When we got outside, it was starting to get dark. I checked my phone and saw that it was around 5:30 so it made sense that it would be starting to get dark in winter. I sighed softly as we walked through the main building to the parking lot. "Let me drive, Marco." Jean suddenly said. I nodded and handed him the keys. The two of us headed to the van. I got in the passenger's seat and Jean got in the driver's seat. "It sounded crazy from outside of the room." Jean said as we backed out of the parking spot. I smirked, "Well. It was crazy. So yeah. I can imagine." I pulled down the sun sheild and opened the mirror that was attatched to the inside. My hair was completely messed up and there was a bruise on my jaw, as Jean had said. Also, I was sweaty and red in the face. Great. "Wow..." I sighed. "I know." Jean said, glancing at me, "It's kind of hot." I spluttered at that, "Jean!" He grinned. "My God... What the Hell is hot about me looking completely messed up?" I asked, fixing my hair. Jean laughed, "That's why it's hot." I sighed, "Really... I'm done with you." Jean laughed again, "Oh really? You can just leave, then." I grinned, "Nah. I dont want to die by jumping out of a van." Jean smirked and I examined the bruise on my jaw. Then I wiped my forehead with my forearm, closing the mirror and folding back up the sun sheild. I directed Jean towards the closest hotel to the university. We checked in and when we got into our room, I immediately said, "I'm going to take a shower." "Okay." Jean responded, searching through his backpack. I was about to go into the bathroom when I remembered... I turned back around and looked into the room from the doorway, "Hey, Jean?" I asked. He looked at me. I studied his face then sighed. Maybe it wouldnt be a great idea to ask about his weight after all... I mean, Gerald said something to me about it when it shouldnt have been told to me by anyone other than Jean. But. I had to know about it if I was going to keep my boyfriend safe... I sighed softly. I had to think about how I was going to phrase this. "N-Nevermind..." I said. He raised an eyebrow and I smiled, hopefully, reassuringly at him before going into the bathroom. How awkward. I took a quick shower, trying to think of a way to phrase what I wanted to say. It wasnt my place but now that I knew about him potentially having weight problems... I was worried and I wanted to make sure he was okay... I wrapped the towel around my waist as I turned off the shower then went to the mirror. I immediately realized that I had left my comb in my backpack. I'd have to either make do with my hands, or have Jean give me my comb. I attempted to fix my hair but it didn't work. I just couldn't part it correctly without a brush or comb. I groaned a bit. This would be awkward for Jean. I didn't mind since we were dating now but I knew that Jean might. I opened the door a crack, "Jean." I said. "Yep?" He responded from the bed area. "Can you go into my backpack and get my comb for me? It should be in the front zipper." "Yeah. Sure." He responded, coming into view as he went over to my bag. "Actually, just hand me that whole bag." I said, realizing that I didnt want to get back into those sweaty clothes I'd already been wearing all day. Jean picked up my backpack and turned to me, stopping. I knew what he was thinking. He turned pink and looked at the floor. "I'm aware that I am wearing the nakedness." I said, smiling, "Give me the bag, goober." He stepped over to me and handed me my bag. I took it, kissing him on the cheek before closing the door again, leaving Jean there with his own thoughts. I got dressed into sweat pants and a black t-shirt then I combed my hair to it's rightful place. I folded and put my dirty clothes into the backpack. Then I hung the towel on the hook on the door before heading out of the room. I placed my bag down on the ground against the wall. Jean was doing, basically, nothing at all. He was just sitting on the edge of the bed, on his phone. "You're always on your phone." I said. Jean looked at me and smirked, "I am not, weirdo." "Yes you are. Everytime I come into a room where you are by yourself, you're on that thing." "Really?" He asked, "Huh..." I smirked, stepping over to him and taking his phone and earbuds from him. "Hey!" He exclaimed as I tossed them onto the bed behind him. I then wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close to me. He wrapped his arms around my neck and tangled his fingers in my hair, resting his elbows on my shoulders. "I love you." I said. He sighed, "Love you too, I guess." I laughed softly, "What?" "You heard me!" I leaned in and gave his neck a raspberry. He flailed a bit and pushed me away, not expecting it. "What the Hell, man?" He exclaimed, putting a hand over his neck and wearing the most confused face I'd ever seen on him. I laughed, "It was just a raspberry!" He made a weird strangled noise. "No! I do not enjoy that!" "Okay. I'm sorry." I said, still grinning, "C'mere." I held my arms out to him. "No! Get away!" He exclaimed, scooting back farther onto the bed and grabbing his phone. I smirked. "Let's go out for dinner, Jean. I'm hungry." "You arent dressed properly." Jean said, mocking my general nagging about people's clothing choices. I smirked, smacking his leg. He laughed. "I'll put on some jeans." I said. "No. You dont have to." Jean said, "I, literally, do not care." I sighed. "Okay. I think I'd look better but okay." "You always look great, Marco." I felt my face get hot. "You're sweet." I said. He smirked, getting off of the bed and pulling his boots on. "You need to wear those Uggs I bought you." I said. "Naggy!" He exclaimed. I laughed softly. "Naggy Mc Naggerson." He said as I pulled on my own Uggs. "Your face!" I exclaimed. "Wow. Great comeback." He said sarcastically. "Thanks." I replied, smiling at him. He rolled his eyes before walking past me.
