"Listen up! As all you shit-rags know, the athletics festival is well on its way. As such, I will take the next two Physical Ed classes to assess your skills and choose our homeroom's representatives." Shadis paced back and forth as he lectured his students.

There was an unusual wave of energy over the class, one that made Christa feel a bit uneasy. She was standing next to Ymir who was exuding the same energy as the other students, surprisingly hanging on to every word Keith said with anticipation. She jabbed the taller girl in the side.

"Ow, the fuck Christa?" Ymir hissed discreetly as not to attract Keith's attention.

"Sorry."

"Well, what is it?" Ymir returned her attention to Keith but still offered a listening ear to Christa.

"Is it me or does the entire class, including you, seem extra intense right now."

Ymir's head snapped to look down at Christa incredulously. "You mean you don't know?" Christa shook her head. "Well, I guess I should expect that from a new kid, but even so, your friends look like they got the idea already." Ymir pointed over to Connie and Sasha, Connie wearing an unmistakable grin of excitement and Sasha surprisingly paying full attention to Keith. Christa still didn't understand though, and Ymir could see that. She sighed and placed a hand on Christa's shoulder, sending a wink at her. "You're about to see the true nature of class 104."

Keith cleared his throat aloud, apparently having caught Ymir's conversation. Ymir stood back at attention but was still grinning.

"Now then, as I was saying, today I will be recording times for the sprints. With whatever time is left, I will test all those interested in the field events. Students who will endure the long distance races will get their chance during next week's class. Every student must try out. No exceptions. Any questions?" Keith looked around for a moment, the energy becoming even more tense around him. He grinned a sinister grin. "Good. Now then, class ranks are officially reset."

Christa jabbed Ymir again and, after receiving an irritated glare from the other girl, echoed, "Class ranks?"

"Shh."

Christa was surprised Ymir shushed her, but when she opened her mouth to protest it, Keith's voice easily overpowered hers.

"When your name is called make your way to the track! Until your name is called, plant your ass in the grass and shut up!" Keith waited until all the students were sat in the grass. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin gathered next to Christa, ignoring the look Ymir shot them. "In no particular order, I will have you race in pairs to save time. We will begin with Annie Leonhardt and Armin Arlert."

Armin immediately looked over at Annie who showed no concern whatsoever. She only stood silently and began to make her way to the track. Eren snickered as Armin followed Annie's lead and stood.

"Don't get slaughtered too bad out there." Eren caught his friend's hand with a grin.

Armin walked to the track like he was walking to his death, Annie already down and in the ready position. Eventually, Armin joined Annie in the starting position, sweating slightly. He looked over at Annie with a shaky smile. "You mind taking it easy on me?" He laughed nervously, unsure of how the blonde would respond.

Annie looked over at him stoically. She didn't say a word. Returning her gaze to the paved track, she let out a breath. Armin was concerned at what that meant, but noticed that Keith was already in position to start the race, so he didn't bother asking her.

"Right now I'll be taking two individual times for each runner, one will be taken half way around at the 200 meters mark and another after a full lap, 400 meters around." Keith explained with his stopwatch in hand.

On Shadis' call, the two shifted, and when the shot was sounded Annie immediately lifted off, Armin starting about a second or two behind, stumbling slightly. The gap between them was clear and gradually grew wider. By the time Annie was finished, achieving times of 24.16 and 56.40 and waiting near the finish, Armin had only recently passed the 200 meter mark, receiving a time of 53.39. Shadis grumbled to himself as Armin continued to struggle along the track, watching the boy pick himself up as he approached the finish but fell for the second time since he started running. Keith didn't bother to record Armin's finish time, much to the boy's dismay, making it clear that he didn't want the blond boy to touch the track for any athletic race.

As Armin skulked back over to his friends, Eren gave him a sympathetic pat on the back and offered a smile. Meanwhile, Mikasa's focus was on Annie as she passed the group. Mikasa stood when Annie was just two steps away from her and looked at her through narrowed eyes. "You slowed down during the last few meters.", she accused.

