FRIENDS ➳ jean kirstein

019. PAYING DOUBLE

Eren — November 20, 2020
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Eren couldn't remember the afterparty.

Okay, well, that wasn't entirely true. He couldn't remember anything after he got obscenely high on edibles, but he could remember beforehand as clear as day, when he spotted Armin sticking his tongue down Annie's throat in a corner of the living room.

He hadn't even known they were back together. Of course, he wouldn't have expected Armin to tell him, seeing as they weren't even close to being on speaking terms. And, truth be told, Eren wasn't sure why he was so annoyed that Charlie hadn't told him either. For all he knew, she had no idea Armin and Annie had rekindled their temporarily concluded relationship, and even if she did know, it would've been safe of her to assume that Eren wouldn't care in the slightest.

Overcome with the desire to numb the odd feeling of the ever-growing chasm in his stomach, Eren had stumbled into the kitchen to raid the cupboards in search of the strongest alcohol in stock. That was where he found Connie Springer, his saviour, and his bag of edibles.

If he strained his brain hard enough, Eren could vaguely recall sitting in the kitchen with Charlie, and there was a hazy memory of a sloppy, inebriated makeout with a guy from biology class. He was almost certain that Mikasa's parents had given him a ride home, but the memories of the rest of the night were lost forever.

Eren strongly preferred getting high to getting drunk, and one of the reasons for this was the lack of a hangover the morning after smoking weed or taking edibles. A hot shower washed away the stench of cigarette smoke that lingered in Eren's hair and on his fingertips, then he spent the rest of his morning cleaning his bedroom. Despite the fact that he had been grounded, cooped-up and bored out of his mind for almost a week, he had determinedly avoided tidying his room, but he knew that he could only keep up his pettiness for so long.

There was a knock on Eren's bedroom door just as he finished dividing the clothes that lay discarded on his bedroom floor into a clean pile and a dirty pile. He let out a hum, then his mom opened the door, peeping inside.

"Morning," she greeted, smiling at him like she hadn't been keeping him prisoner all week.

"Morning," Eren replied. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you'd run out and get the groceries for me," she said. "Your dad's working on our anniversary, so I wanted to cook him up a nice dinner and celebrate today."

Eren quirked an eyebrow, feeling a smile playing at his mouth. "Does this mean I'm not grounded anymore?"

"Oh no, you're coming straight back in here as soon as you get home," Carla laughed dryly, giving Eren a taunting look that told him his attempt at deceit was nothing short of adorable. "But it'll do you good to get out of the house."

"You're the one who said I can't leave for a week," Eren reminded her, voice riddled with exasperation. He gathered up the pile of dirty clothes in his arms and made for the door. "I'll just put these in the washer and then I'll head out. Can I take the car?"

"The keys are on the kitchen counter," Carla called after him. "I love you."

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too."

Eren was relieved to finally be allowed to go somewhere other than school and work. Sure, he had snuck out to that party the night before, but that wasn't the point. If it wasn't for the edibles settling his jangling nerves, he would have been constantly on edge about his parents discovering that he wasn't at home, and he missed just hanging out and doing next to nothing with Charlie.

After grabbing the car keys from the kitchen counter, Eren pulled out his phone and sent a text to Ymir, asking if she could meet him somewhere. If his mom was finally giving him free reign outside the house, he was going to make the most out of it and stock up on weed. Then he left the house and slipped inside his father's car. He connected his phone to the AUX, putting his and Charlie's Spotify Blend on shuffle. A ping on his phone snatched his attention, but it was just a message from his mom with the shopping list.