The two of us ate dinner and I watched his eating habits. They werent exactly strange. He ate mostly all of his food. Which was reassuring. He checked his phone a lot, though. Which wouldnt have been strange if it werent for the concentrated gaze he gave whatever was on the screen. When he got up to go to the restroom, I tried to decode the lock on his phone to see what was on the screen but I ended up not being able to figure it out soon enough. I felt kind of bad after I tried, too. I didnt want to be that boyfriend that snooped through all my partner's stuff. We went to bed soon after dinner and I woke up at five, just in case Thomas woke up early. I got dressed into my Hawkeye t-shirt and jeans. Anyone who says that Hawkeye isnt the best, I will almost punch them. I swear. Hawkeye is the best and nobody can change my mind about that. Sure enough, Thomas texted me at around 6:45 and I had to wake Jean up. I watched him sleep for a few moments. He was really cute... I gently shook his shoulder and he groaned, effectively cutting off his snore midway through, rubbing his eyes, and rolling over, "Go 'way, Marco..." I chuckled softly and patted his back, "Get up. Thomas texted me. He's awake." Jean groand again and got up relatively quickly then shuffled into the bathroom, taking his backpack in there with him. I smiled softly and texted Thomas back with, "Okay. I hope you got some good sleep. We'll be there in a bit." Then I texted both Mina and Hitch with, "Thomas is awake." And Hitch texted back with, "Yeah. We stayed in his room last night" What? They stayed in his room all night? "Why?" I asked. "We had to keep a close eye on him" then there was a thumbs up emoji. I smirked softly, "Right." I texted, "Jean and I will be there soon." Jean evetually came out wearing skinny jeans and a white t-shirt. Not unusual. I grabbed my green hoodie, which I hated. My hoodie was a bright green. And because of that, it didnt look right on me. But I didnt have any others. I grimaced as I put it on and sighed. Jean looked at me when I did. "You okay?" "I just hate this thing." I responded. "Oh... Do you want to wear mine?" He asked, holding his black Pink Floyd jacket out to me. "And I'll wear that one?" Woah. Why was he doing this...? "Sure." I responded, raising an eyebrow and taking off my jacket, "Why, though? That's so... Giving of you." He smirked, "I guess you're affecting me? I dont know." He handed me his hoodie and I handed him mine. He put my hoodie on and it actually looked really great on him. "It looks better on you." I said, pulling on the Pink Floyd hoodie. He shrugged. "Everything looks good on you, though." I added. He smirked, "Shut the fuck up. I'm a fucking ugly ass motherfucker." "You are not." I disagreed, pulling him close to me, "You're very handsome." He smirked, "Shut the fuck up." That's strange. I recalled that when we first met, Jean was pretty arrogant. And now... He was insulting himself. "You look great, Marco. All the time." He said. I smiled softly, "I'm just one giant commercial. All these logos on me." "Hawkeye isnt exactly an advertisement." Jean said, grinning, "Unless you're advertising uselessness." My jaw dropped. "No. You did not just say that." He laughed. "I'm not talking to you for the rest of the day, Jean." I said, letting him go and going to grab my phone and wallet. "Oh come on! I was joking!" Jean exclaimed, still laughing. "You dont joke about Hawkeye!" I exclaimed, turning to him, "You're dead to me." Jean snorted then covered his mouth. I laughed at that. "And you make fun of me for snorting! Look who's doing it now! Weirdo!" I exclaimed. "You need to stop influencing my life!" Jean exclaimed, grinning, "I have Uggs, Marco! And I was excited to get them!" I kept laughing, "I know, Jean!" "I'm just glad you arent obsessed with fucking Loki or Thor. I'm done hearing about those guys." Jean continued. I shrugged, smiling, "They're attractive. They arent my favorite but they're pretty great." "We need to stop talking about fake people and go help a real person." Jean said, grabbing his own phone and wallet. "Yes!" I exclaimed, "Let's go do that." We got to Mattheius not long after that.
The two of us walked to the dorm building and went up to Thomas' room. I knocked and Hitch opened the door, smiling softly at us. I smiled back, "Hey. Is he alright?" "He's dressed and everything, if that's what you're asking. All three of us are ready to go." I nodded, "Right." We went into the room and Thomas was sitting on his bed, looking somewhat put together. He still looked very tired but other than that, he didnt look bad. "Hey, Thomas..." I said. He just glanced at me. I understood. "Can we talk, man?" He asked me, "Like in private?" I nodded, "Y-Yeah. Of course. You three wait here." I said to Hitch, Mina, and Jean. Then Thomas and I headed out into the hall and outside to the courtyard. We were silent for a bit until Thomas said, "I'm sorry, dude." What for?" "Being annoying, bro." I smirked. "You arent being annoyong. Well, you are annoying. But not for needing help." Thomas grinned a bit at me. "Look. Thomas. I came here because I wanted to help. If I didnt care, I would have stayed in Pennsylvania. I came here on my own accord." He nodded a bit. "And if I can do anything to help my friends, I'm very happy..." Thomas nodded a bit, "Well... Thank you, Marco. I actually really appreciate your help, dude. What are we doing today?" "You havent eaten yet, have you?" He shook his head. I smiled, "Good. We're going out to eat." The two of us then went back into the dorm building. Jean, Hitch, and Mina were outside of the room, talking, when we walked over. "Hey!" Mina exclaimed, "Here you go, Thomas." She then handed him his phone and wallet. "Ah thanks, brah." He said, smiling. The five of us then headed to the main building. "How have you been, Jean, my man?" Thomas asked, clapping him on the back. "Fine." Jean replied, "I'm good." Thomas held his fist out to Jean and Jean obliged, fist bumping him. I smiled softly at the exchange. "Jean made fun of Hawkeye this morning." I mentioned as we all piled into the car, me driving and Thomas in the passenger's seat. The rest of them in the back. "What?" Thomas exclaimed, lookingg back at Jean, "Are you crazy, dude? How much did the punch hurt?" Jean laughed, "I didnt get punched." "Aw man." Thomas said, looking at me, "What the Hell? You punched me when I made fun of him, dude!" I laughed and shrugged, "When was that? Highschool?" "That was last summer, dude!" Thomas exclaimed. I laughed harder, "Oh right!" "Jeez, Marco! Forgetting that you're still a violent motherfucker!" "I am not violent! I try not to be, anyways." "I dunno. You fucked those guys up pretty bad after we went ice skating." Jean chimed in. "Yeah but I did that to protect you. There was no way those guys were going to back down." "You beat somebody up, man?" Thomas exclaimed, "The Hell?" "It was three guys." Jean said. "What?" Thomas exclaimed. I smirked, "Yeah. I did. And I felt really bad afterwards. And so did my ankle." "Dont feel bad, bro! What did they do?" "Jean provoked them because they littered." I said. I heard Jean laugh. "Jean! What?" Hitch said, "That doesnt mean you should go provoke them! It's not that big a deal!" Jean just kept laughing and I rolled my eyes. "It sounds so dumb when you explain it..." "Oh, trust me, Jean, it was dumb while it was happening, too." I said. "What was dumber was what you said to try to cushion the blow for me after I threw that cup at his head." Jean said. I couldnt really remember what I had said... "What was that?" I asked. "You were like, 'I'm sorry about him. He's just really passionate about keeping the environment healthy.'" I laughed. Really? I said that, "Well! That's... Pretty stupid..." "I know!" He exclaimed. "Oh my God, Marco! Really, man?" Thomas asked, "You just... Are ridiculous, bro." I smiled. I was really glad that Thomas was feeling better. I could tell that he was a lot more calm than before. I reached over and gently rubbed his shoulder. He smiled at me and patted my hand before I pulled it away. We eventually reached a restaraunt that I knew Thomas loved. When we sat down at a booth, Jean, myself, Thomas, Mina, then Hitch, I noticed how exhausted Thomas looked. "How much sleep have you been getting?" I asked him. He sighed, "Not much, man. Last night's sleep was the most amount of sleep I've had all week." "Really, Thomas?" I asked. That was worrying. He nodded, "Yeah... I'm sorry." "Dont apologize to me, Thomas. Apologize to yourself. Just sleep more." I smiled softly, "That's how you can make it up to yourself." "You're such a hippie, dude." Thomas said. "Hey! What? I am not." I said. "'Apologize to yourself, maaan...'" Thomas mocked. "I didnt even say it like that!" I exclaimed, "If that's how hippies speak, then you're a hippie." "I dont even talk like that, dude." "Yes you do." Mina said. "I do?" Thomas asked. The four of us nodded. "Goddammit." Thomas said. "At least you arent loud as shit anytime you say anything." Jean said. "Like Reiner?" I asked, "He scares me sometimes." "Who? What?" Thomas asked. "The huge, blonde guy who took you to the common building when you came to Coirtney to visit Marco." Jean said. "Oh yeahhh." Mina said, "He's