Metamorphosis

Chapter 22

Considering I got through my performance without making any mistakes, I deemed my first night on the job a success. I even managed to snag some alone time with Eren in the middle of it all, although the thought of Reiner barging into my dressing room unannounced still dampened my mood. His behavior was starting to scare me. I went out of my way to avoid him, yet more often than not, he ended up working the same days as me. It was disturbing how he could manipulate Thomas into switching shifts with him. If that kept happening, he would be the one escorting me to and from the cage. I didn't want to think about being alone with him, even for a short period of time. I would have to discuss this with Mikasa soon if I wanted to avoid trouble, which I did.

These thoughts were running through my mind as Jean led me back to my dressing room after the last set in the cage. The club would be closing in twenty minutes, so I needed to change out of my outfit before heading home for the night. Home. I smiled, because soon enough my home would be Eren's apartment. It would become ours. The place we would go to at the end of the night. I couldn't wait to move in with him and take our relationship a step further. Everything about this felt right.

"You did a good job out there tonight," Jean said as we reached my dressing room.

"Thank you. I have an excellent teacher. You might have heard of him."

He grinned. "Armin's proud of you. I think everyone here is. Some people thought that you wouldn't fit into the club scene, but you proved them wrong, and Eren was more than happy to rub that in their faces after your performance. Trust me on that. He hasn't shut up the entire night. It's starting to get on my nerves."

"I bet it is," I said, chuckling. "To tell you the truth, I didn't think I would fit into the club scene, either. I've come a long way, and I have everyone here to thank. You guys took me in, no questions asked. I was a bit surprised by that."

"Well, Eren did threaten our lives if we spoke against you in any way." He laughed while he patted me on the shoulder. "In all seriousness, you fit into this close-knit family rather well. I was just as shocked about that as you were, because Eren never really took any of his previous relationships seriously, but it's been different with you from the start. It took us all by surprise."

I pushed open the door. "Aiming to make me emotional, Jean?"

"No. Hey, hold on a minute." He put his hand on my arm as he stepped around me. He went into the room to check it out. "Okay. Just wanted to make sure no one was in here. Remember to lock the door next time. After what happened today, you can't be too careful."

"I know."

"All right. I'm going to get Armin now. Lock the door behind you. I don't trust Reiner, and if he tries anything else tonight, I won't be able to hold Eren back for a second time."

"I'll lock it. Don't worry," I said.

I stepped inside the room, shut the door behind me, and turned the lock on the knob. Jean was right about Reiner. I couldn't be too careful after everything that happened earlier. If he was willing to invade my privacy with Eren right here in the same room as me, what was he capable of doing when I was alone? I shuddered at the images that thought concocted. I never wanted to find out how far he could take things, which meant I couldn't put off talking to Mikasa about this. Once I changed, I would head up to her office. The sooner I spoke to her about my concerns, the better.

While I padded over to the couch, I slid the bunny ears headband off and placed it on the vanity table. I smiled as I stared down at the stuff littering the floor. Eren had knocked aside all the items on the table when he pushed me down onto it. The mess we'd created in our rush didn't bother me in the least. I loved that we could get so wrapped up in each other that we forgot about everything else. When I was with him, the world dropped away. It was just the two of us.