Chapter Text
Mikasa was paralyzed.
The century-old vault trembled furiously, shaking their bodies and everything on sight with it. The torches they had left on the floor rolled towards the stairs. Mikasa hugged her body tightly, as she watched her best friend’s blank face fixating on the wall in front of them.
It was the first paranormal situation she’d ever experienced and she was scared shitless. The goth bitterly chuckled at the irony. If you had told Mikasa Ackerman she would be terrified to be in a tomb, she would’ve laughed at you.
But now Cora was frightening her. Her best friend was stuck in a haze, staring at what was before them. At what she had just done. Nothing Mikasa said made Cora stop doing whatever she was doing. Now, her blood was smeared all over the epigraph of the person inside it. Of…
Levi Ackerman. She had read.
She had read his name repeatedly, the mantra luring her to offer her wounds to the tomb. To him. Just seconds before, the blood floated towards the rock walls, where Levi’s body supposedly laid.
“…” She mumbled something indescribable to Mikasa, almost enchanted.
As a result, the blood collected itself, forming a perfect circle surrounding the name of the dead man.
Mikasa couldn’t just stand there any longer. She grabbed Cora from the shoulder, making both of them walk backwards together. The movement seemed to wake up her friend, withdrawing from her trance. As they distanced themselves from the bloodied wall, a crack appeared on it. The whole tomb shook again. It cracked wide open, creating an opening to Levi’s grave.
Cora closed her eyes unconsciously, hugging Mikasa’s body. The black-haired girl hugged her back. She stepped in front of Cora, using her own body as cover. Mikasa held her back, as they waited for something to happen.
But no monster came out of the hole to get them.
Mikasa grew even tenser, no longer terrified by her friend’s behavior. “What did just happen?”
“I don’t know.” Cora exhaled, trying to undo Mikasa’s iron grip on her. “But I think we’re fine, Meeks.”
The black-haired goth didn’t look fazed at her attempt of liberating herself, too freaked out to let her guard down that easily.
“Come on. Let me take a look and we’re out of here.” Mikasa raised an eyebrow. “Meeks.”
“Don’t get too close.” The goth grudgingly released her, crossing her arms.
Cora nodded. Putting a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear, she walked to the opening. The inside was bigger than she expected. The ceiling was tall enough for her to enter without crouching. It was a dark room, full of spider webs and dust. Even on it.
The body. Levi’s body.
He was in perfect condition for a 60-year-old dead body. Not that it surprised her with what just had happened. Cora bended next to the body. Only then she noticed he had blood in his lips. Fresh blood. Could it be hers?
She couldn’t help but move her hand towards his lips. But mere centimeters away from him, his eyes opened.
Cora froze. His grey eyes made contact with her brown ones. He didn’t seem able to move, maybe as a consequence of abstinence. Lack of blood. A few drops of hers wouldn’t do the job, but it seemed to wake him up. Enough to be conscious about his surroundings.
His eyes turned red at the sight of the cut on her wrist. Cora watched her wound, frowning. She didn’t remember hurting herself, but alas she hadn’t really been herself lately.
Before she could react, a single droplet of her blood fell down to his mouth. Levi licked his lips, not leaving it to waste.
Cora took back her arm, moving it to her chest. She tried to hide the wound from him. Giving Levi more blood was something Cora wasn’t planning on doing that night. There was definitely a chance he’d murder her because of his thirst.
The man of the journal wouldn’t kill her, but who knows what sixty years trapped in a tomb would do to you. She couldn’t trust the vampire, at least not right now.
Before retreating completely, she whispered into his ear. “I’ll be back.”
The vampire didn’t give her an answer, but Cora wasn’t expecting one anyway.
She emerged from the hole, as Mikasa waited for her. Standing next to the stairs where they had come from.
“What took you so long?” She had crossed her arms, something Cora was used to seeing in her best friend when she was irritated.
The blonde almost tripped with her feet, walking towards Mikasa. She shook her head, biting the inside of her cheek.
“Nothing. It was very dark.”
