Chapter One – New Chapter

The crowd was roaring loudly, stomping their feet and clapping their hands. The announcer was shrieking, static echoing throughout the field. On the sideline several pairs of eyes watched intently, hope and fear bleeding from each one. It seemed as if time had slowed down in that moment, details that were often missed noticed for once. Beneath a shadow of heat determination rolled in, baring its head and snapping at the others around him. A shrill whistle blew and time returned to its normal pace. A quick flash and movement; there was no time to second guess anything or to overthink. He heard the yells as he quickly scanned past the clashing groups and snapped his hand back.

The ball soared over their heads, the players momentarily stopping to watch. Beaming he watched as it made a slow, clean arc and made its way to its destination. He quickly scanned the crowd and his eyes fell on a figure that was clouded by the lights of the field. An overwhelming sense of love and acceptance flooded him and he turned in time to see the ball land cleanly in –

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Eren Jaeger sat up abruptly in bed, eyes shooting wide open. His mind was still foggy as he waved his hand around on the nightstand to shut off his alarm. It took him about a minute to find it, all the while the alarm wailing as if pleading for its life. Once it was quiet he let out a long sigh and buried his face in his hands. Man what a dream. He fiercely rubbed his eyes and threw his arms overhead, shoulders popping slightly.

Wait a minute.

His head jerked up and he realized the importance of the day. He yanked his blankets aside and scampered into the bathroom, tearing off his clothes as he went. Seconds later he was standing underneath cold water that was being too damn slow to warm up. He hopped around for a second until finally the water became warm and he relaxed. A loud knocking brought him out of his reverie and through the stream of the water he could hear his mom hollering.

"Eren sweetie hurry! You don't want to be late for your first day of high school!"

He yelled back a quick, "Okay Mom!" before continuing on with his shower. He jumped out and attempted to brush his teeth and hair simultaneously. Successful he threw his towel aside and pulled on some boxers and what appeared to be some clean jeans. Remember dressing to impress he thought to himself as he rummaged through his closet. Smiling he shrugged on a denim shirt and swiftly buttoned it. He threw some sneakers on and grabbed his backpack as he ran out of his room.

The kitchen smelled like blueberry pancakes when he rushed in, the smell seeming to seep out into the rest of the house. He threw his backpack down and sank into a chair by the medium sized table. His mom smiled at him and happily chirped, "Aren't you excited baby? It's your first day of high school!"

Eren Jaeger was embarking on a new page in his journey. Today was his first day at Shiganshina High School, home of the Titans! He had been looking forward to this day since his middle school graduation and during the summer had fantasized about the next four years. It hadn't helped that he had spent five days a week there; when he had come back home his mind wandered off and he visualized how his days would go. His mother's warm voice snapped him back to reality as she slid a stack of pancakes to him.

He picked up his fork and took a bite, smiling with satisfaction. The main reason for his excitement was the fact that he was their new quarterback, or as their coach put it, the freshman superstar extraordinaire. He had been playing football since he could remember and his parents had been supportive through the years. The summer before eighth grade he had been playing with his league and, after their victorious game, had been approached by Coach Smith. He was impressed by his skills for someone so young and said that if he was interested the quarterback position at Shiganshina was his.

Of course, he could only play when the time came.

During his orientation he had ran into Smith and had agreed to take the position. And from then on Eren had been attending practices, rushing daily once he was let out of school to get to the high school. It had been difficult at first but he had adjusted quickly and now he was just as strong as the other guys. With the first home game on Friday he was slightly nervous; apparently no one in the school was aware of his grade status. But his Coach assured him everything would be fine and to not let the nerves get the best of him.

Easy for him to say.

Eren finished the last of his orange juice and jumped up from his seat. "Okay let's go!" he urged, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. His mom rushed forward and immediately began throwing her worries at him.

"Are you sure? You don't have to leave this early . . . Why don't you wait a while? There's really no rush! Wait let me fix your hair . . ."

"Mom!" he whined, dodging her hands as he slinked into the living room. "I'll be fine. Love you!"

His father was just slipping out the door. They clambered into the car and immediately took off. They were quiet at first but eventually his father picked up where his wife had left off.

"Eren, remember that high school is much different than middle school. The classes might be overwhelming at first and balancing football will be tough. Maybe you should –"

"Dad, seriously, you too? I'll be fine," he huffed, crossing his arms.

Chuckling his Dad turned onto the main street and smoothly navigated through the cars. "Alright then, I warned you."

