YO 500 READS LETS GO
~~~
~~~
If Eren didn't stop talking, Armin thought he was going to go insane. His angry blabbering about his most recent bad grade hadn't ceased since Professor Smith declared the last ten minutes of class free time.
Armin tried his best to tune out the noise by giving a quick eye roll and leaving you and Mikasa to deal with Eren's never-ending antics while he stared out the sunlight-dusted window.
Their moment of peace was quickly interrupted when Eren loudly changed the subject to you. "Enough about me. I meant to ask, what's got you so cheery this early in the morning? No comment on how annoying I am? Why aren't you telling me to shut up? Who are you? What have you done with Y/n?"
"Okay, shut up," you shushed him with a big grin.
He sent back an identical one. "There she is."
Mikasa's silver eyes trailed over you like a scanner. "For once I'm thinking the same thing as Eren. Did something happen to you?"
There was a moment of hesitation where you thought about holding back from telling them about the black-haired girl you met the week before. Jean had gotten over his initial distaste (mostly) and you hadn't spoken to Armin about Marleyans since the day you studied together.
Alas, you remembered that Mikasa had a sports rivalry of her own. She was never one to outwardly trash talk an opponent, preferring to observe the other team's plays rather than comment on them. Assuming Jean wasn't exaggerating, the intimidating girl facing you was not a fan of Pieck.
Then there was Eren, who took certain things considerably more seriously than others. If you thought Jean was bad, Eren was so much worse. Seeing him play was downright terrifying. Baseball was his main release of anger, which was apparent when he struck the ball with his neon-colored bat.
Jean disliked the Galliards but Eren hated them most of all. Marcel could've been a cool guy in Eren's book if he wasn't so quick to catch whatever Eren hit.
He hated Porco more. Porco was the star of the team and was always coming up with comebacks equally as lame as Eren's. He thought he had a dumb name and a bad attitude. He would never admit how good he knew Porco was.
What infuriated him the most was Zeke. Zeke used to play for Marley before going on to the big leagues with a side hustle of substitute teaching (Eren was beyond sure he only did the teaching to mess with him). He would show up to Eren's games but only when Shiganshina was playing Marley. Eren could never tell if Zeke came to watch him or his old team and that pissed him off more than anything.
After some serious recollection, you concluded that it was probably a bad idea to mention the fact that Pieck was Marleyan. You proceeded to tell Eren and Mikasa about the girl you'd recently met, your embarrassing encounter from the day before, and the hangout scheduled for after school all while conveniently leaving out her identity.
Although it looked like he wasn't, Armin had been listening to the whole conversation. A sickening feeling settled in their stomach when they pieced together who you were talking about.
He couldn't figure out why, but he didn't like hearing about Pieck. He didn't like it at all.
The day was passing quickly due to your growing excitement about the plans you had for later. By the time lunch rolled around, however, it was hard to ignore the continuous murmurs floating around you when you walked through the halls.
The lunch table was quiet as you sat down. Each of the three boys was too engrossed in their own activities to acknowledge your presence.
Jean was preoccupied with studying Marco from across the cafeteria, Eren was really into his cereal, and Armin was quietly reading with earbuds in.
You were about to snap Jean out of his trance so you'd at least have somebody to talk to but a certain tall brunette seemed to do it for you.
"Y/n! Why did I have to hear from Hitch that you and Pieck are going out?" Bertholdt asked as he approached the table from behind you.
Well, there goes the secrecy of it. By Armin's wide eyes, you could tell he had paused his music in an attempt to subtly eavesdrop on the conversation.
Yours and Jean's eyes carefully shifted over to Eren, whose cereal milk was dripping from his spoon in the short silence that followed Bertholdt's question. He sat completely still, waiting for you to answer what the boy asked.
You shrank in your seat. "We aren't going out. We're seeing each other after school, but it's not like that," you emphasized.
Bertholdt frowned. "Hitch can exaggerate her rumors but even Pieck said it herself."
