Notes: It starts off with EreMika and escalates from there so just sayin' you better get used to it in the beginning here.

They're not adopted in this if it helps.

And I hope you're all multi-shippers like myself.

-=-=-=-=-

Summary: In which Jean's mom creates a brand new Frankenstein dessert and Mikasa gets called "bby" by the wrong person before Eren's phone is accidentally stolen.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Mikasa

February 10, 2015

"The sixth movie was definitely better than the third!"

"The sixth movie is where Dumbledore died, though! I just can't like it!"

"Don't you ship Ginny and Harry? That happens in that movie. Besides, the third movie was seriously the worst out of all of them!"

"Not in my opinion; Sirius Black showed up!"

"Okay, Mikasa. It doesn't look like I can change your mind, can I. So I'll just shut up."

I didn't believe it. Eren has a tendency to not let subjects go even if they're long in the past. I'd learned this very soon after meeting him when I was much younger, and that fact was only enforced after we started dating.

We're 21 now. Well, I'm 21; Eren will get there in a month. Today is . . . actually my birthday. Eren and I are currently in a car on our way to one of our favorite pizza joints -- Kirstein's Pizzeria and Bar -- to celebrate with the rest of our friends while also arguing over which Harry Potter movie's the best.

"The sixth movie's still the best."

"Eren, if you don't shut your mouth I'm going to have to do it for you."

"And whatever sh'all you do to shut my loud mouth, dearest?" he replied sarcastically.

He pulled the car into one of the parking space in front of a brightly lit building with the large and shining lights that read: Kirstein's Pizzeria and Bar. The place looked the exact same from 5 years ago with its red and gold colors and its old-western bar theme and you can't forget the giant horse head eating the "K" in its logo. We knew the owners personally as Eren went to college with their son: Jean Kirstein. He was annoying in the beginning but after a while we all became good friends: me, Eren, and our other more recent friend Armin Arlert.

I turned away from the building and stared straight into Eren's beautiful eyes. I never could decide what color they were, but I was suddenly reminded of the time that I'd told him, "The world's secrets are hidden in your eyes," which had admittedly been one of the deepest things I'd ever said to him. It's not as if Eren minded; he was a painter after all and he liked deep things that had double meaning while I found them a bit unnecessary and confusing.

When we went to an art gallery once and I'd commented on how one painting just looked like they splattered dots on a canvas, Eren had immediately gasped in shock, attracting several onlookers' stares. He rambled on to me afterwards about how I had to look at the colors and the way in which they were splattered, but to be very honest it bored me a bit. I don't know if he minded that either, but I called it even since I often bored him with my ramblings about my favorite K-Dramas and whatnot. We kind of just leveled each other out.

Eren raised one of his eyebrows since I'd been staring so long into his eyes. It was almost a bit embarrassing, but this was Eren and I was 100% comfortable around him. He already knew the kinds of stupid crap I got into when I was bored. He accepted me completely.

"I'll do this," I said as I leaned in and kissed him quickly. As soon as I'd turned away he pulled me back down again for another one. I played along for a bit before giggling a little. "We have to go inside, dummy!" I joked. "Come on; the guys are waiting for us!"

"A little bit longer?" he whined while giving me his puppy dog eyes.

I scrunched my nose at him and smirked. "Maybe later if you get out of the car and come in with me."

He sighed. "Alright, fine!"

We didn't look like we were dressed for a night out because we weren't. In fact, I was wearing no makeup, jeans, converse and a Twenty-One Pilots T-shirt. Eren was wearing some nikes, jeans, a plain black T-shirt and some converse as well, except mine were black and his were this kind of teal. When we went to this place it was like visiting old relatives that we hadn't seen in a while and "the guys" were actually 3 guys and 2 girls: Connie, Armin, Jean, and Sasha -- Connie's girlfriend -- and Annie. Then there was our second mom -- Jean's mom -- Mrs. Kirstein.

