uneasy hearts weigh the most (Eremin)

Black Sheep in My Heart

Today's the day. Eren takes a deep breath and jumps up and down to shake the nervousness out. He has enough confidence in his band that things will go smoothly during their audition. They've already practiced their best song countless times, almost to the point of knowing the rhythm like the back of their hands. Yet, Eren can't help but listen to the tiny doubtful voice in his head. He shakes off the thought and does a quick run down of the chords just in case he forgets them.

"Relax, Yeager. You made us practice this song so much that I feel like the calluses on my fingers have calluses," Jean gives him a friendly shove to snap him back to reality. Eren gives him one in return. Despite his constant bickering with Jean, he genuinely appreciates that he looks out for everyone in the group. Eren even begrudgingly considers him as part of his family. My War is his family and nothing can ever change that.

"Yeah, besides, we're not going up in a while, so take use this time to take some deep breaths. Maybe get some water so you don't end up damaging your vocal cords." Sasha hands him her water bottle. Eren accepts it gratefully and takes a few sips.

"What's this? The ever so cocky Eren Yeager experiencing stage fright?" Reiner approaches them from their position by the wings. Eren whips around and glares at him. God, he wants to punch this man's face so badly. He's about to reply to Reiner's statement when an unfamiliar face catches his eye.

"Is that a little girl?!" He yells. The backstage crew supervising the performance hushes them.

"Is that legal?!" Sasha exclaims as she grabs Eren's shoulder and peeks over him

The little girl in question perks up at the attention Eren's band is giving her. The girl is short, even shorter than Annie, with her hair pulled back in a small ponytail. Eren sees the light in this girl's eyes that shows the passion of a musician. She opens her mouth to retort at the comments Eren and Sasha gave her but Reiner places a hand on her shoulder.

"This little girl is my cousin, Gabi," Reiner snaps. "She's starting her freshman year here and she's our new drummer."

"Also, I'm eighteen so shut the fuck up, it's legal," Gabi quips, before the rest of her bandmates scold her like a petulant child.

"Great Escape, please come to the stage," the judges call from the audience. Both bands straighten.

"Sounds like it's our turn," Reiner says. He shoulders past Eren while his band members shuffle out of their way.

"I need to see this," Eren mutters under his breath and makes his way to the audience.

"Eren, you're gonna make this worse for yourself," Mikasa says. But before she could grab her brother's arm to stop him, he's already past the curtains. She pinches the bridge of her nose. "God dammit, Eren."

The rest of the band reluctantly follow the siblings, worry painting their faces until they spot them in some of the seats close to the stage.

The low hum of guitars being tuned and their players warming up echo throughout the auditorium. The soft cymbals ringing to hype up an imaginary audience. Annie's haunting vocals are low, for now, to further anticipate what song they are about to perform. Then, Reiner rips a powerful cord to transition into a faster beat. His strumming pulses from one cord to another. He spots Eren from the crowd, and Eren's heart almost stops.

The instrumentals stop abruptly to match the sparse beats of the bass guitar and bass drum, further emphasizing Annie's sultry vocals. Every pause of the lyrics is punched by Reiner's powerful chords. Eren can't help but hear the meaning of the lyrics.