Colossal Confessions

Chapter 2: Scrub You From My Mind

TUESDAY

Jasmine

Jasmine walked briskly, desperate to put distance between herself and Levi. She felt hot tears spring to her eyes and hurriedly wiped them away with her sleeve, embarrassed by her display of weakness. The sky was darkening as the veil of night began to unfurl, and Jasmine continued to walk, not entirely sure where her feet were taking her. Before long she found herself outside the laboratory she frequented with Hange and Moblit. Two large tents had been set up outside to hold the pair of titans the Survey Corps had captured recently. Titan-obsessed Hange was sure to be lurking around here somewhere – crazy as they were, they were always a source of comfort.

"Hange?" Jasmine called tentatively. A figure, shrouded in darkness came barrelling out of one of the tents, shushing Jasmine furiously.

"I'm trying to get them to sleep." Hange's eyes were wild but softened as they noticed Jasmine's tear-stained face.

"You're crying." Hange furrowed their brows – they had no idea why Jasmine was upset, but their heart ached for their friend. They pulled Jasmine into a warm hug before dragging her into one of the tents.

"Sawney's fast asleep, but Bean just won't go down." Hange spoke like a frustrated new mother and Jasmine had to bite back a smile. Jasmine eyed Bean nervously as she sat down in the tent. Bean was a 7-metre-tall titan and loomed over Jasmine's petite frame. His teeth gnashed at the sight of the newcomer – fresh meat. Though he was well-restrained, Jasmine kept her distance – she felt vulnerable without her ODM gear.

"So, who do I need to beat up?" Hange demanded, taking a seat next to Jasmine.

"Me." Jasmine sounded bitter.

"I was a massive idiot and went and told Levi I liked him." Jasmine shook her head, still amazed that she had gone through with her stupid confession. Hange's eyes practically bulged out of their skull as they screamed in delight. They tried in vain to muffle their excitement by clamping a hand over their mouth.

"I knew it! I knew you two had something funny going on! Argh! I'm so excited for you!" Hange squeezed Jasmine giddily before pulling back looking slightly confused.

"Wait, so why the tears?" They cocked their head inquisitively.

"He uh- he doesn't feel the same way." Jasmine spoke softly.

"WHAT?!" Hange yelled – no longer caring about sleeping titans. They'd seen the way Levi looked at Jasmine and the way he always found an excuse for them to do things together – there was no way he didn't have feelings for her. She fumed in silence, unsure of what to say.

"You're not the idiot – he is. He wouldn't know love if it hit him in the face. With a chair. Really hard." Hange's words brought out a bark of laughter from Jasmine.

"Oh, man.. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm not even his type." Jasmine muttered. On the rare occasion that Levi left events with someone, he'd always left with someone eye-wateringly attractive – he was humanity's strongest soldier after all – that was always going to make him a hit with the ladies.

"I want to go knock some sense into him." Hange stood up, ready for a fight.

"No. Don't say anything." Jasmine begged, knowing that things would get worse if Hange got involved.

"Well, he's making a huge mistake." Hange grumbled. Jasmine glanced at Bean, she was desperate to change the subject and get her mind off of Levi.

"So, we gonna get this titan to sleep, or what?" Jasmine's words instantly brought a change to Hange's demeanour.