Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Your laughter filled the basement walls, pearly whites exposed in a full smile. Your friends sang at the top of their lungs to old classic 80s rock songs. Bottles of Jameson, Mikes, and Titos littered the rustic coffee table with nowhere to hide.  In the drunken haze you could barely hear her footsteps descending down the staircase.  Nothing could ruin the euphoria of New Years Eve night.

That’s when the door slammed open and everyone froze like deer in the headlights.

She’d had a couple glasses of wine herself, you could tell. The way she leaned against the door for support and her head bobbed to the side. She couldn’t keep herself up right.

“Get the fuck out of my house.” Your mother slurred out, eyes half lidded. 

Your friends looked at each other unsure of what to do.

“Now.” 

Your eyes shut tight, teeth biting harshly on the inside of your cheeks. Of course she has to ruin everything. 

Your friends didn’t even look at you as they left or utter a single goodbye. They knew what your mom could be like. It wasn’t worth the risk. 

Your mother glared down at you, head still bobbing as she stumbled over to sit next to you on the musky old couch. Her fingers grazed the green whiskey bottle, turning it ever so slightly to read the label.

“Who got the booze?”

“None of your business.”

“Are you fucking kidding me!? You bring alcohol into my house and minors to get fucking shitfaced after everything you’ve already put us through.” Her voice was low and condescending. She always got like that when she was drunk. “Do you like to disrespect me? What about your brother? You want him to get taken away? Do you ever fucking think!?” 

You stayed silent, hands fiddling with the hem of your maroon dress, the soft fabric providing little comfort to her berating. There was no point in engaging. It was the same song and dance every other night and tonight would be no different. Her words were once like vipers penetrating through the thickest parts of your skin, now dulled down to the smallest of pricks. How much more could one woman hurt you after all these years? How much worse could she possibly do? 

And of course, she would take it to the next level.

Your suitcases trailed behind you on the coursed pavement, hard wheels bumping against the tiny irregularities on the sidewalk as you made your way to your residence hall.

University of Marley was right in the middle of the city, yet still managed to have the campus life you dreamed of. Secluded away in a sea of tall office buildings was courtyard swarming with students migrating from one building to the next with an array of cardboard boxes, suitcases, and bedding floating around almost as if they were levitating in mid-air. The quad had everything you could possibly need on short notice with a small bookstore pop up, a student center, and two convenient stores on either end of the courtyard.

The residence hall was only a few blocks away from the main campus, which wasn’t bad at all. You had heard horror stories from some of your college friends who lived in city schools about having to wake up at godforsaken times in the morning to get to class on time via bus or walking. You were relieved when you found out everything was in perfect walking distance without having to take the T. 

But Marley was prestigious in the college education circuit. It had gained quite a bit of buzz in the collegiate world in the past few years, some even going as far as to recognize it as a baby ivy. It offered nothing but the best for its brilliant future graduates. You were amazed you even got accepted at all with how your senior year went near the end of second semester. You could hardly even remember any of it with all the nights spent blacked out in some rich kids' living room, spilling your guts out on the floor beneath you.

But hey, that’s why they called it senioritis. 

You finally made it up to the fifth floor of your building, squeezing your way out of the tightly packed group of people that somehow all managed to fit in the small metal box they passed as an elevator. Everyone was so eager to move in and you could hardly blame them. Everything in your life was finally falling into place. Never had anything ever felt so right before.

You had spoken to your roommates to be a few times prior to move-in day. They seemed rather sweet, well, at least one of them did. Historia had a good heart from what you could tell through your texting sessions. She was an art history major with a deep appreciation for the various cultures she explored through their art. She had mentioned something about a girl convincing her to commit to Marley after having a difficult choice between schools. You thought maybe it was a girlfriend of sorts from the sounds of it. Not that it mattered though. It’s not like you had any intentions on sleeping with your suitemate for the next year. The other girl was named Annie. She was rather quiet in the group chat, only offering a few short word responses every once in a while. She was a student athlete on the girls field hockey team with a full scholarship and planned on studying sports medicine, though she was still undecided. 

You hoped that at least one of them would already be in the suite when you arrived. Despite wanting a completely new change in your life, the thought of spending time alone in an empty suite left you a little unnerved. No matter how good and amazing the change may be or how badly you craved it with every fiber of your being, you weren’t immune to the fear of the unknown. 

