Previously on Promise Me:
"Who threw that?" She asked, holding up the pillow. All the fingers were pointed at Sasha who didn't notice and tried to think of what to tell her. "I don't know. . . . . . ." She said, trailing off, searching her mind for an excuse, just as she came up with one, she noticed all the fingers being pointed at her. "Backstabbers!" She yelled.
Nobody expected Phoenix's reaction.
Instead of yelling at her, Phoenix threw the pillow at Sasha with such force that she knocked her out. "She's out cold!" Christa yelled, kneeling beside Sasha only to be hit in the face with another one of Phoenix's death pillows.
That was how she put everyone to sleep, knocking them out with pillows.
The bright light from the sun leaked in from the open windows of the girls' cabin. A ray of light settled on Phoenix's eyes, forcing her to wake up. Sighing, Phoenix sat up, rubbing the sleep from her tired eyes, she yawned and stretched, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed, jumping down from the top bunk, landing neatly on her feet with a soft thud.
Her hair was a mess and she looked total sleep-deprived. Who could blame her? After that horrible premonition she had just the night before, sleeping peacefully was not an option. Releasing yet another sigh, Phoenix walked into the bathroom to prepare herself for the day only to come out to see everyone still sleeping.
Out of the corner of her eye, Phoenix caught a glimpse of Keith - who had been so affectionately dubbed Papa Baldy by the cadets- coming to wake them. Phoenix decided to his job for him. Cupping her mouth so as to amplify the sound of her voice, Phoenix began yelling at them to wake up.
"EVERYONE, GET THE HELL UP!!!"
A chorus of groans and "What time is it?"'s from mostly everyone was her immediate response.
"Jeez Phoenix. You don't have to swear all the time." Tiamat whined, still unready to wake up. During the month that had past, Phoenix had not only developed a large chest but had also grown into the habit of swearing all the time.
Phoenix frowned slightly before turning on her heel and walking out the door, making her way to the boys' cabin.
Phoenix arrived at the boys cabin and began to notice the horrible smell wafting through the air, she scrunched up her nose in disgust, the smell was obviously coming from the boys cabin. But what could she have expected? Boys were boys, they were lazy, smelly and above all, downright annoying.
Phoenix threw the doors opened and used the same method she had used to wake the girls to wake the boys, the only difference in the sentences was the swear word.
"EVERYONE, GET THE F*CK UP!!!"
The boys did not respond to Phoenix's wake up call as well as the girls had. A pillow was thrown directly at her by God knows who. Phoenix frowned, catching the pillow before it could come in contact with her body. "Who threw that?" She asked, holding up the pillow.
No reply
"I'll say it again, who threw that?"
Still no reply
"For the last f*cking time, I'll ask, WHO THE HELL THREW THAT????!!!!!"
Phoenix yelled, enraged by the apparent lack of attention (A/N I typed respect their first and then was like respect is not the right word there) paid to her.
And of course, there was still no reply.
That was it. Phoenix opened her palms and flames erupted from them, they were much bigger than the bigger than the ones she had shown Bertholdt.
Much, much bigger.
The boys released cries of alarm, flying off their beds and looking for what could be used to extinguish the flame, not knowing who or what it was coming from.
Phoenix eventually closed her palms, extinguishing the flame at once. The boys calmed down and began to crawl back into their beds even after everything that had just happened.
"Oh no you don't!" Phoenix exclaimed, finally grabbing their attention. All the heads snapped in her direction, annoyed expressions on their faces which slowly morphed into fear when they saw the look Phoenix was giving them. "Glad you lazy assh**es are finally awake." Phoenix said, a hand on her hip.
"Phoenix!" Bertholdt exclaimed, finally realizing she was the one standing in the doorways. An awkward air surrounded the two of them as they recalled the events of the night before. A slight blush tinted both their cheeks as they stared at each other.
Connie looked at Bertholdt then to Phoenix and Bertholdt again before finally realizing what was going on between the two of them
At least, he thought he did.
"OH MY GOD!!!! BERTHOLDT, DID YOU SERIOUSLY SCREW HER???!!!" Connie yelled, all eyes were on them now. Bertholdt looked just about ready to faint, an expression Phoenix had never seen on a male before, while she (Phoenix) looked ready to kill something and that something was Connie.
"1. . ."
Phoenix began counting, walking towards him
"2. . ."
Connie cocked his head to one side, not understanding the intensity of the situation.
"3. . ."
Phoenix was emitting a dark aura that sent chills down everyone's spines.
"4. . ."
Connie finally understood what Phoenix was trying to do, she was trying to scare him.
Well, she sure did a hell of a good job.
Connie screamed and ran into the bathroom, locking himself in. Phoenix scoffed before heading towards the exit only to be stopped by Jean. Phoenix turned to him, a frown visible on her features. "Yes?" She asked impatiently, glaring at Jean.
