Hey everyone, Takenokohime here! I apologize for my two month long absence from the site, but to make up for it I present this brand new story! This is my first attempt at an AU and also my first attempt at an alternating first-person POV story, so I hope you all enjoy. Basically the way this will work is that the character who's narrating will be listed in the chapter title. I can't say how often I'll update because like the characters in this story I'm a college student and college is super busy, but I'll try to at least once a month. Again, I hope you all enjoy and please leave your feedback, I really want to hear what people think of this story!
Ps. If you enjoy this story feel free to check out my other two stories, "Simple Joys" and "When I Remember This Life".
Ymir: Bitch of a Living
College move-in day. We're all told that college is a new beginning, a time to figure out who we are, and the first day of the rest of our lives when were younger. Personally, I think that's a load of bullshit. They forcibly uproot you from everything you know all so you can "be successful" in the adult world. They cram you in a building that can barely qualify as living space, and have to share it with hundreds of people you don't know and still probably won't know even after four years of college together. You have to share a tiny room with a stranger and are expected to somehow get along. Sure...this will be a new beginning...just not a positive one.
I was sitting on the bus to Trost University, my home for the next few years. I probably wouldn't have gone if they hadn't given me a scholarship, I don't have the money to pay for college or really anything. I don't get why they gave it to me instead of one of their typical recruits: upper-middle class, gifted academically, family in the picture. Whatever, it's not my problem, and money is money.
The bus intercom crackled and the driver came on. "Last stop, Trost University."
I looked around and saw some of the other people onboard begin to grab their items and get ready to get off. Parents helping their kids get boxes and duffel bags, siblings getting in the way. I sighed and slung my brown duffel bag around my shoulder then reached up into the overhead storage to grab my box of stuff. The bus came to a gradual stop in the main campus loop and I hopped off before the families had a chance to clog up the exit.
The campus is sort of weird, it's a walled campus so you really can't see what's happening around it, even though it's like ten minutes outside of downtown Trost City. This freaky statue of a giant, oh I'm sorry, a Titan, greets people with its stupid grin. Everyone here is always reminding you the school mascot is a Titan. Not one minute on campus and two people wearing "Titan Pride" shirts walked by to lecture the parents for getting the mascot wrong, what a fucking joke. I shook my head and started scanning the area for the dorms.
"Excuse me, miss?"
Someone had snuck up behind me. I spun around and glared at this annoying freckle-face wearing a dorky looking polo was standing there.
"Can I help you?" I asked, looking him over. He looked so nerdy, like seriously, he was like every single nerd from my school ever combined. He was grinning and fidgeting too, ugh.
"Um...you looked confused? Do you need any help? I moved in yesterday so I may be able to help you!" Freckle-Face answered, grinning stupidly.
"The dorms..." I muttered, sucking up my pride.
"Oh! The dorms are to the left of Reiss Hall, back by Shiganshina Quad. Rose Hall is on the left, Maria Hall is on the Right, and Sina Hall is in the center! Can you find your way from there?" he asked.
I nodded and looked at my rooming assignment, which I'd printed off a couple days ago: Maria Hall, 350. My roommate was some chick named Annie Leonhart, she was probably already in the room and had staked out her claim to the beds.
"I'm Marco Bott, by the way! I'm an English Major, so if you have any classes in the College of Liberal Arts you might see me there!" Freckle-Face interrupted me again. "What's your name?"
"Ymir," I replied impatiently. He looked at me sort of confused, like he expected there to be more. "Just Ymir."
"Oh, okay. Well, I'll see you around campus, Ymir!" he said excitedly, running off to join another group of people.
I sighed and began walking toward the dorm, hoping that Annie girl hadn't already claimed the closet or one of the beds. There was a crowd of families standing in the lobby, hoping to squeeze into the elevators to take their children up to the chaos. I snuck around the crowd and ran into the next elevator going up. Who knew that ten people could fit in a three by five foot elevator? The mass of people in there with me included a family of five and another family of four. Two of the three people I guessed were other students here were girls, so they'd probably be getting off on my floor as well. Fan-fucking-tastic, another pile-up...One of the girls took something out of the bag she was carrying and began snacking on it. It looked like a bag of cheese curls, eugh...gross. The other girl looked over briefly at the snacking pig then went back to whispering to the guy next to her.