Ten minutes later Dr. Jaeger was pulling up to their destination. Eren sucked in a deep breath and turned to his dad. "Thanks Dad, I'll see you after practice."

"I'll be here at 6 sharp. Have a good first day!"

Eren shut the car door and looked up, smiling. Shiganshina High towered over him, its title gleaming white in the sunlight. It was one of the oldest high schools in the district and its age was beginning to show. The bricks were slowly fading and its windows were becoming foggy from years of wear. The stone steps leading to its entrance seemed unaffected despite all the trampling it had encountered.

Nervously pulling on his strap he took another breath and joined the crowd rushing in. The school board had gotten funds to start repairs on the aging building and had started from the inside out. As he stepped in his turquoise eyes widened, amazed at the major difference from its outer shell. The floors were new, the tile clean and gleaming under the lights. The lockers were original but had recently been repainted and repaired. The walls had been repainted as well; several colorful posters already covered them, announcing the various clubs and welcome back activities going on that week.

He hadn't seen anyone from his middle school yet and he figured they were probably as lost as he was. Smiling he wandered through, trying to find his homeroom so he wasn't that idiot who stumbled in late. Minutes later he found himself back in front of the staircase leading to the Language classrooms when he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Eren! Over here!"

He turned and scanned the crowd to see his best friend, Armin Arlert, dashing towards him. Grinning he began jogging in his direction. He waved fiercely and, once the two were close enough, engaged in their hand shake that they had made during childhood. Laughing they quickly hugged and faced each other. Armin's blonde hair had grown slightly longer over the summer and now grazed his shoulder. His blue eyes were wide as he glanced all around him.

"This is so surreal. We're in high school!"

Eren laughed and replied, "I know, after what felt like a long summer it's great!"

"It must be even better since you're playing football."

Eren sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, y-yeah I suppose so."

"Your first game is on Friday! Mikasa and I will be there, cheering you on like crazy!"

Their other childhood friend, Mikasa Ackerman, was also attending Shiganshina. Out of the three of them she was the quietest one and was always worrying over the two. He hadn't seen her much over the summer because she had gone to visit family in Japan and had only returned last week. Thankfully the three of them had gotten the same homeroom so they could start the day together.

The duo went on talking as they scanned the doors for their homeroom. Eventually they found it, luckily just as the bell rang. They exchanged nervous glances and hesitantly entered. A young woman was standing at the board, scribbling her name onto the board. She greeted them cheerfully and assured them to sit where they pleased. They settled in the back and watched as other nervous freshmen trickled in.

"Where is Mikasa? She is going to be late," Armin whispered nervously.

"I dunno. It's not like her to be late," Eren muttered, frowning.

Armin opened his mouth to reply but, right on cue, the bell rang and their friend dashed in, black hair fluttering about her as she skidded to a stop. The teacher gave her the same cheerful welcome and she rushed over to where her friends sat. Her black eyes examined them as she sat in between them and threw her bag onto the desk. She brushed her long hair over her shoulder and coolly said, "Fellas."

"We thought you were gonna be a no-show!" Eren said, grinning.

"You had us worried," Armin threw in, pouting slightly.

She rolled her eyes at him. The teacher, who was named Ms. Thomas, gave a quick introduction and proceeded to pass out their schedules. She allowed them to talk amongst themselves until the bell, smiling once more before settling down at her desk. Once they got their schedules the trio immediately began seeing what classes they had.

"Sweet! Armin we have Math together!"

"Aw Eren, you better not use me for homework . . ."

"Armin, we have English together."

"Oh cool Mikasa! We can edit each other's papers."

"Oooh Bio with you Mikasa!"

"Eren, don't mooch on me either."

"Aw, come on you guys!"

The bell rang and everyone nervously shuffled out, examining the map on the back of their schedules. The trio all had different first periods so they bade farewell and set off in different directions. Eren took a deep breath and followed the map to what he hoped was his Honors English class. He turned the paper around and cursed under his breath. Thankfully he managed to find the class and slipped in and settled in the back. As the teacher introduced himself and explained the course Eren gave a sigh of content and couldn't stop the grin on his face.

Let's get my first day of high school started.

Another Ereri High School AU haha . This one , along with The Project , have been in progress for quite some time now . I'm the kind of person that , when it comes to writing , loves to tackle different projects at the same time . So I will be working on both simultaneously . But don't worry ! I'm making sure that they aren't similar in any way so you all won't be stuck reading the same story in the same AU but with different storylines . So let me know what you think about it ! Leave a review and let me know what you liked , disliked, what I should work on , etc . I'll see you all next week !