"I guess she's very literal then," you clarified, looking away from Eren's confused stare and down at the table.
Bertholdt shrugged, not sensing the awkwardness around the table. "I guess they are. She's paying for the ride, by the way. Porco usually gets screwed into paying for her so I'd say you're a pretty big deal."
You winced. Of course, he had to mention Porco. "You make your friends pay too?"
His eyebrows furrowed. "Of course. It would be quite unfair if they didn't." With that, he walked back to the table he shared with Reiner, Annie, and Hitch. You doubted Hitch even wanted to be there, judging by the way she ignored Reiner every time he tried to speak to her.
Once he was out of earshot, Jean piped up to air out the awkward silence. "That's gay, Mark."
You almost laughed at what he called diffusing the tension. "Who the fuck is Mark?"
"I don't even know."
"So I take it you've been hanging around Marleyans recently?" Eren finally found his words as he seemed to remember his cereal existed.
Armin's eyes remained wide as he tried to look like he was focused on his book when he was actually focused on whatever drama would come out of this interaction. You didn't miss the way they glanced over at you from the side of their glasses.
"Would that be a problem?" You were testing the waters.
His eyebrows rose, having expected you to dodge the question. "No, no. I just wouldn't if I were you."
Armin and Jean shared an uncomfortable look when your eyes narrowed. "Are you sure it's not an issue?"
Eren, the idiot, never proceeded with caution even when it was the smart choice. "You shouldn't be talking to them. They're bad news. I wouldn't even talk to the three transfers. Everyone wants a piece of Paradis these days, even Marleyans."
Armin's eyes focused harder on the book in front of him as he chewed on his nails. Jean gave Eren a side-eye that said, "You fucked up".
You scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean? And who are you to tell me who I should and shouldn't be talking to?"
Eren didn't seem to realize he'd crossed a line as he continued to munch on his cereal. "I'm just warning you, Y/n. Don't be naïve. Mikasa won't be happy when she finds out Pieck is the girl you were talking about earlier."
"Well, I think she'd react a little better than you."
"I'm not even doing anything wrong, why do you look so mad at me?" he asked through another mouthful of cereal.
"Why are you stupid?" Jean looked bewildered at Eren's continuous dumbassery.
"What? Seriously, Y/n, I'm trying to look out for you! Don't be angry with me."
You pursed your lips. This was typical Eren behavior. You found it hard to stay mad at him since he often had no idea what he'd done wrong himself. The poor boy was terrible at reading social cues.
You took a deep breath. "I'm not angry with you. I'd just appreciate it if you kept all sports-related people issues out of my life."
"Well, we wouldn't have those people issues if they didn't suck balls."
Both Jean and Armin looked up this time, staring at Eren with such incredulity. You ignored his comment and the brimming tension fell away.
___
Pieck handed Bertholdt her five dollars as you both exited the minivan.
"Have fun, you two," Bertholdt called teasingly after you. You gave the van a nonserious glare as it vanished down the road.
Pieck wasted no time in taking hold of your hand and rushing over to the ice cream place further down the street.
"Galliard's? As in Porco and Marcel Galliard?" you asked quizzically when you both stopped at the storefront.
Pieck dropped your hand and let her eyes wander over the white lettering. "Yeah, their parents own this place. Porco's always going on about how he's going to be the one they pass it down to, even though Marcel is the older one."
"So I guess you'd be the expert, then. What flavor would you recommend?" You both entered through the double doors and got in line behind one other person.
Pieck put a finger on her chin and pretended to think. "Hmm. If I had to choose, I'd go with plain chocolate."
"Really? No extra unnecessary toppings?"
"Not for me." She smiled. "I prefer being able to actually taste the ice cream itself."
"Can't argue there," you chuckled softly. The person in front of you two finished ordering, prompting Pieck to order for both of you.
She greeted the worker, a slightly younger-looking blond boy with a name tag that read 'Colt'.
