|𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠e𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞| ᵃʳᵐⁱⁿ ᵃˡᵉʳᵗ

|4| We Just Have To Live After That

*Warnings: None*

-MARLEY, LIBERIO-

The next two months were rough for Y/n. Little to no food, even when she went home, her father denied her anything but bread. Melvin never gave her anything else either. He wanted to stay their father's favourite. Everyone saw him a such a selfless young man, and he was for the most part. But when it came to his family, he had to be the favourite. He had to prove he was the best, the prettiest, the 'golden child'. This wasn't hard to achieve considering Y/n's track record.

The beatings she received weren't ideal either. She'd get at least one everyday, two if she was really unlucky. Though, some days they forgot and she finally got a day of rest. But, it didn't matter if it had happened or not on those days anyway. The bruises and cuts from previously were a constant reminder that she is just what everyone thinks she is, a monster.

Even when they healed, she had scars that lingered and the covered her head to toe. None of them were deep and noticeable, they were small and from a distance no one would see a single thing. But up close, she doubted if she had any skin left, if maybe her body is a giant scar.

Marcel was always there for her, though not always spending the night in her room, they found other ways to bond. They'd go to the roof every chance they got. After Y/n's two months of punishment, they spent even more time together. They got closer and closer as the days passed, knowing every little detail about each other by the end of it.

Y/n's training excelled greatly, but she never got the chance to train her fiery abilities. She knew this would be an issue in the future, but whenever she reached to take her gloves off, Magath would shake his head, or an officer would tell her to keep them on. So there it was, they knew what she could do and they were going to treat her like an animal to prevent her from doing it. But she just wanted to be better and train so they wouldn't have to worry about her that side of her abilities. If she were given the opportunity to control them, they wouldn't be so much of a problem, but she was forced to hide them away.

But, they didn't stop her from training with her other abilities. She taught herself to move things without laying a single finger on them, like flinging guns from the rack into her hand from the other side of the yard. She figured out how to crush herring cans into a ball and throw it through the air at enough speed to put a dent in a brick wall.

She made some progress with the ice, she can frost things over with a huff of her breath and freeze water from a distance. Unlike her fire, she hasn't learned how to create it out of nothing, so she needs a liquid source. In saying liquid, it means that it doesn't have to be water.

She saw a dying bird on the ground on day, some animal had picked at its stomach and left it to bleed out. The only way she could help was to end its suffering quicker. So she tried something. She focused her energy to the bird, and watched as the blood slowly turned to a solid, along with the rest of the bird. After observing her odd attempt at ending the birds suffering, picked up the frozen corpse and dug a small hole in the dirt beside it as a grave.

She can freeze things with her mind and through her breath, but imagine how much better she'd be if she could use her hands. In saying that, her fire can only come out of her hands, but it is able to engulf her entire body (as she learned from the most recent incident).

She knew the ice wouldn't work since the fire was so much more overpowering. She thinks of it like the ice is dainty and small, and the fire is big and powerful. Moving things around with her mind is something she practically mastered, but she didn't use it often. She thought if people saw her using her powers daily after what happened that day, they wouldn't be happy.

Though, it wasn't just Y/n and Melvin that did their own training Thursdays and Fridays. Bertholdt did too some days. It's not like he could just transform into The Colossal whenever he needed to. So he spend most of those days with Y/n. Melvin did his own thing that needed 'complete focus' and he needed to be left alone. Y/n knew it was because he didn't want her tainting his image, but she respected it nonetheless.

So, Bertholdt watched Y/n move things around and freeze things over. He thought it was quite interesting. They'd also do normal training, something that Bertholdt didn't have to sit and watch. They grew pretty close over the six months, but not as close as her relationship with Annie had always been.

-1 Month Before Invading Paradis-

"What do you think about the mission now?" Y/n asked Marcel as they sat together on the roof, watching the sunset.

"I feel prepared, I'm ready for this," he told her and she nodded. "What about you?"

"We're invading people's home, probably committing genocide and we just have to live with that after," Y/n said with a sigh. "We just have to live after that."

"They're filthy island devils, Y/n. Don't feel bad for people you don't know," he told her.

"But what if they're not filthy island devils, I mean you said it yourself, we don't know them. They could be like us," she suggested and he shook her head.

"Don't talk like that, you'll get in trouble," Marcel answered, shuffling a little over from her. "I could get in trouble too."

"I know, I'm sorry," she answered softly. "I just can't wait to get out of here, I hate this place. Well, maybe not the place but I feeling I get when I'm here."

"I understand but-" Marcel hesitated -"just leave me out of it. I don't want any part in your betrayal to Marley."

Y/n's face grew confused. "What happened? I thought you told me not to leave you behind?"

"That was before," Marcel said with a huff as he got up and walked away. "Just, don't let me stop you if you do." Y/n was stunned. They were supposed to run away together, they had talked about it. But why not now? Did someone convince him? Does he not like her anymore? A tear rolled down her cheek. She felt betrayed, why would he do something like this?

She was probably overeating, but she's thirteen and in love, and her love basically told her that whatever future she chose for herself wouldn't have him in it. Unless she choses to stay in Marley and live unhappily. She's considered that life plenty of times, his happiness over hers. But isn't that what she always did. She took the blame for Bertholdt breaking something, which isn't the first time she's taken the blame for things others had done. She does it for her brother all the time.

-

1.2k Word Count