This takes place after the most recent events in the high school AU that the author Isayama includes in the last chapter of each volume. If you haven't read those, you probably won't have a single clue what's going on, so you should definitely check them out first!

Just Like Me

My mouth hung open. I felt my cheeks heat up for some strange reason I couldn't quite explain. It was a really weird feeling. I… hadn't felt this way in so long. I don't remember the last time I'd felt something even close to this strong.

Did he just… protect me… by lying? After everything that had happened?

I mean, it wasn't my fault… not really…

I just said something and the others… They took it and ran with it. They made it their goal to "get even" with him for my sake.

Not that they even bothered to ask me what I wanted in the first place.

They did it just so they could feel pad their egos and self-satisfy themselves into believing that they were agents of justice. So that they could pretend that in the end, they were righteous and that they cared about others just as much as they cared about themselves.

What a joke.

But even after they made such a scene… Even after all that happened to him… he apologized to me… To spare me?

I swallowed a lump in my throat as I watched him walk away towards his friends.

For some reason, I felt a stinging sense of gratitude. It was weird… I didn't even know his name, and yet I felt this way. I didn't even know feeling like this was something that was possible.

"Wow so that asshole really DID do something to you, my dear Historia?!" Ymir suddenly yelled. Her teeth grit together. "Can you believe the nerve of that guy, Reiner? I say we find him after school and…" Her clenched fist suddenly relaxed as she caught herself. "Ah… never mind. I mean… Maybe we should just forget about all this nonsense, huh…" Her eyes turned to the floor.

Suddenly, my mood soured again. My eyelids drooped upon further exposure to Ymir's two-facedness. If you want to go and beat him up, just say so, damn it. DO IT if you really feel like it. But don't pretend like you weren't about to suggest wailing on him just so you can preserve your own delusion about being a good person.

How pathetic.

"Right… I guess if he's sorry and you accept his apology, then we could ease up on him a bit…" Reiner said this with a hand awkwardly scratching at his neck. He turned his attention to me like he was an oversized mutt whose entire existence hinged upon my approval.

"I accept his apology," I said in an even tone.

The five around me breathed out the small sighs of relief that they were trying desperately to hide.

I pulled out my phone so that I wouldn't have to look at their faces anymore.

As I was clicking random buttons, I couldn't help but think of him.

Maybe… I'd unfairly judged him.

…I should probably try to find out his name.

AN: I don't really know why I started writing this but after reading the high school AU, I just wanted to get something down to scratch the weird itch that that story left me with. This story will end up being very short and drabble-ish so fair warning!