You stretch your limps that were spread out all on your bed. And a good stretch, the kind that causes your body to tremble and your toes to curl. You also let out animal like noise that you're grateful for Hitch's blaring music that no one could hear it.

Her music is what woke you from your slumber. Know What I Want by Kali Uchis booms through her speaker and causes the walls to shake. The neighbors definitely hate her. It doesn't help that she's screaming at the top of her lungs either.

You turn to grab your phone off the night stand and the sunlight from the window above it blinds you and you squeeze your eyes shut. "Fuck." You groan. Your eyes were extremely sensitive and you had a slight headache. You couldn't even be surprised on why. You were just glad weren't bent over the toilet.

You press down on the lock button of your phone causing your screen to light up and immediately toss it to the side. "Why the FUCK is my brightness so high?" You grumble, rubbing at your eyes. Oh man, this is hell. You quickly lower the brightness and fixate your eyes on the time. 2:43pm. You still had about an hour and half before you had to get to class.

You sigh and sit up. You check your notifications and social media avoiding actually having to get up from bed. Your eyes shot open when you saw how many friend requests you had on Snapchat.

You open the application and see that both Sasha and Historia mentioned your username in the pics they posted of last night. You scratch your head as you try to recollect your memories. "When the fuck did they even take these?" You ask yourself. Now that you look back at it, you don't remember a lot from last night. It kinda all blurs together.

You go through people's stories and your texts to try to piece everything together and try to see if any of it makes sense. You open up your messages one by one, praying you didn't drunk text anyone. Surprisingly, you didn't text anyone the entire night. Your most recent text thread was with Jean and you open it up with caution, not really recalling texting him at all. Once your done reading the messages you race out the door and into the kitchen.

"JEAN? DICK?" You say out of breath. Hitch snaps her head up from the stove where she's currently cooking something. "Well good morning to you too, sunshine." She grins.

You plop down into a chair and lay your head on the cold surface of the kitchen table. "Oh my god. I remember now."

Hitch snickers and returns back to making her meal. "Remember what exactly? You didn't even get to see anything."

You walk up to her and look over her shoulder to see what she was cooking since you were starving. She was making blueberry pancakes.

You found it funny that she was making breakfast in the middle of the afternoon. "But it's still weird! I told him to sleep with me and he dropped his fucking towel."

She laughs loudly and turns the volume of the music down. "You'll be fine. Jean isn't the type to get awkward about stuff like that. He has wayyyyy too much cockiness for that. He will probably be the one teasing YOU about it." The tension in your shoulders releases and you relax a little.

You realize shes able to read him well because she used to be close to them at one point and your mind begins to race. "Here." She says passing you a plate with two pancakes stacked on each other. "Juice is in the fridge and syrup is on the table already."

You smile as you take the plate from her. She has been nice to you since the second you two met and it makes you sad that she lost a lot of her friends that are now yours and you wonder if it bothers her.

You take a seat at the table after grabbing the orange juice from the fridge and try to come up with a safe way to approach the topic without making her sad or offended. "How do you know? About Jean?" You ask her as she joins you.

"No one told you? Assholes. Well, I used to be one of them." She says cutting her pancakes into little squares. The way she said them sent chills down your spine.

"Well, Reiner told me but he didn't say why you stopped hanging out with them." You lie. He did tell you. He said it was because of Eren. You rather hear her side of the story anyway.

She shoves two squares into her mouth and looks at you. You wait for her patiently to finish chewing so she can respond. "It's no big deal, I just distanced myself from them." She says and you know she's leaving out a lot. You don't want to push it further so you nod and begin to eat your food.

She groans. "Okay fine! God! I'll tell you!" You look at her confused as hell. "I didn't even-" You start.

"I fucked Eren okay? I fell in love with him like every other dumb bitch and he pretended to have feelings for me too so we fucked and then right after he got his nut, he told me he just sees me as a friend." She angrily stabs her fork into another piece of the fluffy pancakes in front of her.

"Damn. But why did you have to stop being friends with everyone else?" You ask taking a sip of your juice.

She rolls her eyes and stabs another square. "It's not like I'm NOT friends with them anymore. I just- I don't know, I'm just not close to them anymore. Plus, it works both ways, you know. They don't talk to me anymore either." You detect a little bit of sadness in her voice.

"They probably think you hate them or something." You suggest. You honestly had no idea, you were just trying to make her feel better. "Something like that." She mutters under her breath and taking a large gulp of OJ.

"Wait, you hate them?" You laugh. You didn't understand how it was possible for anyone to hate them. Eren, yes, you can DEFINITELY see that. But everyone else? They were all so nice and fun. No way.

Hitch slams her fist down on the table causing you to flinch.