loud." Hitch looked pretty confused. "Our friend, Reiner, only yells. He cant speak normally. Or whisper. He just yells." "Yep. It's really bad if any of us ever plan a birthday party. He has given us away many times." Jean said. "Example?" Mina asked. "Well. Our good friend Armin's birthday is in November. And we were going to throw a surprise party for him." I started. "And we usually would be able to silence Reiner before he gave it away but Armin is too smart. He caught on." Jean finished. "And it wasnt a surprise party anymore." I said. "You guys need to stop finishing stories for eachother right now." Hitch said. I laughed softly, "But we both know what happened!" Jean grinned a bit. Jean did that thing again where he looks intently at his phone at whatever he was reading. He got up to go to the bathroom. And I didnt want to gossip about it to my friends but... They were close to me. "Guys. I have to tell you something." They immediately turned their attention to me. I gave them a summary of my meeting Gerald and the odd conversations he'd been starting with me. And the ones about Jean's health. Then I told them about my worries about Jean really having weight promblems and I let them know that Jean hadnt actually said anything about it to me. "Well. Do you have any proof?" Mina asked me. The three of them looked a bit worried now. I sighed, "Nope... Did you guys notice anything when you first met him?" Thomas and Mina looked at eachother, "Well..." Mina said, "I noticed he was slim but I just thought that was part of his structure so... And he doesnt look sickly. I mean, he's basically made of triangles, right?" I nodded. Then I noticed Hitch. She wasnt looking at me... "Hitch." I said. Mina and Thomas looked at her. "What do you know?" Hitch was silent then she sighed and looked at me. She had her eyebrows knitted together and her mouth was in a line. "I think you need to wait for him to tell you." "What do you know?" I asked again. "It's not my place, Marco... I thought you would have known by now. But I guess Jean is even more awkward than I remember. You just need to wait. Whatever this Gerald guy is saying, just ignore him. And wait for Jean to tell you what's going on. Okay? Promise you'll do that?" She asked. Darn... "... I cant promise anything, Hitch. But I'll wait." She nodded, understanding. "... You could tell me." "Marco. You know well that that isnt a good idea." I sighed. I knew. "Yeah I know... But I'm worried." "I know you are. But you just need to wait. I'm sure he'll tell you soon." "I tried decoding his phone password because he was looking so intently at it but-" "Stop snooping." Hitch said. I sighed and nodded. "Right. Right... I'll wait..." I felt better after Hitch assured me that I should just wait... I was more calm. And when Jean came back, we all remained quiet about the previous conversation.
The next few days were kind of a blur to me. I planned a bunch of things for Thomas and he enjoyed all of them. We planned to leave on Wednesday and by Tuesday night, Thomas was looking a lot better than he did when I first had come to Texas. When I thought about it, I kind of had missed this place. It was such a long time ago, it felt like. But I had missed it. And it was good to be back for a weekend or so. Jean and I flew back home the next day and immediately went to bed. It had been a long three or four days and I was so exhausted. I was glad that I had managed to make Thomas a bit happier. We had a heart-to-heart about our families and he was really upset about his granddad. All I could do was hug him and tell him that it would get better. Things were finally somewhat normal again as the week progressed and we got back into the swing of things. "Wait. What are you getting him?" I was asking Jean on the Friday of the same week we had returned. Half of us were working in the hallway and the other half of us were in the room. I didnt mind either way but Jean wanted to get out of the stuffy room so I followed him. Christa, Ymir, Connie, and Sasha were out there with us. "I think I'm gonna get him a fucking tomahawk then hit him with it." Connie laughed at that, "What the-?" I laughed softly, too. "Jean. Be serious." "I am being serious. I do not care about this secret santa bull, man. I'm annoyed with my life already. Cant I just not this time?" I sighed. "Jean. I'll help you, okay? What does Eren like?" "I dont fucking know. Mikasa? Being pissed off all the fucking time?" I groaned, "Give me something to work with." "He likes Nintendo a lot." Connie said, "And superheros." "Really?" I asked, "Marvel or DC, though? That is the real question." Connie shrugged. "Hmmm..." I said. "Eren fucking Jeager has more in common withh my boyfriend than I do." Jean said. "If he picks DC, he wont have anyhing in common with me." Jean raised an eyebrow at me, "Nintendo is still something." "No. Everything we could potentially have in common is cancelled out if he picks DC over Marvel! I mean, I love them both but... Marvel!" "Calm down! Oh my God!" Ymir exclaimed, laughing(that was kind of odd, though. Because I didnt think Ymir really was fond of me.) The rest of them laughed, too. Except for Jean. Jean just stared at me then shook his head, "You're crazy. I'm crazy for dating you. What am I doing with my life?" I laughed, "Hey! Offensive." "Are you obsessed with Marvel, Marco?" Connie asked. "I-" "Yes." Jean chimed in, "More specifically: Hawkeye." "Yes. Okay. Can I rant?" I said. "Yes. You can." Sasha agreed. "So I am so done with everyone saying how useless Hawkeye is. He's amazing, okay? He's the best Avenger and no one can ever convince me otherwise." "He got mind controlled by Loki-" Ymir said, "Loki could have done that to any of the Avengers. Hawkeye just happened to be there." "-He's obsessed with Black Widow-" "She's a very pretty lady." "-AND all he did the whole battle was shoot arrows. Meanwhile, Iron Man almost died." "He did his job. And he shot perfectly on target. Eyes like a hawk!" Ymir snorted at that. Jean laughed, "I swear, Marco... I didnt know you were such a fucking nerd before not too long ago." "Are you regretting dating me?" I asked. He shrugged, "Naw. It's fine." "'I'll just deal with it.'" Connie mocked. I laughed. "That's not what I meant!" Jean exclaimed, "I'm so fucking done with you shits." "Calm down, man!" Connie said, patting Jean's shoulder. Jean shrugged him off and scowled as he worked on his peice. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek which caused him to turn very pink and backhand me in the face. "Ow!" I exclaimed, laughing softly. Suddenly, Reiner ran out of the room yelling, "Come on, Eren!" Then he cupped his hands together. "What the freaaak?" Connie asked. Eren then ran out and Reiner boosted him up to the ceiling. Eren pushed up the panel on the ceiling. "What the fuck are you doing?!" Jean exclaimed. I was so confused. "Whoooo! Go Eren!" Sasha yelled really loudly as Eren pulled himself into the ceiling. Reiner let go of his foot when he was up there. Eren then put the panel back behind him. "The FUCK?" Jean exclaimed. "Did he do it?" Armin said, walking out of the room. "Yep! He's up there!" Reiner yelled. "Pixis, you owe Eren seven bucks!" Armin said as he walked back into the room. "Can I get out now?" I heard Eren yell. I must have looked so confused. Because I really was. "No!" Jean exclaimed, standing up. "Reiner! Boost me!" "Jean no!" I exclaimed, grabbing his arm. Reiner burst out in loud laughter, cupping his hands. "Reiner dont encourage him!" I said. Jean manuevered around until he got out of my grip. Then he put a foot in Reiner's hands and Reiner lifted him up. Jean immediately started punching at the tiles above him. "Jean!" I exclaimed, getting up. "Quit it, horseface!" Eren exclaimed. I grabbed Jean's ankle and yanked it. He immediately fell, letting out a yell. I grabbed him in my arms. "Jean. Stop it." "Jesus Christ, Marco! You fucking scared me!" He yelled. "It's already dangerous enough. He doesnt need you punching him while he's in the ceiling." I said as Eren made his way back down to the floor. "What the Hell, Jean?!" Eren yelled. "What the Hell back, Jeagar!" Jean immediately yelled back. "Need to hide behind your boyfriend?" Eren exclaimed. Eren pls. No. Jean started struggling in my grip, "NO WAY!" Jean screamed. "Stop!" I exclaimed, holding Jean tighter, "Just calm down. Please. You dont have to get upset." Jean stopped at that and it was a few moments before he took a deep breath and I let him go. He patted Eren on the shoulder then went back to work on his peice. Eren looked at me like he had just seen my face turn into a fish. "The Hell...? How...? What...?" "Please dont explode." I said, holding my hands up. Eren just rubbed his forhead, confused, before walking back into the room. Reiner had wide eyes. "How did you do that, Marco?" He exclaimed. I laughed softly, shrugging and heading back over to my place next to Jean. "Marco! You're magic!" Sasha exclaimed. "No I'm not. He just needs assurance that it's okay if he just would calm down." "I'm right here." Jean said. "I know, honey." I said, kissing his cheek. He smirked at me. I knew that Jean was a softie on the inside... That's just how he always was. And if I honed in on it, so would he.