You stood outside the door to 5-23 and swiped your keycard through the slott. Once the light turned to pale green, you gripped the handle tightly. 

‘Well, here goes nothing.’ You thought to yourself as you turned the handle and pushed open the door. 

Three girls stood before you, two of them blonde, who you recognized as Historia and Annie. The third one you had never seen before. She had short, dirty blonde hair with bangs cut across her forehead, her soft waves framed her heart shaped face perfectly. She was absolutely stunning. They all were for that matter.

The suite was scattered with boxes covering nearly every inch of the living room area. There was a small grey couch, much more like a loveseat, pressed up against the back wall, staring straight across from the surprisingly nice flatscreen tv. You thought you could even spot a coffee table in the sea of belongings. There were also two doors leading to the two bedrooms. There would be two of you to a room. There seemed to be a short hallway to the right of the television. You remembered from your tour that it led to a small kitchenette and a private bathroom for the four of you to share. You were relieved to know you wouldn’t have to deal with a large communal bathroom on your floor. It felt much easier to deal with three other girls over an entire floor of them. Plus you loved to blast music while you showered, which you knew you couldn’t do communally. Unless they all liked a mini shower concert.

The three girls turned their attention on to you. Historia was the first to let her belongings collapse on the carpeted floor and rush towards you, arms wide open.

“You’re finally here!” She squealed in the most angelic voice you’d ever heard. It was like the rustle of flower petals on a warm spring day. 

Her embrace was snug and comforting, like the world’s coziest human teddy bear, despite her small and docile frame. Her soft golden locks smelled of honey and vanilla as your face found home on the top of her head. 

“It took absolutely forever to get through the clusterfuck outside, sorry for taking so long.” You smiled, backing away from her embrace.

“We were waiting for you to get here before deciding on rooms.” The darker haired girl spoke. “I’m Hitch by the way.”

“You weren’t in the chat earlier, are you new?” You asked.

“I got deferred so I didn’t know I was accepted until late.” Hitch shrugged. She didn’t mind being all that opened about it which surprised you, given the climate of your old high school. It was such a huge deal to get deferred from somewhere, no one ever wanted to admit it. Honestly, you weren’t even sure you would if you were in Hitch’s position. 

“Well, I don’t exactly have much of a preference on rooms or anything. You can just put me wherever.” You changed the subject, thinking it best not to keep the spot on Hitch too long. You weren’t exactly too hard to please. If anything you were still radiating a high from this newfound freedom. For the first time, nothing else mattered than this feeling of finally being able to breathe again. This was a new page, a fresh chapter in the story of your life. You were ready to finally take charge and be the main character of your own narrative. 

“I was thinking you and I could room together since Annie and Hitch are both athletes with early mornings.” Historia spoke up, gearing her attention towards you.

“You’re an athlete, Hitch?”

“Girls field hockey, just like Annie.” Hitch grinned, wrapping a friendly arm around Annie.

“Just don’t snore.” Annie finally broke her silence in a voice that was more sotic than you’d expect from a girl with her demeanor. She flung a bag over her shoulder, departing the group into the door on the right. 

God you hoped she wouldn’t be like that all year.

“Guess it’s you and me, Historia” You smiled at the smaller girl.

The rest of the day was relatively laidback. Unpacking didn’t take nearly as long as you expected it to but the decorating, however, seemed never-ending. Historia had a secret eye for interior design and made it her mission to make the suite as homey as possible. You, Historia, and Hitch went on every middle aged-white-womans wet dream with an all-out target soiree complete with some decorative throw pillows, an ungodly amount of scented candles that would need to be hidden at all costs during room inspections, wine glasses with the worst puns, boxed wine and charcuterie boards, and last, but certainly not least, all the fairy lights you could conceivably imagine. Needless to say, you spent more hours you would care to admit in a target. It would’ve been a fantastic roomie bonding session if Annie had cared to join the rest of you. It bothered you how distant she was with everyone. Obviously, it would take time adjusting to having roommates but, she just screamed only child syndrome. You wanted her to feel welcomed and included with everyone but, most importantly, you wanted to get to know her. You prayed that maybe opening up some cheap wine and cheese might get you closer to the aloof blonde. 

You draped the fake vines down the far wall where the couch sat against, the rustling of flimsy plastic scrapping ever so slightly against the white plaster as you tapped them down one next to the other. 

