Jean couldn't help the stupid grin on his face as he jumped into the car with Marco, pulling up the address Mikasa had sent him and starting to give directions. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous, because holy fucking hell he was. He had taken up his three hours to shower, shave his scruffy little beard, and huffily go through his closet to find something decent to wear. Marco reassured him that it was just a casual party and after an hour of searching through his closet, Jean had eventually settled for a white band tee with black jeans and a black zip up jacket. He had decided against a beanie today because he actually took the time to fix his hair, which never happened. He made sure to brush his teeth for the third time that day, as well as put on the expensive cologne his mother had bought him for his birthday.

Jean had tapped his fingers to the radio as Marco drove towards the party. It wasn't long before they arrived, and even though they had arrived ten minutes past eight, the party already seemed to have started. Music poured out the open windows of the house, mixed with laughter and talking. Jean waited in the car for a moment before taking in a deep breath.
Just stay calm, Jean. We don't want Mikasa to think you're a weirdo who has a crush on her even though you've only met twice. Oh wait, you are! Jean thought to himself before shaking his thoughts away and getting out of the car, grabbing the bottle of vodka and the beers they had bought for the party. Marco and Jean walked up to the door, Marco knocking on it three times and waiting.

"You okay, Jean? You look nervous." His freckled best friend tilted his head as he examined the brunette.

"I'm fine. It's just cold." He kept his stare on the door, though he knew he was lying.

"Ohh, I know, you're nervous to see Mikasa!" Marco laughed out loud. "I can't wait to meet her."
This caused Jean's cheeks to heat up immediately.

"Oh shut it, freckles." He grumbled before the door swung open, revealing the very person they were talking about. There Mikasa stood, dressed in black jeans that clung to her figure and a red velvet tank top that revealed more than he had seen the past times they had met, as well as black heels. Her red scarf was not around her neck for once, leaving her neck and chest bare. Jean couldn't help but stare at her.

"Jean, I'm so glad you made it. Come in," She moved aside and the two stepped in.

"You must be Mikasa, I'm Marco-" Marco began to introduce himself.

"You're Jean's best friend, right? Pleasure to meet you." She held her hand out and shook Marco's hand before turning to Jean, who was still staring in awe. Fortunately, he pulled himself out of his gaze.

"Hey, Mikasa.. We brought vodka. Oh, and beers!" He handed her the alcohol and closed the door behind them.

"Oh, thank you. I'm gonna go set these in the kitchen, make yourselves comfortable." She said before heading to the kitchen. Jean and Marco shrugged off their jackets, setting them in a pile before heading into the living room. The smell of weed and alcohol drifted through the hazy living room while loud music resonated in Jean's chest. He definitely didn't expect Mikasa to host a party like this where everyone was high or drunk.

"Marco, is that you?" Marco and Jean both turned to face a short girl with black hair tied in two loose ponytails, a shocked look on her face.

"Ah, Mina!" Marco quickly rushed over to the girl, embracing her in a tight hug. Jean watched in confusion as the two walked away engaged in conversation, leaving him standing awkwardly in the living room by himself. He cursed to himself before taking a seat in the far corner, looking around the room at everyone talking. Jean was never good at making friends. He always kept his friend group to about two or three good friends, mainly because not many people could tolerate his bad attitude or loud mouth or sarcasm. So he was always lonely, not that he minded.

"Here." The smooth voice pulled him out of his self wallowing and he looked up to see Mikasa, offering him a beer.

"O-Oh. Thank you." She nodded in response and sat beside him.

"Where's your friend?" She asked curiously, drinking out of a red solo cup, grimacing at the taste. He chuckled.

"Marco? He met up with some girl and they left.. Mina, I think?" He took a long drink from his beer.

"So they just left you alone?" Her voice was distant though, and he looked up to see what she was focused on. He saw her inky eyes locked onto the tall brunette from the other day. Jean assumed it was Eren. His face was flushed red, his green eyes lidded as he laughed loudly at something a small blonde was telling him. Mikasa's usual stoic look was on her face, but her eyes were filled with worry for the boy.

"Mikasa, is everything alright?" She turned to face Jean before nodding and drinking out of her cup again.

"Yeah. Come on. I'll introduce you." Mikasa got up, heading towards Eren as Jean followed.

"Eren, this is Jean. The guy who found my scarf." Mikasa nodded to Jean as Eren's hazy green eyes looked him up and down. Up close, Jean could smell the alcohol in his breath and the scent of weed radiating off him.

"Pleasure to meet you, John." His words were slurred and he swayed gently. "Hey, you gonna finish that?" He lazily pointed a finger towards the beer in Jean's hands. He was about to speak when Mikasa piped up.

"Eren." Her voice was stern yet still soft. "You've had enough to drink, you're swaying. Go sit down." She had begun to push him towards a seat when Eren jerked away, his eyes suddenly ablaze with annoyance and anger.

"God, Mikasa, I'm not your little brother or your kid!" He snapped angrily, rolling his eyes. His tone made Jean's fists clench.

"Eren, I'm just trying to protect you." She still spoke softly, yet there was a hint of impatience in her voice. She had reached out to grab him again.

"Knock it off, Mikasa! You don't have to fucking watch out for me all the time! You're not mom!" The brunette shouted, slapping her hand away from him. She pulled her hand back quickly and before she could say anything, Jean had stepped in.

"Hey! She's just trying to make sure you're okay, stop being such a prick!" He seethed angrily. Jean grew up being taught to respect women, to treat them kindly and to never, ever hit them. So seeing Mikasa being treated so poorly made his blood boil. Hadn't his mother taught this kid any fucking manners? Jean's words obviously did nothing but piss Eren off even more and he shoved the taller boy angrily.