We celebrated Mikasa's birthday on the tenth of February. And it was the next day when I got a call from Thomas. "Hello?" I said into the phone. I had been trying to work on starting a new work in my studio. "H-Hey..." Thomas said. He sounded upset. I narrowed my eyebrows together, sitting up in my chair, "Hey... What's up? Are you okay?" "M-Marco. I'm s-seriously about to have a panic attack." I raised my eyebrows, "Wait. What? Why? Okay. Relax. Take deep breaths..." I heard his shaky breathing over the phone. "Where are Hitch and Mina?" "T-They went out..." "Why? Okay. No. Nevermind. Just. Relax. And tell me what's going on, okay?" I said, my eyebrows knitting together. "There's a competition tomorrow and I still havent finished my work, Marco help me please oh my God..." I heard his breathing get erratic again. "Shhhh..." I said softly, "Take more deep breaths... Now. If you dont get the work done, you've done all you can do, right?" "M-Mhm..." "Well then... Thomas. You cant let this things get to you. You'll get back on your feet. You just had a bump in the road. For what it's worth, I think you are going to get back into it, okay? You sound great." I reassured. "Marcooooo!" I heard Jean yell from his studio. "Hang on, please, Thomas. Keep breathing." I said, pulling the phone away from my ear and yelling, "Poloooo!" Back at Jean. "Haha! Get in here!" He exclaimed. "I cant. I'm on the phone! You'll have to wait!" I said. I heard Jean groan. I smirked, putting the phone back to my ear. "Thomas?" I said. "Y-Yeah, dude?" He asked. Good. He was still there. I smiled softly, "You'll be just fine. Okay?" It was silent then Thomas said, "Right..." "I want you to relax and take a fifteen to thirty minute nap or break or anything to get away from your work for that time, okay? It's only 12:45. That will help you get more enthusiastic about this work." I said. "Okay... Thanks, Marco... I took something last night but now I just feel guilty about it, man..." "Thomas... Dont do that. It's no way to deal with your problems. Call me or text me or facetime me if you need anything, okay?" I said. "Right. Hippie." He said. I laughed, "Hey! ... Love you, Thomas. Feel better, okay?" "Yeah. Love you too, bro." He said before hanging up. I sighed. I really hoped that he wouldnt do anything risky again. I was worried about him... I remembered then that Jean had called for me. I opened the door between our studios and went in, "Hey. What do you need?" Jean turned from his desk to look at me. "Yeah. Um..." He started, tapping his knee with his pen. "My mom's coming in for a visit... On Sunday." He said. Crap. I slapped my forehead, "What?" "I know. I love her but... It's so last minute. I have so much shit to do." "So do I, Jean... Does she know that we're... You know?" I asked. Jean shook his head. "She'll probably be okay with it but it's still really terrifying." He said. I nodded, "I understand your fear." "What were you doing?" He asked me. "I was on the phone with Thomas. He was freaking out about a competition tomorrow. But he's alright." I smiled. He smiled back, "That's good." "Should we clean up the dorm later on? So your mom wont be terrified and think I'm a slob?" I asked. Jean smirked, "The dorm is clean." "It is not." "Marco. It's pretty damn clean." I sighed, "It's not. Really. What kind of pigstie did you live in at home?" Jean grinned, "A pretty awesome one. Free food all the time. All I had to do was lift a shirt and hey! A hotdog!" Then his face went serious. I laughed, "Eww! Jean!" "Seriously, Marco. Do you think I lived in a tornado zone? There are, at least, four maids living at my parents house. They do actually clean things." I rolled my eyes, "Okay. Okay. I get it. You spoiled brat." Jean raised an eyebrow and half smiled at me, "Oh really?" He asked. I crossed my arms, "Yep." I responded. Jean stood up and stepped over to me. We had a sort of stare off. Then I grabbed him around the waist and lifted him up yelling, "I win! You're spoiled!" And he yelled my name out in surprise. I laughed softly as Jean put his hands on my shoulders. "You always fucking scare me when you do this random shit!" He exclaimed, looking down at me with wide eyes. I felt my face form into a huge smile and I leaned up, nuzzling my nose against his'. He sighed in slight annoyance so I put him down, pecking him on the lips breifly. But our hands remained placed on eachother. Jean was refusing to look at me, and was extremely pink. I noticed now that the tops of his ears were pink, too. Oh man... Another cute thing added to the list. I was probably flushed pretty badly, as well. I pulled him closer to me. "Hey." I said. And he locked eyes with me, "You're really cute." Jean spluttered, his blush spreading, "S-Shut the fuck up, Marco!" He yelled, "You're cute!" "No. I'm pretty sure you're cute." "You're fucking cute! You're the one with freckles and giant eyes!" He exclaimed. I laughed softly, nuzzling my face into his neck, "Okay. Whatever you want, Jean. Your ears are just pink and it's cute. That's all." "Stop looking at my friggin ears!" He exclaimed. I laughed a bit more and squeezed his sides. He suddenly jolted, "Dont do that! It tickles." Oh really? Jackpot. "Oh. Well then..." I said. "Dont get any fucking ideas!" He exclaimed, pulling away from me and going back over to his desk. "Noo. Come back..." I said. Jean smirked at me and just sat back down, "Shut up." "Do you want to grab some people and go to lunch?" I asked. Jean's somewhat light expression, darkened. "Yeah. Sure." He sighed. I knitted my eyebrows together, "What's wrong?" Jean waved a hand, "Nothing. Yeah. Let's go do that." He said, standing. Suspicious! I was just waiting for him to explain this weight thing to me now. I was just going to do what Hitch said and wait. But I was already kind of impatient and it was getting worse as the days progressed. Not to mention everything that was happening other than that. Thomas, my parents financial situation, and now Jean's mother coming to visit. It was all stressing me out pretty badly. I was getting less and less sleep.