“Aw that looks great!” Historia cooed, arranging some candles on the TV stand in front of you. 

Hitch appeared from around the corner, large glass pitcher in hand that was filled to the brim with cheap red sangria from target. The pitcher swirled with deep red liquid while a few chopped fruits and berries laid at the bottom. It was a good call on Historia’s part to add the fruit, it made the drink look far more appealing than it actually would taste. 

“If this doesn’t get Annie out of her hole, I don’t know what will.”

“Ah yes, because nothing screams ‘come out and play’ like a six dollar bottle of Capriccio.” You laughed. 

“If it’s good enough for Cardi B then it’s good enough for us.” Hitch said with a determined sigh as she went to knock on the dull white door to her shared room. “Annie get your ass outta there.” 

The door quirked open to reveal a disheveled Annie, hair messily framing her oval face and the wires of her earpods dangling over her white hoodie as Kendrick Lamar blasted at an ungodly sound level. She rubbed her icy blue eyes, only slightly smudging her mascara with faint smokey black shadows under her waterline. “What is it?” She yawned. 

“Roomie boding, let’s goooo.” Hitch dragged her by the arm, with little protest from the smaller girl. Annie’s body hit the cushioned couch on the other side of you with a soft squish as she removed the buds from her ears and laid them out on the coffee table. She spotted the pitcher of sangria and glared. “Please don’t tell me that’s what I think it is.”

“Ohhhh it is and you’re having some whether you like it or not.” Hitch smiled deviously, gently nudging Annie with her shoulder. Historia laughed sweetly and began pouring the red liquid into the wine glasses, handing you the first glass. You swirled the deadly liquid around, waiting for the others to receive their own. When Historia was done, she raised her glass in the air, signaling the rest of you to follow suit. “To new friends!” 

The four of you clinked the glasses and took a large sip of the bubbly wine. It was sweet to taste, almost too sweet to the average wine drinker but that’s what made it all the better. You downed your glasses in one gulp and immediately went to pour your second glass. 

“Please don’t tell me the plan is to get wine drunk and play truth or dare or something.” Annie groaned, bringing the glass to her lips for another sip. 

“Oh come on, don’t  you want to start exploring your sexuality with your roommates on the first night?” Hitch teased, poking Annie’s side, causing her to twitch slightly and pull her body close. You couldn’t help but laugh at Hitch’s antics, this was definitely someone you could get along with you thought. 

A full pitcher and a half of shitty sangria and the hours simply blended together in a haze. The four of you sprawled out on the floor of the dorm as Frank Ocean played mindlessly in the background. You twirled Historia’s hair around your index finger as she giggled softly, staring aimlessly at the way her small, docile fingers moved in the air as she twiddled them around. Hitch had passed out on Annie’s lap, who patted the taller girls head softly. 

“Where was it you almost went instead of Marley?” You asked Historia, shifting slightly off the floor, attempting to put your weight on your elbow, which quickly gave out with the copious amount of alcohol flowing through your system. 

“Oooohhhh, umm Eldia Uni... I had a friend who got accepted and I was gonna go too. I liked it a lot” She managed to slur out slightly, still captivated by her hand. 

“Then why not go?” You continued playing with her hair. 

“My girlfriend goes here and she wanted us to go to school together.”

“Even if you liked Eldia more?”

Historia went silent for a moment. You were afraid you had asked the wrong question, if maybe she had really wanted to go to Eldia and her girlfriend selfishly swayed her away. Maybe Historia had regrets about her decision. But the soft smile that tickled her soft pink lips spoke differently.

“I love her most.” She looked up at you, beautiful blue eyes twinkling and large pupils dilated. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was the love of her girlfriend but, she just looked so happy and pure. You wished you had that sometimes. Love. And not just a significant other, that was stupid, pointless. Just someone to look at you and say “you’re enough, just the way you are.” and you didn’t need to be anymore or any less. Simply you. It seemed unattainable. It always evaded your grasp no matter how close you got. 

You hummed slightly as you began to drift. Vision blurring ever so steadily as you let sleep encompass your body. 

You awoke the next morning, Historia curled up next to you with her head pressed up against your stomach, and a pounding headache that made you regret ever thinking Capriccio was an acceptable choice of beverage ever. Your eyes glanced over to the couch where Annie and Hitch had already disappeared. Probably to practice or pre-practice clinics of sorts. You honestly didn’t know much about sports but Marley University was a D1 school so you imagined their regimens to be rather intense in order to keep their standing.

