Annie stuffed her face when she was feeling better and enjoyed the rest of her day off. She stopped for a quick bathroom break in the midst of her binge-eating, taking a moment to stop and stare at herself in the mirror. She raised a brow at the subtle change to her appearance; her breasts looked a bit bigger and it was obvious she gained some weight. Annie shrugged it off, thinking that she was just a bit bloated from the food she just had. She wasn't worried, anyway. If she gained some weight, the soccer season just started, so she'd lose it in a matter of time.
The Omega moved on and washed her hands before leaving. There was no point in letting these changes bug her, especially since she had other things to worry about like making dinner. It was her turn to cook tonight and she didn't need her father being even more exhausted than he already was. Annie got straight to work, making a simple spaghetti dish with some garlic bread on the side. She made a plate for her father then stored everything away in the fridge. Once that was finished, Annie helped herself to a warm bath to calm her nerves.
Everything was perfect, so Annie allowed herself to relax, pushing away any worries that she may have had at that moment. She let out a gentle sigh and slipped deeper into the water, but her R&R was ruined by her ringing phone. Annie groaned and reached over to answer it, not bothering to see who it was.
"Why are you bugging me?"
"Don't give me attitude! I'm just calling you to say I'm here to drop off your car! Hurry up and get downstairs for your keys. I don't want to keep Mikasa waiting!"
Annie's stomach tensed up at the mention of Mikasa's name and grew annoyed.
"Why the hell is she here?"
"Because we just got off of football practice and she's going to take me to Bert's house since I had him drive my car from school- Listen, it's complicated and I'd rather not make myself sound ridiculous. Just come down here and get your keys."
She hung up and yanked herself out of the warm water, grabbing a nearby robe and quickly wrapping it around herself. The Omega decided that she didn't care if Reiner was uncomfortable with seeing her in only a towel; it was his fault for having such terrible timing. Annie opened the door and glared daggers into her taller friend.
"You couldn't have shown up later? You ruined my bath." Annie yanked her car keys away and hung them up on a nearby hook.
"You're welcome, Leonhardt. Next time, don't throw up at school and make it everyone's issue."
Annie rolled her eyes while walking back to the front door, still glaring at Reiner.
"I didn't make it anyone's issue! Ymir was the one who didn't let me go back to class, so blame her! Now, I have a bath to return to. I'll see your gorilla ass tomorrow."
She went to close the door, but Reiner stopped it with his foot.
"I'm coming by in the morning to give you a ride. You might feel better right now, but who knows if it'll affect you again."
"Okay, whatever. Now leave me alone! I want to take a bath in peace!" Annie forced Reiner out and locked the door, finally getting silence.
Annie decided to skip the dinner she made and went straight to bed. She buried her face into the warm blankets and within minutes, found herself asleep and getting some much-needed rest for her exhausted body. The morning came too quick for Annie's liking and it started out shitty; she was hit with the need to vomit right away.
She bolted out of bed and down the hallway to her bathroom, dropping to her knees and vomiting everything she ate the night before. Thankfully, it was over quick and Annie could continue on with her day. She quickly brushed her teeth, washed her face, then got dressed, finishing up right when Reiner pulled into her driveway. She went downstairs immediately and climbed into the back seat since Bertholdt was sitting in the front.
"I think you look worse from when I saw you yesterday. Are you okay?" Reiner asked while looking into the rearview mirror at Annie.
"I just need to eat something and I'll be okay. Don't worry about it, Reiner."
Reiner didn't push her to speak further or to answer any more questions. Instead, he stopped by a McDonald's on their way to school and bought Annie a breakfast meal. Annie, of course, tried to deny the food, but Reiner was already handing his card over to pay for it. She grumpily accepted it, hating that Reiner did things against her wishes. Regardless, she still ate, feeling her stomach become full and her nausea fading away.
"Thank you," Annie mumbled as the three got out of Reiner's car to walk into their school's campus.
"Don't feel like you need to pay me back, Annie. I did this because we're friends, even if you did manage to replace me and Bert with Ymir."
"I didn't replace you two, I just had more classes with Ymir and she wouldn't leave me alone because of her thing for blondes."
