Sasha groaned loudly, slumped on the kitchen counter. "Why'd you let me drink so much last night? I have a splitting headache. I'm dyinggg."

"Relax," Mikasa stood near the fridge, pouring Sasha a glass of water. She was still in her workout gear—black leggings and a black sports bra, her short hair tied back—and had offered to make everyone breakfast due to Sasha being unable to move from her spot. Mikasa slid the glass in front of Sasha, placing a plate of scrambled eggs and hash browns too. "Eat this, and I'll give you some meds."

"Can't you give me the meds now?" Sasha pouted.

"No," Mikasa said sternly. "Not on an empty stomach."

(Y/N) sat silently at the counter, staring down at her own plate of food. She hadn't uttered a single word since her encounter with Hange yesterday. She had barely been able to sleep. Yes, her head ached greatly. Yes, she felt nauseous from the alcohol. But there was another reason for her silence. Hange's words echoed in her mind, refusing to give her a moment of rest. They were back.

Hange Zoe was back.

Her childhood best friend. Her other half.

The person who had changed her life. The person she hated more than anyone else in the world. At the thought of them, her skin crawled. It was strange, the mixture of loathing and longing when she thought about Hange. Normally, the hate drowned out any other feeling she had. Especially now.

Why were they back? She wanted them gone. She wanted them to leave. Even though days ago, she had been reminiscing the time they had spent together, she didn't want to see them again. She didn't like this version of them. She missed the past but she didn't miss Hange.

And why did she have to bump into them when she had been drunk? She had stood there like a fool, not being able to respond to Hange's quick retorts. If only she had been in her right senses. She wouldn't have let herself appear as an incompetent—

"(Y/N)?" Mikasa asked. "You haven't touched your food. Everything alright?"

"Hm?" (Y/N) blinked, looking up from her plate. "Yeah. Just a headache, I guess."

Sasha stared at her curiously, "you drank quite a bit last night, huh? Was it because of Pieck? Do you like her?"

"Quit it, Sasha."

(Y/N) smiled a little and stretched. She had a long day ahead of her. Preparing a proposal for the tournament would take up majority of her time. Plus, there were her regular assignments that she had to complete. And then there was her part time job at the market...and the clubs she was in...the familiar bitter feeling of panic began to rise within her. But it was okay. She'd manage. She'd been able to in the past.

"I'm going to go take a shower and then head over to the library," (Y/N) stood. She wanted to mention running into Hange. She wanted to talk about that with someone. Just knowing that her childhood best friend was back left a burning sensation in her throat, and she wasn't quite sure how to explain it. But Mikasa and Sasha...they wouldn't really understand.

"Don't study so hard your brain falls out," Sasha giggled at her own joke as she munched on her breakfast.

"I'll try not to," (Y/N) waved and headed down to her room to grab her stuff.

-

The library had always offered a sense of respite. Getting lost in the tall stacks of books, with nothing surrounding her but silence, was peaceful. There were no expectations. Nothing she had to live up to. (Y/N) sat in a nook of the library, her laptop balanced in her lap. Besides her were empty armchairs, the only sound she could hear was the faint hum of the AC—which annoyed her since it was already cold. Her jacket offered little warmth. The blank document before her seemed to taunt her, reminding her that she still had less than a week to come up with a proposal in order to officially be entered into the games.

What was she supposed to create? How was she supposed to ignore the fact that she had bumped into Hange and focus on something else?

Was there even a point? Hange participating in the games meant that she had serious competition.

Like last time.

At the memory of four years ago, (Y/N) shivered. She regretted that day more than any other day in her life. The words she said...well, she had been on the receiving end of hate as well, but that didn't get rid of the fact of how selfish she had been. If she could have done it all over, that was the day she would go back to.

But that was a story for another time. Right now, she had to focus. This was her chance—regardless of whether success was minimal or not. She had to seize the opportunity. And—

"(Y/N)?"

(Y/N) recognized the soft tone of voice before even turning around to see who it was. Pieck. The dark-haired girl stood nearby, staring down at where (Y/N) was sitting with curiosity. Her bag slung off her shoulder, her arms gripping onto her laptop.

"Oh, hey," (Y/N) said quietly. She tried pushing back her surprise and nodded in Pieck's direction. What was she doing here? This had been (Y/N)'s secret study spot for ages. Nobody came to this corner of the library. In fact, she wasn't sure when it had even been cleaned—that's how remote it was.

"Hi!" Pieck hesitantly walked closer, eyeing the armchair across from (Y/N). "I hadn't known people came down to this part of the library! I discovered it last week and thought it would be pretty empty."

(Y/N) smiled a little. "Yeah, no one comes down here. Besides me. And now you."

She felt a little awkward as she watched Pieck slide into the chair across from her. (Y/N) wondered if she should just up and leave.

"Are you working on the proposal?" Pieck asked. She had pulled out her laptop and settled in, looking expectantly towards (Y/N).

