hopeless | jean kirstein

20 | stupid feelings

Connie shushed him, bringing up a finger to his face. "She can always forfeit the dare, but she'll have to drink this repulsive little thing first," Holding up the cup full of blood and pickle juice, he flashed her a cheeky smile. "So, Taryn, the stage is yours."

For a moment, she considered just going to hell with it all and to gulp down the cup in one go, but staring at the mixture, her face scrunched up in disgust, the revolting smell almost making her gag out loud. There was no way she was drinking that. She knew that the dare wasn't even that bad, it just took a lot of guts on her part and for her not-so-secret crush to be revealed, something that she wasn't prepared for in the slightest.

When she realized her feelings for Jean, she never planned on confessing. Obviously liking someone else, it was clear that he didn't see her that way at all, and she knew that telling him those stuff would only put a rift in between them. Things probably wouldn't be the same as before. She just planned on keeping to herself until those stupid feelings would eventually disappear, but now, it seems like that wasn't the case anymore.

Gazing at Connie's devilish face, she narrowed her eyes at him, cursing him silently for putting here in this situation. He was smart about it, she's got to give him that. Regardless of what she chose, he could still force the answer out of her, as it was a dare and a truth at the same time. Hitting two birds with one stone. And he's given her the option to lie, so it was totally up to her to confess or not. Sneaky little bastard.

Making up her mind, she closed her eyes shut before tugging on the boy's arm, pulling him closer to her and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. She immediately retreated to her spot, hugging her knees closer to her chest and cheeks heating up in humiliation. She wanted to disappear and hide in a small corner already.

He widened his eyes, his hand slowly coming up to his cheek, his skin tingling on the spot where her lips touched. The room erupted into gasps and squeals, teasing the two, meanwhile Taryn was dying inside.

"Eh?!"

"You like Eren?!"

Historia's mouth formed an 'o' shape before morphing into a teasing smile, while Mikasa's jaw dropped in shock. Armin shook his head in disbelief, letting out a laugh afterwards. "I didn't see that coming."

"Since when? Since when did it start?!" Sasha cried out, cupping Taryn's face that had gone beet red from the whole ordeal. "I have got to know, you never told me!"

Eren cleared his throat, his face still hot and red from the sudden revelation. "That's a truth, Sasha. You'll have to wait for her next turn to ask that."

"Oh, you're defending her now?" Putting a hand on her hip, she narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "Hmm, I see how it is. You like her too."

He blushed even harder. "You—I was just—"

"Alright, alright," Connie clapped his hands together, catching their attention and breaking off the chaos that had ensued. He tapped the bottle and sent Taryn another sickeningly sweet smile, to which the girl only responded with a hard glare. "Time to choose the next person."

Her face burning in embarrassment, she hurriedly outstretched her hand and gave the bottle a small push, letting it spin, its tip then landing on Sasha. Choosing truth, Connie babbled out a question that she didn't quite catch on to, being too immersed in her own thoughts and the mortification of what just happened.

Connie met her gaze, sending her a knowing look. He knew she'd lied, but he chose to stay silent, thankfully.

Glancing up, she locked eyes with Eren, who mustered up a sheepish smile at her. The atmosphere was increasingly awkward, but it seemed as if he took her 'confession' quite well, not really making a big fuss out of it. Things weren't uncomfortable between them yet, save for the endless teasing she was sure was about to happen.