Ten Steps at a Time

by Kikiwannabanana

Hi this is a fanfic I wrote when I was 16 in 2015. I'm now 21 and got into talking about JeanMarco with the people who are close to me nowadays and decided to revive this. It's a modern art college au JeanMarco fanfiction. I hope you enjoy, and please go easy on me for the writing. This was 6 years ago hehe. Also TW for EDs, just in case.

25. Ten Steps at a Time CH 15 (Jean)

We had to get back to Coirtney that saturday and Marco's mom and dad drove us to the airport after we said goodbye to everyone. When we got to the airport, both of Marco's parents got out and pulled our bags out of the back. Then they both hugged Marco. Camelia then hugged me and said, "I hope you can visit again, Jean." "I'm sure I will, Mrs. Bodt." I responded. "Camelia." She corrected. I smirked, "Right." Then Marco's dad shook my hand, "Nice to meet you, Jean." He said, smiling, "Take care of Marco." I nodded and smiled. Then Marco and I were on our way to our flight. This flight was pretty much just as boring as the first one. Marco went to sleep but he didnt wake up until the flight was over, so I had to sit there the whole time, basically, alone. When we got off of the plane in Pennysylvania at around seven and got our bags, we headed down down the escalator and saw Connie and Sasha waiting for us. "Hey!" Connie said, hugging me and patting my back. "Hi, guys!" Marco exclaimed. Sasha hugged Marco then we switched and Sasha hugged me as Connie greeted Marco. The four of us started heading back to Coirtney. Marco and I in the back, Connie driving, and Sasha in the passenger's seat. "So, Pixis forgot about Secret Santa so now it's New Years Secret Santa." Connie said. I groaned, "Dammit... I was happy we werent doing it. I got friggin Bertholdt last time. I cant work with that." "I think that sounds fun." Marco said. "Of course you do." I smirked at Marco. He smirked back, "Hey! I'm offended." I grinned, "You're a nerd." Marco rolled his eyes, "Right." "So!" Sasha started, "Anything interesting happen over the break?" Connie looked in the rearview mirror and wiggled his eyebrows at us. My face got hot and I looked at Marco. Marco smiled softly at me and said to Connie, "I found out that Jean doesnt like dogs." "Oh yeah. He hates them. My dog is the devil, apparently." Connie said. I grinned, "That thing peed on me, Connie." He laughed, "She pees on everyone! It means she likes you!" I laughed, "Dude! What the fuck? It does not!" Connie just laughed more. I shook my head. "You're an idiot." I said. "Hey!" He exclaimed. "Dont be rude to your chauffeur." I rolled my eyes, "Dude, I could pay for a limo." "Why didnt you, then?" I smirked, "Because you're a good friend who I dont have to pay." I saw Connie smirk in the rearview mirror. "But." Sasha said, "Did you two get anywhere?" Her suggestive tone made me feel flushed. Marco laughed softly, "You're funny." Thank God Marco was here to cover us both. I sighed with releif. Man...

When we got back to campus, Connie and Sasha helped us get our things to our dorm. We were starting to unpack when I said, "Can I have that bed?" I pointed at Marco's bed. "Why?" He said, "Because I was nice and gave you the good one but now I want it." Marco laughed and said, "I dont care. Take it. Whatever." "Yesss!" He grinned at me then came over and hugged me close. I smiled, hugging him back and tangling a hand in his hair. "You are just obsessed with hair..." He said to me. I smirked a bit, "I guess so..." I said. He kissed my cheek. I pulled away from him but he held onto my hands. "No." I saaid, "I have to unpackkk." Marco just pulled me back to his chest, smiling. I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Marcooo." "You're warm, Jean." I sighed. "You are, too, but I gotta unpack." He nuzzled his face into my neck. "God. You're so grabby." He chuckled into my neck, "Aw c'mon. You know you like it..." I did like it but I had things to do. "Marco." "No. Please." I groaned, "You're the one being fucking needy now!" He laughed, "Dont care." Suddenly, the door burst open. I pushed away from Marco quickly and Reiner yelled, "I SAW IT!" "Noo!" I yelled. Marco laughed, "I dont care. Go tell the world, Reiner!" Marco said. "Dude!" I exclaimed. Marco pulled me close to himself. I pushed against him, "Get the fuck off!" He let me go but Reiner was already running down the hall screaming, "JEANMARCO IS OFFICIAL!" I went limp in Marco's grip and groaned. Marco chuckled softly and let me go. I ran to the doorway and tried to think of which way this idiot ran. I couldnt see him when Marco had me in his grip, "It's too late, Jean. He's already yelled it." Marco said, "I can still beat him up!" I exclaimed. "Jean, he's going to kill you if you try that." "No he wont! You forgot, I've been tackled by this guy!" I saw Reiner at the end of the hall, talking to Bertholdt. I then made my way down the hallway to the left. Reiner saw me coming down the hall and he hid behind Bertholdt. Bertholdt looked horrified. I tried to get past Bertholdt but he didnt let me. Then Annie came out of nowhere and pulled me to the floor. I fell on my back. I tried to jump back up and go for Reiner again but Marco grabbed me and held me back. "You look like you're gonna rip my head off!" Reiner exclaimed, coming out from behind Bertholdt. "I am!" I yelled, "I will when Marco lets me go!" "Jean. No." Marco said. "Question." Reiner said to Marco, "How do you date someone so hot-headed?" Marco laughed softly and I rolled my eyes, "Whatever!" I said, "You cant just go and yell something that someone doesnt want you yelling! The only reason why I didnt stop you from yelling it was because Marco delayed me by holding me back for ten seconds!" I growled. "I'm sorry..." Marco said softly in my ear, "I shouldnt have done that..." I sighed and gave up, stopping my struggling. Then I ripped away from Marco and went back down the hall towards our dorm. Fuck these guys. I continued unpackingg and was almost done when Marco came back in and closed the door behind him, "Jean. I'm really sorry. I didnt mean to hold you back. I was just being my normal 'grabby' self." I sighed, "You owe me now." He smirked, "Whatever you want." "You also owe me from the first time we met and I helped you find your studio." I said, putting the last of my clothes away and putting my boards that held the peices I'd taken with me over the break, on my desk. He laughed softly, "Right, Jean... But I'm seriously sorry." "It's okay, Marco." Suddenly, I remembered Marco's Christmas present. "Oh, shit! Marco!" Marco looked at me. "I have to show you something!" I grabbed his arm. "Right now? But I'm still unpacking." I really didnt care. "Come on! You can do that later!" Marco sighed and looked at me, contemplating. "Please? Come on." I said. "Okay okay." He said. I grinned, "Hell yes! Grab your studio key!" "My own studio key?" I nodded. Marco raised an eyebrow and went to his desk to get his studio key out, "C'mon. Let's go." I said, grabbing his hand and heading out into the hall. "Ahh! He's back!" Reiner yelled from down the hall. I smirked and closed and locked the dorm door behind us. I then headed down the hall, pulling Marco along. "Jean, what is this?" I just grinned, "Come on. Trust me."

