By Your Side: Twelve

Rose had never been on a plane before. The idea gave her a lot of anxiety, however, the destination brought her a lot of excitement.

She was supposed to pack one suitcase; that was all that was allotted per student. She hoped that she packed all the essentials: outfits for each day, underwear – enough for over a week; she didn't know why girls did that, but they did, socks, two different types of shoes (tennis shoes and Mary Janes, in case they were to go out somewhere), and then a towel, a washcloth, and toweletries. She was on a three-way discord call with Bunni and Petra, going over all the essentials, ensuring she had everything, and they did, in fact, reassure her she was ready to go.

The day of the trip arrived, and all the students lined up to head through TSA. After that grueling process, they filed into the waiting area, chatting away about what they planned to do during their free time.

"I want to visit Central Park so bad," Petra said, practically beaming at the thought.

"I want to see at least one Broadway show. I don't even care what it is, to be honest," Bunni chimed in. "That's where my future lies, you know. Might as well see it first hand."

"What about you?" Jake asked Rose, who seemed eerily quiet amongst the jittery conversation.

"Uh… well, it seems a little lame, but I want to take a ferry ride." Rose lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug, a grimace on her face. "They say during autumn, the view of the city looks beautiful."

"That doesn't sound lame at all," Eld commented with a sincere smile. "Let's all do that, huh? We'll be able to see all of Manhattan that way, and maybe we'll see some other stuff we'd like to do."

At that thought, the others gleefully agreed, and around that time, the front desk clerk chimed up that it was time for them to board their plane. Filing in line, they each scanned their phones with their tickets on them and then headed inside the cockpit, then through there they made it into the plane and each searched for their seats.

Unfortunately, Bunni, Jake and Rose weren't seated near each other. And Rose wasn't placed near any of her other friends either. Taking her seat near the middle of the plane, thankfully having a window seat, Rose, looked out aimlessly, a little nervous on who her neighbor could be.

She knew most of her classmates, being class president and all, so it wasn't like she wouldn't be able to talk to them throughout the flight. It was just that… sometimes she was a little shy with people she just didn't know as well as her own friends. Even now, she didn't know how she got picked as class president, other than the fact that she was dependable and helpful when she needed to be. But she thought that was just the right thing to do, and what classmates did for each other.

Lost in thought, she didn't notice at first the person that had sat down in the other seat beside her. Then, shaking her head from her reverie, she turned to greet them – and froze.

It was Lily.

Lily appeared just as uncomfortable and shocked to see her as Rose did, and didn't utter a word to her as well. But Rose, as class president, had to lead by example, and needed to be able to talk to everyone in her class – even her supposed twin.

They never did continue their conversation on that. It wasn't like Rose didn't want to, but she had gotten so wrapped up on the trial, then the news reporters and her fellow classmates surrounding her following news articles about her, and then she had moved which took up a good chunk of her time – and finally the whole 'Levi-confessing-his-feelings-for-her' thing which was terribly distracting, that she unfortunately didn't have time to speak with Lily about… anything, really.

But what was there to talk about? "Hey, you might be my sister"? "You might be my long lost family"? How could she even begin to discuss something so serious like that, without sounding like a maniac?

"Hello," Lily finally said, her face as blank as ever. Rose noticed that Lily never seemed to smile; she wondered why that was.

"Hey – I want to say long time no see, but we kind of see each other every day," Rose tried to joke, giving a half-hearted laugh.

"Sort of. You're kind of busy being Madam President," Lily retorted, and something about the way she said it almost sounded accusatory. She probably believed that Rose was avoiding her somehow.

"Look, I – "

The flight attendant called everyone's attention then to the front, where she began to demonstrate the safety precautions of the plane. Just as she did, the plane's engine began to roar, and Rose looked out just as the guides outside led the plane to the tarmac.

They were finally leaving. They were finally on their way.

She wanted to continue her conversation with Lily – but they could do that some other time. For, as the plane took off, the entire cabin grew quiet.

Yes, she would continue this discussion… later.

Their hotel room was huge.

It had two queen sized beds, a large bathroom with a giant shower, and had a great view of Times Square. The girls – Petra, Rose, and Bunni – got to pick to room together, for which they were grateful. However… that left space for one more person. And that person happened to be – Lily.

"How do you guys want to split the beds, then?"

Rose knew that neither Petra nor Bunni wanted to sleep in the same bed as Lily; she didn't think that they didn't like her, by any means, but they didn't know her – just as she didn't. But – Rose seemed to know her just a little bit more.

"I'll share with Lily," Rose said, raising her hand for emphasis. "You two share that bed together," she went on, pointing to the bed closest to the window. Though that was the one she wanted, she was prepared to make a few sacrifices; she would see all of Times Square one or another, after all, so she wasn't worried about it.

