Old Friends

Bets

Once we had cleared up all of the mess, we went upstairs and ended up sitting on the sofa in the room beside Jean's bedroom to watch TV. Jean let me choose what to watch and, although he protested at first, we ended up watching Pretty Little Liars.

I wasn't even sure how many episodes we had gotten through, losing track after only the first few. Honestly, I was too busy appreciating the fact that there was so little space between where Jean and I sat, a blanket covering the both off us and providing further warmth and comfort.

Sometime after school was suppose to end, we heard someone unlock the front door. A small sigh slipped past my lips as I remembered what Jean had said about his mother giving me a speech when she got back, and out of the corner of my eye I could see him giving a small smile of encouragement.

It wasn't long until the door to the room we were in was opened, Miss Kirstein quickly rushing over to the small sofa to throw her arms around me in a motherly hug. I shared an awkward glance with Jean before looking back up at his mother as she pulled back, her hands holding onto my shoulders as she spoke to me.

"Eren! What on earth were you thinking? I was so worried when you came back last night. Promise me you won't do something like that again."

I couldn't help but smile slightly at just how concerned she was, enjoying the feeling of having someone care about me so much. I gave a small nod, managing to change my expression to one that looked at least a little apologetic. "I'm sorry. I won't, I've already had Jeanie make me promise the same thing."

The corners of her lips twitched up into a small smile at that, and she returned her hands to her sides as she stood up and looked over at Jean. "Did he now? Well, I'm glad to see you two taking care of each other at least."

I blushed faintly at the comment, sharing a small smile with Jean. "Speaking of which," she carried on, "Marco is downstairs making you two some hot chocolate. He says he has some notes to give you two from school."

"Well, the notes are only for Jean really," Marco added in with a light chuckle, coming in and placing a tray with three mugs on it on the coffee table in front of us. He sat down between me and Jean (which I have to admit disappointed me slightly), before turning to face me. Miss Kirstein took now as her time to leave, quietly closing the door behind her.

"Are you alright? You sure took a beating last night." Well, that wasn't exactly making me feel better. "I don't think I would even be brave enough to try to fight him - Jeanie was talking about how touched he felt by you protecting him!"

Now that did make me feel better. "Well, it's only because he protected me first," I mumbled quietly, noting how Jean was now blushing ever so faintly. "It's honestly not that bad, though. I mean, the injuries could've been a lot worse..."

"Things can always be worse, Eren. That doesn't make them any less acceptable!" He gave a slight sigh, reaching over to pick up one of the three mugs and handing it over to me. "I put whipped cream on top too. Jean says you used to like it that way."

A gave a small smile of appreciation, gladly taking the plain white mug from his hold. "Thank you," I mumbled quietly, wincing slightly as my split lip pressed against the mug as I took a sip.

"Dude, you put cream on my too, right?" Jean asked, and Marco rolled his eyes in response before handing over his mug as well.

"Yes, Jeanie. I put cream on all of them, so you don't need to start complaining," he explained, starting to sip on his own drink. "Oh, you guys were watching Pretty Little Liars?" He asked, looking up at the screen where one of the episodes had been paused.

"You like PLL?" I questioned, a barely audible groan coming from Jean in the background.

"Are you kidding? I've watched every episode to date, like, three times already! I've been trying to get Jean to watch it for ages, but he always refused," he said with a light huff, pouting slightly as he glanced over at Jean.

As silly as it was, knowing that Jean had refused Marco's requests of watching the show but gave into me made me sort of happy. Maybe I was more important to him than I had realised. "Yeah? He took a bit of convincing at first, but I think he started enjoying it."

Marco gave an excited squeal, reaching over to grab the remote. "This is so amazing! Can we continue watching them, then? Oh, we can all watch it together everyday!"

"Nope. No way. We are not doing that," Jean protested, grabbing the remote with his free hand and putting it off to the side. "No more Pretty Little Liars, alright?"

"Christ, Jean. Who knew your masculinity was so fragile?" I teased, grinning as Marco gave a quiet giggle. "No one's gonna judge you if you just admit that you like the show."

"Fuck you, Jaeger, you ass."

"You are what you eat," I said simply, giving a light shrug.

Marco spat out some of his drink, covering his mouth as he laughed quietly. "Hey, Jean, you owe me a fiver."

I raised my brows slightly, though I had to admit that the comment didn't really surprise me that much. "You guys bet whether I was gay or not."

"Well, I thought it was pretty obvious," Marco said, his grin widening slightly. "And we only made the bet because Jean kept complaining about how he wasn't sure and that-"

His words became muffled as Jean covered his mouth with his hand, setting his mug down on the coffee table for a better hold. After a moment he let out a sound of disgust, pulling his hand back to wipe on his clothes. "Damn it, Marco."

Marco giggled, sticking his tongue out  at him. "I hope you wash your hands, Jeanie."

"Um, guys," I mumbled, tugging lightly on Marco's sleeve. "What exactly were you gonna say?"

"Nothing," Jean huffed, folding his arms. "He wasn't going to say anything."

"Right," I said slowly, before looking back over at the TV. "Should we continue watching or...?"

"Oh, yes!" Marco said excitedly, reaching over to retrieve the remote before Jean could take it away again. Jean mumbled something under his breath, though I couldn't tell exactly what, reaching over to get his mug and sipping on his drink as we watched.

~

After a few more hours of watching, we decided to call it quits since it was starting to get dark. Miss Kirstein gladly drove me and Marco home, the two of us sitting in the back with Jean in the front.

"Oh, Eren," Jean spoke up just as we were nearing my street. "I didn't tell your dad why you were staying over, so you'll have to explain the whole black eye thing when he sees you..."

I let out a quiet sigh, not exactly sure on what my dad's reaction was going to be. If I still lived with my mother then I know she'd react almost exactly the same way Miss Kirstein did, but I wasn't so sure about my dad...

"Oh, sweetie, don't worry about it," Jean's mother said as she parked just outside my house. "You'll be fine. Now, make sure you get enough sleep. We don't want to being all tired at school tomorrow!"

"I will. Thank you for the ride, and thanks for letting me stay over," I smiled, giving the other two a small wave as I climbed out of the car. With any luck my dad wouldn't even be home. I really didn't want to have to explain anything to him.

I sighed when I opened the door to see that the lights were still on, trying to be quiet as I closed it behind me. "Eren?" My dad called from the living room, appearing a few moments later. "Oh, God. Did someone beat you up?"

"Um, yeah," I mumbled, rubbing the back of my neck. "That's why I stayed over at Jean's, I guess. I sort of started it though, sorry..."

"Ah, well as long as you were standing your ground. I wouldn't want you letting people hurt you without fighting back. I'm quite proud of you, son."

I raised my brows slightly, giving a slow nod. "Yeah, um, thank you?"

He gave a sort of chuckle in response, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Yes, well, I think it's for the best that your mother doesn't hear about this. You know what she's like, always worrying."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I think I'm gonna go to bed early tonight, goodnight," I said, walking past him and making my way up to my room.

"Night, son."