We walked past Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie to get to the stairs. Reiner was screaming as we passed. I lead Marco outside and we trudged through the snow towards the studio building. "Jean. I'm genuinely scared." Marco said. I laughed, "Why?" I asked, "Dont be. It's good." Marco laughed softly, "Okay, Jean." We went into the studio building and down the hall to Marco's studio. I turned to him and felt my face get hot. Dammit now I was embarassed, "Erm... So, I got you something for Christmas..." I looked down. I refused to look Marco in the eye, "but it was too big to bring to your house so... I left it in your studio..." "Jean... That's so sweet. You didnt have to do that..." I felt my face get hotter, "I wanted to, though..." Marco pulled me into a hug and I hugged him back and mumbled, "You havent even seen it yet..." I ran a hand through his hair. He chuckled softly, "I dont have to see it... It's the fact that you got me something... Jean, I'm gonna feel like crap because whatever your present to me is, mine to you is going to be inferior..." He got me something? What? "Marco you seriously didnt have to do anything for me. I dont want you to waste money on me. A peice of art from you would be perfect..." He shrugged, "It's okay." This idiot. He was too frickin nice. I pulled away from him and he was smiling then he unlocked and opened his studio door. He went in and scanned the big room before his eyes landed on the wheel. "Oh my God you're crazy, Jean." He said as he went over to it. I smiled, walking in and heading over to him. He had the biggest fucking grin on his face. "Jean, this is so nice of you..." My face got really hot and I looked down, shoving my hands in my pockets. Now came the real hug. He hugged me tightly and I grinned, hugging him back. "You're ridiculous, Jean. How much money did you spend on this?" I laughed softly, "Um. A lot. But it's okay. Like I said, I have money coming out of my ass. It's fine." "You should get that checked out." He responded, nuzzling his face into my neck, "No hair touching this time?" He asked me, "Can I touch yours'?" He started lacing his fingers into my hair and I smirked softly, "You can touch it if you want to. But you're the only one allowed to touch it." He chuckled softly, "I'm okay with that." He said. He looked at me and smiled, bumping our noses together then kissing me. I smirked and kissed him back. But I pulled away from him when the kiss started getting more heated. Too embarassed. I knew my face was really red. Marco raised an eyebrow at me when I suddenly pulled away. I cleared my throat. "... Is there a problem?" Marco asked me. Goddammit this was going to be freaking awkward. I shrugged a bit, refusing to look at him. It was quiet. "You know you dont have to be embarassed, right?" He said, stepping closer to me and grabbing my hands. "Yeah." I said, "Doesnt mean I'm not." Marco made a humming sound, "I understand." He said, "I want you to be as comfortable as possible." Shit. He was so frickin kind. I felt like I was being selfish... I would need to learn how to not be so embarassed. We were dating now. D-A-T-I-N-G! And that involves cuddles and huggles and kisses, bitch. I just had to learn that. I'd had boyfriends and girlfriends before but cuddling was never my thing. I looked at him. He was smiling. "Thank you for getting me the pottery wheel. I really appreciate it, Jean..." I smiled back, "No problem. Now what did you get me?" Marco laughed a bit, "I got you shoes. You're welcome." "Are they Uggs?" Marco just stared at me, grinning. I laughed, "Holy shit they are, arent they?!" Marco laughed, "Yes they are! But the other pair are boots. So dont worry. I didnt just get you Uggs." I was dying! I was perfectly happy with just the Uggs. "Oh my fucking God!" I exclaimed, "Amazing!" Marco was laughing softly. "Are they back at the dormroom?" Marco nodded. "Let's go!" I then ran out of the studio room. Marco grinned and came out of the room and I ran down the hall, not waiting for Marco to close and lock the door. "Hurry up!" I heard him laugh down the hall. I stopped and waited for him at the door leading outside. Marco made his way down the hall and smirked at me. The two of us made our way back to the dorm building. And we were heading to the stairs when Ymir called us from the couch with, "Yo! Guys!" I didnt trust this person. I was going to pretend not to hear her but Marco, being the nice guy, went over to her. I rolled my eyes and followed him. "Hey, Ymir." Marco said, "Hi Christa." Christa smiled at him. "And how are you, Jean?" Ymir asked, giving me a smirk. I just glared at her. Marco elbowed me and when I looked at him, he was giving me an understanding smile. I had to be the bigger person. So I sighed and forced a smile in Ymir's direction, "ai'm good. How are you?" Ymir nodded, "Just fine. Anything different happen over the break?" "Other than Marco and I starting to go out? Nope." Ymir narrowed her eyebrows, "You guys are dating now?" "Oh I'm so happy for you!" Christa exclaimed. "Since when?" Ymir said. "Since your mom." I answered. Marco covered his mouth, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous what I just said was. "What the Hell does that even mean?" "Im in too much of a good mood to be brought down by you. Now goodbye." I then went back to the stairs and went up to our dorm. I knew Marco didnt follow me because he had to apologize for me being stupid.

