The hallway was dark, save for the strip of yellow light that spilled across the floor from the kitchen. I watched as two black shadows danced around in it, gliding in and out before coming together in a screaming, black mass.

'This is your fault! ' I heard my mom scream, and I tried to focus on the dark shapes still moving in the light. I tried to will them into nothing more than objects. I couldn 't take their screaming anymore.

'My fault? You live here, too. She left you, too! ' My father 's voice joined in, and the illusion of shapes was shattered.

I leaned into the wall and closed my eyes, wishing it would stop. Wishing that Mikasa would walk through the door, laugh off this sick joke, and return things to the way they were. I had been strong before this. I had been a person before she left. Now I didn 't know what I was.

'She didn 't leave because of me, ' my mom 's voice was menacing, accusatory. I had never heard it that way before, and something about her tone chilled straight down into my core.

Was it because of me? Had Mikasa left because of something I did? I had to admit, the thought had been plaguing me since the moment she crawled out the window two days ago. I could be the cause of everything. Everyone always told me I was a little shit, and perhaps she had come to realize the same thing. Maybe she couldn 't deal with it anymore.

I slid down the wall until my ass touched the floor, and it sent a cold shock up my spine. My hands were in my hair, twisting the strands around my fingers as they curled and my nails dug into my scalp. I rocked in place, but was not consciously aware of the movement. My insides were frozen, and my mind was lost. The only thing I could focus on were the screaming shadows still moving across the strip of light on the floor.

I stared, willing them to leave.

'What are you staring at, kid? '

My head snapped up towards the sound and I winced when my eyes caught the light of the elevator. I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes, rubbing them as I tried to adjust to the sudden brightness. What was going on? I could have sworn I was sitting in the hallway of my house.

My old house that I had moved out of. Three months ago.

'Are you just gonna sit there like that? ' The voice spoke again, and I could practically feel the deep reverberation thrumming through my body, sending my heart into a hurried beat, 'It 's creepy. '

I stumbled as I stood up, hands still pressed to my eyes. 'Shut up. '

'Oh, it speaks, ' the voice was amused.

'I said shut up. ' First

kid

and now

it

? I wasn 't sure if I was moving down the totem pole or not.

'Why don 't you make me? ' His tone was playful, but there was danger in it, floating just below the surface.

I dropped my hands to my sides and shot him a deadly glare. Or rather I tried to make it seem deadly, but I 'm pretty damn sure it was caught between awe and arousal. His beauty was intimidating; to the point that I was sure it would kill me if I stared at him for too long.

'You 're staring again, kid. ' I really hated that fucking pet name.

'So what if I am? ' I challenged, and almost faltered when I saw sick curiosity light his eyes.

'Suddenly you have such an attitude, ' he took his time with the words, his voice deliberately teasing, 'Where was that earlier? '

'I called you a low class hooker. That didn 't count? ' I asked, and somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered how I had suddenly become so fearless around him. I had barely been able to form words before.

'Ah, how could I forget, ' his tone was flat, humorless. I tried to ignore the way his glare sent shivers through my body.

'So, how much do you cost, anyway? ' Again with the bravery. I was on a roll. Granted it was a roll straight down a steep hill and into an early grave, but hey. Beggars can 't be choosers.

He stared at me for a long moment, and I started to think of the ways I would like to die if he was kind enough to let me choose.

'Oh? ' The sound was deep, throaty, and sent a shock straight down into my groin. He was on me before I had time to process that he was even moving. His lips were at my ear and his hand was sliding down my stomach and towards a part of me that throbbed harder than my heart. 'That depends on what you want me for. '

My guttural cry was smothered in my pillow. I laid there in silence, my mind slowly turning on and adjusting to the realization that I was in my bed and it had all been a dream. I couldn 't stop the frustrated moan that left my lips, and I quickly jerked my blanket back over my head to block out the sun. Fuck school, I was not leaving this bed. I could miss one day.

A loud buzz sounded from my bedside table, and I slowly pulled the cover back to stare hatefully at my phone. Armin 's gleeful face was flashing on the screen, waiting for me to answer. I argued with myself, lost, and fumbled to answer the phone before the call ended.

