Eren watches you get dressed while he lays exhausted in the bed. He didn't put much effort, well actually, not any effort at all for the sex considering he was tied up but he still felt drained.

All he wanted to do now was take you home with him and go to sleep. He didn't even want to be at this party but he didn't care where he was as long as he was with you.

You're fully clothed now and standing up in front of the mirror fixing your outfit and accessories as he stands up and slips his clothes on as well now.

Once he's done, Eren comes up behind you and hugs your waist, his head on your shoulder.

He smiles when he realizes you allow him to hug you like this. At first, everytime he tried getting this close to you, you would flinch a little or tense up at first but then allow it.

But now, it's natural. He wraps his arms around you and you now sink into his body, getting closer.

He's come such a long way. He finally managed to slip past your tough exterior and build a tiny home in your damaged little heart.

He admires your reflection in the mirror. You were concentrated on fixing your costume, your tongue slightly poking out as you try to focus.

You were so beautiful. Even exhausted and sweaty.

His hands travel up to your stomach and kisses your cheek. "Maybe I shouldn't get you that plan B so you can have my babies."

"Fuck no." You wiggle out his arms. "You better buy me it or I'm gonna buy it myself. Either way I'm gonna get it, one way or another."

Eren pretends to act hurt. "Damn, you don't want my kids?"

You roll your eyes. "Maybe one day if you're lucky but definitely not right now. If one day you're lucky enough to make me your wife, that is."

He looks up at the roof in fake deep thought. "Hm, that does sound tempting."

It did. As much as it made him nauseous to admit. He never saw him getting married ever.

But then again, he never saw himself wanting a girlfriend either. Yet, here he was wanting exactly that.

And almost like you read his mind...

You scoff and head toward the door. "Yeah right. You can't even do something as simple as make me your girlfriend."

"Is that what you want?" He asks. You turn around to look at him. "No shit."

He watches you reach for the knob and he starts to internally panic and he instinctively grabs your hand. "Y/n wait."

You turn to him, your gorgeous eyes looking right at his and he grows even more nervous. He looks down at the ground as he feels his face burn. "Um, do you.."

You laugh and he gets even more embarrassed which makes him mad. Not necessarily at you but himself.

Why couldn't he just say it? Why was he always so nervous around you? Even now after all you've been through together. "I've never done this before, alright?! Give me a sec."

"Okay! Okay!" You giggle. "Take your time. Not like I've been waiting for this for like months or anything."

His face burns ten times more now. He knew for a fact he was blushing and it made him feel even more nervous and embarrassed.

Just say it, you pussy. She's been waiting for months.

"Will you, or do you want to- uh.." He stutters.

There's the muffled sound of something vibrating and he realizes it's your phone once you whip it out had look down at it.

He frowns and opens his mouth to finish but you stop him.

"Wait! I have to go real quick. Hitch needs me. She says it's an emergency. She's probably already drunk by now so I'm scared something happened. I'll be back, okay?" You say quickly putting your shoes back on.

Eren sighs. "Okay." He was a little disappointed because he felt like he was actually working up the courage to ask you this time but like always, there was some kind of interruption.

But all his doubts go away when you kiss him. "You better have that question ready by the time I come back, okay?"

He smiles. "Okay. I'll try."

You smile back and turn to the door. You hold the phone up to your ear and he watches your face turned concerned as you wait for her to pick up.

As bitter as he felt that you were leaving him for her, he couldn't deny you were a good friend for coming to her rescue at a time like this.

Eren watches you open up the door and he looks down at his shoes to continue slipping them on.

He hears you gasp and someone say the word. "Whore."

He looks up and sees you standing at the door, red liquid all over you. You look startled and furious as you wipe at your face. "What the hell?"

Shit.

Eren didn't even need to step into view to know what was going on. He recognized the voice.

This was it. The sneaking around was finally coming to a brutal end.

He recognized Historia's voice and once Historia knew something, it was safe to assume everyone would know because she would make sure of it.

Not that he was complaining really, he was glad they finally found out. He was tired of the secretive link ups as much fun as they were.

But this only means that the two of you were going to have to deal with so much drama.

How did they find out? Did Sasha or Connie slip up? Maybe Nic?

Did they accidentally see him pull you into the room? Did they finally put two and two together?

He steps behind you and sees the group of four. Mikasa and Historia beside each other giving you dirty looks, Jean smiling proudly with a pink phone in his hand that Eren quickly realizes is Hitch's because she's right next to him.

He looks at Hitch and she looks shocked. He then look at you and your face melts when you meet her eyes. "Hitch..."

Fuck.

You step closer to the shooken up girl. "Hitch, I can literally explain everything."

"Don't." She replies. Eren could tell she wanted to cry by the sound of her voice but she was too proud to show it. "You kept it from me this long, don't even bother."

Eren watches Hitch take off and you attempt to follow after her but Historia steps in front of you.

"You're disgusting. Aren't you embarrassed? Fucking the guy who you knew was off limits? Are that much of a slut?" She spits.

Eren knows he should be serious in a moment like this but he struggles to contain his laughter. He knew for a fact you were 100% capable of beating the literal shit out of Historia.

And by the look on your face, it looks like you want to. "Get the fuck out of my way, Historia. Before I move you myself." You snap.

She laughs. "God, all you Marley girls are the same. I swear everyone I know that's from Marley are always the biggest hoes."

I wouldn't keep talking if I were you.

He wanted to step in and defend you but he knew you could handle it on your own. Plus, he kinda wanted to see someone finally give Historia the ass beating she deserved.

"You know, I should've known. I'm honestly not even surprised. You literally were so quick to throw yourself at Jean and then when he didn't want you, you threw a whole tantrum and then tried to turn everyone against him." She continues.

Eren studies you carefully making sure not to miss the moment you pounce on her but instead he catches you turn to Jean who mouths something to you but he can't tell what.

"And you made it work somehow. You made Sasha stop talking to Jean, you made Marco and Connie also be mean to him, you turned Eren against Mikasa and Armin. You ruined fucking everything!" She shouts.

This bitch is still talking?

"We were all fine before you came. You squirmed your way into our group and now everyone hates eachother. You ruined everything! You're like.. you're like.." She looked stupid trying to come up with the words she was looking for.

"You're like a fucking parasite! " Historia snarls.

Parasite? I didn't even know Historia knew words like that.

"We should've never let you hang out with us. I should've fucking known." She adds.

Eren was too busy recalling the definition of parasite in his head that he completely misses you shoving Historia straight to the ground.

There's a loud bang as she hits the ground and he knows you pushed her hard because he could hear the impact even over the loud ass music.

He sees you about to jump on her and he gets excited but then he sees Ymir standing in front of her, blocking you. "Don't."

"Why are you protecting her? You're not embarrassed at this point, Ymir? She's literally still obsessed with Eren while you're obsessed with her!" You snap.

Oh shit. Does she know something we don't know?

Jean laughs. "Don't take your anger out on everyone. You got caught, that's your own fault. No one is to blame but you."

"Watch your mouth." Eren warns. He was fine with letting you handle your own with the girls. You were perfectly capable of handling all of them but when it came to Jean..

He'd take care of that one.

"Are you sure you wanna get involved with her, Jaeger? She's kinda fucking crazy." Jean laughs.

I'm gonna fucking kill him.

"But I heard crazy girls got the best pussy." He grins. "I barely got to try it but from what I got to taste the saying is true. Tell me, is it even better when you're inside it?"

Yup, he's dead.

Eren laughs. But a scary laugh. The laugh where you're about to fuck someones shit up. "You got a real problem, you know that? You claim to be my friend but yet, you secretly hate me. No, more like envy me. Why?" He asks.

He steps forward. "Is it cause the girls you want always choose me?"

Jean's jaw flexes. He sneaks a look at Mikasa who looks away.

"Wanna know something funny?" Eren asks stepping even close to Jean until he's right in his face. "Mikasa only fucked you because I told her to."

Jean's eyes shoot open and Mikasa gasps. Eren smiles. "What? You didn't actually think she felt something for you, did you?"

"I wanted her to back off me and for you to back off y/n. So I told her to fuck you so I could be with y/n in peace." Eren admits out loud.

"So you..." Mikasa starts. Eren turns to her. "You actually like her?" She finishes.

Eren turns to where you were standing and just now realizes you were long gone. Probably running after Hitch and trying to explain yourself.

Eren looks Mikasa right in the eye. "I love her." He then turns back to the rest of the group. He now sees that Sasha, Connie, Marco and Nic have joined the group.

"I wanna be with her and none of you are gonna stop me." He says firmly.

Sasha's eyes are wide but she's smiling big. Finally written all over her face. Connie looks impressed and Niccolo smiles with support. Marco doesn't look as surprised as the others, like he had already caught on since that one day.

