Chapter 2: Dreams and Confessions
"She thinks I'm gay. She thinks I'm GAY." Jean whined as his friend Marco have him a pat on the back. "But jean... Aren't you gay?" Connie asked. "What!? Of course not!" Jean said. "Oh sorry" Connie said. "Huh? Your not?" Sasha asked as she devoured her bread. "No I'm not!" Jean said with a huff. "Are you sure? I mean, no ones judging you." Sasha said. "Of course I'm not! I like Mikasa." He grumbled. "Mikasa? You know you have no chance with-" Connie was interrupted by a hand covering his mouth. It was Marco who was shaking his head.
"Well there's nothing wrong with being gay." Sasha said. Jean let out a frustrated sigh and stood up. "Whatever, see you guys later" he said. "Wanna make a bet to see when he comes out of the closet?" Connie asked. "Before the school year ends" Sasha said with a grin. Marco smiled as he began to think of his own wager.
Jean walked around to find Mikasa but so far had no success. Maybe he could ask Eren. Actually, scratch that Jean thought as he found said boy with someone he didn't recognize. He was definitely older than Eren and had dark hair and eyes. He was shorter than him, and had his arm over Eren's shoulder. Maybe they where friends? Jean shrugged them off and decided not to bother him, he'd probably have no clue anyway.
Jean turned back and decided to head to the library, maybe she was there. He hunted around but didn't find her anywhere. "Maybe she's in the restroom..?" Jean asked himself as he thought of what to do next. Lost in his thoughts he was completely oblivious to the person in front of him until it was too late. "Oh, sorry." A voice said. Jean followed the voice to a face and saw the per boy Mikasa often hung out with. His name was Armin, right?
"Oh it was my fault." Jean said quickly. "Hello Jean, looking for someone?" Armin asked. Jean was surprised, was he that easy to read? "Um no, why do you ask?" He said. Armin shrugged, "Just a hunch. So what brings you here? I don't often see you in the library." Armin said. Jean shrugged, "Thought I might check out the sports section to see if it had anything interesting." He lied. Armin knew he was lying; he could always tell with most people but had no idea why half the time. He brushed it off, it didn't concern him.
"Well once you find a book would you like to sit with me and Mikasa? She should be back for, the restroom by now..." Armin said. Jean smiled, "Sure!" 'And I didn't even have to ask' Jean thought happily as he plucked a random book off the shelf. True to his word, Mikasa was there when they arrived. She was sitting down reading some random book he knew he would never read in his life and Armin sat right next to her. He picked up what looked like an encyclopedia and began to read it. Jean followed their example and sat down with his book and began to read.
He instantly regretted picking it. It was non-fiction and at least 200 pages, what was he thinking? There was no way he'd read about the biography of Albert Einstein, not even if his English teacher assigned it. He sighed and peeked over his book. Mikasa and Armin where really into their books, which where non-fiction, and Jean had to admit they where both nerds. Now he'd never say that to Mikasa since she was good at everything from sports to academics and probably wouldn't tell Armin since Mikasa was very protective of him. Not like she was of Eren but you get the point.
Jean also noted now much Armin looked like a girl. You could tell he was a boy, but you could also mistake him for a girl too. He had blond hair down to his chin that looked smooth and didn't posses a tangle anywhere, his eyes where a beautiful blue like the ocean, and his lips- Jean snapped out of it. Armin was a boy. He had a dick just like him, he may have been able to pass as Christa but he was a boy, just like him. Jean shuddered at the thought of him checking Armin out. He could only imagine how creeped out the boy would be if he knew, and it wouldn't help prove to Mikasa he was straight. But still, Armin had nice eyes.
Time seemed to crawl for the sole purpose of tormenting Jean, who was doing his best to pretend he was reading. He constantly looked at the other two and tried to read more of the book, but found it was just not his thing. Maybe he should consider getting another book? Knowing his luck, the bell would ring before he got back. So he'd just ride it out in silence. Jean changed position and flipped the page, Mikasa copied the latter action, but unlike Jean was engrossed in her book. Armin did the same moments later with his giant book and Jean suppressed the urge to sigh, books just weren't his thing.