After getting settled in, they met the boys down in the lobby and opted to go adventure to Petra's initial destination – Times Square. Rose had invited Lily along, more out of politeness than anything, but the taller girl opted to stay in the room, pulling a book out from her backpack and settling into their shared bed.

It was quite the walk from their hotel, almost a half hour, but during that time, they saw quite a few things along the way. They were right by where Aladdin the Musical was frequently held – so they put that on their bucket list to watch. They went down 7th street, in which they saw several restaurants that they wanted to try. They passed the M 's store – that also went straight on their list. And of course, they went passed the Broadway Theater.

Once at the park, they were met with first a vast land of grass, followed by a row of trees on each side. Then, as they traveled further, they found the famous bridge, and they each took pictures of themselves posing on it. Rose was a little shy to do so, but when it was her turn, she simply leaned against the ledge and looked out, feeling her long, blond hair waft in the soft wind behind her.

"Aw, that was a good one, Rosie," Bunni commented, handing back Rose's phone.

When Rose observed the photo, she couldn't help but blush a little. She had to admit: it was a nice candid. She wondered…

Scrolling through her contacts, she found him, pressed his name, and bravely sent the photo to him. Then she pocketed her phone quickly, scared to even see his response – if she got one. He was on his trip too, so he might have been too busy.

Her phone buzzed not even a minute later, and with a slightly shaky hand she pulled it from her back pocket and read the text on the front. 'Not bad.' She couldn't help but smile at that; she knew in Levi's language that meant he liked it. Just as she was about to put her phone away, another text came through. 'I wouldn't care if you sent more.'

That made her outright blush, and she quickly responded with, 'Okay, I will. Promise.' Hurriedly, she put her phone away again and joined her friends, who were a couple feet ahead of her, taking more pictures – mostly of the sights than themselves this time.

Soon enough, though, it was time to head back, and the boys and girls said their good-byes in the lobby before heading to their respective rooms. Heading inside, Rose expected Lily to be asleep, considering how long they'd been gone and how long she'd been reading. However, Lily was still wide awake, enthralled in her book, which she set down to look at them as they entered the room.

"Had fun?" she asked, though there didn't seem to be any interest in her voice. Rose was discovering, though, that was just how she sounded.

"Y-yes," she answered, sitting on the edge of the shared bed and pulling out her phone. She went to her photos and scrolled through the few she had taken of the park. "See? It was so pretty."

"Yeah, looks like it." No smile, no amusement. "Glad you had a good time."

"Me, too," Rose said, offering her a small smile. Her phone went off then, and she pulled it back to read what it said. No message, but just a picture of Hange and Erwin on a pier, both smiling and seeming to be having a good time.

'Are you enjoying yourself too?'

Within just a few seconds she got a response. 'It could be better. But it's not bad.' Yes, he was having fun, which was all that mattered to her.

But why could it have been better? Her face started to warm at the thought that he could be talking about her, and then she instantly felt a little self-centered at that.

"Why are you blushing, huh?" Bunni asked, who was laying sideways on her bed, staring at Rose with a grin. "Is it who I think it is?"

"Huh?" Petra looked genuinely confused as she rummaged through her suitcase; she had called dibs on the shower first so she was getting her things ready. "Who?"

"N-no one. It's nothing." Rose held her phone close to her chest, as if they could actually read her screen.

"I saw the name 'Levi' pop up on her phone just now," Lily said, and though there wasn't a sneer or smile on her face, Rose could hear the tiniest bit of humor in her voice.

"Hey!" Rose said. "You didn't have to tell them."

"Levi?" Petra repeated, now standing up with her pajamas in one hand and toweletries in the other. "Wait – no way. You have a crush on Levi?" Now she was full-on smiling, looking to Bunni, who also was beaming.

"It's… complicated." Rose hadn't told anyone, not even Bunni, of Levi's confession.

"Complicated how? You like him. End of story," Bunni commented, rolling onto her back as if she was suddenly bored with the conversation. For her, this was the same old song and dance, after all.

"No – not just that. He… he told me that he… likes me, too." Now her face felt like it was on fire, and she couldn't bring herself to look at them, so instead she stared at the stark white comforter of the bed.

Now even Lily was intrigued, setting her book aside on the bedside table and sitting up a little straighter. Petra hadn't moved from her spot, seeming to have forgotten all about her shower, and Bunni was sitting completely up straight, on the edge of her bed.

"He what?" Bunni exclaimed. "What did you say – wait, are you two going out now?"

"N-no, we're not. That's why it's complicated." Rose sighed. "He said to give it to the end of the class trip and see how I really feel – if I… change my mind or something. But he told me that he's… he's always felt this way about me. And I said… that I've been thinking about us, too."

"And you're not dating?" Petra asked, exasperated.