Jean, dubbed Horse-face by his comrades, began sweating and tugging at his shirt collar letting his words tumble over each other which resulted in an incomprehensible sentence. Phoenix's glare hardened as he began talking gibberish but managed to make a simple sentence. "You have very long hair." He managed to say without stuttering, a blush spread across his cheeks.
"Jean Kirstein? Right?" Phoenix asked, bored of his act. Jean nodded vigorously, the excitement building up in him. Surely, if Phoenix had gone out of her way just to learn his name, she had intentions of getting to know him better and possibly, ask him out.
Boy, was he wrong.
"Listen, horse-face! If you think a simple, stupid compliment is going to do it, then you need to think again! If you think I'm going to give the time of day to a dirty, little, gay, bastard like you, then you've got another thing coming! Are we clear, horse sh*t?!" Phoenix yelled, enraged by his attempt to compliment her. Jean nodded, scared. Phoenix scoffed once more before turning on her heel again and walking out the door.
The sound of snickering could be heard as Phoenix left. The snickering soon turned into a chorus of laughter sung by the other boys. Jean had just been bested by a girl, a girl!
"She got you good." Connie said, leaving the bathroom after being informed that the coast was clear and it was safe to come out.
While everyone was pointing and laughing at him, Jean was slowly piecing together a plan on how to make Phoenix fall for him and not Bertholdt. How on earth had he gotten Phoenix to talk to him?
The boy in question walked past Jean, who had grabbed his wrist, stopping him from leaving. "How'd you do it?" He asked simply. Bertholdt shot him a confused look. "Do what?" He questioned, unsure of what Jean meant by his four word question. "How'd you get Phoenix to talk to you? I used the exact same compliment that you did and it totally backfired." Jean answered. Bertholdt shrugged, jerking his wrist away "I don't know, just lucky, I guess." He replied simply before walking out, leaving Jean to his thoughts.
Phoenix walked past Papa Baldy on her way to the training grounds. "Don't worry, I already woke them." She said and continued on her short journey.
Tiamat shifted uneasily from foot to foot, she hadn't noticed this before but Phoenix's hair had turned back to red meaning she had used her little gift. So that meant she had either gotten mad or had entrusted their secret (even though Phoenix didn't consider it one) to someone and Tiamat was suspecting that someone was Bertholdt and maybe his friend, Reiner.
She then directed her attention to Phoenix who was strapping herself into the contraption. The purpose of it was to check if a person's body was physically ready to handle the 3DMG. It's not that she was afraid that Phoenix couldn't handle it, she knew perfectly well that Phoenix could handle it in every way, it definitely wasn't that. She was afraid that Phoenix might be raised too high. Ever since the attack, for some strange reason, Phoenix had developed a deadly fear of heights.
Phoenix was just as worried about herself as Tiamat was, she silently hoped that she wouldn't be raised to high, she didn't pray because she was an atheist.
She worshipped nothing
She gave nothing power over her
And the reason behind that is a different story.
Phoenix was raised into the air slowly and heaved a sigh of relief. She hadn't been raised high enough for her to get scared and mess it up. She would never be able to live with herself if she did because of five strange reasons.
She was Phoenix Yukimaru.
She was Hell's Angel.
She couldn't show imperfections.
She couldn't show weakness
She was fearless.
Phoenix was lowered slowly and she undid the straps, relieved to be off that thing.
That death trap.
She considered it that even though she want scared of it, she wasn't scared of anyone so how could she be scared of something that wasn't even alive? It was unheard of.
"Tiamat Yukimaru!"
Keith yelled, calling the blue haired twelve year old up to take her turn.
No reply.
"Tiamat Yukimaru!"
Keith yelled again. Tiamat was in a distant, faraway land ( A/N in a galaxy far far way, XD) even though she was right there, among the group of impatient cadets. Eren, who was anxiously waiting to be called up, waved his hand in front of Tiamat's face. "Hello?! Tiamat! It's your turn!" Eren exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.
Tiamat snapped back into reality, and blinked, scanning her surroundings. She had been to worried about Phoenix to notice that she had already been released from the contraption and was staring at Tiamat, a slight look of confusion visible on her features.
An embarrassed blush found its way to her face as she realized all eyes were on her. "Ah! Gommenasai, minna-san! I'm sorry, everyone!" She exclaimed translating her sentence for those who didn't understand what she had said then bowed apologetically. Eren gave her a reassuring smile as she stood straight, causing her to swoon and giggle slightly.
"What were you thinking of, cadet?!" Keith yelled, a hint of anger in his voice. Tiamat looked down, immediately feeling a lot more embarrassed. She knew that after this, Phoenix was not going to be happy. "I-I. . . U-um. . . . . . I WAS THINKING BECAUSE PHOENIX IS AFRAID OF HEIGHTS AND I WAS WORRIED SHE MIGHT BE RAISED TO HIGH!!!" Tiamat yelled quickly.