"They're not as perfect as they seem, you know? Trust me. They're actually problematic as fuck and don't care about anyone else besides their little group. Once you're no use to one of them, you're no use to all of them." She says flatly.

You open up your mouth to speak but she throws a finger up to silence you. "I've known them longer so I know, okay? I would watch them do it to others before they finally did it to me. I know they seem perfect and fun and the friend group you always dreamed of but it's just a dream you eventually wake up from. They make you feel up top of the world when you're around them and then one day, boom, it's like you no longer exist."

You sink down into your seat and flip over a tiny pancake square with your fork. She notices your sad demeanor and sighs. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come off like a bitch. I just don't want you to go through what I did."

"So you're saying I should stop hanging out with them?" You ask. You had wanted to know what went down between Hitch and the group but you got more information that you wished for.

"No, I'm not saying that but just..." She tries to find the right words. "Be careful. It's like they have this blood pact or some shit. If you fuck with one of them, you fuck with all of them. It's been like that since forever. I guess that happens when you all are friends since like fucking birth."

She then points her fork directly at you. "But trust me, if one of them says one bad thing about you, the others will take their word for it, no questions asked."

You feel a knot in your throat and you're not sure if you want to cry or throw up. "Especially Eren. He's like their cult leader or some shit. Jean and Eren hate eachother but yet he still rides for him. None of him fucking like him actually yet they all kiss his fucking ass. The only ones who actually like him is Mikasa and Armin. And they're just as bad as he is."

Little by little the puzzle pieces started clicking together.

Armin? Mikasa? As bad as Eren? No way. It's like she reads the confusion lingering in your eyes because she goes on to explain in deeper detail. "Mikasa is literally psycho and possessive over Eren even though they aren't together. She literally tried to kill me when she found out I slept with him."

You frown. "But didn't Historia sleep with Eren? And they're friends still."

She slams her hand on the table again. "EXACTLY! YOU SEE! It's like it's okay for them to share him but God forbid anyone else does. God, Historia is probably the worst one. She literally will ruin your life if you get on her bad side. She'll spread rumors about you or even go to lengths where she'll dig up actual dirt on you. Then, Ymir who is like obsessed with her will help her spread those rumors while adding a few more gruesome details."

You feel that knot in your throat force its way upward. "And Armin?"

She barks out a deep rooted laugh. "Armin fucking Arlert. Fucking.... fucking.. I changed my mind. He's the worst one."

Your mouth falls open and you can't help but laugh. "But I thought he was the good one? The nice one? The pure one?"

"Pure? PURE? Pure my ass!" She howls with laughter. "He's fucking toxic and manipulative. He has the whole innocent act down to a fucking T. I got to admit, he had me fooled. But honestly?"

She looks right at you when she says this next part. "He's the fucking brains behind the operation. The ring leader. The goddamn puppeteer! His little uwu act is the perfect cover up. If something bad happens, he's the last person you expect."

Once she started, it's like she couldn't stop. The words kept spewing out of her like vomit. She's ranting and laughing like mad man in an asylum. Her eyes wide and wild.

You freeze and try to make sense of it all. "What about Sasha and Connie?" There had to be atleast some good ones amongst the group.

Her face finally relaxes and she eats more of her food. "They're not bad. If anything, I don't have anything to say about them. Reiner, Bertholdt, Marco and Annie too. I never had a problem with them."

You sigh with subtle relief that atleast you could depend on them until Hitch's infamous speech carries on. "But I'm telling you. They're all brainwashed. Once Eren threw me aside and Mikasa and Historia hated my guts for sleeping with 'THEIR' man, they all stopped talking to me. It was like I never existed. I got kicked out of group chats too. Sasha, Marco and Bert still say hi to me when they see me here and there because THEY are the genuinely nice ones. But that's all it ever is."

God, what the hell did you get yourself into?

Your stomach hurts. You feel sick and lightheaded. The room is spinning. "And Jean?" You ask, your mouth waters up and you know that if she says one more thing you don't like, you're gonna puke.

She swallows the last pieces of her pancakes. "Jean is...alright. He is cool but like I said, brainwashed. Also, he leads girls on even though he knows he is madly in love with Mikasa. He will go on dates with them and kiss them trying to fill the void and forget about her but it never works out. Boy has almost broken more hearts than Eren."

You shoot straight up and run to the trash can and empty out your insides. You vomit and vomit until there's nothing else to throw up.

"Gross." Hitch says calmly like she didn't just go on a massive rant and shift your entire world.

She stands up and throws her plate in the sink. "I got class, see ya." She grabs her bag and heads toward the door. Your knees sink to the floor and your rest your head on your arm that hangs off the rim of the trash can.

