"What the fuck's your problem!"

Christa was caught in the middle of yet another argument between Reiner and Ymir. It was only the second day since Ymir was put on probation under Mr. Braun's watch, and for the past two days nonstop, Ymir and Reiner were down each other's throats and sadly, Christa is always caught in the middle.

"You meant to do it!" Reiner slammed one palm onto her desk and pointed a finger in Ymir's face which she was quick to slap away.

"I did not! Your wide-load just takes up too much damn space, it's hard for the rest of us to move! Do us a favor and lose a few, wide ass!"

Bertholdt, the usual voice of reason and the only one willing to get between the two when they were fuming, was currently missing in action. That meant when the two gripped each other and cocked back to punch each other, everybody thought there would be no stopping them.

Suddenly, two loud crashes echoed through the class and hall, all the students of Room 104 left stunned, especially Christa. Annie stood at her full height, observing the damage she had done. Reiner had been sent sailing across the floor into the cupboards that sat not too far from the last row, meanwhile Ymir was sent flying and knocked into Christa's desk, taking the whole thing down with her. Annie nodded, apparently pleased with her work, though her expression didn't show it.

Without a word, Annie returned to her desk and continued reading a book she had been enjoying before the ordeal.

Although Ymir was the first to recover, Reiner was the first to stand up, holding his head even though his whole body ached. Ymir sat up from her position but refused to get up yet. Instead, she and Reiner held a glaring contest as the boy limped past her in an attempt to get to his seat. When he was fully sat, Reiner seemed to be complaining to Annie while the girl pointedly ignored him.

When Ymir decided it was okay, she got up and dusted her uniform as if nothing happened at all. She turned and picked up the fallen desk beside her, fixing it back to its original position. After, she gathered all the scattered paper that fell from the desk and threw them haphazardly back on the desk top. Christa watched the entire gesture, still too shocked to move or say anything. When all the papers were back on Christa's desk, Ymir simply stood there with a hand still lingering on Christa's desk, staring at her.

By the time everything was finished registering in Christa's mind, she looked up to meet Ymir's blank expression, confused at why the taller girl was looking at her so intensely. She shifted slightly, a bit frightened. "Umm... thank you..." Christa spoke quietly under her breath.

"No problem." Ymir's response was equally as quiet, but she still stood there, staring.

Christa's face began to blush over despite how hard she fought mentally to stop it. Under Ymir's intense gaze, she felt strange. This wasn't the first time Ymir gave her that kind of look, she's done it a few times recently and Christa still has absolutely no idea what it means. That mysterious look. For just about as long as she and Reiner had been fighting, Ymir had been doing this every time she and Christa met eyes.

A few silent, awkward moments went by before Shadis entered the room to begin afternoon roll call. "Ymir, sit down!"

Surprisingly Ymir had no response and simply followed order without even a comment. Even Keith didn't expect it, and it showed slightly on his face. Ymir just sat down in her seat and assumed her usual position of staring blankly out the window. Shadis regained composure after clearing his throat, beginning the roll call.

Ymir and Christa haven't talked much since that day either. Christa's attention was usually either occupied by Sasha or Connie or sometimes even Eren and friends, that's of course, if Reiner and Ymir weren't fighting the next desk over. It wasn't like Christa hadn't attempted conversation, it's more that Ymir completely shut her out. Just when I thought we were making progress too. Christa sighed.

The blonde looked over at Ymir, wondering if her comment made Ymir that upset or if there was possibly something else. She may have been loud, obnoxious, and an all-around bully, but it's not like it was unwelcomed. In fact, even though she would never admit it to her, Christa enjoyed Ymir's 'interesting' personality. Ymir's sudden quietness was depressing for her, and even though she attempted to uplift her spirits through lively conversations with her other classmates, it was never quite enough to replace the few conversations she and Ymir had.

Christa nearly missed her own name mulling over her thoughts, but responded when Shadis repeated it the second time, shouting this time. Well, shouting louder this time. She fumbled a bit in her seat and her voice cracked when she answered, and so, in embarrassment, she laid her head on the desk.

