𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑳𝑨𝑺𝑻 𝑩𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑳𝑬 ⇢ 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘹𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

christa lenz

Your mouth was practically on the floor.

"What?" You exclaimed as Reiner sank into your bed, explaining exactly what had happened during the 'date'.

Or at least, he explained everything apart from him rejecting her. He decided to keep that to himself.

"That was my reaction, too." Reiner hoarsely chuckled, lying down on your bed with his head resting on your pillow: "For a second, I thought that she might be joking."

"I can't believe that Christa has feelings for me!" You lay down beside him, watching his body tiredly stretch out: "But, what about when she asked you to dance with her?"

"She wanted to dance with you, not me."

"And all of those times she stared at us?"

"She was staring at you."

"All of those times that she interrupted us when we were alone together?"

Reiner stretched his arms tiredly, the edge of his white, crisp shirt lifting to reveal the bottom of his clean-cut abs: "You want to take a guess at why she did that, honey?"

"But, why?" Your voice came out as a wince, "Why me? And, why not you?"

Reiner's bronze eyes rolled backwards with a slight smirk: "She's not interested in men - she was a little offended that everyone had assumed that she was."

You turned to lie on your side, facing Reiner's direction: "Are you.. angry at me?"

"It's just hilarious." Reiner turned to face you as well, a smirk staining his amused face: "Christa liked you the whole time? Well, I guess our plan worked, didn't it? Only that she fell for the wrong person.. ha!"

Reiner chuckled to himself. He was wrapping his arms around his muscular stomach whilst trying to hold himself together. His contagious laughter made your bed vibrate as you lay beside him, struggling to not laugh yourself.

'How is he coping so well right now?' You thought to yourself as your dormitory door began to open, 'He's just been rejected by the girl he wanted to confess to. How strange.'

Jean Kirschstein had entered your dormitory with a faint smile, politely waving to you and Reiner.

"What are you two laughing about?" The fawn haired Scout raised his eyebrow whilst perching himself besides your bed.

"It doesn't matter," You deflected, "What's up?"

"Just wanted to come and talk to you, that's all."

Jean's eyes sneakily shifted towards Reiner's direction with a subtle and meaningful glare, hinting that he wanted to talk to just you. Reiner, taking the hint, nodded and began to stand up.

"I need to go find Bertholdt, anyway." The blonde raised his hands in defeat, grabbing his jacket, "I'll see you both during supper."

You and Jean both stared at Reiner Braun until the door had fully-closed, and then both made yourselves comfortable on your bed. You sat cross legged opposed to each other.

"You've been spending a lot of time together lately." Jean began with a subtle smirk pried on his confident expression, "Anything you want to tell me? Has Reiner proposed, yet?"

"Oh, shut up."

"I'm being serious!" His defences rose as his pitch grew higher, "You're attached at the hip! If I didn't know the truth, I would think that you're a real couple."

Your lips suddenly felt dry and parched. You wettend your lips with your tongue, but your mouth still felt dry. Jean noticed your worried expression and tilted his head curiously.

"There is something going on."

Jean leaned forward with intrigue, "Oh?"

"I'm just not quite sure what it is," Your voice formed a whisper as you glanced towards the door to check for Reiner, "The lines between what's real and what's fake have turned into a blur."

"What do you mean?"

You audibly groaned, not wanting to carry on: "Sometimes the way he acts, or the things he says, makes me feel like we're really dating.. and I like it. I like being his girlfriend. But then he says something that reminds me that we're not."

"I see," The fawn haired boy pressed his index finger on his lower lip, "Do you like him?"

You laughed: "What? That's ridiculous!"

Jean's squinted eyes rolled backwards, not satisfied with your answer: "Y/N, it's a yes or no question. Do you have feelings for Reiner Braun?"

You slowly inhaled, and then exhaled.

"I don't know."

Jeans mouth gaped open as if not expecting that response. His puzzled eyes attempted to make sense of your muddled expression, however, could not decider what your frown meant.

The fawn haired boy shook his head, "I think you need to end this fake relationship with Reiner."

Your eyes widened - your face filled with horror.

"He's made it clear from the very beginning that his heart belongs to Christa- that was the whole reason as to why you began telling people that you were dating in the first place."

"But, what if Christa doesn't like him back?"

"That doesn't mean that his feelings for her will change." Jean's gaze began to soften as he placed his hand on yours comfortingly, entwining his injured fingers with yours: "You know how I've felt about Mikasa, and the fact that she's in love with Eren and not me won't change how I feel. It's the same with Reiner."

Your body felt heavy. You felt as though you were slowly sinking into your bed with a weight attached to your heart. Your brows knitted together as an unfamiliar pain spread through your chest.

"I can't watch you get yourself hurt." His thumb caressed your palm, "You should end this sooner, rather than later."

With a sigh, you leant your forehead on your closest friend's shoulder: "I suppose you're right. I'll tell Reiner that it's over."