|
Post by Fateful on Jan 13, 2014 18:52:30 GMT -5
Armin shook his head. He had no questions at all about the paper. In fact, he had written it the day it was assigned and revised it two days after that. He had it printed and ready to turn in. He'd left it on his desk at home for tomorrow when he could hand it in. Most of his professors didn't let him turn early assignments anymore, since he wouldn't actually turn anything in on time. He'd do them all and hand them in a week before they were due. Last year, this ended up putting him two months ahead of his classmates, which made it easier for him to help Eren. So, they stopped him from doing it again.
When Connie raised his hand Hanji rounded on him. "We're been over this!" She yelled. "It's a fifteen page paper about the prelab we did in preparation for the pig dissection, in which you will outline your part in your groups and a quick summary on your team. Then will go into the mechanic of the lab itself including how you plan to dissect the heart.' She said, shaking for a moment. She then went over to the guinea pigs. "Sawney! Bean! I hope the two of you weren't lonely tonight. I hope the two of you aren't mad at me for not taking you home with me anymore." She went to the door and kicked it open before yelling into the hall. "But some jackass, and I won't say who, won't let you in the house!" She bellowed.
Once she finished, she closed the door and looked back at the class with a smile. "Are there any more questions about the paper?"
"Wait fifteen pages?! You said it had to be five when you assigned it!" Eren complained, rummaging through his notebook, trying to find where he wrote it down. There was no way he was off by a full ten pages. How the hell could he have made that mistake? When he found his notes, he found doodles of himself boxing and them beating up a pig until it was a carcass, then Mikasa cutting it up. the reason he knew this was about the paper was because he had "Paper" and the due date written at the top. There was no other information on the page, at all, about the paper.
|
|
|
|
Post by belated valentine on Jan 13, 2014 19:18:10 GMT -5
From down the hall a distant - and rather familiar voice - yellled, "Shut up about those filthy animals already, some of us are trying to teach here!"
Mikasa jabbed Eren with her elbow. "Shhh, are you crazy?" That lady will dissect you if you piss her off!
She had a feeling that she was going to be spending the rest of the day at the Jaeger household making sure Eren finished his paper, which meant that it was likely neither of them would get the rest they needed for the trip tomorrow. It was likely that they would have to call Armin over too, because he was the only one in their class she knew who could pump out a ten page well written essay within a few hours. Mikasa looked over at the blonde haired boy sitting on the other side of Eren, knowing he was likely already thinking the same thing.
Connie sighed and let his head drop onto his desk in a rather painful way. Maybe he could get a concussion and die; it was still a better ending than the one he would receive if he didn't turn in his paper - which was mostly some what done, just not...good? "Why can't we just dissect the stupid things like every other class?" he mumbled. "And why do we even? They all have the same thing inside; a heart, a few lungs, some bones and shit."
Jean spoke up next. "About the trip and having to camp outside, are there and dangerous animals inside the park? You know, that could like, potentially kill us?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Fateful on Jan 13, 2014 19:33:25 GMT -5
When Jaeger objected, Hanji stared at him for a few seconds. Her hand came to her chin, the lenses in her glasses hiding her eyes. She thought for a few seconds and then slammed her hands on her desk. "No!" She said. "I assigned fifteen pages, that's the perfect length to explain everything I have asked. I have another assignment sheet." Now she started to go through the piles of papers on her desk. After a few minutes, she found it. Then, a smile appeared on her face. "Ah!" She handed out the assignment sheet again. It was fifteen pages.
Looking over Eren's face when he grimaced, Hanji watched him, as if in pity for a moment. "Please don't copy Armin's paper again..." She said, looking a little worried. Then, she glanced toward Mikasa. When she glanced her, she saw Sasha. "And... this time, I don't want to read about pig recipes and bacon." She told Sasha and then smiled and went back to the front of the room. She picked up a stick of chalk and was about to start writing again.
"Connie! Twenty pages!I want an entire body structure analysis including a diagram that you draw BY HAND of what the dissection will look like. I want to know how many lungs a pig has!" She demanded. Then she turned to the rest of the class.
Sasha groaned and rested her head on the desk then started to eat some of the cupcakes she brought with her.
"Dangerous animals?" Hanji asked. "Oh no, what sort of teacher would I be? We'll be in the woods so there might be a few bears, but as long as you're not rubbing honey in your hair like you do for school, you should be fine, Jean."
|
|
|
|
Post by belated valentine on Jan 13, 2014 20:01:59 GMT -5
"Okay, that's-hey!" He reached up to touch his hair, tracing the undercut. As if he'd ever put any honey near his best feature. Ha. His eyes moved to the side when he heard shuffling and then widened at the sight of Sasha taking a whole cupcake out of her bag, completely intact? "Are you serious? How can you even eat during a discussion of pig dissection?" he whispered.