Jean never thought he'd be so happy to go to class when the bell rang. Mikasa and Armin went one way and he went the other, thankful he got to discard the book he was pretending to read. The rest of the day went by uneventfully, even Eren didn't annoy him for some reason, he was just in a good mood. The day passed at its normal pace and around eleven Jean found himself in bed with the covers lazily thrown over him. What would he do now? How would he prove he wasn't gay? Did he just wait for time to take its corse or take action himself?
Jean shook his head, he'd never fall asleep at this rate. "Just think about Mikasa" he whispered to himself as thoughts of her filled his head. Memories of random things related to the raven haired girl flooded his mind, but Jean had fallen asleep with thoughts of Armin, even if he didn't know it.
Jean found himself sitting in the library, a book was in his hand but he had no clue what is was about. He was waiting for someone, but who was it again? He tried to think of who it was but his mind was blank. His question though was soon answered when a girl walked in. Her face and hair was covered by a hat and she wore a white sundress with little orange flowers scattered across at random. She sat down on his lap titled her head up, revealing her face.
"Hi Jean" not she but he said with a smile. It was Armin, a boy, and not Mikasa. However Jean smiled and wrapped his arms around his waist, "Took you long enough to get here" he said. Armin smiled and leaned forward, his lips and Jean's almost touching.
Jean woke with a start and looked around. He was at home in bed, not with Armin at the library. He let out a sigh of relief. But why did he dream about Armin? Jean looked at the time, 3:45, too early to get up. He laid back down and whispered to himself, "Think about Mikasa, think about Mikasa" but of course he didn't. All night he dreamt of Armin, in some dreams he might not of been the main focus, but he was there nonetheless.
"Jean are you okay? You look like you've been hit by a bus" Connie said in the locker room to a sleepy Jean. "I'm fine, I just didn't get a lot of sleep." Jean said with a yawn. The boys left the locker room to find not many people where dressed yet, save a fuming Mikasa a distressed Eren. Jean had to admit, he almost wet himself when he sensed the murderous aura coming off the ticked girl. Mikasa NEVER showed anger or much emotion, so for her to be this mad, Jean felt sorry for Eren.
"I'm going to kill him." Mikasa said, her voice full of venom. "M-Mikasa calm down, nothing happened-" Eren was cut off by a not so gentle hand on his shoulder. He let out a small yelp, "Bullshit, I'm going to have a talk with Levi" Mikasa said as she mumbled stuff about bite marks and other things. Eren shuddered, tonight was going to be eventful.
"What's that about?" Connie asked. Jean shrugged and kept walking, unsure of if he should go say hi. Gym wasn't eventful besides that and to Jean's surprise Marco wasn't there. He knew he was here since he saw him earlier, but he seemed troubled. Maybe he was sick? Jean shook his head, Marco didn't get sick often. After failing to come up with a good reason he decided to wait and ask Marco himself.
Marco wasn't in History or Math and Jean was worried for his long time friend. However he felt relieved when he saw the boy by his locker. He seemed even more troubled than before, and looked a little pale. Maybe he was getting sick. "Marco! There you are, I was worried" Jean said. Marco gave him a somewhat forced smile and a small wave. "Hi Jean." He said.
"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Jean asked. Marco shook his head. "No but thanks for your concern. I'm just nervous, that's all" he said as he looked down. "About what?" Jean asked. Marco looked up, "Jean... We've been friends for a while... It's just..." Marco took a step forward, "I want to be something more." Jean blinked, was Marco, his best friend... confessing to him? He felt a pair of lips on his own. Yep, he just confessed to him. Jean didn't return the kiss. Marco pulled back worried.
"Jean...?" He questioned, unsure of himself. Jean took a step back, "Marco..." He said, unsure of what to do. On the bright side Marco gained some color back. "Jean, I know you have a crush on Mikasa but please, give us a chance." Marco begged. Jean shook his head, "I'm sorry Marco. Can we still be friends..?" Jean asked, trying not to let the boy down to hard. "I don't know... Know that you know I like you, will we?"