'Yea? '

'Eren, are you almost ready? We 're going to be late for the meeting, ' his voice was concerned, cuing me into the fact that I was already running behind. But for what?

'Meeting? ' I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. Damn it, my head hurt.

'Oh, come on, ' his voice was exasperated. 'The internship meeting. '

So much for staying in bed all day, 'Right. Yea, right. I 'll be down in a second. Hang on. '

'Hurry up, ' was his answer, and then the line went dead.

I tossed my phone back onto the dresser and pulled back the sheet to find the mess I had made. I would be washing these again today, but for once it wouldn 't be from a nightmare.

Damn that attractive midget.

I rolled out of bed and into the world 's fastest shower. Armin was patient, for the most part, but I knew he would never let me live it down if we were late for this meeting. I had myself dressed and out the front door in record time, although my hair was still wet and I wasn 't entirely sure my clothes were suitable.

I heard the elevator chime and stepped into the blessedly free space, pushing the button for the ground floor. My eyes drifted towards the corner that the man had occupied the night before and I tried not to recall my dream. And failed.

I had never given much thought to my orientation before, mostly because I had never felt a strong attraction to anyone. Armin had been open about his sexuality since the first week of high school, and I had never shot down the possibility that I might share the same interests. Now I was sure I did.

The doors opened on another gleeful chime and I walked out, promptly slamming right into the bare, muscular chest of the very man who had been occupying my mind since last night. His hands caught my upper arms before I could stumble backwards and fall on my ass. I tried not to linger on the way his fingers were curled around my biceps.

'Watch where you 're going, kid. ' The world 's worst pet name stung almost as much as the reprimand.

'Sorry, I 'm in a hurry, ' I hated apologizing, but I was the one who ran into him. I chanced a quick glance at him to find his hair covered by a fluffy white towel. There were small beads of sweat glistening on his chest and shoulders. He must have come from the gym.

'Yea, definitely a habit of yours, ' he said.

'What? '

'Staring, ' he released my arms and gave me a sharp flick to the forehead, 'Stop it. It 's creepy. '

He didn 't wait for my response and walked past me to get on the elevator. I turned and watched at the doors slid shut. I would have thought about following if my pocket hadn 't begun to buzz.

'I got ready as fast as I could. ' I said to Armin as I walked outside. He still had the phone to his ear, but pocketed it when he saw me. There was a mixture of relief and annoyance in his eyes.

'I just don 't want to be late. It 'll make a bad impression, ' he paused for a beat, looking me over, 'That 's what you 're wearing? '

'Be happy I have clothes on, ' I said as I spun him towards the car and opened the passenger side door. I sunk into the seat and remembered my safety belt for once.

The drive to school was quick and free of traffic, which was surprising for a Friday morning in this city. Armin had already informed our first period teacher that we would be missing class for the meeting, so we were able to go directly there.

Jean flagged us down when we entered the room and pulled Armin into the seat beside him. Why was I not surprised that Jean had been roped into this as well? Hell, he was probably the one who told Armin about it in the first place. I dropped into the empty seat next to Connie and waited for the teacher to drone on about how exciting and important an opportunity this blah, blah, blah.

'You 'll be expected to dress nicely, of course, ' the teacher gave me a pointed look, which immediately pulled me out of the daydream I 'd been having.

'What do you mean by that? ' I snapped before my brain could catch up. 'What 's wrong with what I 'm wearing? '

'I didn 't say there was anything wrong with what you 're wearing, ' she said hurriedly, but her voice was a little too defensive for that to be true, 'We would just like for you to be a little more ' coordinated. '

I heard Jean snicker to my right and had to remind myself, yet again, that Armin would not be thrilled if I rearranged his boyfriend 's face.

'Were your eyes even open when you got dressed this morning? ' Jean spoke up, clearly not ready to let the subject die there. 'Plaid pants? I get that you don 't have any style, but did you really have to steal the pants off a senior citizen? '

That fucker.

My nails were biting into my palms, and my knuckles were turning white. Armin couldn 't have liked the horse face that much; he might actually appreciate some rearranging after all.

