(AN: writing this chapter made me want to throw up i can't write songs to save my life uARhghhh also i forgot if sasha goes to the same school as eren eghAH.)

"And if I had a to say one sentence to you,

no words would flow from my lips

for my eyes will speak for themselves."

Eren's fingertips brushed the keys with such elegance and grace and is eyes were closed as if he were  in a daze. From the audience' point of view it looked like he was being possessed by the piano and the music tinkling into his ears. His body motioned vigorous movements and his foot tapped to the beat. He wanted his music to reach everyone who was listening, he wanted it to get stuck in their heads and remember it until they were old and withering; he wanted his song- no, their song to make a big impact to everyone. He knew it would because he put so much effort into that song.

"It's a little funny how someone who could make you smile

could also make you cry by just

disappearing from your life in a flash

and now that you're gone,

I'll kill this night in just a heartbeat.

I'll kill it in a heart beat.

Because no night is worth sleeping if I can't have you by my side."

His mouth stopped moving and his hands began to play the part of the piece which had no singing. His eyes were opened and he had a ghost of a grin on his face, but it was not of happiness but just for the sake of showing more emotion. He bowed his head from time to time and stole a glance at the audience. Their mouths were agape and the judges looked fairly impressed.

"Let's chase the moon and breathe in the starlight.

Let's go and rock the entire world in our hands, just you and I.

I'll take you by the hand and we'll explore the seven seas.

We'll do whatever you want and see beautiful sights

but nothing can ever compare to you.

Once you leave me, It'll be so tragic that I'd be moved to tears,

but as long as you're smiling it'll be alright."

He continued singing for what seemed like a few more minutes and he hardly repeated any lines because he wanted each sentence in his song to have a whole different meaning. He sang with his melodic voice and moved along to the music of the piano. A new sensation tingled through his body and filled his brain and he knew it was satisfaction and fun. It's been a while since the last time he had fun playing the piano and it felt pretty weird. He hated the piano and now he was playing it like it were some sort of ally. It didn't matter because at that moment, the piano had taken Levi's place.

Eren felt giddy and breathless although he didn't say a word for quite a while; playing an instrument felt like you were having the energy being sucked out of you, but in a very pleasing way. He was playing the last few bars now and he was honestly feeling so nervous. He ended the last bar with a crescendo and let his hands fall limp into his lap. He was breathing out ragged breaths and he couldn't stop his body from shaking. He couldn't look at the crowd, not yet, he wanted to listen to their whispers and murmurs and thoughts.

They were all silent.

The crowd was as speechless as the sea and the air was like the winter wind.

It was only about twenty ish seconds later that everyone started to applaud and he could even hear Mikasa cheering for him in the distance. He was proud of himself for once and he couldn't believe it was all over. He spent so long practicing just to get on stage for about five minutes and it was done, finished. It seemed so surreal to but a part of him also felt very relieved. He could finally relax.

He finally got up and gave his finest bow to the audience and proceeded to walk off stage but someone thing caught his eye. In the corner of his vision, he could see a dark figure with their arms crossed and leaning against a wall. They seemed to be the only who wasn't clapping but it didn't matter. One person shouldn't bother him.

Eren was behind the curtains and that was when his knees started to shake, he tripped on his feet a little and leaned against the wall for support. His face felt hot and his throat was extremely dry. His fellow competitors smiled and commented his performance as they walked past and he managed to murmur a thank you in return. He was completely exhausted and he couldn't wait to go home and sleep. He stayed behind the curtains for what seemed like two hours and they were soon going to announce winners. Eren's head felt slightly dizzy as he got up and walked back on stage and he was soon surrounded by the other musicians. He noticed how most of them had a look of anxiousness written on their faces and how their hands were clenched tightly in fists with their nails digging into the palm of their hands. They were as nervous as Eren and everyone wanted first place; he knew he had a high chance of getting it but now he was really doubting himself. Was he being too cocky? What if he triggered  karma or even caused some stupid jinx?

Inside his beating heart, he was holding on to a thin thread of hope that maybe, just maybe he would win and if he gets second place, that's okay but it would't satisfy the perfectionist inside of him. Second place to him was like being best, but not the perfect one and it would bother him for so long if he got it. A girl in a black dress and cardigan, flashy red lipstick and shining blond hair. She walked to the stage with a few medals, three trophies and a microphone in her arms and smiled brightly to the crowd. She appeared to be one of the judges, and she was a very attractive one. She was very short and had bright blue eyes and she looked quite young to be a judge.