"Oh." She says as she steps out the door. "Make sure you take the trash out. I don't want it to stink like throw up in here."

You stare at her in bafflement. One second she was spewing all her emotions and dirty laundry out of the table and the next she was just expressionless and cold.

The same person who was nice enough to make you pancakes was the same person to look down at you in disgust at you puke your guts out. Turns out you didn't know Hitch as well as you thought you did either. In fact, you've come to realize you have truly now idea what you're going to be dealing with from here on out now that you know all you know.

Only one way to find out. You tell yourself as you stand up from the floor.

After you showered and got dressed, you set out to walk to your History class. You stare down at your feet as you walk, earphones full blast.

Hitch's words burned holes through your brain. It can't be true right? Maybe it's just her point of view because she still angry at them. Maybe she was over exaggerating. But maybe she wasn't. After all, she's known them longer than you have.

You're so zoned out in your own little world as you walk that you don't even realize you're right by your classroom until you bump into someone.

You rip your air pod out of your ear and look up.
"Shit! Sorry!" You yelp. The man grabs your shoulders and smiles. Wow, he was beautiful. He was a tall, well built blonde man with thick eyebrows. "You alright?" He asks you.

You shove your earphones into your pocket and nod. "Good. Go ahead and grab a seat, class will begin momentarily." He says as he pats your arm with hand that was laid on your shoulder.

Wait. Please tell me I did not just bump into my professor. Well, you sure know how to leave a good first impression.

You walk sheepishly into the classroom. "Y/n!" You hear a voice call you. You turn your attention to the noise and see Bertholdt waving at you, an empty seat beside him, his brown messenger bag sitting in its place.

You smile at the lanky brunette. "You actually saved me a seat." You say surprised. He smiles back at you, his eyes shining. "Of course." He moves his bag so you can sit down.

"How did you sleep?" He asks you taking out a journal and setting it down in front of him. It was a vintage leather type one that had a wrap around draw string to close it. He definitely would be the type to have one of those.

"I slept good actually. I don't even remember passing out." You laugh. "I'm glad you got home safe." He smiles again.

"Oh yeah, you stayed at Eren's house right? How was that?" You ask him taking your belongings out your bag now as well. He opens his mouth to respond but then someone interrupts him.

"Can I sit right here?" A boy asks to your right. You look at the source and see Armin. You forgot he was in this class too. "Sure." You say, scooting over. You couldn't look at him the same anymore after what Hitch said.

"Thanks." He beams. He smiles brightly at you and sets his stuff down. You watch him intently, studying his movements. He takes out a pencil bag and a small box of highlighters. He pushes the box toward you. "If you need to borrow anything, you can just grab whatever you need. You too, Bert." He smiles at the two of you.

You narrow your eyes at him. If what Hitch said was true, he definitely was good at hiding it. His eyes were so bright and inviting. His smile was so comforting and the way he had natural blush across his cheeks and nose was adorable. His large, watery eyes and tiny nose gave illusion to an innocent baby face.

Finally, class begins and Professor Smith introduces himself and begins explaining the syllabus. You could bet money on the possibility that the man was in the army or something because by the way he spoke to all of you. It was like he was leading all his students into a life threatening mission.

"Commander Eyebrows." You accidentally whisper out loud. The two boys on each side of you turn their heads to look at you and cover their mouths to hide their laughter. You cover yours too. "I didn't mean to say that out loud."

As class goes on, the three of you don't say much. Bert and Armin were pretty serious about paying attention as they wrote down almost everything. It made you feel like you weren't doing enough.

A man comes into the classroom and asks to speak to Smith outside. "Feel free to conversate and discuss the syllabus with your colleagues." He says as he steps out.

You yawn and lay your head on Bertholdt's shoulder. "I'm literally falling asleep. If it wasn't for Smith's loud ass soldier voice, I would be knocked out right now."

Bert panics under you. You giggle thinking this is probably the first time this has happened to him. "You can take a little nap, if you want. I can wake you up when he comes back." He says voice shaky. You look up and smile at him.

"You two would look really good together." Armin says. He smiles but his eyes look like they have deeper meaning in them. You lift your head up and eye him. "Oh no I-" Bertholdt stutters holding his hands up.

"No? Oh, did you have your eyes on someone else already?" Armin smiles a virtuous smile. His eyes still looked doll like but the deeper you ventured into them, it seemed like the pure shade of blue in his irises grew darker.

You turn to face Bertholdt who is beet red. "I guess you can say that." He says. "Really? Aw, who? Maybe I can put in a good word for you!" The blonde boy grins. Armin was good at playing it off but the tension between the two was unmistakable. His eyes were dilated and fixed on the boy on the other side of you, piercing into him.

