please me ; eren yeager x oc

chapter 4 ; aftermath

The party had finally started to wind down. The music still thumped in the background, but most of the guests were either passed out on couches or heading home, the aftermath of too many drinks and too much energy finally settling in. Emma was sitting on a barstool, her head in her hands, trying to ignore the pounding in her skull and the warmth still lingering from the earlier chaos with Eren.

She glanced around the room, hoping to find an escape, or at least someone she could hitch a ride home with. But the crowd had thinned out, and Sasha and Connie were nowhere to be seen. Mikasa had already left earlier with Jean, and Emma wasn't about to call an Uber looking like she had just crawled out of hell.

"You look like shit."

Emma didn't even have to look up to know who it was. Eren's voice was unmistakable, and the irritation bubbling up inside her was just the icing on the cake. She shot him a glare, her vision a little blurry from the alcohol, but his smirk was still perfectly clear.

"You're a real charmer, you know that?" she mumbled, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she tried to stand up. The room tilted slightly, and she swayed on her feet, cursing under her breath.

Eren stepped forward, steadying her with a hand on her arm, but the touch sent a jolt of electricity through her, reminding her of everything that had happened earlier. She yanked her arm away quickly, stumbling back a little.

"Relax," he said, his voice low and slightly amused. "I'm not gonna bite. Unless you ask nicely."

Emma shot him another withering glare, but the alcohol was making it harder to keep her guard up. She rubbed her forehead, trying to fight off the dizziness. "I need to get home."

Eren raised an eyebrow, glancing around the room. "Yeah, no shit. You're not walking out of here in that condition, though."

She scoffed, crossing her arms in defiance, even though standing felt like a battle in itself. "I'll call an Uber."

He shook his head, that damn smirk still on his face. "Not happening. You can barely stand straight. Come on, I'll take you home."

Emma opened her mouth to protest but immediately thought better of it. The idea of sitting in an Uber with some random driver, feeling this drunk, wasn't exactly appealing. And despite how much she hated the tension between them, Eren was probably the safer bet.

"Fine," she grumbled, "but no funny shit."

Eren chuckled, leading her toward the door. "As if I'm the one who started it."

She shot him a look, but he just shrugged, still enjoying himself far too much for her liking.

The drive home was filled with a heavy silence, the tension between them nearly suffocating. Emma slouched against the passenger seat, her eyes half-lidded as she stared out the window, the cold air sobering her up a little. Eren drove in silence, his fingers drumming lightly against the steering wheel, but every now and then, his gaze would flicker toward her.

"So... wild night, huh?" Eren finally said, his tone casual but with an edge to it.

Emma huffed, not in the mood to banter. "Can we not do this right now?"

He smirked, but there was a softness to it that she hadn't expected. "Relax. Just making conversation."

The quiet stretched out again, and Emma found herself feeling awkward. It wasn't just the alcohol anymore; it was the tension, the unspoken things between them that she didn't want to deal with. She hated how he got under her skin, how every look, every word seemed to carry more weight than she wanted to admit.