chapter 1

Are you sure you want to do this again?" I ask, as I trudge along behind my twin brother, Armin.

He looks at me over his shoulder and nods. "Yes! I want to share the wonders of the world outside these walls to other people!"

I run up beside him. "I do too and you know how much I want to explore the outside with you, but..." I hang my head. "You know what those boys do to us when we try to tell them..."

He holds the thick book, that tells of all the interesting things out the outside world, closer to his chest. "I know. I know that we get hurt just because they don't believe us, but that doesn't mean we still can't try to tell them, right? I'm sure we're close to getting them to believe us."

I bring my head up and look over at him. "Yeah. They should want to know. Don't worry, Armin. We'll make them want to see the outside world someday!"

Grandpa allowed Armin and I to stroll around town today, as he normally does, and just like any other day, it's the same here in Shiganshina. All of the merchants calling out to people passing by, their customers complaining about something being too expensive, and all the children running after each other laughing and playing.

Although, something deep down in my gut tells me that all of this peacefulness with pass away any day now. I mean, we are inside a wall, being protected from Titans. They could break in one day.

I shouldn't worry too much, and Armin shouldn't either. We have the Scouts out killing Titans, so we can be safe. I've never dreamed of being apart of the Scouts, in fact, I'll probably just stay home, where I'll be safe or maybe join the Military Police. I'll be safe in Wall Sina, if I join the Military Police Regiment.

"Look!" Armin exclaims, wrecking my train of thoughts. "There they are! Come on, Y/n! Let's go!" He started running toward the three boys.

"Armin!" I run after him. "Wait for me!" As I'm running after him, I almost trip on my long skirt, so I pick it up a little.

Armin and I...we're not very athletically inclined to say the least. Our running looks strange and we're just not very physically strong. That's why it's so hard to do anything against these boys when they start bullying us.

We like using our minds better than our muscles. It's a brains over brawn situation. We've been told on multiple occasions that we're really smart for our age. Our grandpa always says: 'You two have the mind of your father and looks of your mother.'

Armin got our mother's blonde hair and father's deep blue eyes, while I got our mother's blonde hair and hazel eyes. (I'm sorry if you don't have blond hair and/or hazel eyes, but for the purpose of the story, pretend you do :p)

Our parents were killed while trying to retake Wall Maria, at least, that's what Armin and I have been told. I hope to find out how our parents actually died one day. They might've actually been killed while trying to retake Wall Maria, but I still wonder sometimes...

The time I finally reached Armin, one of the boys have already grabbed him by his shirt and is holding a fist back. It took me a little bit to reach him, because a lot of people got in my way.

"Stop!" I exclaim and start panting. "Please...don't hurt him. We're just trying to tell you about the outside wor-"

Another one of the boys grabs me by my hair. "Do you really believe all the bullsh*t in that book? How dumb can you be?"

"Well, our father told us that everything in this book is real." Armin defends, as the boys drag us away from the crowds of people.

The boy tugs on my hair a little harder, making me let out a small grunt of discomfort. "If you'd just look at the book and see all the descriptions and pictures, you'd believe us. Our father wouldn't-"

"Where is your dad? Huh?" The last boy asks, with his arms crossed. "Nevermind. I remember now...he's dead."

Armin is thrown against a short wall, then I'm thrown down beside him. "You idiots should stop reading that book. It makes you dumber and dumber each day."

A sudden wave of courage ran through me. I push myself off the ground. "You're wrong! If we ever get to see the outside of these walls, we'll know what everything is because of this book!"

"It's not like you two are even going to live to see the outside." One boy teased and shoved me down again. "Look at how skinny you two sh*ts are! You're just bones!"

I kick the boy's shin. "We will see the outside one day! We will see the sea before we-" I get kicked really hard in the stomach.

"Y/n!" Armin shrieks, then gets kicked too.

"Shut up about this d*mn 'sea!'" The boy who kicked me yelled, then kicked me in the stomach again. "It's not real!"

"But-" Armin starts, but all three boy started kicking and punching both of us.

It's clear to see that their parents never taught them manners. They shouldn't be treating us this way just because of what we believe in.

I can feel a small trail of blood running down my chin, as my lip has now started bleeding. It'll probably be bruised for a few days, maybe a week.

"Come on, guys." One of the boys call out and the other two leave us alone and run to catch up with the other boy.

"Are you okay?" We both ask the other, simultaneously. It's a thing we do a lot, and I will never get tired of it.

"Ah! Your lip!" He exclaims. "It's already swelling up!"

I lightly feel of my lip and sure enough, it is swollen. I sigh and lean against the wall, holding my stomach. "My stomach hurts..."

"I know it does, and I should've done something to stop them kicking you..." He rests his head on his knees and starts crying.

I move away from the wall and sit down in front of him. Tears were already threatening to spill from my eyes. "Please don't cry or I'll start cry-"

"Hey..." A soft voice calls out. "Why don't either of you put up a fight?"

I look over at the owner of the voice and see a brown-haired and turquoise-eyed boy about our age, peeking around the corner of this short wall.

"They pick on you two, because neither of you hit back. Are you fine with losing forever?" He asked.

I don't think he's been watching us from the beginning. If he was, then he would've seen that I at least attempted to stand up for us both, but I failed. I also kicked one of the boys in the shin.

I look over at the three figures, as they fade in the distance, before looking back at the boy. "You're wrong. We're not losing..."

He looks at me with a strange look. "Huh?"

Armin stopped crying, but was still sniffling. "We're not losing, because...because we don't run away."

I stand up, looking over Armin. "They're the ones that are losing. They don't want to know anything about the outside world..."

"I see..." The boy comes into full view. "So, what are your names?" Armin and I both look over at the boy, who seemed to be interested in us.