Marco soon came into the room, smirking. "Jean. You cant just leave me to deal with the aftermath." He said. I laughed, "That's why you're here, though!" He laughed, too. "Oh really? That's why you're dating me? So I can deal with what you dont want to deal with?" I smirked softly, "Yes." I said, heading over to him, "But, secretly, I'm dating you because I like you a ton." He turned red and smiled. "I like you, too..." He said. I had to make myself do it. But I kissed him breifly. He grinned and I smirked, "Now where are the Uggs?" I asked. Marco chuckled and headed over to the one closet in the room and opened it, reaching up and pulling two shoe boxes down, then setting them on my bed. I walked over and Marco opened both boxes and the Uggs were grey and amazing and the boots were black and went to right above the ankles. They had red rubber soles and they were awesome. "Hell yes!" I exclaimed. Then I kissed Marco's nose. He smiled more than he already was and laughed softly. "Thanks, Marco. You really didnt have to." He chuckled, wrapping his arms around my waist, "I had to. You deserve it." I laughed softly, playing with his hair with both of my hands, "I really dont. I'm the worst... But thanks..." Marco made a humming sound. "I love you, Jean..." My face got really hot and I half smiled, "I love you, too, nerd." Dammit I had to tell him about the weight. I was starting to feel guilty about it… He hadn't picked up anything, to my knowledge. But I still felt bad, I had thought that him not knowing would lift some stress but it just added to it over time… I had to do it soon. Before someone else did.

We started class again on January the fifth, 2015. We were in Pixis' class and he said, "Okay. Everyone line up. We're doing Secret Santa. We'll give presents on Valentine's Day." Then he shook the baseball cap that a bunch of slips of paper were in. I groaned as Marco stood up. Marco smirked and pulled me up. "Oh come on, Jean!" Connie said, clapping me on the back, "It'll be great! Maybe you'll get someone better than last year. No offense Bert!" "None taken." Bertholdt responded. I sighed, "Maybe... You guys can go first." I said, going to the very end of the line. When I finally got up there, Pixis raised his eyebrows at me and shook the hat, smiling. I sighed and took the last name, heading back to my seat and flopping down next to Marco. Marco smiled at me sympathetically. I smirked and opened the strip of paper, reading the name. Fuck. My. Life. "JAEGAAARRRR!" I yelled. And everybody groaned(except for Marco and Connie, who laughed). "Jean!" Pixis exclaimed, "Now we have to do it over again!" Everyone got back up and put their slips of paper back into the hat, grumbling to themselves. I was grinning. And I made sure to be first this time so I'd have more options. After I grabbed my new sheet of paper, I headed back to my seat. I opened the paper and... Jaegar again?! What the fuck?! I slammed my head on the table, groaning. Marco came and sat down and whispered to me, "Who'd you get?" I slid my paper to him and he looked at it, sighing. "I'm sorry, Jean..." He said. I shook my head, "Whatever... I'll get him a good present." "Jean. Dont be mean." Marco warned. Jaegar wouldnt even know what hit him. "Okay!" Pixis started, "Listen up everybody!" I lifted my head up to look at Pixis. "We will be doing a life drawing starting next month. I bet you all remember that from your freshman foundation year. I think they do that at Mattheius, too." Marco nodded a bit. "But. We need a volunteer. And we dont have anyone yet." Pixis said, "Does anybody in here want to do it at all?" Everybody was silent. "Marco should do it!" Sasha suddenly yelled. I grinned then raised my hand, "I second that!" Marco gasped, "Noo!" He exclaimed, his face turning red. "DO IT!" Reiner yelled. Marco covered his face with his hands and shook his head, "No way!" "Bah leave the boy alone, you crazies." Pixis said, "We'll find someone." "Of course you'd second that, Jean!" Eren yelled. I glared at him, "Yeah. Dating much?" It was quiet. "Woah what?" Connie exclaimed, "You're dating?! Why didnt you tell me?!" I looked at him with a "really bitch?" expression. Connie stared at me before sighing, "Right right." He said. "Wait you're dating?!" Eren exclaimed. "No, Jaeger. I just said that for fun." I rolled my eyes. "Anyways!" Pixis exclaimed, "In the meantime, I want you to do a collaboration project. So, get into groups of three and-" "Marco and Sasha!" Connie yelled. Marco laughed softly. I was offended, "Dude!" I exclaimed, "What the hell?!" "I'll be in a group with you, Jean!" Armin said. "And I actually want to work with Jean and Armin, Connie... Sorry." Connie groaned, "Dammit, Marco. Quit being so nice to Jean! He doesnt deserve that." "I second that." I said, raising my hand slowly. Marco slapped my hand down, "Stop that." He said to me. "Go with your group, then!" Pixis interuppted our banter. Armin came over and pulled up a chair, sitting on the opposite side of our table. Connie, Sasha, and Annie were a group. Mikasa, Reiner, and Eren were a group. And Ymir, Christa, and Bertholdt were a group. Armin coming over to our group just ruined the system of normality. "Okay. So." Pixis started, "We will be doing an advertisement." Everyone groaned so just to be annoying I said, "Whooo!" "Shut up, horseface!" Eren exclaimed. I threw a pencil at him and it hit him on the shoulder. "Hey!" He yelled. Pixis threw a pencil at me and it hit me right on the top of my head, "Shut up, Jean. I'm talking." He said. I sighed. "Now. You will be designing an advertisement. And I want it to be for a movie. Any movie at all. You can make up a movie for all I care." I had the perfect idea. "So go ahead and start planning." Pixis finished. I immediately said to Marco and Armin, "Horseman and the Return of the Jaegarnauts." Marco and Armin laughed. "Perfect!" Marco said, "I love that. Armin?" Armin was cracking up and he nodded, unable to speak. I grinned, victorious. Amazing. "We really shouldnt..." Armin said, "But it's too funny to not." "Hell yeah!" "Oh man." Armin said, "Eren is going to be mad." "Dont worry I'll protect you." I said to Armin. He smirked at me. "I'll be right back." Marco said, standing. "Kay." I said. Marco then headed out the door. I sighed softly. "So you two are together now?" Armin said. "Yeah." I said, smiling softly. Armin smiled back, "How is that?" "Great." I said, "I feel really lucky. I dont deserve him." Armin smirked, "Jean, you may think that. But I've noticed you do nice things for people, hoping that nobody will notice. That being said, I still feel like you could use some self-control and I think you need someone like Marco." I smirked, "To help me with self-control?" Armin nodded. "Thanks." "It's just a fact, Jean." He said. I sighed. He was right... Hopefully Marco would rub off on me. So far, I hadnt been rubbed off on by any of my friends or anyone around me so I didnt know what was going to happen. "So how have your counseling appointments been?" Armin asked. "They've been alright." I responded… It was quiet. "Tell him." "I know!" I exclaimed, "Soon! I will soon!" Armin just raised his eyebrows and shook his head in disappointment.

