It was Wednesday, I told Jean that he didn't have to continue with being tutored since he was caught up in English and we barely did anything besides talk during our study sessions. Practice was more important than this with the state finals so close. But Jean was insistent that we continue until soccer was over.

I was on my way to the library when I saw Jean talking to a girl on the volleyball team. She was pretty, not in the way that Krista was pretty but in the way that Mikasa and Annie were pretty. She was so collected while talking to Jean I felt jealous, he looked like he was really enjoying talking to her too. I was definitely being ridiculous but the pit that had formed in my stomach looking at Rico... flirting? with Jean didn't feel so good.

I turned back around to take the long way to the library so I didn't have to look at them anymore. When I was passing the locker rooms, the boys on the football team that had previously harassed me caught sight of me.

"Look it's that girly boy!"

"What an insult to all men." I rolled my eyes. 'Men' would not be ostracizing me about my looks. This was really the first time when I wasn't terrified of them, I just didn't have enough energy to be scared.

"Waiting to see what real men look like, huh?" one of them stopped me from walking away from them by grabbing my shoulder and spinning me in their direction.

"No, he's waiting to ogle them."

"No." the first time I have ever really stood up to someone un-nervously. "I'm trying to go to the library so back off why don't you?" I attempted to move but the other boy had grabbed my wrist after the one let my shoulder go.

"Oh, you think that you're in charge gay boy?" he looked angry, homophobes are the absolute worst.

"H-hey, look we should just get to the fields, yeah?" the smaller one said.

"How 'bout you shut the fuck up? I thought you were cool? I'll have to mess you up too now."

"I-I'm gonna go to the field now." He said running away.

"Back to you, you gay piece of shit!" he punched me in the stomach and I coughed hunching over, I felt like I was back in freshman year. "What a little bitch! This is what you get you piece of trash!"

Now it was the ribs. Then a smack in the face. Another. Another. Back to the stomach.

I started to cry after that. This was probably the worst day of my life.

"Haha! That's right cry, you're so gay. A gay little bitch." He threw me down to the floor after another smack to the face. He started to kick me in the stomach as I tried to wipe all the tears from my eyes. It made me sick that we were in the middle of a hallway and there was no one walking in it to stop him. The sports teams left out of another door in the locker room that led outside. Jean was probably already in the library by now too. I started crying again.

"You cry like a little girl! You are pathetic and everyone else like you is too." He kept kicking me. Again I wished the world would just swallow me up. If he kept this up, which he was going to, he'd break something. I close my eyes and ducked my head before he kicked me in the head. I felt another kick to my stomach and I un-tucked my head.

Out of nowhere, Jean punched him in the face hard enough to almost knock him over.

"What the hell?" He said when he recovered from the shock of being hit. Jean didn't respond, he just hit the kid again. I had seen him fight with Eren before but he didn't look anything like he did now. He was completely enraged right now.

"What an asshole, I hate trash like you," Jean yelled at him as he punched the kid in the face again, "I have no fucking tolerance for shit like you!"

"J-Jean, stop," I started, but he kept punching the other in the chest. "Jean stop! The team needs you for the championship! The whole school does! Think about your father!" he stopped halfway through a punch.

"Y-yeah, man I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The kid said.

"Fucking leave before I change my mind, asshole. Don't fucking touch him again." the boy scrambled away nodding yes.

I couldn't believe Jean just put his position in the championship on the line for me. His voice broke my thoughts.

"God, are you okay? I swear to god if you aren't, I'll kill him." He pushed my hair out of my face to see bright red handprints and tears. "I'm going to fucking kill him. How could anyone do this to you?" He pulled me into him while the tears continually ran down my face.

"Jean, you'll lose the right to play. I'm not worth that."

"What the hell Armin? Of course you're worth it!" I flinched at that, he looked shocked and then his features softened, "Goddammit, I'm sorry." He hugged me again, tightly.

"It's ok Jean." I said hugging him back. He began to rub my back and I squirmed to try to wipe my tears away. He let go and then looked at me as I adverted my eyes. He wiped that tears away and I flinched from pain. His eyes widened in anger but he controlled it.

"Shit! You need to go to the nurse now."

"Jean it's fine."

"Like hell it is!" he exclaimed angrily. "Nurse, now." He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the nurse. "Shadis!" he shouted quietly to the nurse who had yet to leave.