On Friday, the day before Valentine's day, we exchanged gifts. Jean got Eren a Wii U. A WII U! it was so nice of him. "Dude. I thought it was gonna be a fucking pie catapulted into my eyes." Eren said. "Just your eyes?" Jean asked, laughing and grinning. "Why did you get me this?" "Because you're my friend as much as I hate to admit it." Jean said, raising an eyebrow, "Friend's since before college, Eren. You've helped me through a lot." Eren nodded, "Yeah, man." He said, smiling. Jean held out a hand to Eren and he gripped it, shaking Jean's hand. I wondered if this was a sort of truce? Hopefully they respected eachother now? One can only wish for that. When I went up to Annie, she looked really surprised. I had gotton her a charm bracelet that had a bunch of Kung Fu and Tai Chi weapon charms on it. I had gathered from conversation that she had done a lot of classes in those two martial arts. And that she was still doing it. When I handed her the small box that was wrapped, she looked at me, "You got me?" She asked. I smiled, nodding. She stared at me for a few more seconds then she ripped open the wrapping paper and glanced at me when she saw the jewlery box. She opened it and stared at the bracelet. Then she started examining the charms. "Marco... Wow. Where did you get this?" She asked, taking it out. "Well, I got the bracelet at a local jewler, and the charms were just bought at some random stores. I'n sorry there are only ten... I wanted to put more on but it was too late." I responded. She shook her head, "No. It's fine." She said, "It's beautiful. Thank you, Marco... Help me put it on?" She asked, holding it out to me. I took it and smiled, putting it around her wrist and clipping it together. "There." I said, "It looks great on you..." She flushed lightly, "Thank you so much, Marco." "Dont mention it." I said, heading back over to Jean, who was ripping open his present. I sat down just as Mikasa walked over and placed a box on my desk that was wrapped in paper. She smiled and I smiled back, "Thank you, Mikasa." I said. "You're welcome, Marco. I hope you like them." She responded, walking back to her desk. I gently tore open the paper, and saw that it was a shoe box. "The fuck?" I heard Jean ask. I looked at him and he was holdig up a weird thing that looked strangely like a... Butt. "What is this? Did you get me some kind of ass sack?!" "It's an assHAT!" Reiner yelled, "It has it on the front." Jean looked at the front and immediately burst into laughter, "Oh my fucking GOD! Thank you! What the fuck?!" Reiner gave him a thumbs up and boomed with laughter. I smiled softly and opened the shoe box. Inside were the most amazing Iron Man vans ever.
I nearly jumped out of my seat. "Oh my God! Mikasa thank you! Where did you get these?" "I bought them on Ebay." She responded. "Thank yoouu! Thank you so much!" I exclaimed. She smiled from her table and I smiled back, putting the shoes back into the box and closing it up then placing them on the floor. I swore that I would wear them forever.
All Jean and I did on Valentine's day was watch movies in our dormroom. There was a party but neither of us felt up to it so we just sat around. That might have not been the best idea, though. Because everyone was asking us if we did the do the next day and for a while after. On Sunday, the both of us were freaking out. I was vacuuming the room as best as I could. There were crumbs everywhere. You just can't eat a granola bar without it getting all over the place. Anyways. Someone knocked on the dorm door while I was mid-vacuum. Jean was out at this point, cleaning up his studio. I shut off the vacuum and went to the door, opening it. Jean's mother. I knew it immediately. She was about average height, she had dirty blonde hair that was in a bun, a very round but long face, and light brown eyes. I was about to freak out. She was early. "Oh! I'm sorry." She said, "Do I have the wrong dorm?" "Are you Jean's mom?" I asked. She nodded, "Yes." "You're in the right place, ma'am." I reassured her, smiling, "Jean is out right now but you can come in and sit while I let him know you're here." "Ah. Alright." She smiled then came into the room, "And you are?" She asked me as I closed the door behind us. "Right. I'm Marco Bodt." I said, smiling. I held a hand out to her and she shook it, "Nice to meet you, Marco! I didnt know that Jean was friends with such a handsome young man." I felt my face flush slightly, "Well thank you very much, ma'am." I responded, "Feel free to have a seat!" I went to my desk and pulled the chair out, bringing it to her. "Thank you." She said, sitting. I then pulled my phone out and texted Jean with, "Your mom is here in the dorm. Get here quick. I'm scared." "He should be here soon." I said to Jean's mom, smiling and putting my phone back in my pocket. "Do you two do a lot of cleaning?" She asked, eyeing the vacuum cleaner. "W-Well. I was just tidying up a bit is all." I said. "So. How did you meet my son? Are you in the same class? Isnt he a lovely boy?" She suddenly threw at me. I scrambled to find answers. "I met him on my first day of class when school started this year. We're in the same classes together. And..." A lovely boy? That didnt even begin to cover it. I felt my face get hotter than it had been before. I smiled softly, "He's an amazing person." She smiled, nodding, "He is, isnt he? A bit of a loner. But still very lovely." I nodded, "He actually has a lot of friends." I said, smiling reassuringly. Just then, the door swung open qnd Jean was there, wide eyed. "Jean!" His mother exclaimed, standing and going over to him, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back and looked at me over her shoulder, mouthing, "Did you tell her?" I shook my head and he rolled his eyes, annoyed. Sorry, Jean. You're not going to get me to say it. You'll just have to do it yourself. "Hey, mom." He said, sighing softly and obviously working up some courage. When she pulled away, he did something that I will admire him for, for the rest of my existance. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me over, "This is my boyfriend, Marco. Marco, this sis my mother, Genevieve." He said, with a completely confident but serious expression and a very matter of fact tone. His mother looked very surprised, "This is your boyfriend?" She asked. Jean nodded once, "Yep." She stared for a few more moments before she grabbed Jean and pulled him close, hugging him tightly. "Jean! Oh my goodness! You found someone who wants to date you!" "Hey!" He exclaimed, "I've dated people before!" "Only three times, Jean! And that was in highschool! Not to mention only during your freshman and sophmore years!" He let out an embarassed groan before his mother pulled away from him then exclaimed to me, "I'm so sorry for treating you so formally!" I laughed awkwardly, "No problem, ma'am." "Wait. You two are living in the same dorm?" She asked. "Yeah." Jean responded. "Jean!" She exclaimed, "You cant do that!" Jean snorted, "What the heck do you think we're doing in here? Naughty stuff? Come on. But if we were doing anything... Us living in the same dorm definately helps as far as convenience is concerned." I felt my face get extremely flushed. I didnt know that Jean could be so blunt about tgings like that. He was always so embarassed to talk about it with anyone. Why not with his mother? She smacked his shoulder, "Jean!" Jean laughed in response. I laughed softly. "I knew there was something about you!" She said to me, "I knew you werent just my son's friend." "Mom." Jean said, "I can have obviously gay friends." I laughed, "Hey! You're so mean!" "What!? Why is that mean?" He asked. I smirked, "Because. Anything you say is mean." "That's not exactly why I thought you were involved with Jean." His mother chimed in, "It was the way you hesitated before you said, 'He's an amazing person.' You obviously thought about my asking if he was lovely and decided that the word didnt cover it. Not to mention the way you flushed and smiled." I covered my face with my hands. Nooo! "Oh really?" Jean asked. Whyyyy?! My face was extremely hot now. I didnt think Jean's mother was so aware! I thought she would be unable to pick things up like Jean is! Darn! "Maybe you should show her your studio, Jean!" I exclaimed, gently shoving Jean towards the door. "Yeah. Sure. Mom, I want to show you some stuff I've been working on." Jean said. He was smirking, though, and had a raised eyebrow. "Marco. Why dont you come along?" He asked me. I smiled softly, "I'd love to but I cant. I promised Christa that I'd help hr with something after I was done vacuuming." Jean frowned but his lips twitched slightly, "Alright. See you later." Then he and his mom headed out. I sighed with releif. This woman was extremely excitable and loud and blunt and awkward and just... Woah. I could see Jean in her for sure. Just as I was about to leave the room, Jean was about to come back in. "Hey." He said. I smirked, "Hi. Why are you back here?" Jean rolled his eyes, "My mom was like," He put on an old lady voice, "'Dontcha wanna kiss your boyfriend goodbye?'" I laughed softly, "Your mother is so..." "I know." He interuppted, "She's always like this. It's draining but I love her." I nodded, smiling. "So. I'm an amazing person?" He asked, grinning and raising an eyebrow. I smiled softly, "We'll talk about it later when we have time, okay? Go back with your mom." I gave him a breif kiss then sent him on his way, sighing softly and watching him go.