When Marco came back, all we did was work on planning our advertisement. That's basically all we did for the next few days, as well. It wasnt until Friday that Armin, Marco, and I did anything other than that. The groups were really hard at work for some reason. Maybe it was because some of the people didnt really know eachother that well so they felt compelled to not goof around. We were in the commons building on the second floor where all the studying couches and chairs and tables were. It was around five and Marco was about done sketching out what we had decided that we would do. We each came up with an individual sketch then we morphed them together. It was amazing. There was a man dressed in galatic armor in the middle and he had the head of a horse(best pose ever, by the way. He was standing like he was riding a horse of his own). On the left side, there were headshots of robots that had Eren's hair. And on the right were two headshots. One of Armin who was talking into an ear peice and the other of Marco who was half robot, we decided. I couldnt stop laughing for nearly an hour. Armin eventually said, "We've been working almost all day all this week. We should go do something fun." Marco looked at him. "We should." He agreed. "Alright." I said. Marco stretched his back and I half smiled as he said, "What do you guys want to do?" Armin shrugged a bit. "I dont know. You guys hungry?" I asked them. "Yeah." Armin said, looking at me in surprise at suggesting food, "We should go get dinner." Marco smiled softly and shrugged a bit, "Whatever you guys want to do." I grinned, "We should walk." I said, standing up. I grabbed our advertisement, as it had been hanging out in my studio. Marco smirked, "Why are we going to walk?" "For fun." I answered. "Be right back." I then headed downstairs with the paper and went outside, trudging to the studio building and opening my studio door, placing our peice in the room then heading abck out and closing and locking the door behind me. I was about to just leave but I heard talking upstairs(yes, it was that loud. It was a really bad volume to make plans at)and I recognized a voice as Gerald's. I only stopped walking when I heard Marco's name. I raised an eyebrow, turning around and stepping up the first few stairs. My new boots were slightly squeaky but the conversation continued. I narrowed my eyebrows as I heard a voice I didnt recognize say, "... Jean and Marco together now?" Then Gerald say, "Mhm. The douchebag does not deserve Marco. I need to make him see that I'm better for him than-" I stopped listening then. I was actually about to go up the stairs, I was kind of pissed. But I didnt go up. I just decided to ignore it but the next time I saw Gerald talking to Marco, he was dead. I headed back down the stairs and back to the commons building. And, I heard another conversation which I also eavesdropped in on. Marco and Armin were talking. "... Have you been dating for?" Armin asked Marco. "Oh, just a week and a half." "I thought you guys were going to make me feel like the third wheel but you two dont really act much different than before." Armin said. Marco laughed softly. "Oh. Armin, you will never be a third wheel." I then headed up the stairs and Marco smiled at me as I walked over. I half smiled as the two of them stood up, grabbing their bags. I grabbed my own bag then the three of us headed out of the building. "Jean. Seriously." Marco said, taking my hand as Armin walked on his other side, "Why are we walking?" I smiled at him softly, "I just felt like wanting to walk. Now that you're starting to get over your vehicle fear, we havent really walked anywhere." Marco thought for a second then nodded in understanding, "You're right. I forgot that I used to walk everywhere." Sudenly, Marco's phone started ringing and he let my hand go, pulling his phone out of his pocket and answering with, "Hello?" Marco narrowed his eyebrows at what the person was saying then his eyes widened, "Dude! Get the Hell out of there!" Armin and I looked at each other in confusion and the three of us stopped walking. "I really don't care," Marco was saying, "Messing around with that shit is idiotic!" Woah. Marco was cussing? That meant something really bad was happening. I raised an eyebrow. "Thomas Wagner if you do not let this go, I will fly to Texas and make you." Marco was silent then he sighed, "I don't do that stuff anymore, Tom-and don't you dare send me any!" Alright. I kind of knew this was about drugs. What kind? Not sure. I'd have to ask Marco. "Again. I dont care. I dont want you to hurt yourself. I'm gonna hang up now and leave you to your decision. You can text me when you've figure yourself out." Marco then hung up, sighing and looking very worried. "What was that?" Armin asked. Marco shook his head, "My friend, Thomas, at Mattheius did some really really dangerous stuff during high school involving pills and alcohol and we've been lucky enough to get him off of it in the past year but... He found out that he could get some from someone at Mattheius..." Marco shook his head, putting his phone back into his pocket. I narrowed my eyebrows. "Marco." Armin started, "Is he going to be okay?" Marco sighed, shrugging, "I don't know. Hopefully he'll make the right choice. It's not my decision. And i'm in Pennsylvania and he's in Texas so unless I fly there, I don't have any control. Which I might have to fly there in a couple of days if he doesn't do the right thing and it gets bad like before...""You said," I started, "'I don't do that stuff anymore.'" I raised an eyebrow and Marco knitted his eyebrows together, nodding, and smiling guiltily, "Y-Yeah. I stopped doing what Thomas was doing during my sophomore year of highschool." "Marco why did you do all this stuff?" Marco sighed softly and stopped smiling, "Because my sister died..." Goddammit. I groaned, "Sorry, Marco..." He smiled