So I'm in love with reading high school AU's for Eremin, and I decided to finally write one. My last fic wasn't that great it was a drabble at 4 in the morning, forgive me lol. Be prepared for lots of angst, eventual sex, and lack of knowledge about football. Chapter 1 of ?
Summary: Armin and Eren were always close childhood friends, however Armin moved away after elementary school and lost contact with his best friend. Now in his second year of high school, Armin is back but has changed from when Eren last saw him.
Armin was always pure. Eren had always associated his best friend with purity. He was very delicate yet unrefined in his mannerisms. The way he would pick a flower or hold the pages of a book between his fingers was so graceful, but it came very natural to him. Even when they were playing, and Armin's blonde hair would become disheveled or his clothes rumpled, he never lost his soft demeanor. Eren adored these little things about his only friend; he adored his beauty, yet Armin never was aware of how beautiful he was, exactly. Eren loved him strongly, he always protected him and never wanted anything in return other than to see him smile. In his innocence, Eren thought that he and Armin would remain friends forever.
Eren's world came crashing down on the last day of elementary school. The two boys were in the playground of the school by themselves, not inside with their peers, anxious about beginning middle school after summer. With tears and snot running down his face, Armin told his very best friend that he was moving.
"Wait, why?! Why are you leaving me, Armin?" Eren asked in disbelief.
Armin, attempting to compose himself, wiped away his tears with his shirt sleeve. "I don't know, my parents decided that they wanted me to go to a better school. It's some private school called St. Sina's or something. It's really...really far away...and I..." Armin broke out into more sobbing before finishing his sentence. Eren leaned forward and hugged him. He refused to cry, he had to be strong for his friend, or else who would he lean on in a time like this? Armin hugged him back, and squeezed him as if he would disappear if he let go.
"Armin, don't worry, I'll always be here for you. No matter where you are, I'm always here." At that moment, Armin stopped crying, and Eren shed a tear that Armin never saw.
Eren lost contact with Armin after that, and sought to drown out his sorrow by keeping himself busy. Only Armin was permitted to see his emotional side, and now that he was gone, Eren never grew too attached with anyone else. He met a girl named Mikasa in middle school, and they became so close that one was not seen without the other, but he didn't act like he acted with Armin around her. As the years went by Eren grew and matured into a very athletic and handsome young man. He struggled with his academics, but he tried very hard to succeed. He became popular and was very driven. Though he was frustrated easily and had a bit of a temper, Eren was almost the ideal high school student.
It was only the beginning of November of his sophomore year and Eren Yeager was already starting to become bored with high school. He attained everything a teenager could want, and he slowly was beginning to lose purpose in his popularity and even in football. He had a couple of girlfriends before, sleeping with them wasn't as big of a deal as he thought it would be, but things just didn't work out. Occasionally he would think of his long lost friend Armin, and hoped he was doing okay, wherever he was.
Eren didn't get much sleep the previous night and decided to drift off in homeroom. Any sleep was good at this point, even if it was a half and hour. He felt Mikasa's presence behind him as she sat in her seat, and didn't say a word to not disturb her slumbering friend. Homeroom began and Eren only heard muffled sounds and scattered words coming from his teacher.
Homecoming...
PTA meeting...
Dress code reinforcement...
New student...
Armin Arlelt...
He woke with a start at the name. Perhaps he was just dreaming again. Eren rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to clear his blurry vision. He looked to the front of the class to see where the new kid was.
It took everything in Eren's power not to run up and hug his friend. It really was Armin. He didn't seem to notice Eren. His big, doe-like blue eyes were distant, but he smiled at the class anyway. Armin never changed his hair style, he kept it in a bowl cut, his hair looked as fair as Eren remembered it. His light skin was in contrast to the black hoodie he was wearing, underneath the hoodie he wore a black and white striped t-shirt. He also donned jeans and navy blue converse.
"Now, he needs someone to guide him through the school. Any volunteers?" The teacher said.
Eren shot up out of his seat and raised his hand. "I-I'll guide him!" Armin looked towards Eren. He smiled gently towards his old friend. The homeroom teacher looked at Armin. "You're okay with him showing you around, right?"
"Yes." He smiled at Eren again.
"Look, it looks like we have two classes together!" Eren beamed. After homeroom was finished, Eren looked at Armin's schedule and was escorting him to his first class. "Ahh, I have to walk you all the way to the third building. My first class is over there in the second one."
"Oh then you don't have to walk me if you don't want to. I don't want you to be late for class."
"No!" Eren jumped. He cleared his throat, he didn't want to seem too eager. "No, I mean, it's okay I'm always late for that class anyway. I hate geometry." He scanned over Armin's schedule again. "Whoa, you're taking a lot of advanced classes. I guess that's why we only have two together." Eren laughed nervously. He walked on eggshells for fear of scaring him off.
Armin leaned over to the class schedule. "And which classes are those?"
"Ah, um, Earth science and gym."
"I'll be glad to see you there."
Eren grinned wildly. They walked together in awkward silence halfway to Armin's first class when Eren decided to make conversation. "Um, why...why'd you come back, Armin?"
Armin stopped for a few seconds before walking slowly again, his head hung low. "My parents were killed in a car accident. They were on their yearly road trip. I moved in with my grandfather who still lives around here."
"Oh, god Armin I'm so sorr-"
"No, don't. Don't pity me like that, I've had my time to mourn." Armin looked at the brunette square in the eye. "My time to grieve is done, and pity is the last thing I want. I want a normal life again." Eren couldn't respond. After the intense words, Armin softened up again, as they were outside his classroom.
"Thank you for walking me to class, Eren." He smiled apologetically.
Baffled at Armin's changed aura, Eren turned around to walk to his own class.