'Jean, ' Armin warned and Jean leaned back in his seat. He kept the smug smile on his face. I wanted to wipe it off with my fist.

With a herculean effort, I turned my attention back to the teacher. I spent the rest of the meeting in stony silence, determined to drown out the babble with my own thoughts. It worked, more or less. I didn 't realize the meeting was over until Jean pushed down on my shoulders, jolting me out of my reverie.

'You looked like you wanted to pound my ass, ' Jean said with a laugh.

'I figured I 'd leave that to Armin, ' I retorted. Armin squeaked beside me and I glanced at him to see his cheeks reddening with embarrassment. I couldn 't help but smirk, 'So, when are we going to start this thing? '

'Weren 't you listening at all? ' Connie leaned back in his seat to look at me. He raised one eyebrow before flashing a grin, ' 'Cause I wasn 't either. ' He turned to Armin, 'So, when are we starting? '

'I can 't believe you weren 't listening, ' Armin started.

'Sure ya can, ' Connie was still grinning from ear to ear, 'It 's us. And we 'd be lost without ya, honey. '

'Don 't call him that, ' Jean said with a frown.

'What? I 'm with Sash. Everyone knows I 'm a ladies man, ' Connie turned in his seat to look at Jean.

'Oh yea, you 're definitely the smooth talking type, ' Marco laughed.

'Smooth as silk, ' Connie said with the same stupid grin still plastered on his face.

'If that silk were sandpaper, ' I interjected before turning back to Armin, 'Seriously, when does this shit start? '

'On Monday, ' Armin 's cheeks were still flushed, 'Which means you have the weekend to get something halfway decent to wear. '

'Yea, gramps. If they see you in those pants, they 'll probably just send you home, ' Jean smirked.

'I believe that 's called ageism, ' Armin followed up. I groaned.

'You, too, Armin? What did I ever do to you? ' I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.

'Probably the ass comment, ' Marco offered, reading my mind. Jean laughed heartily, smacking Marco on the back.

Armin was red again, and suddenly I felt better.

'Come on, ' he muttered, rubbing at his cheeks, 'We need to get to class. '

Armin glanced towards Jean and Marco, and then looked away just as quickly. I met his eyes and he gave a barely noticeable shake of his head before turning his gaze down towards the ground. What the fuck was that about?

I didn 't have the chance to talk to Armin for the rest of the school day, although it wasn 't for lack of trying. Every time he saw me in the hall, he turned and walked the other way. I couldn 't find him anywhere in the cafeteria or Miss. Hall 's classroom. I was close to breaking into the principal 's office to scream his name over the loudspeaker to get his attention when he caught me at my locker.

'I 'm starving, ' Armin muttered, his expression morose. 'Do you want to go get something to eat on the way home? '

I wanted to call him out on the fact that he was acting as if he hadn 't just avoided me all day like I had a severe case of leprosy. His face stopped me from doing so. 'Yea, sure. Where do you wanna go? '

'That new burger joint? ' he had a hopeful lilt in his voice.

'The one with the big ass burgers, right? Yea, sure, I could eat some titans, ' I said with a laugh, slamming my locker shut.

Colossal 's had just opened up a few weeks back, boasting some of the largest burgers in the city. They had aptly named their burgers 'Titans. ' All of the students at Shinganshina High had made it a personal challenge to eat as many as their stomachs would handle. I was still trying to get past two, but I was proud of that. Fitting one in was impressive enough.

'What would you like to order? ' Annie 's face was as pissed off as it always was when I stepped up to the counter. I wasn 't quite sure whether that face was reserved for me or if it had stuck that way from years of use.

'Well, the Colossal Challenge does look tempting ' ' I drawled, hoping for a laugh or even a smile. The Colossal Challenge involved eating a burger the size of five regular titans, with a one-pound side of fries. I would need an army to take it down.

'Do you have thirty bucks to blow on something you 'll probably only eat five bites of? ' Her expression didn 't change as she said this, trying to make it clear that I was wasting her time.

