Unwanted Power: An Armin Arlert Love Story

2. Earning a place

Lexie trained with the rest of the corps and kept up with everyone. The physical work was not that hard for her, she was determined to show she was not some spoiled noble. She had to prove that to everyone and to herself. People stared here and there during training and breaks, it was easy to guess their thoughts, not thinking she should be training with them, thinking she was weak, wondering how long she would last, but everyone also remaining respectful because of her title.

She was treated as just another recruit in the trainers' eyes, but her physical appearance made her stand out and be recognizable, they kept a close eye on her and she knew it. She had to always be her best, not only fr herself, but for her family, she carried a last name she had to make proud.

After the morning training, they had a lecture on maneuvers, history and titans. She entered the classroom and searched for a place to sit.

"Hey, Lexie." It was Eren who called her raising his hand to get her attention. "You can sit here with us." He invited her to sit with him, Mikasa and Armin. Lexie smiled and walked to them.

"Thank you..."

"Eren Jaeger." Eren introduced himself and shook her hand. "This is Armin."

"It's nice to meet you." Lexie said as she sat between them both.

"Have you been taught History before? I bet you have." Eren asked, being friendly to her.

"A bit when I was younger, I'm not sure if I know as much as you guys, you must be more advanced." Lexie said kindly.

"Armin has the best notes out of everyone. He can help you catch up." Eren said. Armin's eyes widened in surprise as Eren practically pushed him to interact with Lexie. Lexie turned to Armin.

"I wouldn't want to cause trouble." Lexie said.

"N-n-no." Armin stuttered. "It's no trouble at all." He blushed.

"Thank you." Lexie said with a wide smile that froze him.

"Good morning cadets!" Their teacher greeted as he arrived and everyone stood up to greet him.

Throughout the class, they learnt about the ODM gear techniques, as well as how they had evolved through the years. Lexie knew most of the information, after all, her father was the head of the weaponry department. She still paid close attention to the class, though. It was not the same with Armin, he did pay attention, but he found himself staring at Lexie a little, she had been kind for the time being, she must had been taught etiquette and that's how she was able to be so sociable and polite, he wondered if she would be smart too, she looked very small, so he thought maybe strength wouldn't be her best quality. Feeling his stare, Lexie turned and he quickly looked away, covering his blush with his hair. Unknown to him, Lexie smiled a little and blushed too, though no one noticed.

During dinner. Armin sat with Eren and Mikasa as usual, he was halfway eating his bread when Lexie approached them with her food and stood next to Armin.

"May I sit here?" She asked. Armin froze in shock, and would have choked if he continued to eat, so it had to be Mikasa who answered.

"Sure. You are welcome to sit with us." Mikasa said.

"Thank you." Lexie said and sat next to Armin and in front of Eren and Mikasa. "I was wondering if we could talk while we eat so I don't steal your free time. I had trouble understanding a couple maneuvers from the lecture."

"Oh, sure, of course." Armin said. "Although, Mikasa is way more skilled with the ODM gear."

"Then maybe she can help me understand too." Lexie said giving her a smile too. "The teacher said the blades needed to be quickly replaced, but why? Is titan blood like dangerous or something?"