"Good!" Reiner snaps his book shut and slaps Eren's back. "You're going to do great on the midterm."

Armin hopes Reiner's right. With Annie barely speaking to him, he can't fathom the idea of Eren having to leave school. He and Mikasa are Armin's closest friends—the only friends who really know him and somehow like him, too.

"I wish I could make the honor roll," Eren says with a scowl.

What? "Um, Eren? Don't you think just passing is a more realistic goal?" Armin ventures. At the same time, having a goal could be beneficial…

"Yeah, but I want to. By the end of the year." Eren leans back. "My father would want me to."

Armin's not sure it's possible, but he won't say that. Besides, when Eren sets his mind to something, he can usually accomplish it, Armin reminds himself. There's hope.

Hannes still gives them weekly updates on Carla Jaeger, except there are really no updates to give. No change. Eren's even stopped checking his phone three times every class, although Armin still hears him tossing and turning at night. Armin wishes he knew what to say. All he can do is listen, which he knows is enough... in theory. It doesn't always feel like it.

"You'll make it," Reiner assures Eren, looking as if he actually believes it. Bertolt nods, and Armin smiles.

Bertolt's phone lights up, and Armin catches a glimpse of it. Zeke, the name reads, even if he can't read the text before Bertolt turns his phone over.

The VP?

Why would he be texting you?

Oh right. Scholarships. Although Bertolt and Reiner shouldn't have to do anything more for it now that they have the scholarship. Maybe they need to write thank you notes or something.

"Guess what I heard," Reiner adds, leaning forward.

"Do I want to know?" Eren jokes, stretching his legs out.

"Connie told me Marlowe has two bottles of wine. If we want to blow off steam before midterms on Monday, tonight's the night," Reiner declares.

Armin cringes. How is this a good idea?

"He wants to keep it in our dorm through. We can get some of the girls to visit, but it might be after hours, so—"

"We shouldn't risk it," Armin stammers. "Not when—"

"Yeah, but Christa's been depressed since the dance and could use some cheering up," Reiner counters.

"I don't think alcohol counts as cheering her up," Armin shoots back. "It's a temporary solution. Ymir can help, I'm sure."

"I don't know," Bertolt says quietly. "Christa's kind of locked away in herself sometimes. She might not respond to anyone, even Ymir."

Are we talking about Christa or you? Armin wonders. Reiner leans forward, his brow creased in concern for his friend.

Are you in love with him? Armin's pretty sure the answer is yes.

"Well, I'll have a drink," Eren says with a shrug. "Only one, though. I don't need to sprain my ankle again."

Not to mention Armin's pretty sure Levi wouldn't be quite so merciful if he caught them this time around. Their trig teacher's been dour ever since their set-up attempt at the dance. Well, dour or love-struck.

As Armin opens the door, he hears yelling in the courtyard.

"Just go, Mom!"

"Whose mom is here?" Eren wonders.

Jean stands outside his door, crossing his arms.

"Jean-Boy, I came all this way to visit you!" protests a short, squat woman with a gray bun.

"I'm busy studying! If I don't study, I'll fail. I can't take time to go gallivanting around town doing nothing important anyways." Jean scowls.

Eren's face grows red, and Armin knows what he's thinking. I'd give anything to have a mother to bother me.

Judging from Bertolt's hanging jaw, he agrees with Eren. Reiner steps back, putting his hand on Bertolt's shoulder.

What are their families even like? Armin wonders. He can't recall either of them sharing any information on their background.

"Well… if you change your mind, Jean-Boy, I'll come back," Ms. Kirchstein promises, her shoulders slumped. "Will you at least take this? I bought you some snacks and—"

"No. I'm fine here." Jean stalks away from her.

"I'll give them to him, Ms. Kirschstein," says a quiet voice. Marco stands behind her, his eyes downcast.

"What a prick," Eren seethes as the woman trudges out of their dorm.

"We don't know everything that's gone on between them, Eren," Armin points out.

"Don't need to. She's his mother. Jean-Boy should at least respect her." Eren's voice rises. Armin wraps an arm around his friend, who stiffens for a moment before caving in.

Jean stops in front of his door, glaring at Eren, who flips him off. Jean's door slams.

"Jean's not coming," Marco announces later that night, as Eren, Armin, Reiner, and Bertolt all gather in Connie and Marlowe's room. "He did ask if I could bring him a wine cooler though."

"You have soda too?" Connie asks.