Connie sat up. "What? That's not fair!" he whined, slamming his palm down on his lab desk. Something hit the leg of his chair and caused him to fall backwards, landing on his back on the floor. "Wha-"
"Hey, teach, I think Connie needs to go to the nurse it looks like he fell pretty hard!" Reiner called out, like he hadn't just been the one that had knocked him down in the first place. Honestly, he didn't want Connie to fuck things up for the rest of the class too. He did not have the time to be writing five more pages if Hanji had decided to assign the twenty pages to everyone else too. Everyone else seemed almost relieved while Connie just looked ticked off as he picked himself up off the ground, setting his chair back up and sitting down, disgruntled and glaring at Reiner.
|
|
|
|
Post by Fateful on Jan 13, 2014 20:06:38 GMT -5
Eren looked defeated and in a look of desperation turned to look at Armin. Surely his best friend wouldn't let him drown in this, would he? This wasn't going to be horrible, right? He could do this... He could do it. He just had to believe. As soon as he thought that, another thought jumped into his head and he heard a song from a musical: don't stop believing! Hang on to this feeling. Which was then followed by a bnch of mumbled words to a tune. He lowered his head, still staring at Armin.
Armin turned to face Eren, seeing him helplessly mouthing the words "Help me. Please. Help me."
Of course, Armin sighed and nodded. HE knew this was going to happen, since he assumed Eren hadn't even started this assignment. It was going to be a long night, and assumed he'd end up spending the night.
Hanji settled everything down and returned to her lecture.
|
|
|
|
Post by belated valentine on Jan 13, 2014 20:35:37 GMT -5
The following night had been long and painful and full of caffeine. It ended with Mikasa alseep on the edge of Eren's bed, with Armin at the foot of it, and Eren in between them, his laptop still lying next to him.
At around midnight, Mikasa awoke to her phone buzzing near her ear, her mother demanding her home. She'd apologized to her and hung up, turning to look at the boys beside her and then at Eren's laptop, where luckily, his paper sat finished. She leaned over him and hit the save button, shut the laptop, and put it back on his desk. Whispering a quick goodnight to them, she put on her jacket and headed out. She'd finished packing her things for the trip and fell asleep, waking up the next morning to her alarm, which had been set earlier than normal because of the trip.
After she double checked to make sure she'd packed everything - and a few extra things like another new toothbrush in case Eren forgot his - she headed out, stopped by Eren's house where he and Armin were waiting, and then the three headed to the school together. Once they arrived, their papers were handed in to Hanji and then they waited with the others for their bus to pull up.
As they boarded the bus, Levi stood out front holding a bottle of sanitizer and squirting a shot into everyone's hands, going over the rules for the trip while doing so. "-no running off on your own, especially not in the dark. If you have to piss, you better be comfortable pissing five feet away from your classmates, because I am not going to jail if one of you ends up missing. Also, no trash depositing outside. I've brought with us trashbags so make sure anything you are throwing away goes in those bags, or you yourself will be leaving inside of one of them. And lastly, absolutely, NO provoking the bears if you see any. They are usually not hostile around the park so you should be fine if you aren't being a little shit. And you-" he pointed to Reiner as he started up the stairs up of the bus, who suddenly got very nervous. "Keep your classmates under control. If I try to kick their asses I'll get fired, but you'll only get suspended."
"Y-yes, sir!" he responded before ducking quickly into the bus. For a moment, he'd almost thought Levi had seen through their plan.
|
|
|
|
Post by Fateful on Jan 13, 2014 20:46:01 GMT -5
Eren finished the paper. Through the magic of the holy Jesus surrounded by walls of pearly gates and whatever the hell else there was, he had finished the paper. Now, this isn't to say it was an A paper, but it was a paper. And there would be a grade involved. Hopefully that grade would be higher than a C, considering how hard it worked, but beggar students couldn't be Armin. He'd had help from two of the best students in his grade. That's why he wasn't as good at this stuff, because their giant brains sucked the intelligence out of the air and therefore it was sucked from Eren's brain.
