you watched as your mother's hand glides aggressively across the paper as she wrote. you couldn't make out the words as the writing was sloppy, yet bold. her hand froze, tense. your eyes traveled up her arm to meet her eyes that were already focused on you. she put the pen down, raising her hand to caress your head.

"it's for the best." she mumbled. her hand withdrew as she finished writing before folding the paper and sealing the envelope shut. you hugged the stuff bunny your grandmother had gifted you close to your chest as she turned and reached for something in the back seat.

you recognized it as your school bag stuffed full of what you could assume was clothes and maybe any other necessities you may need. she handed you the backpack, unbuckling your seatbelt before leaning over to open the car door. without a word, you stumbled out of the car, placing the backpack on your shoulders and hugging the stuffed bunny once more.

"take this, ring the doorbell to that house," she points to the house across the street from where she is parked after handing you the letter, "and hand it to the man that answers. you got that?"

you nodded, sniffling as the cold air engulfed you. your mother gave you a smile, as you closed the door. you looked both ways before carefully crossing the street, your small footsteps making the journey seem twice as long. for once in your life, you felt a feeling you had never felt before. with sweaty palms, irregular breathing, wobbly knees, your anxiety peaked as you raised yourself up on tiptoes to press the doorbell. as you awaited for the door to be answered, you turned to steal a glance at your mother who gave you a grin and thumbs up.

the sound of a doorknob twisting caught your attention, causing you to look back as the door swung open. a man answered and looked down at you. you saw the heads of two boys poking out behind him with curious gazes as they eyed you. you said nothing, raising the envelope up to the tall man as you heard the frantic sound of tires screeching behind you. as the man took the envelope, you all looked to see the tail end of your mother's car disappearing the further she went down the street. tears pooled in your eyes as you heard the man mutter, "well i'll be damned."

__________

your leg bounced up and down, uncontrollably as your hands fiddled with one another in your lap. your gaze was fixated on the blurry city life that whizzed by as eren drove to the first destination of the date he had asked you on.

you can still recall the squeal of excitement the girl's let out after mikasa took your phone from frozen state. she quickly typed a reply in agreement for you which snapped you back into reality and a whine escaped your lips.

"most of your hangouts are just the two of you anyways, so just think of this date as another hangout." sasha comforted as she helped you pick out an outfit earlier today.

annie hummed in agreement. "just an addition of a little more get up."

so now you were seated in the passenger seat in silence, only the sound of eren's music playing throughout the vehicle. the two of were dressed casually, but you could tell that there was more of an effort on each of your parts in means to possibly impress one another. sasha insisted you wear a skirt with black tights adorning your legs paired with some black doc martens and an oversized hoodie. she said something to keep you warm, yet still cute.

you took a quick glance over at eren, taking the time to take in his own outfit. for most of your hang outs, eren typically wore basketball shorts, sweats and occasionally baggy jeans paired with a plain white, black or graphic tee. today, he sported dark green dickies, a white tshirt with a black crewneck thrown over. you weren't sure what shoes he had on but you assumed either black vans or converse.

"done checking me out?" eren mused as the car halted at a red light. you immediately tore your gaze away from him, feeling yourself flush.

"you um... you clean up good." you mumbled.

eren chuckled as the light turned green. "you clean up good yourself. we kind of match, don't you think?"

you took a glance down at your attire, comparing it to his and you hummed. "i see what you mean but i think i wore it better."

he laughed as he turned into the parking lot of the first destination: the movie theater. the two of you got out and met at the front of the car. eren held his hand out to you which you eagerly took as you guys headed inside. you paid no mind as eren approached the usher and had him scan the tickets on his phone before you two headed to the concession stand. with a large popcorn, two drinks and a packet of gummy worms, the two of you headed into the theater where the movie eren had chosen would play. you looked up to read the title and snorted which did not go unnoticed by eren.

"what?" he looked at you with a raised brow.

"typical guy movie. i'm not hating it's just funny."

"the fast and furious movies are a classic." he argued as he searched for the seats. you two settled into them, reclining and getting comfortable with your snacks in between to share. the previews didn't last long and soon enough, the movie began. surprisingly, you were engrossed in the film, watching with anticipation and laughing as jokes were cracked throughout the film.

at one scene, when the action was intense, you stole a glance at eren whose eyes were wide in awe. you didn't realize you were staring with a smile of adoration on your face until he turned to face you. he smiled, bringing his hand lightly grip your chin and face you back to the screen.

"the shows over here." he whispered.

you playfully swatted his hand away with yours as you scoffed but not before intertwining them with his as the movie progressed. overall, the movie was good and eren recited his favorite scenes to you as you walked out of the theater with your trash.

"a cliffhanger? really?! how long until the next one?!" eren whined.

"by the time the next one comes out, i'll
forgot what happened in this one." you admitted.

eren turned to you, his eyes gleaming. "we can have a marathon."

"oh no." you mumbled not knowing what you had gotten yourself into.

your next destination was a surprise. eren insisted you wear a blindfold to which you argued it would ruin your make up. after arguing back and forth, you finally caved placing the blindfold over your eyes after placing your seatbelt on.

"you better not murder me." you said as you felt the engine come to life and him reversing out of the parking spot the car once occupied.

"and live without you?" he said.

"sounds like a boring life." you chuckled.