Historia barks out a laugh as she finally stands up from the ground. "Please. As if you're capable of something like that. You stick your dick in anything that moves."

"Like you're one to talk. You let me stick this dick in you plenty times with no complaints." Eren scoffs.

Her mouth drops open and there's the sound of some snickers here and there from the others.

She closes her mouth and her lips press firmly together. "I think you should watch who you're speaking to, Eren. I could ruin y/n's life like this." She snaps her fingers.

Eren freezes for a moment and she grins. "And you know I can."

She stands in front of him. The girl was tiny as hell but was acting like she was 6 feet tall. "Or did you forget that my dad literally owns the school your little girlfriend attends?"

Shit.

She brings her finger to her lips. "Her job too I believe is in that school as well, right? I wonder what will happen if she loses her job and gets expelled? Not to mention she also lives in the dorms."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Sasha snaps. "All this over Eren? Are you serious?"

Historia snaps her head at Sasha. "What? You support this? You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm not joking." Sasha says firmly. Historia laughs. "I know you think she's your friend but she isn't. She was supposed to be our friend too and she went after our ex. You seriously think she won't try to get with Niccolo next?"

Sasha's face turns scary cold once Niccolo's name was mentioned. Eren gets chills. Sasha was always so blubbly and kind. A literal ray of sunshine.

But right now. She was the complete opposite. He rarely ever got to see her like this after the many years of knowing her.

"First of all, Eren was never your ex. Get over that already. Second, y/n wasn't your friend. You were never even a friend to her. Third, don't you ever again bring Nic into your bullshit." She snaps.

Historia frowns. "Why the hell are you pissed at me? Do you not see what she's doing?! Look! She's turning you against me! The same way she turned you against Jean! Your bestfriend!"

"No one is doing shit but you." Sasha says back. "You need to get over Eren already. You never even dated! You're the psycho ex girlfriend and you're not even an ex! That's even worse!"

Connie laughs. "Man, Jaeger what you got in your dick to make bitches go crazy?"

Historia growls. "Are you guys kidding me right now? Are you seriously blaming me for all this?! Are all you blind?! All the drama happened when that bitch came into town. We were all fine."

"What are you gonna do Historia?! Bully every girl who even breathes near Eren for the rest of your life?! Is he not allowed to find happiness eventually? Are you ever gonna move on? I get it, he hurt you. He broke your heart. But you need to get over it." Sasha preaches.

"I agree." Ymir says. Historia's furious expression melts. "You too? Are you guys serious right now? Don't you see what's happening?! She's trying to tear us apart. What happened to sticking together forever? Didn't we promise that?"

"This isn't about sticking together. You're scared to be on your own. You're scared of change. You don't want anyone to leave the group because it's the only constant to have. You're scared to be alone." Connie says. You know things are bad when Connie is taking the conversation seriously.

Ymir laughs, looking down at her feet. "I can't believe I'm so dumb." She looks up at Historia. "You are scared of change."

Historia frowns. "No, I'm not!" Ymir sighs and looks her in the eye. "Say it then. Tell them what I am to you."

So y/n did know something.

He was surprised you didn't blurt it out right there and then to get back at her but if it was what he thinks it is, he knows you wouldn't. You weren't the type to expose someone's sexuality when they weren't ready to come out.

You were ruthless and complex but that was one thing he knew for certain. You had morals after all.

Historia stands frozen, speechless. It looks like she was a statue because she ceases any movement or breathing.

Ymir chuckles. "You're still not over him, are you?"

Historia says nothing.

Ymir shakes her head and then walks away. "Ymir!" Historia yells after her but she keeps walking.

Historia shrinks into herself, clearly sad and disappointed in herself. But it quickly turns into anger.

"This is all her fault." She mumbles. "She ruined everything!"

"You got OCD or something?" Connie asks. "Why does everything always have to go your way? Why do you have to be in control of everyone?"

"You're scared because you know without us, you won't have any friends. That's why you try to force us to stay together. That's why you hate when we hang out with other people." Sasha realizes. "You're scared to be alone."

Historia balls up her fists. "Shut the fuck up! You all sound stupid!"

She turns to Eren. "Get rid of her or I will. I can and will." She warns.

"I wonder what will happen when she loses her acceptance into the university, her dorm and her job. Looks like she has to go back home to Marley where she came from." She snarls. "Where sluts like her belong."

"I'll take her in. She can live with me if she wants to stay in Paradis." Eren argues. "As for school, there's other schools."

Historia grits her teeth. "I'll ruin her reputation so that no matter where she goes, everyone will know about her. I bet you I can find secrets about her that not even you know about."

"And as for school, my dad is very well respected within all school districts. If he puts one bad word in about y/n, no college or university will accept her. Not even community college." She adds.

Eren says nothing. Was she really capable of doing something like that? I mean, it was absolutely bat shit crazy.

Historia smirks. "There is no way I'm gonna let her creep her way into our lives and absolutely destroy it and get away with it damage free. She wants to ruin shit for me, I'll ruin it for her."

"Get help." Sasha steps in. "You sound psychotic."

Historia ignores her. "How much stuff are you gonna ruin for her, Eren? She came over here to get away from all her past problems right? To start a new life?"

She laughs. "And she had it all. Until you. It's your fault she lost her roommate and all her friends. Now you're gonna make her lose her job, dorm and school? I feel sorry for her almost."

Jean cackles. "And from what I heard, it's also your fault she got shot and basically almost died. Damn Jaeger, maybe you're cursed. Everyone around you dies. Maybe we need to stay away from you instead of y/n."

Eren's heart stops and his ears starts to ring. "What the fuck did you just say?"

Jean opens his mouth but before he can even say anything, Eren punches his square in the face. He stumbles backwards a little almost falling down the stairs but he grabs the railing.

Jean touches his nose as blood drips down from it and laughs. "Did I strike a nerve there? It was only the truth. Y/n almost died because of you. Kinda funny that it was a gun too. Talk about ironic."

Eren is on him with a flash but this time Jean sees it coming. He's a little woozy from the first punch that caught him off guard so he's a tad bit slow but he still fights back.

The two boys exchange punches. More and more people noticing and circling around.

Eren finally gets Jean on the ground and he gets on top of him and begins to repeatingly beat him. Jean's arms up in front of his face as a shield.

Sasha screams to at him to stop and the guys debate on whether they should stop the fight or not. They both knew Jean deserved the ass beating he was getting.

This reminded him so much of the night he fucked up Anthony at the fair and he couldn't stop. The way he didn't want to.

He wanted to kill him for all he did to you. He wanted to do the same to Jean.

The sound of people screaming became muffled. He just heard ringing noises and the sound of his fists colliding against Jean's skin.

Nothing could stop him right now. He was in a blacked out frenzy. He was beyond pissed. He couldn't believe Jean would bring up something like that.

He continues to beat on Jean. Flashbacks of Anthony comes to his mind and he finds himself smiling. Smiling at the fact he was hurting the people who hurt you.

And then you pop into his mind. The way you cried for him to stop that night. The first time he ever saw you cry. The way he crumbled completely.

He gasps and stops. Jean lets his arms down and sighs exhausted. He was breathing hard and raspy. His face was completely beat. His eyes swollen and turning dark red and the rest of his face covered in blood.

Jean laughs and some blood comes out his mouth. "Feel better?" He asks.

"I'll feel better once you leave y/n the fuck alone." Eren snaps. Jean smiles. "I won't. Not until you do. Until then I will always try to bother her. I'll always try to fuck up her day. Make her mad."

He laughs again, blood slipping out his mouth. "Hell, maybe I'll even try to win her back just so I can play her again."

Eren punches him his absolute hardest one last time and Jean goes straight to sleep.

Historia kneels down to be face to face with Eren. "I meant what I said. He does too. She's not gonna get away with this shit, I promise."

"Do you love her?" She asks. Eren ignores her and gets off Jean. Marco and Connie rush over to Jean to pick him up and sit him up against the wall.

"I said," She raises her voice. "Do you love her?" She asks again. "Yes." Eren replies looking around on the ground for the scrunchie you gave him but his head is dizzy and he can't find it.

She grabs his arm. "Then you'll let her go." Eren turns to her. "I won't. Ever."

Historia shakes her head. "Then I guess I'll make her life a living hell. I'm telling you I'm gonna make her pay for ruining our friend group. The only way I'll spare her is if you agree to never talk to her again."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Eren spits out blood from his mouth. She laughs. "What? If anything, I'm trying to help her. Poor girl had such a miserable, shit life here in Marley that she was so desperate to run away and start over and yet the drama followed her because of you."

Eren stares at her and she pouts. "You claim you love her but put her through so much hell. I mean she's about to lose literally everything because of you. Not to mention she almost lost her damn life because of you earlier this month."