"Keeping it classy again, Pieck? Don't you think you should order something a little less basic for a date?" the boy teased her, signaling to you that they already knew each other.
Pieck laughed lightly. "For your information, Colt, she has similar ice cream views as I do." She hadn't even tried to decline the fact that you were on a date, which made you flush.
"Don't fall for their tricks, Pieck's date." Colt winked quickly and took the money from Pieck's hand.
She guided you to a table toward the back of the room, sitting down across from you. "You didn't have to pay for me. I brought my own money."
"I asked you out, didn't I? It wouldn't make much sense for you to pay. Don't sweat it." She smiled again, making butterflies arise in your stomach.
"So, how is it in sunny side Paradis?"
You rolled your eyes at the nickname. "Pretty regular. I hear you play volleyball? How's that going?"
Pieck's pale eyes lit up. "The season ended a few weeks ago but it went really well for us. Our only real competition was the Titans. Annie was our best player before she transferred."
"Yeah, I bet. She's killer.
"She is," Pieck agreed. "Do you play any sports?"
You shook your head. "I'm incredibly uncoordinated, so that's a no." She laughed at that. "Jean and I are in art and photography. The clubs."
"That's neat. I've never been all that good with a camera but I'm alright with a paintbrush. I didn't take Jean for an artist."
You laughed lightly. "Yeah, he doesn't seem like the type. He's really talented though. I told him he should pursue something in the arts. He would rather do law."
"What do you want to do?"
The question caught you by surprise. "I'm not really sure. I might do something with art. I might not."
"I'm kind of on the fence about that stuff too." Her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders, partially hiding her face as she traced the tabletop with her fingertip. "Is Jean a good friend of yours?"
"The best. Any one of those guys your best friend?"
She shrugged. "Annie and I were good friends before she transferred. I only have the Galliards now. I'd say Porco's my best friend out of the two. He's a lot less tough than he looks."
Porco. You had faith that he wasn't like Eren and Jean's perception of him. He's proved you wrong a couple of times. Teasing others seemed to just be in his nature.
"Yeah, I get that. It sort of reminds me of Eren. People think he's mean because he always looks a little angry. Deep down, he's just a big softie."
She laughed again. "Porco told me to be careful about you. Because you're from Paradis." She rolled her eyes. "I told him that was a stupid thing to throw caution at. I just like hanging around you."
"Eren said the same thing. Who cares what they think, though? For what it's worth, I like hanging around you too." You both smiled, continuing to enjoy your ice cream.
You two talked until sunset (and until Colt kicked you out). Pieck wasn't such an enigma after a while. You learned she lived with her parents on the north side of Marley. She was once a mathlete. Her favorite color was sage green and her favorite place in the world was anywhere she hadn't been yet.
She learned about you too. Your home life, your mother who stays at home, your father who's dedicated to his law firm, your little brother who's a genius.
The two of you figured out a lot about one another when it was time to go home. You felt something for her, you knew it. There was a lingering heat to your cheeks as you stared up at your ceiling fan, thinking about her.
She was beautiful, she was kind. She was brilliant and observant. She was easygoing and you felt like you could talk to her forever.
As you laid there, glancing at the pictures she posted to her Instagram every so often, the newest stack of the two of you most prominent, you couldn't help but feel like something was missing or something was wrong.
She wanted to see you again, and you wanted the same. She was lovely, what could be wrong? You decided to sleep on it, letting the feeling go and passing it off as nerves for something so new to you.
_______
word count: 2.5k
hey everybody. i'm sorry for how long it's been since the last update. i know it's tuesday but i wanted to get something out during break. the last couple weeks were packed with school work so i didn't have much time for writing. nevertheless, you guys are always so patient with me and for that i'm really grateful.
if you follow me, you've probably seen my most recent posts to my message board. if you're ever wondering where an update is, it usually has your answer. i like to keep you guys posted. that being said, if you haven't checked it then you don't know that i'm sort of on a break right now. i'll have my stuff together by march 1st.
happy 2/22/22!!!