Cora didn’t like lying, but it was a necessary evil. Mikasa was already freaked out enough. She wouldn’t be able to digest there was a living, breathing vampire a few steps from them. Cora even doubted she would still be interested in the occult after this.
“Is he in there?” The goth signaled to the opening with her head, shaking her ponytails along.
“No, but there are many spiders if you want to meet them.”
Cora chuckled when Mikasa shook her head. Good.
“No thanks.” The black-haired girl made a sour pout. She wasn’t a big fan of bugs, especially not spiders. A fact Cora had successfully used in her favor. “Now let’s get out of here before everything collapses.”
Her friend nodded and followed her upstairs. The rock spiral staircase didn’t tumble with their steps, as if the whole building hadn’t just shaken completely. The structure of the vault was intact in the upper level, it only looked old. A few spider webs here and there, dust on every surface. Much like Levi’s grave, it seemed no one had entered the building, probably ever since the day they trapped him inside.
But who would? The vault was pretty much hidden, from the outside it looked like a regular storage unit for the cemetery workers. It was no surprise most of the Ackermans never knew about Levi, the family worked hard to bury the past.
It was a miracle Cora was even able to find the journal. Levi’s journal.
It was weeks before they went to the vault, she remembered.
Taking a box from her best friend’s porch, Cora helped Mikasa to carry her stuff to her new bedroom. The black-haired teen led the way to the stairs, crossing momentarily her parents’ path. The adults smiled at them.
“Thank you again for coming to help Mikasa.” The mother handed her husband the vase she was holding, stopping by while he continued walking. “Will you stay for dinner, sweetie?”
Cora nodded, following Mikasa’s steps. The girl carried effortlessly the two remaining boxes, heavier than the one Cora had, and still managed to get to her room quicker than she ever would. Unlike her friend, Cora had to adjust her grip on the box before getting upstairs.
Upon the death of Mikasa’s grandmother, the Ackerman’s moved to the property that was left for them in her will, a colonial home located in the outskirts of town. Trost was considered barely a tiny city in comparison to the capital, Mitras, and the nearby districts, which meant Mikasa hadn’t moved too far either way. A 15-minute ride on her bike and Cora would be there.
Still, she would miss not being her neighbor anymore.
Pushing her grief aside, Cora appreciated the beauty of the historical home. Mikasa’s parents had made some arrangements before moving, renovating the living spaces and donating what they didn’t want. Their new home had a refreshing mix of old and new architecture. White wall paneling, dark wooden floors and mid-century modern furniture. Engrossed by it, Cora didn’t notice Eren’s body getting on her way to Mikasa’s bedroom and collided with him.
“Watch out, dumb fuck.”
“If you weren’t such a tiny shit, I wouldn’t have crashed you, Cora.”
Their banter didn’t go missing by Mikasa, who rolled her eyes at the two of them. It had always been like that after she introduced them when they were ten. Eren’s natural hot-headed reactions and Cora’s teasing remarks tended to clash from time to time. Their playful bickering was interrupted by Mikasa’s command to enter her room, to which they complied not only after Eren took the box Cora was carrying.
Oh, yes, a gentleman.
Inside her big bedroom, Armin was already set on Mikasa’s carpet, legs crossed as he waited for his friends to join him. Cora had also been introduced to him when they were ten, instantly clicking because of their bookworm personalities. Mikasa took a pair of cutters from her clean desk and handed Cora one before sitting next to Armin. Eren placed the box down and followed Cora to the floor. They opened the boxes, taking out Mikasa’s clothes, books and posters. Although the main rooms were already fixed to their liking, the bedrooms, studies and attic were in the making.
Mikasa’s new room resembled her old one as it had the same black and wooden furniture. Cora smiled at the many memories she had of playing with Mikasa inside her tiny old room ever since she moved to the house next door. That was eight years ago. The pigtailed head of her friend moved from item to item, letting all the decorations clutter on her bed as the pieces of clothing were folded on the floor. Armin and Cora were given the tough task of arranging her clothes in color order. The clothing of their goth friend had a wide color range, going from black to slightly cool-toned, dark colors. Eren, on the other hand, was hanging Mikasa’s frames and posters, all due to his height.
