Often // Attack On Titan

Chapter 9

•Eren's POV•

Jean didn't speak a word until we got there, which was asking the receptionist where the waiting room was. He seemed nervous, biting his nails the whole time.

Marco was sat with his mother in the room, looking very tired and worn out. At first, he didn't notice Jean, just leant back into the metal chair.
"Marco," Jean croaked, his voice hoarse and weak. Instantly, he looked up and made eye contact with Jean - who practically sprinted across the waiting room to him. He threw his arms around him in a hug and both broke down sobbing.
"Sorry... I'm sorry Jean," he blubbered into Jean's shoulder. His eyes were already red and they'd probably stay that way for a while. Jean's hair hung over his eyes in the same way that he hung off of Marco. They were intertwined, a mess of limbs.

"God," Connie muttered. "Leukaemia." He said, astounded. The coffee machine beeped and filled a paper cup with hot liquid. We were both shocked - horrified, even. Marco had always been a little bit anaemic, but we had no idea that something like this was lurking underneath. We didn't yet know what stage it was yet, Marco hadn't included that in the little explanation. We'd left him and Jean to talk for a bit, it seemed they needed too. Connie leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. "Everything's going wrong, isn't it?" He sighed with a sad sort of smile. I nodded silently and lifted the coffee cup to my mouth.

The coffee was bitter and ended up in the bin. I was in need of sleep or caffeine (same thing?) but I could worry about that a little bit later. Connie and I were in the dark about Marco's health but at least we could trust Jean to fill us in later. I was honestly sick to death of this hospital now, with its overpowering smell and squeaky floors - it was stifling. I nudged Connie's arm with my elbow.

"Hey, wanna leave?" I said, indicating the metal door with a nod of my head. Connie thought for a moment, face scrunching up. "But what about Jean?" He asked, fiddling with the sleeve of his old jacket as he spoke. "Connie, he'll be fine. He can get home without us," I replied, standing up and walking towards the door. Connie caught my arm and sighed. "That's not what I mean, Eren. He'll end up staying here all night if Marco has to go back in for tests." It was my turn to think. It was true, Jean would stay and so would I if Marco was that close to me. I nodded.
"Yeah, okay, let's go and get him."

Our shoes shrieked against the floor for hopefully the last time in a while as we returned to the waiting room. Jean and Marco were sat talking quietly as Marco's mother and a man, who I supposed was his oncologist, spoke. They didn't notice our arrival and I cleared my throat to attract their attention. Jean and Marco looked up and greeted me with  a half-smile. I stepped forward towards them. "Jean, we're going to head back. Are you coming?" He shook his head (as expected) and tilted his head towards Marco.
"No, I'm going to stay here for a bit." Marco rolled his eyes and looked at me.
"Come on, Jean, I don't know how long I'm going to be here." He stopped to look at his phone from his pocket. He let out a snort and showed us the phone, which displayed 'Jean's Mom'.
"Seriously,' Marco said, giving him a look. "Go."

[...]

"I'm sorry about Marco," Connie sighed, falling back onto the sofa. Jean mumbled something incoherent and did the same, closing his eyes as he sat down. I stood awkwardly against the wall and watched Jean closely. He seemed exhausted but I couldn't tell if he was mad, upset or even confused.

We were sat watching TV when we heard a car pull up to the drive. Jean jumped up out of shock.
"Shit!" He exclaimed, literally sprinting to see through the drawn curtains. "They weren't supposed to be back for a few hours," he shouted, locking the door and turning to us with panic on his face. "You're going to have to get out somehow."
Connie laughed and turned towards the door.
"Eren and I can jump out of the window, right? Don't you have a slope?" Jean nodded and set off climbing the stairs.

"Right, just go around the house, I'll let my parents in," Jean explained, shoving the window open as far as he could. Connie looked out and snickered.
"Well it was a nice evening and all..." He droned, to Jean's annoyance.
"Just jump out of the window for God's sake!"
Connie hoisted himself up onto the ledge and lifted his leg over the frame.
"Au revoir, or whatever," he half-shouted, tumbling through the window and skidding along the tiles. Jean scrunched up his face as his parents started knocking more frantically, calling his name.

I couldn't help laughing as I threw myself out of the window, waving goodbye childishly. Jean waved back goofily and closed the window after me. His parents were now calling his name loudly and Connie was trying to jump down without dying or smashing the window below him.
"There," I whispered, pointing to the glass that he'd been trying to avoid. "Swing onto the ledge," I continued and he nodded, gripping his hands on the brick above him. Dropping onto the floor and giving me a thumbs up, Connie then ran over to the corner of the house where he checked to see whether or not Mr and Mrs Kirschtein had been let inside yet. I copied Connie's actions and landed on the floor with a thud. He'd already started sneaking his way past the front of the house by the time I caught up with him, walking stealthily but too extravagant to be not annoying. I rolled my eyes and sprinted across the grass, not even bothering to look and see if they were even close to a window. To be honest, I didn't really care - I was a fast runner and a good liar.

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Sorry the updates have been slow, but I hope you enjoy this chapter!