"Oh!" A blond boy stepped back, when he hit something hard that was too warm to be a wall. He looked up, right into a pair of tired, angry looking, brown eyes, and the person who he had just walked into.
"Too good to look where you are going, Armin? It has to be hard, being the top student and all. Can't waste your time on something as normal, as looking where you walk." The voice was cold, tired and hard, making Armin feel small under his harsh words. It was not like he had ever done anything to him, but it never stopped the taller boy from hating him.
"I'm sorry Jean, I was just thinking and I did not-" He was stopped as a warm hand grabbed his shoulder, making him turn slightly to see a pair of dark eyes and black hair. "Mikasa, it's fine. It was my fault, I walked into him." he said fast, as he spotted his best friend coming closer and looking ready to give Jean a piece of his mind. He gave the tall boy a shy smile, before turning around and pushing Mikasa back, hoping to get away from Jean before Eren got there. The last thing anyone needed was Eren and Jean having one of their fights so early in the morning.
The bell sounded, shortly after all three friends had found their seats close to the window; Armin sitting at the front, with Eren just behind him at the window and Mikasa sitting at his side. He remembered when they had started sitting like that. It had only been a month after they started school, but he had already been picked on by the older students, and when some from their class had started too, his friends had placed themselves, so no one could pass him notes, kick him or throw stuff at him. And it worked, no one did that anymore, not as long Mikasa or Eren was around.
He smiled a little as he took out his books. It was not that bad, high school, not when you had friends who would kick anyone who tried to pick on you. Not that he liked that his friends did it, he had never liked violence, and knowing it was because of him made it all that worse, but still, his friends did not care about getting hurt, if it was to get them back for making fun of Armin or trying to hurt him.
His thoughts were cut short as their teacher stepped in and starting calling their names. "Jean?" She called but his seat was empty. "Miss Ral, Jean will be here soon, he had to go to the school nurse." A soft spoken voice sounded from a slender boy, standing up from his seat behind where Jean normally would sit. His brown hair was cut short, but still managed to hang down, so he had to brush it away from his eyes from time to time, his cheeks covered in freckles and his eyes and smile so sweet and friendly, that it was hard to think he was best friends with Jean of all people.
"Thank you, Marco. I hope he is okay" She gave the sweet boy a smile, as he sat down again and she got back to calling the rest of her students. Armin could not help looking over at the empty seat. It had happened a lot lately, that Jean would come late to the first classes of the day, because he needed to go and see the nurse. He turned his eyes away; it was not his problem, right? They were not friends after all, so why would he care, that Jean seemed to be having problems that left him to go see a nurse or a doctor twice a week?
He had to stop thinking about him, as Miss Ral started on today's topic, the war that had been going on 100 years ago, before peace had been settled down. 100 years with peace, it was hard to believe, when they learned about how it had been before: War had been a part of everyday life and in their books the enemy had never been given a name, they were just called 'Titans'. The many stories, about how they had been fighting against gigantic warmachines had always fascinated Armin, and History with Miss Ral was one of his favorite subjects in school. The door was pushed open half way through 'lass, where an even more tired looking Jean stepped in. "Sorry I'm late."
They teacher gave him a understanding smile before turning around again, writing down the names of those who had done something outstanding in the battle against the Titans.
"Nanaba," The sound of pens against paper could be heard in the class "Dita Ness, and one of the most important of them all: Ilse Langnar, who gave her life to get the information to us that lead to the Titans' fall. Without her, or any of the many who fought in the battle, we would not have been able to live in a world with peace as we do today."
She gave them all a soft smile as she waited for them to write it all down. She started to talk about what had happened and soon the bell sounded and they got up.
Armin turned his eyes to the two sitting closest to the door. Jean really did not look to good. He looked tired and as if he had lost some weight. When he pulled up his shirt to show Marco something, Armin got a look at his toned stomach and the bandage that was around it. He felt his cheeks heat up slightly from the careless show of skin, but he also got worried. What had happened to Jean? From what he knew and had felt on himself, Jean were not one to back down from a fight, but he never started them and mostly used words over his fists.
"Armin, come on! Our next class is with Ackerman and I forgot to do my homework!" Eren pulled him out of class as he talked.
"How could you forget to do it again?! You know he will have you stay after class again!" Armin could just watch as his friend moved a hand though his hair with a goofy grin on his face.