You face Bertholdt whose soft brown eyes were looking at Armin but seemed distant and clouded like he was zoned out or in deep thought. He was probably debating if he should actually say who or not. "You don't know her." He lies, turning back to face the front of the class as Professor Smith walks back in. You sigh with relief fo the welcome interruption.

You face the front as well, shaking off the discomfort you felt. Armin kept his gaze on Bertholdt. "Really? I would've thought you liked Annie." He frowns.

Bert's eyes shoot open. The blue-eyed boy faces forward. "Guess you won't mind me trying with her then." Still facing forward, he side eyes Bert who stares back at him with a frantic expression. "Right?"

Okay, Armin Arlert is definitely exactly how Hitch claimed. His true self hidden behind the angel mask he wore. You weren't sure how people didn't see right through him but then again, if Hitch hadn't already warned you, you probably would be just as oblivious.

You keep your eyes on the projector as your professor continues to speak but truly, you weren't listening to a word he was saying. Between the rapid, nervous tapping of Bertholdt's foot to your left and the soft humming of Armin to the right, you couldn't focus. You could physically feel the tension in the room and what was worse is that you were stuck in the middle. Literally.

But between the distracting noises on either side of you, the noises in your brain were much louder. You were beginning to see Armin's true colors.

You recall back to last night when you, Bert and Reiner sat at the patio table and how Reiner teased Bertholdt about liking Annie and how she would be stupid for choosing Armin over him.

You remember Armin walking up to you guys immediately after and saying he heard his name. At the time, you didn't think much of it. You thought there was no way he heard anything because of the way he was seemed so sweet and unbothered.

But now that you look back at it, now knowing what you know? He definitely heard. Instead of saying something right there and then, he played the long game and decided to wait for the perfect moment. It was truly vindictive and as Hitch said, manipulative.

If he was turning out to be how she said, what about the others? You think back to everything she said to you. The way she bursted into angry fits and curse words. The flames in her eyes igniting as she spoke about their true intentions.

You felt like you were in high school all over again. I mean come on, spreading rumors about people just because they got with your ex or the boy you liked? And then making all your friends stop talking to them for it? Is this really what you were going to have to deal with?

Part of you wasn't even worried. To get on Historia and Mikasa's bad side you had to sleep with Eren, which was DEFINITELY NOT HAPPENING. EVER. That also crosses out Ymir. Reiner, Bert and Annie you didn't really have to worry about. Eren and you were already beefing but it wasn't anything too serious. Well, to you it wasn't.

You honestly just found him annoying and arrogant. Okay, you kinda hated him. But it was a little fun too for some reason. You found it some what amusing. He looks pretty funny when he angry. Plus, it seems like he doesn't get put in his place too often and if there was one thing you were good at, it was humbling someone.

Maybe you shouldn't push it though. If you get him too heated to the point where he actually hates you, you could end up in a situation where you lose everyone. You loved your new friends and you weren't gonna let Eren fucking Jaeger fuck that up for you. No way.

Another reason you weren't worried about dealing with mean girls or manipulative people was because you been through that. You WERE the mean girl. Back in high school, you were at pro at playing all the games that they play at. If they wanted to play dirty, you could too.

You hated the possibility of that side coming out of you once again since you have tried your absolute hardest to leave it in the past and grow up and be a good person for once.

But to just sit here and let these people think they're playing mind games with you? Fuck that. You were one step ahead already now thanks to Hitch.

You loved your new friends and like you said, you didn't plan on losing them anytime soon. No matter what you had to do.

You think of Connie and Sasha and the relief you felt when Hitch said she didn't have anything bad to say about them besides that they were 'brainwashed' easily. Suddenly, Jean pops into your head and your heart trembles. You didn't wanna lose him either. But if everything Hitch said is true, then the part about him has to be true too. Why would he be the exception?

You knew you had to raise your guard up. You were already developing a crush on him and if the story was true, that probably won't end well.

Flirting with girls, going on dates with them, kissing them, probably even sleeping with them just to fill the void that he keeps open for some other girl. For Mikasa. Mikasa, who also probably uses him to fill the hole Eren left.

You refused to get used and refused to get heartbroken. You didn't wanna find yourself ending up comparing yourself to her and asking what does she have that you don't. That is never a good route to go down.

You sigh and lay your head down in the table in front of you. Your headache from this morning was back. You shut your eyes and focus on your breathing to calm you down. Before you know it, about two minutes later, you were fast asleep.

---

You wake up thirty minutes later to the sound of Professor Smith dismissing the class in a loud tone. Something about making sure to devote your heart to your studies or something.

"Shit." You wipe drool from the corner of your mouth with the sleeve of your sweater. "How long was I asleep?"