Eren’s chin length, brunette hair shook in the air as he jumped on Mikasa’s bed to place the higher posters. He had been growing his hair for so long, ignoring his stepbrother’s puns during the process. Now that he was quite past the bowl cut phase, Zeke couldn’t say much to annoy him. Almost the entire wall next to Mikasa’s bed was covered with pictures of her friends and her favorite bands, mostly rock and indie ones. On a nearby shelf, she had put on display the CDs of said bands, which more often than not were lent to Cora. Mikasa approvingly hummed when Eren got the posters perfectly hung.
Cora and Armin kept placing the girl’s shirts in her cabinets as she moved on to organize her books and notebooks. In Mikasa’s fashion, they all had dark covers, either decorated with pentagrams and stars or made out of leather. They were just normal books she happened to have given a makeover, not that it concealed her love for the occult in the slightest.
The sky started to darken when Eren and his blond, short haired best friend decided to go. Luckily for Cora, it was a Friday night, which meant her parents wouldn’t be upset with her if she stayed for dinner like she had promised Mikasa’s mother. An hour after their friends left, the two girls were called for dinner.
They walked down the stairs, following the delicious smell of the traditional East Sea cuisine. Every time Cora stayed for dinner, Mrs. Ackerman’s food would delight her. Her soups and stews couldn’t be outdone, especially in comparison to Cora’s parents’ recipes. They were a busy duo with crazy schedules that often made it impossible to cook food for Cora daily. That and her mother’s clumsiness were the reasons why his father had taught her how to cook ever since she was a teen.
Cora followed Mikasa to the big dining room, where her parents had already set the table and brought the food. She thanked them for the food and they started eating, having a casual conversation about her family and their academics. Cora and her friends were in their last year of high school, which meant an awful amount of work and stress as everything now mattered for their futures. Fortunately for them, Mikasa and Cora had previously decided to go to a university in Stohess that had great reviews and scholarships. Eren and Armin were also inclined to attend there, seeing it was a prestigious yet affordable option. It was a fact many other students, such as Jean and Sasha from her AP literature class, hadn’t ignored either.
After helping to clean up, Cora and Mikasa ran back to her room. The blond teen took her phone and jacket, ready to head home until she was stopped by her best friend.
“My mom told me to leave the boxes in the attic, would you help get them there?”
Cora nodded, hanging her jacket back to where it was and taking the empty boxes along with Mikasa. She led the way to a stairwell on the opposite side of the corridor. The girls walked upstairs, where the faint moonlight barely helped them to step into the attic. Mikasa tsked when the switch didn’t turn on the lonely lightbulb that was placed in the middle of the room. The attic was dark and significantly colder than the rest of the house, probably due the fact that power didn’t seem to work properly over there. Using their phones’ flash, they got around to set the boxes on the floor. Giving the attic a quick look, Cora realized they hadn’t really done anything to it other than sweep and mop. Something seemed to have caught Mikasa’s attention, as she tugged her friends’ sleeve, pointing at something with her phone.
“Look!” The raven-haired girl took an old and unkempt doll. “She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?”
“If your definition of gorgeous is decrepit, then very much so!” Cora mocked her, getting closer to the amount of stuff that cluttered at the end of the room. Vinyl records, more creepy old toys and books. A leather covered one caught her eye. “What is this?” She muttered for herself before grabbing it and patting the dust away.
“A book.” Mikasa deadpanned and Cora gave her a funny look before eyeing the notebook.
“This is a journal.” Mikasa didn’t pay much attention, rather intrigued by some boxes filled with fabric. Cora read the first page. “Levi Ackerman, born on 25th of December of 1920 and dead on 29th of December of 1941.” Looking up from the blue ink, she stared at Mikasa. “Does it ring any bells?”
“Never heard of the man.”
