "That boy…"

A crash sounded from the living room. Eren could hear glass shatter, followed by his mother's cursing. "Ava?" she called.

Ava's voice responded from the other room. "It was an accident."

Carla looked at Mikasa. "Stay here, I'll be right back." She left the room, leaving Eren with Mikasa.

He glared at her, and she glared at him. It was Eren that made the first move.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

She scoffed, and Eren could feel the annoyance build up inside himself. "To babysit your sister."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

The silence resumed. Eren could feel the tension, felt as though he could cut it with a knife.

When Carla re-entered the room, Eren broke eye-contact, and left for his room.


A/N So yeah, that's the second chapter, lol. Sorry for the long wait between chapter's, hopefully I will get more out faster. I don't really have much else to say here, but if you enjoyed it, then I always love reading comments :). Constructive criticism is also helpful. Thanks!