Chapter 1
1:32 am, The air is thick from smoke and heavy music. Multi-colored LED lights flicker casting shadows over the crowded living room. A beer pong table is surrounded by a rowdy crowd cheering on each shot and the smell of cheap alcohol, sweat, and a hint of spilled beers lingers in the air that almost make you feel nauseous. Which is ironic since you've taken a shot every time your boyfriend has hugged one of his frat brothers.
Annie thought it would be hilarious.
In the kitchen Connie is eating cold pizza and laughs as Ymir it shoves three shots (instantly) down Historia's throat. Meanwhile, Hitch and her posse of friends are laughing drunkly, their laughs barely audible over the thumping of music as they pas around a plate of brownies.
The backyard of the house is littered with plastic red cups and random groups of people huddle around a small fire and passing around a blunt. From the group you spot Armin, the schools number one student, taking a big hit and blowing O's from his lips. Just because he was a geek didn't mean he didn't know how to party.
Someone else is chanting for a chugging contest and the crowd is quick to volunteer several of their friends. From the names thrown out, you practically recognized everyone: Connie, Sasha, Floch who couldn't stand the keg for more than a couple seconds but everyone loved watching him fall and choke on whatever beer he managed to drink. Finally, there was Eren, and he out of the three others were always a little too good at drinking beer while upside down.
When Eren is shoved to the front of the crowd by his drunken frat brothers, grinning from ear to ear and practically killing the girls with his cheeky smile, the crowd erupts in cheers and the girls whisper to each other. Something about wanting to fuck him.
Eren runs a hand through his already messy hair before throwing an arm around Connie, screaming something about being the best—his words luring slightly but dripping with confidence. He could make anything stupid sound right. With ease, he places his hands on the keg, kicking his legs into a perfect handstand. While doing so his shirt rides up, exposing the sharp lines on his abs and the deep V-cut that sends an electric excitement between the legs of most girls watching. One girl begins to fan herself dramatically as a handful of them gasp.
Knowing Eren at the level you did, his antics were just a cry for attention. You turned away and moved towards Jean who stood beside Ymir, who's coincidently holding the keg tube steady for Eren. Jean watches the scene with an unimpressed look, taking a swig of his beer as he mutters something under his breath. You smirk, nudging him with your elbow.
"Jealous," you tease.
Jean scoffs, rolling his eyes. "Of that show off? Please."
You look at Ymir and let out a low laugh. She speaks up, still holding the tube to the keg and paying no attention to Eren.
"Sure Horse boy. Whatever helps you sleep at night."
Soon after, Eren dropped his feet flat on the floor, a loud thud following behind. He threw his hands in the air triumphantly and everyone cheered for him as if he was some god. Jean and Ymir join in with slow, sarcastic claps, thought Jean expression barely changes.
After the crowd finishes their cheers and go back to playing beer pong or drunkly grinding on each other in sync to the music, Eren turns toward you two, his smirk widening as he holds eye contact with Jean.
"Damn Jean boy, you're actually clapping for me?" He taunts, whipping the leftover beer droplets from his chin. "Didn't't think you had it in you."
Jean exhales through his nose, unamused. "Yeah-yeah, real impressive. You can drink upside down. What an accomplishment."
Eren only grins wider, clearly enjoying himself. He shifts his gaze to you, his voice dripping with playful arrogance. "You know," he muses, reaching over to twirl a bit of your hair between his fingers but you quickly smacked his hand away. "So many of the girls here think that I'm a pretty impressive guy. I could probably steal your girl in a heartbeat." Eren winks then nudging Jeans shoulder. "What do you think Jeanie, think she'd trade up?"
This evokes a reaction of Jean rather quickly: his grip tightening on his beer as his jaw clenches. "In your dreams Jaeger," he says, stepping slightly closer to you as to stake his claim.
Ymir barks out a laugh, taking a swig of the keg tube she held. "Oooh now this is getting good," she mutters, clearly enjoying the reaction Eren was getting out of Jean.
Eren just chuckles, "Relax Jean," he winks again—this time at you. "I wouldn't actually steal her. Not unless she asked me too."
You roll your eyes at Eren's cocky remark. He's always been like this—at least for as long as you've known him; loud, confident, and natural at riling people up, especially Jean.
Glancing at your boyfriend you can practically see the way his muscles tense, his jaw locking as he tries—yet fails—to play it cool. You gently intertwine your hand with Jean's, giving it a reassurance squeeze before turning back to Eren with a raised brow. "Right, keep dreaming Jaeger Bomb."
"Oh, I will. I'll dream forever."
Jean scoffs beside you, shifting his weight as he squeezes your hand, scared of what would happen if he let go. "Yeah, that's about all you'll ever do."
"Guess we'll see." Eren just laughs, shrugging his shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.
You glance at Jean, amused by how he's still watching Eren like he might turn around and say something else. "You good?"
Jean exhales through his nose, shaking his head as he finally looks at you. "Yeah, just wondering how his ego even fits in the damn house."
You chuckle, "Just barely."
Jean lets out a short laugh, finally relaxing a little to enjoy the party.
4:17 am, Everyone was completely wasted. The chaotic frat house settled into a drunken stillness. Empty cups and half eaten snacks litter every surface while the occasional snores and the quiet hum of the fridge in the kitchen fill the emptiness.
