Wings : Attack on Titan x Reader Scenarios / Imagines ▼

[That Day :: Jean]

(F I V E  Y E A R S  B E F O R E)

A hot spring sun spat its sweltering rays through the thin, clear windows of your school, landing directly in your eyes as you tried to turn and avoid its menacing luminescence. It wasn't a winning battle. No matter how hard you tried, the light would always weave its way down the corridors, hitting your eyes like silent daggers. The world around you was nearly pure white. You could hardly see where you were putting your own feet.

No matter. You were on the way to lunch anyway - it wasn't as if it would direly affect your punctual routine to class. With you was a small paper sack, packed with a sandwich and an apple, and, of course, your sketchpad. Although you tried to look away, the one thing the sun didn't block out was the one thing you didn't want to see - the remaining scraps of paper left behind by the drawing Jean had ripped out if it just a few days ago. It served as nothing more than a painful reminder that the judging of the school's art competition had just been completed.

The results would be announced after lunch.

Despite all of your fear and initial resistance to your forced entrance of the contest, you couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement in the back of your mind. It was you against all the other students in the elementary school. There had to be at least two hundred other pupils, and if you won...well, you shelved the thought on the highest crevice of your mind. There wasn't much chance that your little horse would win against the other fantastic entries.

But then again, there was a chance, no matter how small.

Within moments you'd reached the cafeteria, taking a seat at your usual bench among a group of your friends. As you unpacked your food, you engaged in the typical chitchat with them friends, joking about happenings from previous classes and exchanging stories about other students. It was a fun period. The familiarity of your classmates took your mind off the competition, and their company was an excellent distraction. By the time half of the allotted minutes were over, most of your friends had gotten up to receive seconds from the lunch line, leaving you alone at the table.

The peace wasn't welcomed. Within moments your mind had flickered back to the art situation, and you found yourself in an even deeper rut than before. Why couldn't you just relax? It wasn't as if you'd willingly entered the piece. Besides, it wasn't as if anyone but the judges would see it. Unless it's in the top three....No. That would never happen.

The moment you looked up from your tattered sketchbook, your eyes were met with a smirking face - one that was unfortunately recognized as Jean.

"The results were released early," he notified. "For the art competition."

You gave him a dubious glance. "So what...? I didn't even want to enter in the first place."

He sat down across from you, folding his hands atop the table. "Well, you might not have liked the fact that I entered your art for you..." a pause, as his smirk turned to a simple, kind-hearted grin, "...but I bet you would've liked it if you won."

The entire world froze around you. "Yes, but I didn't." There was no way. No way, none at all.

"No, but second place isn't too bad, is it?"

Your eyebrows scrunched together, and you leaned over your empty plate, befuddlement coursing through your mind. "Wait - I...are you joking?"

"I won. I have no reason to joke about that." He shrugged, his signature rascally smile returning. "Plus, without me, you wouldn't even have had a chance."

Simultaneously, you felt the urge to both slap the smirk off his face and hug him - yet when it came down to things, you did neither; simply, you blushed. Deep within a voice was fighting to escape. The voice saying, Without him, I wouldn't even have tried...thanks. The same voice you'd been suppressing all along, trying to ignore, because there had previously been no chance of you scoring. "Congratulations."

When he looked at you as though he knew that wasn't all, you looked down at your skirt. "And...thanks."

"There we go," Jean teased, "finally admitting your gratitude."

"What? No! I just - I mean, you stole my drawing from me! It doesn't matter if I placed, I still can't believe that you did that!"

You two spent the rest of your lunch period with his smug remarks and your quickfire comebacks. Although you hated to admit it, it really was one of the best days of your life.

And miles and miles away, while you two were chattering all the typical grade school banter, Wall Maria was falling down.