THE OTHER SIDE. aa

neun.

     REINER BEAMED brightly just as you sat down beside him in your physics class. you placed your bag on your table and yawned, inclining your back to hit the chair in the process. reiner clicked his tongue and shook his head slowly, disappointed once again to see you so tired.

     "this is why you shouldn't stay on the beach until one in the morning." he advised firmly, "i thought you only visit until twelve?"

     when reiner saw you dilly-dallying on the beach, his friendly demeanour immediately changed to a mad mama bear. he had dragged you to your car while lecturing you why it wasn't okay to stay at the beach for so long, especially when you need sleep so you could be energised for your classes the next morning. when you got home, there was another lecture through text. as soon as you got to school the next day, you got another earful from reiner to which your friends teased you on how overprotective reiner was over you.

     "does your boyfriend know about this routine of yours?" reiner asked blandly, arms crossed with his usual scowl present on his sharp features. his once bright smile gone, replacing it with a frown instead.

     boyfriend? it took you a few seconds to remember who your 'boyfriend' was. you remembered him mistaking armin as your secret boyfriend and that you had to agree so that he'd stop pestering you in fear of blurting out the truth. you glanced at him sideways, looking at his eyes and lips narrowed down to a stoic expression, trailing your eyes down to his gold star necklace hanging lazily around his neck, his stiff crossed arms to the point that his tight t-shirt budged and showed off his muscles.

     he's like fucking steve rogers or something. you thought, turning away before you could get caught.

     "uh, no?" you smiled awkwardly after some time, chuckling when you heard him scoff.

     "geez, and you're dating him? if i were you, you should date someone who'd be worried about your health even if they're far away," he grunted out, shaking his head in displeasure.

     this surprised you and it obviously showed when you suddenly turned to face him with a raised eyebrow, quietly asking him to explain it further. could it be that...?

     he held out a palm questioningly and rolled his eyes, "what? can't i be protective of my best friend?"

     you awkwardly smiled and nodded slowly, leaning back on your seat with a confused expression. did i seriously hope that he'd somehow still like me? you scoffed quietly and shook your head, discarding such thoughts. your feelings for the blond have already dissipated and you already accepted the friend zone that you're constantly living in.

     you don't have feelings for him anymore.

     the professor was late once again and considering that you were bored, you decided to write some random things on your wrist while waiting. it was your go-to method whenever you had to wait for someone, especially in class. it also proved to be a good distraction from your running thoughts, ranging from your quizzes to armin and then to reiner.

     "since when can you draw mermaids so well?" reiner asked suddenly, peering in to check your artwork. you looked down on your wrist to check on the mermaid doodle you drew.

     "it's just a doodle," you answered, snorting. reiner looked back at your drawing, then you before going back to his position while mumbling useless crap. you decided not to ask him about it and instead worked on your doodle, trying to make it look more appealing or beautiful.