"Like thirty minutes. I was gonna wake you up but you said you were tired and you looked so peaceful, I didn't wanna bother you." Bert says, putting his stuff back in his bag. "Here." Armin adds. "I took notes for you." He slides your journal back to you and on the pages lies perfectly organized notes written in extremely neat handwriting.

You stand up and flip through the pages. "Oh my god, you really didn't have to do that."

He stands up too and smiles at you. "It's no problem, really! I like taking notes." You study his handwriting and you're a little jealous about the fact it's neater than yours. "If I had your handwriting, I would love taking notes too." You scoff.

He chuckles and lifts up a hand and waves it in the air. "It's not that great."

You roll your eyes. "Shut up." You shove your stuff in your bag and he does the same. "Hey, what's your snapchat, by the way?" He asks, whipping out his phone. His case had a gorgeous picture of a beach sunset on it.

You found it odd he was asking considering two of his friends had already posted and tagged you in pictures already but you let it slide.

You take the phone from his hand and type your username into the search bar and hand him back the phone. When he reaches for it, your hands meet and you pull it away quickly. "Your hands are freezing." You express.

He laughs and looks down at his hands. "Yeah I get cold really easily, even since I was a baby for some reason. I used to literally always walk around with a blanket wrapped around me at all times."

You laugh. "That's adorable."

"Or embarrassing." He shrugs. "Anyway, I'll see you later." He throws the strap of his backpack over his shoulder.

"Later." You wave.

He looks up above your head at something behind you. "Bye Bertholdt. Good luck with that girl." He smiles.

You jump and spin around and see Bertholdt. You didn't even know he was still there, he was so quiet. But then again, you wouldn't really be in the mood to talk after that happened either.

He returns a soft smile and waves goodbye as Armin exits the room. You look at the remaining boy and study his sad looking puppy eyes. "Wanna walk together?" You suggest. His eyes liven up again. "Sure."

You and Bertholdt walk along side each other. Every time you look at him to say something you have to crane your neck upwards. The two of you just exchange small talk for a while until you decide to take it up a notch.

"Why didn't you just tell Armin you were talking about Annie?" You ask abruptly. He seems caught off guard as he pauses mid step for a spilt second but then continues to walk along side you. "I don't know. I don't think I'm ready for her to know yet." He says staring down at his shoes.

"You gotta tell her eventually, you know. Especially if you actually want to be with her. Or do you just plan on crushing on her from afar forever?" You ask but he doesn't respond nor look up from the ground. "I guess Armin is gonna win." You shrug.

His head shoots up. "NO! I DON'T WANT THAT!" He yells at you and immediately apologizes for raising his voice.

"Don't let him win then. And don't apologize for being passionate about something. If you want her, go get her." You insist.

He sighs and sags his shoulders. "I know." Suddenly, your phone starts ringing.

You pick up the phone and hear Sasha's loud voice blare through the speaker. "HEY! What are you doing at this exact moment?" She yells.

You turn the volume down just a few notches to avoid blowing out your ear drum. "Just got out of class, why?" Bertholdt waves bye to you and you smile and return the gesture.

"YES! Perfect! Okay, come to the coffee shop in the main building! Right now!" She commands. "Coffee shop? What for?" You ask but before you even finish, she hangs up the phone. "Okay..?"

--

After a couple minutes of searching for said coffee shop, you finally find it. It was right beside the cafeteria and was called "Brew n Bake." You assume the girl invited you here to eat knowing her but instead, when you finally spot her sitting at a small high table, she hands you a paper. "Here."

She is absolutely demolishing a Frappuccino and you realize that's why she sounded so hyper on the phone. "Fill that out." She says, swirling her straw around in the foamy drink.

"What is this exactly?" You say grabbing the paper from her shaky hands. "A job Application? You wanna work here?" You scrunch up your nose.

She takes a long sip of the drink but since there's practically nothing left, it makes an obnoxiously loud slurping noise. "Come on! It will be fun, don't you think? Working together?!"

You study the paper more. "Out of everyone you could've asked, you wanna work with me?" You raise an eyebrow. You knew the two of you got along very well but you had just met and she knew a million other people for much longer.

She rips off the lid of her drink and tilts her head backwards to drink the last remaining sips of the drink.

"Duh! You were the first person I thought of." She tosses the now empty cup in the trash. "Plus," She leans in closer to you and wiggles her eyebrows. "Jean always comes here for breakfast. He makes an omelet at home and then comes here for the coffee and sits right here." She pats the very table the two of you sit at.

You look into her eyes and narrow yours at her. She smiles a giddy smile, wiggling her shoulders and hands you a pen. You sigh and begin to fill out the application. "Why do I care if Jean comes here very morning?" You mumble.