“Huh.”
Cora closed the journal, leaving it once it was.
“You can take it home if you’d like, weirdo.” Mikasa laughed as soon as she saw her friend take the journal in the blink of an eye.
“Don’t mind if I do, then.”
Cora smiled at Mikasa. She took her jacket and her black messenger bag and put the book inside it. Mikasa walked her to the entrance, where she patted her awkwardly on the back and watched her step out of her home. Her friend’s stiffness provoked a smile on Cora’s mouth, making her wink at Mikasa before getting on her bike.
Once Cora arrived home, her parents had just ended their dinner. They greeted her as she walked through the open plan kitchen to reach the corridor. She practically ran to her room, taking her bag off her shoulder and hanging it on the coat rack by the door. Her oversized denim jacket followed and she changed into a graphic tee and some black sweatpants. She sent Mikasa a quick text, informing her she had arrived home safely. She washed off her makeup before plopping on her bed, journal in hand.
Cora caressed the leather cover and opened the journal. After passing that first page that stated the name and birthday of its owner, Cora realized someone else must’ve written it because it didn’t match the handwriting that covered the next pages. The immaculate black ink described the misfortunes of those who lived in Trost during the Great War. Levi Ackerman’s polished writing contrasted with the sickening events he witnessed, probably the reason why he had first started writing.
Not that Levi ever stated it, though. It was like he just took the notebook one day and started reflecting his thoughts, always dating his entries and using impeccable cursive handwriting. Levi wasn’t quite constant when writing in the journal, often leaving it untouched for months. He depicted the shady deals he got into with two friends of his, Isabel and Farlan. As Ackerman explained in his journal, he wasn’t too fond of his odd jobs but they were the only thing keeping the three of them from dying. The war had struck all nations hard and Paradis wasn’t the exception. Trost was a tiny town in the 40’s, with little to offer aside from being a good place to settle a rear headquarters and torment the villagers.
The military regime had toughed their laws once the war officially started, especially where they had headquarters settled. Their policies served both to maintain their authority over the population and to find new recruits. Joining the ranks was the sentence for those who broke the law.
Unfortunately for Levi, he and his friends ended up experiencing that policy personally.
Cora stretched to take a bookmark that laid on her desk, having no desire in ruining the perfectly conserved journal. After placing it between the pages she last read, the blonde closed the notebook and put it on her desk. Looking at her phone, she realized she had been immersed in Levi’s words for at least two hours, something that didn’t faze her in the slightest.
She loved books. It was a fact even the classmates who she barely talked with, like Annie or Reiner from PE, knew. It was all due to her signature look of having a book in hand anywhere she went. Usually they were fictional, literary ones. While she was interested too in history, Cora had never felt so invested in a historical book that depicted the harsh reality of the war.
Perhaps it was Levi’s storytelling what got her hooked. His crude humor, fine irony and vulgar wording was refreshing, charming Cora into reading until midnight. She only stopped once she felt her eyes sore from concentrating in his perfected handwriting, which only seemed to get even more beautiful as she read the entries. The teen was mesmerized by the man who poured his soul into those pages. Intrigued, she wanted to learn more about him.
Levi didn’t talk much about his past, at least not specifically. From what Cora could gather, his mother was dead and she supposed his father had never been in the picture. He never wrote about any relatives that could have tied him to Mikasa’s family, only knowing that they’re linked because they shared the Ackerman last name. Aside from the family aspect, Cora also knew he was a 21-year-old man, born and raised in Trost. Since he didn’t seem to ever have had the commodities to live properly, Levi hadn’t really gone much out of the town other than to make some business. He was a troubled young man, cold and distant even in the pages where he could express himself the most.
Battling the growing curiosity inside her, Cora got under the covers and drifted to sleep, pleased with her acquisition.
***
The next morning, Cora woke up sore, both from the sleeping position she had awakened to and the position she had been reading in for hours the previous night. She stretched and massaged her shoulder blades, finding momentary comfort. Getting the covers out of her way, Cora got out of her bed before checking her phone. Mikasa had sent her a text.