"This has nothing to do with you, fuck off!" Eren shouted angrily, Mikasa still trying to calm him down to no avail. People had gone silent now as the two boys yelled at each other.

"You shouldn't talk to her like that, especially if she's just trying to look out for your dumbass!" He had shouted back. "Didn't your mother teach you how to treat a woman?!"

And of course, Jean let his big mouth get him into trouble yet again because as soon as he said that, Eren had lunged forward and punched Jean square in the nose. He was sent stumbling back, cursing as blood dripped from his nostrils.

"Fucking asshole!" Jean spat before he landed a punch to Eren's lip. And before things had gotten any worse, Mikasa had pulled Eren away forcefully while someone had done the same to Jean, dragging him to the kitchen.

"What the hell?! I was just about to kick that kid's ass!" He groaned, turning to see a tall freckled girl with her arms crossed, her brows furrowed.

"Quit yelling. If anything you should be thanking me for saving your ass. You don't know Eren when he's like this." The girl had huffed before turning her attention to a short blonde girl who had come into the kitchen.

"Ymir, is he okay-?" The blonde asked, her eyes shifting from the freckled girl to Jean, gasping. "You're bleeding!"

"Really?" He huffed sarcastically, ignoring Ymir's glare.

The blonde ignored his sarcasm and pushed him to sit in a chair at a table filled with cups and liquor and snacks.
"Ymir, could you get me a rag?" She turned to the brunette, who nodded and walked away. "I'm Krista, by the way. The taller girl is Ymir."

"I'm Jean."

"I heard." She nodded and offered him a small smile. Ymir returned with a damp rag and Krista tilted his head back gently, starting to clean up the blood that had dripped to his chin.

"Is Eren always that much of a dick?" He asked, pinching his nose to try to stop the blood from flowing.

"Not always. He's just a bit... stubborn, I guess? And he gets angry easily, especially when he's drunk." She explained, carefully dabbing at the blood with the wet cloth. "I guess what you said about his mom really pissed him off. I'm sure it pissed Mikasa off too."

"I pissed Mikasa off?! Fuck." He groaned. "I was just trying to stick up for her, I shouldn't have said shit about his mom but.. She doesn't deserve to be treated like that."

"I'm sure you already know this, but Mikasa's strong. She can stick up for herself, and she has." Ymir started. "They get into an argument like that everyday, Eren's just stubborn and wants to do things on his own and Mikasa's very protective of him." Krista nodded to confirm what Ymir said, cleaning up all the blood and handing him a tissue to soak up the rest off the blood.

"Why's she so protective of him anyways? He obviously doesn't like it." Jean grumbled, holding the tissue to his nose.

"Don't you know? When Eren's mom died, Mikasa swore that she would protect him, just as he had protected her when her parents were killed." Krista explained. The confused look on Jean's face made Krista's and Ymir's eyes widen.

"Mikasa hasn't told you?" Ymir asked, raising a brow. Jean shook his head in response.

"Mikasa's parents were killed..?" His brows furrowed. Krista nodded and spoke quietly.

"When she was a little girl.. They were murdered right in front of her. Eren and his family took her in and took care of her. Then Eren's mom died and she promised she wouldn't let anything happen to Eren. She didn't want to lose any more family, that's why she's so protective of him." Jean's eyes were wide as he processed all the information Krista was giving him. So that's why she had gotten so upset.

Fuck, Kirschtein, you're a real idiot. He thought, frowning. As if on cue, Mikasa had walked into the kitchen as Krista and Ymir got up and left, heading back into the living room where the music had started playing again.

"I'm sorry about Eren." She pulled the chair next to him and sat beside him, examining his nose. "He hit you pretty hard, huh?" Jean merely nodded, avoiding eye contact with her. They sat in silence for a while, Mikasa staring at him as Jean stared at the bottles of alcohol on the table.

"What's wrong?" She finally spoke, her eyes still locked on him. He finally looked up to meet her gaze. He could already feel his cheeks heating up as he tried to put words together.

"I- It's just.. I'm sorry about the other day. If I knew what you had gone through, I wouldn't have asked and I-I shouldn't have! I'm really sorry, Mikasa.. O-Oh, and I'm sorry about what I said about Eren's mom, I just can't stand seeing anyone treat you like that, you don't deserve it. I would never have said that if I knew-" Jean stopped himself from continuing his rambling, his eyes locked on Mikasa. She had shifted her gaze to the bottles this time, that same sad look from the other day was on her face and it broke Jean's heart. She looked so helpless, he just wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let go, let her know she was safe. Her lower lip trembled and she bit down on it gently, taking in a deep and shaky breath before willing herself to look at him.

"Who told you?" Mikasa asked softly, no emotion in her voice as usual.

"U-Uh, Krista, I think? Fuck, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything-" He clenched his fists a bit at his own stupidity, frowning and looking down. All he wanted to do was make this girl happy. So far, he didn't think he was doing a good
job.

"Stop apologizing. It's not your fault." Now she was the one staring at him.

"But-" He stopped talking once he felt Mikasa's soft hand resting on his clenched one, his heart immediately beginning to race and a blush creeping to his cheeks.

"Jean, stop. You didn't know. It's okay, I promise." The girl smiled at him reassuringly, it was small but it made his stomach do fucking back flips.

"O-Okay.." That was all he could utter, praying his voice didn't crack. Mikasa suddenly got up and grabbed a bottle of vodka in one hand, her other hand grabbing Jean's as she tugged him out of his seat and towards the stairs. The boy stumbled a bit as he followed her, his cheeks bright red as he walked up the stairs with Mikasa.

"W-Where are we going?" He mustered up the courage to finally speak.

"My room. It's too loud down there."