The Exchange Student

Chapter 7

Eren knew he was about to be in an argument when his father rapped his knuckles against his door.
His relationship with his father varied, either their minds were in perfect synchronization, or Eren was fed up with him. Whenever Grisha came up to see him, it was either to say hi (something which occurred once every second month, if even) or to have a long talk (it could start out as being a question but could spiral into a long conversation if Eren said too much). The last possibility was the worst. Grisha would come to him, and if Eren explained what was going on, followed by his opinion, they would get into a heated argument.

In this case, Eren suspected his mother had said something to Grisha about his mood - and if he was honest with himself, if Carla hadn't told him, then Grisha wouldn't have known at all. He didn't feel like being admonished by his father at that moment, which usually started with Grisha sitting down beside him, and finished by Eren feeling even worse than before. Eren had always found excuses for his father, for how bad he felt after, but lately he was feeling a bit more bitter towards him, because he knew the reason why Grisha didn't know anything about him - not that adults really understood young people anyway - was because he just wasn't home. At all. Eren felt a bit hurt when Grisha seemingly chose work over his only son. No matter how important his job was, it always came before Eren.
Yes, saving patients and finding diseases with the diagnosis team is vital, but isn't your son important too ?
Was a moment of his time with no fighting too much to ask ?

It was Tuesday evening, so both Levi and Eren were studying at their desks, Levi sitting at the new oak desk him, Eren and Carla went to get at a furniture store on Saturday. Eren groaned softly when he heard the knock. He stood up, ready to open the door his father had agreed not to open now that Levi was there.
Levi is here . Following that statement, Eren got a brainwave.

"Sorry sir, Eren went out to get us a bag of coffee beans since we ran out of them."

"Of course, I'll talk to him later on then," nodded Grisha, closing the door.

Eren poured as much gratitude as he could muster from his cloudy thoughts into his thanks as he stepped out from the closet, successfully having avoided his father.
More proof of Grisha's absence : Levi never drank coffee, anytime he got offered some he always turned it down, preferring tea from what he had told Eren. And even worse, Eren didn't like coffee, and Carla rarely drank any. And since Grisha was never at home ... There was absolutely no need to go get coffee.
His jaw clenched as he sat back down at his desk, pressing a bit too hard on his pencil as he wrote down sums, snapping the pencil lead. Eren stared at his page, losing all interest in calculating a letter x he would never need again. He decided to pick up his french folder instead, absentmindedly reading the same sentence over and over again.
"Your father just left the house, I suggest you grab a bag of coffee and be on your way home," said Levi, who was facing the window.

Eren hummed in agreement, glad to have an excuse to leave his schoolwork behind. He crept downstairs, carefully listening for any noise indicating his mother's location. He didn't hear a sound, so he grabbed the unopened coffee from the cupboard, then slipped on his coat and shoes, racing out halfway between his house and the shop. It would seem more believable in case his father drove back by there on his way home.
Eren could get quite crafty when it came to avoiding things.
As he was walking back, he heard his name get called from behind. He hesitated to ignore the individual calling his name, but he for the sake of politeness, he didn't. Turning around, he saw Historia running towards him, Annaëlle following a few feet back.
"Hey Eren ! I haven't talked to you in a while, you've been pretty silent."

"Yeah, I've been focused on other things" Eren answered ruefully.

"Don't worry 'bout it," smiled Historia, tucking a blond lock behind her ear.
Just then, Annaëlle caught up with her, her brown satchel slightly bumping against her thigh, covered with a pair of blue high waisted jeans.