It was not that long ago that Eren's mom had been killed in a break-in along with his father who had tried to stop the attackers. Never before had I seen Eren so depressed. Comforting someone when they were sad wasn't my strong point and I have to admit that I feel like I wasn't there enough for him during that time. He shut me out a lot and went on tons of walks to "clear his mind" and it seems that whatever he'd done to heal himself has worked since I haven't seen him so sad since. Comforting him honestly was one of the things that I should be able to do the best since both of my parents died when I was eight right in front of me and I ended up being adopted, but I couldn't and it was annoying. Eren has been my best friend ever since we were little and in Elementary school when he saved me from some bullies and now that he's my boyfriend I feel as if I should pay closer attention to him. Overall, I'd felt like I'd failed him in a way. That's why when I see him smile, I can't help but smile back. It makes me feel as if I'm doing something right.

Since both of our parents had died, Jean's mother had been like another mother to us. She loved to cook and she did it often; it honestly wasn't surprising that she owned a restaurant. Even though I'd been adopted by a loving family, I knew I'd never be able to live up to my adopted parents' extremely high standards. I was very good at everything I did, but there wasn't anything that I actually liked doing. I felt as if I was just drifting through life not expecting anything to become of me.

Those were exactly the feelings that Jean's mom had addressed soon after I'd met her. I can remember it like yesterday the conversation:

"What is it that you want to do when you grow up, Eren?" she'd asked innocently. Back then, she had no idea how passionate Eren was about his future career as an artist. Eren always was a person with intense emotions that he needed to express in a healthier way instead of fighting with people. Even at a young age, he excelled at drawing and painting -- abstract art especially. When we were older and it was our one-year anniversary, he'd painted a portrait of me that portrayed me much prettier than I thought I was. I'll always treasure that as one of the greatest gifts I'd ever gotten from somebody; it showed what Eren really thought of me as and to be honest it made me feel like I was really something to somebody.

"I want to be an artist!" Eren had shouted enthusiastically. "My favorite thing to paint is the ocean because my favorite colors are blue and green! Don't the waves and the seafoam look so pretty?" His eyes had shown with a resilient fire that always seemed to be there when he spoke of his true passion.

He was extremely adorable at ten-years-old.

"The sea does look lovely, I must agree," she said. "I have no doubt that you'll be one when you're older!" She smiled and turned her head towards me who had silently been sitting at the other end of the table listening to Eren speak. "What about you, dear? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Eren!" Jean had yelled from upstairs. "I need help with this!"

"UGH," Eren sighed. "Fine! Coming!" Eren ran out of the room not even trying to hide his enthusiasm to go help Jean with something since Jean never asked for help. It must've been something very bad but I can't quite remember what Jean had needed help with now.

Mrs. Kirstein's attention had been partly swayed away from the conversation, but I still replied with, "I don't really know, Mrs. Kirstein. I don't think I'm going to grow up to be anything great." I'd said it so earnestly and Mrs. Kirstein's worried and surprised face had honestly surprised me more than most things did. I hadn't even bothered to hide it. I hadn't realized that what I'd said sounded so depressing and pessimistic back then.

"Darling, don't you dare say that!"

I gave her a confused face. "Why not? It's true."

"Who says you'll never grow up to be anything great?" She was in full-on mother mode at this point with her signature furrowed brows and clasped hands showing her concern.

"No one does; it's just what I think."

"Mikasa, let me tell you something: everybody ends up being great in their own ways; don't you dare say that you're not going to be anything great."

My eyes opened wide and my eyebrows were raised in both realization and surprise. No one had ever taken the time to address those hidden feelings of mine and it made me feel cared about. I could be something great also? But I . . . wasn't passionate about anything like Eren was. Everything was fun to me and I was good at everything, but I didn't have something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Her words had impacted my thinking then, and they still do now. They instilled a sense of hope into me that someone had yet to do. Despite her optimistic words though, I still feel like I'm purposeless . . . for the moment. I choose to believe that I just haven't found my "true calling" yet and it'll come soon.

After years of spending time with Eren and making sure that he was okay, part of me began to think that maybe he was my calling -- my purpose in a way. Maybe I was just destined to care for this man that I loved so much. To be very honest, I have no objection to that; I wouldn't mind caring for somebody who was filled with such passion and kindness. He hadn't broken up with me after all, and I still couldn't understand that decision since sometimes I don't even wanna be around me.

The warmth from Mrs. Kirstein's words and Eren's presence enveloped me as we walked into that pizzeria and bar. The smell of cooking chicken and freshly baked desserts wafted through the air and into my nose. This place smelled of good memories and I loved it.

