Campus Life

Chapter Six: Secrets

Armin sat in the back of the car, eyes moving between Eren and Mikasa. The two of them had been having a playful argument for the majority of the car ride, and Armin could not help but feel like the third wheel.

"You're checking your phone every five minutes. You must be texting someone. Who's the lucky man?" Eren exclaimed as he kept his eyes glued to the road. "C'mon. Don't be shy-"

"For the last time, I was checking to see if my aunt had texted me. I don't want to make her worry for no reason. You know how she gets..." Mikasa murmured as she scrolled through her messages. Her fingers moved to pull her scarf up to her lips as Eren glanced over at her.

"Oh yeah, she told you to check your messages. Right..." Though Eren did not sound convinced entirely, he dropped the matter and turned his attention back to the road.

"Were you jealous?" Armin asked, his lips twisting into a good-natured smile as blood rushed to the brunette's face.

"What?!" he angrily responded as his eyebrows creased together and he turned onto a new road. He took a moment to glance over his shoulder at Armin before saying, "Of course not!"

A soft giggle escaped Mikasa as she moved to type something on her phone, catching the two boys' attention. Eren's mouth turned into a fine line as he settled back into his seat and caught sight of the restaurant. As soon as he had parked, he held out his hand and shot a pointed look at Mikasa.

"Tell your aunt goodbye. I'll hold onto your phone until after dinner," Eren said as Mikasa typed one last thing before quickly handing it over to Eren. The brunette slipped it into his back pocket before getting out of the car and heading towards the door.

"Have you told him yet?" Armin hesitantly asked as soon as Eren had shut the door.

Mikasa's cheeks pinked under Armin's stare as she shook her head in response. The two hurried after the taller boy, who was impatiently waiting at the door for them.

---

Ymir's eyes flicked over to watch Krista as she continued to drive down the bustling highway. Krista's lips were caught between her teeth as her hands clutched around the grab handle.

"C-could you slow down?" the blond faintly asked, her heart rattling in her throat.

"I'm not gonna let us crash. I would rather not let you get hurt. Hell, I would much rather sacrifice myself," Ymir responded, letting out a soft chuckle. "Relax a bit, Krista. We'll both be getting there in one piece. Even if we were to get into a crash, I would be surprised if my truck has a dent in it."

"How strong is your truck?"

"I got it since it looked indestructible. It's good that it's even comfortable." Ymir's lips curled into a grin as she noticed the road that led to the restaurant. "Once we get to the restaurant, we can get a booth to ourselves."

"Yes, that sounds nice..." Krista murmured, her dismissive tone grabbing Ymir's attention. The woman quickly gave Krista a side-eye, just in time to notice the sour look that was settled on her face. Krista was staring at her phone, her freshly manicured nails tapping on her phone.

"What is it?"

"Just my...parents," she answered, her mouth turning down in thought. Tucking her phone back into her purse, she forced a smile on her face and looked over at Ymir. "I'm okay with whatever you want to do."

"Nah, I want to make sure that you're good with it," Ymir responded, her mouth turning down slightly. "You've got a choice in the matter."

Though Ymir was not sure of what happened during Krista's childhood, she had a strong feeling that the young woman might have been mistreated at some point. No matter what happened, Krista always seemed wary of everything she did or said, trying her very best to not upset anyone. Krista never really talked about her home life, only ever mentioning her older half-sister now and then.

At Ymir's words, Krista stared at her with wide eyes before looking back down at her lap, obviously flustered. She seemed to carefully measure her words before delicately answering, "Well, I would greatly enjoy having a private talk with you."

"You don't have to watch everything you say with me," Ymir gruffly said, glancing over at Krista's blushing cheeks. "Whatever you're worried about, try to forget it with me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"How about this? You don't have to talk so formally."

"I'll stop it if that is what you want," Krista replied, her lips spread into a small smile. "Also, I'm not trying to choose my words or anything like that."

Ymir parked her truck outside of the restaurant, locking her eyes on Krista's glittering blue pair. The young woman ran her fingers through her brown hair as she let out a groan.

"You're not the only one keeping secrets, princess. I know what that looks like. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but that doesn't mean you can keep your little preppy act up around me. Got it?"

Krista's eyes flicked away from Ymir's, locking onto the figures of Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. Her hands wrapped around the handle of the door, opening it up and starting to step down. Her lips were shakily pulled into a grin as she waved to Ymir.

"Aren't you coming?" the blond young woman asked, bouncing on her toes and waiting for Ymir to step out of the truck. As soon as Ymir had turned off the car, Krista quickly rushed forward to intertwine her fingers with Ymir's, pulling her into the restaurant.

Ymir watched as Krista reverted into her bubbly persona, one that the former would apply to a cheerleader. Though she knew that Krista might be good at disguising her true feelings, Ymir had been a master of doing so as well. That was the only one that Ymir was able to survive through her countless different foster families.

She supposed that this was what drew her to the blond: the common familiarity through the act of hiding one's true self. However, Krista's genuine kindness towards Ymir, which was a generally foreign idea to the woman, succeeded in keeping Ymir's affection.

A/N: Which would you guys prefer: longer chapters with a more sporadic uploading schedule or shorter chapters with a steadier schedule?