"Let's not forget how many other girls she's gonna have to deal with the whole time. I mean you've fucked girls from Marley too, right? I wonder if any are her friends? That's gonna be so fucking embarrassing." She giggles.

"Shut up, Historia!" Sasha yells. "Enough already! Then you wonder why you have no friends other than us!"

Historia flicks her off and keeps her eyes on Eren. "All she'll have left is to go back home to her mommy. Who by the way, works at the pharmacy right? I wonder what will happen if I say she's been stealing drugs for her druggie daughter."

Eren's eyes jolt open. Historia grins. "What? You didn't know your little girlfriend was a drug addict? She even got sent to the hospital once for an overdose."

Eren knew a lot of things about you. He knew you had a whole party phase after your dad died to cope. But he didn't know it was that bad. He definitely didn't know you almost died from overdosing either. How the hell did she know that and not him?

He couldn't blame you for not telling him. It must be something you're ashamed of. Something you probably tried your absolute hardest to forget.

You were clean now and that's all that mattered.

"Of course, that overdose happened a little after her dad died. Suicide, right? That's so sad. Poor y/n. No wonder she wanted to escape. And her mother being a pharmacist? Don't you think she would've noticed her husband was depressed?" Historia asks.

Eren wanted to hit her. He wanted to hit her so bad. But if he did, that would be a whole other problem to deal with. Especially with it being Historia.

Historia sighs. "Gosh, that girl had it hard. I mean, I haven't even touched the subject about the boy she dated that cheated and abused her. Oh! That was the guy who shot her, right? He was originally aiming for you but she got in the way. So it was your fault."

"Shut up." Eren growls. "Am I wrong? Let me know if I am. But I'm sure all my facts are correct." She says.

She leans closer to him. "Don't you see it? Nothing good comes out from you two being together. Only bad. You're bad for her. She was fine without you. She was trying to become a better person and you ruined for her and now look. Everyone hates her."

"I don't." Sasha defends. "Me either." Connie adds. "Same." Nic chimes in. Marco looks at Eren and then back at Historia. "She deserves to be happy, Historia."

"Oh, I agree." Historia says. "But she'll never be happy with Eren."

She turns to Eren again. "Bad things follow you wherever you go. Haven't you noticed that?"

He did. But it never really seemed that way with you. You seemed happy with him. Safe with him. He thought he was helping you like you were helping him.

He never really focused on the negative. Always keeping the good memories in mind. The ferris wheel, water park, the rooftop, the date, the pool, your first time having sex.

But now that Historia pointed it out. All he could think about was the bad. The way he treated you when he first met you, the way he was rude to you even when you tried to be his friend, the way he made you get shot and almost die, the way you guys fight all the time.

Was he really not as good for you as he thought? Was he only making you worse?

"Some people are just better off alone. And that's you." Historia says. She looks at Jean who is still slowly starting to wake up. "Like Jean said, everyone around you gets hurt. The ones who get too close end up getting-"

Eren grabs her and shoves her up aganist the wall. "Shut the hell up before you end up like Jean over there."

Historia grins. "Go ahead. Hit me. I'll ruin your fucking life if you touch me. Everyone is watching too."

Eren looks around and sees eyes glued on him everywhere.

Shit.

"So go ahead. Hit me." She says. "Hit me like Y/n's ex hit her. Prove me right."

Eren growls and punches the wall next to her causing her to flinch. The hole is just a foot away from her face.

He takes his hand out the hole and shakes it off.
"I'll do it. But only if you agree to leave her alone."

Historia moves hair from her face and smiles. She raises her head in the air like she's making a pledge. "I won't. It'll be like she never even existed."

Eren lets out a deep sigh. "Fine."

He turns away from her and takes a couple steps before Historia speaks again. "Oh and Eren?"

He turns to face her. She smiles again. "I'll know if you're lying."

The two stare at each other, no words needed to be said to see the overwhelming tension and hatred in the atmosphere.

He begins to walk away, shoving past people who were just innocent bystanders and were curious what was going on.

"Eren!" Sasha chases after him. "Don't tell me you're actually gonna do it."

He sighs. "I have to, Sasha." She stomps her foot. "That's bullshit! You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"What am I supposed to do?! Huh?!" He shouts. "Let her get her life all fucked up? You and I both know she's gone through hell already. She's been through enough. I'm not gonna make it worse."

She presses her lips together in a tight line. "There's gotta be a way out of it! Like.. date in secret for a while or something."

"I don't want to date in secret. I did that for months already and I hated it. I wanna be able to take her everywhere she wants to go and show her off. I wanna do corny shit like you and Niccolo." He admits.

Sasha sighs, not really sure what to say back. Eren shakes his head. "We should've stayed the way we were in the beginning. It was easier when we hated eachother."

He wipes blood that drips slowly down his lip. "I should've never apologized that day at 7-eleven for calling her a bitch, should've never agreed to go to the fair with her, should've never asked her to hang out the night after, should've never got on top of the bus with her or that rooftop, should've never asked her on that date."

"She moved to Paradis specifically to get away from all the drama and problems from here in Marley and because of me, she's in it all over again." He realizes.

"If I would've stayed away from her, let her go on hating me, she would've had a fun life. She would've enjoyed it. But because of me, it's not that way. All I've done is bring her more pain." He says looking down at his feet.

"That's not true and you know it." Sasha defends. Eren snaps his head up. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW?"

"I KNOW ENOUGH." She yells back. "Did you forget I was the one, the only one, who was with you two from the start?"

Eren blinks at her. She sighs. "I'm the one who forced you two to get along. I forced you to go to the fair with her. I saw your relationship blossom in front of me. I saw your bond grow deeper."

She steps closer to him. "I saw you two go from hating the shit out of each other to being madly in love."

Sasha looks him right in the eye. "So if you're gonna take the blame for all this so am I. Because it's my fault too."

"Stop." He mutters as he starts to walk away. Sasha grabs his arm. "Don't do it, Eren. You think you're helping her but in reality you're just gonna break her heart. You may think all you do is bring her pain but she was already in pain before you. You eased it for her."

He yanks his arm out of her grip. "Okay, fine. I wont." He starts to walk away, leaving Sasha standing there.

"You're lying, aren't you?" She asks.

He pauses and turns his head slightly. "Sorry, Sash."

"She's not an idiot, you know? She knows you too well now. She knows you wouldn't just drop her out of the blue without a reason. She'll know something is up." Sasha says, clear anger in her voice.

"I know." Eren turns forward again, turning away from her. "That's why I gotta make it believable."

Sasha's eyes get wide as she tries to even begin to imagine what he could mean by that. He trails down the stairs, collecting weird looks and whispers from people.

He hears steps running behind him and he immediately assumes it's Sasha coming to talk him out of it some more.

"Jaeger!" He hears once he makes it to the bottom of the steps. He turns and sees Floch out of breath.

"Yo." Eren says back. Floch holds up a dark blue scrunchie in his palm. "You dropped this."

Eren stares at the scrunchie and his heart sinks a little. Ever since you gave it to him, he's never taken it off except to wash it when he does laundry. He never used normal hair ties anymore.

Even when he was just hanging out with his hair down, he kept it on his wrist. It was a constant reminder of you.

And that's why he didn't want it anymore.

"That's not mine." He says flatly. Floch frowns. "But.. I saw it come out of your hair during the fight."

Eren shrugs. "You must've saw wrong. You're probably drunk. Just throw it away or something."

Floch looks down at the blue scrunched up circle in his hand and then back at Eren. "I'm not drunk, I don't really like drinking. I'm going home already so I don't wanna drink and drive."

Eren sighs. "Then I guess you just saw wrong because that isn't mine."

He starts walking away but Floch speaks again. "It's y/n's. Isn't it?" He asks.

Eren freezes. He turns slowly to look at Floch and he's still standing in the same spot holding up the hair tie. "I know it because this one time at work she took it off to fix her hair and I accidentally spilled coffee on it and she yelled at me for like two hours because she said it was her favorite one."

Eren tried his hardest not to smile. It was very much like you to do something like that. But it wasn't that hard to hide the smile when he realizes the part where Floch said it was your favorite.

You gave him your favorite one. The night you gave it to him, you let him have it like it was no big deal. Claiming you had a million more.

Yet it was your favorite one the entire time.

"She started wearing a pink one instead one day and when I asked her what happened to her favorite blue one, she said she gave it to you." He adds.

He didn't think it was possible for him to feel even shittier. "Give it back to her then. I don't want it."

"Oh." Floch says looking down at it. Eren looks at it too one last time and then exits out the building.

As soon as he's out the door, he feels the cool air hit his face and it calms him down a little.

It was kinda hard to see out here because it was pitch black and the middle of the night and he was kinda thankful for that.

If he didn't find you, it meant he didn't have to do this. Not right now atleast.