Your eyes lingered over at the fake vines you had hung up the other day and scoffed. Your mother would laugh at how the room looked. You could see her now, rolling her eyes and scoffing at the vines especially, calling them “tacky”, or the wall of polaroids you had taken last night with your roommates, now sloppily pinned to the wall. She always knew how to ruin a perfect thing.

But you were on your own now. She could no longer tell you who you needed to be. You could finally enjoy the little things. The most precious moments in life.

Well, at least until winter break, but you tried to push that aside. 

You slowly removed yourself from Historia and draped the throw blanket from the couch onto her small form before making your way to the bathroom in search of an advil to cure you of the torturous pounding in your head.

Chapter Text

The first week of classes was not nearly as bad as you had anticipated. Your professors were actually really cool. Or, at least as cool as professors could be. The classes were long - some going on to be about two hours at the most. Granted there was a short break in between to allow you some time  recharge a little. It was certainly a shock from your typical 45 minute high school classes but, the hours ticked away with ease, never feeling as long as they really were. Whoever said college was harder than high school had clearly never attended University of Marley. You had a feeling you’d be flying with colors. 

You even had a class with Historia which made it all the more bearable knowing you had someone to help you out without having to flirt with some poor kid to get homework answers. You did that once during your junior year of high school. Your Spanish teacher had pulled you and your friend aside after class and told you to stop flirting during her class time. ‘I’m not blind, I can see things.’ she said. Ironically she wore glasses. You rolled your eyes at the memory. You didn’t even have feelings for the guy, although you did end up getting together briefly the following year. Despite his soft boy demeanor, he wasn’t half bad in bed. 

There were even a few cute guys in that class too. A burly blond named Reiner who couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off Historia, and his taller, lanky friend whose name you could never properly pronounce. Bertolt? Berttle? Berthold? Let’s just go with Bert. You were pretty sure they were on the football team or something, they had a strong college athlete vibe that was unmistakable. Or maybe they were just frat bros. Really what was the difference, not that it mattered much anyway. 

You stared at your computer screen, rubbing your eyes as you groaned out in frustration. While the classes weren’t too bad, the reading assignments were just unbearable. You were sent several articles to read about how globalization has changed the function of websites, newspapers, magazines and broadcasts for your journalism 1150 class. The topics were interesting, sure, but highly excessive. You pushed back in your office chair and rose from your seat, stretching out your arms and back after hours of aimless reading. Perhaps it was time to treat yourself to a well deserved coffee break. You slipped on your Filas and threw a jean jacket over your white Brandy Melville crop top and made your way out the door. 

One of the biggest perks of living in a city, were the local coffee shops. Like any other college student, you functioned solely on caffeine, weed, and shitty seltzers to get you through your days. There was a local coffee shop everyone was obsessed with that was known for their vegan brownies and high quality brews. You had been meaning to try it since you first got to campus and there was no time like the present. 

You pushed your way through the glass door and a small ringing of bells alerted your presence. The cafe was gorgeous with long communal tables crafted out of a soft maple wood with dark black accents and black stools to match. There was a large chalkboard that took up almost the entire back wall with menu items written neatly in bright pink liquid chalk, little doodles of the desserts and coffee cups littered in the blank spaces between sections. There were several glass display cases creating an ‘L’ shaped counter, showing off the colorful baked goods to the customers. Soft acoustics filled the air as the smell of freshly ground coffee beans tickled your nose, bringing you a homely comfort you didn’t know you were missing. You could waste hours just merely standing at the entrance itself. 

You made your way to the back of the line and scanned the menu items as you tried to decide on what to try first. However, you were quickly caught off guard by strong back muscles that flexed under the light grey shirt of the guy in front of you. Shit, was he fit. His dark brown hair was tied loosely in a bun, a few strands falling limply at the back of his neck. He chuckled softly at whatever his friend next to him had just said and brought a toned arm behind his head, hand bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. You couldn’t see his full face but you could tell he was attractive. Maybe you’d have to stop by more often if there would be more guys like him around. 