All the color drained from Phoenix face as she caught sight of all the stares she was getting. Her mouth hung open as she tried to process everything, Tiamat had just yelled out one of her darkest secrets in front of everyone. EVERYONE!!!!
Tiamat was right.
Phoenix was not happy.
She let her bangs fall over her eyes, casting a shadow over them. A frown was visible as she began turning red. The fury bubbled up inside her and she started to shake. She wasn't embarrassed or anything like that, she was just angry.
"I'm sorry!" Tiamat yelled, bowing apologetically once more. Her simple apology was not enough to put Phoenix at ease.
She was still red.
She was still shaking.
She was still angry.
A sudden wave of heat overtook the training grounds. Everyone began fanning themselves, the intensity of the situation was rising with every passing second.
And something happened
The contraption behind Phoenix suddenly caught fire. Just like that.
"Oh no!" Sylph exclaimed, a worried expression spread across her face as she rushed over to Phoenix, Aruru and Tiamat trailing behind her.
"Phoenix! You have to calm down!" Aruru yelled, waving her arms in the air. Sylph nodded in agreement while Atlanta could only look down, ashamed.
The flame behind Phoenix slowly died down till it had disappeared completely.
Everyone, including Keith, was stunned. Everyone had just witnessed Phoenix set something on fire without even touching it. Whispers spread through the the crowd of cadets, everyone talking about Phoenix.
The subject of the conversations frowned, she then turned to Tiamat, still frowning. "I-I'm sorry." She apologized, unable to look up and meet Phoenix's crimson eyes with her own icy blue ones. Phoenix didn't reply, she just continued to frown. Her anger had reduced but she was still unbelievably mad at Tiamat for yelling out one of Phoenix's secrets.
Keith cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. "Now that that's over, let's continue." He said, choosing not to look at the melted contraption.
Everything was running smoothly till it came to Eren's turn. The brunette was hanging upside, trying to get himself up again. "CADET JEAGER!!! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING??!!!" Keith yelled, confused as to why the boy was hanging upside down. "I don't know, sir!" Eren replied, still trying to force himself up.
From his upside down point of view, Eren could see everyone looking at him and Phoenix glaring at him. He was confused as to why Phoenix could possibly be glaring at him. He searched his mind for an answer but cam up with nothing, he decided to drop it and focus on getting himself back up.
Everyone stood underneath the blazing sun for quite a while, impatiently waiting for Eren to get himself back up. Phoenix folded her arms, tapping her foot, waiting for Eren. A few minutes passed and Eren was still upside down.
That was it.
"I've seen enough!" Phoenix exclaimed, walking (A/N I have NO idea how walking auto-corrected to meal king) towards Eren. "Eren! You can't do it! Release yourself and get ready for the fields!" Phoenix exclaimed, looking down at him.
Pure shock was written all over Eren's face. Phoenix was asking him to do the impossible! "No! I-I have to try! I can't get shipped out!" Eren protested, putting more effort into his struggles. Phoenix clicked her tongue angrily before forcefully unstrapping him.
"Listen here, you useless piece of sh*t!" Phoenix began, before she could continue, she caught sight of his broken clasp.
How did I not see that before?
Phoenix thought. She decided to drop wondering how she had missed the broken clasp and focus on talking to Eren. "You've clearly seen that you're not good enough to handle the 3DMG! So why keep trying?! You better give up right now or you will seriously hurt yourself and will be no better than a meal for the Titans. (A/N The Titans auto-corrected to The Titania). You've failed! There's no use in trying anymore, what's done is done!" Phoenix concluded. Although her speech was far from over. She knew exactly why she was talking to Eren that way.
Eren looked up at her, a look of sadness decorating his features. She was right, he had failed and there was nothing he could do about it.
Nothing.
Phoenix laid down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. The girls' cabin was quiet. Nobody said a word, there was nothing for anyone to say. The girls had originally planned to play a game of truth or dare but with Phoenix in there, that was going to be impossible.
The silence continued for a few moments before Phoenix decided to break it. "You girls can play truth or dare only if I'm allowed to join." Aruru, who was on the bed beneath Phoenix, jolted out of her bed, cheering loudly. "YES!!!" She exclaimed, excited.
Most of the other girls expressed their excitement as well as Aruru did but others, not so much.
The girls sat in a circle after explaining the concept of the game to Phoenix. "Do you get it now?" Ymir asked, having been the one to explain it to her. Phoenix nodded and the game commenced.
They played for a while. Dare was chosen over truth most of the time and those who had chosen dare regretted it later on when they heard their dare but still chose the same option when it came to their turn again.
The game had been going on for hours, yet, Phoenix hadn't had a single turn. Mostly because she had refused to answer any question asked by Tiamat since she was giving her the silent treatment
"Alright, Phoenix, truth or dare?"
Sasha asked, pointing at Phoenix.
"Dare."