She laughs and looks over her application to make sure she filled everything out. "Act coy all you want but you know you do. Just like I care about Nic's cooking competition this weekend. Oh! By the way, I bought tickets for you and Connie to come with me."

You turn to face her. "You just love making decisions without asking me first, don't you?" She smiles and puts her head on your shoulder. "Shut up, you love me."

You roll your eyes as you smile and finish up your application. "You didn't have to pay for my ticket, you know." You say and she sucks her teeth. "It's no biggie. They were just five bucks and I wanted to get them right away before they sold out so I just bought you and Connie one. Jeannnn and Marco are going too." She wiggles her eyebrows as she drags out Jean's name.

You lift up the paper and scan it thoroughly. "Done." You hand her the paper and she squeals. "Yay! Let me turn it in." She runs up to a woman who you are guessing gave her the applications and you watch her with admiration.

She was really something else. It was impossible to feel any other emotion besides happy around her. You had completely forgotten about what had been eating at you all day for just a moment.

Sasha was a genuine person. She was loyal and kind. Fun and hilarious. Her bubbly personality and energy rubs off on all those around her.

She thought of you out of everyone when it came to spending time at a job with someone and even bought you a ticket to go to an event with her and her closest friends. All in such a little time of knowing each other.

She was the type of friend everyone needed. She was the type of friend you wish you had in high school. Maybe things wouldn't have gone the way they did and you wouldn't have been such a shitty person.

But the past was the past. And you were ready for change. To be a kinder person. A more positive person. And being around people like Sasha would help you. Maybe she was meant to come into your life.  Maybe all of them were.

"Okay! The manager said she should be calling us tomorrow to let us know so make sure you keep an eye out for any phone calls." She grabs her bag and links her arm with yours as you both walk out the door.

"So, that competition. It's this weekend?" You ask. "Oh yeah! It's on Saturday at 10am and it's in Marley which is like an hour and half drive but it'll be fun! Like a mini road trip! Plus, Jean drives fast so it won't be as long anyway."

Marley. That's where you were from. That's where you were you grew up and went to school. You pray you weren't gonna bump into anyone you knew. But then again, what is the likeliness of someone you knew being at a cooking competition, right?

"Marley, huh?" You say, looking up at the sky. The clouds were grey and heavy looking. Was it supposed to rain today?

"Yeah! You even been? It's pretty nice there. They have way more stuff to do there than here." She exclaims. You debate whether or not you should tell her you're from there but you just change the subject.

"Is it gonna rain today?" You say still looking upwards. "Huh? Oh. I'm not sure. Kinda looks like it though, doesn't it?" She asks looking up as well.

Suddenly, she rips her arms out from yours and slaps her hand over her mouth and gasps. "I LEFT THE SUNROOF OF MY CAR OPEN!" You burst out laughing and shove her playfully. "Go close it!"

She nods excessively and waves bye to you as she takes off running. "Remember to be checking your phone for calls!" She screams.

You watch her as she turns the corner and heads for the parking lot. You stare at the sky and stare at the clouds for a while. You kinda hoped it rained, you've always loved the smell.

You hear a familiar laugh far away and from the corner of your eye you spot its source. Jean. He walks out Building Maria with Marco beside him.

The two boys do a hand shake as they say goodbye to eachother and head their separate ways. When you notice Jean is headed toward the direction you are, you spin on your heel and try to walk fast to avoid him and so he doesn't think you were watching him or worse, waiting for him.

You haven't spoken to his since last night and you weren't sure how an interaction between the two would go. Would it be awkward? Weird? Does he even remember?

"Y/n!" You hear him call and you pick up the pace a little bit. You feel panic arise in you. Your anxiety eating you up. You shove your earphones in your ear quickly to pretend like you didn't hear him but he beats you to it.

"Hey." He jogs to catch up with you, leaving him a little bit out of breath. "Hey." You smile. He stares at you for a bit with his lips parted open like he wants to say something but decides not to. "You good?" You pry. "Huh? Oh yeah. I'm great." He replies.

The two of you look forward and walk side by side in awkward silence for a bit. "You going home?" He asks still facing forward.

"Yeah. You?" You look up at him and he looks nervous which makes you giggle a little. He frowns and elbows you. You elbow him back and turn your face up to the sky again. "I think it's about to rain so I should prob-"

"Do you want to get dinner sometime?" He blurts out. You freeze. "What?"

He cringes and blush appears on the top of his cheeks. "I said um.." He rubs the back of his neck. "Do you want to get dinner sometime?"

You think for a second. Was he asking you out on a date? And if so, was it a good idea to say yes? Especially after everything Hitch told you.