Annie looked at her, unimpressed. She sighed as if she felt like she was about to waste breath. "It was a pointless run.", was her excuse, speaking as though it was totally obvious. "Why waste precious energy on something pointless?" Annie turned and walked away, not giving a single care for the dirty look Mikasa gave her. She returned to her seat with Reiner and Bertholdt, the latter welcoming her back with a smile while Reiner scolded her for the same thing Mikasa pointed out. It was obvious she tuned Reiner out though.

Christa couldn't help but notice the interaction between the two, but when she turned to Ymir to ask about it, Armin already began explaining it to her. "Don't mind those two, they're always competing, but Annie never likes to put much effort into anything and it really makes Mikasa angry." Armin felt his stomach flip when Mikasa glared over at him, causing him to almost regret opening his mouth.

Eren never seemed to notice such things though, mainly because such looks were never directed at him. "Of course, she has the right to be mad. I'd be pissed too if my rival didn't give it their all, it's like you're being made fun of.", he tightened his fist in frustration.

"Is that how it is? I don't think Annie was trying to make fun of Mikasa though." Christa placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully. When she realized how the others were looking at her she became a bit frantic to explain her point. "What I mean is that, while I admit she noticeably slowed down, she only did so when Armin fell down the first time."

Eren's eyes widened and he immediately turned to Armin. "Is that really true?"

"Well, I was down at the time, plus I wasn't really looking at Annie, I was more focused on my own running the whole time." Armin scratched his head with a small chuckle. "I didn't even realize she slowed down. But I admit I was surprised she was still on the track when I got up."

Eren looked over at Mikasa for an answer but the girl looked off to the side, her eyebrows furrowed. Eventually Eren gave up and decided to take Christa's word for it. He honestly didn't notice that at all and was impressed at Christa's observation skills.

Christa smiled. "Yea, maybe she was making sure that Armin was okay." Armin blushed over slightly.

Suddenly, Christa felt a heavy palm rest on her head and ruffle up her hair. She turned to pout at Ymir, who was grinning at her mischievously. "You only ever see the good in people don't you shorty? Not everyone's as sweet as your eyes make them out to be."

"And not everyone's as bitter as you make them out to be."

Ymir snorted as she laughed at Christa's comeback, earning a small shove from the shorter girl.

Shadis called off the next pair, Mina and Hannah. Christa hadn't talked to those two much, so she didn't bother to watch them. Instead, she took the time to chat with Ymir and hopefully improve their relationship before the athletics festival. Maybe she could even learn a few of Ymir's likes and dislikes.

"Still though, Annie is amazingly fast." Christa marveled, hoping to spark conversation. "If she was holding back, I'd love to see her actually putting her heart into it."

"That's the school's number two for you." Ymir breathed, somewhat bored with the topic already.

"Oh yea, I was supposed to ask about that. What's with that class ranking thing Keith mentioned?"

"Well, this is a military run school, so rankings aren't solely based on academics here. We're ranked according to the amount of points we rack up over the school year, and points are earned by participating in the different school events." Ymir explained, fidgeting and taking breaths in between as if it was too much of a bother to say. "Our class has always held the top ranks. That's why this homeroom is so special and also why I wonder how you got mixed up here."

"Hey!" Christa was offended. "I have you know I was the fastest in my class at my old school."

Ymir snickered. "Wow, I feel sorry for them if that's the case."

"Ymir!" Christa flicked the girl's freckled nose, earning a scowl. "I may not be on Mikasa or Annie's level, but I bet I'd be able to compete with you though."

"Oh," Ymir eyed her, suddenly becoming very interested. "Is that so? Care to make good on that bet?"

Christa swallowed. Something inside shouted out to her and told her to reject Ymir's offer and drop it, but she kept it down. She wasn't prepared to back off. If she did, Ymir would never take her seriously again, she feared. "Fine."