"Not… yet? I don't know. I want to…" Rose felt tears prick at her eyes then. "I've never had a boyfriend before. What if… we start, and I mess everything up? Then I'll lose him, and – "

"Don't worry about that," Petra reassured, and Rose looked up to see her smiling at her. "If he really likes you as much as you say, then he'll be patient with you."

"You really think so?" Rose asked, feeling a little more hopeful.

"I know so."

The one part of Central Park that they didn't get to visit yesterday was the zoo, however, they got to visit that today. They took a bus ride there this time instead of walking, to which Rose was silently grateful; sure, she'd packed the right shoes for it, but didn't mean she wanted to wear the soles thin on them in one trip.

Since everyone seemed paired up, Rose was once again sitting beside Lily. Though, she didn't necessarily mind. Even after Lily's little stunt last night, calling her out like that to her friends, she still wanted to get to know her, if only a little bit. However, Lily didn't seem to want to share that sentiment, not entirely. When Rose tried to start some type of conversation with her, Lily gave simple, one-word answers.

It was mildly frustrating.

But, she'd been in this situation with a certain black-haired boy before, surely she could decipher through Lily's answers and try to see some type of deeper meaning.

Right?

At the zoo, Mr. Pixis advised staying in groups of no less than four, and to practice the buddy-system at all times, even when using the bathroom. Now that they were on their own, the students went a little wild, going all which-ways to figure out just where to start first. The boys wanted to see the grizzly bears, Rose wanted to see the snow lion, Petra and Bunni wanted to try the 4-D theater. That was when they turned to Lily.

"What do you want to do?" Petra asked the taller girl, truly curious.

Lily didn't look as if she was about to answer at first, then she finally said, "Feed the penguins."

Everyone lit up at that; they hadn't even thought about doing that yet. So, they made their way toward the penguin exhibit. Undoubtedly, it was crowded, but they opted to wait – it would be crowded no matter what time of day they arrived. After about thirty minutes, it was finally their group's turn, and they filed inside, snagging a handful of food as they went.

It was a lot more fun than Rose anticipated, though she was also a little scared – of getting bitten, of course. The penguins seemed to know better, though, and just nibbled from the food she'd fed them. By the time her pellets were all gone, she was practically beaming – and looking around at her friends, they seemed to be feeling the same as she.

They left the exhibit and ventured toward the front again – and nearly passed by the children's petting zoo. Looking at one another, it was like they all had the same idea, and they immediately maneuvered from their original path toward the petting zoo. There were shy cavy – that wouldn't come near them, what a bummer – and cute goats and the most adorable baby sheep.

Following the petting zoo, they did the 4-D theater, which was a lot more fun than Rose thought it would be. She also wasn't sure what to expect, but to be sprayed by water and blasted with air while watching a show wasn't it – it was a ton of fun, nonetheless. Finally, they made their way to the grizzly bears and the snow leopard, which Rose couldn't help but stare at how beautiful the creature was.

By the time they'd arrived to their hotel room, the girls were ready to fall asleep right then and there, in their day clothes and shoes, completely exhausted by their fun-filled day.

"I call dibs on the shower today," Bunni said with a slight drawl to her voice, exhaustion seeming to take over her like it was the rest of them.

"That's fine. I'm going to get a drink from downstairs." Rose grabbed her wallet and phone and headed toward the elevators. Just as she'd arrived and entered one of the four on her floor, someone stopped the door from closing – it was Lily.

"Oh – I could have gotten something for you," Rose offered, her voice a little meek. She had a feeling that Lily wasn't actually thirsty.

"You're good. I actually wanted to give you something." Lily had brought her purse, and at first Rose believed that maybe she had misunderstood the initial situation. Then the taller girl extracted from her small bag a white box and handed it to her. "Here."

Rose tentatively took it, observed it. "A… DNA test?" She knit her eyebrows together. "Where did you get one of these?"

"You can get just about anything online nowadays – and they also have them at the health department," Lily added with a shrug. "Look – do it or don't, it's your choice. But you have to admit that there's something… there… here. Whatever. And it's probably best if we just rip off the band-aid and find out what that is."

"Lily –"

"If you decide to do it… and it comes back what we think… will you tell me?" Lily almost looked desperate now, an expression that was new to her usual stoic face.

Rose sucked in her lips, observing the box. The truth of where she came from could lie within this tiny white box – or it could be a whole lot of disappointment. But Lily was right: there was something here, and they had a right to find out just what that was.

"Yeah. Sure, I will."

With a simple nod of affirmation, Lily opened the elevator door again and let herself out on their floor, leaving Rose completely and utterly lost. In times like these, she wanted to talk to Levi – he seemed to be her voice of reason. But he was busy on his own class trip.

Maybe later, she thought. Yeah, much, much later.