After what seemed like eternity we got to floor three and I dashed off to my dorm before the massive pile-up could form. 320, 330, 3...ah! I thought, 350, here it is. The door was closed but I could hear music coming from the other side. My Roomie must have gotten here before me. I did what any sensible person would do and began knocking loudly and shouting.
"Hey! Open up the door!" I shouted.
"Who is it?" a voice shouted from the other side.
"It's your roommate Ymir! Let me in!" I shouted back.
I heard the music go down and the door unlock. The door opened and I was greeted by a short blonde girl wearing a grey camisole and jean cutoffs.
"Come in, I suppose," she sighed, moving out of the way.
I walked through the door and noticed her boxes were still unopened and there wasn't anything on either of the beds yet. Annie hung back and watched me set my stuff down and lean against the wall. Our room wasn't too bad, we each had a desk and there was a dresser and a closet.
"So, how long have you been here?" I asked.
"About an hour, but my father just left like five minutes ago," she replied. "Which is why I haven't had a chance to unpack yet..." she added, gesturing to her boxes.
"Why'd he take so long to leave?" I asked, curious.
Annie looked down. "He's really over-protective."
I waited for more but she didn't say anything else, so I decided to ignore it and began to go through my stuff. "Which bed do you want?"
She shrugged. Okay...guess she isn't much of a talker...I walked over and put my bag on the left bed then began taking my clothes out. Just a few t-shirts, pants, and an old army jacket. Not much but it got me through high school. Annie backed away from the door and began going through her stuff as well. I noticed her pull out a bunch of gym clothes and a couple jerseys.
"You do sports?"
"A couple. Kickboxing is my main one. I also played hockey in high school," she replied quietly.
I looked up and gave her a look. I'd only just met Annie but she didn't look at all like the type that'd do those sorts of sports. I'd pegged her for a cheerleader or maybe a soccer player. I mean, the girl was barely five feet tall and looked maybe 110 lbs., how the hell could she do sports where she'd be punching and shoving and fighting?
"And before you ask, I'm stronger than I look," she added, like she was reading my mind. "I'm a regional champion in kickboxing for the Trost City area, and I was one of the best hockey players on my school's team."
I nodded my head and went back to organizing my shit. I took the top two drawers in the dresser since I had less stuff than her, and began going through my box. It just had my sheets, pillow, and my old doll Ilse from when I was a baby. She's missing her head at this point, but I'm not going to get rid of her since she's one of the only things that's been with me my whole life. Annie had already made her bed and was putting her clothes away when we heard a knock on the door. I looked over and saw her head drop and heard her groan.
"It's my idiot friends..." she muttered.
I walked over to the door and looked through the porthole. A tall, muscly blond guy wearing a tank top and basketball shorts was standing at the door, and an even taller gawky looking guy in a t-shirt and plaid shorts was lingering behind him.
"Should I let them in?" I asked.
"Whatever. If they don't come in now they'll be back later," Annie replied indifferently.
I opened the door and the blond guy smiled at me. "You must be Ann's roommate! You're so lucky, she's a really pleasant person to be around!"
"Shut it Reiner!" Annie shouted before walking over. "I guess I should introduce you all. Ymir, these are Bertholdt and Reiner, two of the people from my school who unfortunately followed me here. Bertholdt and Reiner, this is Ymir, the person I'm living with for the next year."
"Nice to meet you, Ymir! You're looking at the Homeland High School number one wrestler and star football player and best hockey player!" Reiner bragged.
God, I already know I'm going to hate this douchebag...I thought, rolling my eyes.
"Hi. I'm Bertholdt, I also used to play hockey with Reiner and Annie," Bertholdt said quietly.
"Alright, now you three have met. Time to go, you two out of our room now," Annie insisted, shooing the guys out.
"But wait-" Reiner protested as Annie slammed the door shut.
I laughed quietly at Annie's reaction. Introvert, doesn't put up with shit, and not bad looking either. This girl was really starting to grow on me.
"So..." I began once she had collected herself. "I guess since we're going to be living together we should set some ground rules."
"Ok..." Annie said.
"I won't touch your shit as long as you don't touch mine," I said.
"Deal," she replied.
"Also, if someone's going to be using the room to hook up with someone give the other person notice," I added.
"Fine by me," she agreed.
"Is that fair?" I asked.
"Sure," she said.
Well that went easier than I thought. We went right back to unpacking and organizing after that. Hey, maybe living with someone else won't be so bad?