"Perfect. Loser has to perform three orders issued by the winner." Ymir grinned as she mused, "I won't cash them in right away after I win. I'll keep them 'til they really come in handy."

"What makes you so sure you'll win?" Christa teased.

Ymir grinned but just as she was about to open her mouth, she heard Keith calling the students to attention. "Next up is Christa Renz and Mikasa Ackerman."

Christa looked at Mikasa as she stood up without a word, then looked back over at Ymir. Ymir winked at her, "Go show off Miss 'Best Runner At Her Old School'."

"You suck at naming." Christa commented as she got up and followed Mikasa, who waited on her before entering the track.

They both got into the starting position and were off at the shot of the gun. The gap between them wasn't as bad as with Armin's race, but it was still very much present. Christa worked hard not to fall behind too much, and in contrast Mikasa looked like she was barely breaking a sweat. In the end, Christa was completed about nine seconds behind Mikasa, finishing at 59.14, just barely under a minute.

When she was finished, Christa could barely stand, pushing herself to the brink to avoid having to owe Ymir for that bet. She could only imagine what Ymir would ask her to do. By the time the freckled bully was finished, she might not be able to show her face in school again. All this was on Christa's mind as she ran. Now, she was sweating puddles and could barely walk back over to her spot where Ymir awaited her with a smirk, but still Christa was satisfied with her time and fully believed she was safe.

The two awaited Ymir's name, watching the various match-ups Keith had concocted. When Connie heard his name called, he immediately launched up, already expecting victory despite the fact he was set up against Eren. It didn't matter to him that they weren't actually competing with each other and these weren't actual races. As far as he was concerned, as long as someone else was on the track with him, he had to compete with them. As such, he took his defeat three times as hard as anyone else, despite the fact that they both had very good times. In fact, it hurt him even more to realize he only lost by a little less than a second. Right after, Jean made his way to the track, paired with Marco, and was able to beat Eren's time, again by less than a second, but he still felt the need to gloat about it. It wasn't long before the two were gripping each other and rolling around in the grass exchanging blows, and it wasn't long after that that Shadis punished them both, sending Jean to be counseled by Hanji, and Eren to Levi. They both left hesitantly. Next was Reiner and Franz, and Christa found herself in a cheering competition against Hannah. Reiner finished first, but Franz and Hannah didn't seem to mind once they got lost in their own world as they usually do together.

It was obvious that the class couldn't care less about the fact that these were not actual competitions, mainly because the students themselves were all incredibly competitive in their own individual ways. Christa figured that this was what Ymir meant by 'the true nature of class 104', but she'd be lying if she said that she didn't find it fun to see everyone compete. Even Dazz tried his hardest in his run with Bertholdt, but after getting too close and eventually blacking out and landing against Bertholdt's back, was carried the rest of the way and then all the way to Hanji's office, Bertholdt not stopping for a second but getting Keith's permission first.

Finally, there were only two more people left. "Lastly, I'll have the two most troublesome students. Ymir and Sasha, get your asses here on the double."

"You didn't say that to anyone else." Ymir smirked as she stretched, preparing for her long awaited run.

"That's because I hate you.", Keith answered. Sasha was already on the track when Shadis walked up to her. "Both of you.", he growled in her face.

"What did I even do!?" Sasha sobbed aloud, Keith ignoring her as he stood on the side.

Ymir shown of arrogance as she got into the start position. She looked over at Sasha with a smirk. "Try not to choke on my dust newbie."

"At least call me by my name." Sasha grumbled.

"My bad, try not to choke on my dust, Potato-girl."

Sasha launched up. Keith blew his whistle and shouted, performing both right next to her ear of course. "Braus! Back in the starting position!" She complied quickly, rubbing her ear in hopes it would stop the ringing.

