A/N: sorry for the wait, I had terrible exams at college. Hope you like the story, if you have opinions of suggestions, write them in the comments! There is much room for improvement, but otherwise, I hope you enjoy this chapter~

"Buckle up boys, because shit's about to hit the fan. And here I thought that this year I'll pass all my classes." In the boys' bathroom, a group of teens are skipping some class that's too boring for them. The place is filthy, the toilets smell horrible and there are dirty words on all the stalls, not to mention that the floor is covered in cigarette butts, seeing as the cleaning lady probably drank again and is sleeping somewhere.

"Jean-boo, the reason why you don't pass your classes isn't the teachers, it's because you're an idiot with a big mouth". Sitting on the radiator that is out of order since they got into high school, Eren puffs out some smoke. He smirks and licks his lips, tilting his head back and looking at the ceiling. One of his elbows is resting on his knee while the other leg is dangling on the floor. "Besides, I might like this new teacher, he's not dull like the others and some philosophy might be useful."

The whole room is thick from the smoke of everyone's cigarettes, Jean is leaning against the stall, Mikasa is perched up on the window sill, Connie is sitting in the sink while Armin is keeping watch, probably shitting himself.

"Well, that's just my opinion; I always say what I think!" Jean defends himself.

"Yeah, but do you think what you say?" Eren asks with a smug look.

"Why you little bitch…."

"Let me guess, you just bought another book you're not allowed to read" Connie rolls his eyes and spits on the ground.

"Not just any book Connie, Voltaire, if you can imagine." Eren lifts his index accordingly.

"Wow Eren, so unpredictable, as always" Jean says with sarcasm in his voice and crosses his arms.

"Whatever, like I care for the opinion of uncultu-"

"will you shut up already?!" a voice echoes on the walls, turning every head towards Armin's direction " Everyone knows why you read this stuff, it is because they are forbidden and you want to look like the almighty rebel when all you do is smoke, get into fights and flirt with everything that has two legs. You don't care about culture or knowledge at all." Armin's voice wakes everyone up from their dizzy state, and even Eren jumps a bit when he hears the malice in his voice. He sighs, jumps from his spot and walks with slow steps towards Armin. He wraps an arm around his middle and pulls him close, his big green eyes staring into Armin's baby blue ones. That's the look everyone knows, when he seems in such deep thought, batting his long eyelashes and biting his lower lip, you'd think any moment from now on he will tell the most amazing thing in the world, a creative and smart comment, what philosophers crave for years, but…

"You're just jealous because the sports teacher lets me skip the class and not you, Armie." …this is what everyone gets, usually. And as he's been taught for years, Armin believes in bowing his head as long as he does not get into trouble. So, as Eren takes back his previous seat, a mindless small talk begins. Because there is nothing else to be talked about: homework fights, and who sucks whose dick, usual high school chat. Mikasa stares at Eren absent-mindedly, noticing as he seems to instigate the discussion more and more: he moves too much, raises his voice and shakes his head only to hear the clinking of his earring: popular rebel clown type.

"Mika, I'll love you forever. I'll be the kite and I'll let you pull my strings. And if this life will win the fight and we'll become slaves in a suit, I'll let you cut me and throw my bits to the titans. " his voice was subtle in her ear as they were embracing on a rooftop, their friends all around them, either passed out drunk or still singing, and the sun was just coming out and they were still up, full of life, and Mikasa was gazing at all the rooftops and her feet were ready to jump all over them. Bottles of alcohol were lying around, along with dirty rugs and a Cd-player. Connie had his zipper open while Sasha had whipped cream all over her face, Jean was in her lap while Armin tried to play the guitar... It seemed like it was the first time she saw the sun as gorgeous as that sunrise, so she started to yell in happiness, Eren was spinning her around, and in that moment the sun, the sky with a few stars left on it, the rooftops, the faint love of everyone, and the whole universe seemed like it could fit right in her heart without much trouble. Nothing was as big as her soul and in her heart 10 supernovas were exploding per second. Eren started to pull her into an up-beat dance, the others were laughing or playing some guitar strums, one last time to love before titans will show them how life bites…

But that was long ago…Mikasa thinks looking down. She isn't 16 anymore. She jumps from the window still and grabs Eren by the ear in spite of everyone's laughs and Eren's protest.