You hadn’t even noticed the line had moved forward until the person behind you cleared their throat loudly in an attempt to bring you back to reality. You jumped slightly and started to move your way to the front of the line, still trying to reorient yourself to your surroundings. However, you must’ve been more spaced out than you realized because you hardly noticed when you bumped into a red clad figure. 

“Hey watch it.” He growled lowly, brown eyes glaring down at you as he shook off the spilled coffee dripping from his hand.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t realize-” You stopped mid way through your apology as you took note of his distinctive red sweatshirt reading ‘Make America Great Again’ and immediately rolled your eyes. 

“What? Didn’t realize you're a complete airhead?” He pushed further. 

“Floch, bro, chill it’s just a little coffee.” A familiar hand landed on the shorter man’s shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. His piercing teal eyes met yours as he offered you a slight smile in apology. His face was beautiful with soft, supple pink lips and small dark strands of brown hair falling delicately in front of his tanned forehead, nicely accentuating his slightly rounded face. “Don’t mind him, he’s always bitching over something.”

You gave the guy known as ‘Floch’ a once over, “What a surprise.” you muttered sarcastically, resulting in a small laugh from his friend. 

“C’mon man, let’s bounce.” He said to Floch, gesturing his head towards the door. Floch mumbled some unintelligible slew of words, probably not in your favor. You noticed the man-bun brunet gave you one last glance before disappearing into the street. Your eyes lingered slightly before returning your attention to your place in line. 

“One vanilla cream cold brew and a vegan brownie please.”

You arrived back to the suite with the remnants of your coffee and collapsed unceremoniously on the couch. You dug around the cushions in search for the remote, desperate to silence your mind. All you could think on your walk back was that stupid fucking smile and those striking eyes that left you weak at the knees. No. No. Stop. Bad. Brain bad. You huffed as you pulled the remote from the crevice of the cushion and flipped it on to some old South Park reruns. That should do the trick. You let your body relax and sink into the couch, allowing mindlessness to take over. 

Well, until the door slammed open and Historia was standing in front of the TV with bright blue luminous eyes staring down on you. 

“Do you wanna go to a party with me tonight?” She asked, bubbling with energy.

“What, like a frat party?”

“Nooo! My friend from home invited me to a house party with some students from Eldia and she wanted to meet my roommates. I asked Annie and Hitch but they have an early morning practice tomorrow for their game next week.” Historia took a seat next to you, leaning her head on your shoulder, flashing her most innocent and radiant smile she could muster. “Pleaaseeeee, for meeeee.” You laughed and wrapped your arm around her, pulling her small frame close to your body. “Miss girl you don’t need to ask me twice, of course I’ll go!”

Historia hugged you tight. “Oh my god yes! The party starts at 10, the apartment is only a few blocks down from here so we’ve got plenty of time.”

“Alright party animal, pop off.” You teased, getting up off the couch. “I’m calling dibs on the first shower though.”

You grabbed the speaker from your room, some towels and your shower caddy - ready to make a full blown debut at the party tonight. There couldn’t have been a better time to get invited out. You needed to get Mr. Teal eyes out of your mind. It was just a one time meeting and to let your mind wander back to someone you would probably never see again was unhealthy. All you needed was a good rail and you would be fine. Just a little reboot to your system.

Historia dug around her closet in desperate search for the perfect outfit while you sat in front of your desk mirror applying your makeup. The pile of clothes had accumulated into a large mound that covered the entirety of her twin sized bed, almost as tall as the blonde herself. You glanced over your shoulder and watched as Historia threw herself into the pile of clothes with a loud, muffled groan.

“Need help, His?” You asked, trying to mask your amusement at your struggling friend. 

“This is literally impossible.” She groaned again into the clothes.

You let out an airy laugh, removing yourself from your makeup routine and walked over to your own closet, pulling out a shimmery, rose gold crop top. 

“Here, try this.” You tossed the article of clothing to Historia, shirt falling perfectly atop her head. 

Historia brought her hand around the back of her head and grabbed it, bringing the sequined shirt towards her, lifting herself off the bed. Her eyes sparkled immediately on sight. 

“Pair it with some black jeans and you’ll be good to go.” You smiled at her, returning to your spot at the desk.

“Wait but what are you gonna wear?”

You thought about it for a moment before pulling out a sheer, long sleeved mesh shirt with small black star decals that laid loosely against your arms, a tight white mini skirt that shaped your curves perfectly, and a lace black bralette to wear under your shirt. Historia stared at you awestruck as you finished applying the final touches to your makeup. 

