Y/N POV:
I've never sat round a table with more than four people before, so far it's been wonderful.
Two more people approached us with their food.
"Were not sitting there, you heard her, she's from the underground...she's one of those rats" the red-haired boy whispered to his comrade.
They walk away.
"Hey?!" I shoot up, my face painted with anger. Damn it Y/N get yourself some self control...no...not this time...I need these people to understand that they won't get away with treating me like trash..."hey you, gingeraffe" I spit.
Perfect, That seemed to grab his attention. "Do I seriously look like a screeching ball of matted fur to you?!"
The red-head turns.
"Yes you do, underground-rat" he repeats, "oh by the way, my name is Floch, not Gingeraffe, you vermin" Floch violently spits.
Krista grabs the sleeve of my dress "Y/N leave it...he's not worth your time"
Several people snicker again as he turns away and I sit back down...both of out cheeks tinged red with humiliation.
I stare into my stew and swirl it with the wooden spoon...who knew that being insulted could suppress ones appetite so easily...
"You are nothing like a rat to me Y/N, I think you are very pretty...so he clearly has aweful taste" Krista's silk-soft voice remarks.
Nobody has ever called me pretty before....
"Krista why do you have to be so nice, she needs self-discipline" Yimir rests herelbow on the table and plops her head into the palm of her hand. She's is such a pessimist.
"Nah, her comments are hilarious, were gonna need entertainment round here, Y/N is your name, right?, The names' Connie" a on outstretched hand appears infront of my bowl. I look up to see the guy, he's that who Shadis swung about by the head earlier.
I grasp his hand firmly in acceptance. "Yep, it's Y/N, nice to meet you"
He gives the most adorable grin in return. He's... happy to meet me...?
Connie nudges the freckled boy beside him who ends up accidentally spilling some stew into his water. "Oops, sorry Marco".
The guy looks into his water and frowns, moving it to the side. He then smiles to our dismay, "it's ok, it's my fault for leaving the mug below my spoon" he seems like the modest sort of guy - but, isn't he one of the cadets that dream of joining the MPs?...ew...what a waste...
Marco also offers me his hand, "nice to meet you Y/N, I'm looking forward to getting to know you" his gentle smile complimented his sprinkle of freckles perfectly.
He's kind of cute...
The sixth person was a dark haired girl who was avoiding eye contact. She takes a sip from her drink and glances my way. "M-mina..." Why does she seem so frightened...is it me...?
I reach across the table towards her, accidentally knocking Ymir in the process, who scoffs. Mina hesitates, eventually accepting my greeting, taken aback by the act of kindness.
I let out an amaible laugh, "don't worry, I know that I'm from the worst place that exists inside these walls, however, that doesn't make me an embodiment of the hell I came from".
"So you weren't joking, you are from the underground" Connie blurts.
"Connie that's none of your business". This time it's Marco that jabs him in the side.
Damn it I should of kept it secret...it was obvious that this would be a hot topic for gossip.
"Nope...? I really meant it, also don't fret, you were only curious".
"What's it like compared to the cities above the ground" Connie's eyes were wide with wonder, almost as round as his buzzcut head.
"Well....uhh.....I...don't know exactly....the only place I've been besides the city is here....and....well that's it".
I'm not telling anyone about my previous experience with the military...not yet anyway...
"Connie shut up! Here isn't the place, don't pry for personal information like that" Marco jabs him again "or....or.... I'll castrate you!" our freckled companion hisses.
Marco suddenly realized what had escaped his lips and his face turned 50 different shades of red in embarrassment, Connie's eyes widened to the point that they looked as if they were going to explode out of their sockets. All of us, except Connie and the deeply embarrassed Marco who now had his face buried in his arms erupt in hysterics, unintentionally capturing the attention of the entire mess hall.
"Marco, if y-you need help I...I... have a surgical set in the...the dorm" Yimir teases between laughs, only causing Connie to wrap his arms around himself in protection, his hands trembling. The poor guy looked as if we really are about to castrate him.
However, this only caused us to laugh harder, to the point that we were all struggling to breath.
I haven't laughed to the point that it hurts in a long time...not since...then...
*Seven years ago*
It was the first of April, and I'd only just learned what 'April fools day' was.
Isabel places a finger over my sandpaper-dry lips. "Shhhh....you can't tell big bro that we did any of this....if he asks, we don't know anything".
"Should we really do this Issy...?" I try to act confident however at the back of my mind, I'm aware how much Levi will freak out and that petrifies me...I don't want my bony ass kicked...and I know for a fact that big bro loves to kick people's asses.
"Yep" she smirks, "you can do the honors Y/N". I take a breath and pour the washing up liquid into the top of the toilet.
We make a run for it and go back to our game of snakes and ladders, as if nothing ever happened.
Around 20 minutes later Levi walks into the bathroom.
Isabel and I exchanged devilish grins.
Farlen, who's lying on the sofa notices our pert expressions and sighs, "what have you two done now...?"