But then he sees you. You're standing by where all the cars are. His hearts drops a little. Now he had to really do it.

This is gonna hurt like a bitch.

"Hey." Eren says approaching you. He catches you quickly wipe your face and nose dry. "Hey."

Once you're done rubbing at your eyes and they adjust on him, they shoot open. "Oh my god! What the fuck happened?!"

He sighs and sits down in a chair. You lift his chin up to look at you. "Me and Jean fought."

He feels your cold hands grab his face, moving it side to side. "Damn, he got you good." You say as your thumb wipes blood off his top lip.

He chuckles. He knew he looked pretty bad but he knew Jean looked worse. The two haven't fought since middle school and they definitely didn't go easy on each other. "Nah, if you think I look bad, you should see him right now."

He brings the wrinkled and torn white cloth he was wearing around his body earlier to his nose to collect the blood that was swimming down from it. "Did you catch up with Hitch?" He asks.

He looks up at you and see your eyes grow glossy. They were puffy already so he knows you had just finished crying. He sighs. "It didn't go well, did it?"

You shake your head and sniffle. "Not at all. It was bad. She hates me now."

They were right. He made you lose your bestfriend. The person you looked forward to coming home to hear about her day and to talk about yours.

He always respected your love for her. He knew you never had real friends before and Hitch was your first one.

Now that was over. Because of him. Because he hurt her what seemed like forever ago. He didn't mean to. He didn't expect her to fall in love with him. He was just trying to feel something. It was only supposed to be sex.

He looks you at you again. You had a weak smile on your face like you were trying to put up a front like you weren't hurting badly. Like everything wasn't falling apart in front of your eyes.

You had a smile on your face but your eyes gave it away. They look sad and tired. Disappointed.

He can't look at you knowing the pain in your eyes is his fault.

He didn't wanna hurt you anymore. You were better off without him. You were before he crept his way into your life. Back when you couldn't stand the sight of him.

When you hated him, you were happier. You had no drama. You had no problems. You were just a girl in a new town where no one knew her and she could start all over.

But he couldn't resist getting to know you. He couldn't resist the temptation of it all. He had forced you to stop the whole "new town, new girl" facade. He told you to be yourself. To be the girl you tried so hard to change.

And all it did was get you into trouble again. The trouble you ran away from.

And it was all because of him. He should've let you hate him forever.

He just had to make you hate him again. This time for good.

He didn't want to. He really didn't . But he didn't have much of a choice anymore.

He didn't want to lose you. You were everything to him. You were his world. His sun. The very last star in the sky.

And he was about to lose all of it. His world was coming to an end.

[sorry besties but play sign of the times by harry styles here unless ur a pussy then ig 🙄 i matched the beat drop perfectly to the story so do it]

Eren looks down at the floor. "I'm sorry."

He feels you kick him. "Stop." He can tell you think he's saying sorry about the Hitch when really he's apologizing for what he's about to do.

He can also tell you're not mad at him because you bend down to kiss him.

Why weren't you pissed at him?

This is all my fault. Why don't you see that?

He pushes you away. "I have something I need to say."

He sees your eyes twinkle with excitement and your cheeks raise up as you smile. He didn't know what you were thinking he was gonna say but he knew you were way off because if you were even the slightest bit close, you wouldn't be looking like that.

Here goes nothing.

"I don't wanna do this anymore." He says bluntly. He was still looking down at the ground. He couldn't look at you. There was no way he would be able to do it.

But he doesn't need to make eye contact with you to know that those words hurt you because he can hear it all in your voice as it cracks. "What?"

Hearing it made him want to back out of it now. He could already tell he was hurting you and he hated it. But he can't. He has to see it through.

He smacks his lips and stands up. "I said I don't want to be with you anymore."

He was trying his absolute hardest to not look at you, his eyes gazing at the tree behind you.

"But... we were fine. Is it because of what happened? Fuck it. It's okay, who cares? They were gonna find out and be pissed eventually one day!" You say, your voice getting frantic.

Stop.

He shakes his head. "It doesn't have anything to do with that."

"Are you trying to push me away? Because everyone hates me now? You feel bad?" You shout. "I don't care what they think about me! I only care about Hitch and yeah it sucks that she's pissed at me but I'm gonna try to talk to her and explain it to her better."

Both of your hands meet his cheeks and they turn his face to meet yours. His eyes finally meet yours and his heart hurts.

"She thinks we're just fucking! All of them do! If they knew how we actually felt about each other, they'd change their minds. They'll be happy for us. Atleast Hitch will." You try your best to explain.

Shut up. Why are you making this harder than it needs to be? Just let me leave. Why are you so damn stubborn?

He realizes he has to make it hurt. He knew you weren't gonna let him walk out without a fight. You weren't gonna let him go unless you had no choice.

Unless he hurt you so badly that you had no choice but to let him leave.

He looks you in the eye. "We are just fucking."

He can literally see your heart break. It was all over your face. Your chest even stopped moving like you stopped breathing for a spilt second.

"What?" Your voice cracks. "No. No, you care about me. I know you do. Please don't do this."

Stop. Just say okay. Don't make it harder.

He removes your hands off his face and sets them down. "Sorry if you thought it was anything more. It was only fun when it was a secret. The whole sneaking around part. Now that everyone knows, it's boring."

This wasn't true, of course. He hated the sneaking around part. Like he told Sasha, it made him miserable. He wanted to claim you loud and proud.

"But.. but what about the hospital? What about literally everything we been though together? You telling me you would do all that for a girl you're just fucking?" You ask.

He shrugs. He looks off in the distance again. Every time he looked at you, he felt himself get weak.

He couldn't get weak. He had to stay strong and keep the front up. "I had to pretend I actually cared. How did I do?"

Suddenly, he feels your hand slap him hard across the face, his face twisting to the side and his cheek burning intensely.

He deserved that. He knew he did. But that means you're starting to hate him. And that was the goal. The painful and excruciating goal.

"I didn't mean to do that." You say quietly. "You're just hurting me. I know what you're trying to do, alright? You're trying to fix this but you're only making it worse."

God, how much more of a dick do I have to be? Why don't you get it? Why can't you just let me leave?

"I don't want to fix anything." He says, his voice getting louder. "Get it through your head that I don't want you anymore."

He looks at you and you're frozen. Your body not moving at all but your eyes study him carefully.

You weren't falling for it. Sasha was right. You were gonna catch on quick and realize something was up.

He has to make it more believable.

But he really didn't want to. If he wanted it to seem real, the meaner the stuff he says has to be. And the harsher the words, the more he was gonna hurt you.

"So the rumors are true then? You just use girls for sex and then toss them aside?" You snap.

He forces out a laugh. He had to keep up the act. He had to try to portray the old him again. The person he was before he met you. "I guess so."

"I don't believe it." You stand your ground. "Something happened. I don't know what or with who but you care about me. I know you do. I can see it. Don't push me away. Please."

What the fuck don't you understand? Do I really have to be a even bigger dick? Please don't make me do this.

He groans in frustration. "Why can't you just get it through your big ass head? I just wanted to fuck! You think you're special? I took you out on a date and told you some personal stuff and suddenly you think I'm in love with you?"

He was borrowing words now. He had nothing negative to say about you. He loved you. He thought you were the best damn thing he's ever experienced.

Beyond the sex. The way your mind worked. The way you described things. The way you live. The way you speak. The way you think. The way you laugh. The way you smile. The way you do everything that made you, you.

He couldn't find bad things to say to hurt your feelings so he used words other people used against you.

But the plagiarism wasn't good enough because you still don't budge. You continue to stand your ground.

"I don't believe you. You're lying." You repeat.

This is hurting me more than it's hurting you. Please don't make me take it further. Let me leave.

He had to make it end already. This was excruciating for him. It seemed like it was dragging on.

You were tough and stubborn. Simple little insults weren't gonna tear you down. They wouldn't even make you stumble.

No. He had to hit you where it really hurt. He had to stoop low. He knew you were gonna hate him for it but..

That was the point.

I'm so fucking sorry for this.

He grabs your shoulders and shakes you. "I don't want you! You're annoying! You cry way too much. You have anxiety attacks every five minutes. You're too much to handle and take care of. It's draining. It's like taking care of a fucking little kid." He yells.

There it was. That was the one.

He could feel your body shrink underneath his hands on your shoulder. He heard the sharp gasp slip past your pretty lips. He saw the way your eyes lost all hope. The light escaping them.

It was working.

"Why would I want to be with you? Why do you think I still haven't asked you to be my girlfriend? Because I don't want you to be!" He continues.

"Stop." You whisper.

He studies you and as much as it looks like you want to cry. You don't. He didn't want to make you cry but he needed to.

He knew you were trying to stand tall and strong. You were trying to show his words weren't getting to you but it was written all over your face. You were devastated.