Christa turned her head, fully expecting to see Ymir stifling a laugh at her expense, but there was nothing. Nothing. Not even a single chuckle. She seemed so detached from everyone and everything around her.

When Ymir's name was called, she responded with a loud, dejected grunt. Keith grumbled to himself, but ticked her name off regardless. "I rather that than your wise-ass comments."

Ymir only huffed and Shadis dismissed them just in time for the bell to ring. As usual, Ymir was the first one out.

Literature would be their last class of the day with Auruo Bossard. It was an inevitable fact that halfway through the lesson, Auruo would bite his tongue and be forced to visit Hanji's office, leaving the students to chat idly for the rest of the class period. Christa decided that she would use that time to talk to Ymir and fix whatever it was that went wrong.

Sadly, Christa was afforded no such luck. The first thing she noticed as she walked into class was that Dazz was in Ymir's usual seat, the one directly behind Christa's, and he was shaking uncontrollably. Meanwhile, Ymir sat a good distance away from Christa, boredly leaning back in her chair, balancing a pencil between her upper lip and nose.

"Why aren't you in your usual seat?" Christa asked him as she slid into her chair, even though she was already pretty sure of the answer.

"Ymir-", he whimpered as he pointed his head toward said girl, too terrified to look directly at her. "She was sitting there when I got here."

"You didn't ask her to move?" Christa noticed Ymir suddenly glance over at her, if only for a quick second, before returning her gaze to the ceiling.

Dazz's eyes widened and his face shown of absolute horror as he shook his head so hard, Christa thought it might fall off his shoulders. "Impossible. Unthinkable. I'd rather sit right here where it's safe."

Christa raised a brow. "I doubt it would be that bad. It's just a seat you know."

"Exactly, it's just a seat." He agreed. "Nothing worth risking my life over."

Realizing that this conversation was going nowhere, Christa sighed and turned her attention to the front of the class where Mr. Bossard, as he demanded to be addressed, had just arrived. I'll just ambush her when he goes to Hanji's office. So Christa waited, while Connie, her desk neighbor, distracted her at times with his excited chatter over the upcoming athletics festival set to take place in about two weeks. Still, Christa remained primarily focused on her objective, barely taking in anything Connie said.

Again, luck never seemed to be on Christa's side when she most wanted it to. By some miracle, Auruo spent the entire class period talking, and never once bit his tongue, not even a little nip. This was partly due to the fact that he took his time, for the first time ever, as he formed his words and addressed the class. He wore a triumphant smirk that day when the bell rang and he dismissed the class for the day.

After all that though, Christa was determined. She tried to beat Ymir to the door but, despite the fact that she was closer to the door, she couldn't get there before Ymir. Still, she was determined and she followed Ymir. Even when she lost sight of the taller girl, she continued her search. For some reason, Ymir had been heading in the opposite direction from the school gate, so Christa doubted that Ymir had left.

After her last experience with following Ymir, Christa was careful not to go through any strange hallways and out any doors if she wasn't sure where they led. She stumbled upon the staircase that led to the roof and felt compelled, for some inexplicable reason, to go there. So, she climbed the dark staircase, gripping the guardrails tighter and tighter as the ball in her chest sank deep into her stomach. When she finally reached the large rusted double doors, it took all her strength to force them open.

Christa took in a breath as she laid eyes on the scene in front of her. She could see over the roofs of most of the town and the sky looked absolutely gorgeous. She had to admit, following Ymir so far has led her to some of the most beautiful places.

"Just gonna stand there and stare or what?" Ymir called from her spot against the wall, right beside the door. "You never give up do you? Now you're stalking me." Ymir near chuckled.

"I'm not stalking you!" Christa defended. "I wanted to talk to you. You gave me your number but you never respond to my texts and the one time you answered my call, you hung up immediately and never picked up again-"

"That's because I only had to answer once to know what number to ignore." Ymir commented, not bothering to look at the blonde.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about!" Christa grabbed Ymir's arm, upset with the brunette's lack of eye contact. She wanted Ymir to see her face and know that she was serious. "Why are you ignoring me? I thought we were getting along pretty well and then you start pulling a stunt like this. Did I say something that bad?"

