So this is my new story. As put in the words of the great Jellyjay you have to do a highschool AU at some point.
Bertholdt felt the cold metal of a locker door against his back as he was thrown against it. It dug into his bare, half-changed skin; after gym class, his bullies would often target him.
''You think you're so clever just because you got top marks?'' The tallest of them spat. His hand was pushed against Bertholdt's throat, pinning him to the lockers. His friends were laughing. "You made all of us look like idiots!"
"That's hardly his fault," Reiner said angrily, coming in through the doorway to the changing rooms. "And it's not exactly hard." Immediately all their attention turned to the larger boy; Bertholdt gasped as the pressure around his throat released.
"He was trying to show us up!" One of the smaller boys sneered. Reiner shot him a venomous glance and he quickly recoiled behind one of his larger companions.
"I wasn't, honestly," Bertholdt said, rubbing his throat. "How was I supposed to know that none of you had studied?"
It was a poor attempt at an excuse for confrontation, Bertholdt thought, but it seemed to be enough to warrant a daily beating. He sighed as Reiner pushed through the bullies, scattering them with ease. Reiner saw it as his duty to protect his oldest and only friend from those bullies. Bertholdt saw it as pathetic that he was forced to rely on Reiner.
Knowing that they were outmatched, the bullies sneered once more at Bertholdt and walked over to the other side of the changing room. Once they had left Reiner turned his attention to Bertholdt who was trying to ease the bruises on and around his neck.
"Are you okay?" Reiner asked, examining the sharp indentations of a locker on Bertholdt's back with obvious concern.
Bertholdt sat down on the bench and pulled his shirt over his head hastily so to conceal the bruises that Reiner hadn't yet noticed. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you… again," he said, refusing to look Reiner in the eye.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the head about them?" It was becoming a common topic of conversation between the two of them. Reiner would implore Bertholdt to go the principal time and time again.
"Oh right, of course. I hadn't thought of that before," Bertholdt said sarcastically. "I'll just stroll in. 'Oh yeah, hi sir, just thought I'd let you know that your son beats me up every day!' I'm sure there would be no horrible repercussions if I did that."
Reiner sighed, glancing over at the pack of boys on the other side of the changing rooms. It wasn't uncommon for Bertholdt and Reiner to be alone; in fact, they almost always were. From the freshman year up until now, when they were in their junior year, Bertholdt had been picked on, and Reiner had defended him. Their corner of the changing rooms was shared by only them and one other person - a freckled, overly-optimistic boy named Marco, who rarely showed up out of fear.
"Still, there should be something that we can do.'' Reiner huffed.
Bertolt sighed "If I just stay out of their way then they should leave me alone." It was a lie that neither of them believed but Bertholdt had had enough of talking about them. Now the bullies were gone and Bertholdt checked the time on his phone and swore under his breath. "I'm going to be late for work now because of them.''
Reiner gave his friend a wide and encouraging smile. "It's alright go on, I'll see you tomorrow." Bertholdt thanked him before rushing out the changing rooms with the bullies hurried insults following him.
Now that Bertholdt was gone Reiner focused all his attention on the bullies on the other side of the room, everyone in the year knew that the five of them would patrol the school in search of a lone student they could pick on. If they couldn't find any fresh meat then they would seek out and unleash their anger and frustrations on Bertholdt. The only thing that protected Reiner from their target was his physique and strength, if they took the time and effort the get stronger then it was almost certain that he too would suffer as his best friend did on a daily basis.
The moment Marco walked into the changing rooms to grab his bag the bullies descended on him, the distance between Reiner and them wasn't enough to stop him from hearing the foulness of their insults. As he made his way over to help Marco he thought about just how much longer Bertholdt would last under the constant attacks both verbal and physical that he was enduring day after day.
There was only one thing that Bertholdt hated as much as the bullies and that was his job. Cleaning the sweat off of gym equipment wasn't the most glamorous job in the world but the pay was enough to make it bearable. Barely.
Bertholdt had only been working as a cleaner for the past three months but to him it felt twice as long, it wasn't just the ridiculous hours that meant Bertholdt would return home after midnight or the fact that the owner of the gym would often call him in to work hours that cut down on the time he dedicated to studying. Possibly the worst part about his job was the fact that it was so lonely in the dark, sweaty gym.
If he had someone to work with or a friend to help him then Bertholdt might have had a more positive view on his job, he might have even enjoyed it.
Bertholdt was however alone in the gym. He had just finished mopping the floors and changing the shudderingly damp exercise mats meaning that all that remained was cleaning the changing rooms. This in Bertholdt's opinion was the worst job out of them all, the gym members would often pay little thought to the poor worker who would have to clean their mess and Bertholdt swore that some of them purposefully made more mess to make him work that much harder.
As Bertholdt scrubbed the benches within an inch of their lives he thought to his many encounters with the bullies in and around the schools, they would beat him, hurt him and do whatever they could to make his life a misery. Of course, Bertholdt had tried to fight them when it started but he was outnumbered but Reiner couldn't always be there to protect him.
"Maybe I should start working out more.'' Bertholdt chuckled to himself. "Reiner won't always be there.'' Bertholdt was stronger than most boys his age, whenever he finished cleaning early he would spend what little free time he had making the most of his surroundings but it wasn't enough to ward off the others.
It wasn't strength that Bertholdt was lacking. It was aggression, Bertholdt had always been a peaceful being and never fought back even when it would have saved him so much suffering, both Bertholdt and Reiner knew that his placid nature would likely never change.
That's when he saw it.
By the entrance, there was a large board where various companies would try to sell the newest protein powder or a new yoga program. This time, however, there was something different. A small poster, one so small that most people would walk by without paying it any attention.
He leaned the mop against the wall and walked over to the notice board. The main feature of the poster was a young man barely older than Bertholdt standing, fists raised pointing at him. Underneath was an address and a time.
What caught Bertholdt's eyes, however, was the giant text above the man's head.
LEONHARDT GYM IS PROUD TO BRING YOU THE NEW SEASON OF FIGHTERS!
"Leonhardt huh?'' Bertholdt hummed.