a bit and came over to me, kissing my cheek, "It's okay, Jean." Fuck. He was too nice. "Marco dont forgive me so quickly. I'm fucking rude!" I exclaimed. "Jean dont make this about yourself." Armin warned me. I sighed, "Yeah yeah! Whatever!" Marco smiled softly, his eyebrows still knitted together. "All I can do now is wait. So I'm not going to worry until later on if he does something stupid... Come on." He said, then he put an arm around my shoulder an his other arm around Armin's shoulder and the three of us kept walking. I sighed softly. When we went to dinner and when we came back, Armin said that he knew of this place that overlooked the whole city and we all agreed that we should go up there. So Armin drove Nick(I figured that since I made us walk, Armin could use my car)up to the location and we all got out, the windows to the car still open and the car still on so we could hear the music coming through. The car was driven close to the edge of the cliff we were now on and I climbed up and stood on top of the car. I took in a deep breath and as I looked over the edge of the cliff, I could see the whole city below. The sun was setting so the sky was purple, pink, and yellow. It was really beautiful. Armin climbed up next to me and sat down, sighing softly and smiling. Marco sat next to him and I sat on the other side of Marco, taking in the scenery. Armin took his sketchbook out of his bag and started sketching in it. "Armin, this is cool." Armin laughed softly, "It is, right?" I nodded in response. Marco pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it, tapping away at it after reading a text and smiling softly, "Thomas didnt do it..." He said. "Thank God." Armin said. Marco looked so relieved, "He resisted and didnt get it..." I grinned, leaning over and kissing Marco's temple, "Looks like you made a lasting impression." Marco turned red and directed his smile at me. He leaned forwards and kissed me on the lips gently for a few moments. I felt my face get hot and he pulled away slowly. I half smiled and scooted closer to him. He then pulled me onto his lap, unexpectedly. My face got hotter, "There is no need for this." I said. Marco just laughed softly and wrapped his arms around my waist. I smirked and rested my back against his chest. He nuzzled his face into my neck. "You guys are really cute." Armin said. I smirked at him and he was smiling at us. "Why dont you take a picture?" I said playfully, "It'll last longer." To my surprise, Armin took out his phone and snapped a photo of us. I laughed softly, "Weirdo." I said. Armin laughed, too. Marco made a humming sound into my neck and I reached my hand up to snake into his hair. I heard Armin take another picture and I just rolled my eyes. "Love you, Jean..." He said into my neck softly. "Love you, too..." I responded.

When we got back, it was around eight. I went to bed soon after we returned because I didnt really get any sleep the night before. A few weeks passed and we were basically done with our ad. Marco woke me up on a Wednesday at the normal time but he looked really nice. White button up shirt under a suit jacket plus a tie and nice black dress pants and shoes. I got up, rubbing my eyes and asking, "Why are you dressed like that?" Marco grinned and pulled me close to his chest, "Because that national competition is today. During Pixis' class." I laced my fingers into his hair, "You're skipping class, then?" He nodded and I smiled, "Good luck." I said, "I hope you win." He looked great. He smiled at me, "Can I use your car?" He asked me. I nodded, "Yeah. Of course." "Thank you, Jean." He said. I sighed softly, "You look so good." I said. His face turned red and he laughed softly. "Thank you..." He said. He leaned in to kiss me but I leaned away, "My breath is bad, Marco. You dont want to do that." Marco smirked and pulled me closer then kissed me on the lips. I kissed him back and it seemed too short of a kiss when he pulled away. "You're breath is just fine..." He said, hugging me close. I smiled softly. Goddammit. This man was making me lose my hard personality. I was getting nicer and I couldnt stop thinking about Marco. I thought about him all the fucking time... I was starting to think it was scary. I was losing myself to this person that I was head over heels for... "Marco. Am I getting... Soft?" I asked. He chuckled softly and shook his head, "No, Jean... You're the same as before. Just a lot more compassionate... It's good..." Okay well... If I was the same person to Marco, I guess nothing bad was happening. "I love you..." He said. I smirked, "I love you, too, man..." He sighed, "Jean-" "Sorry. Sorry." I interuppted, "How about: 'I love you, too, babe'?" Marco made this weird sound and I laughed, "What was that?" I asked. He laughed, "Please call me that." I grinned, "Sure." It was quiet then Marco pulled away slightly and I saw him again, looking amazing. I sighed, "God you're so handsome and it's not fucking fair." I said. Marco turned redder and laughed, "Jean. Stoppit... You're just as attractive." I smirked. I seriously doubted that but whatever. I groaned and shuffled into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. When I headed out, Marco was already gone. I really hoped he would win something. He deserved it. I sighed softly and got dressed, then headed to Pixis' class. When I got in, I went and sat with Armin. "Where's Marco?" "He's at an art competition." Armin smiled, "I hope he does well." "Me too." I said, smiling, "He looks really nice. He got all dressed up and shit." Armin smiled. "You guys really are good for eachother." I grinned and felt my face get hot. "I hope so..." I said. Then Pixis started, "So, the dean has asked me to play that national art competition on TV in this class because Marco is in it. So, you can work while you watch." I raised an eyebrow. I didnt even know that it was broadcasted. Such