too close

¹⁸ / " all you're doing is hurting yourself "

《 ✦ TOO CLOSE ✦ 》

You had skipped school the next day to attend the meeting with your parent(s).

Thursday had arrived, and Eren was present at school. You were both avoiding each other the whole time. You couldn't blame him, after all.

Sure, you read his texts, but you figured out what he was really up to. He was most likely both humiliated and frustrated at the same time. At the very least, you would be.

The difference between the two of you is that you wouldn't have considered playing with someone else's emotions.

That's what you thought, at least.

Lunch had arrived, and you were picking at the veggies on the lunch tray with a fork. You played with the food while gagging at the whole thing and refusing to try it.

Annie says, leaning on Armin at the lunch table, her arm around his neck, "He's an asshole." They sat in front of you and had lunch with you.

You usually sat with Connie, Sasha, and Hitch, but after reading those texts, you didn't want to see Connie again.

Hitch didn't mind if you didn't sit with her, so this was your best chance to find out what was going on.

Everything that had happened had been revealed to you by Armin. Reiner had dared Eren to make you fall in love with him when you went upstairs for Connie's dare. After that, on prom night, break up with you.

Armin sighed and brushed his blond hair away from his face. "(Y/N), I'm so sorry. I was about to say something, but— There's no excuse, believe me. I didn't want to tell you because I couldn't stand it. It's just... It's messed up, to put it that way," With a scratch behind his ear, he says.

Annie fixed her gaze on you with a pout on her mouth. "Hey, if you'd like," she says with a smile, "I could beat Reiner's ass for you."

The offer was taken into consideration. Annie was unquestionably winning against him, but was that what you wanted?

You didn't want to stoop to their level, but the answer was yes. You were going to simply beat Eren Jaeger at his own game. This wasn't meant to be buddy-buddy with him; rather, it was meant to cause him to lose his dare.

You smirked and cocked your head to the side. "Don't worry, Annie, I've got a strategy," you say as you stand up to throw your tray of food away.

You sighed and sat back down. You were well aware that your plan was essentially Eren's, but with a different target.

Jean would be that target.

—

"Psst," In class, you whispered to Jean while tilting your head slightly backward.

Shadis was in charge of the class. AP calculus. In this lesson, he sat behind you, which was perfect for this situation.

He inclined his head as he looked up from his paper. "You and me? Partners for P.E. ?" With a wink and a smile, you ask. He nods, grinning back at you and shaking his pencil, obviously ecstatic.

Unfortunately, for you and Jean, the last subject for the fall semester was pe. You might wonder who taught that class... Mike Zacharias.

Mike wasn't especially bad, but he did try to smell students if he had the opportunity. He's a strange guy.