Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Attack on Titan.

It's been a few days since my last talk with Marco. Marco has been avoiding his locker more and hasn't talked that much a lunch. He is also not sitting with Jean as much as usual. He is bothered by something and I want to know why. Even though I have only known him for a month or two now, I feel protective of him. I want to help him.

"Hey Marco, can we hang out after school today?" I asked him during lunch.

"Oh sure!" he said. He smiles and goes back to eating his sandwich. I turned around a little so he doesn't see and I do a little fist in the air. 'Yes! Now I can get to the bottom of this!' I quickly turned around so nobody notices what I was doing. Suddenly, I feel eyes on me.

I looked around the cafeteria to see Mina staring daggers at me. We make eye contact for a split second but then Mina turns her head away, avoiding me. My smile slowly becomes a frown and I looked back at my sandwich. 'God Mina…' I signed a little and continued eating, pushing my feelings down.

It was after school and I waited for Marco at the gate. I told Armin that I had something to do today so he can go ahead and go home. Then, I see Marco running from the school in a hurry. His sweater was tattered and his jeans were dirty. His hair was a mess and his shoes were covered in dirt.

"Oh my, Marco what happened!?" I shouted worriedly at him.

"I um…fell." He hesitantly answered. The guy is fucking lying. I already know he is getting bullied by those dickhead jocks so there's no need to lie about it unless… he's trying to not make me worry. When I was bullied by Mina and her friends, I lied to my mom about it all the time. I buried it, pretending everything was fine. I understand now. He's such a good guy.

"So…where are we going?" He asked nicely.

"Um…" damn I did not think this through enough. "How about some hot cocoa?" There we go, that's good. "It's cold out today. Let's go get some and sit at a bench!" He agrees and we walk to a hot cocoa cart in front of the park.

"Wow this is good cocoa!" I said amazed how good it was. We sat on a bench facing the half frozen lake. There was a little snow on the trees and frost covering the dead grass. We sat in silence for awhile.

"Marco…" I start to say slowly. "Are you okay? You haven't been yourself for the past few days." Marco suddenly stops sipping his cocoa and looks straight ahead.

"I know it's not any of my business but…I'm worried for you. I know you have been bullied by those jocks and…I want to let you know you can talk to me if there's something wrong. We're friends aren't we?" I said a little quietly. Ugh, I'm such a pansy. Marco slowly turns my way with a sad smile.

"Thanks but I'm fine." He said with his sad smile.

"Marco, I already know that you are gay." I blurted out. This is the cause of the bullying. I feel it. I don't know it but I feel it. He's being bullied because he's different. There's nothing wrong about being different. He has to know that.

"Marco there's nothing wrong with being gay!" I pleaded. Marco throws his head back, surprised by me sudden outburst. "It's who you are! You shouldn't let people harass-"

"Mickey…" He smiles awkwardly as I keep going on rambling. "Thanks but I already know that."

"They have no rig-wait you know?"

"I have been told that hundreds of times by a person that I admire." He blushes a little. "But, I can't do it. I'm afraid of what will happen. What happens if they spot me on the streets and decide to beat me up or something?" I quickly grabbed his arm with both of my hands.

"A friend of mine told me this once," I start say turning a little red. "You won't know unless you try."

"Thanks Mickey, that means a lot to me but I don't have to worry about it anymore." He said sadly.

"Why?"

"Because…" He takes a deep breath and continues. "Because, I'm moving."

"Moving!? Is that why you have been so distant?" I asked. He nods his head as he looks down at his cocoa.

"There's no need to worry about me anymore." He gives me his smile.

"I will always worry about you Marco. You're my friend. You're Armin's, Eren's, Mikcasa's, Jean's, everyone's dearest friend. We all will always worry about you know matter what." I started to cry. I covered my mouth as the tears. He quickly embraces me in his arms as I cried. I haven't cried since my mother's disappearance. I quickly wrapped my arms around his back and cried even more.

After awhile, we let go of each other. We sat there quietly as we finished our hot cocoa.

"Does Jean know?" I asked. Marco looks down at his feet and becomes sadder.

"No, he doesn't."

"Why?"

"Because I really don't want to tell him. We have been friends since 6th grade. We have… a lot of history."

"Plus you like him." I added.

"What!? H-How! W-When?" He starts to stutter. I laughed at him.

"There were a lot of pictures of you two in your locker, you always talk and sit with him and having the time of your life and Bertholdt told me." I smiled. He turns red and quickly turns away. I laughed even more. He covers his face with his face in embarrassment. Suddenly his phone goes off.

"Sorry." He apologizes and quickly gets his IPhone out. "Jean?" He swipes his phone and puts his phone up to his ear. "Jean? What's up?"I couldn't hear what Jean was saying but it made Marco's smile into utter shock.

"They did what!?" Marco shouts as he stands up. "I'm coming now!" then he puts his phone in his pocket. "I have to go!"

"What's wrong? Is Jean okay?" I asked quickly.

"Jean just got beat up." Marco says darkly. Marco suddenly sprints away. I quickly follow him. I followed him to the school's football field, behind the bleachers. Under the bleachers was Jean breathing heavily, holding his side, and covered in blood.

"Jean!?" Marco shouts.

"Are you okay!?" I shout but Jean doesn't answer any of us. Marco shakes him and Jean becomes a little conscious.

"What?" He said weakly. I sighed in relief and quickly help him up.

"What happened?" Marco asked worriedly.

"I heard that you're getting bullied by those dicks again. I confronted them and I kicked their asses." He answers wheezing.

"More like getting your ass kicked. Why?" Marco asked sadly.

"Because you didn't tell me they were doing it again. Not a word!" Jean shouts at him. Jean moves away from me and pulls Marco into a tight embrace. "Why didn't you say anything?" He asks as he buries his face in Marco's shoulders. Marco turns red as a tomato.

"J-Jean…" Marco says in a high pitch voice.

"You're my best friend." Jean says in a whisper and tightens his hold on Marco. Marco slowly raises his arms and wraps them around Jean, returning the embrace.

"Jean…" Marco says as he rubs his head against Jean's. I couldn't help but lean back and watch the scene. It reminded me of sappy romance movies. After a while, they let go of each other then Marco faces Jean with a serious look.

"Jean, I have to tell you something." Marco says, looking into his eyes.

"What is it?" Jean asks. Marco takes a deep breath and slowly opens his mouth.

"I'm…I'm moving away." He says firmly. Jean steps away from Marco, with heavy breathing. After a moment of silence Jean says:

"When…"

"I'm moving next week." Marco answers.

"So suddenly," Jean says surprised.

"Yeah I knew for a few days. I didn't know how to tell you guys." Marco gives a sad smile to him.

"And we have this much time to get back at those motherfuckers for years of bullying." Jean smiles mischievously.

"Wait, we're going to get back at them?" I asked.

"They have to know that it isn't okay." Jean says firmly.

"I think it's better to go to the principle as witnesses and tell him that we are worried about the safety of students." I said.

"She's right." Marco agrees. "There's no point to add more to the fire."

"But Marco, we had tried that way. It didn't work." said Jean.

"We'll try again, then we get parents involves." I said, crossing my arms. Jean looks at me and slowly gives in. Marco pats him on the back.

"Ow!" Jean shouts and rubs his shoulder.

"Sorry!" Marco cries out. Then we all laugh and helped Jean out of the bleachers.