Meeks
Springer’s café as usual?
Cora quickly typed an affirmative reply. Finals were approaching and Connie’s mother’s bookstore-café was the perfect place to study and drink good tea. The ambience was quiet and cozy, and the owner was a nice woman who happened to be a friend’s mother. Many other students in town went there for the very same reason.
Checking the hour, she realized she had plenty of time to get ready at a normal pace. After taking clothes from her wardrobe, she walked into the bathroom outside her tiny room. Cora took a quick body shower and changed her comfortable home clothes for the beige hoodie and the ripped black jeans she had grabbed. She untangled her dyed honey blond hair, leaving her straight locks in a loose ponytail to wash her freckled, sandy skin. Cora did her characteristic waterline eyeliner and applied mascara on her lashes. Back in her room, she put on her combat boots and rushed to the kitchen to munch some cookies. On the counter her parents had left her some money, knowing it was very likely she would spend the morning studying at the café. She picked the money and put it in her wallet, placing it back inside her messenger bag. Taking her ring binder and her literature textbook along with her pencil case, Cora put them inside her bag. Her eyes laid on the journal and she paused, deciding to take it too with her.
After brushing her teeth and combing her hair, undoing the ponytail in the process, Cora put on her denim jacket. She hung her black bag on her shoulder and texted Mikasa that she was on her way before placing her phone in her pocket. She got out of her apartment building and walked to her parked bike.
After the ten-minute ride to the café, Cora found her goth best friend already sitting in their usual spot. Mrs. Springer waved at her once she passed the threshold. She was a blond, short woman who resembled her child, Connie. She was very kind and always wore an apron with cute, cheesy lines. She had inherited the shop after Connie’s grandfather’s passing and, after some renovations, she turned the old library into a bookstore-café.
It wasn’t a big store but it wasn’t claustrophobic either. By the entrance stood the counter, where Mrs. Springer had displayed sweets and baked goods. Forward the entry, there were tall wooden bookcases filled with all kinds of books, including first-editions Mrs. Springer had inherited. Everything was in good condition, much to Cora’s surprise the first time she had gone to check them out alongside Armin. To her right were the café seating arrangement, illuminated by the huge windows that had let her see Mikasa inside.
After giving Connie’s mother her order, Cora turned right and sat on the leather chair, taking her bag and jacket off and hanging it on its backrest. Mikasa smiled at her briefly, lifting her eyes from her notebook and laying her pen down.
“So, tell me, how was the journal?”
Cora eyes’ shone. She smiled back and started taking her things out of her bag, including the journal. Mikasa snorted at the sight of it, shaking her head. Her tiny pigtails, earrings and necklace followed her movements, mockingly.
“It’s quite good really. I stayed up quite late yesterday reading it.” The blonde answered, tapping the journal. “I really like his writing, so deep. A truly tormented mind.”
“Don’t tell me you’re yearning for a dead old man.”
Cora gasped at her friend’s accusation, shaking furiously her head.
“I’m not yearning.” She stated, proceeding to defend herself. “All I said was that I liked his writing.”
“What does he even talk about?”
“Well, he wrote about his life in Trost and the shady deals he made.” This irked some interest in Mikasa, making her tilt her head. “The last entry I read said he was being forced to join the military.”
“So, he was a thug and then a soldier.” The black-haired teen affirmed. “How depressing.”
Cora shrugged and put the journal back inside her bag, deciding to read it after she had neatly written out her literature notes. After opening her textbook, she took some pieces of paper out of her ring binder and started writing down the highlighted text, comparing the information with the notes the teacher had given them. In front of her, Mikasa started doing her calculus homework. Not too long after they began working, Ms. Springer got to their table with Cora’s mint tea in hand.
Cora thanked her, enjoying the cool smell the tea emanated. Mrs. Springer smiled and then looked at the entrance.
“Hello, mom!”