He hated how you still weren't backing down. It killed him as soon as those words left his mouth. He couldn't even begin to imagine how much they hurt you.

So why are you still here? Why aren't you cussing him out? Why aren't you screaming you hate him?

He had to make you say it. He needed to hear the words I hate you.

He scoffs and lets go of you. "You're nothing special, y/n. You're like every other girl."

You still don't say anything so he decides maybe he needs to walk away from you so you can see he really is serious about leaving you. That maybe you need to see visual proof that he was.

That it was really over.

His heart was beating painfully slow. His chest aches. He felt like he was having trouble breathing.

"If you walk away right now, I swear to god. I'll-" You start.

Say it. Say you'll hate me.

Eren spins around to face you. "You'll what, y/n? You gonna cry?"

He sees a flash of hurt in your eyes again. "I'll never forgive you." You finish.

That's not good enough. I need you to say you hate me. I need you to hate me just like you use to.

"I don't care." He lies. The idea of you never forgiving him for this made him sick to his stomach.

But that's what needed to happen.

He walks away, leaving tiny pieces of him behind with each step he takes further from you.

"Fuck you!" You yell.

He gets flashbacks to the night you two first met. When he tried hitting on you in the pool, he failed miserably because you didn't fall for his tricks. You hated him.

He remembers you putting him in his place and how he said fuck you and you said you wish. How he used your own words against you before you left.

At the time he found it funny. The way you were so angry. Filled with rage and hatred.

Back when you hated him and he hated you. Before the two of you got to know each other. Before the two of you fell in love.

The way it should've stayed.

He turns his head to the side and chuckles softly. "I already did."

When he turns to you, he sees tears swimming down your cheeks finally. He broke through your tough exterior. You couldn't hold them back anymore.

He walks away again and this time you don't say anything. Was it over now? Did you finally fall for it?

He strolls further and further away. He hears you mumble something under your breath but he's now at a distance where he can't hear it clearly.

The image of you crying stings him. He felt a knot in his throat form. His eyes burn and his vision blurs.

It was already dark as hell outside and now his eyes were clouded with tears that were not yet willing to fall out his sockets. They just stayed blocking his view.

"I HATE YOU!" He hears you scream.

And just like that. The dam breaks and the tears escape.

Finally.

He keeps walking even though his legs felt like they were gonna give out on him.

That was the hardest thing he's ever had to do.

The way your voice trembled. The way your eyes sunk in. The way your pain was visible to the eye. It all hurt him so much.

But what hurt him the most.. the fact that he knows you're not gonna stop thinking about it. You were an over thinker. It was gonna be eating at your mind for who knows how long.

He said some cruel things. Especially the part about your anxiety. He knew that one definitely fucked you up.

Especially because he knows you always feel like a burden because of it. Like a liability. Now it was just gonna be worse.

The one person who made you feel unjudged and safe about your anxiety, now made it a million times worse.

And now you'll hate him forever for it.

He knows you're still standing there. Probably still trying to process what the hell just happened. Trying to figure out what you did wrong. What you did to make him switch up on you like nothing.

He wanted to turn around so bad. To run back to you and say he was sorry and didn't mean any of it. To hug you and not let you go. To kiss you and not let it end.

But he couldn't. He couldn't give in.

A tiny part of him hoped you ran after him. Force him to stay. See through his bullshit. Anything.

He just wanted you to stop him from getting in his car right now because he couldn't do it himself.

Run after me.

But you don't.

Tell me to stay. Don't let me go. Stop me.

But you stay in the same spot. Just watching him turn smaller and smaller as he disappeared out of view.

Fuck.

The closer he got to his car, the more he aches. The more he cried. The more he hated himself.

He opens up the door and sits down in the passenger seat. He tilts his head back and closes his eyes, trying to take deep breaths and calm himself down.

But once his eyes close and it's nothing but black, your face appears again.

This wasn't unusual for him. Everytime Eren closed his eyes, your face always appeared. When he would close them to go to sleep, when he would close them in the shower to avoid shampoo getting in his eyes, whenever he would close his eyes in general.

Sometimes when he missed you, he would just close his eyes and there you were.

The only difference is usually when he does it, it's you smiling and laughing. Sometimes even you naked.

But this time, when he closed his eyes, he only saw you in pain.

He couldn't shake the image out of his head. The way he literally could physically see your heart break through his eyes.

The way your face was tear stained and the way it drooped downwards.

He opens his eyes to shake the image and grabs his phone. He goes to his contacts and clicks on Floch's name.

Floch.
Eren: did u leave already?

Floch: about to, why?

Eren: do me a favor and ask y/n if she needs a ride home. she's outside drunk by herself and i don't want her out there like that.

Floch: i don't think she'd come with me but i'll try

Eren: she'll most likely call her sister, i already know. but can u still offer her one just in case and keep her company until her ride comes?

Floch: sure. i'll go check on her

Eren sighs and clicks the lock button on the side of his phone and sets in down. He rests his head on the steering wheel.

He knew you and Floch weren't close enough for you to be around him in such a vulnerable moment and that you'd probably be angry and embarrassed.

But you're kinda low on the friend department right now. Plus, Eren knew Floch hadn't drank so he didn't have to worry about his drinking and driving.

He also knew you'd be comfortable with him watching over you because you already know him and spend time with him already cause of work rather than a complete stranger.

He looks at his phone and sees your name pop up. You were calling him. He just watches it as it rings.

He admires your contact picture as the words My sun shine at the top of the screen. He savors it because he knows it's gonna probably be last time ever he gets a call from you.

His thumb hovers over the green answer button. It was tempting. Extremely.

But he couldn't. If he answers this call, he'll come crawling back to you. It took all his strength to do what he just did. Literally all of it because if you appeared right now, he'd give in. He was weak.

He watches as the call ends and his screen goes black again. He stares at his reflection, secretly hoping you'll call again.

If she calls again, I'll answer.

He stares so hard at the screen like if he even looks away for a second, he'd miss it.

But you never call again after that.

And it hits him that that was your last attempt. It was you giving him one last chance. Now you had given up for sure.

He covers his face with his hands. "Fuck." He cries.

It was really over. And he made extra sure of it too. There was no way you could forgive him for the things he said to you.

The thought of never seeing you again devastated him. Of course, he'd see you around school or at parties but that's not what he meant.

He wanted to see you in the mornings when you wake up in his bed. He wanted to see you all dolled up ready for date night. He wanted to see you smile and laugh because of him.

He felt every emotion all at once. Disappointment, sadness, loneliness but most of all anger.

Angry that he was blackmailed into doing something he never wanted to do. Angry that you'll hate him forever for something he didn't even mean.

Part of him wanted to just run back to you, scoop you up, shove you in his car and drive away forever, never looking back.

But as much as he wanted to, he feels like you wouldn't. Especially not now atleast.

He can't shake the image of betrayal written all over your face when he insulted you. Used your disorder against you.

It wasn't your fault you were like that. It wasn't your fault you had anxiety attacks all the time. That's something no one can control.

It wasn't your fault you cried a lot. You can't help that everyone decides to hurt you to the point of tears.

And he didn't mean it either when he said you were too much to handle or care for. It's true, you were a lot. But he wasn't complaining.

You were definitely not the easiest to put up with but he didn't mind it because he knew he was the same way. And you cared for him still.

He didn't mean to call you a little kid either. He was just trying to belittle you. If anything, you were mature. You had gone through more trauma then most making you wiser when it came to certain things.

But in a way you were like a child. Fragile and scared. Naive and gullible.

That's why he always had the insistent urge to watch over you. To protect you.

Not that you needed it, you weren't the typical damsel in distress. You were tough and mean. Blunt and calculating.

You could hold up on your own fine, shit, you've done it for so long. But the thing was, he didn't want you to continue doing it alone.

Even though you didn't need the protection, he wanted to offer you some anyway. Sometimes you needed a break from acting so big all the time. To be babied.

He felt so stupid. So useless. He had no idea what else to do besides accept Historia's terms. If he didn't, you would have to go through so much shit all over again and he could see it was already taking a toll on you.

Historia's family was very rich and respected. They had connections everywhere. If he wanted to continue being with you, there's no way in hell it could be in Paradis.

Not even Marley. Not anywhere near here. She would make sure the word spread everywhere.

Not only did she threaten you, but also your family. Threatening to make your mom lose her job and possibly go to jail.

All this for what? For him? For him wanting to bust a nut what seemed forever ago? Why was she still holding on to it?

Sasha and Connie were right. She was terrified of being alone. She knew if this group disbanded, she'd be alone. No one liked her but all of the group. And that's only cause they've known her since high school.

Everyone else thought she was snobby and stuck up. Which wasn't too far off at all.

But why should she project her insecurities out on you? All because she's not getting what she wants? Is she that much of a fucking spoiled brat?

