New Kid Initiation
Originally posted on my tumblr, I thought it'd be nice to share it over here. Share the AU Jeankasa love, right?
Anyway, enjoy.
Jean's damp hair resembled the fur of a dog who just ran through a sprinkler as he trudged through Sina Academy's hallway. Lacrosse tryouts worked up more of a sweat than he had expected.
Looking to his right, Jean gave a mediocre smile to the freckled student liaison, Marco Bodt.
"How do you think you're doing on your first week, Jean?" Marco asked with a genuine smile.
"Well, 3 days into schooling, I've only been called a Horse-Face 12 times and only 2 people asked me if I came to Sina to escape all the paparazzi who were bothering me for my excellent performance in Seabiscuit," Jean listed out, feigning a peaceful nature. "Aside from that, I tried out for the lacrosse team."
Marco seemed intrigued, "Oooh! Really? Did you get in?"
Jean nodded as he tried to adjust the tie on his school uniform. He regretted not buying a clip on. "That Jaeger kid told me that any sports team here could use the strength and speed of a stallion like me." He managed to tighten the confounded piece of clothing, "So yes, I think I got in. This school doesn't have a gymnastics or a dance team and my dad played when he was younger, so I'm at my last resort."
Marco looked sympathetic, "Well, there's always the musicals we do every other year. You might get your chance to dance there. Or you could try the cheerleading squad." His tone appeared to be completely serious.
Jean managed a chuckle before shaking his head, "No thanks, I don't have the legs for mini-skirts."
They turned a corner and continued walking until Marco noticed a certain pigtailed girl standing at the foot of the staircase. Eyes brightening, he patted Jean on the back kindly, "I gotta go now, Jean. Hope the rest of your week manages to get better." He then left Jean's side to run over to the presence of Mina Carolina, who seemed quite thrilled to see him.
Jean watched the young couple embrace in a friendly hug. He was never good with speaking to females himself, since the last school he went to was an all-boys school. Also, the only women he spoke to on a regular basis was his mother and his pet snake, Cosette. When they walked off, Jean had no choice but to carry on through the halls on his own.
Remember what you had next, doofus. Um… language arts? Jean dug into his pants pocket and pulled out his schedule. Biology with H. Zoe in room 111. Okay, where the fuck in room 111?
Looking up at the room numbers in the hall he currently resided in, Jean figured that he would just follow the numbers and find the place eventually.128, 127, 126…
Jean knew where he was going. He would be at his classroom eventually. Turning a corner, Jean actually felt proud of himself for being able to navigate the school hallways on his own without the need for help. However, his pride was instantly demolished. Because the second the corner was turned, Jean's face was greeted with a plate of pasta being lugged right into his direction.
The loud splatting noise was audible around the entire hall, coming right before the loud guffaws and laughs of the asshats who threw said pasta into his face.
The sauce dripped down Jean's cheeks as Eren Jaeger roared in laughter. "Welcome to Sina, Horse-Face!"
"New kid initiation!" another boy screamed.
Looking up, Jean didn't recognize the bulky blonde kid. But the words on his sports jersey identified him as R. Braun.
There were 2 reactions to this sort of predicament. Jean could either lash out and beat the ever living shit out of Jaeger and this R. Braun dude. Or he could break down and cry out of embarrassment. Jean went into an alternative route and simply stood there, completely stunned and frozen out of humiliation. He had no intention to get expelled for fighting after less than a week of schooling.
However, he did take a deep breath before screaming out a well intentioned,"WHAT. THE FUCK!?"
Thankfully, the hallway wasn't too crowded, and only a few people saw Jean's new kid initiation before Jaeger and Braun walked off. Jean could only stand there, wheezing slowly as he tried to remove enough sauce from his eyes to see. The stuff burned, probably from the onions and garlic. Realizing that it would be pointless to keep wiping, Jean ultimately decided on removing his contact lenses entirely, rendering his vision blurry.
As he tried to get the stuff out of his hair, Jean heard footsteps walking towards him. Looking up, he expected to see more cafeteria food headed in his general direction. He still saw red, but in this case, it was not pasta, but a pigment on a scarf.
His vision might have been impaired, but he managed to make out the outline of a girl just about his age, with broad shoulders and a determined expression on her face.
