Pretending to date on thin ice

POV’s Tate

Eren sat up slightly, brows furrowing in curiosity. “What? Are you ok?”

I huffed a laugh. “Barely. I almost got totally run over by some chick named Penny. That electric car of hers barely made a sound, and I swear she was going, like, 45 in the parking lot.” I tapped my nails against the leather steering wheel. “I was looking at my phone, which I guess is my bad, and freaking Philip Crane saved my butt.”

Eren snorted a laugh at that. “What?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I feel really bad. He dropped his gear, and Penny ended up breaking his stick when she ran over it. Also…” I cringed, “I completely spilled my iced coffee all over his sweatshirt. He was so pissed.”

Eren’s eyes widened.

“I feel so bad,” I continued. “But the weird thing is, when Penny got out of her car, Philip was being so nice to her. It’s like he was only mad at me.”

Eren rolled down the window slightly. “Well, technically, if you’d been paying attention, that wouldn’t have happened–”

“Eren.”

“But,” he continued, ignoring my slight outburst, “Penny shouldn’t have been speeding. I think they used to date, so that might be why he wasn’t as mad at her. I heard that he was totally whipped, and she totally broke his heart.”

We hit a red light, and I turned to look at Eren. “Shit, that sucks. Still, he didn’t have to be such a jerk.”

“He saved your life, Tate.” Eren reminded me. “He’s really not that bad. I mean, I know that I just joined the team this year, but I still remember when he transferred into our high school and joined the team there. He’s a good leader, just a bit of a hard-ass. Plus, he was already in a weird mood today, so maybe there was something else bothering him.”

The light turned green, and as I stepped on the gas, I let my frustration ease slightly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Caleb texted me.”

I noticed realization dawn on Eren’s face out of the corner of my eye. “I saw him on his phone when we were in the locker room. I guess that’s why.” He gave Tate a pointed look. “You know, he’s really a good guy. I still don’t really get why you broke it off with him. He was basically in love with you, and it seemed like you liked him a lot too.”

I pressed my lips firmly against each other, feeling a sourness flood my stomach. It was no use explaining to Eren all of the complicated details of my relationship with Caleb and how my grandfather had gotten all involved in it. “It just… It was complicated. Plus, isn’t he also kind of talking to Nanaba now?” I tried to shift the conversation.

Eren hummed in thought. “You mean the captain of the women’s hockey team? Yeah, I guess they’ve been hanging out at parties and stuff, but he’s still obsessed over you. You should just talk to him and explain why you had to let him go. I mean, it would be nice if you’d explain that to the rest of us as well.”

I shook my head. Eren said nothing, knowing not to push.

My mom and Eren’s mom were childhood friends, so I grew up with Eren. He’s one of my oldest friends, and while he doesn’t know all of the weird, complicated shit that I’ve got going on, he understands that there are some things I can’t talk about.

“Did you see Mikasa on your way out?” I asked, changing the topic.

Immediately, Eren’s face turned bright red. I smiled. He’d had the fattest crush on Mikasa for literally years, and he’d finally found the courage to ask her out last summer. They’ve been officially dating since August. Still, he always gets flustered when I bring her up. It’s honestly adorable.

“Yeah, she’s been working on a new routine. After my next practice, I’m going to watch it and give her a ride home once she’s done.”

I stared at the road ahead as I listened to him speak. Mikasa was a solo figure skater. One of the best at our school. Back when I used to skate, I’d see her at the rink, but that was years ago. She had come so far since then.

“It’s almost your one-month anniversary,” I reminded him, making a left turn, passing Eldia Berry, my favorite smoothie shop.

Eren’s brows shot up. “Shit, you’re right. That’s this Wednesday. I have to plan something.”

I shook my head, shoulders shaking from silent laughter. “Well, make sure it's something nice. You still have to make up for all the years that you guys were skating around each other.” I sighed. “I still can’t believe it took you so long to tell her how you felt.”

Eren opened his mouth, gaping in fake offense. “Ok, some of us aren’t as impatient as others, Tate.”

I rolled my eyes, lowering my window to let in a nice breeze.

After a few more minutes, Eren’s dorm building came into view. It was one of the newer freshman dorms and was painted a dark grey color. It had a few parking spots in the front, and I pulled into one of them before shutting off the engine.

“Wanna come up for a second?” Eren asked me.

I unbuckled my seatbelt. “Sure, anything to put off grading those papers?”

And that was how I found myself in a pigstye–or should I say, a freshman dorm belonging to four eighteen-year-old boys who had no sense of hygiene. I gagged at the strange smell and hurried to crack open one of their windows. There were clothes all over the floor, bottles of liquor covering their desks beside stacks of unopened books. The only clean part of the room was the top bunk in the back right, and the desk beside it–Armin’s space. His desk was neatly organized, with a few notebooks open here and there. His bag was gone, though, so he must’ve been out doing work.

Eren came up next to me, holding a Tupperware in his hands. I glanced down, scared of whatever was in there. “What is that?” I asked nervously.

Eren smirked, opening the lid to reveal a bunch of burnt, brown blobs. “Brownies. Want one?”

I stepped back, shaking my head. “Fuck, no. I can already tell that that’s Connie’s work. Those are what’s left of what he made during our last cooking elective.”