a great boyfriend, right? "Marco's in it?!" Reiner exclaimed. "But that's a senior competition!" I felt really proud, actually. Pixis turned on the TV in the room and changed it to the channel that the competition was on. Another show was just ending then commercials started. "Jean, did you know about this?" Connie asked. I nodded, "Yep." "Then do you know how many representatives from Coirtney there are going to be?" Mikasa asked. Dammit. I felt my face get hot with embarassment, "To be honest, I didnt look anything up about it." Everyone groaned. "Jean you have to make an effort! He's your boyfriend!" Reiner exclaimed. I sighed, pulling my beanie down a bit. "I know! Just give me some time!" The competition started and everyone shut up, watching. There were three or four representatives from each school. Mattheius was there and Hitch was one of the four representatives. She was a junior, too, so she must be great, as well as Marco. Marco was one of three from Coirtney and he looked great. But Gerald was also there. I frowned when I saw him. Dammit. The judges started looking at everyone's work and telling them what was good about the peices and what they could improve on. Then they gave them a score. Marco looked fucking nervous as Hell but he tried to smile and keep his voice from shaking. In the end, Mattheius won overall and Coirtney got third place, which wasnt bad. We all cheered when they said what Coirtney got. And I clapped when Mattheius won because, you know, support. The competition ended soon enough and by that time, class was pretty much over. I headed out of the room with Armin and I texted Marco with, "You did great! Third place is awesome, Marco!" Armin and I went to the commons building to work on our advertisement. Marco had texted me back at that point, "Thank you, Jean. 3" I smirked at the heart shape. Then Marco texted me again with, "Gerald was being weird... He kept talking about you." I narrowed my eyebrows as Armin and i went up the stairs andti the studying area we had claimed. "Why? How was he talking about me?" I texted Marco. "I'll tell you when I get back. You guys in the commons building?" "Yep." "Kay. See you in a bit. Love you." My face got slightly hot, "Love you too, Marco." Armin smiled at me when I put my phone down and I smirked back. Then we started working on the advertisement. Soon, I saw Marco coming up the stairs and he was still wearing the same thing. I smiled and got up, heading over to him and hugging him immediately. He laughed and hugged me back. "God, Jean, you act like you havent seen me in years." "Naw." I said, "I'm just proud of you." Marco pecked me on the lips and my face got hot at the sweet gesture. I grinned and grabbed his hand, walking back over to Armin and sitting back down. Marco sat next to me. "Oh, you guys have a lot done." Marco said. "Yeah." Armin agreed, smiling. Then my brain suddenly remembered Gerald. "What happened with Gerald?" I asked Marco. Armin looked up from the advertisement at the mention of Gerald. "Oh yeah." Marco said, "He was saying things like, 'Jean doesnt deserve you.' And, 'I can make you happy.'" Fuck him. I was gonna kill him. "I'm going to-" Marco interuppted me with, "I told him that he needed to leave me and everyone I know alone from now on because he was being very terrible." Oh... Wow. Okay. He had it under control. But... "I'll still fuck him up!" I exclaimed. Marco sighed and smiled softly, "You shouldnt do that. Violence doesnt need to be used at this point. If he messes with anyone I know and care about, though, you have my permission to threaten him." I groaned, "But I want to beat him up. Not threaten him." Marco kissed my cheek, "Jean. Please listen to me." I sighed... Then nodded. He was right, goddammit... "Hitch also said something to me and I might have to fly to Texas in few days or so..." What? I narrowed my eyebrows at him. He sighed, "Thomas started drinking again." I raised my eyebrows, "Oh man... Okay... Well..." "Why did he start doing that?" Armin asked. "He's just stressed out." Marco said, "And he recently had a death in the family. His grandfather passed away and they were very close." It seemsd like everyone was doing bad shit because somebody in their family died! "Mina and Hitch are trying to help but I have to be there, too." I sighed. I really didnt think Marco deserved this. He shouldnt have to help idiots get back on track... He was clearly worried about Thomas and I didnt think he deserved to be so stressed out. Nobody should make him go through shit like this. "Jean. Would you mind coming with me?" Marco suddenly said. I spluttered, "The fuck? Why?" Marco shrugged, "Maybe you can help?" He said. I grimaced. I didnt want to help Thomas. He was being an idiot by drinking a ton and I didnt understand why anyone would do that. "I'll just be an issue, Marco. I dont get anything, man." Marco knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, "What do you mean?" "I mean-" Armin interuppted me then, "He doesnt get why Thomas is drinking." I rolled my eyes but... It was true. I didnt understand why Thomas(or even Marco)would hurt themselves because somebody died. I mean, I drink but just for fun. And I only get drunk at parties. I was clearly under more control than Thomas considering Marco was goig to fly to Texas! "Well," Marco started, "Thomas is in pain from the stress of school and the death of his grandad and probably from some other things going on in his life. So, in order to feel good, he's drinking." I was really glad that Marco was so nice. Because nobody else(Maybe Armin)would be able to put up with me not understanding shit. I nodded a bit, "Doesnt he know how dangerous that is?" I asked. Marco stared at me and nodded, "Yeah. I did, too. At that point, you just dont care." I understood now. Goddammit. "Yeah. I"ll go with you." I said. Marco smiled softly, "Good." He said.

