crush culture | jean kirstein

chapter eight

⚠️ content warning:
alcoholism and mentions of smoking and vomit

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Dinner with Bertholdt was fun. He took you to a diner ten minutes away from the Starbucks you met up at and fulfilled his promise of treating you. You scolded him and insisted to pay because you ordered more food than expected (from a milkshake and a hamburger to cheesy criss-cut fries), but he insisted to pay instead.

You promised to pay him back which he immediately dismissed. He told you to take it as an early Christmas gift. You stopped pestering him after that.

"The milkshake was good though," you murmured. "Thank you."

"Do you want another one?"

"No! Don't waste your money like that!"

It is safe to say that you and Bertholdt have established a friendship. You got to know each other throughout your meal, sharing childhood stories and laughing about them from the moment you started eating until you arrived at Eren's. You were right about Bertholdt; he is a cool guy to be friends with.

You arrive at Eren's residence twenty minutes after 7. As you pull up the curb, you notice how you might already be a little late. The front yard is trashed: red solo cups and empty pizza boxes scatter about as high school students take turns to smoke and swig shots of alcohol on the porch. Party lights engulf the perimeter and sync in with the music blaring from the loudspeakers in the living room. People are still sober, but by the sight of the cups of alcohol in their hands, you know that their sobriety won't last long.

Bertholdt drives the car forward and into an empty parking space.

"We're here."

You don't know whether or not to be grateful that this is your first high school party. When you make a disgusted expression at a discarded pizza slice sitting in a pool of vomit on Eren's perfectly mowed lawn, Bertholdt reassures you that he has seen worse. You shake the image away from your mind, focusing on finding Jean among the sea of people in the living room instead.

You had texted him earlier before arriving, but he is nowhere to be found. You frown.

"Hey, (Y/N)! Bertholdt!"

You spin around. Reiner holds a red solo cup and a container of gummy bears in the other. He looks at his friend, winks, then takes a sip of the alcohol. Afterwards, he opens the container and pops a gummy bear in his mouth.

"What's with the gummy bears?" You decide to ask.

"Oh, this?" He points at the colorful candy. "I got hungry. Eren serves good alcohol but bad food, which he got from his older brother in university. Also, alcohol tastes better with gummy bears."

You laugh. Reiner is drunk. You know he's outgoing and talkative, but he would never have a word with you sober.

"I see. Do you need anything?"

"Yeah, actually, I need a moment with my buddy Bertholdt." He side-eyes the tall boy who in return looks at him weirdly. "Or maybe not. Would five minutes be alright?"

You shake your head. "He's all yours. I have to look for someone anyway."

As if on cue, you see a two-toned haired boy descend the staircase. Jean stands on the stairs and scans the crowd, craning his neck and narrowing his eyes at every girl he sees. After a few seconds, he finds you standing by the doorway and his face lights up.

"(Y/N)?"

"Now that's our cue to leave," Reiner, who was following the direction of your stare, says, tugging Bertholdt's hoodie and dragging him to the side once he sees Jean approach the three of you. He waves. "I guess we'll see you later, (Y/N)."