CHAPTER 3

Whenever Mikasa was close, Jean seemed to turn into a completely different person. His change was an interesting process; how his confident demeanour perished without a trace, being replaced by a blabbering moron.

Amy found it quite amusing to watch. The fact that even if he had physical skills he lacked social ones was something to gloat over. At least I don't lack both, he grunted at her once.

Unfortunately after every failed attempt Jean turned into grumpy and fractious teenager who was irritating and hard to handle. Marco somehow always managed to brighten him up, but Amy decided to stay away from his moody self. After the first week it was a drama she wasn't interested in the least, and pissing off Jean would have meant needing to find a way to make up to him.

He wasn't really resentful, but he had a nasty habit of bringing up resolved arguments whenever he needed an upper hand. However it was hard to stay silent, when Jean was instantly ditched after his miserably shy "hello".

As Mikasa ran after her friends, leaving a self-conscious Kirschtein behind Amy couldn't help commenting.

"You are a heartthrob."

Jean shot her a murderous look, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Shut up." He looked at the disappearing form of Mikasa once more, before adding. "It's harder than it looks."

"Oh, I'm sure" she muttered under her breath, but Jean heard it anyway.

"It is!" he snapped at her, his temper already worsening after the unavailing attempt. Amy groaned inwardly before she turned to face him.

"Okay, okay!" she tried soothingly, putting her hands up in air. "I believe you."

Jean wasn't satisfied with her answers and as she started to leave he roughly grabbed her arm, stopping her in mid-step.

It was another bad habit of him. Whenever he lost his temper he became unaware of his actions. He never hurt her, but his grip held an uncomfortable strength and Amy hated it.

She looked at her arm, before angrily snatching it back, giving him a loathsome glare.

"What the hell are you doing?" she all but spat at him. Jean realizing what he was doing quickly hid his culprit hand behind his back, having the decency to look a bit guilty.

"Sorry" he mumbled quickly before regaining his tone. "I wasn't finished."

"Well, I was" she said, still irked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well, I don't care. You should be helping me, not mocking me."

"As if you didn't do the same to me."

"It's not the same."

"It's the same."

"It's not! What I'm saying during training has a motivational purpose. Shadish is doing the exact same thing."

"What I'm saying is motivational too. It doesn't seem to help you though."

"Oh, go and fuck yourself" he said with finality and left.

No training for today either, she thought bitterly before leaving as well.

He was angry at first. Angry with her, with Eren for having such a close relationship with Mikasa without even trying, but mostly angry with himself.

He was ridiculous. Kalmbach was right. It didn't matter how many times he tried to initiate conversation with the black haired girl or that he had saw her every day for who knows how long, his mind always turned into a mush whenever she was around. All the pep talk beforehand with Marco turned out pointless when it came to the real thing.

Jean glared at his boots as he pulled them off and tossed them on the floor. He ignored Marco's concerned look and climbed up to his bed. He huffed until he found a comfortable position, turned on his stomach and buried his face into his pillow.

When Marco voiced his thoughts Jean groaned into the feathers.

"I'm fine" he muttered, hoping that his friend would drop the subject.

He didn't.

"I wouldn't worry about if I were you. You had worse fights before."

"I don't know what you are talking about" he said in feigned incomprehension and turned on his other side.

He wasn't worried, he thought. But he did feel something strange. Expecting only relief and tranquillity, guilt was an unwelcomed guest, but present nevertheless. It wasn't the consuming type though. He knew what he said was right. But not helping her train again may have been a bit too much.

Not that he didn't deserve some days off. He actually felt quite relaxed without her constant present. But since he assured her that he wasn't going to help her any further until she starts doing her part. Their last joint training was nine days ago.

Now that he thought about it, Kalmbach commented here and there, in a surprisingly fair-spoken manner, that if he wouldn't mind she would wish to continue their lessons. However the last week had been a rough one and he always found an excuse to say no.

And in the last few days she didn't even bother asking. She hadn't said but a few words to him, before disappearing through the course of the day. He once saw her discoursing something fucking Yeager, before he showed her a movement, which in some way resembled the fighting style of Annie. And the fact that it took Kalmbach a week to find a replacement for him, and that replacement was Eren Yeager pissed him off to no end.

She was a traitor.

He was about to set up his bristles, when a smelly sock landed near his head.

"What the hell, Marco?" he grimaced, picking up the malodorous piece of clothing between his forefinger and thumb, removing it from his bed, faster than the speed of light.

"You were ignoring me" he replied casually, catching the flying sock, aimed at his head in mid-air.

"This is disgusting!"

"I bet yours smell ten times worse."

Jean hearing the hint of playfulness in his voice sat up in his bed and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is that a challenge that I hear?"

Marco pulled off his other sock and threw it straight to Jean's face.

"It might be."

Things got pretty chaotic after that. Marco had a good aim, but Jean had quick reflexes. They managed to dodge each other's throw, without leaving their own bed, so Jean laughed triumphantly when his sock hit its target. Marco pulled a face, as he brushed it off, from his forehead.

"All right, you win. This is the most disgusting thing I've ever smelt." He sniffed it again and imitated puking after.

Jean laughed again. "It's not disgusting. It's my secret weapon!"

"Let's hope that the titans spit you out after smelling that."

"Not that we will ever meet one" added Jean, jumping off his bed, before launching at Marco's. The bed creaked under their weight, both of the boys cringing at the voice. After settling comfortably Jean put his arm around the freckled boy enthusiastically.

"We will live a long and peaceful life inside the walls. Maybe even play some card games the king himself!"

Marco gazed dreamily. "The king! I can't wait to meet him… what do you think he will be like?"

Jean shrugged. "I dunno. Fat, I guess with all that money."

"I mean, do you think he is a good king?"

Jean thought about it for a bit. "I'm not sure… no. Considering all the starvation and poverty he is probably a shitty one."

After a long silence Marco talked.

"Maybe we could steal all his socks as a punishment."

Jean scratched his chin. "I always pegged him as a stocking guy."

They both snickered at that.

A/N: Hey guys!

Thanks for reading! It's another short chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless. These chapters are still kind of prologue-ish, the real fun will begin when the big guys appear. I'm trying to establish the base of their relationships in these small insights (hence the fast-paced time-travelling). They are fun, but a bit difficult to write, so I hope nobody is too OOC.

As always, English is not my native language, so grammar mistakes are most probable; feel free to correct them!

And dear Carmen, rac and Agent Pumpkin, thank you for your kind reviews! They really brightened my day. :)

Whether you are reviewing or not, I hope you have fun reading this, as much as I had writing it. Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed! :)