Always and Forever.

Chapter Three: PE

Eren is making his way to the sports block of the school with Armin. Having acquired the map from Principle Smith made it possible for him to pace ahead of Armin. Something he is all too happy to do. Despite it being a sunny day, there is a chill in the air and both boys feel it lingering on their napes.

"Eren!" Armin yells getting his best friends attention. "Slow down! I don't want to get tired BEFORE PE."

Eren stops dead in his tracks and lets out a big breath. He realises that storming ahead isn't fair on Armin. Once Armin catches up to the young German, they continue making their way to their next lesson. A couple of minutes into their journey, they are joined by Mikasa, Connie, Sasha and a girl called Historia. She and Eren exchange introduction since it's the first time that they have met each other. She asks him (like she does with everyone) to call her Krista instead. Krista is the name that her adopted family gave her and the one she prefers. No one is sure exactly why and she has been very tight-lipped about it. Eren starts to get a weird feeling around her. One he hasn't felt before. A sudden sharp thumping pain in his head whenever he gets close to her that really hurt when he shook her hand. He is trying to ignore it and focus on something else. It will fade away soon anyway so what's there worry about? Suddenly, he feels something grab his shoulder.

"Hey Eren, you okay? You look like a little off." Eren has heard that voice enough today to know who it belonged to.

"Ouch Mikasa. My Feelings."

Mikasa giggles which immediately plasters a smile on Eren's face. He believes that he is in the clear and that his simple joke has helped him dodge the question. A good thing. No more questions about something that he doesn't understand.

"No, but seriously." Or maybe not. "You look unwell. Should I take you to the nurses' office?" She lets go of his shoulder and moves so she is now slightly ahead of him.

"Mikasa, I'm fine. It's probably just 'first-day syndrome'."

She eases off Eren, not fully convinced but she doesn't want to come across as being pushy or obsessed with him. That could paint her in a bad image. Instead, the two of them continue to walk towards the sports block. That's when they realise they have fallen behind the main body of their group.

"Hey, wait up!" they both yell in unison as they start to run, trying to catch up to their classmates.

Once the gang reach the changing room's, they say goodbye to each other. It's more of a 'see you later' than an actual goodbye. Eren gives Mikasa his best smile and she returns one of her own. Shades of pink once again appear to the cheeks of the teens. Eren starts to wonder if she also blushed in history when he did. If she did, what could that mean? Could it mean something significant or is he reading too far into this? His thoughts are interrupted by a playful job on his arm from Connie.

"Don't look now, but I think Mikasa had the hots for you," Connie suggests while wiggling his eyebrows at Eren. The thought of Mikasa liking him causes Eren's heart to skip a beat or two. A small smile tugs at the edge of his lips. Unfortunately, the moment was ruined by a voice Eren has grown to hate.

"Please," Jean interrupted slapping the back of Connie's head. "A smart girl like Mikasa would never fall for a blockhead like Yeager." Somehow Jean always knows what to say to mess with Eren. For once, Jean's words didn't fill Eren with anger but sadness instead. He believes Jean is right. A freak like him has no chance with a girl like Mikasa and relationships are not exactly something Eren is comfortable with indulging. Friendships are hard for him to maintain so a partner would be a nightmare. Especially if the random rumours he heard on the internet are true.

Eren starts walking towards the boys changing room. That fall from cloud nine has taken a toll on his mood.

The changing room is hectic. There are clothes everywhere, random shoes getting thrown around hitting the occasional victim of the chaos. All sorts of conversations are taking place but they are drowned out by shouting coming from the top bay. In a place like this, only the loudest people are heard. The smell was definitely the worst part. The stench of sweat that must have been building up for months combined with the smell of deodorant that someone always sprays WAY too much off didn't mix well.