My skin tingles at the sudden temperature change from the chilliness of the outdoors to the warmth the restaurant. The ambient noise of people chatting and all the smells make me feel nostalgic. I've missed this place a lot since I'd started my new job and suddenly become extremely busy.

Eren sucked in air through his nose. "This place smells like freshly-baked cookies. As always," he added with a smile.

"It really does smell nice in here! I wonder what Mrs. Kirstein's cooking anyways."

"Probably a special dessert for you since it's your birthday." He smirked.

"I wouldn't put it past her."

Suddenly, a familiar male voice calls out to us from farther back in the restaurant, "Hey, guys! We're over here!"

Both Eren and I look up to see our rag-tag group of friends all waving wildly at us except for Annie, Jean, and Connie. Annie is smirking and looks to be on the verge of laughter as Connie's rubbing his head and Jean's holding a menu threateningly above him. I'm guessing that Connie yelled at us and Jean hit him upside the head with the menu to punish him for yelling so loud while Annie was laughing at how stupid they looked.

I smiled and giggled at them before Eren and I started walking through the crowded place towards our friends. I loved seeing their smiling faces; it gave me this nice warm feeling.

When we finally reach the table, Connie complained, "Mikasa, Jean hit me in the head with a menu!"

"Hey, he deserved it!" Jean defended.

"But you hit really hard!"

I laughed at their childishness. I don't remember quite when it was decided, but I was considered the mother of the group and Eren was the dad who taught them all how to act like respectable human beings. If that was true, then I was worried about how our "children" would end up. It seemed that whenever I left them all alone at a table "extremely weird shit happens" according to Annie and Armin. I didn't doubt it; I hung out with some weird people.

"Now, Jean," Eren spoke in a jokingly-stern tone, "what have we told you about hitting your brother upside the head with a menu?"

"Nothing," came his sarcastic reply.

"That's right -- not to do it!"

"Whatever dad," Jean scoffed. "Just sit down, will ya? My mom's coming soon with food. Oh, and Mikasa, she said that she baked something "special" for you -- whatever that means. Be warned, I don't know what it is and apparently no one's ever tasted it, so there's the possibility it'll be shit."

"I seriously doubt can bake anything that deserves to be labeled as shit, but I'll take that warning into consideration."

Eren and I seated ourselves in between Jean and Armin with the latter on Eren's left and Jean on my right. Sasha beamed at me from in front and I could've sworn that there was some kind of mischievous glint in her eye; it was similar to the one she got when she and Connie played pranks on people and it was right before their trap was to be sprung. It was only a small worry in the back of my mind since I doubted she'd do anything super awful to me on my birthday.

"Hey Mikasa," she said, "look above you." She giggled knowingly and everybody looked up above my head.

"Ha ha," I laughed dryly.

Mistletoe hung above Eren and I's heads.

"You guys do realize that it's way past Christmas?" Eren cut in hoarsely since he was still straining to look up at the mistletoe.

Despite the fact that Eren and I'd been dating for a little more than three years, none of our friends had ever seen us kiss. Eren and I weren't big fans of PDA; we both agreed that it was unnecessary and disgusting for people to watch and we didn't want to be that couple. Plus, it made me nervous and extremely bashful. When I kissed, I let my guard down and I became much more vulnerable. I was okay with doing that around Eren, but anyone else and it made me uncomfortable.

Eren looked down to face me once again and he gave me this look that said, are you okay with this? I honestly wasn't, but I didn't want to be that party-pooper and maybe I needed to live a little. If I wasn't comfortable around these guys, then maybe I should start being that comfortable.

I nodded at him and we both leaned in. Eren -- for once -- only tried for a small peck on the lips, but I however thought that if they wanted it then it should be all of it, so when Eren tried to pull away I put my hands behind his head and held him there. I hoped silently that this was making them so uncomfortable that we'd never have to do this again.

It actually got a bit heated when suddenly Jean yelped, "Alright, love birds, that's enough!"

Connie and Sasha wolf whistled.

Armin and Annie just looked uncomfortable -- Armin more than Annie.

When we finally pulled away, we were both breathing a bit heavier.

"Phew, thank God that's over."

"Same," came Eren's breathy reply.

