Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Yandere! Attack on Titan various x Reader)

Twenty-Two

Sorry it's short.

Tell me how you justify...

"It's great to see you back in school," Erwin told you, putting a hand on your shoulder and smiling down at you. You gave him an uncomfortable half-smile.

"Thanks..."

His hand lingered too long to be appropriate and he pulled away almost reluctantly.

You walked back to your seat and sat down. The seat next to you was empty. Untouched.

Stacy's chair.

It was an unspoken rule that no one would sit there. The classroom was filled, but her seat remained empty, like it was just waiting for Stacy to run into the room saying "Sorry I'm late!"

But that would never happen. Could never happen.

Erwin started the lesson, but you couldn't focus on what he was saying. You could feel everyone's eyes on you, yet no one met your eye when you looked at them. The teacher's calm, smooth voice was like a lullaby, but instead of falling asleep, it just gave you more time to think about Stacy.

"(Y/n)?"

You broke out of your thoughts and looked to the front of the classroom.

"I was asking if you knew the answer to this equation?" Erwin said.

"Sorry," you said softly, "I don't know."

"That's okay," Erwin said gently, his eyes pitying, "Armin, can you answer?"

You tuned back out of the lesson. Suddenly, a piece of folded paper landed on your desk. You looked around but, again, no one met your eye. You unfolded it.

"I miss seeing your smile. Meet me after school near the fountain, please?"

You weren't sure who gave you the message, but it made you irrationally angry. You crushed the letter in your fist. It felt like the only way you'd ever smile again is if Stacy rose from the grave.

Math passed by in a blur. Erwin didn't call on you again and you were grateful for that.

When the bell rang, you were the first one standing. Erwin gave you a pitying look as you raced out of the classroom, but he didn't say a word. No one did.

The slamming of lockers and students chattering was all... normal. Too normal. As though the world had forgotten about your best friend already.

History class rolled around, and you trudged inside, keeping your head down. You sat down heavily and stared at your desk. To your surprise, Levi didn't call on you once either.

However, when the bell rang, Levi said, "(Y/n), stay behind."

Your heart dropped, but you complied. You watched as everyone else left, some of them giving you waves, Connie and Sasha giving you a thumbs up for encouragement.

You felt yourself trembling as you walked up to Levi's desk alone.

"Is everything okay, Mr. Ackerman?" you asked.

Levi's eyes flashed, "You received my email about after school tutoring, correct?"

"Oh yeah," you had completely forgotten about that.

"I will help you improve your dismal grades every Tuesday and Thursday after class," he said sternly, "Don't miss it."

Tuesday was tomorrow. You winced at the idea of being alone with him again- it already felt so tense between the two of you.

"Yes, sir," you replied, "Is that all?"

"For now," Levi said shortly, turning back to his grading.

You didn't see the smile spreading across his lips as you left the classroom behind.

The other classes passed by in another blur. Lunch was uncomfortably quiet with everyone at your table eating silently, following your lead.

You almost forgot about the fountain until the final bell rang. You considered skipping it altogether and just going home, but you were curious about who had asked you to meet there.

The sky was turning a beautiful shade of orange when you approached the fountain. Reiner was already sitting there, looking unusually nervous. When he saw you coming, he stood with a gentle smile on his face.

"What do you want?" you asked, sounding more harshly than you intended.

Reiner's smile twitched, "I missed seeing you at school."

You looked at him, waiting for him to continue. He seemed at a loss for words. Finally, he settled on asking, "What did Mr. Ackerman want?"

"After school tutoring," you replied, feeling a little embarrassed.

"You're that bad at History?" Reiner asked, shocked. Seeing your expression, he quickly said, "Hey, I'll fail History so we can be tutored together!"

"Don't do that!" you felt a smile tugging at your lips, "Don't be stupid!"

"Come on, it could be fun!" Reiner laughed.

You laughed too, "With Mr. Ackerman? Fun? I don't think so."

"Fine, fine," Reiner said, "I'll keep up my straight C's."

There was a long silence. Not an uncomfortable one, but one where neither of you were sure what to say.

"I should get going," you said, looking up at the darkening sky, "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

The words died on Reiner's lips. "I... um, I like... Like seeing you smile. And hearing your laugh."

"Thanks?" you said, slightly confused, "But you didn't need me to meet you alone to say that."

Reiner looked away, "Yeah. You're right."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," you said, slinging your backpack over your shoulders.

As soon as you disappeared, Reiner buried his face in his hands.

"I get why Bertolt chickened out now..."

...telling all your lies like second nature