CHAPTER 2

"You know it's a good thing that no one saw that punch, because it would be your free ticket to the Wasteland."

Amy felt the sweat running down her back as she planted her fist in his shoulder. Jean wasn't so fast this time, but he moved to the side, just enough so the attack only grazed him. He laughed at her and she glared at him.

"You are hopeless."

The next punch went towards his chin. He noticed too late that is was feint, her second punch landing in his gut, expelling the last bit of choked air from his empty belly.

It was damn good shot. Jean was surprised to notice the fair amount of pain in his gut, but thanks to previously pairing up with Reiner – big mistake – Jean knew how to deal with it.

"Not bad" he said breathlessly, failing to sound as if the punch didn't affect him. She didn't mock him though, looking down at her fist in amazement. When he met her eyes, he saw a glint of excitement burning in it.

"Let's do this again!"

Her hits were stronger and more desperate as the time passed, but as her determination grew, her punches became less accurate therefor easily avoidable. After her forth missed attempt he stopped her punch in mid-air, closing his palm around her fist.

"What?" she asked irritably, trying to yank her hand back, but he held her like a vice.

"You technique sucks, that's what. You haven't been able to touch me once in the last few minutes."

"I'm trying!" she snapped at him, finally escaping his grip, shaking her hand a few times. He gave her an annoyed look as she massaged her sore fingers.

"Listen, Kalmbach, I'm trying to help you here, so I would appreciate if you wouldn't bitch about every damn criticism I give you."

The glare she gave him only made him glare back harder. They looked at each other; both of them having colourful wishes on their tongues, but neither said anything. Much to Jean's satisfaction Kalmbach was the first one to give up, quitting their staring match.

He always called her that. Kalmbach. Amy simply didn't fit her. It was a pretty and feminine name and to be honest she was neither. The resident scowl that usually sat on her face gave her an unfriendly and unapproachable air.

No wonder she had no friends.

"Sorry" she muttered finally, not meeting his eyes. Jean decided to accept it and nodded.

"Just don't make it a habit" he said, but couldn't help adding: "It's annoying."

She rewarded him with another hard look, but remained silent. And Jean was thankful for that.

"I think I got you in the mood to hit me, so let's discuss your shitty technique, shall we?"

She had to admit; training with Jean was really something. Although he was really blunt when it came to pointing out her faults, he did have a flair for teaching. Even his jerk façade and criticizing nature motivated her somehow. She wanted to believe that she didn't care about his opinion, but after training with him for a few weeks, deep inside, she hoped for his approval. She wanted to prove her worth to him.

Of course, he remained unflattered as ever.

Her part of the deal involved much less muscle strain. It wasn't too complicated. She mostly had to sit with the trio during dinners and pair up with Mikasa from time to time. That second part was one of Jean's newest ideas. If she practised with her, he had the perfect reason to join them. It became quite obvious to everyone that Jean became her personal trainer, so there couldn't be any wonder why he insisted on correcting her movements even if she was paired up with someone else.

Also it was a great time to show off his skills. Not that Mikasa cared really. And although Amy enjoyed watching him trying to impress her and failing at it, she felt a little bad for him.

It was one of the reasons why she didn't break the obvious to him. Jean, who was a perfect observer when it came to training, seemed to be completely oblivious to Mikasa's non-existent feelings towards him. Maybe if he was a head shorter and named Eren.

It would also hold the possibility of him giving up on his crush, therefor breaking their deal with Amy.

She just had to make sure that his infatuation with Mikasa didn't disappear. And fueling that fire wasn't a challenge.

Commenting here and there, pointing out things nonchalantly, like how beautiful the girl's hair was made Jean forgot his doubts immediately. She knew she should feel a little bit of guilt for encouraging him like that, but she didn't. She couldn't lose the luxury of him helping her, even if it cost her dishonesty.

Marco seemed to see through her intentions, but she got away with a few disapproving look. She knew that the boy was aware of Jean's unrequited affection, not wanting Amy to lead him on, but for some reason he didn't confront her about it. She concluded that he either tried to avoid arguments or understood her reasons. The second one seemed unlikely, since she never admitted these things out loud, but Marco looked like a clever guy. Not clever as Armin, but he was a good judge of others.

It was hard to believe that he and Jean had such a close friendship. On her worse days, she often asked him how he could stand Jean. Marco's reply was always the same. A genuine smile appeared on his face and said:

"Jean is a really good person, once you get to know him."

She somehow found that hard to believe.

A/N: Hey guys!

Thanks for reading! I know this was really short, but I don't have any time to write, thanks to the university, but I wanted to update anyway. I hope you like it :) And if you find any grammar mistakes, please feel free to correct them. English is not my native language.

Also, LovelyLina96 and rac, thank you for the lovely reviews! It really motivates me to continue this, so please don't forget to share your thoughts with me. :) I hope nobody is too OOC or a Mary Sue.

I will try to update soon!