As they boarded the bus, all the students assumed the hands out position in order to accept Levi's hand sanitizer gift. They all washed their hands as they went onto the bus. When Levi called to Reiner, Eren froze. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! FUCK. FUCK!! What the hell was this? He figured it out already. Oh... Oh thank that Jesus fellow. Levi had no idea. He wanted Reiner to be his muscle.
As they boarded the bus, Bertholdt ducked in order to get in without smacking his head on the top of the bus and head to keep his head arched down to keep from scalping himself on the metal roof. A few girls giggled as he walked by, making motions with their hands and fingers which just made him sweat more, his cheeks turning a twinge of pink as he hurried to the back of the bus with Reiner, where Annie was already waiting for them. He sat in the seat opposite of the little one person seat she'd found herself in. He smiled, wiping from sweat from his brow. She didn't look as excited as he hoped she'd be.
Eren jumped onto one of the seats since Levi wasn't on the bus yet. "Hey? Where is Levi sitting?" he asked, looking around. Levi and Hanji were sitting in the front of the bus, so Eren sat on their seats and took out a dirty pair of boxers he'd found left in the locker room and stuffed them into the the seat. He then went toward the back to sit near Reiner and the others, but wasn't too close.
|
|
|
|
Post by belated valentine on Jan 13, 2014 21:27:08 GMT -5
Reiner joined Annie at the back of the bus, saving a seat for Bertholdt. "Wow, you look even more unhappy this morning than usual," he said to the blonde, who just shot him a look back. When Bertholdt joined them he smiled. "Yo, Bertl, we're through the clear. Levi didn't notice anything." He gave a wink and leaned back in his seat, satisfied and quite proud of himself, although the various fireworks he had strapped to him were making it slightly uncomfortable to sit.
Annie greeted Bertholdt when he sat down. "Looks like you've got a few admirers," she noted, a slight tease in her voice. The dot of sweat on his forehead as well as the slight blush indicated that he was nervous. It wasn't hard to read Bertholdt, at least not for her and Reiner. Although she wasn't as close to them as she was when they were younger, she was still closer to them than anyone else in their class. Reiner was like everyone's big brother. He was generally good and helped others. He was on the football team but he was friends with everyone.
Bertholdt was quiet and reserved and lacked a backbone most of the time, despite being six foot three. But he was also nice and smiled at people - kind of like how he was smiling at her now even though she wasn't - and never treated people unfairly even if they looked past him.
And then there was her, who people usually summed up with one word: bitch.
And Eren Jaeger, who she noticed dropping a pair of briefs into the seat she assumed Levi would be sitting in and she thought: idiot.
Mikasa grabbed Eren by the elbow and shoved him into a seat, toward the window. She gave him a disapproving look. "That was cruel, Eren," she said, even though underneath her good student nature she actually kind of wanted to laugh. Everyone ducked into their seats as Levi boarded the bus after Hanji, clipboard under his arm, muttering something to the bus driver about the condition of the bus being completely disgusting and cruel and that they should have cleaned it better.
He headed to his seat and sat down, he took his hand out of his pocket to set the clipboard down but when he did his hand landed on..a piece of clothing? Holy mother of windex - a scream erupted through the bus as he jumped up from his seat, yelling profanities until his eyes landed on Eren Jaeger. "YOU LITTLE FUCKER, DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?" He flung his clipboard across the bus with great precision and it landed - with a loud smack - in the middle of Eren's face.
|
|
|
|
Post by Fateful on Jan 13, 2014 21:45:39 GMT -5
Bertholdt nodded to Reiner and knew well that this was going to work. he didn't have any trouble sitting since the fireworks fit on his chest. But his body temperature was higher than normal, so he was worried about setting them off. This was a completely irrational fear, and he knew that, but he still had the thought in the back of his mind that fireworks were going to start shooting up from his shoulders and chest. That would be an interesting trip. At the mention of his admirers, Berholdt lowered his head and pulled at his bangs to try to hide his face. It didn't work, but that didn't stop him from doing it. He looked down at the floor. "Don't know why." He said softly, not able to look at her.
They'd been friends for a long time. She knew how to comfort him. When she wanted to.
Eren turned when the clipboard hit him. He had been laughing, tears in his eyes from said hysterical laughter. When the clipboard hit him, he howled like a wounded dog. The clipboard fell metal clip down into his lap and he cried out again, yelling "My BALLS!" He tossed the clipboard onto the dirty floor. "Ow!" he whined, his head falling into Mikasa's lap. "Oh man... that fucking hurt... my balls... avenge them..." He said, squirming. He kicked the clipboard under a few seats in the dusty grime.
|
|
|
|
Post by belated valentine on Jan 13, 2014 22:47:43 GMT -5
Annie stared at him for a second before she stood up from her seat. "Scoot over." With that, she let her body drop into the seat beside him. Because they were in a pretty nice bus with comfy seats, the seats were bigger than usual. She leaned back and tucked her hands into her white pullover, trying to ignore the commotion going on in the middle of the bus. "You should stop doubting yourself so much. You're not as bad as you think you are," she said, looking ahead. "You could talk to them if you wanted."