Connie Springer, her son and Mikasa’s calculus classmate, burst into the otherwise quiet café. He stuck out his buzz-cut, announcing his arrival. He was shushed by a client, who happened to be Annie from PE, and he mumbled some apologies. Exaggeratedly, he walked in a sneaky way to her mom, who only shook her head at his shenanigans. She smiled warmly at him, giving the same smile to his friends who tailed behind him. Jean and Marco, two best friends who she shared literature with. Also, close friends with her too.
Cora couldn’t stop her head from turning around and watch them approach her table. Marco’s black hair messily parted over his forehead, revealing his freckled-skin and his sweet, honey eyes. He smiled kindly at her before focusing his attention on Connie’s mother. He greeted her and Jean did as well. Cora turned her gaze to her textbook, away from his handsome face and strong chest hidden under the blue hoodie he was wearing.
She blinked a few times, trying to stop thinking about him and get her attention to the task at hand. Unfortunately for her, it seemed the world didn’t want her to study literature right now.
The chair next to her moved, making an annoying creaking sound, and she saw Connie sitting down. A few tables away, Annie scowled at the buzz cut maniac that had just arrived, irritated by his presence. Cora looked at him with a raised brow.
“You don’t mind us sitting here, right?” Connie assumed.
“You’re supposed to ask before you sit, Connie.” Marco, the forever gentleman, reprimanded him.
Cora looked at Mikasa, who shrugged and kept working.
I’ll take it as a yes then.
“It’s okay, guys.” She assured, staring at Marco’s warm eyes. “We don’t mind.”
He sat down on her other side, at the end of the table, and started taking things out of his backpack. Connie mirrored his actions, although Cora was more than 100% sure he wouldn’t do anything other than crack jokes and distract them. Previous study sessions had proven that.
“We weren’t really going to sit anywhere else, though.” Jean plopped on the spot next to Mikasa, who was sitting on a sofa, across from Cora.
Cora rolled her eyes at her ash-brown-haired friend. Jean took his laptop from the bag he had been carrying, setting it on the table. He adjusted on his seat, conveniently getting a bit closer to Mikasa. His movements shook the earring he had recently got done on his left ear. It was a silver cross hoop that stood out, all thanks to his undercut fringe hairstyle.
Cora’s goth friend didn’t react to his closeness at all. She kept solving her homework and Cora sent Jean a raised eyebrow look. He just winked at her and turned on his laptop. She rolled her eyes and continued writing literature notes. Although she was scribbling them down, her mind wandered to her interaction with Jean. She still couldn’t believe her friend was being serious when he confided in her that he had harbored a little crush on Mikasa. The two of them barely interacted at all, mainly because of having picked different classes. When they did speak it was usually because Cora was there and, even then, they only had exchanged a few words. Cora wished it was just Jean wanting to hookup with her, since the rejection would hurt much less in that case.
After all, Mikasa had always liked girls.
Marco’s voice drew Cora out of her dazed state.
“You’re studying literature?” His eyes went from her notes to her, already knowing the answer to his question. Still, the blonde nodded, waiting for him to continue. “Do you want us to study together?”
“Yes!” Her eager tone caused a teasing smile to appear on Mikasa’s lips. Cora kicked her subtly under the table before looking back at her honey-eyed boy. “Of course, if you don’t mind…”
“I am asking you, aren’t I?” Marco laughed, infecting her with his cute smile.
On the other side of the table, Jean pouted.
“Marco, you never ask me to study with you.”
Marco gave his friend a look Cora couldn’t decipher and Jean raised his hands in a surrendering manner. He let it be, starting to type again on his computer with a foreign smile. Connie’s gaze went from Marco to Jean, letting his pen down before he chipped in.
“Don’t worry, Jean,” he patted his friend on the shoulder, “no one wants to study with me either.”
“That’s because you’re annoying.”
Cora would have expected it to be Jean the one to reply to him with such a sassy remark, only to be surprised when she recognized Annie’s voice. She had gotten up from her seat, passing by on her way out, white hoodie in hand and all. Her icy blue eyes scrutinized Connie’s crouching form, as a vague attempt to hide from her.
