Hot Mess Express

IX.

TW: drug use, abusive parent, body dysmorphia

It had been 2 days since your treaty with Jean at the arcade. You all had gotten back on the road and were making slow progress due to your frequent stops and exploring cities on the way back. In that time, things with jean had been...different.

Although you two weren't at each other's necks anymore, things were kind of awkward. Without your witty back and forth banter, it felt like you didn't really know how to interact with each other. This is what you wanted though, right?

For Jean to stop picking at you, to stop being such a baby? At this point you were starting to regret it. The back and forth arguing with each other was better than this. Right now, you two were like two people on a first date that didn't know what to talk about.

A date with Jean?! Now you were thinking about what that would be like. Would he be romantic or a total tool? He seems like the type to take a girl somewhere romantic, somewhere out of a movie.

A date with Jean would probably be something like an evening picnic under the stars while he paints a portrait of you staring into the sunset or feeding you strawberries in a field of flowers. Dating Jean, huh.

A text from Annie pinged on your phone breaking you out of your thoughts. You considered going to Annie to talk about everything with Jean and what happened with Armin, but you didn't know how to bring it up.

She was your best friend, the person you clung to for safety back home, but she was brutally honest to a fault. You knew she cared about you, but coddling wasn't her specialty, and you were terrified that she was going to judge you for everything that happened – especially since she wasn't keen on you being here in the first place.

Deciding against telling her everything that happened, you sent her a quick text telling her you would call her later with an update but that everything was going fine. You sent her a quick selfie of you with the stuffed animal you won with Mikasa and before you could put your phone away a voice message came through.

Mother Dearest:

Y/n, Any updates on your classes? I'm assuming your grades are where they should be. Send me an update, you know the ladies at book club are dying to hear about you. Also, I'll have Yelena send you more information, but an old associate of mine is going to be doing a guest lecture in a few weeks. Make sure you attend and take some time to speak with him. He will be a good asset to have when looking for an internship. Remember, you have to work hard to achieve your dream. Also, make sure you're doing those exercises I sent you. I don't want you sitting in lectures all day and slouching. You know how poor posture can make you look like you've gained 10 lbs. overnight. Bye darling.

Rolling your eyes, you started trying to come up with a response to satiate your mother but came up empty handed. You hadn't realized it but spending this much time away from her had really felt like a weight lifted off of your shoulders. If she was worried so much about your posture, maybe she should stop putting such a heavy load on your shoulders.

With a sigh, you tossed your phone on the bed without replying and made your way out to the kitchen, pulling a bottle of water out of the fridge. As you closed the door and turned to walk to take a seat, you found yourself running into someone again. "Jean boy we're always doing this." You started laughing without looking up.

"Surprise – not Jean this time. How often do you guys' bash into each other?" Eren looked at you with a humorous glint in his eye. "Oh hey, sorry Eren I wasn't looking. It seems like that happens more often than not these days."

"You're good no stress. I was just grabbing a snack before I go smoke. I figured I'd take the chance now since I thought everyone left earlier." He grabbed a bag of chips out of the cabinet and turned to face you. "Wanna join? Not sure if smoking is your thing or not but I'm happy to share."