Phoenix replied, she hadn't been paying attention to the game and had no idea Sasha was using the opportunity to play matchmaker.
(Mirajane: But that's what I do!
Me: Mira! This isn't the right anime! Go back to Fairy Tail and let me finish the chapter)
"Okay then!" Sasha sang, thinking of who Phoenix might be showing affection towards. "Phoenix, I dare you to tell me what you see in Bertholdt. Answer truthfully!"
"But I didn't choose truth."
"Whatever! Just do as I tell you!"
"Fine. I think Bertholdt is very shy and sweet. Not to mention he's cute, adorable and different from most of the boys. I really like his personality and maybe everything about him. I'm not sure about my feeling for him yet but I just feel happy when he's around me and lonely when he's not with me." Phoenix answered. Sasha wiped a tear from her eye and smiled brightly.
"That's a sure sign that you like him! I'm going to call the ship, Bertholnix!" She exclaimed, clapping. The rest of them joined in.
"ASK HIM OUT! ASK HIM OUT!" Most of them chanted. Phoenix shook her head as a reply, refusing to do it. "I won't do it. We only just became cadets. I know he has a crush on me but I said I'm not sure about my feelings yet." She said. Everyone who was chanting or clapping stopped.,
"Please!"
They begged. Phoenix continued to shake her head every time she was ask to confess her feelings for Bertholdt. Eventually, Phoenix got fed up and walked out the door, leaving to explore the training grounds.
Phoenix came across Mikasa, Armin and Eren. From the looks of it, they were trying to help Eren balance so he could retake the test the next day. "There's no use in trying." Phoenix said, startling all three of them at once.
A look of anger spread across Eren's face as he heard those three words and caught sight of the person who had dared to say such a thing.
"Shut Up!" He yelled, unable to think of anything better to say. "Phoenix, we really need your help. You're really good at this and we need someone to help Eren." Armin begged, Phoenix turned to him, a blank expression on her face. "No." She replied flatly. "Why not?!" Mikasa questioned, a hint of anger in her voice.
Phoenix closed her eyes and turned away, letting her back face them "Because I don't want to." She answered, the flatness still in her voice.
Eren had to bite his bottom lip to prevent himself from yelling an insult at Phoenix. Right now, they were trying to persuade her into helping and yelling insults at her would not be of much help.
"Fine!" Phoenix exclaimed, letting herself falter. "But you have to understand this, if you should fail, you have to accept that you're nothing more than a useless piece of sh*t like I said before." She said, glaring reproachfully at Eren. The boy nodded and gulped, getting ready. A look of determination spread across his face as he gave the signal.
"Okay, do it!"
He wasn't going to fail.
He couldn't fail
He wouldn't fail.
He wouldn't be a able to live with himself if he did.
I won't fail, I won't fail, I won't fail
Those were the words he repeated in his mind, calming himself as he was raised into the air
And then, he failed.
Phoenix caught him just before his head could collide with the floor. "You see what I told you? You can't do it, you're a failure." She said. Eren grit his teeth, trying to keep his cool. He wasn't about to yell at the person who could drop him at any second. "No I'm not!" He retorted through grit teeth.
"Yes you are! You are a total and complete failure! You can't do it, you'll never be able to do it! You're a useless piece of sh*t that can't do anything helpful whatsoever! How do you expect to kill all the Titans if you're not even ready for the 3DMG?! You can't do it, you can't slaughter any Titan. You can't do it because you're a useless piece of sh*t who only realized how much he loved his mom after she died! You're useless, Jeager! You'll never be able to kill a Titan, you'll never be able to avenge your mother."
Phoenix's final words had cut in deep.
"How dare you bring my mother into this?!" Eren yelled, Phoenix had crossed a line, he couldn't hold it in any longer, he had to put Phoenix in her place.
"I'M NOT USELESS!!! IF ANYONE'S A PIECE IF SH*T HERE, ITS YOU!!! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER TO BRING MY MOTHER INTO THIS!!! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A HEARTLESS CREATURE WHO ENJOYS THE SUFFERING OF OTHERS!!! YOU CANT DIFFERENTIATE FROM WHATS RIGHT OR WRONG AND JUST THINK EVERYTHING YOU DO IS RIGHT, YOU THINK YOU'RE PERFECT WHILE YOU WERE THE ONE WHO CAME FROM HELL!!!"
Phoenix looked down at the brunette, she wasn't fazed by his outburst in any way and her expression remained emotionless.
"I know that."
Phoenix said before removing her hands from under him and let the boy fall. She turned on her heel and made her away towards the boys' cabin, ignoring the angry shouts coming from both Mikasa and surprisingly, Armin.
"Bertholdt!" Phoenix exclaimed, throwing the door to the boys' cabin open. "H-hey, Phoenix." Bertholdt replied shakily, unsure of what he had done to make Phoenix get angry and come looking for him. "Follow me!" She exclaimed, grabbing his hand and dragging him outside, oblivious to the fact he was still trying to put on a shirt, either that or she just wanted to see him shirtless.
