Circles | Eren x Reader

Chapter 6- The Bus:

When I took my uniform off at home, I noticed something small stuck to the back of my shirt, right where Eren had pushed me. It was a sticky note with a phone number on it.

    When did he have time to write that?

    I went to throw the paper away, but I hesitated. I guess I had the time to write the list out for him. It'd be the decent thing to do after splitting his lip.

    I plugged the number into my phone and sent the soccer list without any "hellos" or introductions. A few minutes later he replied:

    —————————————————

    xxx-xxx-xxxx

    thanks :)

    —————————————————

    Ew. I didn't know he used emojis... seemed pretty out-of-character for him. The Eren that I've interacted with at school was far too serious for that.

    I sighed. I was off to another late start this morning. The soccer bus left at 7:00 am and it was 6:45 am— and I still had to run to school. I put on my soccer sweatshirt with the AOT label on it— Levi required all of our soccer clothing to be matching— mumbling, "Shit, shit, shit," over and over to myself as I grabbed my sports bag and sprinted out the door.

    When I arrived on campus my face was pink and I was sweating like mad. I threw my sweatshirt on the ground and promised to pick it up before we left— I was too hot to wear it right now.

    I was greeted by my friends at the roundabout: Jean, Sasha, Marco, Ymir, Connie, Reiner, and Annie were all wearing their uniforms; Historia, Bertholdt, and Marco were wearing AOT High School shirts and handing out orange slices before the trip. I was glad they were coming with us. It was nice to have extra friends around to cheer us on. We all chatted amiably until the bus arrived— Sasha and Connie were especially excited about all the food we were going to try once we reached our destination. Jean was talking to me too, mainly warning me about how MP High plays unfair and how I needed to watch out for all of their shitty tricks. I wasn't really paying attention to any of it. My eyes shifted around the roundabout and I saw Eren, Mikasa, and Armin in a small group to the side. Eren was smiling a lot— his lip was still a bit puffy, but he seemed thrilled to be there. I had never seen him express this much positive emotion before. He caught my eye and went stone cold, but I could swear the second he turned away from me he smiled to himself before continuing his conversation with the others.

    Dick.

    The first half of the bus ride went as expected: Levi and Erwin sat in the front seriously, my friends and I sat in the back, and Hanji sat in the exact center so they could talk to everyone. Eren took an entire bus seat to himself and was napping in the corner while Mikasa scanned the bus to make sure no one would touch him.

    Connie, Jean, and Sasha decided to hide behind a seat across from Reiner, Annie, and Bertholdt to play a game of food dodgeball. They all ducked behind the seats as they tossed granola bars and apples at each other.

    An apple smacked Jean in the face. Annie had thrown it and ducked back down at the speed of light.

    "Annie!" Jean complained, rubbing his forehead, "No fair! You can't just stay below the seat the entire time and just wait for one opportunity! No one can hit you then!"

    From behind the seat she replied apathetically, "Isn't that the whole point?"

    "Ugh! Whatever!" Jean mumbled back, signaling the game was over.

    "Hey, guys," Sasha yelled, "I have an idea!" She pulled out a huge box of giant chocolates. "First person to eat three whole bars gets the rest of the box!"

    "Eh, Sasha, if we played that, you'd win," Jean said.

    "Hm. You're right," she thought for a moment. "Okay, new addition. First person to eat all three gets the rest of the box, and second person to finish all three bars gets this as a prize!" Sasha held up a shiny, light blue silk ribbon.

    "That's for girls," said Reiner. "No guy would want to play if that's the prize."

    "Hm. I like that," Annie mumbled as she admired the small piece of fabric. "But, I'm not going to play."

    Bertholdt heard Annie's comment and shot up into the air— "I'll play!" Everyone stared at him, confused.

    "Eh... why?" Connie asked.

    Bertholdt started blushing, "I don't know. It could be fun." He looked away.

    "Historia," Ymir butt in, "I will win that prize for you! Marry me when this is over!"

    Historia blushed, "Of course."

    It was a close game for second place. Sasha had won first with ease, as expected, and had already started munching on her reward. I gave up after finishing one bar. The only boy to play was Bertholdt— and he and Ymir were both almost done. Ymir finished a second earlier and won the ribbon. "For my beautiful Historia," she said, as she tied the ribbon in the blonde girl's hair.

    "I love it! Thank you, Ymir!" Historia beamed, giving Ymir a big hug. I heard Reiner cursing under his breadth.

    Suddenly, the bus reached a steep and windy road. We were finally heading up the mountain. With every twist and turn the whole bus shook. Everyone's faces were pale, and those who ate the chocolate were clutching their stomachs and groaning. Bertholdt was distraught— it looked like he was about to throw up.

    "Stop the bus!" I called, "And open the door too! Bertholdt's gonna puke!"

    As soon as the driver pushed the breaks Bertholdt sprinted to the front of the bus, aiming to get outside before anything happened. Unfortunately, he didn't make it, and he spewed his guts out on the floor right next to Captain Levi instead. The bus froze. Bertholdt collapsed and Erwin carried him outside, calling behind him. "Levi! Bertholdt and I are going to call a car and get back to campus. You and Hanji can handle the rest of the trip."

    Captain Levi stood up. "While we're stopped, everyone go out to eat lunch and get some fresh air." He sniffed, "Tch, it's disgusting in here."

    Sasha jumped out of her seat to leave— "Blouse!" Levi stopped her. "No lunch for you. Wipe this up immediately." He pointed at Bertholdt's leftovers. "There are cleaning supplies underneath the bus."

    Sasha burst into tears after hearing that she wouldn't be getting a lunch, and the rest of us walked past quietly with our snacks.