"i can't even remember life before you." eren admitted. you felt your cheeks warm at his straightforwardness.

and you being you, said. "how cheesy." instead of reciprocating the feelings. eren just let out an airy chuckle, concentrating on driving.

you hummed along to the music, drumming your fingers against your thigh before you felt eren's hand in yours. you sighed in content as his fingers intertwined with yours once more and rested on your thigh. your thumb ran across the back of his hands. without even being able to see, you knew eren had a grinned displayed across his face. after about twenty minutes worth of driving, you felt the car turn into what you assumed was a parking lot and slow down as eren looked for parking. it didn't take long for him to find a spot, park and kill the engine.

"i'll help you out but don't lift the blindfold." he warned. you nodded, just moving to remove the seatbelt as he got out. you heard your car door open and eren helped you out of the car. he slowly led you by the hand before stopping.

"can i take this off now?" you asked.

"let me help you so you don't mess up your make up." he teases. you roll your eyes beneath the fold as you feel his hands work to untie the blind fold. once pulled away from your eyes, you quickly blinked as you adjusted to the light.

"tada!" eren sang as he turned you to face the name of the building. you gasped as you read the name of the cafe before you. the corner cat cafe was a new cafe that you had been gushing to eren about when it opened about a month ago. you always wanted to go to a cat cafe but feared you'd leave with a cat cuddle in your arms considering most of the cats were up for adoption. unfortunately, you never went since kris was allergic and you knew your dad wasn't the biggest fan of cats and stated their eyes reminded him of someone.

"you did not." you breathed as you turned to face the grinning boy.

"oh, but i did." his grin grows as you let out an excited squeal and heads the entrance. his long legs allow his strides to catch up to you quickly. as you enter, the staff welcome you and go over the rules about the cafe as well as their drink menu.

you order your usual iced chai meanwhile eren settles for an iced latte. eren also ordered a couple of pastries as well which you didn't complain. after your order was placed, the barista shows you to the door leading into the room where kittens and cats lived with pillows, bean bags and chairs for guest like you to hang out. you looked around in awe at the cats and kittens that scurried around, some engaging with other guests, the other cats or hiding behind their posts and watching you with careful eyes.

the two of you settled in a small table near the window where rays of sunshine seeped in. you watched as a few of the cats tentatively made their way over to you before scurrying away as one of the workers brought you your order. a small pout found it's way to your face as you watched the cats run back to their hiding before you smiled in thanks at the employee.

"you can go wander if you'd like, i'll watch the drinks and stuff." eren offered.

"and let you finish my strawberry cheese danish? nice try, big guy."

eren held up his hands in defence. "you caught me."

you laughed before the sound of purring was heard. the two of you looked down to see a white cat rubbing against eren's leg, begging to be pet. "seems like you made a friend."

eren smiled, reaching down to pet the feline behind their ears. you smiled as you watched, sipping at your latte as you took you in the ambiance of the cafe. it was calm, not too crowded with some light music being played. there were other customers such as yourself, just enjoying beverages and conversating while a cat rested in their lap. some were playing with the cats and their toys or just cuddling with the creatures.

after finishing your drink and danish, you spent the remainder of your time there watching the cats come and go up to eren, laughing as he complained about them hoarding him. you got your fair share of attention from the felines but there was something about eren that attracted them more. there was one small, black kitten who just wouldn't leave your side. it lived in your lap, purring loudly as you petted them below their chin. as they raised their head higher, you noticed one of their fangs sticking out of their mouth.

"that one seems to like you." eren noted as he plopped down on the bean bag besides you. he leaned his head on your shoulder, looking down at the cat.

you hummed in agreement. "i'm gonna call him baji."

eren's brows furrowed. "like the tokyo revengers character."

"correct. he has the fangs and everything." you beamed.

eren chuckled as he sat. "i need to use the restroom and then we'll head out."

you wanted to whine and beg to stay but you were reaching the time limit of the reservation that eren had placed. instead, you nodded and turned your attention back to baji, a soft smile playing at your lips.

about 15 minutes later, and eren wasn't back yet. you lost track of the time and was surprised when a worker came to collect baji from your arms.

"i'll go get him ready." she smiled at you.

you gave her a look of confusion. "ready for what?"

"your boyfriend didn't tell you? you guys are taking this lil guy home." she smiled at you as she place a kissed on baji's head and took him to the back where medical check ups and adoption pick ups are done. you were left too in shock to even correct her on calling eren your boyfriend.

your eyes widen as you turn around to be met with eren. he was reading the pamphlet they gave him on what was needed in regards to caring for a cat. you grabbed at his arm which caught him by surprise.

"you did not just adopt a cat." you whispered.

he shrugged. "you and baji looked cute and if it gets you to come over more to help me look after him, why not? besides, my apartment is a little lonely." he waves the pamphlet around in front of you. "plus they make good sleeping partners and are basically independent."

"you're insane." you scoff.

he shrugs again, smiling as the worker comes back with a small boxed crate where you could only assume baji was. she handed you the crate, "he's all set! thank you for visiting and taking this little guy home! i'm sure he'll be very loved."

you hugged the crate to your chest, peering inside one of the holes and seeing baji staring back at you. "yes, he will be."

the two of you kindly thanked the worker and the rest of the staff before heading out. after securely settling baji's crate in the back seat, you settled down in the passenger seat.

"should we head to petco and then order take out while we settle baji into the place?" eren suggested as he buckled his seat belt. he made sure you were buckled in securely before starting the car.

"sounds like a date."

___________

so sorry about the long awaited update, i really tried to make this long but it feels SO BORING. i graduated so summer should have more consistent updates (i hope) and new stories!! also how do you all feel about ending every (or some) chapters with instagram posts??

thank you for being so patient and all the constant support on this story!

*not proofread*