Ymir's uninterested expression remained. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know you do. Just give me an honest answer Ymir."

Ymir laughed, more to herself than at Christa, but it offended the little blonde nonetheless. "Since when do I have to answer to you?", she challenged.

"Just tell me or... or I'll... I'll..." Christa stumbled as she realized what she was about to say, her voice weakening.

"Or what, you gonna give me a bad report and get me kicked out?" Ymir guessed the words Christa bit back.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to." Ymir snorted when she saw the guilty look on Christa's face. "I guessed right then?"

"Ymir-"

"Save it." Ymir yanked her arm out of Christa's feeble grip. She looked down at Christa for a few moments, completely void of all emotions. Eventually, Christa couldn't take staring back into Ymir's eyes and so she averted her gaze to the floor. "Truth is, I got bored with you."

Christa's eyes shot up when Ymir decided to answer her. "Bored... with me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. I thought you were amusing in the beginning but now you're just plain fucking annoying. So do me a favor and stop bugging me so damn much." Christa looked up at her, eyes wide as they could get. "Don't bother me anymore, get it?"

Christa looked down at the floor again, blinking back a few stubborn tears that tried to come out. Slowly, she nodded, though she bit her lip to the point that she drew blood. Why was she so upset about this? Christa wasn't sure. She just felt horrible. It's not like she hadn't heard crueler, been rejected harsher, but this hurt more than all the others.

"Good." Ymir spat. "Now you- Hey!"

Ymir reached out but failed in an attempt to stop Christa as the girl ran through the door and back down the stairs. She slipped right out of Ymir's fingers in her getaway.

It's been almost an hour since school ended, there would be just one more bus passing through the route. Christa rushed straight to the bus stop, praying that she hadn't missed the last bus.

Christa sat on the bench impatiently, agonizing moments crawling by like hours. Her head felt like it was burning up, but she was slowly beginning to calm down. Soon, she heard an engine approaching her, wheels crunching rubble beneath it. It didn't sound like the bus though, and it moved too fast to be the old jitney anyway. Christa ignored the vehicle until it started to slow down in its approach and she recognized the black jeep that pulled up in front of her. She swallowed a breath subconsciously.

"Christa!" Reiner exclaimed as he near jumped out the passenger's seat and ran towards her, pulling her into a large embrace. "I was worried when I went home and you weren't there. I thought something happened on the bus ride home or something."

"Reiner, it's okay! I'm okay!" She laughed despite herself as the large boy squeezed her just a little too tightly. "I can't breath though!" She squeaked jokingly.

Reiner immediately released his grip, blushing in embarrassment though still supporting an ear-to-ear grin. "Sorry 'bout that!" He apologized, patting her shoulders.

"No problem!" Christa managed a genuine smile. Her eyes accidentally locked with Mr. Braun's steely gaze as he looked at the two, unimpressed. Mr. Braun sounded his horn to remind Reiner he wasn't exactly the most patient. "I think we should get going." Christa spoke softly, feeling a little disturbed by the look Mr. Braun sent her.

"Right..." Reiner simmered down when he noticed Christa's unease. "We'll talk about this at home." He opened the car door for Christa and when she was safely in the back seat, went around to his own seat and buckled in.

The jeep pulled off before anyone could notice a panting Ymir standing by the school gate, glaring at them. Ymir leaned against the school wall and clicked her tongue before turning and heading back to the school.

~oOo~

When the three arrived to the Braun household, Mr. Braun threw his keys on the table and tossed himself into the chair with a huff, turning on the television. Meanwhile, Christa and Reiner stalked up the stairs and into Christa's room. Christa sat on her bed while Reiner chose to stand by the door. He rarely comes up to Christa's room.

"What held you up today?" Reiner spoke in a serious tone.

"Nothing important. I just... I just did, I guess." Christa didn't look at him as she spoke.