"I'm Armin. Armin Arlert." He introduced, now standing up beside me.

"And I'm Y/n." I added onto Armin's introduction.

The boy nodded. "I'm Eren Jaeger." He studies both of us carefully. "Are you two brother and sister? You two look a lot alike."

We both nod. "We're twins."

Eren hums softly. "That makes sense."

"Hey, Eren?" I ask, as I pick the book off the ground.

"What?" He replied.

I swipe the cover of the book off and hand it to Armin, who now has a bright smile. "Do you want to hear about the world outside of these walls?"

"I guess, but isn't that book illegal?" He asks. "Anything about the outside world is illegal."

"Our grandpa keeps this book hidden. We look at it all the time!" Armin walks over beside his side.

"Aren't you ever afraid those three boys will turn you in?" He questions. "They might be doing that right now."

I join Armin's side. "No. We're not scared. They're too scared to talk to a member of the Garrison anyways."

"Here it is!" Armin exclaims and shows the page to Eren. "Look! According to this book, the world is mostly covered in salty water so deep that you can't even reach the bottom!"

Eren scrunches up his nose in disgust. "Salty water? For real? No way. You just made that up."

"No, he didn't." I defend and gently take the book from Armin and walk over to Eren's side and point in the book. "This salty water is called the sea! It would take many years for men to get all the salt from it, since it never runs out!"

Armin and I are very excited that someone actually wants to listen to us and learn about the outside world.

"There's even water that glows like fire and large fields of ice!" Armin informs, once we sat on the ground.

"Don't forget about the giant rocks that take days to climb!" I add. "The outside world has to be huge!"

Eren stares at the book in amazement. "Yeah. It all does sound pretty neat."

Armin looks down at the book. "Our parents...they were going to try and escape to see it all themselves, but...they were killed."

"Yeah..." I confirm sadly, but perk up and sling my arms around Armin and Eren's shoulders. "Let's all go and explore it together one day!"

In order for me to explore the outside world, I'd have to either escape these walls, or...become a Scout myself. If I became a Scout, I wouldn't last a day. I'm too weak to be a Scout.

"The outside world..." Eren mumbles. "I wonder what it's like seeing it first-hand..."

"We'll find out someday, but for now...we just have this book." Armin replies.

Ever since that day, when Eren spoke to us after being bullied, we've all been the best of friends and we intend to go out and see the outside world...together.

⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡

"Y/n." Grandpa calls out for me.

I was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book. "Yes?"

He walks over to me, takes my hand into his, and places a few coins into my hand. "Will you go get some bread for us? We need some for dinner."

I nod and close my book. "Yeah. I'll be right back."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Armin asks from the chair beside where I was sitting.

I shake my head. "I'll be fine on my own, but thank you for offering."

Armin smiles and nods at me, before looking back down at his book.

"Get going, dear. It'll be getting dark soon." Grandpa insists.

I quickly slip my shoes on and run out the door. There's a bakery not too far from our house, but I'm still going to run there. It wasn't long before I began to slow down. My respiratory system needs to build up a better tolerance.

Eventually, I got to the bakery and bought the bread. It smells so good and feels so warm. I couldn't wait to eat some, once dinner was-

"Ah!" I trip over something and fall onto my knees. I was about to hit the ground with my face, but I quickly used one of my hands to stable myself, while I still held the bread in my other hand.

I look up behind me and see the three boys that always bully Armin and I. So, I can't possibly be in a good spot right now, especially since I'm by myself.

One boy yanked the bread out of my grasp. "What do we have here?"

I glare at him, unimpressed. "That's fresh baked bread, and I'd like it back. I need it for dinner." I know they're not going to give it back, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?

"I think we'll keep it for ourselves." Another boy replies and was about to take a huge bite out of it, but he got punched directly in the face.

In bewilderment and awe, I watch as the boy falls to the ground. I look at the owner of the punch in shock. "Eren!"

"Give my friend her bread back...or else." Eren threatens, curling both his hands into white-knuckled fists.

The boy holding the bread visibly sweatdrops and drops the bread onto my lap. "It's not like I wanted it after she touched it anyways. Come on, fellas."

They picked up the boy Eren punched to the ground and ran away like three little dogs with their tails in between their legs.

"Are you alright?" Eren asks, offering a hand out to me.

Armin and I have already been friends with Eren for about a month now. He's scared those boys off many times now. I'm just waiting for them to not be scared of him anymore, though.

I pick the bread up off of my lap and grab his hand and he pulls me up. "Yeah. I'm fine. I wish they'd stop bullying us. I've read in many books that, sometimes, when a boy likes a girl, they'll tease them, but I don't think that's the case here, since they kick and punch me too..."

He starts rubbing his knuckles, as he looks in the direction the boys ran in. "I promise, Y/n. No matter what kind of trouble you're in, I'll be their to save you. Always."

"Always?" I repeat. "But...what if it's a life or death situation?"

He shakes his head. "It won't ever come to that. Not with me around."

"Ok. I promise the same to you too!" I nod firmly. "Anyways, I need to get back home, before this bread gets too cold."

"Alright. You and Armin are coming out tomorrow, right?" He asks.

I shrug. "Probably. Armin's going to want to try to tell those boys about the outside world again. I mean, I do too. I feel like we're getting through to them."

"I'll see you two tomorrow then. I've got to get home too. Bye!" He ran away from me, waving.

"Bye..." I reply quietly and turn to walk back to the house with certain words on my mind:

"I promise, Y/n. No matter what kind of trouble you're in, I'll be their to save you. Always."

A/N: Hey, cadets! That brings us to the end of the first chapter, which was mainly of how Armin and Y/n became friends with Eren. In the next chapter, I shall bring Mikasa into play, which will be fun. I hope you all enjoyed! Bye, cadets!

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