Amaranth

Chapter 3: Flannel Flower

For those who haven't noticed, I'm trying to relate each chapter to something a flower represents, so if you're ever confused, just look up the meaning/symbolism behind the flower it's titled after.

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On the field, Coach gave all the girls a pep talk about their upcoming game before putting his hands together, as if he were going to make an important announcement. "-And we've got a new member on the team," Coach Smith finally announced as Annie walked out of the locker room. She glanced at Mikasa with bored eyes, and Mikasa returned the look. If Annie was going to be cold to her, Mikasa would do that same.

Mikasa ran harder, kicked harder, and all around played harder than she thought she ever had. Half her team looked terrified of her as she was kicking the soccer balls with so much force they were sure they could break bones. Today had been a real shit show for her, and she needed to blow off steam.

When Coach finally dismissed them, everyone practically ran away from Mikasa. She rolled her eyes before kicking the ball from midfield into the other goal as if it were a piece of cake. "Staying after?" Ymir asked as she walked away with Sasha following beside her.

"Yeah," Mikasa answered easily.

"Okay, get home safe," Sasha said as she dragged Ymir to change.

Mikasa nodded as she allowed her mind to wander. Someone knew. The worst possible person to know had found out her deepest, darkest secret, and they planned on milking it for what it was worth. Hitch held the power to single-handedly wipe Mikasa out of the high school hierarchy. To summarize, Mikasa was going to become Hitch's bitch.

With this thought, Mikasa kicked the ball harder, ran harder, and generally got angrier. She was tired of people fucking with her because they could. She was tired of being people's doormat and getting stepped on, but what could she do? She could allow Hitch to reveal her secret, but the thought itself made her nauseous. She'd lose the few friends she had, everyone would lose their twisted respect for her, and there was the possibility that one of the most important people in her life, Eren, would hate her. That, above all else, was the worst case, and for that soul reason, she'd do whatever Hitch asked.

Eventually, Mikasa couldn't put up with kicking the soccer ball around anymore, and it was getting late. Surely Carla would want her to return home soon. As she was walking, Carla called her. "Oh lord," Mikasa muttered to herself as she silenced her phone. "Hello?" Mikasa said as she answered the phone.

"Hey, bubs," Carla greeted, "When are you getting home?"

"I'm on my way now," Mikasa said honestly as she left the school property.

"Okay," Carla said, almost thoughtfully, "We have some things to discuss when you get home."

"Nothing.... Bad.... right?" Mikasa asked, worriedly.

"No, no," Carla assured her, "Just wanna talk."

Okay..." Mikasa said, trailing off slightly. The two then said their goodbyes, and Mikasa continued her walk home.

"When she arrived, she saw Carla waiting at the door for her. Once Mikasa entered the house, Carla gently grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the living room. Shit, Mikasa thought to herself as she entered the room and saw that whole family seated there, This is some kind of twisted intervention.

"We were discussing you going back to therapy," Carla admitted as she sat Mikasa down on the couch.

"No. Way," Mikasa said firmly, "I already told you I don't want to go back."