"Ohhhhh, you guys really got into that, didn't ya?" Connie snorted.

"Well, you guys asked for it."

"Oh shit, okay everyone act like we weren't doing anything bad!" Jean shouted quite ironically because his mother had started to come over to us and he'd just swore so loud she probably heard him. Jean was weird like that.

"Hi, kids!" his mom shouted no doubt in an attempt to sound modern.

"Hi, mom!" I shouted enthusiastically back. Jean only huffed a bit. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head at the sight of the . . . interesting dessert she held in her hands.

It looked like a mix-match of every dessert combined. I laughed at the sight of it.

"What have you concocted now?" I joked.

"I call it the Cake-Pie-Cookie!" she exclaimed joyfully. Her smile looked so genuine and sincere that it made me smile even wider if that was even possible.

"What's in it?" I asked, hoping she couldn't detect the worry in my voice. I trusted her completely, but this wouldn't be the first time that she'd experimented and accidentally made us all sick.

Long story. Maybe I'll tell you sometime.

"Notice the pie crust around it and the multiple layers with its cookie-like exterior! The interior is fluffy, light chocolate cake! The chocolate chips on top are extra since I know you love them so much!"

"Wow!" I said, kind of at a loss for words. I didn't know how to show my excitement that she'd put specific thought into this cake without showing my disdain at having to be the first one to try her new invention at the same time. It certainly looked delicious, but just like apple juice and pee sometimes things that looked good tasted disgusting (and like urine). The "21" birthday candle didn't do even a thing to bring down my skepticism.

"Go on!" she encouraged. "Try it!" Mrs. Kirstein cut a slice out of the newly-invented cake-pie-cookie and put the piece on a small birthday-themed plate which she set in front of me, her expression hopeful and expecting.

I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I slowly put my fork into the slice and lifted it towards my mouth. Everyone held their breath and watched as the food hit my tongue and I closed my mouth.

The tension was so thick I could've probably chopped it in half with some of Mrs. Kirstein's butcher knives she keeps in the back.

My eyes shot open and everyone sat there staring and wondering if it'd been in disgust or amazement.

"This is really good!"

There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone at the table.

"I'm so happy you like it!" Mrs. Kirstein shouted happily while clasping her hands together just above her mouth. "It would've been awful had it tasted disgusting."

"I doubted it was going to taste disgusting anyways, mom," I lied while smiling.

She gave me a look like, uh-huh sure you did. She knew me too well.

This was the first time that I was getting a proper look at my "mom" since I'd gotten here and I'm sad to say that she didn't look all that well. Her skin was paler, there were purple bags under her eyes, and her breathing seemed heavier as if it took all her energy just to smile. It took some force for me to keep my smile from wavering and potentially worrying her. Why did she look so . . . sick?

"Are you feelin' okay, ma?" I asked politely.

Perhaps I'm just hyper attentive, but I'm almost positive that I saw her smile waver just a little bit as she said, "I'm perfectly fine, dear!"

Jean seemed to catch on. He assured, "Mom just worked her butt off making this for you, Mikasa. It's not like it's anything serious."

I looked over at him and gave a small smile of thanks. "Thank you so, so much ma for making me this!" I meant every word I said. Mrs. Kirstein had become apart of my small but always growing family that now consisted of Eren and herself. I don't think I can afford to let anyone else into my Circle of Worry. For right now, those two were just fine for family.

Mrs. Kirstein patted my head affectionately and said, "You're welcome, dear. Now!" She was back to her same-old perky self again. "I think I've intruded on your party long enough so I'll be going now! Oh and Jean, please refrain from yelling swear words in this restaurant."

I smirked at her comment that referred back to when Jean had yelled to stop acting weird before his mom came over. Mrs. Kirstein loved to spoil people and Jean especially with all the nice treatment she could manage, but she would never pass up an opportunity to joke with her son.

I looked over at Jean as soon as she'd fully walked away to see him rolling his eyes and groaning. It irritated me just how bad I thought he treated his mother. He's lucky he got to see her everyday and he's lucky he at least had one parent around for his upbringing. Beneath the fun Jean, he was brutally honest and wouldn't hesitate to state his opinion. It's not that part of him that upset me, but it was the fact that he had the audacity to treat his mom like that especially in either mine or Eren's presence since were two people who'd lost their mothers.