"Come on. He will never know if you help me. It is just... His classes are so boring and the homework is killing!" He spread his arms out in a dramatic gesture. Mikasa, who was walking next to them, just shook her head, when her adopted brother started to complain about all the homework they got and how he had no time to make it. "Oh fuck. Oh fuck!" The sound of fear in the complaining boy's voice had both his friends looking up. Something that could make him stop complaining about Mr. Ackerman could only be one thing: the man himself. Down the hall came the one teacher, who was every student's worst nightmare. Levi Ackerman, a man no taller than 160 cm, and a gaze like he could not give two shits about anything, and that no student was worth using his time on. He walked down the hall, carrying a pile of papers and looking ever so tired. Armin turned slightly as his friend moved behind him. "Don't let him know I am-"
"Jaeger." Eren did not get a chance to get away, before all the papers were dropped into his arms and the shorter man grabbed him and pulled him with him. "You are coming with me, brat."
"Help me!" came a desperate cry from Eren, but neither Armin or Mikasa could do much more than try not to laugh of the face he made, as he got dragged to the classroom.
"Should we help him?" The blond turned and looked up at the taller girl next to him.
"No, he got himself into this one." she said, before giving the blond a small nod, leaving him to go and find her books. He looked around a little nervous. He was almost never alone anymore, but when he was, 'he' would come.
"No more friends to save you?" The sound of the voice Armin knew too well, made him turn around, just before he got slammed against the lockers, his head hitting it hard, making him whimper slightly in pain.
"Jean, please" he whispered scared, as a strong hand held up in his shirts collar. No one in the hall would help him; they both knew that too well. Armin was not someone people would get in trouble over. Yeah sure, he was a nice kid, but most saw him as being stuck up and thinking he was better than them, because of his perfect score in every test. This could not have been more wrong, but it took more than Armin's own words to make his follow students believe that.
"Oh now you can beg? What was it you told me last time? That you did not have time for me, that you were too busy to waste time on something like this? Well too bad you little shit, because I think you should be wasting your time on this today." His grip in the smaller boy's collar got tighter, as he dragged him down the hall to the changing room. He pushed him inside, with a smirk on his lips, as he closed the door behind them, locking it before turning against the blond again. Said blond was sitting on the floor, slowly moving away, knowing too well where this was going. It was not the first time after all, but it always hurt more when it was Jean who hit.
"Jean, you know I did not mean... I did not mean that I was better than you, but we had a test coming up and... Oh god." He turned his head away when Jean got closer, getting down so he could look at the blond up close.
"Yes I know. We had a test. Guess what. If it had not been for you I would have hold the high score on it, but no. You just had to come and get 100% again." He grabbed him around the chin, forcing the blond to look at him, before he changed his grip, taking hold at the collar of the boy's uniform shirt. He held him down against the floor with his strength and his body weight.
"You always have to ruin everything for me, don't you? Always. You could just for once be number two, but no. You always have to be number one. Always! Well too bad being number one can't get you any friends!" He slammed him down against the floor, before tightening his grip on the boy's collar. The smaller boy let out a scared whimper, when he could feel the hot breath on his skin. He closed his eyes, waiting for the first hit, but nothing came. He looked up, seeing the boy sitting over him, hand ready to hit him, but something had stopped him. Armin's eyes moved to the door where Jean was looking.
Marco was standing there, looking sad and, well, disappointed as only he could do it. He just looked at his friend before holding out a hand.
Armin watched them. It was well-known, that they were best friends, and Marco was the only one Jean never hit or was mean to. He was also the only one, who could make the tall boy stop, when he got angry. Armin had been saved more than once from him, but there was a look in his eyes every time he had to do it. Something Armin could not understand.
Jean made a displeased sound as he got up, kicking the blond hard before walking to his friend. "I was done with that little fag anyways." His voice was so cold and dripping with poison, as the two older boys left the room.
Armin could not move. The kick had been hard, but not that bad, not compared to what he had tried before, but it was that one word that had him shaking and tears starting to run down his cheeks.
Jean could not know. It was impossible. No one knew. Well, Eren and Mikasa did, but they would never tell. And of all people, Jean was the last one who could and should know.
He slowly pushed himself off the floor, when the bell sounded. He had to go to class, but when he went, he could barely keep any focus, not even in some of his best classes.
Jean could not know. It was the only thing he could think of, and the other's words were the only ones he heard. That angry voice that never gave him a soft word, never left him without a feeling of guilt for being who he was.
Somehow he got through the day. Everything blending together in the end, before he finally hit his pillow.
As he closed his eyes he could see him again. He could see that angry face and hateful eyes, that looked at him like he was the reason of everything bad. But. There was a smile too. A smile that was not for him, but someone else. But Armin would do anything to see it again, even if it was not for him to look at.
As sleep took him, he whispered a soft prayer: that one day, one day, he would be the one making the tall boy day that smile would be for him.