Meanwhile Christa rolled her eyes from her place on the grass, already guessing by Ymir's face and Sasha's reaction what the taller girl said, and already preparing how she would tell Ymir off when she finished. I could probably use one of those orders to finally make her apologize to Sasha.

A touch on her shoulder brought Christa out of her thoughts and she looked slightly behind her to meet Mikasa standing there, she and Armin just returning after escorting Eren to Levi's office and getting some water. Mikasa passed her a bottle before taking a seat right next to her.

"You seemed like you were trying really hard when we were running. Sorry I didn't hold back."

"Oh no, I wasn't trying to compete with you, that would be a lost cause. You're an amazing athlete Mikasa!"

"Thank you." There was a small smile on her face. "Then why were you trying so hard if you weren't competing?"

"Well," Christa took a sip of water from the bottle Mikasa brought her, grateful for the cool liquid. "Ymir and I had a bet to see who would get a better time for-"

Mikasa's eyes widened slightly. "You made a bet with Ymir on this?"

Christa was taken aback, nodding hesitantly and wondering what kind of trouble she may have just gotten herself into.

"She took advantage of you because you're new and didn't know any better, but Ymir is actually ranked third overall in school athletics." Mikasa explained, though there was a trace of anger lacing her words, most likely directed at Ymir.

Christa couldn't believe it but sure enough, she looked back over at the track just as Ymir finished and her time was called, 52.48. Sasha finished six seconds after, something that obviously shocked Shadis.

"I thought a glutton like you wouldn't even make it to the finish, much less finish in under a minute.", his voice was surprisingly quiet.

Sasha felt flattered and took pride in the fact that she was able to impress Shadis. She hoped that now not only will his, but the other students' opinions of her, change. She tightened a triumphant fist as she responded to him. "I eat for energy!"

"Don't expect that means you can eat during my class!" Keith yelled at her. He also approached Ymir. "You also surprised me. I didn't expect you to take this seriously. That was a personal best wasn't it?"

"It was." Ymir spoke matter-of-factly. "You can say I had a bit of extra motivation this time around.", she looked over at Christa, the shorter girl now feeling a heavy lump in her throat while Mikasa gave Ymir a deadly stare. She paid the black-haired girl no mind because as far as she was concerned, this was between her and Christa.

Ymir strolled back over to Christa, the blonde looking far gone. Noticing the water bottle in Christa's hand, Ymir snatched it to quench her thirst, snapping Christa out of her self-induced trance.

Mikasa stood up, looking like she was preparing to fight Ymir, the brunette obviously not about to back down if that were the case. At the last minute though, it seemed like Mikasa changed her mind and sat back down, maybe deciding it wasn't worth it. Ymir huffed, but sat down as well. The two sat on either side of her and the tenseness they now created was a bit suffocating for Christa.

Christa clapped her hands together, coming up with an idea to break the intense silence. "Wow Ymir, you really didn't seem like the athletic type. That was surprising." Her voice was obviously forced and it was far from convincing as a casual conversation starter, but the other two girls didn't seem to care. In fact, they both jumped on the topic.

"When she's always skipping physical ed., of course she would 'appear' to be a slacker." Mikasa spoke nonchalantly, irking Ymir with her sarcastic emphasis on 'appear'.

"We don't all get a kick out of showing off every second we can, overdoing everything." Ymir taunted, knowing exactly how to push Mikasa's buttons. "Maybe you should be like Annie and conserve some energy for once. Maybe then, you won't bore us to tears. And maybe, Eren might look at you as something other than a monster."

Christa could see the anger absolutely boiling up in Mikasa. Almost too quick for anyone to respond, Mikasa stood and cocked her arm back, fully intending to knock Ymir out. Thankfully, Annie had been passing at the time and stopped Mikasa's fist by grabbing the girl's arm. When Mikasa locked eyes with her, Annie shook her head, then let Mikasa's arm go. The black haired girl was still angry though, and it wasn't until she looked at Christa's face that she calmed down. Well, calmed down enough to abandon the idea of throttling Ymir right now. Instead, she puffed out a gust of wind and left, the bell sounding not too far after.