Eren pulls at his hair. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs.

Was that the right thing to do? Did he make it even worse or did he save you from even more pain?

What if him leaving you was gonna make you go down the dark path you went on when your dad died?

The partying, the drinking, the drugs, the being an evil person.

He could see you going back to your old ways. Maybe not so much the drugs but becoming that girl again. Maybe you'd go back to hanging out with girls like Rose, Bianca and Sirene.

Maybe you would move back to Marley after all. Realizing that no matter where you went, you wouldn't be able to escape the problems so might as well just stay back home.

Or maybe you would just up and leave to a place far, far, far away. He had no idea. No idea what you were gonna do. How you were gonna react. How you were gonna cope.

But he knew one thing for sure.

You hated him.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Eren yells as he punches the steering wheel over and over again. "She hates me. She's never gonna look at me the same."

Just admitting it out loud pained him. He never even got a chance to tell you he loved you.

Well, he did but you were too unconscious to even hear or remember it. He remembers screaming it at the top of his lungs, his voice frantic and scared.

But you didn't hear him because the life was slowly draining out of you. He was literally watching you die before his eyes.

Because of him. Because your dumbass tried to protect him and got in the way. If you had just stayed where you were standing, you would've been safe. Regardless if Marco had tackled him or not, the bullet wouldn't have accidentally grazed you, it would've been him instead.

And he kept taunting him to do so too. He was too stubborn to apologize and kept acting like he wasn't scared to get shot when he really was.

Terrified of going out the way his parents did like some sick ironic joke. But instead it was you. Which was still pretty damn ironic.

And all that happened because he put him in the hospital that night at the fair for laying a hand on you.

It could've been resolved differently. Maybe hit him a couple times and that's it. He honestly didn't have to beat him to a pulp and have him almost in a coma.

But his anger overcame him. He lost his temper and snapped and didn't know when to stop. Because of that, Anthony wanted revenge.

All of it was his fault. If you had died, it would've been because of him. He wouldn't be able to live with himself.

He really was bad for you. He got you into problems with Anthony and Jean. Then Mikasa and Armin. And now Historia and Hitch.

He was making your life harder than it needed to be. You had already been through so much. You deserved a break.

But what about his break? Doesn't he deserve happiness too? He finally had it and it was ripped out of his hands.

Was Historia right? Was he really just one of those people who is meant to be alone?

If him being alone meant you got to be happy, so be it. He didn't mind watching you live your life from the hidden sidelines, as much as it would hurt him.

Then it hits him.

You're free now. To move on. To date whoever. To do whatever you wanted.

So not only was he gonna have to watch you be happy from a distance, he was gonna have to watch you be happy with somebody else.

Just picturing it made him wanna go crazy. His body temperature rising and his fists balled up. He couldn't stand the idea of someone touching you the way he does. It made him sick to his stomach.

You are his. His only to touch. To kiss. To love.

Except... you're not.

He growls and punches his windshield, his hand immediately almost going straight through it. It was already badly cut up and bruised from fighting with Jean and punching the wall and now it was even worse.

He pulls his hand out and hisses. The windshield now had a huge hole in it and cracks all around it that made it look similar to a spiderweb.

"Fuck." He says as he holds his hand up. It was now bleeding ten times more. He pulls small pieces of glass out his knuckles and tosses them out the window.

There was no way he could drive home like this now. He could barely see. Not to mention he was probably not in the best state of mind to be behind the wheel right now.

But he needed to get out of this place. He needed to run away.

But Paradis is too far. He needed some place close.

He sighs and begins to call Zeke. The phone rings and there's no answer so he calls a second time and this time, he picks up. "Mm, hello?"

"Can I stay at your house tonight? I'm in Marley and don't feel like driving all the way back home." He asks.

Zeke coughs. "Sure. Y/n too, I assume?" Eren sighs and rubs his forehead. "No, she's not coming. It's just me."

"Ah." He says. There's a moment of silence and then he speaks again. "Alright, well, hurry up. I was in the middle of a good dream."

Eren hangs up and begins to make his way over there. He puts on music to try to calm his nerves.

He has a hard time seeing the road because of the cracks so he drives very carefully even though every inch of his body wanted to press hard on the gas.

He looks through the small hole and he can see the moon through it. It was shining extra bright and in the shape of a crescent moon. It almost looked like a smile.

Eren wondered if you were looking at the same moon right now too.

He arrives safely at Zeke's house and turns off the car. Before the head lights go off, he sees Zeke standing at the door with a robe on and arms crossed.

Before getting off the car, Eren feels his phone vibrate on the seat and he feels a small flash of hope thinking it's you.

But it isn't. It's Floch.

Floch
Floch: y/n just left with her sister, i stayed with her in the meantime

Eren: was she okay?

Floch: seemed a little out of it but if something was really wrong, she wasn't showing it

Of course you weren't. There was no way you would show that side of yourself to Floch. Knowing you, you probably held it all in until Pieck picked you up.

Eren hops out the car and begins walking toward Zeke. "What happened to your car?" He asks tilting his head in that direction.

"I punched it." Eren mumbles. Zeke looks him up and down. "Of course you did. I'm gonna assume your tantrum has to do with why you look the way you do."

Eren ignores him and slips inside the house. Zeke's house was not as massive as Eren's but it was huge nonetheless.

It was two story as well and had a ton of windows for open natural light to come in. His living room had brown leather couches and a book shelf of a bunch of books he's never even going to read and a fire place.

Everytime Eren came over, the house always smelled like coffee as if he was always brewing some. There was also the faint smell of lemon sometimes.

Zeke sighs and plops down on the couch and kicks his feet up on the small coffee table. He had a slippers on to match with his robe.

Eren sits down on the couch in front of him. "Please tell me you're wearing something under that robe."

Zeke chuckles. "Nope. I sleep butt naked." Eren scrunches up his nose and looks down at his hands. His right one was much more fucked up then the left.

"You gonna tell me what happened now?" Zeke asks. Eren sucks his teeth and looks at the fireplace. "Don't worry about it. You have a first aid kit or something?"

Zeke points to the kitchen. "Under the sink." Eren gets up and makes his way over to the sink. He grabs the small box and brings it to the living room.

He begins cleaning and dressing the wounds while Zeke watches him intently. "Since when do you do that?"

"Do what?" Eren asks, still looking down at his hands. "Take care of your wounds. You usually just wash them good and let them heal all on your own." Zeke replies.

Eren ignores him. He didn't even realize it at first, it just felt like instinct now. Like he had to do it or else you'd get mad at him like you usually do.

He completely forget you're not gonna be around anymore to even do that.

"Okay, if you're not gonna answer that, can you answer me why you're here? Why didn't you go home?" Zeke asks.

"Did you not see the big ass cracked windshield I have?" Eren snaps. Zeke laughs. "See that's another thing. You would've drove anyway with that. Aren't you always," He makes air quotes, "living dangerously?"

Eren ignores him again. That was another thing he did subconsciously. Zeke was right. Before you, Eren would've driven his car like that anyway. But he didn't because he knew it was the safer choice.

You made him soft. You were always panicking about his health and safety that he had gotten used to actually taking care of himself now.

Zeke's legs come off the table and he leans forward. "I assume it's y/n's doing. Looks like she's a good influence on you. You're actually responsible now."

"Can we not talk about y/n?" Eren grumbles while he wraps the bandage wrap around his knuckles. Zeke frowns. "Why not?"

"Because I said so!" Eren yells and slams his fist down the table. Zeke was unfazed. Didn't even flinch or move a muscle. He was used to this already like Pieck was with you.

Eren sighs and sits back on the floor, his back against the couch. "I fucked up."

Zeke takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "I figured. What happened?"

Eren plays with his fingers, avoiding contact with his brother. He felt ashamed to say it out loud.

He fills Zeke in on everything that happened. From them finding out, to them blackmailing him and threatening you, to the fight, to him wanting to hit Historia, to him breaking your heart all the way up to where he sat now.

"Wow." Zeke finally says after a very uncomfortable moment of silence as he tried to process all the information in such a short time.

"Yeah." Eren says softly. Zeke stretches and groans. "I don't think you should beat yourself up too much. She'll forgive you eventually."

Eren laughs through his nose. "Yeah, I don't think she will."

Zeke knits his brows together. "What makes you say that?" Eren frustratingly rubs at his face. "Because you didn't hear all the fucked up shit I said. I needed to make her hate me so I made sure she would."

"Okay, what did you say?" Zeke asks. Eren shakes his head. "I don't even wanna say it."

Zeke kicks his legs up again. "I may do a lot of things but judging is not one of them. Say it."

Eren takes a deep breath. "I told her that she was annoying. That she cried too much and she was too much to take care of. That she was a child. That..."