"I was dared to do this." Phoenix explained, looking at the ground, feeling shy all of a sudden. Bertholdt sweat dropped, laughing nervously.
They're seriously playing truth or dare.
Bertholdt thought, he shook his head to rid himself of the thought before facing Phoenix. If she had dragged all the way behind the girls' cabin, it was surely something she'd want to keep secret "Dared to do what?" He questioned, quirking an eyebrow the short, purple haired girl, although she was short from his point of view.
Phoenix sighed, mustering up the courage to do what she was about to do. "Bertholdt, I've never told anyone this, but I think you're special." She began, fiddling with her fingers as she spoke. Bertholdt's eyes widened, he just couldn't believe it. Phoenix was confessing to him and not the other way around.
"I think your really sweet, shy, cute and downright adorable. I really like being around you and I just feel really sad when I'm not with you. I know we've only known each other for a few days but I want you to be around me all the time, I want you to be mine forever."
Phoenix completed her confession, blushing madly. Never in the twelve years of her life had she felt this sort of affection towards a person. Deep down, however, she was hoping he'd turn her down. She wasn't ready for a relationship.
She didn't want a relationship.
"I. . . . . I don't know what to say." Bertholdt answered, looking down. With the secret he was keeping from everyone, he just couldn't do it, he couldn't admit his feelings for her even though she already knew he liked her. If he were to say 'I like you to.' Then he'd be putting Phoenix in danger. If he were ever to be found out, Phoenix would be killed alongside him just because they were boyfriend and girlfriend. He couldn't do it, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her in any way. He had to make sure all feelings she had for him were eradicated once and for all.
The tall man ( if he can even dare to call himself that, XD.) shoved his hands into his pockets and spun around walking off. "Not interested." He said before rounding a corner and disappearing.
Phoenix bit her bottom lip, clenching her fists. She couldn't believe herself. She had let her defenses down and fallen in love. She had made the worst decision ever and paid the price for it.
She had gotten what she deserved.
"You bastard."
"No way!" Most of the girls had exclaimed when Phoenix narrated how it went to the them. They had started off squealing when she told them how she had confessed but ended up thinking of creative ways to kill Bertholdt.
"I don't believe it!" Tiamat exclaimed, Phoenix forgot all about giving her the silent treatment and just nodded sadly "It hurts, right here." She said, clenching the spot where her heart lay and looked down as the tears began welling up in her eyes. "We shouldn't have forced you into this, and I think I speak for everyone when I say, we're sorry." Sasha apologized on Phoenix's behalf, pulling the girl into a hug.
A quiet sob escaped her lips as she thought why she had let herself fall for someone in the first place. "Please, stop crying." Christa pleaded with Phoenix, she couldn't bare to watch her cry. She had no idea what type of pain Phoenix was experiencing and thought simply pleading with her was going to do it.
Bertholdt's fist hovered over the wooden frame of the door to the girls' cabin. From the inside, he could hear sobs coming from one of the girls.
Is Phoenix crying?
He thought, although it was obvious that nobody else was experiencing heartbreak. Bertholdt sighed, he was only here because of Reiner. While he had approved of Bertholdt turning her down, Reiner still forced him to go apologize to her.
Bertholdt sighed once more before rapping on the door with his knuckles. The door was opened by Ymir who directed a murderous glare in his direction along with the rest of the girls consoling Phoenix.
"What do you want?" Ymir asked, barricading the door, preventing him from passing through. "I wanted to apologize to Phoenix." Bertholdt answered simply, trying to push Ymir out of his path. "She doesn't want your apolo-"
"Let him through, Ymir."
"What?"
"I said, let him through."
Ymir shot one more murderous glare at Bertholdt before stepping sideways and letting him pass through. The girls consoling Phoenix got off her bed, each of them muttering something insulting as they passed him.
"What are you apologizing for?" Phoenix asked even though she clearly knew the answer to her question. "I-I wanted to apologize f-for turning you down earlier." Bertholdt answered, stuttering only a little bit. "You don't have to." Phoenix replied, looking down, still wiping fresh tears from her eyes. "Yes I do." Bertholdt replied sternly making Phoenix's eyes widen with shock. "I shouldn't have turned you down the way I did. I hurt you on purpose and I didn't even want to apologize till Reiner made me come here. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here right now. I'm really sorry."
"You're right about one thing." Phoenix began, raising her head so she could look into those of eyes of his. " That is, you shouldn't have turned me down the way you did. That hurt me a lot and you shouldn't have let Reiner make you come apologize, you should have been able to do it yourself. However, I won't be accepting your apology."
"What?" Bertholdt asked, inching towards the ladder leading from the floor. He just wanted to run away from everything right now, after everything he had just said, Phoenix still didn't want to forgive him. He hadn't expected that and wasn't ready to be turned down. It was all just to much. "I don't understand." He choked out.