"Of course." Marlowe shrugs. "And please, drink it all. Like please. I can't stand having it in here any more."

"Can I have some of that to dilute this?" Armin asks. He's not a fan of the strong, musky taste.

"Sure." Marlowe hands it over.

"What's the problem with having booze here?" Eren asks.

"Because he bought it all for Hitch, because he lost a bet to Hitch, and he's been panicking about getting caught all semester," Connie reports. "Well, not about getting caught. About that fact that he let Hitch convince him to break the rules. You're clearly a terrible person, Marlowe."

"Just get rid of it for me, please," Marlowe requests with a grimace.

Do you actually believe that? Armin wonders.

"You know he asked Jean to horde it?" Connie continues. A banner with a football team hangs above his bed. "But Marco said no."

"Not that Jean hasn't kept some," Marco comments, rolling his eyes as he gets back to his feet. "I'll just bring this back to Jean."

"Can I go with you?" Armin questions. He has less of a chance of getting caught in Marco and Jean's room. And he's concerned about Jean. He's seemed awfully stressed about excelling in his classes, making the honor roll, and getting into a good university next year. And by stressed, Armin means Jean's acting like an asshole to everyone again.

"Sure." Marco grins at him. Eren waves as he debates with Reiner over whether Oruo likes Petra or not.

"It's snowing!" Armin gasps as they step outside. The cold presses intoxicating hands against his cheeks. Large white flakes float through the air, swirling towards the ground.

"I heard it won't stick, sadly," Marco remarks. "Soon."

"Is the school still holding that annual ski trip after Christmas break?" Armin questions, shivering. A flake splashes against his cheek.

"I heard we're going someplace warm instead. Courtesy of Mike's insistence," Marco responds. "Maybe to the beach." He grins as he pushes open the door. "I hope."

"I've always wanted to see the ocean," Armin muses.

"You've never seen it?" Marco asks as Armin ducks inside the heated room.

"Nope." Armin spots Jean lying on his bed, surrounded by textbooks, notebooks, his graphic calculator and a protractor. The rest of the room is neat and organized, books lined up perfectly on both Marco and Jean's bookshelves, no lonely shoes or socks lying around like in Armin and Eren's room, no books left open and out.

"I brought you some wine!" Marco sings.

"Thanks," grumbles Jean, pulling himself up. "But I can't drink it now. I've got to study."

"You can give yourself a break, you know," Marco says as he settles on the floor. "You don't have to work so hard all the time. Plus, it hasn't stopped you from drinking before."

Is it your mom? Armin wonders. Maybe that incident is bothering Jean.

"Why are you even staying here?" Jean snaps. "Go have fun."

Armin freezes, halfway to the floor. Sink lower? Leave?

"You seem upset and both of us are worried," Marco responds. "I know you love your mom. Why did you treat her that way?"

Jean scowls and reaches out, snatching the wine cooler. He chugs it. "Because I'm stressed?"

"Jean, you're so smart," Armin puts in. "You shouldn't be so anxious about these midterms."

"Easy for you to say," Jean retorts. "You're like a… blond Einstein."

Armin smiles. He'll take that as a compliment. Even if he's nowhere near that smart. For Pete's sake, he can't even figure out why Annie suddenly hates him.

Isn't it obvious? You're pathetic. You're weak, you're short, you're useless. She can do way better than you.

"I need to do well," Jean mumbles. "I just want to be—good enough to get into a good school. I need to do that. All the kids at my elementary school used to make fun of me, you know? They said I wasn't smart, when I was really smarter than all of them. They called me fat and beat me up."

Armin squirms. "They beat me up at my old school too," he admits. "And Eren, when he intervened. Mikasa could usually get them to stop. But it was always because they know I was right about something, and they were angry about it."

"I'm so sorry," Marco says, wide-eyed as he looks at the both of them. "Neither of you deserved that. You're both good people."

Jean snorts. Armin drinks some more of the bitter liquid in his cup. It'd be better with sugar in it.

"It's not just wanting to show them up, even," Jean admits as he tosses the protractor in the air. "My parents, they—they settled for half the life they could have had, you know? My father was a certified genius, but my mom got pregnant with me, so they dropped out of school." Jean drinks more. "I need to live up to that."

"Live his dreams?" Armin asks.

"No, my own dreams. My father's long dead."

"Dreams or insecurities?" Marco asks, setting his cup down. Armin's stomach tightens.

"Huh?" Jean blinks.