I went down to the lobby where Christa and Ymir we're conveniently sitting. Good for me because that would help my story about having to help her with something. I went over to them, "Hey, guys." I said. They both looked up at me and Christa smiled, "Marco! Hi. We just saw Jean and his mother walk by. She looks so nice!" I smiled, "Yeah. She is." I sat down. "How are you, Marco?" Ymir asked. "I'm doing alright." I said, smiling at her, "Kind of stressed but I'm okay." "I just wanted to apologize for making you believe that I dont like you." She suddenly said. I blinked then smiled softly, "Ah. No. It's okay. Dont worry. It's okay." "You're pretty alright, Marco." She said, grinning. "Well thank you very much." I responded. I stayed with Christa and Ymir until Jean came back without his mom. "Hey!" I said as he walked over. He grinned, "Hey." "Where's your mom?" I asked. "We're meeting for dinner at, like, six thirty." "Ah. Okay." I said, "What are you doig now?" I asked. He shrugged, "Just gonna go back to the dorm and recharge." "I'll come with you." I said, standing, "See you guys later." I said to Ymir and Christa. "Bye, Marco!" Christa said, smiling. I smiled back as I followed Jean up the stairs and to our dorm. "So what'd you think of my mom?" He asked me as we headed inside. I smirked, "She's nice." "Good. So. Im an amazing person?" He asked me as I closed and locked the door behind us. I smiled and pulled him close to me, wrapping my arms around his waist. "Yes. You are." He smirked and put his hands on my shoulders. "Aww. You love me." I said, bumping my nose against his'. "Sure." He said, kissing me breifly. The gesture made me smile wider and I nuzzled my face into his neck. "Well I love you, Jean." I said. "I know..." He said, "I love you, too..." "I cant believe you hinted at sex when you were talking to your mother." I said. Jean laughed, "Yeah. Sorry. It must have been awkward." "A little." I responded. Jean sighed softly and I felt him nuzzle his face into my hair. "I really admire you for telling your mother so confidently, Jean..." I said. He let out a snort, "Whatever, man... I was freaked out." "I know, Jean. But you still pulled it off... And you have no idea how attractive it was, either." I said. Jean laughed softly, "Shut the fuck up, Marco..." I smirked and cuddled him closer to me. "Do you want to do something?" He asked me. "Like what?" I asked, "Because if it requires cuddling, then yes." Jean snorted then said, "It doesnt. But I need your opinion on something I'm doing." "Is it here? Or in your studio?" I asked. "It's in here." He responded, starting to pull away from me. "Nooo." I said, pulling him back. "Marco!" He exclaimed, "And you used to call me needy!" Then he pulled away from me. I sighed, "I just love you so much..." Jean rolled his eyes and went to his desk, grabbing his sketchbook. Meanwhile, I pulled off my shoes and flopped onto my bed. I heard Jean say from his desk, "What the heck, Marco? I have ti show you this." "Come here so I can see it!" I exclaimed, sitting up. "Dont sass me. I came out to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now." I looked at him in disbeleif at what he had just said. When I saw the expression of mock hurt on his face, I knew he wasnt being serious. I laughed, "Stop! Just come here you massive nerd." "You're the nerd." He responded as he came over to me, flipping open his sketchbook.
Jean went to dinner with his mother that evening and she had left by the next day. However, something else came to give me some company which I didnt appreciate. I woke up that night at 3 am(technically Monday morning)and had a nice upchuck into the toilet. I eventually stopped and just sat there on the floor for a while before I heard Jean get up. I really didnt want him to have to worry about me. I knew Jean was in the doorway of the bathroom because I felt him there. "Holy shit are you okay?!" He asked. I just let out a shaky sigh and flushed the toilet, gulping and pulling myself up, "Y-Yeah..." I said, smiling softly and gulping, already feeling nauseous again. Jean just crossed his arms, "Get the fuck back down there, Marco. You're fucking green as the Grinch." God darn it! I didnt want there to be another bump in the road. I was stressed out enough. But I was wondering if Jean even knew how to take care of another person when they were sick. Probably not. "I'm okay, Jean." I said. "Get. Down." He said, glaring at me. I sighed shakily and sank to the floor again. Jean seemed to be pondering something for a long while before I interupted the silence with, "Do you just want me to sit here...?" Jean shook his head, "No. No. I mean. For now, yes? I dont really know, Marco. I'm new to this 'helping' thing. Erm... If you were in my situation... What would you do?" I knew it. He didnt know how to take care of people when they were sick. Well. This would be a good learning experience for him. "W-Well... I'd have a choice to make at this point... Do I stay with you until you feel better then deal with it in the morning? Or do I go try and fond a thermometer to check your temperature now?" I said, gulping again and feeling like I was most definately going to barf. "Erm..." Jean started, "Where would I find a thermometer? I know we dont-" Jean was interupted by my throwing up in the toilet. "Shit..." I heard him whisper. He was, most likely, looking away. When I had calmed down and flushed the toilet again, letting out a few more pathetic coughs, it was
silent. "Go on..." I said shakily. "I know we dont have a thermometer." He said. "Well..." I started, "Hanji has one in the nurse's office... And if you remember, Connie had one. He was using one when Sasha was sick last time..." "That's right." Jean said, "I'll be back." Then I heard the door open and close behind him. I sighed softly. This was going to be awful. I'd have to walk him through everything. I mean, I suppose you have to learn before you can do... So it made sense but I kind of wished at this point that Jean would know how to do this. I felt myself slowly start to drift off and before I knew it, Jean was shaking my shoulder and telling me to wake up. I woke with a start, rubbing my eyes. "Connie gave me his. I washed it just now. I dont trust that weirdo." Jean said. I looked at him, "O-Okay..." I was going to throw up again, for sure. So told Jean to wait a second before I put that into my mouth. Then I threw up again, wiping my mouth and flushing the toilet yet again. "... How the Hell are you so calm?" Jean asked. "Well I'd rather not be jumping off the walls at this point... Probably make me barf more..." I held my hand out to Jean and he put the thermometer in it. Then he leaned against the sink counter. I turned on the termometer then put it in my mouth. We sat in silence until it beeped and I took it out, looking at it. 101. "Yep... 101 is definately a fever..." I said. Jean sighed, "Damn... I'm sorry, Marco." He took the thermometer, washing it then washing his own hands and closing the thermometer before putting it on the counter beside the sink. "Do you want to go to bed? Or are you gonna hang out here?" He asked me. I sighed softly. "I'm gonna hang out here for a little while longer." I said. Jean nodded, pushig away from the counter and heading for the door. "Where are you going?" I asked. "I... Okay. You