A/N: I want to thank Hayasaka Shion for the beta-ing she has done :). The chapters may be updated irregularly because I am in my senior year of high school. I will finish this story, I'll promise so stay tuned!

Shuffle me

"Happy Birthday!" Mikasa smiled brightly. Eren stared at the green package in her hands. He looked up and tilted his head slightly.

''W—What is it?'' Eren said, his voice wavering.

'' Your present!'' Mikasa shoved the package into Eren's hands. The green-eyed kid's eyes were questioning the very moment. They never had enough money to celebrate anyone's birthday; that was something they had accepted a long while ago. Their mother had passed away because of a car crash, their father simply ran away. Since then Mikasa had worked her way through college, even acquiring a stable part-time job. She had told Eren never to worry about the finances. Eren knew Mikasa was sacrificing her youth for him, and that was something he would forever remember.

''Open it up!'' Mikasa ruffled Eren's hair. She was curious to see his reaction. It had taken her a while to get it for him, but she was sure that he would love the present. It was something that represented his soul, something he loved doing.

Eren's fingers started to undo the green wrapping around the package. He somehow felt his heart rate increase. It had been years since he had last received a present on his birthday, and it wasn't like he minded. Mikasa was his dear sister.

Eren tossed the green wrapping into the bin, and his teal-green eyes scanned the brown box in front of him. He opened it up just to see something he would have never expected. His eyes widened.

''Mikasa, I can't accept this…'' Eren said, his eyes looking up to meet Mikasa's.

''Eren, I told you not to worry about the finances,'' Mikasa answered sternly. She wanted him to enjoy his youth in her place. He was always selfless, he would never ask for anything.

''B—But... an iPod is way too expensive!'' He looked back at the item in the box. It was something he wished for every single night, but he couldn't accept something so luxurious.

''Don't worry about it. I bought it at a second-hand store. It's in mint condition though,'' Mikasa smiled gently. The thought that it wasn't new assured Eren. A new iPod touch would cost around 40,000 yen. That was something they couldn't afford at all. Eren smiled slightly and wrapped his arms around Mikasa's neck.

''I love you, sis,'' He whispered.

Timeskip: A week later, at home.

Eren loved his new iPod touch. It was the best present anyone could have ever gotten for him. Eren had a thing for music. It was something that could calm him down when days were tough. It was something that had cheered him up on a daily basis. He never left his iPod alone+, afraid it would magically disappear.

''What song should I play now?'' Eren smiled to himself. His long index finger scrolled through the meager music list. He had no computer at home, so the only way how he could add songs was at school. He had to download the .mp3 files in an illegal way, but he didn't mind.
Eren placed his iPod onto his nightstand. He was tired. He wanted to take a short power-nap in order to feel better. However, before his mind went to dreamland, something strange happened.

''Somebody help me please,
'cause this is an emergency
she pulls me like gravity
and now I'm floating off the ground,''

His iPod started to play a song he didn't recognize at all. Eren sat up and looked at the way the screen of his new gadget started to flicker. He felt a shiver go through his spine. Was it normal for it to act like this? He crawled over his futon towards his small wooden nightstand. He looked at the screen, and noticed that the music had stopped.

''Weird,'' Eren muttered, unlocking his iPod. He couldn't find the song that had played, so he wrote it off as a bug in the operating system. He wasn't sure how it could play a non-existent song though. He hurriedly grabbed an old notebook and wrote down the lyrics the iPod just played. He kind of liked the song, it was sweet.

Timeskip: two weeks later, at school.

''Get your ass off my seat, Jaeger,'' Eren felt the guy grip his shoulder. The guy in question had short, light ash-brown hair with the sides and back a darker brown color, and cut shorter than the top. His eyes were small yet intense, even more when he was mad. His name was Jean.

''Is your name on this seat?'' Eren responded, unplugging one of his earpieces. Jean felt the blood creep to his cheeks out of anger. The teal-eyed boy always managed to push his buttons the wrong way.