Mikasa sat up, startled as the clipboard suddenly came flying towards them. If she had been faster she could have pulled him out of the way, but alas she was only human and Eren was a target for flying objects - what a surprise. She hadn't expected it to hit him as hard as it did though, and she sent a small glare towards Levi. "I promised his mother I would bring him back in one piece," she said, before dropping her eyes down to Eren who was currently curled up on the floor, his head in her lap. "Are you okay? I don't really know what you were expecting to happen..." Grasping his arm, she helped him back up. Normally, she would look at whatever damage he had inflicted on himself, but it was on his balls so you know, that could be awkward. Instead she tended to his face, taking a tissue from her pocket and reaching up to wipe off the small smear of blood from his lip.
Levi just glared at him. "You filthy animal, I can't imagine the germs on your hands at this moment. And you just soiled my clipboard." The clipboard had the entire schedule on it, and now he would have to rely on what he'd memorized - which was almost all of it but still. He stole a pen out of Hanji's pocket and used it to pick up the boxers and threw them into the trashcan on the bus. Then he turned back around to face the children as the bus slowly began to move. "Eren Jaeger will be receiving five days worth of detention when we get back. Let this be an example for the rest of you." He glared at everyone and then dropped in the seat next to Hanji. "I absolutely hate that child."
|
|
|
|
Post by Fateful on Jan 13, 2014 23:09:15 GMT -5
Bertholdt looked more nervous when she came to sit beside him. He immediately moved over to make room for her and give her enough space. Most people thought that he was afraid of her. This wasn't the case. He respected her. Well, he respected everyone, but there was a special respect in his heart for her. "I-I'm not that bad." He agreed. "Still, I'm not perfect. No one is." He offered a weak smile to support his words. "I don't want to talk to them, Annie." His hands went to his hair and he pulled some of it in front of his face again. "Besides, they judge me based on my looks, because I'm tall. I don't want that."
As they started moving, Hanji sat Levi down at the front of the bus, in another seat, and started the very long, strenuous process of trying to calm him down. "Now now, Levi, he's filthy and all, but you can't assault a student." and "This isn't the Frankfurt, you can't just take a baseball bat to someone's knees when you don't like them."
Sasha appeared in the back of the bus with the others, holding a box of donuts. "Hey... guys..." She said, showing them the box that was supposed to hold two dozen donuts. It had nine left. She offered them to the others, small sprinkles of powder on her face. After everyone had taken one, she looked at the last one that was left. She stared for a few more moments and then went to offer it to Jean, who hadn't taken one. She smiled at him as she offered it, smudges of lemon cream, chocolate cream and powder still on her cheeks, the corner of her lips, and on her bottom lip. "You should eat the last one..." She offered. "Otherwise.. I will, and I'm saving room for the three cheeseburgers I brought with me from that delicious place two blocks from school."
Eren groaned and rested against Mikasa. "T-Thank you." He mumbled. The more he sat still, without moving, the faster the pain faded away. He was feeling better, little by little. A sigh escaped him and he closed his eyes. He looked out the window as they got onto the highway and started heading upstate. He munched on the donut Sasha had given them earlier. It helped with the pain too, or perhaps it was the stuffed raspberry filling."
|
|
|
|
Post by belated valentine on Jan 14, 2014 12:12:16 GMT -5
"Looks aren't a bad place to start," she answered, watching him fiddle with his bangs. His flustered appearance amused her. She understood what he was saying though. Annie was positive that everyone had that craving, to be seen for whoever they were instead of what they appeared to be. The comments about her nose didn't bother her anymore because she just didn't care. Why should she? She wasn't defective. Normally his height would be noted as a good quality, but it was also not his only quality. Sure, he was tall, but he also was also a list of things - both good and bad. Just like any other person. "Well, I mean I can see why kind of. Every time you walk be Levi you make him jealous," she added, a hint of humor in her voice. The height difference between Bertholdt and Levi was literally a foot. Between The one between Annie and him was even greater.
"But I get what you're saying. You want them to like you for you, not just your height, right?"
