Small, cerulean angelfish circled around a strange boy sitting in the center of a local park. It was just after school hours of the local high school in the obscure underwater village of strange merfolk and magical beings. His stark black hair struck out in the sea of ever-growing fish.
Jean's interest piqued as the kid got up and turned his way. Shit, did he see me? He didn't dare acknowledge the fact that he was spying on his classmate- they shared a few classes together- and kept on staring as if he didn't notice that he had been caught.
A sparkling grin flashed his way accompanied by a quick wave. Huffing, he swam away before the overly sweet teenager approached him. Trying to find refuge in an underwater cave that he found near the surface, he headed to the outskirts of town.
A dark, murky maroon tail swam in the opposite direction of Marco, and for once, he decided to be brave enough to follow. He thought it had been Jean he had seen. They had math together- a subject he could tell Jean loathed- as well as a Journalism class. Jean always looked so distracted and uncaring math, but he seemed alive in Journalism as if he had stumbled upon something he loved. What I'd give for passion towards something like he has...
Simple curiosity, and a small crush Marco had been harboring over the past few months of their junior year, compelled him to swim after Jean's retreating figure.
Why the hell is Marco Bodt following me? He futilely tried out-swimming him, but Marco had been on Varsity Swim for the past 3 years. No way would he ever out maneuver him even if they were in more or less unknown territory.
Sighing, he gave up and turned around. He wasn't going to let Marco discover his personal hideout. It was the only place he could use to escape from all his problems, from people, from the world.
"What do you want?" he abruptly asked. His eyes strained against the dark colors of the water, which mixed in with Marco's dark-as-night hair and tail. "I know you followed me here."
Marco shied out away from the large rock he had managed to hide behind just as Jean turned around. His dark form straightened, as he gathered himself up before starting to talk. "S-sorry about that! I didn't mean to follow you, but, you looked like you needed someone to talk to..."
Jean's intense, light-brown eyes pierced into where he guesstimated Marco's own eyes would be. "Whatever. Just don't follow me anymore." He turned around quicker this time, and managed to swim away before Marco could get a word out of his mouth.
Sorry Jean, but that's not going to happen. Marco was determined to figure out what was going on with Trost's most unsociable teenager.
Jean's blond bangs flopped smack onto his face as he surfaced up from the water, finally having reached an open cavern that he liked to relax in. He shimmied onto a nearby rock and laid out, feelings his skin grow colder against moss covered stone. His thoughts drifted back to Marco, letting out a soft sigh. Why didn't I just let him come with me? I fucked up. Jean almost never talked to any of his classmates, only a few people could even tolerate him and he wouldn't consider any of them as close friends. He had just passed up one of the rare chances he got to actually make friends. Instead of letting people inside of the walls he had built he always ended up pushing them even further away.
Trying to forget about everything school related- and even worse, what he would do after school- he crossed his tanned arms over his head and blankly stared at the pitch-black ceiling.
Thoughts still managed to worm their way into his consciousness, appearing from the most secluded parts of his mind. Every time he tried swimming away from the problems he was facing they would just come back and smack him like a flounder in the face. No matter what he said or did, he would end up reliving each mistake he had made recently. Starting with failing his one of the many AP Physics exams they had each month, and ending with turning Marco away.
His arms grasped the air in front of him as he tried to lift himself up from the rock, having to fight gravity for the first time in a while. It wasn't quite the same as when he was underwater. Splashing into the water, he decided to take the long way back to his house. As Jean was passing the coral reefs nearby, he felt around in his backpack for his journal.
He always thought it was stupid to carry on a journal- What am I, an overemotional prick?- but nonetheless he used it all the time, scribbling away random streams of words that struck out to him. Lately, his writing had been getting better, but it kept taking dark turns before he even realized. Instead of writing about nature and happy daydreams Jean used to have about his future, the pages were riddled with the darkest monsters imaginable.
Instead of finding the leather bound book on inside he found a sticky note. He stopped abruptly to read it. "Come and get it, Kirschtine," was scribbled in messy handwriting. Who the fucking hell would rummage through my bag? Without giving it second thought, he swam to Mikasa's house to strangle Eren. All the idiots he talked to that he could consider friends all hung out at Mikasa and Eren's house after school- Armin, Sasha, Connie, and sometimes Marco, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie. Jean wouldn't admit it, but half of the poetry he had written was describing his crush on Mikasa. And by now, Eren had probably leafed through the book at least twice. …Damn it, Jaeger.
Other houses passed by in a blur until he finally managed to reach the nondescript, light beige house he had been looking for. His knuckles banged at the door twice, waiting for someone to get the door. Mikasa was the one to open it, surprised to see him at her door. "Hey, Jean. Did you need something?" He didn't normally hang out with them after school, and it was a rare occasion when he'd stop by at their house.
"Can you tell your stupid brother to get his ass out here?" His brows furrowed as grew even more impatient. God, he could be showing the journal to the others for all I know.
"Adoptive brother," she corrected him, as she usually did, before turning around and yelling inside, "Eren, Jean's here to see you!" She practically floated back inside as her angelic form was replaced by Eren.
"Yo! So you got my note, huh, Kirstchine?" Eren smirked gleefully.
Jean rolled his eyes, wanting the torture to be over already. "Just give it back."
"Sure dude, no problem…I just need you to do me a favor, first."