“You are definitely getting laid tonight.”

You felt a slight nip at your skin from the cool fall air as you and Historia made your way over to the apartment where the party was being held. You hadn’t bothered to bring a jacket with you knowing that the inside would be filled to the brim with sweaty bodies crowded together and you’d only end up taking it off and leaving it behind. 

Historia’s pace slowed down as the two of you  made your way up the stone porch steps and she pulled out her phone from her back pocket, quickly calling someone. “Hey Sash, we’re right outside, should we just walk in?”

You couldn’t hear the person on the other side but the front door opened just seconds later, bright blue LED lights illuminating the interior of the apartment and Sanguine Paradise by Lil Uzi Vert blasted from the speakers. A tallish, skinny brunette stood in the doorway, dark hair tied back in a high ponytail with side bangs framing her face. She wore a sparkly black crop top and ripped black jeans, silver bracelets dangling from her wrist as she grabbed the doorframe in an attempt to hold herself up. She had clearly had a few drinks in her already. 

“Historiaaaaaaa” She cried, pulling your roomie into a tight embrace. “I’ve missed you so so so much I’m so happy you made iiiiiit” 

Historia had the widest smile on her face as she nuzzled into the brunette's embrace. You could tell how ecstatic she was to see her friend and you couldn’t blame her. If you had someone that close, you would probably react the same way. You wondered if your friends from back home ever thought of you. They hadn’t spoken to you since graduation and even then, it never really felt the same after the New Year's incident. It always bothered you how much they were exposed to your home life. They were sympathetic about how your mom could be but, it felt like the whole situation was more of an inconvenience to them than anything. They didn’t care what you were about to go through, they cared that their New Year’s plans were wrecked and they didn’t have anywhere else to get shitfaced. There were times with them where you felt more like a supplier than an actual friend to them.

You broke away from your thoughts when Historia took you by the hand and led you into the apartment, following her friend closely behind. “This is my roommate by the way, the other two suite makes couldn’t make it.” 

“Dope! I’m Sasha, Historia’s friend from home.” The brunette introduced herself, looking back at you. 

You flashed her a smile and introduced yourself as the three of you made your way to the living room where the bulk of the guests had all conjugated. 

“So who’s hosting the party?” You asked, peering around the room as if you expected to see someone you may know. 

“Oh I don’t really know, some upperclassman at Eldia. I just got invited by someone who got invited and then I invited you and- oh! Drinks! You need drinks!” You couldn’t tell if Sasha was a scatter brain or just drunk. Maybe both? But who were you to complain when she was the reason you were here. Sasha disappeared into the kitchen to collect drinks, leaving you and Historia in the living room surrounded by Eldia kids. 

“She can be a bit much sometimes, but she really is a good person.” Historia spoke up over the loud music. 

“I can tell.” You laughed, “But she seems to mean a lot to you, so I’m glad I’m meeting her. She seems like a lot of fun.” 

Sasha came back a second later with three white claws cradled in her arms like a child. Typical. 

“It was this or Natty Lights so...” She handed you and Historia your drinks and cracked open her own. The three of you took a large swing of the hard seltzer. You chugged yours down in one go in an attempt to get caught up to how far Sasha was when you first saw her. 

“Oh shit wait! I wanted to introduce you to some of my friends!” Sasha said, prying her lips away from the silver can “C’mon!” She urged the two of you to follow her down the hall to another room. As you passed the kitchen, you quickly grabbed another claw and flipped the tab up on the can. 

The three of you walked through the door and were met with three guys huddled together in a messy bedroom, clothes littered in the pile where you thought you made out a hamper but couldn’t tell. The room smelled of spilled beer and weed, which, given by the bong in the center of the trio's little circle and the abandoned cans of natties scattered across the floor, was no surprise. Your eyes lingered on the three boys, one tall with longish honey blonde hair with darker side burns and matching facial hair, another guy with a buzz cut, and-

Oh fuck. 

You tightened your grip on the aluminum can as your eyes met an unforgettable set of teal orbs. You could feel his gaze taking you in like waves receding back into the ocean as a small smirk danced across his lips. You bit your lip and broke away from his gaze, trying to look anywhere but his tantalizing stare.

“WHAT, you assholes! You were supposed to wait for me before lighting up!” Sasha complained in a huff, taking a seat on the ground in between the guy with a buzzcut and the one with the long face. 