"I thought the great, out of ordinary minds don't spoil their mouth with stupid gossips" and in an instant, Eren looks down and shuts up, a miracle for once. "Let's get going before someone catches us, it's Jean's turn to pull us out of the shit and I'm not in the mood for detention." She leaves the bathroom, Eren by her side as the rest follow suit just as the bell rings.

"Besides, I like the new teacher; it's something about his that says more than basic titan-schooled boring teacher." Mikasa says, linking her arm with Armin's.

"Yeah! He's actually a sadist!" Sasha jumps.

"Will you shut it, food-head? I bet he's something cool, like some small leader of the Scouts!" Armin says over excited, covering Sasha's voice. But as soon as the words leave his mouth, a hand slaps his neck rather hard.
"You idiot! Stop saying that out loud! Or you want to spend the night in a titan jail like we did last year?! It's forbidden to talk about any titan resistance!"

"Still, there is something fishy about our homeroom teacher…" Eren pauses to analyse.

On the first period:

"Good morning class. My name is Levi Ackerman and I'm your new homeroom and philosophy teacher, and this year, I'm gonna be your worst nightmare." Everyone looked to each other perplexed, so much for formal introduction… Mikasa had heard however of young teachers like him trying to be brave, casual or just plain different, and in less then a month the principal put them to their place. Mr Smith was a real pain in the ass and had a way to make sure things were going his way, so Mikasa wasn't buying this nonchalant attitude. Fucking government minion.

Mr. Ackerman was walking through the desks as he was the center of attention, his hands clasped around his back, his hair so dark and eyes like a storm, Mikasa rested her head on her palm, muttering to herself how the girls would start having daddy issues again.

"What's your name?" he asked facing a young boy.

"Reiner Braun sir!"

"And yours?" he said turning to another one.

"Krista Lenz, sir!"

"And your name please?"

"Sasha Blaus, sir!"

"Where did you learn Sasha?"

"At the 146th Central School before Trost High, sir"

He turned around at this point, facing everyone in his gaze before continuing his stroll.

"But do you know who I am?"

"Yes, you're Socrate!" Jean said rising up before the whole class started a quiet laugh.

"Ah, yeah, that is how the kids call me" he made a lengthy pause" but do you know who Socrates was, the real one?"

"Yes!" said Connie rising up "A great Italian writer!" and the whole class erupted in a heartfelt loud laughing fit.

"See? They don't seem to agree with you…"He looked down and continued.

"Everyone, take out a piece of paper!" his deep voice echoed and in that moment, no one was even breathing "How about a pop quiz as an introduction gift?"

"At homeroom class?" A girl asked half surprised half annoyed.

He raised his eyebrow as pupils were pulling out notebook pages as slowly as possible trying to pass the time. "Write down your name, class and date. And yes dear, to whoever looked so perplexed, a test in homeroom teachings, how about that? Or does any of you think that a high school life should involve only questions in chemistry or algorithms?" and Mr. Ackerman didn't fail to notice the subtle smile of the alpha trio, especially Eren's, who turned around to capture his teacher's gaze with his own surprised one.

"The theme of your paper: How would I want my homeroom teacher to be? You have 10 minutes before the bell rings" he muttered before going to the front desk, dropping in the chair and putting his feet on the table, bizarre indeed.

"Something fishy indeed…" Jean agrees with him for once.

After the first day of school was finally over, Eren is talking to Mikasa in the park near the school. Her hand is grasping his arm firmly, and they stay closer than it should be allowed, because he likes to take risks and she lets him. Because he is not bothered by what everyone thinks. But she does, and she lets him do as he pleases anyway. While his eyes are pleading, hers look like an incoming storm.

"I missed you more and more as the days were passing there" he reaches for her scarf, and Mikasa almost lets him, until they are interrupted by some cute ditzy girl with long lashes.

"Hey Eren, I really wanted to talk to you…you know, about tonight?"She takes a quick glance at the other girl and asks without too much care "oh, am I interrupting something?" and Mikasa feels her blood boiling and the storm on the verge of starting, so she slaps his hand away from her. "Yes! YOU ARE INTERRUPTING! And you..." she throws daggers at Eren "you're still the man-whore you always were!" she turns around and she knows what's coming. Him chasing away the girl, grabbing her hand and spinning her around before they are close enough for him to drop his guard right before her eyes. And she will see him without his superiority, stripped from pride, he will tell her he is sorry, that she knows where his heart is and that he puts more affection in a handshake with Armin than anything with that girl . And she will believe him, because she can't stand to see him suffering and because she knows he'll take them both home and give her what she needs: his touch and his embrace, and an hour when she feels like she's cared for before going back to the same old story.

