i. clover

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With your birthday coming up, you were long overdue for a new set. You've been meaning to for a few days now, but you're always so busy. You're tryna finish this year off with a bang, so you've been extra diligent with assignments.

You're just managing your time better, but it's hard. You prefer to run, not study, and with your friends bugging you and tempting you to chill with them instead, it's not any easier.

As you mug your overgrown nails, your phone buzzes, notifying you that someone messaged you. Speak of the devil, you sigh through your nose, picking up your phone.

You huff as your eyes flicker up to look in your vanity mirror. You grab some custom lip gloss—some experimental shit you and your sisters tried. You apply the thick, clear gloss and admire how your lips glisten in the dim lighting of your room. You fluff your hair, the curls bouncing and falling at your shoulders beautifully.

You stand up, checking your outfit and deeming it good enough. 

[ why am i even putting the fits... look if you don't like it, sorry, i cant get everyone's taste in clothes. also just look at the shirt and pants of the fit cuz it's not like i can adjust the shoes or accessories ✋🏾but this is basically what i was thinking]

You shut your lights off and leave your room, looking down the hall, where you know your angsty roommate resides. You shake your head to yourself. You hate to leave her alone right now, but you know she'd only push you away anyway.

You leave her a handwritten note and head out, hopping in your car and putting on your go-to playlist. You drive to Jean's place which is 15-20 minutes away and pull into the driveway, noting a man taking out his trash and a couple of people smoking outside the apartment building.

You mind your business once you get out of the car and saunter up to Jean's room on the second floor. You knock and it takes a few seconds to hear footsteps behind the door. It swings open and you see Jean's tall ass staring down at you. You're not that short, yet his ass still makes you look tiny.

Y'all stare at each other for a second, not saying anything or making any moves before finally you both smile and move toward each other. He pulls you into a tight embrace when you open your arms. "Sure took you're fucking time."

"Miss me?" You pull back to dab him up a bit. Afterward, you walk past him bumping into him with your hip playfully.

"You know it," He laughs. "Haven't seen you since last week."

"..Which was like three days ago??" You cheese, looking back at him and walking into the living space where Connie and Sasha battle each other on their Nintendos. Probably Super Smash Bros.

"Three days too long," He scoffs, eyes flicking to your lips as you grin. "Here, lemme get another hug."

You raise your brow but move toward him anyway. When he grabs you this time, it's by the ass, making you gasp. "Nigga, chill," You mutter. "Why are you always doing the most??"

"My fault," He laughs, tryna act slick but you can't help but laugh with him.

"You stupid," You shake your head as he pulls away, his hands lingering a moment longer.

"And you're sexy."

"Are you gonna stop??" You ask, pushing him away.

"Never, not until gimme a real kiss, and not them cheek pecks you like to give me," He murmurs, following you as you plop onto the couch.

"Jean bugging again?" Connie asks, eyes glued to his Switch. "Need me to take care of him, real quick?"

"No," You laugh. "But I'm sleepy, mind if I just..." You fake yawn, leaning against him and making him mess up.

"Y/n!" He yells which makes you snort.

"Yes!!" Sasha shouts, hitting the buttons extra hard as if to ensure she wins. She hops up, pointing wildly at Connie. "I won! Meaning you owe me a week of whatever take-out I want!!" She starts dancing, leaning over to grab your hand and yanking you with her.

You both start dancing and laughing. "Ayy, ayy, ayy," You hype as she does The Robot, suddenly switching to a Moonwalk, using her socks as an advantage.

You both hug each other tight simultaneously. "I'm sharing my food with you once I get it, for sure," She laughs.

Y'all pull away and sigh as you remember about your nails. "You should cash in Day One of this little wager you guys got going on and then come with me to get our nails done."

"Ooo, sure! Let's go," She nods.

"I hate y'all, bro," Connie grumbles, mugging you especially. "Can't believe you just did me like that."

You shrug innocently. "What? I was tryna go to sleep on you."

"Right, and you totally didn't just sabotage me," He narrows his eyes.

You purse your lips, trying to hold in your laugh. "Nope."

He turns to Jean. "Get yo friend," He tells him making your jaw drop.

Jean smirks, quickly reaching for you but you swerve instinctively, bumping into Sasha a bit and looking at her apologetically. But the swerve doesn't phase him, simply takes your momentary distraction as an advantage and yanks on your arm, pulling you toward him.

Once you collide with him, he tickles you, violating your torso area and making you laugh uncontrollably. The sweetest torture.

"St-Stop!" You double over, trying to get away.

Sasha grabs a pillow and starts beating Jean with it. "Get off her!"

Connie stands up, getting in a fighting stance. "Nah, me and you, Sasha. Me and you."