"A lack of understanding, that what you got you guys into this, right?" Annie asked, speaking up for the first time since Bertholdt had arrived "Phoenix didn't understand what she was feeling for Bertholdt'. Some of us didn't understand that we had to leave Phoenix to figure it out and Bertholdt, you jackass, didn't understand that you had to apologize to Phoenix." The blonde girl concluded, explaining the reason behind this entire situation.
The other girls, including Phoenix, nodded in agreement to Annie's statement. She was right, the reason she had come up with had made perfect sense.
"A lack of understanding. That's all there is to it." Bertholdt muttered. He looked to Phoenix then to Annie then Phoenix again before flashing her an apologetic smile. "A lack of understanding. That's all" Phoenix said quietly, she was still unsure if what Annie had said was right even though she had given off the impression that she did.
A lack of understanding
A lack of understanding
A lack of understanding
That was all Phoenix could think of.
A lack of understanding led to Phoenix showing off her gift by accident
A lack of understanding led to Eren and Phoenix engaging in verbal combat
A lack of understanding led to everything major or minor that had happened that day.
"It was just a lack of understanding." Bertholdt and Phoenix said in unison. They just couldn't get the thought out of their heads, a lack of understanding had led to everything that had happened that day.
Everything
"So, are we cool now?" Bertholdt asked Phoenix, grinning at her with hope in his eyes. He outstretched a hand for her to take, still grinning at her. Phoenix looked at his hand. She outstretched her own hand. . . . .
And slapped his away.
"No, we're not. I can't bring myself to forgive you as easily as that. I need time to heal. While it's true I do want to forgive you, I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm debating with myself, I need time not just to heal but to make a decision as well."
Bertholdt frowned, this wasn't the scenario he had expected.
This wasn't the scenario that he wanted.
All he wanted was to be forgiven. He didn't want his offer to be turned down. He hadn't asked for what Phoenix was feeling inside. All he had asked for was to be forgiven by his crush. But no, she just had to pour it all out, didn't she?
"All I wanted to do was know if I was forgiven or not! I didn't ask for what you were feeling!" Bertholdt exclaimed, he hadn't realized what he had said till it was to late. "F-forget what I said, I'm sorry!"Bertholdt exclaimed trying to make sure his sudden outburst was forgotten
It wasn't.
"No need to apologize, at least I know what you're thinking." Phoenix answered. Bertholdt had just hurt her all over again and that was unacceptable.
"Idiot!"
"Bastard!"
"How dare you?!"
"You don't understand what going on, do you?!"
"Why would you say something like that?!"
"What's wrong with you?!"
"How could you have hurt a person twice in one night?!"
Everyone was yelling at him except Phoenix, she was silent. He hadn't noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks till one of the girls pointed it out.
"Look what you've done! She's crying again!"
Sylph exclaimed pointing at Phoenix.
"Phoenix! I-I'm sorry! Stop crying, please!" Bertholdt pleaded with her. She had tried many times to stop but she just couldn't do it. She would wipe away her tears only to get her cheeks wet again.
Twice in a row.
She had been hurt twice in a row
She had cried twice in a row.
"Baka! What's wrong with you?!" Phoenix choked out, still sobbing uncontrollably. Pushing Bertholdt out of the way, almost everyone rushed over to console Phoenix. Those who didn't just stood still, glaring at Bertholdt, even Mikasa, who was feeling a little sympathetic.
The girls seemed to have taken a liking to Phoenix all of a sudden. It was either that or they knew when to be nice to a person, unlike Bertholdt, who was always oblivious to what the consequences of his actions might be.
Phoenix had cried herself dry of tears and was now just looking at her hands which she had placed on her lap. The girls consoling Phoenix turned to Bertholdt, their murderous glares returning.
Bertholdt was confused, he had never seen a person shed so many tears in his entire life since the Wall Maria incident. Although he had expected tears to be shed during his time as a cadet, he didn't expect Phoenix the one to shed those tears.
Since day one, Bertholdt had seen Phoenix as a beautiful, intelligent and strong person. He hadn't expected someone such as herself to cry so much and need the constant consolation of others.
"Bertholdt, could you please leave?" Phoenix asked in an unexpectedly polite tone. "Sure." He replied and left, leaving Phoenix to stare at the open door. She jumped off her bed and shut the door. She pressed her back against the wooden surface.
"What're you going to do now?" Sasha asked, worried for the wellbeing of her red head friend. "It's simple." Phoenix began in a monotone voice.
"I'm putting my defenses back up and I will never trust anyone again."
"Alright, Eren Jeager, are you ready to retake the test?!" Keith asked, looking at Eren with a steely glare. "Yes sir!" Eren answered, determination flaring in his eyes. He wasn't going to fail this time. He outstretched his arms, for balance before nodding at Keith "I'm ready." He said.
