Friend or Foe... (AoT Reader Insert)

Chapter 24: Until Forever Falls Apart

I've never really liked coming up with plans; especially not ones that had such high risks and consequences.

While I'd briefly helped Armin back in Trost come up with a plan, that's all I was doing. Helping. It wasn't my plan, nor was I the one to make the calls. At the end of the day, the credit for that plan fell solely into the hands of the intellectual blonde.

But Armin wasn't here now.

This responsibility, the responsibility of saving my best friend's life, fell onto my shoulders and my shoulders alone.

While I'd like to say that my haphazard plan was only due to a shortage of time, I think the reason that the plan I made, the plan which Connie, (Y/n) and myself decided to agree on, was very half baked was because I was... unsure.

I was nervous; very nervous!

But no matter how much I might have wanted to turn back, I knew that wasn't an option. I don't think I'd ever be able to look her in the eyes if I let Jean die while knowing I could've done something to save him.

"Marco?!" snapped a certain boy as I zipped in front of an oncoming Titan.

I wanted to laugh at how surprised Jean was at my appearance, but that wasn't what was important right now.

I spared only a moment to nod in (Y/n)'s direction before the Titan started reaching for me.

Just as planned, (Y/n) jumped down from a nearby building and rushed towards Jean. Connie, who had been waiting beside (Y/n), jumped up from his position when a Titan began approaching the two who were on the ground.

"(Y/n)? Connie?!" Jean exclaimed, though I noted he was really only looking towards (Y/n), "what the hell are you guys doing here?"

"We don't have all day," (Y/n) warned as she began tugging on something underneath a boulder, "if your gear is defective, you better get it off as soon as possible. I don't plan on carrying you to the top of the wall, after all."

Jean hesitated for a moment but quickly began to do as (Y/n) suggested.

"Marco!" Connie suddenly called, "watch out!"

I only had a moment to stop myself from running straight into the hand of a Titan.

In hindsight, I probably should have been paying more attention to what I was doing rather than what (Y/n) and Jean were. Perhaps I wouldn't have landed on the roof so harshly and perhaps a Titan wouldn't have been able to sneak past my side of the street.

"Jean!" (Y/n) called, "watch out!"

The brown haired boy only had a moment to react before a Titan hand came flying towards him. Thankfully by that time he had swapped his defective ODM gear for a working one, but that wouldn't be enough to save him from the Titan that was flying towards him with its mouth open.

Like vines sprout up from the ground and grab hold of what's nearest to them, fear gripped every part of my body from the legs up.

I liked to believe that when I was a child I wasn't easily scared.

Sure, I often tucked the blanket underneath my feet while I slept and yeah, I didn't like looking out of windows when I was by myself in the middle of the night, but that didn't mean I was easily scared. Those were things I did out of paranoia, not fear.

I wasn't actually scared of something dragging me off of my bed during the night, nor was I afraid of seeing a face peering at me from the darkness; I was just paranoid.

The habits which stemmed from paranoia as a child were nothing compared to this.

Standing face to face with a Titan; being mere moments away from watching your best friend die while you were only a short distance away; knowing that you could do something to help but not being able to do anything regardless... that was scary.