"Alright, bet," Sasha nods, getting in her stance, and facing him head-on.

When Sasha drops the pillow, you go to reach for it but Jean's quicker and amps up the tickles. You grip the couch. "Okay, okay!" You cry, breathing heavily. "Please!"

"Say sorry," Jean says and you can hear the smirk in his voice. He's enjoying this far too much.

"S-Sorry!! Get off!" You smack his hands, looking like you're getting electrocuted the way you're bouncing around to get away.

He finally lets up and you try your best to glare at him but you end up just wiping the tears out of your eyes. You turn and slap his arm. "The fuck wrong with you??" You laugh out.

"You deserved it," He shrugs, with that stupid smirk plastered across his face.

"'Cuz I'm black, right??"

"Now you know damn well..." He trails.

"Know damn well, what? You racist?"

"Y/n!" Jean snaps.

"I'm playin, I'm playin..." You reel your eyes to the side as you stand up.

"You know I could worship you and your body if you'd let me," He says, noticing the way you look away.

"Jean, you already know how I feel about relationships, and I just.."

"Don't think I could give you what you need?" He cuts you off.

"It's not like that, I just don't want to risk it. We're like... best friends, I'm not tryna ruin what we ha-"

You're cut off by Sasha and Connie tumbling this time as they wrestle on the ground. One second Sasha has him in a chock hold and the next he's yanking at her ponytail.

"Guys, guys!" You shout, standing up. "Sasha, c'mon, let's get our nails done."

Sasha grunts, looking at you like you're crazy for saying that as she's getting her hair ripped out. "Hello??? Help!"

"Punch that nigga in the balls and let's go, damn," You say, growing impatient. "It's getting late, I don't even know if anyone's open right now."

"Ayo!" Connie jumps up, covering his crotch with his hands. "Don't touch it like that, it's sacred."

"Boy..." You sigh, shaking your head and walking out. Sasha follows behind you, scrunching her face up in disgust.

"Nobody wants to either," She says making you laugh. You shut the door before he can respond and y'all head down to your car. "Oh, yeah, you don't have to worry about nothing being open, I know a place that'll let us in even if they aren't open."

"Pfft, where?" You scoff, hopping in the driver's seat while Sasha hops in the passenger.

"I know some friends, just follow the GPS," Sasha hooks it up on her phone.

time skip :: at the nail salon

Walking inside was a different experience than what you were expecting. The place is so... simply elegant in a way you can't quite explain. There are white leathery rolling chairs to sit in at the tables to get your nails done and it all looks so aesthetically pleasing. The black-lit mirrors and fake plants add a pop of color to the ultimately white space.

And it isn't all white light... it's fairly dim but lit enough to see everything perfectly. It's super cozy and the music playing softly in the background only adds to that. It looks super modern and a lot less rinky-dink than what you were used to.

"Sasha!" The voice drew your attention away from the interior design and you looked their way. You saw Sasha walk over to him as he stood up and how they hugged each other tightly. "How have you been??"

"Doing great! You know that guy you introduced me to? Niccolo? Yeah, I'm dating him now. Anyway," She turns to you. "This is Y/n, she wants to get her nails done for her birthday that's coming up. Is that okay?? I know you're not open or you're about to close.."

"Wait, wait, you're dat-"

"Old news, Eren," She rolls her eyes. "Well?"

He sighs, rolling his eyes back. "Mika's in the back." He turns to you with a smile and Sasha hops off to find Mikasa. "Hey there, right this way." He gestures to the leather seats and walks around to one of the stations set up. "So, do you have anything in mind?"

"Mmm," You hum as you take a second to think and sit down. "Surprise me? I know I want acrylics and for them to be kinda long.. but that's about it."

"You're putting a lot of trust in me," He laughs softly. Honestly, you couldn't help but let your eyes linger on him. You've had your nails done by men plenty of times... but they were never... this attractive or even looked your age. It was a bit shocking.

You smile. "Yeah, well. Feeling a bit adventurous this year. It's my last year of college."

"Oh, yeah? Does that mean you want some crazy design for your nails or something?" He grabs the tools he'll need for a set of acrylics and sets it out.

"Actually, I think I want something on the simpler side, but other than that you have full control to do whatever you want," You settle into your seat, getting comfortable.

His smile widens, "Sounds interesting."

You ignore how your heart skips a beat and give him your hand as he gestures for you to do so after slipping on some gloves. He starts off by prepping your nails, eyes glued to your fingers as he does so, ensuring he doesn't slip up and hurt you by accident.

Sasha and another girl, which you're assuming is Mikasa reappears from the back room, making their way over, each with a box in their hands.

"Almost finished with stocks, Eren," Mikasa says. "Last boxes for today."

