A/N!: Just to clarify, the scene where Mikasa and Eren storm out of the dining room is when I transition into Day 5 (Friday), which we are currently in. Chapters 1, 2, and the beginning part of chapter 3 are all Day 1 (Monday). Thanks Sentinel07 for letting me know about the misunderstanding.
Armin and Eren had finished going over the plans to get the journal back secretly. They both decided that if they either of them were caught, they'd confess and tell the truth - that Eren had found her journal earlier and the fact that he read some of her most deepest and private parts. He wasn't sure if she'd forgive them if it came down to that, but he couldn't lie to her, not after reading all that. He thought it would be best to apologize to, for pushing her away constantly when she was only looking out for him. He didn't want to hurt her anymore than he already did and wanted to protect her like his mom told him to. Armin told him to go on ahead, saying he needed to use the bathroom real quick. He walked out of his room with a clear mind and heart, he was going to apologize to Mikasa weather she found out about the journal or not. However, what he didn't expect to see Jean and Mikasa standing so close together in the hallway. He seemed almost too close.
Mikasa was holding a bouquet of roses and from what Eren could make out she thanked him for being a good friend. Jean's smirk fell at the mention of 'good friend'. 'Ha, serves him right. That's all you'll ever be. She'll never think of you the way you think of her.'
Jean seemed to groan at that and slapped his hand to his forehead in frustration. "For fuck's sake Mikasa, can't you tell!?" he shouted at her. Obviously not horse face. He grabbed her, one arm against the small of her back, the other on her shoulder, and quickly pulled her against him. 'Woah woah woah, what the hell does he think he's doing!?' He was starting to get annoyed. Who the hell did Jean think he was grabbing onto Mikasa like that? Eren was about to yell at him for grabbing onto her in such a way, he could see the lust in his gaze, it disgusted him. 'There's no way Jean has the balls to do what I think he's gonna do...' His unvoiced thoughts were cut off by the sight of Jean leaning in and kissing Mikasa, his firm grip on the journal loosening.
Jean pulled away, eyes lidded. "Can't you see? I love you. I always have an always will." She was about to respond to his confession but Eren dropped the small, brown book from his hands, interrupting the two in front of him. Whatever hopes he had that what he was seeing surely wasn't real were gone in an instant.
Jean looked up from Mikasa, eyes growing almost as nearly as wide as Eren's. 'Oh shit...' Mikasa turned around to see what alarmed him so much. She didn't expect to see Eren Jaeger, the boy who's been the object of her affections for all these years, staring back at her.
She felt her heart drop to the pits of her stomach, a feeling of dread washing over her. "Eren, I-", she struggled to find the right words, "-this isn't what it looks like. I would never-"
"Save it." He said coldly, looking down at the floor and clenching his fists. Mikasa winced at that, the dread looming over her increasing with each passing second.
"Eren, let me explai-"
"No, you don't need to explain anything to me. I don't have the right to know anyways. I-! All I ever do is... h-hurt you..." His voice started wavering then. "Mom... told me to protect you, but it looks like I haven't been doing my job right, huh?" He looked up then, eyes beginning to water. He felt so betrayed that Mikasa would go to Jean of all people. He was going to make it up to her too. "Guess I'll have to give that duty to someone else..." Why am I so angry? It's not like it's any of my business anyways.
"Damn right you will." Jean stepped in front of her, eyes pointed in Eren's direction. "Give it to me. Mikasa doesn't need you." In that moment, his feeling of betrayal turned into one of anger. He changed his mind. Fuck that. I need her way more than you do.
"Pfft. As if I'd hand it over to you." he scoffed. His blood was boiling. "You don't deserve her!"
"The fuck did you just say to me, Jaeger!?" Jean speedily stomped over to where he was and leaned in, inches away from his face. "I don't think I caught that. Speak up."
"Get out of my face you freak, your breath is killing my braincells." Eren smirked, as Jean angrily grabbed him by his jacket. "You fucking- ack!"
"Stop it." The two were so busy arguing that they didn't notice Mikasa standing beside them. She grabbed the hair at the nape of their necks, pulling their heads apart and ultimately closing the distance between them, causing their foreheads to collide. They both fell backwards, rubbing their heads and muttering their discontent.
"Ow...What the hell was that for!?" Eren grimaced.
"It looked like it was going to get physical so I had to intervene." She crossed her arms and looked down at him with her stoic expression plastered on her face. "Now sit and be quiet for once." Eren was going to rebuttal but he could practically feel the killing intent from her aura, so he decided not to. Even though I don't want to, I should probably shut up for now. He leaned his face into the palm of his hand, muttering to himself and picking at the wooden floorboards he was currently sitting on.
"I almost forgot how strong you were, heh. It's one of the many reasons I fell for you." Jean interjected, scratching the back of his neck nervously. Eren made a gagging noise to signal his disgust, earning a side glare from Jean and a kick from Mikasa. Jean continued anyways. "I...I really do love you, Mikasa."
Her cheeks flushed, she was so busy worrying about how to explain the situation to Eren that she forgot to take his feelings into consideration. Though, it still didn't change the fact that she loved Eren. "Jean...thank you."
Now it was his turn to blush. "F-For what?"
