"Hey. Just breath, ok? It's me, Jean."
I know who you are dumbass. Yet the thought never formed into words. It was like the air from your lungs was plucked from your body and thrown into a garbage can. So you only nodded, flinching violently when the boy's hand lightly touched your shoulder.
You whimpered and curled into a tighter ball. Images flashed around your mind that ripped you from the present to the nightmarish past that haunted you.
There was blood-so much of it. Bloody fists pounded on your body that left a dull ache inside you. Screams ricocheted off of the walls in your mind, wailing and crying. You couldn't escape. There was no escape.
A sharp stinging slap on your cheek yanked you back to reality. Your frantic, darting eyes landed on the honey brown orbs and you raised your hand to the stinging skin where Jean had just slapped you.
"(F/n)." Jean snapped. "Keep your eyes on me and breath."
Rapid breaths slowly changed into steady even ones, your heart dwindling down into a somewhat normal pace.
You sucked in another breath and unlocked your fingers from your death grip on your cloak and glanced at Jean. A wave of shame washed over you, and you bit your lip harshly.
Jean wasn't supposed to find you like this, he wasn't supposed to see the cracks in your mind that threatened to swallow you whole, and he wasn't supposed to see anything.
"(F/n)."
"What." You whispered, (e/c) cast down to the dirty alleyway. If anything the boy would abandon you after this little bout of instability, everyone did eventually...
"Will you tell me?" Jean spoke, slowly reaching out to brush his fingers against your own that rested on your curled up knee.
"I-I can't." You whimpered. You wanted to tell him, it was on the tip of your tongue, but you couldn't risk another panic attack like the last one, so you shook your head. "Not now."
The two-tone haired boy nodded and didn't press you further. Instead he gripped your hand and pulled you into a tight hug.
A little noise of surprise left you when Jean wrapped his arms around you and brought a warm hand to the back of your head, your body tensed from the contact. You could hear the gentle thumping of his heart when you pressed your ear against his chest, the subtle hints of pine drifting inside your nostrils.
You soon relaxed into the embrace and gripped Jean's shirt and shut your eyes. Current fears washed away and all that was left was the sound of his beating heart and your soft breathing. Before you could stop yourself, the gentle tug of sleep pulled you into a much needed rest.
Jean felt your body go lax and glanced down. You had fallen asleep.
The boy sighed and hoisted you up gently from the dirt covered alley. This was the first time Jean had seen you relapse like this. Most of the time they came in nightmares or just blank stares at random times that Thomas had told Jean about, but this was new.
A stab of sadness pierced through Jean's heart. It was obvious something happened outside the walls that haunted you constantly. It hurt him knowing someone like you who was so beautiful and strong suffered through life constantly, but Jean would do anything in his power to make you better. He had to...
The boy sighed again and wandered back into the crowds, easily finding Bertholdt's tall figure and a frowning Reiner. The black haired boy spotted Jean with you in his arms and quickly dashed over.
"Oh my God, i-is she ok?" He cried, his green eyes landing on your unconscious features.
Jean nodded. "Yeah, I think so."
YOU ARE READING
What Lies Beyond || AOT Boys x Reader
Fanfiction×Slow updates× When two, nearly dead teens, are found trying to scale Wall Rose, they are captured and taken into questioning. What nobody expected was that, (F/n) and Thomas, lived beyond Wall Maria in conditions that could be compared to a living...