"If I actually had a thing for blondes then that would mean I'd go after Reiner, which I haven't and never will," Ymir announced as she walked towards them.
"How you holding up, big-nose?"
Annie hated the nicknames that made fun of her appearance, and she knew Ymir was aware of it. She was also aware that Ymir was only doing it to get under her skin, so she brushed the insult off but not without sending her friend a glare.
"I'm fine, just threw up a little bit in the morning. Reiner bought me some food though, so I feel much better. I think I can actually go to practice today, so I'm excited about that."
The group of four began walking and shared a few words with each other before class started. Annie decided to tune them out halfway through Reiner's conversation about how he drew a smiley face on his left nutsack. She fully immersed herself in her thoughts, where she externally groaned when Mikasa entered them. She was doing fine up until seeing Mikasa the other day and telling Ymir about their history together. Annie took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, completely erasing the Alpha out of her thoughts. She then decided to chime back into Reiner's conversation, which somehow managed to become even more obscene.
"You wonder why I hang out with Ymir more than you two, yet you talk about accidentally cutting your ball-sack while shaving." Annie shook her head, clearly disappointed in her friends.
"As if Ymir's any better than Bert and I. Didn't she flash her ass at you during lunch two weeks ago?"
"That's different. She bet me twenty dollars that I wouldn't do it and I'll be damned if I pass up a bet that easy."
The blonde reached up to rub her temples. Okay, maybe Ymir was just as bad as them, but at least she was more bearable to be near. She decided not to speak anymore; doing so would just bring about more irritability. Annie kept to herself, waiting until their first period started. That's when someone came running in a full sprint in her direction. Annie seemed to freeze for some reason, not knowing what she should do at the moment. Thankfully, Ymir grabbed Annie by her shoulders before she collided with the person, but said person seemed to have been carrying an open bottle of juice that completely splashed all over Annie.
At the moment, Annie couldn't make out who the person was; she was more worried about getting full-body tackled than who it was. When the fog cleared and everything calmed down, Annie looked down to see Connie trying to clean up his spilled juice. Anger immediately spread throughout Annie's core, but within seconds all three of her friends grabbed onto her.
"YOU DUMB FUCK! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING IN THE HALLS ANYWAY?!"
Annie managed to land a solid kick to Connie's side as he was cleaning up the mess. He tipped over to his side, holding it in pain as Bertholdt grabbed Annie's legs to make sure she couldn't do any more damage. She let out a disgruntled noise as she tried to attack Connie again but found herself restrained.
"Jeez, Annie. You've never been this easy to anger. What the hell is going on with you?" Reiner asked as they took Annie and secluded her to a different area.
"She was like this yesterday when Mikasa nearly hit her with the bathroom door. I think she's just had enough of everyone these past four years." Ymir gently released her hold on Annie as the others allowed her to stand up.
"I-I'm just... tired." Annie lied to get the idiots off her back when in all actuality, she really didn't know why everything was getting to her so easily.
She took a step back, yanking off her stained sweatshirt and shoving it into her backpack. The blonde let out an irritated huff then turned to her friends, who were staring at her with rather wide eyes. This only caused Annie to grow even more agitated.
"WHAT?!"
Reiner and Bertholdt held their tongue and averted their eyes, but Ymir stared down at Annie's stomach. She let out a nervous chuckle and tried to play stupid like the other two, but Annie already noticed her staring.
"What are you looking at Ymir?! Huh?!"
"Nothing! I just thought I saw something. I was wrong, I didn't see anything!"
"Cut the crap! Tell me why you're staring!"
Ymir gulped and went silent as she debated on opening her mouth or not, especially since she knew Annie may attack her for what she was about to say. Then again, she might get beaten up either way with how angry Annie already was.
"Well... Um." Ymir cleared her throat. "I think all of us just noticed that you may have... gained some weight is all! But it's not bad! We're just a little surprised since we've never seen you with your sweatshirt off."
Annie was fuming with anger. She wanted to go and kick everyone's legs out from under them, but she held back. She picked up her backpack and turned away from everyone. Right when she was about to leave, Annie turned back around and personally targeted Ymir.