"For your confession. It was very sweet." She let out a small smile, the likes of which made him even more flustered. "Thank you, really. It makes me...happy that you feel that way about me...but..." Jean looked crestfallen. Deep down he knew the truth.
"B-But what?" He saw it coming from a mile away. Mikasa would never feel the same way, not with Eren in the way anyways.
"I can't respond to your feelings in the way you would've wanted. I'm sorry, Jean." Eren felt a little happy inside but he didn't know why. Maybe it's because one of the people he hated the most was getting his heart torn to pieces right in front of him, who knows. Jean brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, burying his head into his legs and letting out a deep sigh. He knew the rejection was going to hurt, but he didn't expect it to hurt this much. I should've known. Shit. Even when she's rejecting me, she still looks so damn beautiful. Man, I'm never gonna get over this.
He emerged from his little bubble, sitting up straight and eventually standing up, looking down at her. Eren watched from the floor, attempting to patiently wait for them to get this over with as he scratched at the wood again. Of course, he wanted to tell Jean to take a hike but he didn't want Mikasa to get mad at him. He better not kiss her again. Tch. Piss off already.
"Can we...can we still be friends at least? Or you know, if it bothered you that much-" He started nervously rambling. I mean, she did let me down easy but what if she wants nothing to do with me now? He began to look down at his thumbs and twiddle them in rapid motions.
"Jean."
"I can-um- I mean- we"
"-Jean!" He jumped slightly when she rose her voice, earning a snicker from Eren. He stopped adverting his gaze and looked directly at her. "Y-ye-yes?"
"Let's stay friends. But no more kissing, alright?" She extended her hand, offering him a chance to shake on it. The gesture made him flush to the tips of his ears. He grasped her hand with his. Fuck. Her hands are just as soft as her lips.
"...Alright." The handshake was brief, almost business-like, but he still wished it would've lasted longer.
"Um, can I ask you another question?"
"Go ahead."
"...Why him? Why couldn't it be me?" The question caught her off guard and she tried to hide the fact that she was flustered. Her stoic visage was slowly crumbling as Eren sent her a questioning look. A number of questions ran through his mind. Him? Who's him? Is he someone I know? Why don't I know about him? If he's an asshole, I'll seriously beat the shit out of him.
She avoided the questioning looks from the both of them, choosing to stare at the dirt on her boots and play with her scarf. "You...You wouldn't understand. He..." He's all I have left. He took me in when I had no one else. He's the one person I can't ever lose.
"Fine. You don't have to explain yourself right now. I understand." Hah. There's no way she'd say it in front of him. Am I an idiot or what?
"Thank you."
"And um, I'm sorry for kissing you like that. I ...got caught up in the moment." He started walking down the hallway towards the first door, marked "Horseface + Baldy", waving his goodbye. He turned to look at back at them, eyes flitting between Eren and Mikasa. "I'll, um, see you... around." he croaked, quickly opening and shutting the door behind him. She could've sworn he was crying.
Mikasa didn't know if he saw her wave back. "See you... later." Her arm dropped, going limp on her side. Although she felt bad that she had to turn him down, especially in front of Eren, which must've killed whatever pride he had left, she was glad she was honest with him. This made sorting out her feelings for Eren easier. Now she was more confident that her feelings aren't just an obsession to protect him.
"Wow. I never thought he had the balls to confess."
Mikasa sat down beside Eren. Being beside him helped her relax sometimes. "What do you mean?" she asked, quirking a brow.
"Well, it's just that he's liked you ever since he first laid eyes on you. Hmm...I think he tried to confess in a lot of roundabout ways but you always ignored it."
"Wait. He...he's had feelings for me since our trainee days?" Now both brows were raised. Eren turned to her and did the same.
"Wait. You-You never knew?" He stared at her in bewilderment and she shook her head. "Holy shit. How dense can you be?"
Mikasa elbowed him in the side. "-Gah. Hey, stop hitting me Mikasa!" he frowned at her. She let out a laugh. He stared at her, taking in her playful expression. Wow. That's kind of cute. Wait. No. Hold on. It's Mikasa you're talking about here. Get back to reality Eren. "You're not the only one who's dense here."
"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. I'll tell you about it some other time."
"Fine." he grumbled. He couldn't believe she was implying that he was dense too. I'm just as smart. Hmph. I'll show her.
They sat in a comfortable silence, basking in the light shining from the window. They listened to the sounds of nature outside, birds chirping, insects buzzing, the occasional chirp from the cicada. It almost seemed...too peaceful, compared to the world they lived in. Mikasa broke the silence, standing up and walking a little bit farther along the hall before crouching to pick something up. "Hey, Eren," she began. He was about to ask what she was looking at before she turned around, little brown book in hand. Oh shit.
She waved it in front of him so he could take a better look. There it was. The dark aura surrounded her again. Eren felt a drop of sweat slide down his cheek as he gulped, attempting to swallow whatever fears he had and digest them into oblivion.
"You didn't think I'd forget about this did you?"
A/N: Wow. I didn't know how to get past the incident. Hopefully it's not too OOC :( I tried my best, lol. Sorry I took long to update, I've been unexpectedly busy this past month. Excuse any grammatical errors. When August rolls around, prepare for quicker updates ^w^. Feel free to leave any comments/suggestions. Reviews, favorites, and follows are always welcome. (But seriously, reviews always make me more motivated. *O*)