But man, you wanted to say yes so bad. Part of you wants to say fuck it who cares if you end up heartbroken and then part of you says you'll be fine as long as you don't get attached. It's just dinner, right? Maybe if you choose a non-romantic place, it will be easier.

"Sure. When?" He lights up. "You free right now?"

You flinch. "Right now?!" You point at your outfit. You were wearing a blue crewneck sweatshirt with black biker shorts and sneakers. "Like this?!" You panic.

He laughs at you. "Why not? You look good. I'm not dressed to the nines either." He gestures to his outfit. He wore a black v-neck sweater with a white collared shirt underneath and jeans. You give him a dumb look. "You look way better than me." He grabs your hand and goosebumps grace your skin. "Not even possible."

He drags you by your hand and picks up speed. You trip and almost fall on your face. "Oh my god, slow down!" You yell as you blow hair out of your face.

"We gotta get to my car before it starts raining, I already feel some drops coming down." He laughs. "You're gonna end up having to take me to the hospital on our first date!" You yell, your breath running out as the two of you continue to run.

He looks back at you while still taking the lead. "So, it's a date?" Before you can even answer, you both run straight into Mikasa as you turn the corner to enter the parking lot. She loses her balance and grabs the wall for support.

"Whoa, where are you guys going in such a hurry?" She asks. She looks down at your still connected hands and then looks at you for a second before turning away.

"Sorry. We wanted to make it to the car before it came pouring down." Jean shakes off. Mikasa nods, looking up and holding out her hand, palm up. A water droplet plops down on to it. "Have fun. Be safe."

Your heart sinks. You never found out what really went down between him and her that night. She walks away and Jean pulls at your hand again. "Come on. We're almost there."

You both decide to walk the rest of the way to the car because of how sweaty you were already getting. Yes, it was about to rain but it was the kind of weather that was humid and sticky. The transition from summer to fall was barely beginning so the heat from the previous months still lingered.

You walk along side each other and walk in silence, and you notice your hands are still held together. You also notice your footsteps match his in perfect sync.

"Come on. Out with it." He says. "Huh?" You ask. "Sometimes on your mind, right?" He questions you. How the fuck does he always know what I'm thinking?

"Uh- I was just looking at how our walks are in sync. Look." You point down at your feet. Please fall for it. Please fall for it. "Oh yeah, that's pretty cool." He grins.

The silence returns and you decide to just ask what you have been wanting to ask since the moment you met him. "Jean?"

He looks at you. "Do you like read minds or something?" You ask slightly embarrassed. He stares at you dead in the eye surprised. After a horribly long and painful silence, he bursts into uncontrollable laughter.

"Read minds? Where did that come from?" He exhales, wiping tears from his eyes. You shrug and look back down at the ground. "You always know what I'm thinking. As if you can read my mind." He looks up at the clouds. "I'm just good at reading people, I guess."

You let go of his hand and step in front of him stopping him in his tracks. "I won't tell anyone if you can, promise." You stick out your pinky and he bends it backwards. You hiss in pain and slap his shoulder.

"I can't believe I was about to keep your deepest, darkest secret." You successfully make him laugh again and you feel a sense of slight power.

"Or maybe I can read minds." He jokes. But he can't. If he could then he would know how sad you actually were right now. How much everything was bothering you. How scared you were to get too close to him. For once, you wish he actually could read your mind so it would save you the humiliation of saying it out loud.

Finally, the two of you make it to his car and Jean opens the passenger door for you. "Thanks." You say as you slip in. "Yes ma'am." He replies as he shuts it behind you.

He jogs to his side of the car and swiftly glides into the seat. "You think you're so cool." You tease him. He looks at you and winks. "Oh, you know I'm cool."

After him asking you a million times where you wanna eat and you replying that you don't know or didn't care, you finally agree on this new sushi and ramen place they opened up by Jean's place.

Once you arrive there and Jean finds a parking spot, you start to take off your seat beat and reach for the door handle. "Don't!" He snaps at you. You move your hand quickly. "Okay, okay! Jeez." You laugh.

He opens the door for you and you roll your eyes at him. "You gonna do this everytime?" You ask him. "Yup. Now come on, I'm starving."

You and Jean make your way into the restaurant. As you enter, you take in all your surroundings. It very much looked new. Everything was shiny and clean. "They barely opened like a month ago. I haven't had the chance to come check it out though." Jean explains. Well, you're glad it isn't as place he takes all his dates to.

As the two of you wait to be seated, you continue to look around and you spot a girl sitting with her two friends give you a dirty look. You give her one back and laugh. You don't know if she's looking at you like that because of what you're wearing or if it's cause you're with Jean but just in case, you grab Jean's arm and hold on to his forearm, standing closer to him.

He speaks to the hostess while you maintain eye contact with the girl at the table. She watches you hold on to Jean's arm and grits her teeth.