"That...what?" Zeke questions. Eren felt his eyes begin to sting. He still couldn't believe he said that to you.

"I brought up her anxiety. I told her she gets anxiety attacks every five minutes." Eren says looking down at the ground.

There's nothing but silence. He gets worried so he looks up at Zeke and he has a shocked, disappointed face.

"I fucked up, didn't I?" Eren asks. Zeke stares right at him. "Royally."

Eren rests his face in his hands. "What do I do?" He looks up at Zeke. "I mean, I did the right thing, right? The responsible thing?"

Zeke scratches his head. "I'm not sure if it was the right thing. Then again, I've never quite been in a situation like this. It's tough to analyze."

Eren leans his head back. "Imagine me. But it was the only choice I had. I could've been selfish and just kept being with her even though she was gonna lose everything but I can't be selfish with her."

Zeke pushes his glasses higher up his nose. "Well, to start. You need to apologize to y/n for everything you said. Because you took it too far. Second, once you two sort things out and she forgives you, and that's if she even does, maybe she can talk to Historia. Sit down and actually talk about things."

Eren laughs. "Historia is selfish and spoiled. She has to have her things go her way. And y/n isn't the type to sit down and talk. She's the type to beat the hell out of you to ensure you won't fuck with her again."

Zeke smiles. "Sounds like someone I know. Well maybe that's what needs to happen. Maybe y/n needs to give her a good beating."

Eren shakes his head. "That would only make it worse. Historia's family would probably sue and press charges and stuff. She would still lose everything."

Zeke sighs. "Then I guess there's no other choice but for y/n to try to settle things with her. That's if she still wants to even fix things with you after all that."

Eren looks down, running his thumb along his bandaged knuckles. "I don't think we should fix it anyway."

Zeke frowns. "Why the hell not? Isn't that the girl you want to be with? I swear, I did not hear you talk about that girl for hours and hours everyday for nothing."

"Did you not listen to anything I said? I'm bad for her! Everything that's been happening to her is my fault. I'm nothing but bad for her." Eren shouts.

"You don't actually believe that, do you?" Zeke asks. Eren scoffs. "Yeah, I do. That's why I just said it."

Zeke sinks into the ottoman he's currently seated in. "I think you've brought her more good than bad. You're just focusing only on the bad now because someone pointed it out."

"I'm the reason she got shot, Zeke." Eren says. "That may be true but you were also the one at her bedside every night because you wanted to be the first person she saw. You're also the one took care of her afterwards."

"You need to get it out of your head that her getting shot was your fault. You may have been the reason that guy was there but as for her getting shot, the only person to blame is the one who pulled the trigger. Not you." Zeke adds.

He leans toward so that his elbows are on his knees. "Also, stop blaming yourself for bringing problems into y/n's life. From what I heard, y/n is problematic herself. She was in drama way before you came into her life."

"Yeah but that's why she left! To change! To start over! She was doing so good until I stopped her!" Eren defends.

Zeke shakes his head. "You told her to be herself. And she did. Y/n is the type of person who will always have some sort of chaos in her life. Whether you would've came into her life or not, she would've been involved in drama in Paradis one way or another."

"No. She was changing. She was trying to be nicer and a better person. She wouldn't have been in any problems." Eren argues.

"You can't change who you really are, Eren. You can fix things, yes. Change your toxic habits. But your ego, your heart, your mind, everything that makes you, you, will forever be the same. You can grow and mature but you'll always be the same person. Just a better version of yourself." Zeke explains.

"Y/n might've been trying to be a better person and I'm not saying it's impossible because from what I've heard about her past, it seems like she's already accomplished that. But she was gonna get tired of pretending to be someone she isn't eventually one day. Whether you told her to stop or not, she would've done it by herself." He continues.

Eren stays quiet for a moment. His older brother was actually making sense.

"Y/n is just like you. It's almost kind of scary. She has a temper and sharp tongue that gets her in trouble a lot. She could have kept that friendly, sweetheart facade going but the day someone said something she didn't like, she'd snap, exposing her true nature." Zeke says standing up to go to the kitchen.

"That's the kind of person she is. She's not america's sweetheart or the girl next door. She was eventually gonna get sick of pretending to be. Her true colors showing. You just helped her realize that sooner before it was too late." He says grabbing two cups from the cabinets.

"So you're saying you think her life would've been shitty without me anyway?" Eren asks watching him.

Zeke laughs. "Y/n was already cursed with a tragic backstory. Are you going to blame her dad's suicide on you too? Or the fact that her mother treated her poorly? The fact she got depressed and partied and did drugs almost every night? Are those things your fault too?"

Eren watches as Zeke fills up the two cups with water. "No. I know they're not but-"

"Exactly. You claim you're not being selfish but it's selfish to assume that this was the right thing for you to do without consulting y/n first. For you to assume that all her problems were your fault. To assume you made the best decision for both of you without even giving her a say or choice." Zeke interrupts.

He walks back to the living room and extends his arm downward to hand Eren, who was still sitting on the floor, the cup.

Eren looks up at him as he takes the offering. "Since when did you get so wise?"

Zeke laughs and sits back down. "I've always been wise, you've just never asked me for advice."

Eren drinks from the cup. "Well, based off your personality, I didn't think you would be good at it."

Zeke chuckles and lifts the cup up in the air. "Another selfish thing to assume. Well, based off your personality I didn't ever think I'd see the day you'd fall in love with a girl."

He extends his arms out in the air dramatically. "Yet here we are."

Eren sets the cup down the table. "I guess I really just let Historia fuck with my head and make me believe I wasn't good for her."

Zeke nods and drinks some water. "Mm, yup. According to Pieck, y/n is the best she's ever been since you came into her life. So if you think she's a mess right now, I'm assuming she was worse back then."

"Yeah. She was pretty bad. I just.. I just want everything to be perfect for her. I want nothing bad to happen to her. I don't want her to worry or stress about anything and I feel like that's all she does when she's with me." Eren admits.

"She worries because she loves you. You don't think she feels the exact same way about you? I'm sure she wants everything to be perfect for you too. That's why she stresses out so much." Zeke retorts.

"The two of you want to make each other happy but yet keep finding excuses to not be." He says standing up.

Eren frowns. "It's not excuses. Shit keep getting in the way!"

Zeke stretches and yawns. "Because you let them."

Eren stands up. "No! It's just not that easy. Everything is always so messed up. There always some kind of problem or interruption and I-"

"You love he,  right?" Zeke stops him. Eren pauses.

"Right?" Zeke repeats louder. "Right!" Eren yells annoyed. Zeke places his hand on the top of Eren's head. "Then stop making excuses and stop letting things get in the way. Go get the girl before it's too late and you lose her to someone else."

Eren stays frozen in place. He didn't wanna begin to imagine that at all.

Zeke pats the top of his head and yawns again. "Goodnight little brother." He starts to head toward the stairs.

"I can't go get her though." Eren says. "She hates me now."

Zeke takes two steps up the stairs and then turns to Eren. "She literally jumped in front of a gun for you. I don't think a couple words, as harsh as they were, is gonna shake her forever. The girl has been through hell after all. I don't think some words will be her downfall."

Zeke continues to climb the stairs and Eren runs toward them. "But how can I make her forgive me? Can I make it all work out?"

Zeke shrugs. "That's for you to figure out. I can't give you all the answers. But you can start by going to Pieck's wedding."

Eren shrinks into himself. "I'm pretty sure I got uninvited when I broke her little sister's heart."

Zeke laughs. "You're my plus one then now. If she gets mad that you're there, I'll take the blame."

He goes up the final stairs and Eren grabs the railing. "Zeke!"

The golden blond turns back. "Yeah?"

"Uh...thanks. Really. I needed this." Eren says awkwardly. Zeke smiles at him and then turns back to step off the last step. "Take a shower, you stink."

Eren laughs. He looks at himself in the mirror by the entry wall and he looks like absolute hell. His face was bruised and his lip was busted. There was also dried up blood underneath his nose.

His hair looked tangled and messy and he just overall looked like he had just gotten out a fight. Which is quite literally what happened.

He sighs and walks up the stairs to the restroom to take a long, hot shower.

Once he's done, he borrows clothes from Zeke and heads to the guest room. He immediately throws his body down onto the bed and felt instant relief.

He was exhausted. Both physically and mentally. He felt so drained and his body inside and out ached.

His body was ready to knock out for hours but his mind was racing. He couldn't move a muscle but it seemed like his brain was doing flips in his skull.

He closes his eyes for a moment and tries to clear his mind but no matter what he did, flashes of your face appear.

It was like he said earlier, every time he closed his eyes you were right there.

Before Eren knew it, several days had passed and he hadn't left this very room he was in, much less Zeke's house.

He missed school, work and hasn't even look at his phone once. He's just been holed up in the room his mind and thoughts devouring him.