I decided not to comment on his behaviour and saved it for another day.

"HAAAAAAAAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUU!" came the chorus of everyone at my table.

I started giggling again; they all sounded so silly I couldn't help it!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MIKASAAAAAA, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOUUUUUUU!" they finished. We all started laughing at Connie and Sasha's "Tarzan the Jungleman" version of happy birthday that included them singing like Tarzan. The only person who'd actually sung nicely was Eren. He sung softly into my ear and it made his voice sound so comforting and attractive. When I was with Eren, I felt like I was at home and at peace. I hoped it never stopped being this way.

"I HAVE TO PEE!" Eren announced loudly. It was somewhat of a tradition among us to announce when we were going to the bathroom and what we were going. "Mikasa, watch my phone for me so we don't have another toilet accident!" He was referring to all the times that he's accidentally dropped his phone in the toilet.

"Okay." He handed me his phone right before he rushed off to the bathrooms across the restaurant. The several pictures on the wall plus the wood floor, wood tables, and western theme made this place feel old. Well, this building was kind of old, wasn't it: about 20 years to be exact. I didn't know the exact details of it, but I do know that Mrs. Kirstein had originally started it with Mr. Kirstein. Wherever he went, no one had ever taken the time to tell me. The only people who knew were Jean and Mrs. Kirstein. In the end I'd figured that if they wanted to tell me that backstory then they could. It's not as if anything really important depended on it.

"So, Mikasa," Armin started from across Eren's empty seat, "how's your job at the smoothie shop been? They haven't cut your hours, have they?"

I smiled at him. "It's been going fine! I actually feel like I'm gonna get a promotion soon. Instead of part-time I'd appreciate it if I were a full-time employee."

"Ah, I see. Nothing interesting going on?" he asked again.

"Not really, but enough about me! How've your human anatomy and biology classes been?" I'd always found those subjects interesting just not something that I'd want to do for the rest of my life, and I found it especially awesome that Armin majored in them.

"Very interesting! My teacher, Professor Zoe, is the best I swear! Her enthusiasm when she's teaching really gets to me, I'm tellin' ya." Armin's crystal blue eyes always seem to light up when he's talking about science and biology. I wonder . . . will my eyes ever light up when I'm talking about something like that?

BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ

I feel Eren's phone buzz with a text message in my hand. The screen lights up and I wouldn't have even read it had I not seen the hearts around the name and in the message. It read:

Levi
<Hey, I was wondering if maybe you'd wanna come over tomorrow night and have some fun? I haven't seen you all week! ugh my mouth's getting lonely all by itself>

Before I could even process what that text meant, another came in.

Levi

<Eren bby just text me back later :)>

"Bby"?

What . . . what did this mean? Who's Levi and why were they sending my boyfriend those kinds of texts. I could feel my stomach clench and the cake-pie-cookie I'd just eaten feel like it was about to make a reappearance if something didn't change.

Was Eren . . . cheating on me?

No, he wouldn't! But . . . would he?

If Levi hadn't said Eren's name specifically then I might've just blown it off as some random person texting him who'd gotten the wrong number. Except, Eren had a very unique name and not many people spelled it that way. I doubted that they'd gotten the wrong number.

"Mikasa?" Armin spoke, his voice full of concern. "You just got really pale. Is everything alright?"

"Do you guys uh . . . do you guys know someone named "Levi" by any chance?" I asked tentatively. I'm not sure if I want to know the answer to this question.

Connie, Sasha, Jean, Armin, and Annie show no signs of recognition towards the name and that calms me down a little; at least I hadn't been the only one Eren had forgotten to tell about this mysterious person.

"Never heard the name before, why?" Jean asked looking genuinely interested to know my reasons.

I didn't hesitate on telling him. "Because somebody by that name just texted Eren somethings that makes it seem like he's cheating on me."

If there weren't other customers in that restaurant, you could've heard a pin drop it was so silent at our table.

"Can I see the phone?" Jean asked.

I handed it over to him so that he could see the new texts. As soon as I'd passed it on to Jean, my other four friends gather around the phone screen to see what he'd said. All four of their faces were a mixture of shock and disgust. Armin just looked appalled entirely.

