Polar (Erejean)

Disagreements

*A/n - EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance) is a small amount of money that students in sixth form get from the government if they meet specific criteria (e.g low family income). Low attendance or misbehavior can lead to the allowance being withheld

Oddly enough, I actually found myself quite looking forward to my next tutoring session with Jean. Really, the only reason I was so reluctant in doing it in the first place was that I thought the guy was going to just be some rich little brat. Sure, he was no Armin (who was the kindest person I had ever had the pleasure of meeting), but he wasn't as bad as I thought he'd be, either.

Mikasa - my other closest friend - seemed to think differently.

"Listen, all I'm saying is that I don't trust him," she said, shrugging her shoulders and sitting down opposite me. Her, Armin and I were sitting together in the corner of the sixth form center which, unfortunately, was pretty full due to the poor weather outside.

"Good thing you're not the one being forced to tutor him, then," I mumbled, leaning back in my seat. I moved my gaze over to Armin, who was quietly eating a sandwich from his packed lunch. My stomach growled, and I sighed lightly from the noise.

"Did you forget your lunch again, Eren?" He asked, looking over at me with concern clear in his eyes.

"Not exactly," I muttered. "I was meant to get my EMA* over the weekend but the school postponed it." I didn't bother mentioning that it was because I had been showing up late to school on most days; I really didn't want my mood ruined by another one of Mikasa's rants.

Armin shook me by the shoulder a little. "Eren! You should have told us. Have you been eating at home?"

Rolling my eyes, I nudged his hand off of me. "Christ, yes, don't worry. I just don't have anything that I could bring to school with me."

"Here," Mikasa said, taking out half of a sandwich from her lunchbox before sliding the rest over to me. "You need to eat."

"I'm fine, Mika," I assured, pushing the box back to her. I really didn't feel like eating - especially not with Armin and Mikasa staring at me with pity clear on their faces.

"Eat," she repeated, her voice sterner this time, as she pushed the box back in my direction.

"I said, I'm fine," I responded, pushing it back again. She narrowed her eyes at me a little, and I could already feel the agitation bubbling up inside me as I awaited the next word to leave her lips.

"Eat-"

"No," I interrupted, my teeth grit together as I spoke. Armin's uncomfortableness was clear as Mikasa and I stared each other down. I let out an irritated sigh before grabbing my backpack and standing up, my gaze set forward as I walked out of the building.

I knew I was overreacting, but I'd rather just walk away and allow myself to cool down than attempt to bottle up my emotions, which would only lead to an even more ridiculous outburst. I couldn't even tell why I was suddenly so on edge. Everything seemed to be getting on my nerves today. I was so stuck in my head, I didn't even notice what was in front of me, and ended up walking straight into some dumb-

Oh.

Jean.

He looked like he was about to start ranting at me, but his expression softened a little once he properly looked down at me. He raised a brow speaking up, his voice low.

"You okay, man?"

I just shrugged, not wanting to have to stop and talk to anyone at that moment. Before he could say anything else, I started walking off again, sighing softly as I heard him call out, "See you after school, then!"

Despite my easily agitated mood, I did ensure that I was on time to meet Jean for our second tutoring session together. Unlike a few days ago, he was actually there on time, as well. We didn't speak that much on the way there, again and, like last time, the house was pretty empty. It made me wonder more about his mum - I guessed she probably had to work relatively long hours to afford a place like theirs'.

"Why do you think Ackerman chose you?" Jean asked, catching me off guard a little. I'd zoned out whilst he was working on some questions I'd given him.

"What do you mean?"

"For tutoring me," he explained, not bothering to glance up as he spoke. "Anyone in your class is obviously good enough at maths to do it. Why'd he pick on you?"

"Guess I was just the easiest to threaten," I mumbled, leaning back in my seat and staring down at Jean's paper. "Going on that course really is important for me and, unlike everyone else, I don't exactly have parents that'd make complaints if he did take me off it."

Jean gave a short nod as he listened, looking as though he was trying to think of something to say. I just sighed, leaning over and checking out his work before he had the chance to speak again. "You've gotta remember to do the same thing to both sides of the equation," I said, glad to go over a few areas to prevent him from asking any personal questions.

We decided to call it a day when we saw that it had already been over ninety minutes. I started packing up my things, not missing how Jean was watching me as I did so.

"Do you want my number?" He asked, pausing for a moment as I glanced up at him, my brows slightly raised. "Just in case I ever have to cancel last minute or anything."

"Uh, well I would," I started, finishing up putting everything in my bag before sitting up again. "Only problem is I don't have a phone."

It was his turn to raise his brows, then. "Why not?"

I shrugged. "Accidentally broke it a few months ago. Didn't have the money to fix it and didn't see the need to just get a cheap flip phone."

"Ah," he murmured, nodding a little. I wondered if he even understood the concept of not being able to afford something. "Hey," he started again, "what was with you earlier, anyway?"

Great. More questions.

"Nothing," I mumbled, standing up and shrugging my backpack over my shoulders. "Just having one of those days, I guess."

He nodded again, standing up too. "Yeah, I get you," he said, and I couldn't help but snicker slightly. He furrowed his brows a little. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing," I said, shaking my head a little. "Just that, well, you don't exactly have a hard life, do you?"

His voice turned harsh, then. "The fuck?"

"Dude, come on, just look around you," I said, my tone turning a little more aggressive. "Unlike you, I don't have mummy and daddy to run to when I need cash. What the hell do you have to worry about?"

"Just because I live in a big house and drive a nice car doesn't mean my life is perfect," he practically growled, taking a step closer.

"Listen, I'm just saying-"

"No, you're just assuming," he interrupted, walking forward and backing me up against the wall. "You just saw the nice neighbourhood and expensive things and assumed that everything in my life is perfect!-"

"Well, isn't it?"

"No!" He shouted, his face only inches away from my own. He stayed there for a few moments, his breathing heavy and his hands formed into fists at his sides. Neither of us made any movement, though it was clear he was having to hold himself back from hitting me. I didn't get what his fucking problem was. His outburst seemed to have come out of nowhere.

Eventually, he took a step back, a shaky breath slipping past his lips as he did so. "Get out," he said, his words sounding rough. When I made no attempt to move, he spoke again, his voice raised. "Get out!"

I let out a shaky breath before turning around and stomping out of the room. "Rich prick," I muttered, making a point to slam his front door shut as I left. To make the whole situation worse, I still had no money and no phone, meaning I was going to have to walk all the way back to my shitty apartment.

Fuck Jean. He knew nothing about me.