"Alright, awesome," He says as he dusts off your nails, looking up briefly to give her an appreciative smile. He reaches for the tips and tests out different sizes for each nail and grabs two of the same-sized nails for each of your fingers. Once they're glued, he lets you see different lengths and you pick the one you want for this set.

He sets to filing to find a nice shape for you, working efficiently to get the best results.

"You know, I can't believe I've never heard of this place before," You mutter, watching as Eren does your nails. "Sasha's been gate-keeping." You let your eyes flicker over to where she stands, filling up the empty spaces in their inventory, glaring playfully.

"Listen, I didn't know you wanted to change places, I thought you had something going with your last nail tech or whatever," She puts her hands up in defense.

"Like I'd ever say no to an upgrade, my money doesn't want to get spent on some rinky-dink nails," You scoff. "You a little gatekeeper."

"Girl, you never asked where I get my nails at. How's that my fault?" She mugs you. "I'm too hungry for this." She laughs.

You laugh with her and you pull out your phone to message Connie.

"I never seen someone type so fast with one hand," Eren comments, making you look up and laugh.

"I know, I'm so talented," You kid, tucking your phone beside you in the chair.

"I bet," He laughs, making your brows twitch as you take in his demeanor. The way you think his emerald green eyes trail down your body from where you sit, or maybe it's the subtle way his fingers caress yours. He started doing that when you picked up your phone... and maybe he thinks you didn't notice just because you didn't react... but you definitely did.

Is he flirting with you? Or is it in your head? It's probably in your head.

You stay quiet even as he huffs a small chuckle at your expression, "How old are you turning if you don't mind me asking?"

"20," You say, but after the number slips from your lips, you panic a bit, hoping it doesn't scare him off. He doesn't look much older than you but you don't know how old he is. What if he thinks you're too young for him?

Not that it matters.

He nods silently.

time skip :: after the nails are done.

"Oh my goodness, they look so good. I love how you put my age on them!" You gush. "I gotta take a picture and post it."

"I'll post a picture too," he says. "I do that every now and then."

You nod as he pulls out his phone and snaps a few pictures. "What's your insta? I'm following, asap."

"You can find me under Eren Kruger," he laughs as you search him up and follow him, eventually seeing his post from a few seconds ago. 

[ y'all pretend it says 20 across the two middle fingers in a pretty gold font 😭 and also, i'm realizing that 127 comments and 150,000 likes mighhhttt be too much after only a few seconds but roll with it]

Eren follows you back and tags you in the post. "Nice doing business with you, Clover," He says, cleaning up the area a bit as you get up and grab your wallet.

You pause. "Clover?"

He looks at you, eyes trailing down a bit. "Your tattoo," He gestures slightly with a nod at your chest, closer to your collarbone. "I like it. I've never seen a clover tat before."

"Oh,.." You hum, smiling softly. "Thanks. How much? For the nails."

He shakes his head. "It's free."

"It's free??" You scoff, looking at him with raised brows.

"For the birthday girl," He smiles. "I hope you have a good one."

"You do this for everyone who has a birthday coming up??"

"Nope," He shakes his head. "And no one knows I only do it for special people." He adds on and you get the hint.

"Special?"

He nods. "Sure, you're friends with Sasha, so you must be cool," He smirks. "That, and you're gorgeous."

Sasha gasps loudly, looking between the two of you with wide eyes. "Two of my best friends..., flirting??? That's so cute!!"

You shake your head with a smile. So he was flirting. "Well, who am I to decline," you mutter, referring to the free set. "I'm definitely coming back to this place and paying next time though."

"Do I get free nails too, Eren??" Sasha cheeses.

"Nope," Eren says immediately making you and Mikasa laugh. "I've given you a free set before and it wasn't even your birthday so... you're paying for the next set."

Sasha pouts, "Fine. At least I can get free food from Niccolo. And Connie now too!" She perks back up.

"You're lucky to have a boyfriend whose family owns a fancy restaurant and can just make you food, bruh," You say, bumping into Sasha's shoulder softly. "And he's good to you."

"I know right, he's the man of my dreams," She gushes. "And hey! If you and Eren get together you'll have a boyfriend who owns a nail salon! Eh, ehhh??" She bumps into you in return and bounces her eyebrows at you.

"Sasha."

"Okay, sorry," She frowns. "You and your rules, man. I respect you for 'em but they really hold you back. Eren's a good guy."

You didn't appreciate the spotlight that was on you but you didn't comment. You just took her response for what it was. It wasn't like you didn't get with guys... but usually, it was just for one night. It was easy to find a guy who was cool with just a night. Except one day you made the stupid decision to fuck a friend and he's been... clingy? Since then.