"It's like… you don't think you're good enough. Or you think you are, which is good because you are, but you don't think other people think you're good enough. And so you're obsessed with proving them wrong, and maybe there are people you need to prove wrong, but no one here thinks that of you. You are good enough." Marco reaches out and grabs Jean's arms. "You are."

Jean swallows and looks at the ground. "Thanks." He looks back up at Marco, peering at his face.

Are those tears in his eyes? Armin wonders.

"Maybe I should call my mom and apologize."

"Maybe tomorrow when you haven't been drinking," Armin interjects.

Jean rolls his eyes. "I only had half a cup." But he frowns. "What if she's mad at me?"

"She'll always forgive you," Marco assures him, hand lingering on Jean's shoulder. He catches Armin watching and lowers it, swallowing.

You like Jean, Armin realizes. Marco's eyes dart to Armin, and he smiles to reassure him. I won't tell.

Marco should tell Jean, though. But Armin knows he won't.


"Ready to ace your exam, Mikasa?" Jean asks her on Monday morning.

She shrugs, filling her coffee cup. "As long as I pass."

"That's not really even a question," Eren comments as he grabs an apple. "Not for you."

Trooping down the hall towards their biology lab exam, Mikasa thinks that she's not so much worried about herself as she's worried about Eren. He needs to pass, and even with all the help he's been getting, and the work he's been putting in, she's not sure it'll be enough.

Hange greets them outside the class, her face white.

"Hange?" Armin questions.

"You're all supposed to go to the assembly hall," she orders.

"Will our exam be in there?" Eren asks. "But then how will we do the lab part—"

"The lab part's been canceled," she snaps, her eyes tearing up.

Mikasa frowns.

"Hange!" Levi shouts from down the hall, jogging up to her. Christa's eyes light up. "I heard about the break-in."

"Break-in?" Armin whispers as Reiner and Bertolt join the group gathered outside the classroom.

"Who would want to steal equipment covered in pig guts?" Jean wonders.

"Out of here," Levi orders them, his glare honing in on Jean.

"I don't think it's equipment, Jean," Mikasa whispers as they turn to shuffle off, and by shuffle off, she means loiter five feet away. Armin nods as if he agrees. It's got to be chemicals.

But why? And for what purpose?

"We're already over budget, Levi. We can't replace these!" Hange cries. "Not until the next year, and by then the kids could be behind—"

"Which wouldn't be your fault," Levi snaps, peering into Hange's eyes as he grabs her shoulders. "And you'll think of something. Has there ever been a problem you can't solve?"

Christa gasps.

"Get to the assembly hall, or you will all fail your midterm!" Hange barks. "And then no honor roll for any of you!"

Christa ducks her head. Ymir pinches her shoulder. "You'll make it," she assures her roommate.

Mikasa and Eren exchange a grin as they scuttle off. The written exam goes well for Mikasa, although after she finishes fifteen minutes early, she watches Eren bite his pencil into a chewed-up mess. Damn it.

The day drags on, and by the end of it, Mikasa's hand aches from writing so much. Eld gave them three essays for literature, and Mike's history exam gave them two.

As Mikasa hands in her trigonometry exam and students turn to each other, stretching and blabbering, Erwin marches in. Eren's face falls from anxiety to confusion.

"Everyone, take a seat," he orders.

"Why?" groans Connie.

"I'll explain in a minute, Springer."

"There is no escape for us," Jean intones.

Mikasa lowers herself down, her heart rate speeding up.

"As for right now, and as has been going on throughout the day, staff are searching all of your belongings. As I'm sure most of you—" Erwin rolls his eyes as if to say who am I kidding? "—probably all of you—are aware, someone broke in to the biology lab and stole some expensive chemicals. There's reason to believe it was an inside job, likely from a student."

"What?" Eren whispers. Armin shakes his head, and Mikasa remembers Armin's suspicions about a staff member outing her and Eren's history.

"If the guilty party is found, he or she will be expelled immediately." Erwin crosses his arms. "I realize this may feel like an invasion of privacy, and so I will add that staff rooms have been searched as well. The search is expected to conclude in an hour, and until then, you will all need to stay here."

"What about our afternoon snack?" Sasha calls.

"We'll deliver it shortly," Erwin answers, before nodding and striding out of the assembly hall. Petra and Oruo cringe as if to lament that they have to watch over the entire junior class one more hour.

"For real?" Eren demands as he leaps up from his seat. "Why would someone steal chemicals?"