"We sincerely apologize for the long wait, but choosing just three fantastic musicians for top three was extremely difficult.  We applaud all the talented performers for coming out to play and show their amazing skills tonight and without further ado, I am pleased to have the honor and declaring the three lucky people," she announced through the microphone with another sparkling smile.

Eren heard everyone in the audience and on the stage hold in their breath as she paused just so everyone can feel the heavy intensity in the theatre. Eren's hands were shaking like crazy now and his throat felt tight and dry as if he were about to cry from fear of getting third or no place at all.

"Third place goes to..." the blonde trailed off. "Sasha Braus for her absolutely stunning performance with the violin!"

The crowd clapped loudly as the sound bounced around the room and Eren internally thanked the heavens that it wasn't him who got their place. Of course third place was better than nothing, but it would leave a feeling of 'maybe I didn't try hard enough' planted inside Eren's brain forever. A brunette paraded her way to the girl and retrieved her trophy, which was the colour of bronze and had a small statue of instruments like the piano, cello, saxophone and lot others sitting on a small pedestal. The other girl bubbled with delight and thanked her and went back to her place on stage. Eren felt like he recognized the brown haired girl, but then again there was no possible way that she could have attended the same school as him.

"Second place goes to Bertoldt Hoover for his wonderful piece with the alto saxophone," she continued and handed the boy his trophy when he approached her. He seemed to be sweating quite a lot but Eren couldn't blame him; the stage lights wold often heat the place up and it made it worse if he were nervous.

"First place," she said a little quietly and paused. "Goes to..."

Eren had his eyes closed and he held his hands together as an attempt to make them stop trembling. He felt light headed and his stomach held a hollow feeling and he felt as if he were walking on air. He's never been so scared in his entire life. In fact, if he were about to be brutally murdered, it would probably not compare to all the jumbled emotions he was feeling at that very moment.

"Eren Jaeger."

He opened his eyes and he swore he was about to cry but blinked in order to stop the joyful tears from rolling down his cheeks and causing rivers. He smiles, but his lower lip wouldn't stop trembling as he spotted his mother and Mikasa in the crowd with awe and happiness written on their faces. Eren had to hold in the urge to scream and sing at the top of his lungs.

"Eren Jaeger gets first place for his very beautiful and breath taking performance of singing and piano playing. The other judges and I were quite shocked that you were able to pull it off despite having your duo partner leave on such a short notice," she beamed.

Eren grinned and walked to the girl. He couldn't believe it, everything just seemed so unreal and for a moment he thought maybe he was dreaming. His fingers twitched as they wrapped around the trophy.

"Thank you," he whispered with gratitude.

"Have fun in England," the girl murmured into his ear and smiled once more.

His eyes were stinging now and he dashed as fast as he could off the stage as soon as she announced that the concert was over. His sister and mom were waiting for him near the entrance and had smiles that reached from ear to ear. Their eyes shined with bride and their hands were red from clapping too hard.

"I did it," Eren said as he raised the trophy and waved it.

"You have no idea how proud we are right now, Eren," Mikasa said and bit her lower lip. "So, so proud. I'm sure dad would feel the same way if he were here with us."

"We should celebrate! This was a very important night for you after all," his mother suggested.

"It's not necessary. I mean, you guys already paid for my education and my new house...I don't want to be spoiled. Winning was more than enough and sooner or later I'll probably die from feeling too overwhelmed," he said and grinned with a shrug.

"Are you sure? I don't mind," his mother said.

"Yeah I'm sure. I honestly just want to go to sleep," he replied with a yawn.

"Alright," his mother said and smiled at him.

Eren couldn't really remember what happened later on. All he could vaguely recall was falling face first into the many colourful quilts and cushions of his bed and plummeted into deep slumber while still in his concert attire. He dreamt of nothing but the black, starry sky and internally indulged in the fact that he had won.

AN:

ah sorry i had to end this 100 words short bc i wanna start the better stuff in the next update. i apologize if my writing seems a bit dull lately, i'm trying to write without a thesaurus :ccc also this chp is so cringe worthy i literally can't write a song euGH.

also thank you so much for 1k reads scREAMS. i'm so thankful ugh thank you so much <<33 :')

thank you so much for reading and leave a vote and comment because they mean a lot to me! i love you!! <3

~your main hoe takeshi