Remembrance

I

5:00 am. Monday, August 9th

The first time I saw him, life was still and quiet. He was sitting across from me with his hair tucked behind his ears and chain perfectly placed around his neck. His head rested on the palm of his hand, ignoring the sounds of our teacher blabbering about the importance of being on time.

His lips were a tinted peach and traced the perfect curve. His body fitted perfectly against his white long sleeve shirt. His green eyes were mesmerizing, and also glued to the girl next to him....

Mikasa. That was her name. She was beautiful. Her black hair was up to her neck, with a red scarf wrapped around her face. Her deep black eyes gave off a blue tint and her soft smile was only ever present around him.

Him. Who was he? I simply can't remember his name. It started something like–

"HEYY!"

My roommate Finn shakes me violently while I lay sluggishly on the couch.

"We're going to be late you know, and we can't be late on the first day now can we?", they say, sounding annoyed.

I met Finn two years ago during junior year. We were on the volleyball team, them being a middle blocker and I, an outside hitter. We instantly clicked over our shared interest.

Finn was a wonder on the court. Their long springy legs made their jumps insane just from watching on the sidelines. Everyone else's jumps resembled little steps in comparison, Finn was like an athletic monster. Their technique was spot on and every time they stepped on the court, their audience would rage. The entire town either loved or envied them. I wanted nothing more than to be their friend.

"It's 5:00 in the morning, and classes start at 8", I say exhaustingly. "Let me rest p-l-e-a-s-e".

"Well of course, we need time to get ready y/n", they say seriously.

"And you think we need 3 hours to do so??", I ask astounded.

"Yes", they blurt out flatly.

There was one thing about Finn that shapes exactly who they were, their obsessiveness.

Finn was obsessed with their image. Whether it was how their hair looked, their clothes, their face, or their shoes, they always saw something in them that needed to be fixed. Knowing that made me sad because in my eyes, Finn was perfect. Their bright red hair laid out in pretty curls against their golden skin. Their arched nose sat perfectly beneath their dark brown eyes and their beautifully imbedded dimples showed beautifully when they smiled.

"Finn, stop worrying, okay, you look amazing and if anyone doesn't think you do, they're lying", I say, trying to convince them to let me go back to sleep.

"Oh no no no y/n. That's not going to work on me! Get. Up.", they say so loudly into my poor ears.

Finn drags me off the comfortable couch and into our shared bathroom. They start to wash my face with a rag as I begin to tell them about a recurring memory in my head.

"I keep seeing this face in my head. It's a boy's face, with short tucked hair and green eyes. He looks so familiar but I just can't put my finger on who it is", I tell them.

"Hmm. Green eyes, short tucked hair, a boy...", they put their finger on their chin and think.

"You could be describing absolutely anyone from our high school you know that?", they say sarcastically.

"Yeah I guess you're right", I sigh. "But, I just feel a certain connection to whoever this person is. Its like my subconscious is trying to tell me something, or even warn me–"

"Or maybe... it's you having dreams about your professor that you'll never see unless you GET READY!!", Finn yells.

After two hours of having to deal with Finn's nitpicking, I'm in my car on my way to the nearest cafe. Novacane plays blasting through the speakers (thanks to Finn) with the faint sound of humming in the background.

"Do you think we'll meet any new friends today?"I ask, looking towards Finn.

They twist their head from looking at the window and look towards me.

"Of course we will, who wouldn't want to be friends with us?", they say smirkingly.

I smile and pull up into the nearest parking space. Finn and I get out and enter into the brown brick building in front of us. Carla's Bakery.

Finn holds open the door as I walk in looking towards the front counter. I look up and the first thing I see is him.

The boy from my memory.

Instantly a wave of nostalgia comes over me as I hear the name a customer ahead of me greets him with.

"Eren Yeager!"

Eren Yeager.