"That's not true, what aren't you telling me?" Christa was shocked that she got found out so easily. Was she that terrible of a liar? Reiner sighed as he took in Christa's silence. "I'm sorry Christa, I'm trying hard to just trust you not to get hurt, but the fact that you seem so interested in Ymir... I can't help but be concerned. When I came home and you weren't here... and I waited and you didn't come... I didn't know what to do, so I called dad at work-"

"You didn't have to do that." Christa breathed, finally understanding the reason for that look Mr. Braun gave her earlier. She shuddered slightly.

"What was I supposed to do!? You weren't answering your phone and I thought something happened!"

"My phone? But it didn't ring." Christa pulled out her phone and inspected it, Reiner watching curiously. Slowly she placed the phone to her forehead. "I forgot to charge it last night.", was all she offered in excuse. "Okay, it was my fault, it won't happen again."

Reiner cracked a smile. "Well, as long as it won't happen again. Promise?"

Christa nodded and giggled. "It feels like we've been making quite a few promises recently, huh Reiner!"

Reiner blushed over, completely flustered. "Ye- Yeah." Was all he could manage in response. "Anyway, I-"

Reiner was interrupted when the door swung open and Mr. Braun slid through. He stopped when he felt a push on the other side of the door, Reiner putting his hands out defensively to prevent being hit by the door. "Oh Reiner, you were in here." Mr. Braun offered no words of apology. "Give us a minute, I need to talk to Christa." The sound of his words caused Christa's stomach to turn uncomfortably.

Reiner was hesitant but he didn't want to outright disobey his father, so he left, begrudgingly of course. The last thing he caught before his exit was the look in Christa's eyes as he closed the door behind him. It was difficult for him to swallow.

The air was now filled with a thick tenseness. Christa suddenly found it difficult to breath. It was silent.

"Where were you today?" Mr. Braun spoke in a low growl. "You better have a damn good excuse to make up for me having to leave work."

Christa didn't say anything. No, it was more like she couldn't say anything. She couldn't think and she couldn't speak.

"Answer me when I'm fucking talking to you!" He barked. He pulled her up by her hair, eliciting a whimper from the small girl. He looked into her pained face angrily. "You realize what it would look like on me if something happened to you!"

"I'm sorry, I swear it won't happen again!" Christa cried out, her voice grating her throat.

"I know it won't. You're smarter than that." Mr. Braun released her golden locks and planted a heavy fist into her left shoulder, Christa holding in a yelp. He looked over her pitiful form as she held her injured shoulder and avoided looking at him, her face a mix of frustration and sadness. He breathed a few angry breaths, then wiped his hand over his face. In a minute, he left, mumbling something about needing a smoke.

When she was sure it was all over, she did as she usually would and balled up in her bed after kicking off her shoes. She let her body cry itself into utter exhaustion and fell asleep, fully prepared to face tomorrow and erase the memories of today from her thoughts.

~oOo~

"I'm telling you it's gonna be awesome!" Connie exclaimed excitedly.

Christa rolled her eyes with a smile as she walked to homeroom the following morning, accompanied by Sasha and Connie, who she ran into almost immediately after coming off the bus with Reiner and was subsequently stolen away from the blond boy.

"Sounds like too much work." Sasha waved off the idea.

"They bring food and drinks for the athletes ya know." Connie slipped into his rant slyly.

"Really?" Sasha immediately drooled over. "Tell me more."

Connie couldn't stop talking about the athletics festival after the announcement yesterday, and he's still talking about it! What drew him to the school was the fact that its was so renowned in the high school sports arena. While it's true they took significant defeats in the past, the Scouts have been pulling some amazing victories recently and boast about having the top individual athletes in the region.

"Mmm, I'll probably participate if there's some kind of eating contest." Sasha thought about it. "I wouldn't even mind not winning."

Christa giggled. "Talking about it won't make it come faster you know."

"I know, but I can't help it!" Connie laughed. "Time to show-off and see which of these so-called athletes can compare to me."

Sasha ignored Connie's moment of arrogance and focused on Christa instead. "Are you planning to participate in anything Christa?"