"What the heck happened, boy?"

"Some fucker beat him up."

"Jean, watch your language. Here I'll get you an ice pack."

"I'm taking you home."

"No, you need to go to practice, I'll wait for the next bus."

"Like hell you are. Why would I let you sit there and put yourself at risk to get beaten again. No way."

"I'll call Mikasa, you need to go to practice, the final is so close."

"I guess..."

"It's okay. I'll text her now." Jean sat down next to me and looked into my eyes, he pulled my bangs up to look at the damage done to my face, he looked angry and upset. He dropped his hand from my head and took my hand in his. I was focusing on his scar, hoping nothing like that was on my face, Eren would flip. Jean's phone buzzed and I looked down at it even though he was still looking at my face.

"New Message, Rico: So what are we doing when you get done with practice, champ? (;"

I started to cry quietly again, really Armin? I couldn't handle all of the crap in one day. I tried to wipe the tears before Jean did.

"Hey, hey, you're okay" he asked putting an arm around me and hugging me into his chest. "Alright, you're going home."

"Mikasa will get me, go to practice."

"No." He wouldn't let go of me. "I'm really sorry that I scared you, I just couldn't stand that he was hurting you."

"It's fine."

"I don't want you to be afraid of me, I'm really sorry." Jean was squeezing me, it hurt a little because I'm almost positive that my ribs were bruised. I couldn't wrap my head around why he was acting like this towards me.

"Jean, I'm not scared of you, honest to god." he acted so erratically with those boys it had been kind of frightening but he was just trying to protect me, I've seen Eren attempt worse.

Mikasa opened the door to the nurse's office and looked at me with disbelief in her eyes. Besides that she showed no emotion in her stance or her voice.

"Armin I'm taking you back to my house. Eren's on a date don't worry." Jean let go of me when she finished speaking but held onto my hand. His phone buzzed again, another message from Rico.

"Goodbye Jean. I'll see you at the game Saturday." we left with that, Mikasa examining my wounds and questioning me about what happened and who did it. I just wanted a nap.

I didn't feel like going to school the next day so I didn't. I told Grandpa that I wasn't ready to go back after what happened with that kid and I texted Mikasa to tell Eren that I was either sick or taking a mental health day and to keep Eren from seeing me. She came over a while after Jean dropped me off, when I normally would've gotten home. Eren was on yet another unsuccessful date with a guy called Reiner, he texted me after and said that he was still shaken up over an ex. I knew Reiner, he went out with my friend Bertholdt and they both went graduated last year. So anyway, Mikasa knew as well as I did not to let Eren know because he would go berserk like Jean did but he wouldn't stop.

I had a bruise on my temple ad Eren would still manage to see it somehow. I texted Mikasa to come over before Eren woke up, so I knew the knocking on my door was her. Except for when I opened the door to Jean, I was thrown for a loop.

"Jean?"

"Hey Armin." he looked at me and scratched the back of his head, something I've realized that he does when he's nervous. He was examining my face, I could tell he wanted to reach out to me because that's just the kind of person he was. I didn't know if I wanted to be around him right now, I wasn't afraid of him for defending me but just thinking of Rico flirting with him in the hallway I didn't want to look at him and keep having that text that showed up on his phone playing in my mind.

"What are you doing here?"

"You weren't at school yesterday." he said quietly, he seemed nervous to be talking to me. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

I knew Jean thought he scarred me yesterday, I was glad he intervened however. I could've been in a lot wirse shape had it not been for Jean. I felt like I needed the space he was giving me though but it was clearly bothering him.

"I was in pain, I didn't feel like going." he looked down at his feet for a second and back up. "I'm not trying to avoid you Jean, I'm not afraid of you."

"Thank god." he took another step up onto my porch and hugged me, rubbing my back and holding my head to his chest, running his fingers through my hair, I felt my face become hot being so close to him. He released me from his chest to hold my face and inspect the bruises that were there. "I should've been with you, this wouldn't have happened."

"It's alright Jean, Mikasa's coming over to cover the bruise with makeup." I told him, rubbing my cheek where the bruise was.

"Ok, I um-you're sure you aren't mad at me?" Jean was like a little puppy right now, "Absolutely positive?"

"Absolutely positive." With that I told Jean goodbye and that I'd be at school and his game on Saturday.