"This doesn't look good," Armin remarked. "Mikasa, are you okay?"

No. No I'm not okay! Suddenly, all those moments where I'd look at Eren and think, I'm so lucky that I'm the only one that gets to see him this way was a lie. Every little secret we'd shared, every little memory I had with him was all tainted with those two text messages. It felt like . . . I'd lost my home.

I felt like I lost my family.

Panic started rising in my chest and it all felt so familiar. I'd felt this same feeling before . . . when I saw my parents lying dead on the kitchen floor in front of me. I- I- I-

Wait. Stop it, Mikasa. You're just speculating here. Let Eren explain this.

"Mikasa?" Armin asked again.

"I'm . . . fine," I answered shakily.

"Sweetie, you don't look fine," Sasha breathed. "C'mere." She ran over to my side of the table and wrapped me in a hug. I couldn't tell if I felt like punching him in the face or sobbing my eyes out.

"Eren better have a good explanation for this," I heard Jean whisper sternly. His whispering was much scarier than his yelling.

"Explanation for what?"

Five heads with either shocked or angry faces looked up at Eren's innocent but worried face.

"Um . . . what's up with the glaring? Mikasa, I thought I asked for you to look after my phone! Why does Jean have it? Mikasa?"

"Shut up."

"Excuse me?" He looked completely surprised -- like he had no idea what could've happened.

Jean put his hands on the table and stood up roughly. "You bastard--"

"Jean!" I shouted. "Stop! Let me handle this. Hand me Eren's phone."

Only then did things look like they were finally registering in Eren's mind. His eyes widened and his half-smile finally dropped to a full on frown and his eyebrows furrowed making his face look like he was accepting whatever was coming. It was either that or he was getting ready to defend himself. Knowing him, it was probably the latter.

Jean wordlessly handed me Eren's phone.

"Eren, don't move," I commanded. There was nothing keeping Eren from running up to me and snatching the phone away."

"Why?"

"Listen to me for once!" I spat. His voice was like poison to my ears at that moment. I gave Jean and Annie a look that said something around the lines of, "Make sure he doesn't get this phone." They both nodded at me like they'd understood our silent conversation.

I opened up the phone to the text messages and was absolutely horrified at what I saw.

"What are you doing?" Eren asked worriedly. He wasn't worried about my feelings or how I'd react to this but was probably worried about the person who'd sent him that overly-friendly text and how they'd respond if I did anything.

"Who's Levi?" I asked.

"He's one of my friends. Are you going through my texts?!"

"Bullshit he's one of your friends. How come I've never met 'im?" Their conversations didn't seem "friendly" at all. It was so . . . disturbing.

"You don't need to know absolutely everything about my life!"

"Eren, we're partners! We've been partners for almost our whole lives and you think it's not my business to know what you do with other people?!"

"NO. I don't think it's your business!"

"Are you kidding me, Eren?!" I've had enough of this! Eren's acting like I'm the bad guy here, but he's the one who's been cheating on me behind my back! "Do you actually think that I'm just gonna let this slide?!"

"Well maybe I don't wanna lose you so I'm trying to fix this!"

"Fix this?! Do you think you can actually fix this?! What are all these texts, huh?! All those times that you said you were hanging out with Armin and Jean and Connie . . . were you actually going to see him?!" I gestured towards the phone. "And if you actually didn't want to lose me, then you wouldn't have started seeing him in the first place!"

"Mikasa, stop shouting; people are staring!"

"I don't give a fuck if they stare! Everyone should see how awful you are right now!"

"Mikasa," Annie said comfortingly right next to me. She laid one of her callused hands on my shaking wrist in an attempt to calm me down. "He's not worth the fight."

She was right. This . . . wasn't worth it. If Eren couldn't even outright say that he'd been cheating on me then maybe . . . we weren't worth all the screaming that might happen.

But I can't believe that. I can't believe that just yet.

"Annie," I said, "can I stay over at your apartment tonight?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

With that I stood up and ran right out the door with Annie running after me. My hands clenched around Eren's phone. Whatever the rest of the guys did to Eren or how harsh they might treat him didn't bother me in the slightest just then.

I was running away from what I thought . . . was my home. Except my house seemed to be on fire.

-=-=-=-=-

Next chapter coming Saturday, December 19