tell me where I need to be." Dammit, Jean. "You need to set up my bed. Remember when you were sick as a kid and your mom would put towels everywhere and set the trashcan next to you." "Yeah. Except it was a maid." He said. "Well, you need to do that. Okay? Then come back and sit with me." I said. "Will do, cheif." I smirked at that as he headed out into the room. I started drifting off again but I was woken up by nausea. I let it go into the toilet and felt a hand rub my back as I flushed again. "I've got everything set up." Jean said softly. I let out a shaky breath and stood up. Jean gently grabbed my arm, leading me to my bed. I got in and got comfortable. Then I felt Jean's hand snake through my hair and I opened my eyes to look at him. He had his eyebrows knitted together and was chewing on his bottom lip. "I hope you feel better tomorrow, Marco..." I felt my face get hotter than the fever was already making it. "Y-Yeah..." "I love you a ton..." I smiled a bit. "Jean... You're so sweet... I love you, too..." "I'm gonna do my best, okay...?" He said, "You just have to help me..." I nodded slightly, "Yeah... Okay..." He half smiled softly, "I'll see you tomorrow..." I nodded again then he slid his hand out of my hair and went to his own bed. And I immediately drifted off.
When I woke up the next morning, Jean had gone. I looked at my phone and my alarm had been disabled. I smirked, knowing that Jean probably did it. Jean had the passcode to my phone. He needed to get into my phone a lot so I eventually just gave him the passcode. It was noon now. Class was probably just letting out. Sure enough, my text tone went off with a "Bazinga!" From Sheldon. And Jean had texted me with, "On my way back. Want anything to eat?" I smiled softly and responded with, "Better not... But thank you." "Feeling better?" He texted back. "Not really." I responded with a crying emoji. "I'll be back soon" he responded. It was around ten minutes later when I heard Jean's keys rattle in the door. When the door opened, however, it wasnt just Jean there. Everyone from Pixis' class piled in. I sat up quickly. "Jeaaannn..." I whined. "I'm sorry! They were worried!" He exclaimed. "MARCO!" Reiner yelled, "ARE YOU OKAY?!" I cringed, "I'm sick not deaf!" Reiner laughed, "Sorry! Sorry!" "My God..." "Marco." Armin said, "I brought you food just in case you wanted it. I know you said no but..." He then put a bag of food on my side table. I smiled softly, "Thank you, Armin..." "You havent gotton sick yet this school year, have you?" Mikasa asked me. I shook my head, "No... I usually have a really strong immune system... I'm wondering where I caught this from..." "Do you know what is is?" Bertholdt asked me. "I think it might be the flu..." I responded, "But I could be wrong..." Everyone immediately backed up. I laughed softly, "Hey..." "I brought you these, Marco." Annie said, placing a full bouquet of roses in a vase on my side table. "Yeah." Reiner said, "As soon as Jean said you were sick, she ran out to get you flowers. Even though you arent dying!" I laughed softly and Annie glared at Reiner. "Awwhh..." I said, smiling, "Annie. You didnt have to do that..." "You deserve it." She responded. I laughed softly, "Thanks..." "Should we take your temperature again?" Jean asked. Oh. Now he was thinking ahead, was he? I nodded, "Yeah. Most likely." Jean went into the bathroom. "Ooh! We get to witness it!" Sasha pointed out. I laughed softly, "It wont be that interesting. It'll probably be 101 or 100..." Sasha just shrugged as Jean brought over the thermometer. "What did we do in class...?" I asked as I put the thermometer into my mouth. "He started talking about our presentations of the movie posters." Jean said, "You cannot miss that! It's on Friday." I shrugged and said around the thermometer, "We'll see how I'm doing by then." The thermometer beeped after a few seconds and I looked at it. "100. As expected." I said, handing the thermometer back to Jean. Jean went back into the bathroom. "Man. I hope this thing doesnt spread." Ymir said. "You and me both..." I responded, "I'm sorry that this thing is starting to spread the week of your birthday, Ymir." Ymir shrugged, "It's alright. I usually celebrate it when I go home for Spring Break." I nodded sympathetically then said, "Knowing what's going to happen, though, one of you are going to get it." "I vote Armin, Bert, or Connie!" Reiner yelled. Everyone laughed at that. "I dont know..." I said, "Jean'll probably get it before any of you do." Everyone was silent then Connie said, "Yeah. Probably. His immune system isnt awesome anymore, really..." I was confused as to why everyone became so quiet and why Connie was being so... Cryptic. "Hey." Jean said, coming out of the bathroom and glaring straight at Connie, "Shut up." "Why is there such a sudden change of mood...?" I asked, "I was just saying that considering we live in the same dorm, he probably has a higher chance of getting it..." "Oh yeah!" Reiner said, laughing awkwardly, "Probably! Anyways! Guys, we should get going!" Everyone mumbled in agreement and they filed out, wishing me the best. "Come on, Jean. Gotta talk to you real quick." Connie said, pulling him outside and closing the door behind him. I sighed softly. I just wanted someone to tell me about Jean's health. That's clearly what this was about... Jean came back in after a few minutes and even though he had a huge smile on his face, I still had to ask. "You okay?" "Yeah. Just Connie. Are you feeling any better?" He asked, walking over to me and letting his smile fade. "A bit, I guess. I havent thrown up yet." "Well that's good... You probably have nothing else in you to throw up." I nodded in agreement, "Yeah. Probably... I'm surprised I even had anything to throw up earlier this morning." I said. "I know." Jean said. "What are you going to do now?" I asked him. "Hang out here with you." I smiled at that, "Jean... Thank you..." "No problem." He responded, smiling back. "I wish you could cuddle with me..." I said. He shrugged, "When I throw up tomorrow, we can cuddle." I smirked, "How do you know you're gonna get it?" Jean sighed and said, "Connie's right, man... My immune system sucks ass." "That's probably why it's bad." I said. "... What?" He asked. "Your immune system is probably bad because it sucks ass on a regular basis." Jean laughed, "Shut up! That makes no sense, Marco!" I smiled softly, "That's okay." I then sunk down and cuddled up beneath the covers. I felt Jean sit at the foot of the bed. "Are you gonna go back to sleep?" He asked. "I might drift off, yeah..." I responded. "Well I'll stay here until next class begins..." He said, rubbing my leg. I smiled a bit, "Okay..." It was silent then Jean said, "Y-You're cute..." I laughed softly, "I'm cute when I'm sick...?" "You're just cute in general..." I sat up and pulled him close to me. "Ahh! No! You're sick as fuck!" He exclaimed, pushing against me. "You'll just have to get it..." I said, "I cant not cuddle you for four to five days, Jean..." He sighed softly and snaked his arms around me, "Yeah... I cant really deal with that, either..." He agreed. "Are you actually willing to get this...?" I asked. He shrugged, "I'll be fine..." I felt him rub my back. "I hope you feel better soon, though, Marco." I nodded into his shoulder.
