Alarm Clock - Ereri/Riren (Re-uploaded)

Chapter 26

"Eren, you sounded a bit sloppy at the bridge and your voice cracked again. Fix it. Armin, make sure you get those runs cleaner. Sasha, you really, really need to emphasize the snare a bit at the chorus." said Connie, looking at his notepad full of feedback he had for us. He could be a jokester most of the time but when it came to band and sports, he really took things seriously. He was super talented and really had an ear that allowed him to hear any areas that needed improvement and find solutions for them. We all did but Connie usually played the easiest parts giving him more time to pay attention to the rest of us. At the end of band practice, he would always go through the mistakes he caught through it and go down a list of things we needed to fix like a football coach going over the next play.

"What about your baseline on the second verse, Connie? It wasn't as clean as it used to be. It was a bit lethargic." said Armin, clearly pissed that Connie was the only one not getting scolded.

"I, unlike some, am well aware of my shortcomings and willing to work on them, Arlert." he said in a snobby tone. Armin then stuck his tongue out but was ignored by Connie as he made his way over to Sasha, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey guys, let's take a break from bickering. I got a new song." I said getting up and strapping my guitar back on.

"Let's hear it, hippie." Jean said, taking another bite out of his cookie as Marco sat there right next to him against the wall, asleep on his shoulder. Today was the day I could finally show the band a new song I wrote for Levi because he didn't come to watch practice today. He had been coming for the past few weeks and would often just scoff at Jean and Marco and ignore the fact that Armin was there. We'd usually go out for coffee or a snack afterward so it was nice having him around.

"Yeah Eren play it! It's been a month since you got a new one for us and we need new material for the show next week." said Sasha as she bit down on a hamburger Connie had bought her a bit before practice.

"Wait. Next week is April fools day! Shit Hippie does that mean I have to come to your shitty concert? I was gonna take Macro to a fancy restaurant!" exclaimed Jean, food still in his mouth.

"You're taking me to a fancy restaurant?" Marco said in a sweet tone with gleaming eyes and a wide smile, clearly awoken by Jean's yelling.

"Of course. Anything for you baby."

"I love you baby."

"I love you." they said as they slowly inched to each other's faces, eventually slamming into an aggressive french kiss. Alright let me explain. February is the busiest time for us. Jean has this illegal skate tournament that goes on for a month straight every year. Marco is busy supporting him and being a social justice warrior for black history month. Mikasa is busy getting ready to switch trimesters and does stunts for Annie's weird obscure films she has to submit by March to a festival. Me, Connie, Sasha and Armin go to this 3 day music festival that happens to be held around Valentines day. I took Levi with us this year and Armin was of course being weird about him being there. I kind of understand because it was our band's thing, but Armin brought a date last year I really didn't get the big deal. Anyways, since Valentine's day was a day none of us could really do anything, we all kind of just replaced it with April fools day and now it's a big joke. Levi didn't really seem to get it but he said he'd play along.

"Boooo! Get a room!" groaned Sasha. But they didn't stop of course. "Eren, are we gonna have time after the concert? Me and Connie were going paintballing. And don't you have anything planned with Levi?" she continued, now looking into my eyes with a bit of hope. I then noticed Armin roll his eyes a bit, as he usually did when Levi was brought up. I ignored it.

"Yeah I do, that's why we're playing the new song at the concert. And that's why I actually scheduled it for that day." I said excitedly. But my wave of happiness was cut short with an explosion from the person I least expected.

"Holy fuck Eren! You've got to be fucking with me. You're telling me I am supposed to play a pathetic little love song for your little emo midget?! Really?! We all have lives Eren! And they don't revolve around your little romance with the guy who used to date the girl you cheated on me with! And I'm the one who's still alone?! Forget it! I'm not playing the fucking show! In fact, I've tried to put up with this bullshit for how long now?! Don't expect me to show up to any of the practices anymore! But hey, maybe Levi can replace me with that too!" yelled Armin before storming out of the room with his guitar strapped fully to his back. And the door slammed shut behind him. For once, Jean and Marco pulled away from each other, food was actually falling out of Sasha's mouth and Connie didn't have any stupid teasing remark to add. Those words cut so deep I feared the wounds wouldn't heal. He had really said it all. And the more I thought about it, the more I found out that there was no other way to put it. Was this how he had felt the entire time? That I was replacing him? It was then that an insurmountable level of guilt washed over me. I should be the one who's alone. I should be suffering the consequences. How could I allow myself to be happy when the person I hurt still hadn't recovered?