Eren was still leading Mikasa down the stairs when he spoke awkwardly.
"Uhm... about the kiss..." he started out while scratching his nape with his other hand.
But he had his back facing her. He did not want her to see the blush forming on his cheeks. And for Mikasa, she was a bit thankful that Eren, too, could not see the blush. She still had her scarf up her cheeks.
"Yeah?" she asked softly.
And it was when he turned around and stared at her with his gentle teal-green eyes.
"It was an accident... Okay?" he told her as an excuse.
"What accident?" a male voice asked them.
The two turned around in shock to see Jean standing not far away. The horse-faced guy had a great displeasure on his eyes, and you could tell that his eyes were burning with jealousy.
"What accident, huh, Jaeger?" Jean asked as he strode forward to give Eren a beating. He grabbed the other guy by the collar of his uniform, and Jean shook him harshly. "Huh?"
"What's the big deal, man?" Eren angrily shot back as he pushed Jean further away. "I just swatted a mosquito and slapped her arm accidentally!"
Jean looked at Mikasa, who nodded blankly at what Eren said. He shook his fist at Eren and told her to be careful of Mikasa, "You are one lucky bastard, do you know that?"
"What do you mean?" Eren asked, taken aback.
"You better not hurt Mikasa, or you are gonna taste my fist!" Jean shot back.
"I'm not gonna hurt her, okay? She's my foster sister, did you hear me?" Eren retorted.
"Yeah, right. Foster sister, my a**," Jean cursed before leaving them.
As Jean left, Eren held Mikasa's hand tight and looked at her again, "Let's go."
Mikasa nodded and followed her foster brother. But in her heart, she spoke to him, "About the kiss, I hope it wasn't an accident. I hope you weren't sorry for kissing me."
~~.
The teacher was late—or maybe absent. Everyone was present in the room, but the students were a little bit close to misbehaving. Connie and Sasha were playing paper games. Ymir was looking at Christa adoringly as the latter placed little glitters on her fingernails. Reiner was poking Annie's cheek, and the sleepy girl woke up and smacked poor Bertholdt, who Reiner used as his shield. Jean was disturbing Marco, who was studying. Hannah and Franz where at the back of the room, hugging each other and talking of sweet nothings. Marlowe and Hitch were debating about world peace and beauty pageants. While the three friends, Armin, Eren, and Mikasa were back at Eren's seat, talking.
"Say, Eren, have you noticed that sign by Cafe Hana?" Armin asked excitedly. "Hange-sempai told me about this while I was washing the banana peels for her."
"What about Cafe Hana?" Eren asked with no interest.
"Someone's looking for a guitarist and a drummer," Armin excitedly shared.
"Hontou?" life came back to Eren's face when Armin mentioned about the cafe looking for a guitarist.
"Ah... yeah, I mean, you should try it out," Armin said.
"Yeah, I definitely should give it a try!" Eren said to Armin.
But all the while, Mikasa was listening to them, just as she always does.
"Who knows? Eld Jinn will stop by and chill, right? Right?" Eren excitedly told Armin over the prospect of meeting his favorite singer.
"Oh yeah! Sounds good to me!" Armin replied with a grin on his face as he exchanged high fives with Eren.
A small smile crept on Mikasa's face when she saw the happiness on Eren's face. Eren noticed her smiling, so he asked, "Do you wanna see my play?"
"I can be your manager," she told him with a straight face.
Both Armin and Eren looked at her in disbelief, but only Eren cracked up after that.
"You? Why? I am not gonna be famous yet, so why would I need a manager?" he asked her.
Mikasa's eyes darkened as she asked, "You... you don't need me?"
Eren answered in his usual cocky manner, "You know, you don't have to be my manager because you will act all protective and possessive again."
"Eren..."
"So, please stop acting like I'm your younger brother, okay? I can handle this," Eren said proudly.
Mikasa nodded in resignation. Why is it like Eren was trying to push her away again?
"Eren, you should check the poster out," Armin said. "I can accompany you if you want."
"Nah, no need, Armin," Eren said confidently. "I can find my way."
Armin shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "Well, it's fine. But you better get that slot."