Not this time tho, she frowns and picks up the pace, throwing her backpack away and getting as far from them as possible. She takes turns, randomly, and ends up in the school corridors where she deliberately knocks a flower pot over. she hears steps of heavy boots behind her, and she wants to run away, endlessly, on fields and over rivers and to the other side of the world. And she would do just that, if not for her heart that was…

"what the hell Mikasa?! What was that all about?" his yells fall on deaf ears as her breathing accelerates. She does want to do this, and her heart goes on fire, and it's so against her being that…

"Auch! What the fuck?!" and the sound of her palm against his cheek persists for a few more minutes in her ears.

"you tell me what the fuck this is about! I'm tired of thinking you can get the easy way out with me! You never think of me more than a hiding place to go when people don't want you anymore!" and her screaming is truly horrible, like some hurt animal who doesn't find peace to lick its wounds.

"that girl doesn't mean a flying fuck, and you know that! Mika, does it bother you so much I'm not sticking my tongue down your throat when we are at school?"

"NO! Not this, again! Eren, I'm bothered by the fact you're the chief coward of the cowards, you preach every day like some illuminated savior about having the guts to fight this titan plague around us, to fight for freedom and never just swallow and let others decide for you, and yet this is exactly what you do because you're not brave enough to do what your heart tells you!"

"You know very well I do it for both of us and because I love you more than I care to be seen with a beautiful girl around!"

"But that's exactly the thing!" she punches him into his shoulder "you don't love me! Not even a bit! You only love that I'm always the badass girl, smart and tough but when I'm with you I follow you like a puppy and mold like plasticine over everything you want! You love the control. You only love that I'm yours and that no matter how bad you fuck up you know you have some dumb bitch you can rely on to save you. Because when you drop this misunderstood rebel façade, you know I am the only one who can accept you like you truly are, with cliché ideas and stupid dreams! You're never gonna win this fight against them, you blind prick! You'll only lose, and for starters, you lost me !" she turns around, her tears swallowing her face, her nose running, thinking she might drown any second.

"Puppe, don't be like that, come on…I'll…I'll take you home and buy you snacks and I'll do whatever you want, just…be my Puppe" Eren drops his shoulders, out of smart words, drained by this girl not from this grey world.

"No. and it's final. I'm not your Puppe. I'm a warrior, a lover, a thinker. I cry, I swear and I smoke too much. I keep my freedom close to my soul, I am vulnerable, I suffer and I love. I am more than a girl with a stone heart. I am brave dreamer. But you, you are shit Eren…" and with that she walks away, wanting with every fiber of her being for Eren to come after her and tell her something sweet like how their love isn't meant for the eyes of those normies.

Of course, he doesn't.

So she walks out in the school yard, half proud and half dying. There, she sees Annie Leonhart, smoking a Davidoff on the steps. She is in the same class with her, but mostly no one dares to knock on her ice cage she has around herself. Her blue eyes turn around to face her crying face, so Mikasa sighs and plops down next to the quiet girl. She's the daughter of a titan police officer, really dangerous and her father could probably beat you on political reasons if you look at her the wrong way. Not like she needs it, anyway.

Mikasa sits uncomfortably close to her, snatches the cigarette from her hand and takes a long drag. Her make up is probably smudged and she looks probably like she's been through some shit. Most important, she knows people like her should be kept at a distance, especially if you value your little freedom of speech that is left in this shitty country. But today she is pissing on the general opinion, and she will talk to this girl if she wants to. Especially now. Annie looks at her, and her blue eyes are cold, but very calm too, and they look like a resting spot Mikasa has been searching for. Because no one cares for the resting spot of the designated mother of the wounded, right? And as she looks around her, Mikasa sees less and less of the green trees, green grass and green uniforms, and instead, there are all kind of forms like the blue sky, the blue veins on her arm, the blue flowers and the blue jeans, the blue water bottles…blue….like everything is blue. The warmest color in this afternoon.

"Annie, don't you think sadness is sadder than is happiness happy?" and she hopes she makes sense this time.

"you tell me…" and as they sit close, Mikasa doesn't mind being vulnerable again.