Keith cursed under his breath. "Tell ya what, all those interested in field events can meet me after school sometime this week. I'll have the official list of events in time for lunch registration. Until then, dismissed!"

When Ymir got up, Annie stopped her. "You should stop picking fights. I'm tired of breaking them up."

"Then stay out of it next time." Ymir spat. Her face screwed when Christa pinched her arm as hard as she could muster. "Shit, that hurt!"

"Good! You'll get something worse next time you pull a stunt like that. What were you thinking?"

"What was I thinking? She started it!" Ymir twisted when the jolt from Christa's next pinch ran through her system.

Annie looked over at Christa, slightly amused at the way she disciplined Ymir. When she caught sight of the other blonde staring, Christa let go of Ymir, embarrassed at her own behaviour. "Thanks for stopping Mikasa just now, even though Ymir needs a good punch."

"Hey! I can hear you ya know!"

"Shush!" Christa hushed her, using both her hands to pinch Ymir this time. She continued to thank Annie. "If you weren't around, who knows how big that would have gotten."

Annie nodded but didn't offer any words. Instead she made her way to her next class, leaving the two to bicker for some time before realizing they had to go to their class too. Halfway into rushing, mostly on Christa's part, there was the acceptance that they were both bound to be late for their next class, history with none other than Principal Erwin Smith. He would not let them off lightly.

Or so they thought.

When they arrived to class, Principal Smith was already getting into the lesson. Anyone that has ever sat any class taught by him would know that it is a deathly mistake to miss even a small portion of his lesson because of the massive amount of notes he gives. Normally, teachers that give piles of notes in class would only test on a small bit of it, but not Erwin. Every detail he gives in class is likely to end up on a test or pop quiz. There is no such thing as useless information to him. So when Christa and Ymir arrived to his class late, he didn't bother interrupting his lesson to scold or punish them, because catching up was enough of a punishment. So, with a nod, he permitted them to take their seats.

They grabbed the last two seats in the back, Ymir taking the one by the window. It was a similar arrangement to their homeroom.

As Christa diligently took notes and attempted to understand what was being said while at the same time try to figure out what she missed, Ymir simply laid her head on the desk, groaning as she wrapped her arms around it.

"What are you doing? You better start taking notes or you'll fail!" Christa whispered with urgency.

"Don't wanna." Ymir whispered back a simple reply. "My arms are sore."

"Who's fault is that?"

"I certainly didn't pinch my own arms!" Ymir hissed.

"If you two don't mind please." Erwin caught Christa's attention.

"S-Sorry sir!" Christa apologized and returned her attention to her notebook, but not without noticing as Ymir turned to look out the window.

Just when Ymir was about to drift off into her own thoughts, she felt something hit the back of her head. She looked over at Christa with a scowl but the girl pointed to Ymir's desk, where a balled up piece of paper laid. Ymir looked at Christa questionably as she took the wad in her hand, but Christa just continued to record notes.

Curiously Ymir opened the paper to read the scribbled message from her neighbor.

I'll lend you my notes after class. You better study them.

Below the message was a small doodle of a smiley with it's tongue sticking out, "Badly drawn and misshapen." Ymir noted with a small laugh to herself. She looked over at Christa again who seemed to watch her read the message and who also smiled then looked away when their eyes met.

Ymir returned her gaze to the window, but for some reason she couldn't stop smiling and she couldn't think straight, and she wasn't even sure why!

~oOo~

Author's Note: I don't know if it was the athletics or what, but I enjoyed writing this chapter a little more than usual. Probably cuz it got so fluffy :3 Don't forget to leave your comments, I really like hearing from you guys :) Next week, I go back to school to learn and junk -.-' I'll still be updating though!