Hopelessly Romantic

Part 3

18 - three months later

Her hair is shorter, and your hair is longer, in dire need of a wash because, for the past two weeks, you've been focused on moving out of your grandma's place and making sure you wouldn't get stuck in a college you hated. Despite all of your work, as soon as your eyes found the ravenette's, you lost them and your comfort at this college. "I told you, she said it, and I went flaccid." You would gag at the words that man with the once-shaved head said, but all you could hear were the warning signs of your heart and mind telling you to run away.

Though there was Annie. "I can't believe they all came to this college." But you're so glad she came. "Yeah..." She senses your distress, looking at your form before inhaling, saying, "But, I'm glad you came." Ever since Annie graduated from high school, she's had a different personality, something changed ever since you left that place abruptly. And you don't regret it, at least now you don't. "I'm glad you came here too, Annie. My life would've been soooo boring-" "Okay, okay, we have orientation." You smile and let her shove you toward the auditorium with more strength than last month. "Yes, ma'am."

The room is wide, fitting hundreds of people entering their first year of college and a select few who have been here for some time. You bet one of them will lead you and Annie around the college. Then there are some teachers- one definitely doesn't want to be here, freshly trimmed black hair and an omnipresent scowl on his sculpted face. The one beside him, however, definitely wants to be here or is at least excited. They have brown hair in a low messy bun, some strands sticking to their face as they point out things to the shorter, making his grey eyes roll. Those eyes almost send shivers through your body, thinking about who also has them, though you shove that down for Annie's staring. She's looking- no, gawking at some taller woman with light brown hair, a bright smile, and a button nose. You smile and Annie immediately knows.

"Don't." "I wasn't going to say any-" "Yes, you were, and I am not going up to her." You nod, feeling excitement and nerves rock through your veins. "Okay... Then I will." Her eyes are the widest they've ever been, and you know this is the perfect thing to do because of course she's following you, trying to stop you. If she caught your arm, you'd be thrown to the floor, so you're glad she freezes for a second as you sprint to the beautiful lady. "Hey-" You're slightly panting from the jog you had to do, Annie is near you now, and you can feel her anger towards you grow. "Oh, hi," she says, her voice mature and sunny. You hold out your hand, the last of your life might be now, so any anxiety you had about abruptly meeting, vanishes in favor of this lady befriending Annie. "I'm Y/n." She greets your hand with a healthy grip, her friendly smile blinding you.

"Pretty name, Y/n. I'm Hitch Dreyse, a sophomore at this lovely college." You smile back, nodding your head and finally incorporating your best friend. "It's nice to meet you too, Hitch. My friend and I are freshmen here." Hitch lets go of your hand, intrigued by the short blonde next to you. "Sweet! I've been looking for some freshmen to 'guide' as they say in official terms." She turns fully to your friend. "What's your name?" Annie must be stunned, you notice, your smile widening as you nudge her with your elbow. "A-Annie." Hitch smiles, suddenly placing her arm over Annie's shoulder, her low bun most likely messed up from the action. "Well Annie, Y/n, let's get this party started!"

You notice that anger towards you shrinks, and you're so happy to still be alive that you don't notice someone walking up to you. "Y/n?" You blink, head and body turning towards the voice. "Um, hi?" You're hoping Annie realizes someone has approached you, but honestly, you don't think she'd notice while Hitch is around. He's tall, and you would've mistaken him for a teacher if not for his awkward stance, and the roses dusting his cheeks. He was tall, muscular, and had light blonde hair with a goatee. You just wanted to know why he was blushing and nervous. "I'm Reiner Braun, a freshman here." That explained it. "I just wanted to introduce myself and my friend, but he's too scared to come over here." That's when Annie buts in. "Why? We're perfectly fine on our own." You roll your eyes with a smile, reassuring the tall man. "Ignore her, she's Annie. We're a package deal, but it is nice to meet you."

You've heard his name before, and you're starting to wonder if everyone from Trost went to this dumb college. You push that aside, hearing a silence lap over the room. "Everyone, please quiet down! Our head, Erwin, will now make an announcement." You can see the shorter one kill the other in his mind as they make their way back over to him, a little skip in their step. "Thank you, professor Hange. Everyone, today is the final day to relax before classes begin on Monday. Please make sure you are prepared and check everything off of the lists we provided via email." Hitch snickers at that. "Also, if you couldn't already tell, this is not like high school. There are no formal events besides clubs that organize them for themselves. With that being said, there are parties that are not college-friendly, so if you do go to those, which we do not approve of, make sure you take care of yourselves because we only have everyone for so long." Erwin looks to the shortest of the three on the stage and he walks over there, Erwin stepping down.

Clearing his throat, he begins, "If any of you mess up the hallways bad enough, you are going to be the janitor for that spot for as many years as you're here, don't test me." That's all he said, stepping away with an aggressive tch. Erwin is back at the podium, seeming like the tallest man alive compared to the ravenette. "Thank you, Mr. Ackerman." Erwin chuckles awkwardly, and suddenly his goodbye drowns out.

-flashback-

"Hm?" "She has a cousin- this big-ass professor who works at some heavily praised college. It might be the one you want to go to, actually." You snort, rolling your eyes and leaning into her relaxed body on the couch. Her tv screen flashes with displays of characters doing dumb things because you wanted to watch Assassination Classroom again, against her will. You two were sitting on the couch, her boredom getting the best of her and somehow wanting you to talk about something, the only thing you talk about. "I doubt it's my dream college. If he's anything like her, he'd go to Harvard or some other big-ass college. I hear there's one in Trost she might like." Your blonde friend raises a brow. "Really?" You nod, oblivious to her intention. "Yeah, it's fancy like her life and it's got these really, really good business classes since she's going into her family's business." Annie just sighs, sinking further into the couch and into your warmth.

"What?!" "I meant are you really that obsessed with her that you know what college she's going to?" You pout, mumbling, "I'm not obsessed, just knowledgeable-" "Obsessed!" You giggle and then hear the door slam shut, her father's voice echoing in the small house, "Annie, I got some of those protein bars you like!" She smiles, and screams back at him, shoving you off of her and running over to get them.

-end of flashback-

You should've listened to her and asked her more about this cousin of Ackerman's. Now you're just wondering why he's here at a college that Mikasa would never be at. She is, but she shouldn't be.

Over the summer, you got rejected from your dream school and accepted by a college that gave out tons of scholarships to people with athletic abilities. Obviously, you had none, but Annie put a word in and suddenly, grades were more important to them than anything. Even though you'd be going to this college no matter what (all of the others not offering a full scholarship), you still investigated this college, how hard the classes were, and how most people dropped out.

This isn't a college Mikasa would want to go to because their business classes are B+ at best. She'd want to go to that college in Trost or one of the Ivy Leagues. On the other hand, her cousin, just from that brief curt statement, you knew he belonged here, you just hope he wasn't going to be anywhere near your classes.

"Oh, you're an English major, Y/n?" Hitch draws you out of your mind and you realize Annie was talking to Hitch. "Good luck- Levi Ackerman is the worst teacher ever." And you have him for four years, great.