Just This Once

The First

Disgruntled and infuriated, Jean found himself curled up against a wall right outside the dining hall. That dumb ass Jaeger kid was always blabbing about exterminating the Titans and shit. This time, he just took it too far. Eren had pissed off Jean one too many times. Jean, however, knew his limits and when his anger began to take over him, he ran outside.

"Damn it!" He cursed under his breath and fought the tears swelling in his eyes. He rested his head on the wall behind him and slid down to sit at the base. He lowered his forehead into his palms and started to sob. This turned into a weep as he clutched his knees. Suddenly, the presence of another has been detected. He shrugged it off as if his brain had been creating some way to not be lonely. Nope.

"Eh, you can't let him get to you." This voice was familiar yet new. Jean looked up to see a fellow trainee, Marco Bodt. He wiped his cheek and smiled at him.

"I know.." Jean paused, contemplating what he would say next. "I.. I just really hate Jaeger."

Marco laughed under his breath. He turned back towards Jean and said, "I can tell. If you ever just wanna vent," he pulled out a napkin with his number scratched on it. "...text me. I'll do my best to talk to you." He stood up and turned to walk away.

"Hey, um, Marco?" Jean was speaking without thinking.

Marco stopped abruptly and turned around. "Yes?"

Jean looked down at the napkin. "What time will you be up to?" Jean was too embarrassed to look up. "Y-Ya know. Like if it's late and you are usually asleep...?"

Marco chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I'll get up." And with that, Marco was gone.

Jean was still left sitting there at the wall of the cafeteria hall. He was still clenching the little napkin with Marco's number on it. He stared at the note and read the numbers over and over as if he was memorizing the words to a great song.

There was something about the five minutes he spent out in the cold with Marco. He sat up a little straighter and smiled slightly at the same time. He watched his breath roll out from his mouth like he was smoking. He was a lot calmer now. He felt his cold cheeks and realized they were dry.

After a few seconds, Jean pulled out his phone and put Marco's number in his contacts.

"Hey, its Jean."

Almost immediately, he responded.
"Oh hey :)"

Jean was a strange and new kind of happy.

"I just wanna thank you again for talking to me. I really appreciate it."

Jean bit his lip and eagerly awaited his response.

"You're welcome. Im just glad i could help you. Hey, do you wanna hang out some time. Like just talk about stuff?"
Jean felt warmth rise to his cheeks. Why was he blushing?

"Yah, that sounds good. Well good night then. Txt u in the morning:)"

"Ok :) good night"

Jean slowly pushed his phone in his back pocket. He slowly pushed himself up and smiled as he walked back to his dorm. He could actually go to sleep tonight and not hate himself. He had something to look forward to. He bit his lip and looked down as he walked.
He forgot about the piercing cold around him. He only felt the remaining warmth in cheeks and throughout his whole body. Jean was happy for once. All he could think was, " Thank you, Marco."
Thank you, Marco.
Thank you, Marco.
Thank you.
So much.

~~~