"Umm, I haven't really thought about it yet." Christa placed a finger thoughtfully to her chin. "I'm not even sure if I'll attend." She answered truthfully.

At the sound of this Connie immediately stopped. "But you gatta come." He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Connie's right for once. It's more fun if we all go together." Sasha nodded.

They were right in front of the door for homeroom when Sasha's words suddenly sparked an idea in Christa's head. She grabbed Sasha's hands happily and swung them around. "Why didn't I think of that before!?"

Leaving Sasha and Connie dumbstruck, she practically flew through the door and straight to Ymir's desk, smiling down at the now annoyed brunette.

"The fuck do you want now?" Ymir sneered.

I won't let your bad attitude deter me this time Ymir! Christa nodded her head, determined. "You're taking me to the athletics festival." Christa told her. Then, she grabbed Ymir's wrist and tugged her out the classroom, causing mass confusion.

Ymir allowed herself to be dragged, curious about what Christa had planned this time. They weren't too far from the class when Christa stopped. She couldn't pull them too far because if Shadis showed up and started roll call before they got back, there would be no getting back in anymore.

"Well..." Ymir urged Christa to explain herself.

"Well what? I figured I was pretty clear."

"Don't be a smart ass with me." Ymir flicked Christa on the forehead, earning a squeak from her. "What makes you think I'm gonna take you anywhere?"

"Just because." Christa shrugged. "Do you need a reason?"

"In this case I do."

Christa sighed. "Well how about we help each other out?", she suggested. Ymir hummed lowly, showing she was interested in where this was going. "Principal Smith thinks I should participate in school events and you need to look good in his eyes if you want to stay in school because when it's time to give my first report, he specifically requested solid reasoning. I can say all the nice things I want, but if you don't actually do anything, his answer's still gonna be the same."

"You're drifting, get to the point."

Christa sighed, certain that her point was obvious. "My point is, you take me to the athletics festival and I'll have something good to report to Principal Smith. " Christa winked.

Ymir crossed her arms over her chest. "Why do I feel like you've been hanging this thing over my head a bit too much.", she accused.

"No, it's really not like that!" Christa defended. "Think of it more like...", she searched her mind for something to compare this to. "Oh! Like walking under a storm cloud, and I'm your umbrella. I can only protect you from the rain if you do your part and hold me up. But every so often, a few stray raindrops might get in, but that's only a reminder of why you're holding the umbrella in the first place, because it's the only thing shielding you from the rain." The whole time, Christa had been using her hands to sort of act out exactly what she was trying to say.

Ymir only laughed. "That analogy was dumb as fuck! You read too many books!" Ymir could barely contain herself. "But I like it. You know why?" Ymir wiped a tear from her eye from laughing too hard.

"Why?" Christa was a little upset about the disrespect Ymir showed her ad lib piece of literature.

"Because if you're my umbrella, that means I can just put you away when I'm done with you, and that's exactly what I plan on doing."

Ymir's words stung a bit, but Christa didn't let them throw her off. "So, deal?"

Ymir actually thought about it for a few moments. "On one condition."

"Condition?"

"Yea. You have to make sure I don't get bored, got it? In other words, keep me entertained."

Christa nodded, feeling accomplished. "Deal then!"

Just as they finished talking and they looked down the hall, they could definitely see Keith approaching. Knowing exactly what that meant, the two made an effort to get back to the room before he arrived. Well, Christa put in the effort while Ymir dragged her feet.

When Keith got into the class, he didn't say a word to them before he began to give roll call. He was definitely steamed when he went over the last name and got another one of Ymir's little comments, this time in the form of a complaint about being blinded by the sunlight reflecting off of his head. Christa laughed while Ymir shot her an amused smirk.

~oOo~

Author's Note: Another sort of rushed job, I knew I had a bit of work to do on this, but I didn't expect it to take this long and that's why I started so late (That, and I'm a serious procrastinator. Anyway, I probably won't be updating for the New Year's and even if I do, it would probably come late. However, what may happen is the release of a little one-shot idea that's been floating around my head for awhile. I'm done with my rant now, BYE! :3