When Flowers Bloom-EreHisu fanfic

3. Something New

Eren's first period was nothing special. The teacher used up the first 20 minutes going over guidelines and supplies they'd need for the class. After that he let the class mingle for the remainder of the period. Soon after the bell sounded and Eren and his friends each left for their next class.
The art studio was surprisingly close to his first class so he ended up being the first student there. Instead of individual desks three rows of big wooden tables filled the room. Paint was spattered over almost every table. On the walls were a variety of different pieces of art, no doubt made by past and current students. He was too busy gazing around to notice his teacher entering the room.
"You're here early." He spun around to face her. Her auburn hair was pulled up into a messy bun but a few stray hairs still fell around her face. "I'm the art teacher, Petra! Or Ms. Ral, call me which ever I don't mind."
"I'll just stick with Ms. Ral." He liked keeping things as formal as possible.
She looked over to the clock hanging on the wall. "Everybody else should start showing up in a few minutes. Sit wherever you'd like."
He picked the far end of the table closest to the windows. Whenever he could he always chose the window seat. He enjoyed daydreaming while staring out into the world.
Ms. Ral spoke up again. "What's your name kiddo?"
"Eren Yeager".
She skimmed through her attendance sheet. "There you are. You weren't in my class last year. What made you decide to pick art this year?"
Put on the spot he came up with a random excuse. "I just..wanted to try something new."
She bought it, smiling and saying "Well that's good! Art is really a fun subject."
Students finally started making their way inside and Eren sat patiently waiting for the class to start. He looked over at the door and soon Christa walked in. She quickly glanced around and upon seeing him her whole face lit up. Smiling she made her way over to him.
"Hey, Eren." She pulled up a chair next to him setting her pink bag down on the table. "My first class was on the other side of the school. I had to practically run to get here on time."
"I'm lucky, my class was right next door." Eren smiled at her. Her bright open personality was hard not to get warmed up to. He thought to himself, even though she was so friendly, to him it felt like she was hiding something. Those thoughts were chased away as Ms. Ral introduced herself to the class. After laying down the ground rules and what was expected of each student the rest of the period was free time.
Eren spent the rest of the period mostly listening as Christa talked about whatever popped into her head. He occasionally added a word or two to the conversation. She was very animated when she spoke using her whole body as she talked. Eren was amused by that. The bell rang all too soon and they were off to their next class. They ended up going in the same direction and when it was time for them to split up she sadly said her good byes.
"I'll see you later, Eren!"
He gave a small wave as she left. "See ya." For the rest of his classes he looked forward to their next shared class. He didn't know what it was about her that had him so interested. Was it her sweet tone of voice? The way she gazed at him each time he spoke? Just her inviting atmosphere? He had no idea. He hadn't been so excited to be around someone in his entire life. To tell the truth he wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling.
Each class he was in his eyes kept darting back to the clocks hung up in each classroom. Counting down the minutes anxiously. The bell rang and his next period was his study hall class, which essentially was a free class to do whatever you want as long as you behave. As he entered the classroom a heavy hand clasped onto his shoulder. Whipping his head around he relaxed when he saw who it was. Reiner.
"Eren, my fish! How've you been?" Reiner said tussling his hair affectionately.
Eren grinned attempting to shove him off. "Cut it out. I'm not a freshman anymore." They'd been on the soccer team together last year and Reiner being a junior had been given Eren as his fish for the year. Eren liked Reiner because even at the start of the year he treated him like an equal. Most other upperclassmen made their fish their personal slaves. Reiner mostly used him to scare other freshmen since Eren was notorious for starting and finishing fights. The two of them made a good team.
After the formalities Reiner looked down at Eren. "Heard you didn't sign up for the soccer team this year."
Eren scratched the back of his head. "Uh..Yeah. Some other stuff came up that's kinda important."
"Did you get a job? Or.." Reiner raised an eyebrow. "You too busy with your girlfriend?"
Eren stuttered. "N-no! It's not that-"
Reiner just laughed. "I'm just messing with ya. I know there's more important things besides high school sports." He walked Eren over to a vacant table and sat down with him. "But listen, no matter what you're still my little fish so I'll be looking out for ya."
Eren chuckled half heartedly. "You and I both know I can take care of myself."
Reiner grinned patting Eren on his back. "Oh trust me I know. Hey by the way, you free this Friday?"
"Yeah most likely." Eren already knew where this was going.
"After the first football game of the season I'm having a party at my place. Show up."
Eren had been to plenty of Reiner's parties before and the only word he could use to sum them up was chaotic. With Reiner being captain of the varsity football team and almost in every other sport available, he was very popular. Mikasa and Armin weren't really the party type of people, and neither was he truly, but it was the only place he could really let loose and forget about reality for awhile.
Eren leant back in his chair. "Yeah I'll be there."
Reiner grinned. "Good. My parties ain't complete unless you're drunk as shit and starting fights." He laughed out loud.
"Yeah." Eren quietly agreed. Last year had been a rough time for him. Because of his mother's diagnosis and her rapid health decline, Eren had lost himself for awhile. He had distanced himself from his closest friends and let his anger swallow him up. He had explained everything to Armin and Mikasa and had apologized because of how guilty he felt. Of course they instantly forgave him and understood where he was coming from but that didn't excuse the person he'd become last year. Eren had made a promise to himself to not fall back into that pit. And he was determined to keep that promise.
He and Reiner used the rest of the period to catch up and reminisce. The bell rang and Eren went to lunch but the whole time he was too giddy to see Christa again. As soon as the bell dismissed them he hurried to his next class. It was a good distance away so he was out of breath as he made it.
The desks were set up into pairs and located in the back half of the classroom was the cooking stations complete with an oven, stove top, microwave, and sink. Christa was already seated and tying her long hair into a neat braid. She waved at him as he walked over. "The teacher said we could pick our partners so I saved you a seat."
Eren set his bag on the back of his chair as he sat down. "I'm glad you did." He glanced around the room. "I don't know anyone else in this class." There surprisingly weren't that many students. Including Eren and Christa there was only 12. Eren commented on the lack of students and Christa giggled. A heavenly sound really.
"Well, most kids our age don't really like cooking for themselves. But I've been cooking since I was little so I think it's really fun!"
Eren crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, so you only took this class because you know you'll get an easy A?"
For a moment her smile faltered. "N-no that's not true! I'll work hard to get a good grade in this class. I really do love cooking!"
He couldn't help but laugh at her frantic reaction. "Christa, I'm only joking."
She lightly hit his arm. "Don't tease me." She crossed her arms but she didn't look all that upset.
Their teacher introduced herself, Ms. Brzenska, and mostly explained safety guidelines. Not wasting anytime like his previous classes they immediately got to work. "We'll start off with something easy." She walked around the classroom passing out the recipe instructions. "Even beginners can manage this." She said confidently.
Eren looked down at the recipe. Pancakes. Christa leaned over to get a look too. "She's right, pancakes aren't too hard."
She seemed confident enough, how hard could it be?

