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Eren catches sight of Marcy…? Marla…? She’s not entirely sure, but she catches sight of her in the mirror while she's tying up her hair, trying to catch her damnable flyaways, and stops what she's doing just to watch her tug off her clothes. Her mouth might go a little dry.
“Eren.” Armin prods her in the shoulder, then follows her gaze in the mirror, and snorts softly. “you have a type.”
“I don't.” Eren sniffs, and rummages through her pockets to find a headband for Armin. “She's just… You know.”
“I know. You want your head crushed between her thighs. I understand.” Eren would flush, but it's true, and Armin isn’t even teasing her yet.
“Do you...know her?” Eren ventures, trying not to appear too creepy as she peers at her again in the mirror, pretending she's checking the clumps in her mascara. She's an amazon, tall, broad and muscular, and Eren might be a little in love. She gestures at Armin to follow her so she doesn't get caught creeping, and exits the change room.
“That’s Marco. We’re partners in bio. She's allergic to peanuts, she's a gemini, and she watches 27 Dresses on repeat.” Ermin answers smartly, tugging open the gym door and waltzing through. “She and Jean are best friends.”
“Ew why.” Eren pauses on the big red line, rolling her ankles in preparation for the beep test. “Also, you're a goddamn spy. Why do you know all this?”
“I have her on twitter, snapchat, and instagram. She has like, a million followers.” Armin pauses. “Actually, Marco’s so popular, how have you never heard of her till now?”
Eren shrugs. “You know I live under a rock.” she ponders something, then nudges Armin roughly. “Can I see her insta?”
Armin tugs her phone out of her bra and types in her password. “Try not to get too wet when you see her bikini selfies.”
*
Marco is on the rugby team, the student council and the daily announcements team. Everyone likes her, Eren discovers as she snoops around. Everyone. She's a good student, a good friend, and despite the fact that she and Jean are best friends (the solitary mar on the perfection that is Marco Bodt’s life) the fact that even bitchy Jean doesn't have a single negative thing to say about her (even behind her back like the two face she is) just proves that she is, in fact, flawless.
The only person in the whole school who doesn't like her is Mikasa. But how his mind works has always been a mystery to Eren, and she sure as hell isn't going to try to understand him now.
At first, Eren agonizes over the whole dilemma. If it were just brains, Eren could match Marco. Just looks, and she's sure Marco would find her attractive. But Marco’s the goddamn queen of their high school, and Eren exists on the social fringes. She's sure she's fought, either physically or verbally, every female in the school. She tore Connie's weave out once. (It was, in fact, an accident, but that didn't make the fight any better).
“There's no way she’ll want to date me.” Eren laments, draped dramatically over Armin’s bed. “If nothing else than the fact that me and Jean will always be at each other's throats.”
“Don't worry about that so much.” Armin comforts, idly throwing popcorn into Mikasa's mouth.
“If she rejects you, I'll always be here for you.” mikasa drawls.
“Yes. Fantastic. Thanks for that vote of confidence.”
Eren realizes abruptly that it's not even her style to be this worried about anything. She's always charged headlong into everything. So what's the difference in a crush? So what if she's never talked to Marco before now. And so what if she literally has no excuse to do anything but go slowly?
Going slowly is not what Eren Jaeger is known for. As with all other things, why start now?
*
Eren approaches Marco in the gym change room, while she still has one arm flopping through a sleeve, her voluminous hair stuck in the head hole. “Hey.” Eren broaches weakly.
Marco tugs her shirt all the way on and blinks at her in vague surprise. “hi Eren. Have you started the phys ed final?” she asks sweetly, and smiles. Her eyes are a perfect caramel brown, her eyeliner couldn't be more on fleek.
“Well, yeah. That's actually sorta what I wanted to talk about.” Marco blinks again and tips her head. Eren swoons. “So um, I think I like you, and I was wondering if you'd like to meet up at like, Starbucks or something and work on our finals together.”
“Without Armin?” Marco probes.
Eren feels her ears flush and hopes desperately her flyaways hide them. “Armin can come if you want--”
“No!” Marco says quickly. She blushes and looks meekly and at her socked feet. Her socks have little owls on them, Eren notices when she can't bear to look at Marco’s face anymore. “I'd be fine if Armin didn't come… I've had a crush on you since first semester.”
Eren blinks. “Why didn't you say anything?”
“I don’t have the balls you do.” Marco rolls her eyes and idly twirls a lock of hair. “You never noticed me, and you're always so cool. I felt like you wouldn't give me the time of day.”
Is it too early for Eren to assure that she would devote every hour on the clock to Marco, or…?
“Yes, okay you two, lovely. Enough with the goo goo eyes if you please, some of us have to worry about our blood sugar.” Armin flaps her hands at both of them, startling them both out of their little bubble. “Come on, we’re gonna be late for the beep test.”
“So um, I’ll sit with you at lunch?” Marco calls before Eren is dragged away.
“Defs.” Eren gleefully chirps back.