A couple of periods passed and now they were in Earth science together. Armin seemed to forget about the conversation he had with Eren in the hallway, and Eren was okay with that. He really wanted to get close to his long lost friend again. They sat together in the back of the class, Eren tried to make as much small talk as he could, but the teacher kept hushing them. They would probably have a better opportunity to talk in gym class.
Eren was showing Armin around, "And in the back are the showers and locker rooms. We keep our gym clothes in there. There aren't any available lockers left, so I guess you could share mine, if that's alright with you."
Armin scanned the locker room that they walked in. His nose twitched at the slightly pungent smell of the room. "Oh, yes, that's fine."
Eren tried not to chuckle. He realized that a public school locker room was not where Armin belonged. He went to an elite private school for years, he probably wore school uniforms and spent most of his time in a grand library that Eren imagined all private schools would have. They probably had cleaner gym facilities and they probably got changed in stalls that had curtains. The thought amused Eren, but then he was then filled with this overwhelming need to make accommodations for Armin. This was his best friend from childhood, he needed to make him comfortable. He wanted to get close to him again and tell him everything. He wanted Armin to pat his head and smile at him, he wanted them to laugh together again. Eren wanted things to go back to the way they used to be.
"Eren?" Armin asked, disturbing Eren from his train of thought.
"Ah, um, yes?" He shook out of his dazed state.
"I asked if we should start changing now."
"Oh, um, yeah I guess." Eren said as he peeked out of the locker room door to see boys entering the gym. "Yeah, everyone's coming in, so we could change now."
Armin and Eren began disrobing with their backs turned to each other. As kids they would bathe together, so what was this awkward air between them? Eren turned to see if Armin had even brought any gym clothes. He was already half-naked and was unfolding clothes from his backpack. Eren couldn't help but notice Armin's body. It hadn't changed much since they were kids, really. His skinny limbs dangled at his sides, his shoulder blades were protruding, and Eren assumed his ribs and collarbone were, too. It looked as though his body hadn't seen sunlight in years. Despite these features, Armin didn't look the least bit sickly, in fact, his limber body was attractive. Eren shook himself from his thoughts, and began changing into his sweats. He was a bit flustered at the way he was looking at his friend.
Armin wasn't the greatest at physical exercise. They ran the track today, and he was the last one to finish, barely. He almost passed out when they went back to the locker room.
"Hey, Armin, you okay?" Eren and the other boys surrounded him in concern as his chest was heaving, gasping for air.
"Y-Yeah, I was never good at running." Armin laughed. He tried shaking off the pain in his chest as best as he could so he wouldn't worry his peers.
Eren gave him one last concerned look before changing back into his own clothes.
The next few weeks went rather smoothly, Armin became acquainted with Mikasa and they got along well. They went over to each others' houses and watched movies and talked about their hobbies. Eren especially loved it when Armin talked about his years in the illustrious St. Sina's private academy. It offered schooling from kindergarten all the way to high school graduation. It was renowned for its collection of creatively and intellectually gifted students.
"I made it into the middle school because the board was willing to pay for my tuition. I was academically apt enough to enroll, but my parents couldn't afford it on their own, so I was very lucky. It was kind of difficult sometimes, because most of the students paid their way to get in and I was sometimes teased because I was poor." Armin remarked one of the days he stayed over at Eren's house. They were on his bedroom floor, watching T.V. "Oh, but it wasn't all bad. I learned a lot of wonderful things."
"Like what?" Eren listened intently, leaning closer towards the blonde.
"Ah, let's see." Armin said thoughtfully, pausing a moment to collect his thoughts. "I learned to play piano and I learned calligraphy. Though, I really took an interest in marine biology. The ocean is such a beautiful, mysterious place."
Eren was captivated by how Armin spoke when he discussed the things he loved. It was magical, really. The way he would go on and on about anything at all. Perhaps it was because Armin became a beacon in Eren's life now that he returned, despite the tragic circumstances.
That night was a Friday and Eren had invited Armin to stay the night, like they used to when they were kids. It was around eight before they decided to step out to buy some snacks at a local convenience store, only a couple of blocks away. Armin didn't bring a jacket and he felt the autumn air chill his bones. Without a second thought, Eren slid off his varsity jacket and placed it over Armin's shoulders.
"No, that's yours! I'll be fine."
"Don't worry, we're almost there anyway. I don't get cold easily, you need it more than me."
Armin didn't argue any further and obediently slipped his arms through the sleeves of the jacket. They made it to the small convenience store and Eren began greedily taking armfuls of snacks. "You can pick out what you want to, Armin." He motioned to him. Armin nodded and started awkwardly browsing for something to buy. He wasn't a big fan of junk food, so he settled for a small bag of sunflower seeds instead. While Eren was too busy rampaging the section of soft drinks, someone tapped Armin on the shoulder. One glance and Armin was petrified. He immediately sunk his head and tried to hide his face in his hair. Panic overwhelmed him, his heart beat wildy, unsure of what to do in his present situation. He didn't want to cause a scene.
"What are you doing here?" He whispered low.
"Nothing, I have family that lives around this area. Don't get scared, I won't do anything. The past is behind us, okay?" The other boy rambled.
He brushed past Armin, and he felt a slight tug on the varsity jacket, and the other boy left the convenience store without making a purchase.
"Hey Armin, is that all you want?" Eren said, coming back from his raids in the other aisles, staring at the sunflower seeds.
Armin laughed awkwardly. "Don't worry, I think you've got everything covered with the snacks, I'm not much of a junk food person anyway."
Once they were outside walking back to Eren's home, Armin reached into the pocket of the varsity jacket and pulled out a piece of crumpled paper. He unfolded it.
The note said "FAGGOT" in loud, red lettering.
Armin began to uncontrollably sob.
This chapter is a bit lengthy, I thought. More angst coming soon