Arriving at school on Monday felt different now. It was a combination of finding out that the weird girl at school was a vampire and that Historia might be dating her.
She'd never had a girlfriend before. Of course, she'd had crushes - girls in Maria were generally athletic and pretty - but she'd never been in a relationship before. She hadn't even been kissed.
She'd also never been trusted with a secret like this.
Ymir greeted her in the carpark that morning.
"I didn't think I was getting a personal escort today," Historia joked.
"I wanted to walk in together," Ymir told her.
Historia blushed. "You know, people will stare. They'll talk."
"Let them. I just want to make sure you don't spill our secret."
"I won't tell anyone," Historia said.
"I know," Ymir said with a wink. "Want to hold my hand on the way in or something?"
"I - uh - of course." Ymir held out her hand, and Historia took it. It was ice cold, but that didn't deter her.
Every eye was on the two of them as they walked into school. It wasn't a feeling Historia liked, but Ymir seemed to love the attention.
They had to split up to go to their classes, but Historia was fine with that.
At lunch, she thought they would be sitting at their respective tables as usual. It felt that way at first. Historia's friend group swamped her with questions the second she reached the table.
"You're friends with Ymir now?"
"What happened?"
"Did she kiss you?"
"Is she as rude in person as she is to strangers?"
Historia didn't get a chance to answer the questions, because a cold hand clamped down on her shoulder.
"Will your friends mind if I sit here today?" Ymir asked. She looked at them expectantly, and Historia saw a twinge of a frown on her face. No doubt she was reading their minds.
"That's fine," Marco said, giving an uneasy smile. Everyone else nodded, but Jean was frowning the whole time. They continued on with their usual talk, just with the addition of Ymir, sitting with them and not eating or talking. All she did that lunch break was play with Historia's hair, twirling it around her fingers.
Sasha opened her mouth to ask something, but Ymir beat her to the answer.
"I think we're a couple. Are we a couple, Historia?" Ymir asked.
Historia's heart beat faster in her chest. "Um... yes." She held Ymir's hand yet again, and turned to the rest of the group. "We're a couple."
Historia looked over her shoulder at that moment, and caught three pairs of eyes glaring at them.
"Your siblings don't seem to be happy," Historia whispered.
"They're just mad I'm breaking the rules," Ymir answered. She planted a kiss on the top of Historia's head.
--
That afternoon, Ymir came around to Historia's house. She rang the doorbell multiple times until Historia came down to open it for her.
"So vampires really can't come into people's homes without an invitation?" Historia joked. Ymir rolled her eyes.
"Unfortunately. But that also prevents vampiric home invaders."
"Hmm." Historia let Ymir inside, and she immediately sat on the kitchen bench. "Ymir, don't sit on the bench, my uncle's home-"
The back door opened, and Uri came into the kitchen. He noticed Ymir on the bench, and gave a look of disapproval.
"Hey, Mr Reiss," Ymir said.
He walked past her. "Is there a reason she's in our house?" He asked Historia in a low tone.
"Because she's my... friend," Historia said. Uri gave one last annoyed glance, then dropped the subject.
"Kenny's coming around later," he said. "We're watching the game."
"As in Ackerman?" Ymir asked. Historia nodded. "Well, I'd better go. Don't want to intrude on your night," she said, sliding off the bench. "I'll see you tomorrow at school."
Historia waved her goodbye as she left.
"So, are the two of you..."
"Friends," Historia said quickly. Uri dropped the subject.
Not even half an hour later, a car pulled up in the driveway. Historia went out to greet them, and saw that Eren was in the car as well.
"Hey," he said, waving at Historia.
"Hey," she said back. "I wasn't expecting you to be here."
"Yeah, I wanted to come see you," Eren said. He shoved his hands in his pockets and the two teens stood awkwardly outside, Kenny having already gone inside.
"Do you... want to come inside?" Historia asked. Eren nodded, and followed her upstairs into her bedroom. He sat down on the bed.
"So, uh, how's school going?" Eren asked.
"Oh, it's good. I-"
She stopped short. She was going to tell him that she was dating Ymir, but that meant revealing two things. First, it meant telling Eren that she was gay, and second, it meant telling him that she was dating a member of the family he was forbidden from being anywhere near. Come to think of it, that might have had some bearing on Ymir's early departure. Historia made a note to ask her about that some time.
"You..?" Eren was waiting for her to finish.
"I, I have a girlfriend," Historia said.
"Seriously? You've been here less than a month." Eren laughed, and Historia started laughing as well.
"I know, I know. We only started dating this morning," she said. "The car's doing well, too."
"Oh, I'm glad for that," Eren said. "If you need any help with it, feel sure to ask. I'm kind of getting into cars and that, so I'll help if you need it."
"Oh, thank you!" Historia sat down next to him. "How are you going at school?"
Eren crossed his arms. "It sucks," he said.
"Really? What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing, it's just people at school. They suck."
"Tell me more about it," Historia asked.
"No, I'll deal with it," Eren said. "I'll be fine."
"Well, okay then, I guess." The two of them made awkward small talk until it was time for Eren to leave.