"Give me your sweatshirt right now. I am NOT going to walk around and have people talk about my weight gain."
Ymir obliged with no hesitation and yanked off her sweatshirt, handing it to Annie and watching as she put it on. It may have been a bit too big, but at least you couldn't see her stomach anymore. From there, Annie continued on with her day, ignoring Ymir and her other friends every time they shared a class together. She was clearly still angry at them for what had gone down earlier that day. Annie even spent lunch by herself and enjoyed the silence because she knew it wouldn't last long.
Annie was thrilled to finally get back to soccer practice after missing a day. She loved the feel of stretching her muscles and doing a few warm-up laps. Her coach was just as thrilled to see her back into action and was more than happy to see that Annie was feeling better. Her game was a little off today though, and everyone noticed it. Annie's cheeks gained an embarrassing hue of pink as she tried her hardest to seem on top of her game. Unfortunately, it was no use. Her kicks weren't as strong, she wasn't running as fast and her body ached at the slightest harsh movements.
"Leonhardt, take a break! You look like you're going to pass out!"
She heard her coach call out to her and let out a tired sigh, knowing that it was for the best if she sat out for a bit. Annie jogged off the field and took a seat near her coach. It was embarrassing to be called out, even more so when you know it happened because you suck ass on the field. She made the best of the situation and allowed herself to recuperate in the time given. When she felt like she was ready to go back into practice, her coach stepped in front of her then shook his head.
"I'm not convinced that you're completely back to your usual self. I'd rather have Annie Leonhardt at one-hundred percent than at twenty-five percent. Take a few days off and heal up, okay? We don't have a game until a week from now, so you won't miss anything. Just take it easy and don't worry. I know you're going to kill it no matter if you practice or not. Now get on out of here. I don't want you spreading your illness around to my other players. Oh! One more thing! Make sure to get your physical done before the game. If you don't, then you won't be allowed to play."
Annie didn't want to leave practice early. It pained her, it really did. But she knew her coach wouldn't allow her to stay. So with a defeated look in her eyes, Annie nodded in agreement and grabbed her things. It was for the best, and her coach was completely right. If she wasn't going to function at her best, then there was no point in her being there at all. She sluggishly walked away from everyone and began her walk to the school parking lot. That's when she realized Reiner drove her to school in the morning and her car was at home.
She dropped to her knees immediately and began to cry. Everything felt like it was crumbling around her and she didn't even understand why. Nothing REALLY bad was happening so she didn't understand why she was like this. Tears relentlessly streamed down her cheeks and she didn't care if somebody came by and saw her.
"Annie?"
Annie took back what she said about not caring if anyone saw her like this. It was just her luck that Mikasa would be the one to catch her bawling her eyes out. She quickly wiped away her tears and tried to play it off as if nothing happened.
"Yeah? What do you want? Why are you even here?" she said with anger, trying her best to seem threatening even though she had been caught crying.
Mikasa cleared her throat and took a step back, not knowing how she should handle the situation she got herself in.
"I just... never mind... You just caught me getting off of football practice is all. Sorry for bugging you."
Annie stared at Mikasa and sighed.
"No, it's okay. I'm just overwhelmed... Football practice ended? Do you know where Reiner is? I need him to give me a ride home and I'm really not in the mood to wait."
"Ah, well, I'm sorry you're overwhelmed... But yeah I knew where Reiner was, I'm pretty sure he already left though..."
Annie closed her eyes and forced back more tears from spilling, now she REALLY wanted to drop to her knees and cry. She was a big girl though, and just nodded to what Mikasa had said.
"Thank you for telling me. I'll make sure to kick his ass later for forgetting to take me home. Well, I better start walking. Thanks for the help, Ackerman." She picked up her duffle bag and backpack, fully devoted to walking home.
That's when Mikasa grabbed the duffle bag from her hands. Annie was in no mood to be fucked with so she was ready to fight Mikasa at that very moment. She raised her hand, getting ready to strike, but Mikasa spoke up.