''Jaeger, you bastard!'' Jean swung his fist towards Eren's face. Eren looked up in surprise and felt the hard knuckles hit his jaw. He fell onto his back, and for a moment he could see Jean's guilt-ridden face, however the ash-blond recovered his expression immediately.

''T—That's what you get!'' Jean shouted, turning around, taking his feet to the door. Of course he felt guilty. He wasn't the type to get aggressive that easily… well perhaps he was, however he would never hit someone out of nowhere without a legit reason. He hated Eren Jaeger; he was a pretty boy who always received the attention of the person Jean desired. His hatred for Jaeger started on the first semester in fifth grade.

Flashback

''You may choose a partner to conduct the chemical experiments with!'' the teacher gleefully announced. The children started to walk around, finding their partner. Jean knew exactly who he wanted. His eyes rolled towards the side, eyeing a certain freckled boy called Marco. Jean gulped softly and decided to gather all his courage and ask him.

''M—Marco! Would you like to—'' Jean was cut off by a certain teal-eyed boy.

''Marco, do you want to be my lab partner?'' Eren asked casually.

''Sure,'' Marco answered, raising the corner of his lips.

''Ah, were you saying something, Jean?'' Marco tilted his head slightly, turning his head to Jean.

''N—Nah,'' Jean nervously laughed and backed away. It was always like this. Eren always did this, as if he wanted to bother Jean for fun.

''Marco, do you want to be my lab partner? I am stupid and I look like a chick, but I reaaally want you to be my partner!'' Jean mimicked, though nobody heard him do so. He hated Eren. He always chose Marco, and Marco always chose Eren. It was always like that.

Eren placed his hand on his cheek, it felt swollen.

''Jaeger, can you stand up?'' A short haired blond said whilst extending his hand. His name was Reiner. He always acted like he was the ally of Justice, and Eren hated it.

''I don't need your help,'' Eren slightly frowned as he stood up. It earned a few disgusted looks thrown his way. He hated the fake pity he received from the people around him at school. They knew he was being targeted by Jean's gang, but they never helped. Only when Jean was out of sight would they would act as if they cared.

''You guys are all hypocrites!'' Eren shouted out loud, feeling the tears burning in the corner of his eyes, threatening to roll down.

''Reiner only tried to help!'' Some girls started to walk towards Eren. That bunch of chickens knew nothing. They didn't know the pain of being bullied with no reason. Eren placed his sweaty palm against his swollen cheek.

He walked out of the classroom, his hand pressed against his cheek. He hated this class, he hated his school and most of all; he hated Jean.

Timeskip: Home , after school

A few minutes after he got home, Eren's finger was hurriedly pressed onto the screen of his IPod touch. The chosen song started to play.

''No one talks to him
he feels so alone.
He's in too much pain
To survive on his own''

(Superchick – Hero )

Eren pushed his head into his fluffy pillow. He could feel the cotton cloth around his pillow dampening. His tears were warm, and quite comforting to him.
Before he'd entered his room, he made sure that Mikasa wasn't at home. He would never let her find out his current situation at his school. She had done enough for him, and he didn't want to trouble her any more than he already was.

The song was implying that people should stand up, and help people who need it. Eren deeply wished for his hero to appear.

''As if,'' Eren muttered, his face still stuck into his pillow. He knew that no one would ever stand up for him in front of Jean. No one would dare to risk their own safety for him. Even his friends left him after he was pronounced a bully victim.

''I can be your hero baby
I can kiss away the pain
I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away ''

(Enrique Iglesias - Hero )

Eren shot up, his eyes wide. The song had changed, into a song that answered the previous one. He whipped his head towards the iPod which lay beside him on the futon.

''W—Wha...'' Eren muttered; he could see the screen flicker. The iPod said that it was still playing the song he had chosen, however it wasn't doing so.

It was the second time in a few weeks that the iPod had automatically changed the song it was playing. It had changed to a song that wasn't in Eren's music list.

Something was wrong with the iPod.