He felt like he was going insane. All he could hear was your voice in the quiet room. Your laugh.

He even put on music at one point to tune out the noise but it didn't help because every song some how related to you.

His mind was being consumed by you. When his body would force itself to sleep from lack of, he would dream of you.

Whether he was awake or asleep, you ran circles in his mind. It was killing him.

Why couldn't he get you out of his head? Why couldn't he sleep? Why couldn't he eat? Why couldn't he get out of this bed?

Zeke had came in several times to check up on him or offer him food or tell him to go outside for a bit but Eren would just tune out his voice.

He couldn't take it anymore. He needed to see you. To hear your voice. Anything.

He picks up his phone and dials your number. The call immediately goes to voicemail.

She blocked my number. Or maybe her phone is off?

But he was leaning more toward you blocking him. He deserved that after all.

He began to wonder how you've been the past few days since it happened. Were you depressed and going crazy cooped up in a room like he was?

Or are you already living your best life?

He begins to picture you going out and getting hit on by boys which he knew was inevitable because you were stunning.

He takes a deep breath and locks his screen. It lights up and he sees his wallpaper is still you. The picture from the first date. You in that red satin dress holding roses and a big smile on your face.

His heart aches as he focuses on how happy you look. The way he wishes he could remember you this way.

But instead every time he pictures you now, you're in pain. Historia and Jean completely twisted the wires in his brain to think differently. It's like it was hardwired now to only show him the bad memories.

No matter how hard he tried to picture the good ones, he could only see the bad.

The disgusted faces you would make toward him when you first met, the times he hurt your feelings, the first time he saw you cry, the time he saw you bleeding out on the floor and his car, the time he saw you hooked up to a bunch of wires and machines, the time he broke your heart and watched as it shattered into tiny microscopic pieces.

He couldn't picture the happy times anymore. He tried and tried but couldn't. All he had was the pictures of you on his phone to remind him they even happened in the first place.

He scrolls through them and he's grateful he had the live photo option on for all of them. He holds his thumb down and watches the photo come to life.

He turns the volume all the way up so he can hear the sound. On the one with the roses, you fix your dress and say "Do I look good?"

He chokes up immediately when he hears your voice. He hadn't heard it in days and he was so used to hearing it everyday now.

He needed to hear it. He regrets not taking any videos with you ever.

"Yeah, spread your legs some more." Eren teases behind the camera. You laugh and there's a huge smile on your face. "Oh my god, shut up!"

The live photo freezes and right there is his wallpaper. You mid laugh and smiling brightly.

He goes through all of them watching all the pictures makes the memories come back to life by his holding his thumb down.

He missed the sound of your laugh so much. It was his favorite sound.

The more he scrolled, the more he felt like he wanted to cry. He couldn't believe this was all he had left of you. Some pictures of you frozen in time.

He feels tears drop down and slide down his cheeks. He angrily throws his phone across the room and it hits the wall hard. When it falls to the ground, it makes a loud crack sound.

"Shit!" He says crawling off the bed. He rushes over to the phone and when he lifts it up, the screen is completely broken.

He sighs and sits down the floor, back aganist the wall. He pressed the lock button to see if the phone still works and the screen lights up.

He can still see his lock screen but there's so many cracks that's it's not easy. There's a massive, long crack that goes across your face. It wasn't even recognizable now.

Now he doesn't even have the pictures of you anymore. His screen was completely destroyed. There were even small glass chips coming off it.

He puts the phone down and places his hands over his face and just cries. He felt so confused and lost.

He thought he felt better after Zeke's pep talk but he didn't. He couldn't shake the idea that you hate him now. That no matter what he does you'll never forgive him.

That you'll never look at him the same. The way you always said he was your person and the person who brought you peace. Now you won't even be able to stand the sight of him.

But Zeke's right. He had to atleast try. He gets up and rushes out the room. He sees Zeke barely waking up and making coffee. "Oh, you came out your cave. Goodmorning."

"Shut up. Where are your keys?" Eren snaps quickly shoving his shoes on. Zeke points to the table that holds up his car keys.

Eren grabs them and rushes toward the door. "DO NOT CRASH MY CAR! AND NO PUNCHING WINDSHIELDS, YOU LITTLE SHIT." Zeke yells after him.

Eren immediately turns on the car as he soon as he gets in the vehicle. Lucky for him, Pieck lives like three minutes away from Zeke so he races over there and prays you're still there.

Just like he perfectly timed, he's there in no time. He's a little disappointed when he sees no cars outside but he still races out the car and to the front door.

He knocks several times but there's no answer. "Come on, come on. Atleast one of you has to be home."

After a couple more seconds and still no answer, he gets impatient and runs back to the car.

If you weren't here at Pieck's house there's probably a good chance you're at your mom's or something.

He gets back in the car and tries to calm his nerves before he really does crash Zeke's car like he said.

He was so nervous. Nervous he was several days too late. Nervous you were gonna laugh in his face and ignore him. Nervous you left somewhere far away and that was the last time he was ever gonna see you again.

He covers his ears and shuts his eyes. His mind was going way too fast. He was overthinking and having a panic attack.

He looks at himself in the overhead mirror and his eyes are dark from lack of sleep, prominent bags under his eyes.

He hadn't slept in days but when he did it was always you. To think that he might never see you again made him realize that he all he would wanna now is sleep all the time, just to see you. To hear you.

He turns the car back on and speeds over to your mom's house, praying no one pulls him over or worse that he runs over someone or something.

He finally makes it to your mom's house and it's the same thing. No cars. No answer at the door.

"Fuck!" Eren screams. "Where the fuck are you?!"

He could feel the panic attack taking over him. He really was a hypocrite for pointing out the fact you get anxiety attacks when he's the same way.

Everything he insulted you with, is everything he does. People weren't kidding when they said the two of you were exactly alike. Literal mirrors.

"If I was y/n... where would I be?" He mumbles to himself. He tries his hardest to think but he can't.

There's no way you're at school because it was Saturday and he highly doubted you were at the dorm because of Hitch.

Unless the two of you made up? Bonding over your hatred for him.

He decides he's gonna return back to Zeke's and ask to borrow his phone since his was still completely fucked. He was gonna try to call Pieck and see if she knew where he could find you.

He had to fix things. He couldn't leave them like this.

Once he's back, he runs to Zeke. "Phone. Where's your phone?"

Zeke sips his coffee and hands Eren his phone. "Don't go through my pictures."

Eren makes a disgusted face and then goes back to scrolling through Zeke's contact list. He's not surprised when he had to scroll through the names of multiple women to get to Pieck's name.

Like big brother, like younger brother.

He calls Pieck and puts the phone to his ear, his foot tapping with anxiousness.

And there's no answer. "What the fuck is up with everyone today? Did they just up and disappear?" Eren shouts.

He calls Porco and again, no answer. "Did y/n tell them not to answer any calls from me or you? No, that wouldn't explain why none of them are home? Do you think she left? When was the last time you talked to them?" Eren panics.

Zeke chokes on his coffee, the hot liquid burning his throat. "Jesus, relax. They're most likely busy. The wedding is today, after all."

Eren freezes. "Wait. That's today?! How many days was I locked in there for?!"

Zeke sighs. "An entire week. Y/n probably has a whole husband by now." He teases.

Eren knocks the foam cup of coffee out of Zekes hand causing it to spill everywhere. "Shut up."

Zeke's mouth drops open. "Hello? Why did you do that?"

Eren ignores him and paces back and forth. "I need a suit. A good one. And some dressy shoes."

Zeke scoffs. "How about you take a damn shower first?"

Eren's frantic steps come to a halt. He looks down at himself. He looks a horrible wreck and he was pretty sure he probably smelled.

"If you wanna win the girl back, it's probably a good idea for you not to stink." Zeke says starting to brew more coffee.

Eren rolls his eyes and starts to quickly walk to the shower.

"Oh and Eren?" Zeke says. Eren turns to him.

Zeke smiles. "You will get the girl."

Eren smiles back but then it quickly fades when he remembers who he's dealing with.

Not only were you unbearably stubborn and had the incessant need to be right all time but you were also probably back to your old self.

Ruthless, reckless and vile. He was probably dealing with you on steroids right now. The girl everyone either hated or was scared of.

If you were a lot to deal with normally, he couldn't imagine when you were back to your old self. To be honest, from what he's heard from others and from you, he was kinda scared.

The present you would give him shit and be snarky and mean to him as he tries to apologize but you weren't present you right now.

You were the old you again. He just knew it. You became that way when you lost your dad and your mother mistreated you and brought strangers into your home.

Now you've lost everything again. There was no doubt you weren't trying to cope the way you did last time.

He truly had no idea what to expect. No idea what he was in for.

"Let's hope so." Eren replies.