As it Was | Hange x Reader

Chapter 17: Sabotage

Hange had begun to work on the project more than (Y/N). They spent every day refining the details, making sure that everything was perfect before the submission to the regionals. They spent every single second talking about it. It kind of...annoyed (Y/N). It had been her initial idea to create a fertilizer to boost plant growth. It had been her who had written up the initial formula. But because of Hange's edits and their alterations that caused the fertilizer to work better than ever, it seemed as if the project was Hange's brainchild.

In a way, it was.

(Y/N) had tried to create a successful fertilizer. And she had failed. Just like with everything else, she had to rely on Hange's intelligence to get her through the rounds.

Getting the ugly voice in her head to be quiet was getting more difficult by the day. Hange was her best friend. They were helping her. They were smarter. They were the one who—No. She was getting carried away again.

"(Y/N), I think we're all ready to submit to regionals," Hange said excitedly. They had been scanning the online version of their poster, tweaking the words to make sure that everything flowed together seamlessly. They loved this project. Their passion was more than hers. It was their project.

"Want me to do the submission?" (Y/N) offered. She felt like she needed to step up, to do more things. She was basically a freeloader at this point. Sure, she had the initial idea, but it was Hange that had brought it to life. "I have all the documents on my drive, and I can completed it by this evening."

"Perfect!" Hange beamed. They walked over to where she was sitting on the bench, finishing up the sandwich she had packed herself for lunch. She offered half to Hange, who took it eagerly. "Before you know it, you'll be getting the scholarship. My idea will get us far, trust me."

"Yep," (Y/N) held back her sigh. Their idea. Hange wasn't holding back with possession, huh? But that was fine. They deserved it, anyway.

--

(Y/N) sat in front of her computer, pulling up the website of the regional's science fair. It was evening, the sun had set, and she was all alone in her room. The house was quiet, not a single noise besides the clacking of her keyboard. Sometimes, she liked the silence. Other times, she hated it because of the way it made her thoughts louder. The bright screen stung her eyes and she wanted to close the website as soon as she could so that she could curl up on her bed and sleep. Sleeping was her new favorite thing to do.

The form for the regional's submission was quite simple and it took (Y/N) less than ten minutes to fill out. Except for one part. One part that baffled her. Instead of asking for both her and Hange's contact information, there was only room for one participant.

After some digging, (Y/N) realized that only one person could move on to the regional's, despite two being allowed in the school science fair. Wait...that didn't make sense. How was it that only one person could register as owner of the project? Actually, that did make sense. Only one person could get the scholarship, so only one person could be the applicant.

But what did this mean for her and Hange? Only one of them could proceed. (Y/N) stared at the screen, stumped. She needed the scholarship, but the project was basically Hange's brainchild. It was because of them that they got through the first round in the first place. Would Hange let her take their project...which was also technically hers?

They wanted her to win. They wouldn't mind if she submitted her name only, right?

(Y/N) groaned, burying her face in her hands. What was she supposed to do? She reached for her phone, thinking that she should probably ask Hange. They would know what to do. Before she could dial their number, the front door to her house burst open. She heard loud footsteps followed by a crash.