𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞

𝟎𝟎

00

♡ ꒱  Many people may think change is scary. But staying stagnant is a hundred times more terrifying to y/n. So, when her family offered to send her across the country to let her attend college, she accepted before they could even finish telling her that they could only cover her tuition and rent for an apartment. She would have to come up with her own money for food and any extra expenses. Or, she could have it all at home.

She booked a flight the next day.

y/n wasn't due to move in another month, but the excitement she had couldn't wait until then. Even on the flight to the big city the excitement was rising and rising. It wasn't until she saw the New York price for a basic coffee and bagel that she realized she may be in over her head. At home, her father is a businessman turned mogul after inheriting his father's company. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom who shopped on her husband's dime whenever she wanted and held bi-weekly wine nights with the other moms whose sole job was also to be a mom. y/n was used to the lavish lifestyle that her parents provided for her. If y/n wanted to go shopping, she would go with her mother to Beverly Hills in her Rolls Royce and have a shopping spree just like that. If y/n wanted sushi for dinner her father would have his assistant fly in sushi from Japan. It was easy.

Now, she didn't even have enough for a bagel and coffee.

After a quick call to her mother, she was able to get a grand for the weekend after promising both her parents to not spend it on drugs or hookers. They already booked a hotel for her, so it would be food and fun fund.

"Don't spend it all in one place, I know you get tunnel vision in the shopping stores just like your mother." her father joked and y/n heard the faint sound of her mother protesting in the back.

"I won't promise." it wasn't that y/n was bad with her money but she definitely didn't see the value in it since seeing how it was so easily replaceable by more.

There was silence on the line and y/n braced herself for another lecturing. "Well all right, call us if anything else comes up," he said instead which was code for don't ask for more unless you're dying of hunger.

They hung up the phone and y/n now found her a grand richer. But, she wouldn't be buying a bagel and coffee anymore. She would spend her money somewhere more worthwhile.

"Your total is seven hundred even."

With ease, y/n swiped her card and a green check mark lit up the screen. Two new dresses, three shirts, and a pair of jeans that hugged her ass right were the culprit for taking half her money that she was too willing to give in the first place. Her father's words are a distant memory as the cashier hands over the two bags of clothes.

New York was dark now but the city lights made it seem like everyone was out on the town. y/n found herself walking up an unfamiliar sidewalk to get to her hotel. Well, attempting to. She had the directions pulled up on her phone and kept her head down while trying to make sure she was going in the right direction. Her lack of self-awareness makes her bump into a hard surface. Just as she was about to open her mouth to apologize, when she looked up her mouth dries like a desert.

The man was tall, at least a foot over y/n, and wore a mask that covered his face. Instinctively y/n takes a step back to possibly walk around him but when he takes a step closer, something is pressed against her stomach. Something sharp like a knife. "Don't move," he tells her, voice a whisper. y/n listened to him and took a look around for anyone, but of course, they were on the other side and in groups that distracted them from what was happening feet away. "Give me your money." the mugger tells her.

"I don't have any," she tells him back. "I just went shop—" she gets cut off when he aggressively rips the bags of clothing from her hand.

"Now give me your purse."

y/n felt tears well up in her eyes. Half in because she was actually getting mugged and now being able to do a damn thing about it and the other half in that it was her new Chanel bag that was being taken and not the Gucci she got last year. "Be safe with it." she said stupidly and sniffled, watching as the mugger left and y/n was once again left with nothing.

No phone, ID, card, or Chanel bag. Thankfully there were two things that saved y/n since they weren't in her purse. The hotel key in her pocket and two hundred bills she always had in her shoes for good luck. Now also for emergencies.

Without direction, she ends up at a half-empty bar. Soft music played over the speakers and the lights were low. y/n was thankful since she knew her eyes were bloodshot and poofy while her face was flushed as it always does after crying. There was only one person at the bar and she chose to sit farthest from them, still feeling shaken up. Even though it seemed like a quick exchange y/n had never been in a situation like that before and wondered what her parents would say. Would they be disappointed or worried?

Probably the first.

"Hello?" a deep masculine voice brings y/n out of her thoughts. Looking up she meets the eyes of a young man whose eyebrows rose questioningly, letting y/n know he's been there for a second trying to get her attention.

"Hi, sorry," she tells him and takes a second to think. "Vodka cranberry, thanks."

The bartender nods. "Id?" he questions since obviously y/n looked young.

y/n begins to say every bad word she can think of in her head as she quickly realizes once again that it was taken. "Umm... Look," she begins.

"I can't serve minors," he tells her before anything else could be said.

y/n smiles at him which he seems to be taken aback by. "I'm not a minor. I just kind of... got mugged and he took... well, everything." he still looks unconvinced so y/n decides to take more to plead her case since she literally had nothing better to do. "I'm here because I'm coming back to college and decided to attend nyu. Technically, I'm just here to visit, obviously. And on my first day I got mugged, it's a very warm welcoming."

She didn't know if it worked, but after a few seconds of him just staring at her, he began to make the simple drink. y/n celebrates this small victory and then takes a look at who was making her drink since she had been too worried about not getting any alcohol beforehand. The man had his hair pulled back in a half-up and half-down style that worked way too well for him. His eyebrows had slits and the left had a piercing. His nose was also pierced along with many earrings on his ears. Her eyes skipped down to his hands and watched as he shook the shaker, his long-sleeved black shirt was rolled up, displaying the many tattoos he had inked on his skin.

y/n forced herself to look away when he finished and began walking back to her. He sets it down and immediately y/n takes a big sip, loving the burn going down her throat. "How much do I owe you?" she looks up at the bartender and tries not to let her eyes wander to his lips or anywhere else that wasn't his eyes.

"It's on the house." he waves her off.

y/n's eyes widen in surprise, even in her state she wasn't looking for a handout. "I don't want your boss to get upset—" she gets cut off by the bartender's chuckle.

"I think he'll be ok with it, seeing as he's me." he shrugs and just as he turns to tend to someone else, y/n stops him.

"Thank you..." she trailed off, hoping he would share his name.

"Eren," he tells her.

y/n nods, even his name is hot. "Thank you, Eren."

His lips lift in a smirk and he tips his head at her thanks. "I hope that was a better welcome to the city."

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