In the living room, Connie and Sasha are sprawled out on opposite ends of the couch, their legs tangled in a way that suggests they fell asleep mid-argument. Even in sleep, Sasha clutches the bowl of potato chips close while Connie mumbles something unintelligible.
Outside, Floch is passed out on the lawn, one shoe missing and an empty beer bottle resting near his outstretched hand. He hasn't moved in hours.
Upstairs is a sleepless Eren who’s tossing and turning. Which is strange for someone who drank from a keg upside side down… three times. On the floor beside, Armin is curled up with a hoodie draped over his head as a sense of comfort to his aching headache. And of course Mikasa is tucked under the covers next to Eren, her breathing steady and hand resting over her face to shield her eyes from any light that may seep through the bedroom curtains.
You and Jean are sprawled out together in bed. You’re wearing some random graphic tee you pulled from his dresser and a pair of shorts you’d left here on one of your previous visits.
You're half asleep when you hear Jean mumble something in his sleep—______.
The words make you freeze. You almost couldn’t believe what he’d said. Yea he was unconscious but would that make a difference? It was still heavy on his mind.
Carefully you slipped out of bed, your hands fumbling in the dark for the shoes you wore throughout the party before grabbing your phone and whatever else you can reach.
As you make your way downstairs you could smell the faint scent of alcohol and Chanel cologne. You make your way outside of Jeans bedroom and down the stairs, you were so close, but as you reach the bottom of the steps, the wooden stairs behind you creek.
"Yo." Eren stands on the staircase, his voice low and groggy. Eren studies you in the dim light, his expression unreadable. "Where are you going?"
You hesitate, feeling the weight of his gaze on you. But you don’t owe him any explanation of where you’re going, so you stare back at Eren, unbothered and almost annoyed about why he cares.
“You know my room was just down the hall from Jean’s. I think you’re going through the wrong door.” He starts descending the stairs slowly, eyes never leaving you. He noticed how unusually quiet you were, eyes hanging low and clearly in a hurry to escape the house. “You know, you could just tell me what’s going on, I’m not a mind reader.”
His tone is teasing, but there’s an edge of worry behind it—something you can’t quite ignore. He reaches the bottom of the stairs and stands a little too close, his presence more commanding now that he’s in front of you.
“You really think you can slip away without saying goodbye to the hostess?” Eren smirks, his voice so deep and groggy it made you tense. “If you wanted to leave you could’ve stopped by my room—maybe for a little kiss?”
His words made you shift uncomfortably, feeling both offended and flustered. Eren’s always been able to mix that teasing edge with something deeper, something that makes it hard to tell if he’s genuinely concerned or just messing with you.
“I’m going to Taco Bell.”
He raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms and finally taking a few steps back.
Eren finally understands what personal space is.
”Taco Bell? At 4am?”
You bite your lip before finally turning away from Eren and grabbing ahold of the door knob once more. Eren see’s this and stretches his arms over his head with a lazy yawn before digging for his keys inside his pants.
“Well, I’m not gonna let you go by yourself,” he says, slipping on a hoodie. “I already have my shoes on so, let’s go.”
You blink at him, confused, “What?”
“If something happened to you out there, Jean would kill me. So really I’m doing this more for him than for you.”
You stare at him with a border line annoyed and judgmental look, “Right. So chivalrous.”
Eren just smirks, nudging the door open. “Let’s go princess.”
“Don’t call me that.”
The two of you leave and walk in an unusual, comfortable silence. Not enjoying each other's company as much as one might think, but you don't exactly feel like pushing him into the middle of the street so a car would run him over and you could be free of his annoying-ness. You don't speak to Eren the entire walk, you don't look at him, and barely acknowledge his presence, but yet he still chooses to walk beside you. His hands are shoved into his hoodie pocket, eyes flickering toward you every so often but saying nothing.
It's a rare moment—him not talking, not teasing, just existing next to you without filling the space with his usual antics.
When you get to Taco Bell, you order quickly, grab your food and settle into one of the booths. The silence linger as you both start eating, and for some reason it's actually making you anxious. Why did Eren care that you weren'tE in the mood for any of his jokes and flirting—he never cared so his quietness is uneasy.
So, you decide to break the silence since the talking machine you've known since your second year of college won't. "Why do you always flirt with me in front of Jean?"
Eren pauses mid-bite, then smirks as he sets his taco down. "Why? Do you like it?"
You roll your eyes, "That's not an answer."
He leans back in his seat, stretching out his legs as he gives you a look that's both amusing and knowing. "Look, me and Jean go way back. And let's just say...if you knew our history, you'd get why it's only fair that I keep pissing him off."
You raise a brow. His reasoning was the lamest of all—it didn't even classify as a reasoning. He was just making excuses to get on his nerves. "That's it? That's the whole reason?"
"What? You think there's some deep emotional reason behind it?" He shrugs, popping a fry into his mouth. "Jean's easy to rile up and you just so happen to be the best way to do it."
Eren pausing after giving his "reason," watching your reaction with that ever-present smirk. Then slowly, he leans in, resting his elbows on the table, hands interlocked as he studies you. His voice drops slightly, and he almost sounds seductive.
"Can you blame me though? I mean... if one of my buddies as a hot girlfriend, it's kinda hard not to push my luck."