We say nothing and place our index fingers over our lips in unison, our devilish grins stretching from ear to ear.
He just nods and stares intently at the lavatory door.
The toilet flushes.
The scream that then erupted from the bathroom was as if someone had been slaughtered in the most brutal way possible - or, as if Levi had felt the true extent of his ass-kicks himself.
Farlen shoots up, as if a monster were to emerge from behind the door, however, as the bathroom door swung open faster than I'd ever seen it with such force, causing it to chip the wall,a poor raven-haired individual collapses to the ground, drenched in bubbles, with a river of the fluffy soap suds streaming from behind him.
All of us clench our stomachs in hysterics as our local clean-freak lies on the floor, penetrating us with his eyes of daggers however, for the first time ever, we don't care.
"someone's brats ass is gonna get kicked real hard."
Oh no he really does sound as if he's gonna murder us...however...how can we take a man seriously when his blanket of bubbles make him look as if he's dressed up as a.....
"s-sissy...look, big brother Levi has turned into a s-sheep...." I blurt between laughs, only causing the snow-skinned raven haired mans cheeks to flare scarlet.
"Who. Put. Washing. Up. Liquid. In. The. Toilet."
"Farlen did a huge shit so he tried to clean it out with dishwashing liquid" Isabel blurts, causing the shortie to lunge at Farlen.
"W-WHAT? Y-YOU...ISABELLLLLL" He lunges her, everyone on the floor but me...the little child who was near collapse in laughter...
Those days really were the best of my life...
I never got to thank those three...I hardly remember their faces now so how could I? ...Farlen and Levis are nothing more than a blur and Isabel's is fading too now...fading like the sun into the horizon earlier...
**********
"G-guys this is a joke r-right...y-you really aren't g-gonna do it?" Connie stutters.
"Hey what's all the commotion about? Can you please stop being so obnoxious" requests an aerian girl on the table behind us. Her ice-blue pools were as cold as stone, not a glint of joy to be seen in them. Something is off about her...
She's sat with the blonde guy.
To my relief, Yimir fills her in and she throws her arm over Connie's tense shoulder "This fella here has only just found out that all boys have to be castrated upon arrival".
How the hell can she maintain a straight face while saying that.
The tall, dark haired boy sat across from her chokes on his drink whilst his partner speaks up "oh yeah, Bertholdt and I have been castrated all ready, it's not that bad, is it Bertholdt?".
The girl raises her eyebrow however she seems to catch on "No Reiner, I'm sure he was crying in agony afterwards".
Reiner? Is that his name?
The Bertholdt guy spills his drink down his front, causing his cheeks to tinge ruby-red, "W-WHAT THE HELL, ANNIE, R-REINER?!"
This Reiner boy pats him on the back, "Don't worry I'm sure you won't be the only one, real men are allowed to cry".
Bertholdt just sits there, his mouth slightly agape, clearly frozen in confusion.
I don't understand how we've not laughed ourselves to the grave yet.
"P-please....t-this is all a joke r-right...?" Connie whispers as hands move to cover his genital area.
Shit. I think we've gone too far.
Marco placed his hand on Connie's tense shoulder "Hey, don't worry, were only fooling around...sorry I shouldn't of mentioned it in the first place...".
"Yeah...sorry Connie...I think we went too far on that..." He probably felt as humiliated as I did earlier...
"Awwwh Marco a way to wreck the mood..." Yimir slumps her elbows back onto the table again, resuming her gaze at Krista.
"Hey, underground girl, you think that's going far, after coming up with 'horseface', 'egghead', and 'gingeraffe'?" I meet Annie's icy gaze again. Crap, people remember that?
I just shrug. And turn back to my barley-touched meal...I don't feel like finishing it though...potato girl is still running right? She's gonna need to refuel herself considering all the energy she would've expended.
I slip the bread roll into my pocket, Krista seems to be doing the same too. "Do you think it'll be ok if I give my bread to potato girl?" I whisper.
"Mhm...actually I was intending to do the same".
We both stand up. "We're gonna return to the barracks, see ya tomorrow guys" Yimir gives us a funny look, Connie and Mina give a wave and Marco wishes us goodnight.
As we leave Krista looks up at me and cheekily grins.
"What's that look for?".
"Were breaking the rules right? For some reason it feels kinda fun right?".
Awwwwh she's so innocent. "Yeah, it is" I smirk. She has no idea what my life used to be like....if I could write a list of the number of rules that I've broken...well...it would be endless...
We reach into our pockets and pull out our offerings of bread to the potato-lover, however, Krista squealed, then a solid body rammed into my side, smashing into the ground, the bread was ripped from my hands and my mind started to go turn black, like the night sky.
The last thing I remember was Krista offering someone water, and the words..."are you a goddess...?"
"Goddess...?" Am I going to heaven...? No...I'm not gonna die...not yet...not until I know what true freedom feels like...
What the hell just happened.