Levi sent her a look that said, 'want me to try?'. He hadn't been in France for awhile but he somehow remembered the youth there being a little more, what was that word - ah yes, less douche-y. He could only hope this trip would end quickly so he could get back home to an environment lacking children.
Jean pulled his earbuds out when he saw Sasha lean over her seat to his. "What?" he asked, having not heard what she'd said. Then he looked down and saw the donut in her hand and he realized she was offering it to him. Which was strange, considering Sasha ate everything before she had the chance to share. "Thanks," he answered, taking the donut from her. Then he looked up at her, laughing a little when he noticed the residue on her face. "You have a little - well, a lot of - something right there," he said, pointing to his own face to show her where it was.
Mikasa nodded. She took off her scarf and threw it around his neck so that it created a cushion for his head when he rested it against the window. She nibbled on her own donut and made small talk with Armin, who was in the seat in front of them. Aside from Eren already getting hurt, the field trip was going well so far and she was actually pretty excited for it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Fateful on Jan 15, 2014 0:02:05 GMT -5
Looks mattered too much in school. Bertholdt learned that the hard way many years before. He'd been this tall for a long time. Since middle school, in fact. They used to tease him because he was taller than most of their teachers. At first he didn't realize how tall he was and had trouble picking things up. There was nothing wrong with him, he just hadn't had time to adjust to how tall he was and how long his limbs where. It took a while for him to adjust. He had long since gotten over that and had stopped a few times before going into smaller spaces simply by saying he wouldn't fit. The three of them went to an amusement park the previous summer and Bertholdt couldn't go on most of the rides because he was over the height restriction. He didn't mind and told the others he'd watch while they rode. After a few roller coasters, Annie and Reiner stayed with him and went on rides all three of them could go on together.
His friends stuck by him, cooled by his shadow. That meant a lot to him. He knew what Annie was trying to do and he appreciated it. People made fun of her for appearances. In middle school it had bothered her, but she put up a thick wall around her, an armored wall that protected parts of her from being injured by people's words, accusations, and beings. She found ways to protect herself with a shield that she appeared to make out of nothing. It amazed him how strong he was. That was probably his favorite part about her. Or, one of his favorite parts about her, anyway.
He didn't answer her question. He just nodded, but stopped trying to hide his face. He smiled at her, a slight blush on his cheeks. He raised his arm and wiped away from sweat from his brow with his wrist. "You always know what to say. Thank you."
Hanji sighed. At least he had calmed down. She poked his side to get his attention. Glancing around, she made sure most of their students were distracted. Once she was sure they were occupied, her gaze came back to him. The sweat made her glasses slip down her nose a bit, so she pushed them back up before saying softly, in French, "You're too tense around them as of late. Something is bothering you. Does this have anything to do with the man that started a fight with you last weekend? You've been on edge and avoiding me since. I know that it bothered you. Normally, I understand when you want your space, but... I don't think that's what this is. That's not what it feels like to me. You've never forced me to leave your apartment before. What are you trying to protect me from." Seeing the glint in his eyes, she raised her hand to point at him. "Don't you dare lie to me, Levi. I deserve better and I will find out myself if I have to."
Armin started talking to Mikasa about where they were going. He had done some research. Apparently they were in a place where there was no artificial lights and they were at a little higher altitude, so they would be able to see the stars. The real stars. None of them would be hidden from the city. The cap site had several telescopes hidden throughout the woods. He pulled a map he'd printed from his computer that morning from his backpack and opened it up to show her. Eren fell asleep, uninterested. But the blonde knew that Eren would be all up for this later, especially when he saw the spark in Mikasa's eyes that Armin was looking at now.
|
|
|
|
Post by belated valentine on Jan 15, 2014 1:30:11 GMT -5
Annie gave him a small smile in return. Having met at a very young age, the three of them had formed a sort of bond. When they were kids they used to fall asleep in a pile out on the grass and wake up to Bertholdt's feet, or elbows, or knees in their faces. And they held her hands when they walked to their second grade class because she was just a little bit younger and a little bit smaller and it made them feel strong when they could keep the bullies away. And on first day of middle school Annie was still a little bit younger and a little bit smaller but she punched a boy in the eye for making fun of Bertholdt. She got suspended for a week but the following day Reiner finished the job by blackening his other eye. He joined her in suspension, and Bertholdt feigned being for a week and stayed home with them.