"Well, yeah," (Y/N) nodded. Was talking to Pieck about the upcoming games a good idea? After all...they were both competitors. She thought of Sasha, who was currently hungover in their apartment, and was glad that the brunette hadn't tagged along. Her argument that (Y/N) should ask Pieck out was only getting stronger by the day.

"Nice! That's what I came here to do too!" Pieck grinned. "Although...I still have the last biochem lab I have to write up. Shadis is ruthless when it comes to grading."

"He is," (Y/N) agreed. She loved her mentor, but he was a tough man to please. "You gotta focus on the smaller details. He loves students that are detail-oriented."

Pieck brightened. "Really? Thanks for the tip. I got a few points docked off the last write-up and I wasn't quite sure why. I wanted to go to his office hours...but, he seemed intimidating."

"Well...if you want, I could help you with this week's?" (Y/N) offered. The words had left her mouth before she had the chance to think twice. Helping people was something she often did. Although, it was not out of the kindness of her heart. She felt pride in being smart, at being intelligent enough to offer assistance. Sometimes, she wondered if she was a bad person due to her lack of pure intention.

"I'd love that!" Pieck smiled so brightly, then she practically lit up the darkened corner they were sitting in. "Transferring to Trost has been amazing, I love the professors and the people...but it's also been difficult. Keeping up with this workload while navigating other personal expense has not been great."

That was understandable. (Y/N) remembered what it had been like for her during freshman year. It had been awful. Of course, her circumstances had been different, but if it hadn't been for Sasha and Mikasa...then (Y/N) wasn't sure where she'd be.

"What about Yelena? You have her right?" (Y/N) asked as she motioned for Pieck to hand over her laptop. She'd look over whatever Pieck had written so far.

"She definitely makes things easier," Pieck smiled fondly. "But it can still get quite lonely sometimes. I don't know anyone else besides her. Making friends has been...more difficult than I thought it would be."

"Oh," (Y/N) looked up in surprise. She had always seen Pieck as a confident, bubbly girl. Making friends was difficult for her? That was new. She wanted to tell Pieck that she felt the same. That making friends had been (Y/N)'s most difficult task. She had taken standardized exams, she had competed in tournaments that involved rigorous training, but nothing beat the fatigue that came with trying to find her group of people. As a kid, she had Hange. And now, she had Sasha and Mikasa. And all three of them had chosen her—she had never been the initiator.

"Yeah. Sorry for dumping all that on you," Pieck laughed nervously, waving a hand in the air. "I'm probably interrupting your quiet study time right now, aren't I? I can leave if you want."

"No," (Y/N) spoke without thinking. "I was planning on having some quiet time today but it's okay if you stay. I...I enjoy your company."

(Y/N) was speaking the truth. Unlike Sasha, who spent half of her time teasing (Y/N), or Mikasa, who was mostly quiet and focused on her work, Pieck had a comforting, stable presence. Her calming voice and sweet smile stilled the turbulent thoughts in (Y/N)'s brain. It was a strange feeling.

"And I enjoy yours. Although we've only known each other for a while," Pieck smiled. She was right, it had only been around three weeks. But for some reason...(Y/N) felt as if she had known her for longer.

--

"I've got it!" (Y/N) stared at her screen, eyes wide. For the entire day, she had been thinking long and hard about a potential proposal that would get her admission into the brain games.

And now, she finally had an inkling of what she wanted to do.

"Got what?" Sasha asked. She was sprawled out on the sofa across from (Y/N), scrolling through social media on her phone. "A date?"

(Y/N) rolled her eyes. "No! An idea! For the proposal that I have to write for the brain games! And...if I say so myself, it's a brilliant idea."

"Ooh! What is it!" Sasha sat up, intrigued. "Are you going to cure cancer? Save the whales?"

"Sasha...no. I thought of something that could potentially help our problems with pollution, specifically in oceanic pollution," (Y/N) exclaimed excitedly. She had thought up of this idea years ago, when she had been younger, but hadn't really had the time or materials to implement it. "So, you know how plastic isn't degradable? What if there was an enzyme that ate up plastic? Something that ate at the exterior, leaving behind nothing in its wake!"

"Eating plastic?" Sasha furrowed her brows. "How..."

(Y/N) waved a hand. "I'll figure that out later. But the enzyme will be smaller and would be able to go through tons of plastic at once. Of course, I'd have to do a lot of experimenting and need funds...but that's what Shadis is for, right?"

Sasha, who was obviously struggling to keep up, still appeared excited for her. "That sounds cool! Is this your eureka moment?"

(Y/N) nodded vigorously and reached for her laptop, furiously typing her idea onto the blank document. She wasn't sure how this idea had surfaced in her brain. But she was grateful for it nonetheless. This idea not only showed off her innovation or creativity, but it was also incredibly useful. Of course, there were scientists that had attempted this in the past, so her chances of success were minimal. But that didn't mean she wouldn't try.