Expecting the worse, Jean sighed in defeat, "Sloppy seconds, I assume?"
Instead of replying normally, she grabbed onto his arm tightly before firmly informing, "Follow."
The girl eventually introduced herself to his as Mikasa, a name that he found quite intriguing. This Mikasa-chick seemed completely content with being in the boys bathroom, helping Jean stick his head into the sink as the H2O poured slowly over his sauced up face. The bathroom was almost empty anyway, not a single boy to walk in a screech in fear of a girl's presence.
"This marinara could use less onions," Jean mumbled to her, his tone lightening up like a lamp to make the situation feel less humiliating.
"Try the macaroni instead, it tastes better," Mikasa replied, using her hands to slowly wipe the goop off his hair and into the sink. The red pigment streaking in the water eventually went down the drain, indicating that Jean's head was finally free of food. She then turned off the sink and lifted him up. "I'd recommend that you take a shower after school," she suggested, handing him a paper towel from the dispenser.
Jean accepted the paper and soon started drying off his soaked locks. "I will. Thank you for the help." Flashing her a friendly smile, he tried to soften up the neutral expression that stayed on her face as if it were the most natural thing in the world. 4 seconds of straight smiling passed before Jean realized that her face would remain the same.
Slightly taken back, he simply looked down at the floor as he rubbed the paper towel over his head. "Just out of curiosity, why did you help me?"
Mikasa leaned against the sink, arms crossed over her chest like a boss, "Because this exact same initiation happened to me freshman year." Her hand slowly clenched into a fist as the sour memory of Hitch and Marlowe lugging milkshakes into her hair after she tried out for the soccer team rubbed some salt into old wounds. "I got hit first period. I had to spend the entire day with chocolate ice cream in my hair."
"Is that why it's so short now?" Jean commented, reaching one hand over to touch her chin-length locks.
On reflex, she caught his hand with hers to stop his movements before nodding, "Yes. Mostly. That and Eren told me that I'd be best to chop it."
Jean raised an eyebrow at the mention of the name, "Eren? You're friends with Jaeger?"
"We're foster siblings," Mikasa explained, finally letting go of Jean's caught hand after a certain amount of time passed. "His mother told me to take care of him while we're at school, even if it does mean cleaning up his messes."
Jean couldn't find it in himself to sympathize with Jaeger just yet, because the average horse-joke usually took a while to be forgiven. Plus, Eren was one of them now, why even try?
Seeing the rage growing on Jean's face, Mikasa tried to lighten up the situation, "He's a nice guy, really. The football team might've changed him, but he's cool. And if it makes you feel better, he got hit with a balloon filled soda. Just last year when he made the team."
"Should I be lucky that he didn't use one of those on me?" Jean mumbled, throwing away the used paper towel once his hair seemed presentable. Realizing that his vision was still mussed, Jean reached into his backpack and pulled out the thick rimmed glasses that he called his own. After putting them on, his vision cleared and he was finally able to see Mikasa in better detail.
Truth be told, he felt a bit taken away by the sight of her. From the strand of hair on her forehead that drooped down to her nose, to the creamy texture of her skin. Jean could feel a small bit of heat building up in his cheeks. The only words he could say once he saw her were, "Whoa…"
Mikasa suddenly felt exposed, as if all of her clothes were removed in the presence of this near stranger. Nervously, she looked away from him and pulled her scarf up her face above her nose in a somewhat defensive matter. "So … what class do you have now?"
Jean blinked before reaching back for his schedule. Through the marinara stains, he managed to read aloud, "Biology with H. Zoe."
Mikasa nodded in understanding, "I have that class too. I'll explain why we're late then."
Jean picked up his uniform's discarded blazer and put it on before reaching for his book bag, "All right, cool." Together, they both made their way out of the boys bathroom and into the almost empty hallway. "I've heard stuff about Hanji from the liaison," Jean started. "Are they as crazy as everyone says?"
Mikasa nodded very slowly, the material of her scarf moving to show the outlines of an amused smirk, "You're in for a real treat, new kid."
Welp, that worked. I wonder if anyone else's high school life was like this, because I may or may not be recalling from my own experiences. I might add more to this universe, because I really do like it.
Disclaimer: I do not own.