"What did I say about not talking?" the man whispered dangerously to Christa. The poor blonde looked like she was about ready to cry, especially when he put his finger to the trigger. Ymir fumed and looked about ready to punch him in the face. Everyone was so scared. This was so wrong. Everything was wrong. This wasn't how prom was supposed to go at all. And me, having the shitiest luck in the world, was tired of everything going wrong. Being turned into a girl was terrible enough. But this? This was bullshit.

And then something sparked within me.

I wasn't scared anymore. Now I was just angry. And when Jane Kirchstein gets angry, she tends to act without thinking. Which is exactly what I intended to do.

"Hey, asshole! Leave her the fuck alone!" I called to him. Everyone gasped at the sudden outburst, and Marco tensed up, trying desperately to cover my mouth. But it was too late. The guy dropped Christa and angrily made his way over to me. He then jerked me up by the wrist and pointed the gun to my head. I started to panic just a little bit, but it was too late to back out of what shitstorm I had gotten myself into.

"You better have a damn good reason you just spoke without permission." I could practically see the rage in his eyes as he spoke.

"I do actually. I was going to say if you're going to shoot anyone, shoot me!" Everyone gasped even louder. I chanced a glance back at Marco, who had a mix of terror and hurt on his face. I winced slightly.

Jane what the fuck are you doing stop it right now before you get yourself killed you idiot.

"And why should I shoot you?" he asked almost mockingly. I almost froze. I didn't have an answer. I didn't actually know why I said that in the first place. But before I could even think of something good, I suddenly saw something just below my peripheral vision. Something, no, someone was silently crawling along the ground. I nearly gasped in surprise as I realized that it was Vice Principal Levi who was crawling. And in that moment, I knew exactly what to do.

See, here's the thing about Levi: he may be short, but he was without a doubt one of the best fighters I had ever seen. Whenever there's a fight in the hallway, Levi nearly knocks out the teeth out of whoever started it, or both if he has to. One time I saw Eren come back to class with bruises all over his face, a bloody nose, and both black eyes. He told everyone not to ever be rude to Levi when he tells you to stop fighting, and since then, hasn't got into anymore fist fights. So right away, when I see him sneaking up on the dude, I know his plan. I resisted the urge not to smile, and kept talking to distract him.

"Why? Because my life is absolute shit. Ever since about a month ago, God or whoever the fuck runs fate has been shitting on me for no goddamn reason. I got people hating me for something I can't control, hell, I was almost raped," Everyone around me looks terrified at this point, and some even a little sad. Of course everyone also knew what I was actually referring to, unlike the man who was currently about to murder me. Luckily, Levi had just reached us, and he was just beginning to stand. Some of the other students noticed too. I figured this was my last chance to figure out how to convince this guy I was fine with getting shot. "So, how about it, huh? Do you wanna have a go at me or what?" The man looked like he was seriously contemplating his options. Levi was now fully in attack position. I smiled.

"Time's up."

It was at that moment that Levi sprang up from his position and tackled him forward. I used that time to yank my hand out of his grasp before he fell to the floor. A shot rang out in the gym when he hit the floor, making everyone scream. While Levi was beating the guy up, the other students took the chance and ran for the exits. I looked back at Levi who seemed to give me a "you better go, I don't need help" look as he beat the guy unconscious. I silently thanked him in my head, then turned to look for Marco. In the chaos, I managed to find him laying on the ground still.

"Marco! Marco get up we gotta go!" I yelled as I made my way over to him. It was then that I noticed that he was clutching his arm in agony. I froze.

No. No way. This could not be happening.

Blood pooled around his arm, and I quickly realized that he was the one who had gotten shot. And once again, I had gone into panic mode.

"Marco! Oh my god Marco it's alright! Please stay with me we're going to get you to a doctor." I ran over and lifted him up bridal style.

"Jane, no. You gotta get outta he-"

"No Marco! I'm not leaving you behind!" With all the adrenaline in my body, I managed to power through the crowd and to the outside where police cars were already lined up and waiting. I spotted an ambulance from three spots away, and I almost cheered. The paramedics stationed by it are already rushing to me.

"Please help him! He got shot in the arm!" I tell them. They take him from my arms and I'm so exhausted from the adrenaline that I collapse on the ground. The last thing I see before my world goes black is the paramedics rushing toward me.

From what I can tell, I'm out in the middle of a dusty street. It's hot, and I'm wearing something around my mouth to keep the smell of death out of my lungs. Why does it smell like this anyway? I glance around to see the dead bodies lined up and down the street and suppress the urge to vomit. Now I understand why. But these people, hell, this place was unlike any I had ever seen. Yet, somehow I thought I knew all of this. And right now, my task was to identify dead bodies. I still didn't know why, but I knew I had to.

As I keep walking, I realize that I know none of these people. I'm about ready to give up when I spot one more body among them all. The body is deathly pale, one of it's sides is missing completely, with it's ribs sticking out. But the worst part is, I recognize the body.

"Marco? Is that you?" I can feel my heart beginning to race as my head spins.

This can't be happening. This can't be-"

"Marco!" I call out as I jolt awake. Looking around, I notice I'm in the hospital, and all the events come rushing back at once. Well, it wasn't much better than being in my dream, but at least I knew we were safe. And that Marco wasn't dead.

Unless...

Oh hell no, I'm not thinking about that. I look over my hospital bed and find that he's sleeping in the bad beside mine, to which I am relieved. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and I guess he hears it, because he stirs beside me. Then, he sits up, blinks a couple times, and gives me a smile. God he's too cute.

"Hey Jane. How're you-" He can't even get that out before I get up and nearly crush him (I can't really crush him because of the whole bullet-in-the-arm thing) with a hug. He hugs me back gently, and rubs circles into my back.

"I was really worried about you," I whisper. I know I sound helpless and stupid, but I just really am glad he's alive. He presses a kiss to my head.

"Yeah, but I'm better now, so you don't have to worry," He then gets a serious look on his face and stares straight at me. "But you had me worried too!"

"Hah?"

He almost looks like he's going to explode. "First you called him an asshole, which would've gotten you killed by the way! Then he stuck a gun to your head, then you kept talking about wanting to die and now I'm confused. You gotta explain this to me, because fuck it I'm done trying to understand you without an explanation!" I just blinked. This was the first time I'd ever heard him say 'fuck.' Plus, Marco sounded so exasperated that I couldn't help but snort with laughter. I ended up laughing so hard that my stomach hurt, and even he couldn't help but crack a smile. Once I calmed down, I figured I owed him an explanation.

"I called him an asshole to distract him from shooting Christa. I didn't know if he'd shoot me, but I took my chances. And it looks like I did pretty well if I do say so myself, which I do," I smirked at him, but he wasn't amused by my impressive feat in the least. Psh, whatever. "Anyway, when I talked about dying, I didn't really mean what I said. Sure I thought my life was pretty shitty, but not shitty enough to want to die. P-plus, if I had to die, I wouldn't be able to see you anymore." His eyes widened upon hearing my embarrassing last sentence. Dammit emotions, why can't you just let me think straight for one second? He didn't seem to mind though, and he closes the space in between us, bringing his lips to mine.

We spent the rest of the night together, and it's simultaneously one of the best and worst nights of my life.