He wants more and you're not sure you can give that to him.

You actually haven't fucked much with anyone else after him, 'cause you don't want to hurt him. But with how Eren looks at you with intrigue and curiosity... and with how handsome he is... you're not even gonna risk it. You're already too interested in a guy you literally just met a little over an hour ago.

Sasha sighs softly, turning to Eren who stood with his arms crossed as he watched the interaction. He seemed curious and he wasn't hiding it. Even as Sasha sat at one of the tables, he let his gaze meet yours for a second before silently sitting in front of her.

You look away from them, running a hand down your mouth.

Mikasa walks up to you, tapping your arm making you look at her. "You smoke?"

"Yeah, sometimes," You nod. "Only blunts though."

"Good, that's all I got," She laughs, holding up some wraps and you smile, following her outside of the shop and sitting on the sidewalk beside her, admiring the way the sun sets. She takes out a little baggy of weed and it doesn't smell off so you decide to just go with it.

"You wanna wrap your own?" She asks, handing you the baggy after she rolls hers. You take it and lick your wrap, filling it with a couple of sprinkles of weed and then sealing it off.

After you both lit your blunts and smoked it for a moment in comfortable silence, she says, "So, ... what do you think about Eren?"

You glance at her. "...He's cool. He's really good at doing nails." You look at your nails, that annoyed feeling leaving you now that you finally got a new set of fresh nails. "I was stuck with my last ones for longer than intended."

"Having good-looking nails makes me feel pretty," She nods, admiring her own black set. "So, just cool? You don't think he's cute or anything?" She asks and you give her a weird look. "C'mon, it's just me. A girl. You can tell me." She assures.

"And you won't tell him? I don't know y'all relationship, you're probably gonna snitch on me."

"I won't, I promise. I do what I do for the girls," she smirks to herself.

"You lesbian or something?" You laugh, not seeming judgmental at all.

"Bi," Her smile widens. "Am I that obvious?"

"Takes one to know one," You laugh before sighing. "He's definitely cute. He's hot. But I don't know him or his habits and commitment levels. What he's willing to do and what he's not. I guess I'm just scared."

"Well, that's stuff you find out with time and getting to know each other," She takes another hit of her blunt, looking up at the sky.

"I know. But... I'm scared of wasting my time and getting hurt. What if it starts off great and then goes downhill. Because I swear, ... if we get together,... stay together for like..." You pause, thinking of something crazy. "5-10 years.. and then he breaks my heart, I will kill his ass." You shake your head to yourself.

"But he wouldn't do that," She insists, seeming confident.

"How do you know? Anything could happen.."

"He's like... a brother to me. I grew up with him. He wouldn't, trust me. He hasn't been in a real relationship... like ever, but.. the way he feels, his emotions... he wouldn't let real love go. He has his fair share of baggage but who doesn't, you know?"

"Yeah..," You nod, listening to the sincere way she speaks of him.

"He's the first one I came out to when I realized I was bisexual. Not the same thing, I know, but... he looked at me with a strong gaze and pulled me into a hug, reassuring me that he still loved me without even saying anything, like he just knew how serious that was to me," She sniffs, recalling the memories. "Sorry, I'm dumping a lot on you for a guy you just met. I guess I'm just... I only want what's best for him and he's never looked at a girl like he looked at you tonight. Like he was blown away by your beauty."

"How can you trust me so much? I mean, you're practically siblings,... how do you know I won't be the one to hurt him...?" You trail off, looking up at the sky as well.

"I don't know. Guess I'm taking a chance. Like we all have to sometimes. Like he said, you're friends with Sasha so... you have to be cool," She smiles. "She actually talks about you to me a lot and I can tell you're pretty close."

Before you can respond, she stands up, holding her hand out for you. You take it, standing up along with her. "I understand if you don't want to take that leap for my stupid kid brother," She rolls her eyes playfully. "But I do think you should try to get over this fear of yours. Or rather... take it in stride. If not for him, for yourself and someone else."

She lets go of your hand, tossing her blunt in the vase of dirt outside of the shop, and walks inside. You stand there for a little while longer, her words replaying like a broken record in your mind. You smoke the rest of your blunt, watching the sun go down.

You walk back inside, smiling softly as Mikasa catches your eye.

so, please ignore any mistakes LMAO, that's my bad 😭
i'm so scared to write this... i've never written a story like this one before... so, you know, bare with me.

hope you guys like it! i am excited, i have some ideas... so let's see where it takes us. um, i think ATTWT stinks... kinda idk.. the writing is like mediocre. like the sequence of it or whatever. i do love that story and it really hasn't gone far, so i'm not giving up on it but woo...

your girl can't write, pfft.

oh, btw i've made a playlist!