'Just one titan and a side of fries, ' I said with a roll of my eyes.

'That 's what I thought, ' she spoke as she typed in my order. I paid and moved over to the side to let Armin through.

I watched Annie 's expression alter just slightly as she spoke to Armin. Her eyes were softer, and I could almost make out the small curl of her lips. Maybe that expression really was just reserved for me.

'She 's kind of a bitch, ' I muttered to Armin as we walked to an empty table with our trays.

'She just hates working here, ' he explained, taking a seat, 'If you hated being somewhere for most of your week you 'd be really pissed off, too. '

I didn 't bother to point out that I hated where I was, both in school and out.

'So, what 's up with you and Jean? ' I decided to turn the conversation on him instead. Armin almost gagged on his soda and set down the cup, coughing to clear his airways.

'What? ' He spluttered between coughing fits.

'Earlier today, during the meeting, ' I watched the color drain from Armin 's face and almost lost my nerve. 'You gave him a really funny look when he was talking to Marco. Is everything alright? '

'Yes! Everything 's fine! It 's just, ' Armin looked down, picking a sesame seed off his bun. He let out a sigh before continuing, 'I mean, they 're really close. I guess it has me a little nervous. They 've been friends since they were kids, and they have a tight bond. I 'm worried. '

'We have a tight bond, and you don 't see Jean getting worried that I want to plow your ass, ' I said with a grin before biting into my burger.

'Oh, gross! Don 't say that! ' Armin waved his hands in front of himself, as if he could shoo the imagery away. 'Jean knows we 're not like that. I mean, he knows you 're not like that. '

Now it was my turn to choke. I coughed hard before grabbing my soda, chugging down a few gulps. Armin stared at me, his expression becoming increasingly suspicious.

'Eren? '

'Sorry, went down the wrong pipe, ' my voice was raspy and I cleared my throat before speaking again, 'So, Marco 's gay? '

'Huh? ' Luckily my blunt comment was enough to derail Armin from the previous topic. I wasn 't ready to talk about sexual fantasies with attractive elevator midgets yet. 'Ah, yea. He actually told Jean about it this week. It was a pretty big deal. '

'And now you 're worried that they 're being more than buddies, ' I said this with a nod, not really questioning Armin 's train of thought. I sipped on my soda.

'Well, yea. It 's kind of hard not to, I guess, ' he murmured, casting his gaze down at his plate. Color stained his cheeks, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He gave a small huff, clearly frustrated with himself, 'I 'm a bad person for thinking that, right? I shouldn 't blame Jean for having friends. '

'You 're not, though. Not really, ' I took another bite and paused to chew before continuing, 'You 're jealous. That 's normal, right? I 'd probably be jealous, too. '

'Yea, but you 're the hot-headed type. I would expect you to be jealous, ' Armin said with a small smile.

'I guess so, ' I admitted, 'But it 's still normal. Have you talked to Jean about it? '

'No. No, I can 't, ' Armin fidgeted with his paper napkin, giving a quick shake of his head to back up his words. 'I don 't want him to know about it. I don 't want to get into a fight over this. '

'Armin, if I noticed that you 're upset then he probably has, too, ' I paused, considering what I had just said. Jean was kind of thick, 'Nah, never mind. He 'll never notice. '

'I can handle it. I 'll get over it, ' Armin 's voice was timid, and I knew he didn 't believe the words himself. 'If it gets worse, I 'll talk to him. Okay? '

He looked up at me then, his eyes pleading. I held up my hands, 'Hey, your secret 's safe with me. I 'm not about to blab anything you say to horse face. '

'He doesn 't look like a horse, Eren! ' his voice was defensive, but he was smiling now. 'Jean 's sexy! '

'Oh yea. Sexiest horse alive, ' I gave him a wink, 'You ride 'im, cowboy. '

'Eren! ' Armin hid his face in his hands to block the blush that was now coloring his cheeks. I laughed and took another bite of my burger.

The sun had long since set when Armin finally rolled up to Trost Tower. We had gone to the arcade after Colossal 's, and threw away a few hours and dollars into the machines. It was a Friday night, so there was no curfew. Not that there ever was in my house, but I still lived under the illusion of one.