"Don't worry. I'll drive you home so you don't have to carry all of this around. You clearly look like you're not having a good day." Mikasa left no room for Annie to decline and began walking to her car.
"Just see this as an apology for nearly hitting you yesterday, even though I already apologized twice for it. Now hop in. I still remember how to get to your house so I won't need directions."
Annie went from being upset to her stomach completely bursting with a million butterflies swarming around at full speed. She couldn't even tell Mikasa no if she wanted to. This Alpha had her completely under control with just a stupid small gesture. Annie took in a deep breath and entered Mikasa's car while the Alpha packed their things. Her heart began thudding and she couldn't help but inhale the car's scent, Mikasa's scent, to calm her down. Mikasa closed her trunk and wasted no time getting into the driver's seat.
"Alright, let's get going."
The air between them was awkward and filled with sexual tension, yet Mikasa didn't show that she noticed it. Annie stood her ground as well, maintaining an uninterested facial expression just like Mikasa. However, there was no denying that the two were fully aware of the air around them. They both remained quiet during the drive as music played quietly.
They came to a stop at a stop sign and Mikasa's phone rang. She answered without hesitation. Annie was a bit worried since she didn't want to have Mikasa talk and drive. Her worries were put to rest when the call connected to her Bluetooth.
"Mikasa! Can you pick up some food for me and Armin? My mom and dad are on a date tonight and there's no food here. I'll Venmo you some money for it! You could get something for yourself too!"
Mikasa didn't even think about her reply to Eren; she just blurted out a response.
"Yeah... I'm dropping off Annie right now but it won't be much of an issue. Your house is on the way to hers anyway. Send the money over with what you want."
Annie didn't care about the slight delay, especially since Mikasa was only taking her home out of her own volition. So she just sat back in her seat and continued to stare out the window.
"Alright, Thank you, Mikasa! Armin and I appreciate it."
The call ended and Mikasa tossed her phone into Annie's lap. Annie slightly flinched at the intrusion and raised a brow at Mikasa.
"I sensed you were a bit worried earlier when I got the call. I don't want to stress you out so read me what the boys want. There's no password, so go ahead and swipe to open it."
Mikasa turned out of the residential areas and back towards where all the fast-food joints were. Annie was a bit surprised that the Alpha cared enough to notice her emotional shift. It nearly made her smile, but Annie forced it away and opened Mikasa's phone.
"Go to Taco Bell. Eren wants the five-dollar chalupa box with a Baja Blast, and Armin just wants a chicken quesadilla with a Dr. Pepper. Do you want me to transfer the money they sent you into your account?"
"Yes, please," Mikasa replied while turning into the nearest Taco Bell drive-through. "Go ahead and do the instant transfer method. I don't care about losing a couple cents."
Annie followed her instructions before setting Mikasa's phone down once she finished. The blonde then went back to staring out her window. When Mikasa drove up to order, she ordered the boy's things then bought her own meal. Annie was caught off guard when Mikasa turned and asked what she wanted.
"What?"
"I asked you what you wanted? I mean, I would order if I was sure about your meal, but I only ever bought you Taco Bell once and that was three months ago. So I'm not really sure if you wanted the same thing."
"But why are you asking me what I want? I didn't ask you to get anything."
Mikasa rolled her eyes at how Annie was acting and turned back to the ordering speaker.
"Can you also add a chalupa meal, a Baja Blast freeze, and a side order of cinnamon twists?"
Annie's eyes grew even wider when Mikasa read out her order word for word to the person. She was baffled that Mikasa still remembered what she got all those months ago. Her cheeks heated up and Annie immediately went to cover her face. She couldn't believe a simple thing like a Taco Bell order would affect her in such a way.
"Let me send money for it."
"No, it's on me. Don't worry."
She didn't resist what Mikasa said, jostling because she had no power to. Annie was a blushing mess and was doing her best to hide it. The Omega didn't understand why it affected her so much, especially since she had literally been fucked senseless by Mikasa. Something little like getting her food shouldn't cause this many emotions to spill out.
Annie kept quiet, letting Mikasa hand her the food before starting the ride home. She did mutter out a quick yet quiet thank you once she got her food but returned to being silent.