Ice Cream in Winter

Chapter 1

xXx

"Fuck my life..." a brunet, green-eyed young man groaned.

Eren Jaeger, nineteen years old. There he was; a freshman of History and English literature on the second day of his university classes and he was already running late.

Waiting in line at Starbucks, he glared at the screen of his smartphone, which glared back at him with the mocking 8:07 digits. The class started at 8 a.m. sharp, or at least his professor had said so the day before. He could have sworn that it was 7:40 just two minutes ago.

Tapping his Converse-covered foot impatiently, he stared at the back of the head of the person standing in front of him; a person who couldn't decide which coffee to pick for the past three minutes.

Eren huffed, trying to keep his nerves in check, figuring he was late anyway, so what difference could a minute or two (or twenty, judging by the person in front of him) make? At least, the University was just around the corner, which also explained the unnatural crowdedness. Were all these people as late as he was?

No. No one was as late as he was. And this? This was God saying 'Eff you Eren Jaeger, for having a caffeine addiction'.

Eren heaved a martyr's sigh. 'Oh, and for being too lazy to make your own damn coffee in the morning. Sincerely, God.'

Or something like that.

So he spent another minute staring down at his dark green sneakers before it was finally his turn.

"Mocha latte... Uh, chocolate," he muttered, not being really accustomed to ordering at Starbucks. He checked his phone again, finding that it was now 8:10. He could always try to convince his professor to let it slide because of the academic quarter... Maybe.

Paying with loose change and grabbing his cup, Eren hurried out of the shop, figuring it could take him three more minutes to the building and one minute to the classroom.

And then there was this troublesome shoulder in his way which he didn't see until he ran right into it and nearly dropped his long awaited coffee.

"Hey, whoa," Eren danced a bit to avoid spilling, glancing at the owner of the said shoulder. "Watch it, kid."

The 'kid' turned around and gave him a homicidal glare; the steel blue eyes boring straight into his made him feel at level with the guy. Or shorter even.

"Excuse me?" Said the unexpectedly deep masculine voice that came from the mouth of an equally masculine, angular face.

Eren felt his jaw drop. Not every day did he see a grown man that was what, 160 centimeters short... Scratch that - tall? He really looked like a kid from behind, with that light grey hoodie and sweats, especially with the sports bag that looked similar to those of high school students.

"Uh, sorry?"

"Move," the guy pushed past him, obviously in a hurry as well.

Eren watched him disappear into the crowd and huffed. Whatever. He was a nice guy, but hell, he couldn't make everyone's day, especially when being glared at. He had more important things to do and places to be.

xXx

8:14 and 37 seconds

Practically falling through the classroom door, Eren scrambled in and hurried towards Armin and the seat that he had saved up for him.

"I'm sorry for being late," he mumbled and waited for the professor to say something, but the man only checked his watch and sniffed, continuing the lesson.

"You almost didn't make it," Armin whispered at him. "Where the heck were you?"

"Coffee," Eren showed the cup that was now sitting at his desk.

The blond rolled his eyes and shoved a paper in Eren's direction.

"What's this?"

"Attendance list. I didn't turn it back yet so you can add yourself."

"Thanks man," Eren grinned and scrawled his name down.

'Primitive Society and Early Civilizations', was the heading on the paper, with the date of October 2nd, 2013.

"So what's the first lesson," he asked Armin in a whisper.

"He talked about the syllabus and now the first thing we're gonna hear about are the archaeological methods of dating."

"Is that about how people dated in Paleolithic?" Eren snorted into his hand, causing a couple of people in front of him to turn and stare at him.

"You're such a moron," Armin sighed with a tiny smile. "I'll lend you my notes, but please let me listen now."

"Fine, fine," he calmed down a bit. It was all good; felt good. He had his coffee, he was wide awake and he managed to get to class without further complications. What could possibly go wrong?

xXx

"I'm doing what now?!"

Mikasa, his beloved adoptive sister, gave an exasperated sigh.

"See, I told you he'd react this way," she said to the blond girl sitting between Eren and her. They both have waited for Eren at the nearby café after his classes.

"You knew about this diabolical plan?" Eren squawked at his, also beloved, girlfriend. "Annie, you know I can't dance!"

"Yeah, that's why dancing schools exist, to teach you," Annie explained.

Oh how nice.

"Sure but, what if I have no desire to learn?"

"You do."

Eh.

"Okay, wait," Mikasa interrupted. "We've found this dancing school that's close to your faculty and it has a contract with the University so it counts as P.E. class, which is mandatory."

"Yea, I know that," Eren grumbled.

"So, instead of spending two hours a week in a smelly gym, you'll be dancing with your girlfriend!"

"But I don't wanna-" he began but then met Annie's gaze. "Oooo-kay..." He sipped on the orange juice he'd ordered.

It hadn't even been four months since he and Annie had gotten together, and she already had him leashed. Mikasa loved it of course, and the two had become nearly inseparable. So, if his girlfriend wasn't over at their house, Mikasa's best friend was, and that meant being under girl-watch almost 24-7.

And now dancing.

"I dare to assume you'll be joining us," Eren glared at his sister.

"Of course! I just need a victim. I mean a partner," she and Annie laughed.

"Come on, it'll be nice," Annie said with a rarely gentle tone, putting her small hand on top of his.

"Okay fine... But don't complain when I stomp on your foot. Because it's inevitable."

xXx

The word 'nervous' was an understatement.

Eren was positively twitchy and spooked. First, he really, really wasn't made for dancing. Yes, he could sway and wiggle when he went out to a club, but real dancing with real steps? No, sir. Second, he was about to embarrass himself not only in front of his girlfriend (he believed she actually wanted him to, just for funsies), but before a bunch of people he didn't know and before the instructors... Who will then probably ask him something similar to 'Why the hell did you even come here?!'

So yeah, spooked.

Mikasa had found her victim. It was Jean, of course. What that guy wouldn't do just to have an excuse to talk to her. But as far as Eren knew, Mikasa kind of liked him too, just enjoyed yanking his chain a bit too much. So she agreed to go on a date with Jean if he went to the dance school with her.

And so, there he was, standing practically in a corner of a big dance studio, waiting for the class to start. It was a nice place, he had to admit.

The room was big and bright, and tastefully decorated in Latin-American style. One wall was fully covered with mirrors and on the opposite side of the room, in the corner was a big stereo and a shelf with numerous CD's stacked in heaps.

"It's so nice, I like it already," Mikasa beamed at Annie, who was in the process of tying the laces on her sneakers.

Someone cleared their throat and Eren turned to look at the tiny young woman with strawberry blond hair standing by the room entrance.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to our studio! My name is Petra, and my dancing partner Levi and I will be your instructors. We'll begin our first class in a few minutes." She smiled and got busy with tying her hair into a high pony tail.

Eren looked around for this Levi guy and while he did that, the Latino rhythm boomed from the speakers that were propped in the upper corners of the room. Everyone turned towards the stereo and there he was...

The guy from Starbucks.

The guy who he'd called 'kid' in his face.

And as Murphy's Law commands, Eren's new instructor stared right at him. There was a spark of recognition in his eyes and one thin eyebrow then arched, most likely dooming Eren for all the eternity.

Just great.

xXx

To be continued...