Phoenix watched as he was raised into the air. "He's actually doing it with the broken clasp." She muttered, grinning slightly. Part of the reason Eren was so fired up was because of what Phoenix had said to him the day before. She knew that the result of her actions would be Eren building up his confidence and discovering his potential.
"I'm doing it!" Eren exclaimed, ready to celebrate all too soon.
He fell.
Phoenix sighed, walking to the front of the crowd. This was the part where she saved Eren's pathetic ass and the crowd would erupt into cheers. "Keith, before you unbuckle Eren, look at that." She said, pointing at Eren's broken clasp. Keith followed traced Phoenix's finger and his eyes landed on Eren's broken clasp.
"Well, would you look at that." He said, before turning to a random cadet. "Cadet Carter, please switch belt buckles with Jeager." He ordered. The cadet saluted before presenting his belt buckle and switch it with Eren's. "Now raise him into the air again." Phoenix said.
Eren was raised into the air once more. He wobbled a bit before regaining his composure. A few seconds had passed and that moment, everyone knew that he had done.
He had succeeded.
"HE DID IT!!" The crowd of trainees cheered. Happy that Eren had succeeded.
"Look at his eyes." Reiner started, pointing at Eren. "They're saying check me out." Armin stated, smiling brightly. "No, that's not what they're saying at all." Mikasa protested. "They're saying that he doesn't have to leave me."
Everyone who heard her sweat-dropped.
"That's not it either." Phoenix said, turning to Mikasa. She flipped her hair to one said and if one would look close enough, they would be able to see a smile. "Eren's eyes are saying that I was wrong to say what I said to him. He's saying that you don't have to baby him anymore, he's saying that he's better than me. However," She paused and turned to Eren. " He knows nothing of the reason behind my harsh actions. By saying what I said to him, I was helping him find his confidence. He supposedly didn't have enough to of that during his first time trying. He has potential but needed my help to realize it, I was helping him and he couldn't understand that. I had noticed the broken clasp long ago and I wanted to be sure that I wasn't fooling myself when I thought you could balance for a bit even with the broken clasp. Besides, my sole purpose for helping you wasn't because I wanted to help you realize how much potential you had, far from it, if you had been shipped out, Tiamat would have been complaining about how unfair it was that her dear Eren left her and we all know that I can't have that." Phoenix concluded, walking back to the crowd of stunned cadets.
"Phoenix!" Tiamat whined, pouting. "Do you know what you did?!" She asked, still whining. Phoenix smirked and patted her shoulder as she walked past the embarrassed blue haired girl. "Consider it payback. Besides, you should go hug him before Mikasa beats you to it." With that said, Phoenix retreated to the girls' cabin.
"EEEREEEEN!!!!" Tiamat yelled, pushing past everyone and rushing over to Eren as he was released. "Huh?" He asked and turned to her unless to be tackled to floor in a hug. "T-Tiamat! Please!" Eren exclaimed, pushing her of him then getting up and dusting himself of. "B-But, Eren!" Tiamat exclaimed, sitting on the floor and making grabbing motions with her hands. "I want another hug!" She exclaimed, still making those grabbing motions and pouting.
Everyone sweat-dropped.
She was no better than Mikasa. The only difference was the childishness she expressed when talking to Eren.
"Why did we have to come here?" Jean whined, covering his nose so as to prevent the smell of the girls' cabin from invading his nostrils just like the other boys that were there. "Freckled Jesus. This place smells like hundreds of bottles of perfume from Wall Sina were dumped here." Reiner said, disgusted by the thought of perfume.
"That's because that's what happened." Phoenix spoke up, startling everyone. Nobody had noticed her presence. "Jeez! Phoenix, don't scare us like that! It's. . . . . IT'S SCARY!" Aruru exclaimed. "Yeah, I support Aruru." Marco said.
Aruru squealed, jumping up and down excitedly. "MAAAARCOOOOO!!!" She yelled, crushing him in a hug. "That's my Freckled Jesus!" Aruru exclaimed, placing a hand on her cheek. "Always having my back!" She exclaimed, still clinging to him.
"Idiot." Jean grumbled, folding his arms and mumbling incoherent things.
"Aww, is the horse jealous?" Tiamat asked in a cheeky manner. "No I'm not! If you want jealous, look at Mikasa!" Jean exclaimed, gesturing to Mikasa who was standing behind Eren and Tiamat with a dark aura surrounding her.
"U-um! Mika-chan! You wouldn't hurt me, would you?" Tiamat questioned, trying to sound as innocent as possible despite the fact that she was quivering in her boots. "You're still clinging to Eren." Mikasa answered. "B-but, Mika-chan! " Tiamat protested.
The two engaged in an argument, with their subject being who gets Eren. Eventually, Mikasa began trying to pry Tiamat off Eren. Tiamat was desperately clinging to him as if he were her only means of survival. "No! Mika-chan, you can't take me away from him!" Tiamat protested, still clinging to Eren.