Sure enough, Jean had it the next day. It was expected. And neither of us blamed ourselves or eachother for it, considering we both wanted to cuddle. We slept mostly all day and the day after that. On Thursday, I felt iffy but well enough to go to class. And on Friday, I was all better. Jean came to class, too. But he wasnt feeling too awesome. It ended up being that Connie, Armin, Ymir, and Annie all got it. So Pixis postponed our presentations until the next Friday. It wasnt until Sunday that Jean felt completely better. By that time, Thomas had called me again, saying that he had started drinking again. So I was trying to convince Hitch and Mina to intervene. And they tried to do so at one point but they couldnt beat him. So I told them to get some help. I kept telling Thomas to please get rid of the stuff and it seemed like I was slowly cracking him but I couldnt be sure. Jean had noticed my sleeping schedule becoming messed up. And, finally, Monday came... It was around one pm and I was with Jean at lunch with Connie, Sasha, and Eren's squad of three. "Marco. You look exhausted... How's Thomas?" Armin asked me. I smiled softly, "He's alright... I mean, I've been slowly convincinng him... He knows it's bad..." "You need to get to sleep earlier." Jean said to me. I sighed softly, looking at him, "It's hard to sleep when you know that you could be doing more than you already are doing for everyone..." "You cant help everyone." Jean said. "How would you know?" I asked harshly. Everyone was silent. Jean narrowed his eyebrows at me, "I am trying my damnedest, Marco." He said. I sighed softly, "I know. I know... I'm sorry... I'm just stressed out, is all... Sorry, Jean..." Jean let out an exhasperated sigh and looked at his phone, studying whatever was on it with intesity as always. I really shouldnt have done this but I was already annoyed with everything and stressed out and just feeling like crap and I was at the end of my rope as far as Jean's keeping his weight problems from me was concerned so I did this. I grabbed his phone from him, "What the Hell are you always looking at?" I exclaimed. Jean looked horrified and he held onto his phone tightly, pressing the finger pad and exiting out of whatever he was looking at. "Marco! The fuck?!" He yanked his phone back. This was also really bad because there were people around and what I had just done had probably really embarassed Jean. "Marco! My goodness. Calm down!" Sasha exclaimed, putting a hand on my shoulder. I just groaned and put my head down on the table. "Goddamn..." I heard Jean say under his breath, "You need to get it together..." "I have it together!" I exclaimed. "No you dont!" Jean said back, "You're freaking out. Calm down." I felt his hand rub my back. He wasnt being violent with me... Which was odd. Anytime we had fought before, he would always get hot headed and violent. I lifted my head. "You're right... I'm sorry, everyone." Everyone waved it off. "No no, Marco." Mikasa said, "It's fine. Sometimes you get freaked out about things. We get it." I nodded, smiling softly, "Thanks, guys..." I felt Jean's fingers intertwine with my own and I knew it was all going to work out. Everyone went back to their comversations. Then my phone started ringing with... All About that Bass. My mother was calling. I pulled it out and answered with, "Mom?" I had no idea what this was going to be about. "Marco! Ciao honey." I smiled softly, "Ciao, mom." "How are you?" She asked. "I'm doing alright. How are you and Dad?" "Well... Actually. I have some news for you." I narrowed my eyebrows, "Yeah?" "I dont know if you're ready for this, Marco." She said. I shook my head, "What is it?" She was silent then she suddenly exclaimed, "I'm pregnant!" Everything stopped. I felt my eyes widen. "What? Pregnant?" I said. I was freaking out. "You cant be. There's not enough time. Not enough money. Not enough room! You cant do this. What if it's twins? Triplets? Sextuplets? I cant, mother!" I realized my voice was shaking, my entire body was shaking. And everyone at our table was looking at me. I got up, ripping my hand away from Jean. I said to the group, "I'll be back or something." I then got out of there as quickly as I could. The fresh air helped some as I heard my mother say from far away, "Oh come on, Marco! It'll be interesting! Your father and I are excited." "Nonono!" I exclaimed, "You cant! Please! This isnt good! There isnt enough of... Anything!" And there it was. The lightheadedness that came whenever there was too much emotion. "C-Can I call you back, mom?" I asked. "Okay, Marco..." She said. She sounded upset. "I'm sorry, mother. I'm just surprised is all... Really. Congrats. I'll call you later. Dont worry about it..." "Okay, honey." She said, "Call me back soon." "I w-will... Love you." I said quickly before hanging up. I was getting ready to sit down. But I couldnt even do that before everything went black. I knew I was going to pass out as soon as she said those two words. I was always that one person who fainted in high stress situations in highschool. And I still am. I woke up almost as soon as I had passed out, though, to voices around me. "Marco!" I heard Jean exclaimed from above me. I opened my eyes slightly and it was blurry. "My God... What is it with you and passing out...?" Jean asked me. "Is he okay?" I heard Sasha exclaim. "He's waking up." Armin said from beside me. I groaned a bit, blinkinng a few times. My phone wasnt in my hand. "Where's my phone...?" I mumbled. Jean snorted, "You just passed out and the first thing you do when you wake up is ask where your phone is? I have it. Had to put it back together, though." I sighed shakily as Eren and Jean pulled me up. "I got him from here, Eren." Jean said. Eren let me go, then. "You sure?" He asked. Jean nodded, "Yeah. I gotta take care of this one on my own." I was too exhausted to even laugh at that. I tuned out the rest of their conversation. Then Jean lead me to the car. "You okay...?" He asked me as we were driving back to campus. I shook my head, leaning it against the window. "What happened?" "My mom is pregnant..." "So I wasnt just hearing things... She's really pregnant?" I nodded, "Sorry for causing so much trouble..." Jean shook his head and took my hand, "If anyone knows anything about stressing out to the point of passing out, it's me, okay? It's okay, Marco..." I sighed softly, "I've just been such a dick to you lately and I dont think it's very fair. Just because I'm feeling bad doesnt mean I should make you feel bad..." Jean shook his head again, "I said it was okay. I'm not offended. I know, Marco." I nodded slightly, squeezing his hand. Well, dammit... I needed to calm down and... Maybe Jean was right... I cant help everyone... Especially not at one time... How was I going to work this out?