"Yeah, I will," Eren said.
As Armin was about to reply, the teacher came in, looking moody as usual. Shadis-sensei was one teacher that you don't wanna mess with.
~~.
That afternoon, Hange pulled Armin again, and pulled Sasha and Connie too. Levi got exasperated at the resident four-eyes that he scolded her again and again for manipulating and abusing first year students.
"If you keep on making these sh**ty brats your fart factory, I am gonna f***ing report you to Erwin!"
But Hange was more amused than annoyed. Levi kept on cursing so much that it burned Connie's ears, but it made Hange smile all the more.
"Oh no, Levi-kun, I am just gonna make them wash the Petri dishes and the test tubes, you see?" Hange crooned as she danced tango in front of the midget.
"Don't you dance in front of me, you sh**ty Four-eyes!" was Levi's scream.
"Sempai! My hands burn!" Sasha screamed.
"Me too!" Connie complained.
"Oh, sorry! I should have diluted all those strong acids!" Hange apologized without remorse as she approached the first year students. And to Levi, "Ciao!"
"Sigh! That sh**ty Four-eyes never learns," Levi thought as he stormed off out of the Science laboratory to the Student Council's office where the student council president, Erwin Smith, was currently being busy. "There's no free and functional hands in the black market... Oh cr**!"
He cursed as he slipped on the floor because some sticky and unknown liquid that had spilt. "HANGE!"
Hange came out and saw Levi lying on the floor, so she went to him, squatted, and crooned playfully, "You called me, Sweety?"
"Sweety, my a**!" Levi complained again as he pulled Hange's sailor necktie. "Do you not know what a f***ing mop is?"
"Oh, I do know, but that is not my best friend," Hange said before standing up to go back to the lab. "I think I hear Armin shout, so please excuse me! Toodle-loo!"
Levi fisted his palms and swore that he's going to make Hange pay one day. The fall was very severe, and Levi thought he had broken some bones in his back. He was still contemplating on what punishment to give Hange when someone daintily came and asked Levi.
"Levi-kun, daijoubu?" a soft and gentle female voice asked him.
Levi grimaced and tried to stare. The fall was so bad that he realized he had been seeing stars. "Petra?"
Indeed it was her. Petra gently assisted Levi in sitting down.
"Now, now, let's not make it too sudden, shall we?" Petra said gently.
"My butt hurts. And I'm sure it's super sticky and wet too!" Levi complained in his usual foul mood. "And I don't like all things sticky and icky and wet. Ew."
Petra just laughed daintily. She held his hand and gently assisted him in standing up.
"Maybe you could wash in the washroo-"
"I think I have to," Levi grimly said, a storm of clouds hanging above his head. "And then, I'm gonna f***ing dry my pants and..."
But Petra leaned forward and shut him up with her index finger before whispering, "Now, now, Levi-kun, it's not nice to hear you curse."
Levi was confused at their closeness, wondering why Petra had to do that. But Petra just blushed and smiled sweetly before pulling herself back.
"It's Hange-san again, right?" she asked him, and Levi nodded in his usual moody self.
And so, Levi pulled Petra by the wrist and led her out of the corridors along the Science lab to go to the Student Council's office. He had to tell Erwin to suspend Hange for abusing her rights in the Science laboratory. But first, the mission's going to be cleanup in the restroom.
As they walk away, Hange had Armin clean the mess in the corridor.
~~.
Eren and Mikasa silently walked to Cafe Hana. Indeed, posted on the glass window was a sign looking for a guitarist and a drummer for the new band.
"I wonder how much they will give even for part-time?" Eren asked aloud. He knew Uncle Hannes did not have them pay the rent for their condo unit, but still, it was good having to earn some moola from some gigs.
Eren opened the door of the coffee shop, and Mikasa followed in. The monkey chime from above twinkled sweetly as they opened the door. And what greeted them was the scent of freshly brewed coffee and some hint of cinnamon and vanilla. The cafe was very spacious, and there were lots of tables too. The cafe gave some subtle ambiance of a European style, but there was a stage in front filled with musical instruments for a band. Eren saw a drum set, and electric guitar, and some mike stands too. There were a lot of local and foreign guests currently in the shop. He had never been in this place before, and he thought Cafe Hana was like some maid cafe.
