THE OTHER SIDE. aa

fünf.

     STARING AHEAD the cafeteria with your thoughts running about seemed to be the only thing that you've done during lunch in college for the past few days. after that accidental meeting with the blond mermaid, he was constantly in your mind.

     your nightly visits to the beach didn't even stop. instead, you read and waited by the ocean for two hours instead of one, in hopes of seeing the mermaid again. you had no idea why you even wanted to see him again when both of your first impressions weren't exactly a good start. perhaps it was the ever-burning curiosity that kept you awake at night, perhaps something else.

     even so, the mermaid no longer appeared since then much to your liking. you guessed that he had hidden far away after your meeting in hopes of not seeing you or any other people again.

     you tried hard to concentrate during classes, but one look outside the window was enough for you to daydream about the mystical legends that most believe don't exist. it didn't help that the professors started calling for you to answer as soon as they saw you doze off, you had to shyly ask them to repeat the question and work your brain to answer fast, or else you'd be embarrassing yourself again in front of the other students.

     your friends were concerned, seeing as your intelligent brain was always far away whenever they'd discuss random things. at first, they disregarded it as you wanting to be alone but it happened at least thrice every day. being the good friends they were, they thought something might've been bothering you so the group decided to confront you. well, if they know how to, at least.

     getting irked at your silence and inattentiveness during lunch, reiner decided to take the matters into his own hand. he couldn't just wait for you to speak up and tell your problem, he didn't want you to hide your worries and let you carry the burden alone when he could do something.

     what kind of a friend is he if he lets you do that?

     "y/n!"

     you blinked owlishly and looked up from your unfinished food, seeing the concerned and worried looks your friends sent you. confused, you turned to reiner.

     "hm? what is it, reiner?" you asked with a silvery voice, brows furrowed as you tilted your head.

     "are you okay? did you hear what we said?" pieck asked, her cheek leaning against her palm while looking at you with narrowed eyes.

     you swallowed the lump in your throat before laughing sheepishly, scratching your cheek. "sorry, no..." you replied quietly.

     porco sighed and shook his head at your idiocy, "you've been out of it since tuesday."

     zeke, who was only silently eating his food, nodded in agreement. "are you alright? is there a problem?"

     you were about to answer but annie beat you to it, surprisingly. she rose from her slouched posture, sending you a creepy look that sent cold shivers down your spine. "just say the word, y/n. i'll kill them."

     "ooh, i'll hide the bodies!" pieck said a little too enthusiastically, her voice a bit louder than usual, some of the people in the cafeteria sending you and your group disgusted and horrified looks.

     reiner scolded pieck for it, who merely shrugged and laughed it off. he cleared his throat before smirking, "i'll help with hiding the evidence."

     you covered your face with your hands and shook your head in disappointment. bertholdt, terrified and clearly disturbed, turned to reiner. "seriously, you too?" you heard him whisper which caused you to snort before you finally let out a laugh.