"Probably to make drugs," Armin says softly.

Eren cringes. Connie sits nearby and leans over, clutching his head.

"Are you okay, Connie?" Sasha asks, deterred even from rushing the snacks, which have just arrived. It smells like sugar today. Éclairs, Mikasa's favorite.

"Yeah… I just—like, my mom's in rehab right now so I really don't want to talk about drugs," Connie mutters.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Eren says as Sasha takes Connie's hand. Mikasa thinks of her own parents, taken from her too early, and tugs her scarf up over her mouth.

"You shouldn't have done that," Christa says as she approaches, a blue plastic bowl with an éclair inside clutched in her hands. Ymir shrugs as they drop onto the floor by Connie's desk.

"What did you do?" Mikasa asks Ymir.

"Stole everything," Ymir replies, face serious, and then she erupts in laughter. "No, I'm kidding."

Armin frowns.

"She slacked off in classes the past few weeks and in studying because she thinks it will help me make the top ten," Christa reveals.

"Eh, you want it way more than I do. I doubt I'm even going to college," Ymir says, leaning back. Her éclair sits untouched.

Huh? "Why not?" Mikasa asks. "You're smart—"

"How am I going to pay for it?" Ymir snorts. Sasha and Connie rise and dart over to the snack table.

"How are you paying for this?" Eren asks.

"Eren, that's not polite," Armin hisses.

"Academic scholarship," Ymir replies, sitting back up and grabbing her éclair.

"Which you could and should get for college too," Christa insists.

"You need one too, and you want it more than I do," Ymir retorts around a mouthful of pastry. Christa frowns and pulls her knees up to her chest. "What's the matter?"

"I don't like you thinking you're less important," Christa tells her. "Because you are—"

"I'm not the one who doesn't believe I don't deserve to be alive," Ymir responds, swallowing.

Yikes. Mikasa glances at Eren, who appears fascinated.

"But you do believe that," Christa insists.

"But I don't act like it," Ymir retorts, tearing off another bite. "You, Christa—you think you don't have any value unless people like you, unless you help people, and guess what, you do. You're a good person and you should own that label, not bury it in your insecurities. I, on the other hand, am not a good person." She shrugs.

What have you done? Mikasa wonders. There's a darkness in Ymir's eyes that she recognizes, a regret and a lack of remorse, the same look that Mikasa sees every time she looks in the mirror.

"You are to me," Christa says quietly, leaning against Ymir's shoulder.

Ymir looks at her with her eyes wide. She hesitates, and then leans down to kiss Christa on the lips.

"Oh my god," says Jean as he approaches. Reiner nods in approval. Christa's face flushes red.

Mikasa glances to Eren, who grins and crosses his arms. Armin's eyes skip through the crowd, over to Annie, sitting alone at her desk.

Mikasa's never been kissed. She remembers those men, how they talked about doing far more than kissing to her, and shudders.

But with someone she trusts… Her heart picks up pace as her fingers trace her own lips. Chapped.

"Attention!" shouts Oruo from the front of the room. "You are all allowed to leave!"

"Did they catch anyone?" Eren wonders.

"I'm guessing not," Mikasa answers, standing closer to Eren. She wonders if he'll grab her hand.

He doesn't. It's okay. Eren's got too much on his mind right now. He doesn't need a girlfriend.

Mikasa grabs a bowl and piles two éclairs in it as she files out of the assembly hall. Levi and Erwin stand by the doors.

"You know, as your friend, I think you should maybe take a risk," Erwin tells Levi.

"What are you talking about?" Levi demands.

Armin drops his pencils. Mikasa kneels to help him.

"You know what I'm talking about," Erwin responds. "You don't take many chances with people."

"People suck," Levi responds. "Not you, though."

Mikasa almost laughs. People are like the world. Cruel, in her experience.

But also beautiful. She watches Eren hand Armin the last of his pencils.

There's always hope, because of people. What else is there to hope in, besides people, as imperfect and cruel as they can be? Even Eren can be nasty sometimes, and yet Mikasa trusts him more than anyone else, save Armin.

"Thanks for taking a risk with me," Levi says quietly.

Maybe I should take more risks, Mikasa thinks, remembering the look in Ymir's eyes, remembering Annie sitting alone.

"Eh, it was a calculated risk. I knew you'd be fine," Erwin says, clapping Levi on the shoulder.


Thanks so much for reading: Up next week: firecrackers. Also Eren visits Carla and Annie decides to play nice.