A Kiss with a Fist

Chapter Twelve

                                                                                                          A Kiss with a Fist

                                                                       Chapter Twelve  

It was somewhere around a year later, somewhere around Lotte’s sixteenth birthday, when she realized three things. 

One: Jean Kirchstein was not a force she wanted to reckon with. Not anymore. Over the past year he had grown taller. Possibly more attractive. And with an improved mean streak. He had eventually forgiven Lotte, just as Marco predicted. But that didn’t mean he ever forgotten that Lotte had stolen his first kiss. That didn’t stop him from publicly humiliating her. 

Two: Eren Yaeger was an all right kid. Point blank. It had taken a bit longer for Lotte to gain any sort of interest in the hot-blooded teen. But, eventually, she had. He was opinionated. Nice, even. Not exactly interesting, but not boring. As far as friends went, Lotte quite liked him. 

Three: she was unexplainably late.

*

No one was feeling particularly confident about today. About tomorrow. About the rest of their lives. No one included a boy named Daz. No one included Lotte. 

But, here they were, regardless. They strapped their maneuver gear on tight and their heads a little looser. Without a doubt, their confidence was wavering. All 104th trainees were on a fast track and not one of them held a break. They may have just been mere teenagers who some believed not to be able to think very rationally or keep a hold of their emotions, but by the end of the night, none of that would matter. 

Tonight, they were graduating. Tonight, they would make one of the biggest decisions of their lives. Whether they lived long enough to regret their decision depended solely on them. That, and what division they chose. 

Eren, however, was confident. “The Recon Corps,” he had announced. Lotte hadn’t of been paying attention to know who had asked. 

“Aren’t you scared?” A girl next to Lotte asked. She had pigtails and a sweet face. Her name might have been Mina. Mino? Minnow? Lotte didn’t know. 

Eren shrugged. “Sure. But, that’s not going to stop me. My hatred outweighs my fear for them.” He was such a simple boy, driven by hatred and his own unreasonable expectations. He had a spirit that would be hard to break. Or, at least, Lotte hoped. In a way, she almost found what Eren believed in to be admirable. She thought his trio was admirable—especially after all they’ve been through. 

More commonly than not, Eren was called a suicidal bastard. A fool. And, more commonly than not, it was Jean who had been calling him that. Lotte, however, held high regards for the kid. As far as their training went, Eren didn’t have any special talents or skills. Not like Mikasa or Armin. 

She hoped the best for him. 

Eren was a certain kind of brave. Sasha was another. “Let’s celebrate!” She grinned, holding up meat. Proudly. And, when asked where she found it, Sasha had declared she had stolen it. 

Lotte’s first reaction had been to duck. 

But, her mouth had been watering, Lotte’s own stomach rumbled, and they were graduating tonight. Everyone in their little group had agreed without much persuasion. If caught, they could have gotten into serious trouble with the Military Police. 

If caught, Lotte could have gotten into serious trouble with her sister. The thought almost made her laugh. 

Somewhere along the year, Nadia had come to terms with Lotte’s decision. She still didn’t want her baby sister to join The Garrison. But, she had stopped lecturing her every chance she got. Something told Lotte Aide had something to do with her sudden acceptance. She didn’t dare ask, however. 

As Sasha split the meat among their group, Lotte sat down on the edge of the wall, letting her feet dangle miles above the Trost District. She kicked them back and forth, somehow finding comfort in how high she was and how far away everyone else seemed to be. She liked how small everyone else looked below her. It was like she could feel how separate their lives were. Down there, they seemed inconsequential. Up here, Lotte suddenly felt the need to protect them. She felt how important they were. 

She looked up when she felt something nudge against her thigh. “You don’t want any?” Eren’s green eyes looked even green in the sun. It made Lotte feel self-conscious about her own eyes. 

She shook her head. “Not really. I’m not really into the whole stealing thing.”

He nodded. “It’s kind of crazy, don’t you think?”

Lotte laughed. “Stealing?” Eren laughed too. 

“No, I mean, five years ago, did you imagine your life would be like this?”

He was referring to the titan attack. The one that claimed Eren’s mom, and so many others. The one that stole Aide’s future from under him. 

“I was always bound for the military.”

Eren nodded again. “Me too.” His gaze turned serious, making Lotte uncomfortable. She knew his past was sort of a touchy subject, and she didn’t want him to think about it. Lotte wanted to make a joke. She wanted to see him smile, again. 

But she never got the chance. 

There was a sudden crash behind her, and for a split second, the sky grew darker. Unfurling steam covered the trainees, disorienting them. 

And then the worst possible thing happened. 

The day had started promising. But, now, standing less than ten feet away from her was the colossal titan and all Lotte could think was I don’t want to die. 

!~*~*~*~!

hm. Happy New Year.