Everyone sweat-dropped.
"Jeez, these people are troublesome." Phoenix muttered, running a hand through her hair. "H-hey, Phoenix." Bertholdt greeted, poking her. "Hm? Oh, hi Bertl." She waved, not bothering to look at him. "U-um, Phoenix?" Bertholdt asked, poking her again. "Touch me again and you'll know what pain feels like!" Phoenix exclaimed, turning to Bertholdt quickly and grabbed him by his shirt collar then pulled him closer. "Are we clear?!" She asked, again, bringing him closer. "Y-yes!" He stuttered, scared to no extent.
Phoenix nodded and released his collar. He hadn't noticed, but her hair was slowly turning orange, meaning her great grandmother was taking over.
"Bertl-sama!" Phoenix exclaimed, encasing him in a hug. "H-how d-do I re-react to th-this?" He asked nobody in particular.
"Sugoi!" Phoenix exclaimed, poking his cheek. "You look like a tomato or a rose, maybe!" She exclaimed, poking his cheek over and over again, each time shouting the word "Sugoi!"
"Jeez! So now we have four crazy fan girls!" Reiner exclaimed, scratching the back of his head. "How troublesome!" He exclaimed then turned to where Sylph and Armin where sitting in a corner, reading. "Then there's these bookworms, I don't think you two have ever said a word to each other!" He said.
"Baka." Sylph muttered, never averting her gaze from her book. "What is this, Reiner reacts to girls' antics?" She asked, still reading. "Seriously, you need a girlfriend and then maybe you'll understand. Though I doubt anyone would like a reindeer such as yourself." She concluded.
"I thought Phoenix was the mean one." Reiner said. "And what does that mean?" Phoenix asked, still clinging to her dear Bertl. "You're mean. End of story, nothing more, nothing less. You're the bad guy." Reiner answered flatly. "Ne, reindeer that's all you have to say?" Phoenix questioned, quirking an eyebrow. "Pretty much, and I am not Reindeer! I'm Reiner!" He replied.
"So what you're basically saying is," Phoenix said, raising up a finger and pausing for a dramatic effect then pointing at herself. "I'm the antagonist of the story?"
"Yes!"
"That's all you got? Antagonist, mean,bad guy, seriously?!"
"It's not like you could do any better!"
"I bet Phoenix could call you a hundred different vulgar names you've never even heard of!"
"Oh yeah?!"
"Yeah!"
"Call me one of those names then!"
"No way!"
"You can't do it!"
"Yes I can!"
"No you can't!"
"Reindeer!"
"Shorty!"
"Oh no you didn't"
"Oh yes I did!"
"And it's Pele! Besides, I'm only short from your point of view."
The night was spent watching Pele and Reiner verbally attack each other. Pele wasn't kidding when she said Phoenix knew over one hundred vulgar names that she could call him. In fact, she called him over two hundred, maybe three. Everyone had lost count.
"Jesus Christ! It's like Phoenix spends her time reading a book about vulgar words and names!" Sylph exclaimed, finally averting her gaze from the pages of her precious book. "You got that right." Armin nodded in agreement.
"Bertholdt, if you ever ask her out and she accepts, I'll have to say it was nice knowing you." Eren said, placing a hand on Bertholdt's shoulder.
Bertholdt look down, his expression a sad one. He knew that he could never bring himself to ask her out. Not after he made her cry, not after he broke her heart.
"Yeah, if she ever accepts."
"RUDOLF THE RED NOSED REINDEER!!"
"ARE YOU CALLING ME AN ANIMAL???!!"
"IF THE SHOE FITS!!!"
"YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!"
"I JUST DID!! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!"
"ASH BRAIN!"
"AIR HEAD!"
"FLAME HEAD!"
"PERVY POPSICLE!"
"IDIOT!"
"BAKA!"
"RAPUNZEL!"
"CINDERELLA!"
"BALLOON CHEST!"
"PERVY PRINCESS!"
Eventually, everyone had to cover their ears because the insults were getting dirty. "Should we stop them?" Aruru asked, wanting the torture to come to an end. "I think we'll get hurt trying." Marco answered.
Jean didn't listen
"I can't stand this anymore!" He exclaimed, marching up to them. Before he could even open his mouth to say a word, he had sent flying back to where he came from by a kick from Pele. "You were right, Marco." Jean said, before passing out.
"How does a girl concentrate with all this consistent yelling?!" Sylph exclaimed as she slammed her book shut. She marched over to them with the same goal that Jean once had. With one withering glare from both of them, Sylph was sent back to where she came from.
The night continued like that. None of the two seemed to ever run out of breath or creative insults.
Sasha, being the matchmaker she was, appeared out of nowhere and pointed at Reiner and Phoenix. "I ship it!" She exclaimed, grinning.
"And the name shall be Reinix! But Bertholnix is still my OTP!"