Freefall | Eren x OC

*Chapter 34: With or Without You

The next morning you walk downstairs in your sweatpants and hoodie to see people stirring and stretching, groaning from sleeping on the hardwood floor with only blankets to cushion them. Rochelle's already gone you see. Eren's nowhere to be seen, you imagine he probably fell asleep in his own room.

"Uggggh I can't believe we gotta go by Levi's place this afternoon," Reiner groans and stretches.

"Oh, why is that?" you ask as you start up a fresh batch of coffee.

"Mmm he wants us to go over all the record label contract offers and come towards some sort of unanimous agreement before we get a lawyer to look over them next week."

"Oh wow, how many do you have to look over?"

Reiner thinks, "I think five or six?"

"Oh damn, that's so exciting for you guys," you smile tiredly as you pull out a box of cereal.

"Yeah, it really is. Say, we're all gonna grab some breakfast before we head over to Levi's, you wanna join?" Reiner asks as he eyes your cereal.

"Mmm maybe next time," you yawn. "I need a quiet morning before I start cleaning up this afternoon."

Reiner grins and nods. "Hey, is Eren still in bed?" Floch asks everyone as they start getting ready to head out. "I'm sure he is," you respond. Floch nods and takes off for Eren's room.

"Jaeger, get up! We gotta be at Levi's for 12," you hear him say as he opens Eren's door. A loud groan escapes from the room. "Put these on, we're leaving in five."

Sasha and you share a hug and promise to keep in better touch and maybe get together to hang out sometime in the next week or two. Everyone gives you a hug before leaving, thanking you for your hospitality and go to climb in several cars. Eren comes out of his room at last and eyes you as he slips into some sneakers.

"Have a good day," he mutters to you as he briskly passes to walk out the door. "You too," you say as you close the door.

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You spend the morning meditating and showering before putting on some jean shorts and your black turtleneck and get to cleaning the first floor. It's not terribly dirty, everyone was on their best behaviour for the most part. All you really have to do is clean up discarded food, beer bottles and red cups, the occasional cigarette and joint. You gather the blankets and quilts up to take to the laundry room and put the cushions away in storage.

You then vacuum up the living room, kitchen, and hallway, your eyes trailing Eren's room as you work past it. You so wish you could talk to him right now but it's probably for the best that there's distance between you. Eren looked at you with such hurt and what looked like anger when you left him on his bed, and you can't bear to see that look on his face again so soon.

You go up to your room after you're done cleaning to curl up with a good book when your phone buzzes with a text message. You raise it thinking it's someone from last night.

TENGEN UZUI

Kitten, expect to see you tomorrow in my office at 9am sharp.

Your heart feels like it leaps out of your throat. Fuck, fuck, fuck. You had been so preoccupied with Eren's band stuff, with how much work you were getting done around the house, you had forgotten tomorrow was Monday. Tomorrow, you'd have to return to the office and pretend like nothing happened. Tomorrow you'd have to see Porco, and Tengen. You didn't know who you dreaded seeing more.

You feel your breathing becoming shallower as your mind travels back to those memories, how did they only happen last week and yet feel like they had taken place much longer ago? How could you find joy during the week after what you had been through? How could you think of anything else when you had this over your head? Were you that clueless to naively not think about it, thinking it would go away? No, this problem was very real, and very present, Tengen's text had all but confirmed it.