"Kirei na," Mikasa whispered as she appreciated the sophisticated ambiance of the place.
Eren turned to her and said in reply. "Too bad, we can't afford their coffee here."
As Mikasa continued to let her senses feast on the elegance of the cafe, Eren approached the counter, introduced himself, and asked the barista about the poster.
"Oh, good! So, you are interested?" the barista asked. "Do you have an electric guitar?"
"I have one at home," Eren replied.
The barista craned his neck and saw Mikasa mindlessly watching the place, so he asked, "Does your girlfriend sing?"
Eren blushed. There's no way Mikasa's his girlfriend. Not in a million years. But wait, where did that come from?
"Uhm... anou, she's my foster sister," Eren replied. "And she cannot sing."
The barista apologized for his presumption of Mikasa being Eren's girlfriend, but Eren did not know that the barista did not take what he said at face value.
"Too bad, we need a vocalist too, though we forgot to put it in the details," the barista said. "But can you sing?"
"Yes! I can!" came Eren's confident reply. He can sign and play the guitar. And he had looks to boot. Surely, more and more patrons will come once the band is installed.
"Now, the band is complete, I suppose," the barista said before calling someone over the phone.
Eren listened with less enthusiasm when the barista was talking to the boss. After a few hai's and iie's, the barista called out someone who was sitting near the counter. "Annie-chan?"
Eren turned around to see Annie, who was sitting comfortably and drinking some caramel macchiato. She stood up and greeted Eren in her usual bored face.
"So, you brought your bff along?" Annie drawled.
Mikasa was now drawn to some paintings on the wall, and Eren just let her be. "Yeah, you know we walk home from school together."
"Tsk. Get married now or something. Just like Hannah and Franz," Annie mocked him.
"Married?" Eren asked in shock.
"Well, Eren-kun, you and Annie-chan can have a live audition today. Let's just say the two of you are guest players in our cafe. If the response of the audience is exceptionally good, then we can keep you both," the barista said. "I've been given some rights by the owner, you know."
Annie asked Eren, "Would you be fine having me at the drums?"
Eren's eyes grew wide open. The sleepyhead that he knew her to be can actually—play drums?
"Why, of course! That's great!" Eren beamed. He was in awe at Annie's hidden talent.
Annie gave out a small smirk and proceeded to tell him, "I choose what we sing. Armin says you like Eld Jinn, right?"
"Oh heck, yeah!" Eren replied like a fanboy at a concert. "Choose any Eld Jinn songs, and I'm gonna rock it!"
"You had me worked up too," Annie replied in her usual sleepy tone. "You go sing 'Lie Down Beside Me Under The Summer Sky,' and I do the drums. Do you know the-"
"If you're asking me about the chords, then yeah, I know it by heart."
Annie shrugged her shoulder and strutted toward the stage, and Eren followed her. Mikasa, who had just turned around to look for Eren, eventually saw Annie making her way behind the drum set.
"Annie?" she wondered to herself.
She could not believe Annie was also into music because all she cared for about was just climbing on trees to sleep and kicking Reiner on the face. She also watched Eren taking the guitar and slipping the guitar strap through him. However, something stirred inside her as she watched Eren smiling and nodding at Annie, and she did not like what she saw.
"Konnichiwa," Eren said through the mike.
Everyone turned their attention, and Mikasa just stood still at the back. Eren and Annie introduced themselves as guest players who just wanted to entertain them after a busy day. The crowd's reception was warm, especially after Annie raised one drum stick.
"We're gonna sing 'Lie Down Beside Me Under The Summer Sky'," Eren said through the mike.
"Eld Jinn!" one college student crooned.
Eren started to strum the guitar, and Annie started to bang the cymbal thrice. And as Annie started to bang the drums, the crowd howled in delight, save for Mikasa. She saw how happy Eren looked as he sang, but he was happy being on his own.
"You... You are happy away from me, ne, Eren?" she asked him in her mind.