They worked like that when they were younger. But as they grew some aspects changed. After their second year of middle school, Annie stopped coming outside. She walked home with them, but then she shut the door to her house and they didn't see her until the next day at school. That was the same year that her mom's car disappeared from the drive way, and she spent more time with her dad. And then she began to look meaner and she began to kick higher and hit harder.
And she was still friends with Reiner and Bertholdt but she felt the drift between them. Reiner and Bertholdt were still friends, they were always friends. And she was there too but not like she was before. But they still treated her the same, even though she acted distant toward them sometime. Still though, she couldn't deny that they still meant a lot to her. And to see Bertholdt upset was like seeing a wounded puppy.
"Wow, I turn my back for like five minutes and take a nap and you guys are already talking about me behind my back. I'm so hurt," Reiner started, peering at them from his seat with a smirk.
Levi turned to look at the brunette sitting behind him and he kept his steady, expressionless eyes trained on her. "Hanji, I don't want to talk about this right now. I told you it was nothing, so can we just drop it. We shouldn't be talking about our personal life in front of the kids, even if in another language." he responded, obviously avoiding the question. There was no way he was going to discuss something like that on a bus full of children who were also his students who he had to see on an almost daily basis.
Mikasa's eyes brightened as Armin mentioned the stars and pulled out the map. Various constellations peered back at her from the paper and her just skimmed over them, in awe. This was definitely going to be an interesting part to the trip and she was really excited for it. The two of them continued to chat excitedly, picking out which constellations they wanted to find first and which were their favorites.
|
|
|
|
Post by Fateful on Jan 15, 2014 1:49:53 GMT -5
Bertholdt wondered. He wondered a lot. He wanted more than anything for her to open up. To talk about anything. To talk to him. To explain things. To feel comfortable. She became like a rock, so defensive and hard that even he couldn't get through to her sometimes. But she was still Annie, just shier. Sometimes he told himself it was because she was a girl. He'd read about it online and sometimes girls became secretive in middle school. You know... because of 'the bloody V'. But, they kept getting older and she didn't change back. Or change out of those habits and adopt new ones. He was scared, at first, since he wanted her to be okay. ASking was out of the question. She would kick him down. Not that she wanted to hurt him, but with Annie, he couldn't bring up anything personal about her with questions unless she said it was okay.
And it wasn't okay.
When Reiner said he felt left out, Bertholdt gave him a nervous smile. "You caught us. That means you set the first one off." He taped his side where the biggest firework was.
Hanji opened her mouth when he told her that they shouldn't be talking about this. She was getting frustrated and it showed in her eyes. He did this every time. He deflected about everything. Whereas she didn't know everything about him, she knew that he had been into something very different from what he did now in France. She'd been a student then and was studying to be a doctor and a scientist. But, things changed and she got a teaching internship to help pay for her PhD. And she fell in love with teaching. She still did experiments and other things, but it was during school vacations and other points in the year where she would be absent. She usually scheduled exams for those days. One day, she wasn't in France when someone happened to be looking for her. When he couldn't find her, he decided to look in Germany.
"Levi..." She sounded upset and the look was clear in her eyes. This upset her and it wasn't a normal we'll talk about this later sort of upset. This upset was fear and confusion, and uncertainty. She had never once questioned whatever he did before. There were rumors. She heard things. Her friends heard things. Her professors and even some of the school's law enforcement warned her to steer clear of him. And she ignored them because it didn't matter to her then what it meant to her now. "Okay." Just like that, she gave up. There was no point, in her eyes, in continuing this. He'd shoot it down, even in French. Looking down at her bag, she pulled out one of her many logs and started to scribble down and work on her new doctoral thesis about a project she'd started two years ago. School distracted her from it a fair deal. And so did her personal life. It made her happy. In the rare instances where they fought, she'd immerse herself in it, sometimes for weeks or months on end. She'd become obsessive. Everything was a schedule when she was like that: eating, sleeping, even going to the bathroom. She planned out everything and if one thing wasn't right, she'd have a break down. Every second of her day during those times was calculated.
Armin smiled at Mikasa. He rarely ever saw her this happy or genuinely excited about everything. Normally she was fairly stoic and distant. She opened up to him and Eren, but still. He loved that about her personality. She could be so warm and inviting, but at the same time drew back so she created the world of warmth, but you had to sustain it. He thought she was beautiful, a long time ago. Well, no, he still thought she was beautiful but knew that beauty wasn't something that he could ever pursue or wish for himself. They were too alike and too different. Armin and Mikasa? No. No, they weren't compatible and he knew that almost immediately in middle school. He'd moped about it for a few days, but eventually just accepted it.
|
|
|