•••

"Eren, you have to use a whisk or else the clumps won't smooth out." Christa commented with patience. She glanced over at the stovetop. "And you put the heat too high for the pan."
Eren scoffed as he switched his spoon out for the whisk she handed to him. "I figured if it's hotter they'll cook faster."
Christa brought her hand up to stifle her laughter. "No they'll just burn on the outside and be uncooked on the inside." She took a can of cooking spray and lightly coated the inside of the pan.
Eren watched as she expertly handled everything. She hadn't even looked at the recipe since it was first handed out. He felt a little embarrassed that she had to hold his hand the entire time. "I think the batter's ready."
He tilted the bowl as she looked into it. "It's perfect. I'll pour it."
Eren held the bowl out of her reach. "Let me make one first." Unsteadily he tipped the bowl attempting to make the perfect pancake. He ended up pouring too much and his pancake became a big blob that almost took up the entire pan. Christa giggled. "What's so funny?"
She shook her head taking the bowl from him. "Nothing. Have fun flipping that over."
He grabbed two spatulas and attempted to flip it. Balancing it with the spatulas he successfully flipped it over, although it looked slightly pale. "I don't think I let it cook long enough."
Christa looked at it. "It doesn't look inedible though." She touched his arm. "You did good! Now I'll make the rest of them, okay?"
He stared into her blue eyes a little too long before answering. "Sure, sounds good." Hesitantly he pulled his arm away from her touch stepping back as she finished pouring the mix. She seemed in her own world as he stared down at her. His heart pounded in his chest and he felt himself blush. He shook his head and turned to the sink to wash the dishes they had dirtied. Get a hold of yourself, Eren! He wasn't sure what had just come over him. He felt overwhelmed by her presence suddenly. Not in a bad way, just..he was unsure. Christa hadn't seemed to notice.
Pushing away his thoughts for now he finished cleaning up as she finished cooking. The other groups had all finished just after Eren and Christa. They sat back at their desks to eat what they'd made. Lucky for the class, especially Eren, they were graded on effort rather than skill. If not for the grading system Eren certainly would've failed this lesson.
Even with syrup and butter he struggled to eat his creation. He somehow managed to burn and undercook it. The inside was gooey and didn't have the most appealing texture. Christa glanced over at him as he barely finished his first bite.
"You don't have to force yourself to eat it, you know." She pushed her plate of perfectly round and golden pancakes in between them. "We can just share the ones I made!"
He was very prideful but he really didn't want to have to eat anymore of his own. "Ok, but next time I'm going to eat what I make. Can't be wasting food." He cut off a piece and immediately melted when he put it in his mouth. "Oh wow, these taste great."
Christa looked down at her hands, smiling. "They're ok, I could of made them fluffier."
Eren shoveled more into his mouth. "If these tasted any better I might just fall in love with you."
He looked over at her as she covered her face with her hands. "D-Don't say that! They're just pancakes."
Smiling softly to himself he pushed the plate closer to her. "Here, I don't wanna end up eating them all."
She brought her hands down gently picking up her fork. Her cheeks had a slight blush to them. Again his heart hammered in his chest at the sight of her. This was something entirely new to him, but it didn't seem all that scary. It felt, right.

End of Chapter 3
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Author's Notes: Sorry this one took so long to finish, my cat recently passed away so I really struggled to write anything happy/cutesy. I hope u enjoy my story so far