You wink at her and she turns away to whisper in her friend's ear. Still holding on to Jean, you both follow the hostess to your table. "Thank you." You both say simultaneously as she heads you the menus.

Your waiter greets you surprisingly quick and asks for your drink orders. He comes back with them just as quickly. "Damn, the service here is crazy." He says flipping through the menu.

"You sure you wanna be seen here with me?" You ask him doing the same. "Why wouldn't I?" He takes a sip of his drink.

"What if your hoes see you?" You snicker. He chokes and sends his hand flying to his mouth as he spits some of his drink out. "MY WHAT?" He booms.

He grabs a napkin and dries his mouth. "Your hoes." You repeat smugly. "I don't have hoes." He states.

"Not what I heard." You laugh. He sets an elbow on the table and holds up his head with his hand. "You jealous or something?" He smirks.

Now it was your turn to spit out your drink. "Jealous? Jealous of what?" You scoff. "You tell me." He says, his eyes staring right into your soul. You try to come up with a clever response but your waiter returns to take your orders. Thank God.

You order the spicy ramen and Jean orders the same. Once the waiter leaves and takes the menu along with him, it's finally just you and Jean alone again. "So, do you know that girl over there?" You ask, using your head to point to her direction. He turns to check to see who you're talking about. He makes a pained facial expression once he sees who you're referring to.

"That's Adrienne. Why? She look at you weird or something?" He says fiddling with his silverware.

"Yeah, she didn't look too happy I was with you. How do you know her?" You lean back into your seat, trying to get comfortable as you wait to see what kind of lie he's gonna spew out.

"I went on a date with her a while back. It never really went anywhere though." He admits. "Oh? Why not? She's pretty." You push. He sighs and eyes the tan brunette across the restaurant. "She wasn't as cool as she claimed to be. She was actually kinda boring and superficial."

You were surprised he was being honest with you and didn't come up with some lame excuse like she's an old friend or his cousin or something.

"Jean?" A voice says. You and Jean turn to see a girl with red, chestnut hair and hazel eyes. His eyes widen when he recognizes the girl. "Oh, hey Olivia."

She crosses her arms and glares at him. "Long time, no see." She snarls. She looks at you up and down and laughs. "New girl of the month?"

You try to held your tongue but your temper betrays you. "Did you have miso soup?" You ask innocently.

She snaps at you. "Excuse me?" You clear your throat. "Did you have miso soup?" You say slower for her to understand.

"Yeah. So what?" She growls. You laugh and stick your finger between your lips and touch your front teeth with your nail. "You have seaweed in your teeth."

Her mouth drops open and she quickly grabs her phone to check in the camera. Jean begins roaring with laughter. So loud that he has to cover his mouth to not be rude to the other people in the restaurant.

She angrily moves the camera out her face. "I don't see anything. You're lying." She hisses at you. "No, I see it. Right Jean?" You keep going.

"Yeah it's like right there." He adds, pointing at her teeth. She covers her mouth and stomps away.

The two of you explode into laughter as soon as she's out of sight. "Her face was priceless. Let me guess? Another girl that didn't work out?" You banter. "Yeah, she was pretty annoying. Also, kind of crazy. And not in a good way."

"Annoying? No way. She seems sweet." You say sarcastically and he throws his crumpled straw wrapper at you. "Shut up."

"I'm never coming out with you again. Girls are gonna be attacking me left and right everywhere we go." You joke.

"You'll be fine. If I recall correctly, you punch hard, right?" He refers to your very first conversation with him when you met in the cafeteria. You were surprised he even remembered that.

After the two of you eat your food, you both lean back in your chairs and throw your napkins into the now empty bowls. "That was so good." He groans as he rubs his stomach. "I feel so tired now. The rain outside isn't helping." He finishes.

"I love when it rains. Makes me wanna watch Twilight." You say stretching your legs.

"Wanna watch it?" He asks you. "You have the movie?" You chuckle.

"Hey, I like Twilight, okay. But no, I don't. I have Showtime and the whole series is on there." You shoot up. "Wait, really?!" You were just complaining the other day about how no streaming platform you owned like Netflix and Hulu had a single one of the Twilight movies.

"Yeah. Wanna come over and watch them together? I have snacks and popcorn and shit." You immediately wanna say yes but something stops you. How many other girls has he invited over to his place after taking them to eat? Is this a move that he pulled on all of them? Were you really just gonna be another girl on the list?

But, you guys are just friends. This wasn't actually a date. I mean, you would definitely not be dressed like this if it was. It would be like going over to a friend's house. All you had to do was NOT hook up with him. Simple.

At least you hope it's that simple.

"Fuck it. Yeah, let's go."