We "finished"(no peice is truly ever done)our advertisement that evening and Armin said that he would hold onto it that weekend when we would go to Texas. It was Friday now. "We just got back three weeks ago now we're going on another plane." I mumbled, putting some clothes and toiletries into a carry-on bag. We probably wouldnt be there for very long. Marco was doing the same with his packing. To my surprise, he let out an annoyed, exasperated, sigh and turned to me, "Jean you dont have to go if you dont want to." I groaned then it was quiet and Marco sighed again, "Jean. You just need to realize that this is a big deal... You should at least try to act like you car. You need to be nice not to just people who might help you later on. But to eeveryone." Right... I do care about that stuff, dont I...? I always beleived that if I went out of my way for others and it didnt mean that I got anything in return... I shouldnt help... This was definately a mindset that was brought on by my father... But... If I wanted to be with Marco... I looked at his upset expression... "I just dont understand why you have to take time out of your life to deal with this shit." I said. Marco narrowed his eyebrows at me, "Maybe you should just stay here, then. I thought you could learn something by going like being kind but you clearly dont care at all." Oh my God, "Maybe I should!" I exclaimed, "Why do I care about you or your fucking friends and family? Why are we even together!?" Marco was visably hurt and I stepped over to him, got in his face, and said, "Oh right. Because I fucking love you and you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. That's why I care about all that shit, Marco." He looked flabbergasted, "You're such a good person. That's why I think you shouldnt have to deal with things like this. You're the one who deserves to be selfish. Not me. But I know you're not ever going to be like that. And if I want to be with you I have to tone down my own selfish nature. So just ignore me being a socially awkward douchebag and let's go." I backed up and saw him trying to process what I had said. I grabbed my wallet, my keys to Nick, and to the dorm(I really needed a keychain). I went to open the dorm door when Marco hugged me from behind, wrapping his arms around my waist. I sighed softly. "Jean..." He mumbled into my shoulder, "I'm sorry... I just-" "I know." I interuppted, "And your right. I have to be less of an idiot who thinks he's only gonna do nice things for worthless shit later on." Marco let in a deep breath, then gently exhaled it... "Jean... Thomas is not a happy person... That's why he's doing this... I did it, too. For a reason. Not just because we wanted to be idiots... We all know it's not good for your body to drink constantly. Under the right circumstances, if something bad happens... I understand wanting to get drunk that same day... I mean, I'm not condoning it. And you have to deal with the pain eventually and better sooner than later but... I understand it... I did that during the summer when my dad got laid off by one of his jobs... I was so worried about them. But it's dangerous to do it nonstop..." I nodded a bit... I'm such a frickin idiot... So rude and selfish and stupid and just... Worthless. "No you arent." Marco said. And I realized that I had just said all of that out loud. "Jean... Maybe you are slightly selfish and a little brash but... You arent worthless and dont you dare think that you are, either. You're worth a lot to a lot of people, whether you think so or not..." I felt my face get hot. "Marco..." Marco turned me around to face him then he hugged me close. I hugged him back, "You're so fucking nice..." I said. He kissed my shoulder. I nudged him and he lifted his head, looking at me. I pressed my lips against his and let my eyes close. Marco kissed me back, pulling me closer to him. I tangled a hand into his hair and knew that my face was really flushed when the kiss started getting more heated, tongues intertwining. I felt his hands slide into the back pockets of my jeans and my face got hotter. He tasted good... This was a lot less uncomfortable than I thought it would be. We hadnt really had any kisses like this. Marco tried a couple of times but... I was too embarassed. And this time, I dont know why, I just didnt care. Marco pulled away after a satisfying amount of time and I opened my eyes, licking my lips. Marco studied my face and smiled. "C'mon." He said, letting me go and walking past me to open the dorm door. "Wait!" I said. He turned his head to look at me. "One more kiss?" I said. He grinned and rolled his eyes, "Needy." He then opened the door and headed out into the hall. I groaned and walked out behind him, closing and locking the door behind me then jogging to catch up with him, "Marco please!" I exclaimed. He laughed and took my hand. "Why?" He asked me. "Because you're a damn good kisser. Come on." He laughed harder and he turned slightly red. "Jean you're sweet but maybe later." "But Marrccoo..." I groaned. He grinned. "You finally get the balls to kiss me like that then you expect it nonstop." I spluttered at that. "Hey! It took me a while!" He kissed my cheek, "I know. Congrats." He said, letting my hand go and heading down the stairs with me trailing behind him, rolling my eyes.

The plane ride was shorter this time but... It was still boring as fuck. I didnt really do anything. Marco went to sleep, as per usual. When we got off of the plane and Marco turned his phone on, his text tone went off, like, 30 times and he looked really worried as he read the texts but he sighed with relief as he finished them, "Just Mina and Hitch freaking out and asking where I am." He tapped away at his phone and we headed down the escalator. I immediately saw Hitch and so did Marco as he jogged over to her and Mina. I trailed behind, walking. Mina stood as Marco approached, "Oh there you are!" She said as she hugged him. I heard Marco laugh softly and say, "Yeah. I was on a plane, Mina." "Sorry." She said, "I was just worried." Marco nodded and pulled away from her then went and hugged Hitch. Mina came over to me, "Hey, Jean. You know what's happeneing right?" "Oh yeah." I said, "I know." Then Hitch came over and hugged me, "I'm glad you're here, Jean!" She exclaimed. I hugged her back, "Ah. Yeah. Thanks?" She grinned and pulled away, patting me on the head. I rolled my eyes. "Okay! Let's go!" Mina said heading for the door. We all followed her to Thomas' van. "He's not here, is he?" Marco asked. Mina giggled, "No! That'd be bad." She then got into the driver's seat and Hith got into the passenger's seat. Marco and I got in the back. All of us closed our doors behind us and Mina started driving to Mattheius. I was actually really nervous about this... My leg started shaking and I twisted my nose ring... Marco suddenly took my hand. I looked at him and he smled softly, "It'll be alright..." He said. Then he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Yeah yeah." I said, dropping my hand from my nose ring. We eventually pulled up at a giant University and I felt extremely intimidated. Mina parked and the four of us got out. "He hasnt been going to class since Monday." Mina said as we walked through the front door of the big building. It was so gorgeous. Clean and huge and well put together. I was terrified. I kept close to Marco and he held my hand. "Okay..." Marco said, knitting his eyebrows together. "Marco!" A voice exclaimed from down a hall behind us. We stopped ad turned as a guy with short spiky greyish