She was both an athlete and a good student, usually silent and quite moody. Her study session seemed to have been put on an abrupt stop, all because of their chatting. Thankfully, it was Connie the one to concentrate her wrath.
“Sorry!” He quickly stuttered, almost knocking Cora over as he kept pressing against her.
“Whatever.”
Annie walked off, putting her hoodie on before nodding at Mrs. Springer and leaving her store. Jean chuckled once the blonde was out of sight, while Marco shook his head and Cora snorted. Mikasa just silently watched the exchange.
“At this point you’re going to leave your mother without clients.”
Cora openly laughed at Jean’s comment and Connie frowned at both of them.
“Oh, shut up!”
Their laughs died down a bit later and Connie’s mother got to their table, their orders in hand. She set the beverages and baked goods in front of the respective clients, and gently slapped Connie on the nape.
“You have to quiet down a bit. I can’t lose one of my usuals.” She reprimanded her son, who nodded, crossing his arms.
His mother moved back to the counter and Jean snickered. Under the table, his buzz cut friend kicked him and huffed. Jean scowled, caressing his hurt leg. After that, all of them went back to doing their schoolwork. From time to time, they had to ignore Connie’s awful jokes and try to focus back. Cora and Marco worked together, sharing their notes and solving each other’s doubts.
Some hours went by and it was already lunchtime when they started collecting their belongings. Cora put her ring binder, textbook and pencil case back inside her messenger bag, briefly looking at the journal. She didn’t have the chance to read it, too engrossed in Marco to even think about it. She made a mental note about continuing it after lunch.
“So… Are you doing something next week?” Jean asked, the question being directed to Mikasa and Cora as his eyes went from one to another.
“Study?” Cora guessed, looking at her close friend with an arched dark eyebrow.
“My mother’s going on a little vacation out of town with her boyfriend.” Jean explained. “I thought you all could come to my house on Saturday and have a movie night.”
“Sounds good to me.” Cora nodded. It wasn’t like she would be spending the entire day studying, after all. She turned her head to look at her best friend. “Meeks?”
The black-haired girl lifted her eyes from her phone, nodding to her.
“I’ll go too.” Her response made a smile appear on Jean’s mouth. “Who is coming too?”
“Aside from us, Ymir and Historia.” Marco replied, adjusting the bag on his back. “Eren and Armin… I’m not sure.”
“I’ll convince Armin.” Cora quickly assured him, getting a blond strand of her hair out of her shoulder. “He’s probably worrying about not having revised enough. Eren will probably go too.”
The black-haired teen gave her a kind smile, which she returned.
“See you on Monday, then.”
Cora couldn’t hide the heat on her cheeks. Her eyes clung to Marco’s retreating figure, the shy smile she had on her lips getting bigger. On her left, Mikasa spared her with a knowing look, adjusting the straps of her bag. She didn’t open her mouth until both Jean and Marco had left their sight and Connie had gotten back inside his mother’s shop. Probably going to annoy her further.
“Just tell him already.”
The black-haired girl chuckled as she started removing the chain that held her bike in place. Cora stepped next to her, mirroring her actions with her own bike. She looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow, her smile twisting into a pout.
“What are you talking about?”
“Come on, Cora.” Mikasa moved her bike to the road, the blond following suit. The goth looked at her from the corner of her eye. “I already know you like him, there’s no point in hiding it now.”
“Yes, I like him, but I can't just tell him!” She huffed, hopping on her bicycle. Biting her lip, she turned around to her friend. “He doesn’t know, right?”
Mikasa just shook her head, snorting.
“I’m just teasing you, you’re fine.” The blond almost exhaled at ease. “He’s still oblivious to your flirting.”
“I’m not flirting.”
“Right. You can barely talk to him without blushing and giving him ogling eyes.” The goth batted her eyelashes, mimicking Cora’s supposed actions.
The aforementioned softly hit her friend’s arm, laughing away the embarrassment that had blossomed inside her.