'Maybe we can go shopping tomorrow and find you something decent for Monday, ' Armin offered as I got out of the car. I wasn 't sure if the comment was meant as another joke about my fashion sense, but I shot him a glare either way.

'Yea, I 'll call you, ' I shrugged my backpack higher onto my shoulder.

I walked into the building, grateful that it was late enough to avoid any more stares. Although I still wanted to flatten his face, Jean wasn 't exactly wrong when he said that my pants looked like I had mugged the elderly. I had every intention of cutting them up and lighting them on fire the moment I was in my room. What had I been thinking about this morning?

I stepped on the elevator, pausing when I heard, 'Hold up! '

I knew that voice too well, despite the fact that I had only heard it a handful of times. I started mashing my thumb against the button to close the doors, praying that they would shut and save me from the humiliation of being seen in these pants by him.

Then the clouds opened up and God said, 'I hate you, Eren Jaeger. '

The man 's hand swiped through the closing doors and they responded to his will, sliding open once again. He stepped inside and fixed me with a glare that made my blood run cold.

'Are you deaf? ' He growled. Then his stare caught sight of my pants and his eyebrows shot up, 'No, scratch that. Are you blind? '

'I wasn 't paying attention when I got dressed this morning, ' I said in a tone that was more defensive than I would have liked.

'Were you paying attention when you bought those things? ' He pointed at my pants. 'Where 'd you find such a gem, Mad About Plaid? '

'I ' what? No! Wait, ' my mind was struggling to maintain balance as embarrassment heated my cheeks, 'Is that really a store? '

He gave me a supercilious smile and I felt my knees buckle. I hadn 't seen his mouth do more than a small twitch until now, and the sight of any emotion altering those otherwise stony features entranced me. His patronizing voice was just barely enough to remove me from my fixation on his lips, 'Why, do you want to go? Don 't have enough hideous pants lining your closet already? '

'My mom bought these! I don 't even like them! ' I sounded like a petulant child.

He had a twisted yet indulgent smile; the sort of expression adults reserve for children, 'Sure you don 't. '

'I don 't! '

'Then why are you wearing them? ' he challenged.

'I told you, I wasn 't paying attention when I put them on! ' I tried to turn the conversation on him, 'Besides, it 's no worse than what you 're wearing! '

Okay, that was a lie. It was one of the biggest lies I had ever told, and it was clear by the expression on my face that I was nothing short of turned on at the sight of him. It was an immense achievement that I had managed to hide just how aroused I was. I didn 't want to give him another reason to comment on my pants. 'Party in Plaid ' was all I could hear.

'Don 't knock the clothes, ' he snapped, and I could tell I hit a nerve.

'You look like you live in a club, ' I sneered, wanting to dig a little deeper.

He was wearing a black fishnet shirt, the material clinging to him in a way that showed each and every hard, muscular ridge of his abdomen. His nails were still painted black, although I only caught a glimpse of them before he curled them into fists and folded his arms. He leaned back against the same corner he had occupied the night before, and the elevator began to move. I hadn 't noticed he had pushed the button for his floor.

'You say that like it 's a bad thing, ' he said, his steely blue gaze trained on me.

'Well, no one really dresses like that, ' I shrugged, trying to mimic his stance by folding my arms.

'I do, ' he pointed out, his expression passive, 'And so does everyone where I work. '

'Where do you work? ' I couldn 't keep the intrigue out of my voice. He pissed me off, but I was desperate to know more about him.

'The Wall, ' his voice curled the words in a slow, sensual way and a smirk quirked the corner of his mouth. I felt like I was missing out on some relevant piece of information.

'And what 's that? ' I rolled my eyes, trying to seem like I didn 't care at all. I did.