hair and brown eyes, with a very thin face(so thin you could see every feature of his face)jogged over, followed by a guy with short black hair and an undercut with beady grey eyes. They were both smiling widely and Marco smiles back, "Hey, Daz. Tom." "Hey!" Tom exclaimed, "What're you doing here?" Marco chuckled softly, "I'm here to help Thomas out." "Oh yeah." Daz said, "Poor guy hasnt been in class all week." Then they turned their attention to me, "Who's this?" Tom asked. "Ah. This is my boyfriend, Jean. He goes to Coirtney in Pennysylvania with me." Marco said. I grinned a bit and rubbed the back of my head. "You go there, too? Holy shit." Tom said. "Yeah!" Daz exclaimed excitedly, "You guys got third, right? In that competition Marco was in for Coirtney." "Yeah." I said half grinning, "Pretty cool if you ask me." "It is!" Daz exclaimed, "I'm actually thinking about changing schools after that." "Oh my God. Really?" Marco asked. "Yeah. A lot of us are." Tom said. Marco laughed softly, "Everyone just piles in." "It could happpenn!" Tom exclaimed. "That would be so good for Coirtney's reputation." I mentioned and Marco nodded in agreement. "Right?" Tom said. "Well we'll let you get back to it!" Daz interuppted, "Thomas needs some guidance. Good luck, guys." Marco smiled, "Nice talking to you guys again." Then the four of us kept walking. We went outside and towards a building that was next to the courtyard. Clearly, this was the dorm building. The courtyard was gorgeous. Green grass and trees. Plus a fountain in the center and benches scattered around the lot. Gravel paths leading around to each building from the center. It's actually kind of hot. It's the end of January and it's slightly hot here. What? The four of us head to the building and Mina opens the door for us then comes in behind letting the door swing closed behind her. We were standing in a hallway and there were doors to room on the hallway opposite. We headed down the hall towards the stairs to the next floor. The inside of the building had wooden walls with light wooden doors and a red carpet. It was really nice. We went to the third floor of the building and we stopped at a door that said 307 C. Marco sighed a bit, letting go of my hand. "I'm gonna go in and talk to him." Mina nodded. Marco put his bag down next to the window on the opposite wall then knocked on the door. Obviously, it wouldnt be open. The rest of us stepped back. When the door opened after a long while, Thomas looked like shit. He was wearing just boxers and he was pale and had dark circles under his drooping eyes. He was frowning and squinting through the light and his hair was totally messed up. The lock of hair that Thomas has that's longer than the rest is still in a braid, though. "Oh shit..." He mumbled, covering one of his eyes and trying to focus on Marco, "What are you doing here...?" Marco pushed Thomas into the room and went in, closing the door behind him. I realized then that I was holding my breath. I let the air expell from my lungs. Mina sighed softly, "It could be a while. We may as well sit down." Mina then sat on the floor and Hitch followed suit. "Why dont we just go and wader around?" I asked. "If Marco needs us, we want to be here." Mina explained. True... I sat down, as well. This was going to be, hopefully, interesting. "So you and Marco are dating now?" Mina said to me. I felt my face get hot, "Ah. Yeah." I said, twisting my nose ring. She giggled, "He's a great guy, right?" I nodded, smiling, "Hell yeah he is. I dont deserve him. I'm not the best person." Mina laughed a bit. Hitch grinned and said, "I second that." I grinned back. "You know," Mina started, "I used to have a thing for him..." I was surprised, "Oh yeah?" Mina nodded, "Yeah. Hems so sweet and kind and he always knows what to do. Plus he's so talented. But he's, obviously, not into girls so that dream faded when I asked him out in highshool and he said he was gay." Wow. I felt kind of bad for her. I mean, Mina was a sweet and cute girl. "Wow." I said. Marco was an amazing guy who could genuinely have anyone he wanted. "At Coirtney, both girls and guys aks him out whether I'm there or not. And girls give me love notes to pass on to him. I throw those away, though. Fuck those girls." Mina and Hitch laughed. I grinned. Then there was a loud bang from inside the room and we all stopped laughing, looking towards the door... It was quiet... "Think they're okay?" I asked. Mina sighed softly, "Marco will ask if he needs help..." "R-Right.." I said, trying to relax and leaning back against the wall behind me. I sighed. After a little while, there was yelling coming from inside. It was Thomas' voice and Marco was not yelling back. There would be a pause in between each sentence that Thomas would yell where Marco was clearly talking. The yelling stopped soon enough. I was actuay getting really worried about Marco. I knew he could handle himself but... I had to worry. I was his boyfriend. Suddnely, there was a loud scuffling and a banging noise then Marco yelling, "Enough! Stop it, Thomas!" Mina grabbed my arm as I was about to stand and she pulled me back down, "Dont, Jean. He'll ask." She said, her eyebrows knitted together. I let out a shaky breath and sat back down. "Hitch get in here!" Marco yelled. Hitch jumped up as the door swung open from the inside. Hitch went in quickly, slamming the door behind her. After a lot of crashing around, Hitch came out of the room with a ton of bottles of wine, vodka, just alchohol. Everything. Plus some bottles of pills and the door slammed behind here. The sound pf Thomas yelling was obvious and Hitch looked like she'd been to Hell and back and she said to Mina, "Help me get these somewhere where we cam get rid of them." Mina nodded, standing. Then she looked at me and said, "Jean you stay here just in case Marco needs you." "Alright!" I exclaimed. Mina and Hitch ran down the hall and the stairs quickly. Shit. I stood up and prepared myself to go in. It started getting quieter in the room and it was a long while until Mina and Hitch came back. "Did you have to go in?" Mina asked. I shook my head, "Naw... It's quiet now." "Marco has everything under control now..." Hitch said, "We got rid of that stuff." I nodded. The door opened, then. And the three of us looked over. Marco came out sweating, his hair was a mess, and he had a bruise on his jaw. He let out a sigh and closed the door. I headed over to him. "Are you okay?" I asked, grabbed his chin and examining the bruise on his jaw. He let out a deep breath, "Yeah. Everything's okay... We just gotta stay for the next few days. I told him to text me when he wakes up tomorrow morning. We're gonna go out and do some stuff. Okay?" The three of us agreed. "But you didnt answer my question." I said raising an eyebrow. He smiled softly at me, "I'm okay, Jean..." "You've got a bruise here." I said, running my thumb over the bruise. He let out a shaky breath, "I'm fine, Jean." I sighed, pulling away after a few moments and going and handing Marco his bag. He took it and said to Mina and Hitch, "Please watch him. And call me if something happens." Mina nodded and handed him the keys to Thomas' car. "You dont need these? I was just going to walk." Marco said. "Marco, take them. We arent going anywhere." Mina said. Marco smiled softly, "Thanks..." He hugged both Mina and Hitch then Marco and I headed to the front of the University. There was no way I was telling him about the eating thing as long as this was happening. This wasn't about me, right? So I shouldn't, right?