“Sorry Sash, you were taking too long.” The honey blonde replied, grabbing the blue and green piece of glassware, holding it in his hand as he pulled out a lighter and began to light the bong. 

“Oh my bad, I was just trying to bring a pair of hot girls for you to meet.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she held out her hand for her friend to pass the bong, which he complied to after letting out a large exhale. He looked over at you and Historia, head gesturing you to take a seat on the ground with the rest of the group. 

Historia plopped down beside him, leaving you a spot between her and your coffee shop hunk. Not that you were complaining. 

Sasha released the smoke from her lungs with a hefty cough and passed it over to the kid with the buzzcut. “This is my best friend Historia and her roommate” 

“What’s up, I’m Jean” The taller of the three introduced himself. “The one with the bong right now is Connie and that’s-”

“Eren.” The teal eye boy interrupted, looking right at you, fiddling with the beer can in his hand. “Did you have a nice coffee earlier?” He teased, putting emphasis on your name as a smug smile plastered onto his face. 

“Yeah, I did actually. I’m sure it was much better than the one your friend had. I tend to prefer mine in a cup rather than all over me.” You matched his energy and brought your claw to your lips, taking a large sip, eyes never leaving his. 

“Wait, you two know each other?” Historia tilted her head curiously. 

“We bumped into each other earlier today.”

“Literally” Eren quipped in, causing you to roll your eyes. “She’s the girl who smashed right into Floch.” 

“Oh shit, that was you!” Jean laughed. “He wouldn’t stop complaining about that all fucking day man!” 

“Floch’s always gotta make a big deal out of something, dude is constantly pressed.” Connie added, passing the bong over to Eren. “It's because he hasn’t gotten laid yet.”

“Oh and you have?” Eren joked as he took the piece from Connie and passed it over to you. “Ladies first.” He smirked. You nodded and took the piece into your hand, holding the other out for the lighter. 

“Nah, let me.” Eren flicked the lighter on and brought it to the bowl while you placed your lips over the mouthpiece and finger over the carb, taking in a long, deep inhale. Eren eyed you carefully as you continued to inhale. You couldn’t tell if it was out of concern, unsure of whether or not it was your first time smoking or if it was his fixation on the way your lips cusped around the shaft of the bong. You held the dry smoke in your lungs for a few moments before letting out a shaky exhale, grey smoke exiting your plush lips. 

Eren reached over and took the bong from your hands, coursed fingers grazing over your smaller ones as his body leaned in closer towards you. “You took that well.” He breathed slightly, as he moved back into his place and began to take a rip. You took note of the tongue piercing that exposed itself slight as he parted his mouth over the shaft. 

God, he knew what he was doing. 

Thankfully, everyone else in the room was already drunk, high, or crossed and absorbed in their own little world to take too much notice of you and Eren. Unless you were simply reading too much into his actions. However, you had hooked up with enough people to know when they were being a tease. Eren was, you assumed, a new college freshman basking in the glory in his newfound sex appeal and the poor souls whose hearts he was bound to break. 

You finished off your second claw when a new face appeared in the doorway to the room you were in. The girl was stunning with a short black pixie cut, light green silk cami, and faux leather skirt stopping at the middle of her thighs. “Oi Eren, Floch’s looking for you. He wants to play a round of pong, you in?” Her voice was as silky as her shirt. It had an almost nurturing like quality to it whilst also remaining solid and stable. You couldn’t exactly explain it as the alcohol began to consume your body but, she was like resin glossing over a beautiful landscape painting of a forest of evergreens standing proudly and firmly planted in the earth beneath its roots. 

Eren exhaled the smoke with ease and pushed himself up off the carpeted floor, the chain around his black pants jingling slightly as he stood. “Fine but only if she’s on my team” He spoke, pointing a ringed finger at you. 

The dark haired girl rolled her eyes. “Whatever, just hurry up,” She turned and headed back to the main room. 

Eren held out his hand to help you up off the ground. Your soft fingers wrapped around his hand as he pulled you up, causing you to stumble slightly towards his chest. “You better be good at pong, there’s no way I’m losing to Forster.”

“Lucky for you, I was voted most likely to make a republican cry at beer pong.” You retorted, a playful smile painting your features as Eren led you out of the room, hand never leaving yours.