The Only One I See

Truth or Dare

"Adjective?" Eren whispered. He knew it was wrong but could he really be blamed? Jean hadn't even explained what each of those words had meant. That short weekend between Levi's Friday tutoring and Jean's Monday tutoring was just not long enough.

"Adverb, Dumbass. Why did I even agree to tutor you? It's a lost cause," Jean knocked the books from the desk. Eren muttered an apology. "I was tempted to have you do my homework but I'd rather give it to a Special Ed kid and get at least a C. You suck!" Eren cringed a little. Jean noticed and took the opportunity to make another gay joke. "That's not all you suck," he leaned it close and whispered in the freshman's ear, "Faggot."
...

"Come on, drink it!" said the bubbly voice of a girl who was obviously drunk, "Don't be a puss." Eren sniffed the fizzy liquid suspiciously. It smelled awful, like bad memories. Like pain and tears of a small child. This was the same stuff father used to keep in the basement. The same stuff that made him menacing and violent. The same stuff that left bruises on Eren's face and arms.

Ignoring the uneasy feeling overwhelming his gut, he downed the shot... then another... then another. This was Eren's first party; the last thing he wanted to do was seem ungrateful towards the high schools for letting him, an eight grader, join in on their fun.

Not five minutes later, the young boy was pulled out of a sloppy drunk grindfest called the dance floor and into the middle of an intense game of truth of dare. So far the only damage was a one half naked girl, a couple violently making out, and a messy-haired boy who was really, really high.

"Okay, Eren. I dare you to," the half naked girl paused to hiccup. She put a finger to her chin as if wisely choosing her next words. Not that those words were to come out intelligent due to the vast amount of booze in her blood. "Kiss the most attractive person in this circle." Eren looked around the group. The first thing he noticed was that everyone there was older than him. He knew that the party was mainly high schoolers but the alcohol had temporarily whipped his memory of all obvious details, including the fact that being here was far too risky.

Eren didn't know if it was the alcohol or the age, but everyone looked pretty attractive right about now. Skinny girls in short skits, tall boys in bro tanks. He looked back at the girl who had given him the dare. She was pretty cute. She was also pretty drunk. But with the look on her face and the tone in her voice, she guessed that Eren was going to pick her as the most attractive person. Then Eren looked at the person he actually wanted to kiss.

Jean.

Jean was the freshman boy that had invited him. He was one of the only here who Eren had actually connected with at his temporary middle school. They had hit it off quickly and luckily their friendship had carried over when Jean moved on to high school and Eren had only just started eighth grade. The boy had always had a secret crush on his senpai but was too afraid to tell him. He had invited him to a high school party as sort of a goodbye celebration. Eren was getting moved to another foster family in a new district and this was the last time they were going to get to see each other.

With the alcohol in his system, Jean looked exceptionally handsome. His brown eyes looked exceptionally loving and his lips looked exceptionally kissable. At that moment, Eren was grateful for the booze giving him a boost of confidence. He was grateful for the embarrassing dare. He was grateful for the last chance to show Jean just how much he cared about him.

He leaned sideways (almost falling on top of Jean due to his unstable crossed legs) and laid a sloppy yet loving kiss on the older boys mouth. Eren closed his eyes, scared to see his reaction. He could have sworn that he felt Jean kiss back slightly.

When he pulled away, a crowd of surprised faces had gathered. Someone had even stopped the background music. Apparently they had been kissing longer than Eren had assumed. Jean looked around at the different faces and reactions. His eyes came to rest on Eren's. He expression went through a cycle of surprise, confusion, shock, and finally (after scoping the crowed once more) landing on anger.

"What the hell? Get off me!" Jean pushed Eren away. All of the happy, fuzzy feelings that the alcohol gave him were whipped away with one shove.

"Jean, I..."

"Save it," Jean took Eren by the collar and punched him in the jaw. He squirmed out of his ex-friends grip and ran.

"Who invited that kid? Do you know him?"

"Nope," Eren heard Jean say, "He's just some faggot."
...

Eren ran out the the room crying. It had been bad enough seeing Jean at his new, possibly permanent school. It had been even worse having his ex-friend and past crush taunt him for his actions that took place almost a year ago. Now, the names he called him were triggering painful flashbacks?

Eren ran to the only room he knew to be safe to him. The library. He raced to a secluded table his knew was near the back wall. To his surprise, someone was already occupying his favorite safe spot.

Levi.