'Oh, right, ' his tone catty; something I had never heard from a man before. Somehow it worked for him. 'You 're not old enough to know what that is yet. My mistake. '

He said this with a little roll of his eyes, and I felt the anger boil up inside, 'Whatever. We can 't all be fifty. '

'Coming from the brat wearing grandpa 's pants, ' he put a hand to his chest, feigning hurt, 'Ouch, my heart. '

I let the comment on my pants slide, 'How old are you, anyway? '

'Twenty four, ' his voice was dismissive as he curled one hand towards his face, looking at his nails, 'Which would make me twenty years older than you. '

'I 'm not four! ' I yelled, stung.

'You sure act like it, ' he threw back. He gave a flick of his wrist and pointed one long finger at the line of numbered buttons, 'Gonna check your floor off or what? '

I stared up at the numbers ticking past as we continued our ascent and realized we had already passed my floor. Shit. Where did he live, anyway? I turned my gaze back to the numbers and felt my eyes widen when I spotted the glowing PH. I spun to face him.

'You live in the penthouse? ' I gasped, incredulous. How did a guy like him get into the penthouse of Trost Tower? There wasn 't a club in the city that would generate enough wealth to manage a feat like that.

'Yea, so? ' he raised one perfect eyebrow, as if to say it didn 't matter at all.

'So, you 're rich, ' I blurted out, 'Really rich. Or you 're visiting someone who 's really rich. '

'Would you drop the hooker shit? ' he snapped, 'It 's my place. I live here. I 'm not visiting anyone. Got it? '

The tone in his voice keyed me into the fact that I needed drop the conversation immediately, if not sooner. 'We already passed my floor. '

'You 're a real brain trust, ' he muttered, his gaze lifting to the number as the elevator chimed our arrival. The doors slid open and I felt my breath catch in my throat at the sight of the white marble foyer. I couldn 't even see the other end of his apartment, but what I could see was decked out in opulence. I had to remind myself that I was not allowed inside, and it was almost impossible to keep my feet rooted in their place.

'Are you even listening, kid? ' The look he shot me led me to believe he had already asked me something more than once. He was holding a small gold key in the lock above the PH. 'What 's your floor? '

'62, ' I said, watching him hit the button.

'The age you need to be to wear those pants. Got it. '

He stepped out of the elevator and I felt myself moving forward after him. My hand caught the door before it could close, blocking the sensor. 'I 'm going to burn the pants. '

He paused and turned to look at me, 'Good choice. '

I stood there, wracking my brain for something else to say. I wasn 't ready to go down to my floor. I didn 't want to end the conversation yet. He stared at me with expectant eyes, 'What are you doing, kid? '

'I 'm not a kid, stop calling me that, ' I snapped, stung yet again by the horrible pet name, 'I 'm seventeen. '

'Still a kid, ' he countered.

'We 're only seven years apart, ' I shot back. Why did I say that? Why did it matter?

'Great, only a second grader apart, ' he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. There was something in his eyes I couldn 't quite place. For a fleeting moment of desperate hope, I thought he might be intrigued, too.

'It 's not that far apart, ' I pushed. For some reason I needed him to understand there wasn 't a huge gap between us.

'Whatever you say, kid, ' he accentuated the last word and I tried to hide my flinch.

'I said stop calling me that, ' I sighed, 'My name 's Eren. '

'Well, Eren, ' he leaned close and I felt the air leave my lungs, 'Why don 't you hurry up and get out of my doorway before the alarms start to go off? '

'What 's your name? ' I blurted out.

He paused, as if considering the question for more than it was. As if the answer could possibly be more than one word. Then a salacious smile spread across his lips and he fixed me with a provocative stare that made me forget his eyes had ever been cold, had ever been anything except for searing hot. I wasn 't even sure if my legs were still holding me up, and when his hand gripped my wrist I realized I didn 't care if I could walk again after this.

He leaned close, so close that I could feel his hot breath on my lips. It smelled like dark spices, and my mouth started to water. I could practically hear the smirk in his words as he purred, in a deep, husky voice, 'Call me ' Corporal. '

He pushed my hand free from its hold on the door and I stumbled back, breathless. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The last thing I saw before the doors slid shut was that smirk. I could see it even after the elevator dinged its arrival at my floor. I 'm not sure how I managed to get from the elevator to my bed, but I was glad to have the pillow to smother my frustrated moan.

Fuck.