Armin quaked with nervousness as he waited below the tree that he and Elise, his best friend, had played on since they were little. What was amazing was that he had a crush on this girl since kindergarten and had nurtured that puppy dog love into highshool; what was even more shocking is that he had the guts to tell her how he felt about her (well, Mikasa had convinced him to try).
Armin started pacing in front of the tree, back and forth, back and forth, anxiously looking at the watch on his wrist and observing the sun's light in the sky. The sun's light dusted the evening sky with a warm yellow orange, the brisk wind brushed past his slightly red cheeks and blowing through his golden hair. He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the tree, imagining what would happen after her confessed to her.
Obviously, his mind traveled first to scenario A: the worst case scenario. She would arrive, brown hair tosseled by the wind, looking adorable in that oversized jacket of her's. They would exhange a greeting and she will play with her hair. He would stutter uncontrollably ( a habit of his that was panic-enduced) at the mere thought of asking her out. She would stand there and raise an eyebrow, asking what was wrong with him, possibly placing a hand on his shoulder like she always did when he worried her. He would sputter out some incoherent words and she would laugh her butt off. Eventually he would laugh it off and awkwardly begin his confession. She would stand there clueless, having no idea what he's trying to convey, but she really is a bright girl. After a while, she will catch on to the notion and her suprised face would contort into one of digust. She would turn away, walking off into the sunset, completely rejecting him, leaving him with a tattered heart, shattered dreams, and an unrequited love. He would reach out for her, but alas, she would have already disappeared with the wind.
Armin shuddered at the idea of his friendship with Elise being ripped apart by a stupid love confession; besides, Elise wasn't that kind of person. She would most likely just laugh it off, and say something along the lines of, "Nah, let's just be friends." That doesn't make me feel better, Armin thought.
Then his mind ventured off into the brighter side of his mind, otherwise known as scenario B: the best case scenario. Like a smooth crminal, he would knock her of her feet, carrying her in his arms. She would blush and compliment him on how cool he is and he would simply nod and confess his feelings. She would blush even harder and hug him, and then they would share a marvelous kiss with each other, and she would fall heads-over-heels in love with him. They would ride into the sunset on a random horse and get married and have kids and get old and live in a old hut and...
"Armin? Ello?" a voice called out, waving a hand in front of his face. Armin immdiately snapped out of his daze, jumping a little as emerald eyes met blue ones.
"E-elise! H-how long h-have you been standing th-there?" he asked, stepping back. He started to slip on the grass, but was caught by Elise just in time. Like always, she saved him; he sighed and thanked her.
"Wow, I just got here, man. I didn't mean to scare you like that," she said, laughing lightheartedly. Armin couldn't help but smile at her, since in his eyes she was so beautiful. He had always admired her in so many ways; she was smart, determined, motivated, thoughtful and caring. Most people wouldn't have agreed with terms like thoughtful or caring to define Elise Jaeger- but that was because they didn't know her like Armin did. She had always thought of the repurcussions that would go along with her choices and she had a "tough love" mentality. So maybe being rejected by her wouldn't be so bad. Afterall, she wouldn't sever a good friendship for no reason, right?
Elise rubbed the nape of her neck, cheeks painted a pale red from the bitter wind that nipped at her face. "Yeah. Sorry for showing up late, by the way," she said, "soccer practice ran a bit late today." She looked out to the town. "Do you wanna go somewhere?" she asked, wrapping her hand around his. Armin blushed at the action even though it was a bit of custom they had ever since they were little.
"N-n-no!" he said. Elise stopped, raising an eyebrow. Oh no! I need to regain my composure, Armin thought. "Wait. Can't we just enjoy the sunset from here? together?" Armin asked, trying his best to mask the desperation that was attempting to seep into his voice. Emerald green eyes stared into blue ones before breaking into a smile.
"You weirdo," she said, rolling her eyes, grin still evident on her face, "I'm honestly fine with anything at the moment." Armin nodded, but internally he paniced.
H-her hand is so warm, Armin thought, fingers still intertwined with hers. He cherished the feeling or warmth that eminated from the closeness of their hands, and the beating of his heart that energized him. He loved the way her hair was thrown together so messily and the way he could see flecks of aquamarine in those green eyes of hers, and the way the moment was.
Elise looked back at the tree. "There are a lot of memories we shared here," she thought, trailing off into some distant memories, gripping on to Armin's hand tighter.
"Hi!" the five-year-old girl said, waving her hand in front of the short blond boy's face, stealing his attention from the book he was reading. The boy blushed and slipped back, causing the young girl to laugh lightly, outstrecthing her hand to help pick the boy up.
"You really are clumsy!" she had said, hand still holding the boy's hand, "I'm Elise Jaeger!"
The blond boy smiled, the sun glimmering in his eyes, "Hi, Elise, I'm Armin."
And thus they became friends.
For four years they met at the tree, just the two of them, playing hide-and-go-seek and talking about cartoons and little kid stuff.
And then one day, the duo became a trio.
"Hey, Armin," Elise called. Armin turned around to see Elise; strangely, there was a girl Armin had never seen before holding Elise's hand.
Armin looked at the pale girl and then looked back at Elise, raising an eyebrow. "This is Mikasa Ackerman," she explained, "and from now, she'll be my sister because my family adopted her. Be nice to her okay?"
Armin smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Mikasa! I'm Armin Arlert." Elise strectched her hand out to Armin's, who glady took it. The three stood together, hand in hand, forming their own little family.
And for another year, they came to the tree.
And then one day, Elise and Mikasa's mother died. It had been a crushing blow to all three of them, especially to Elise. Armin had found her crying alone under the tree after school. Rushing over to her, he quickly grabbed her hand.
"What's wrong?" he asked, truly saddened by seeing Elise in distress.
Warm tears ran down those her red cheeks of hers. "M-my mom died," she cried, causing Armin's mouth to open slightly. He quickly pulled her into an embrace; he could feels his own chest feel heavy.
"Oh, Elise, I'm sorry," Armin whispered quietly.
After a while, Elise spoke up, "Don't leave me like mom did, okay?" Armin held her hand, smiling at her.
"I'll try not to," he said.
And for the next two years, the trio met up at the tree. They had just entered middle school, and Armin had noticed that Elise had started to act strangely.
One day after school, he confronted her about it, searching for an answer for the girl's sudden change in behavior. They met up at the tree.
Elise blushed slightly before saying anything. She walked towards Armin and smiled awkwardly, saying, "I just started my first period."
Armin nodded while he blushed. "Congrats?" he said awkwardly. They stared at each other awkwardly.
And for the next year, they continued to come to the tree daily.
"Armin!" Elise called excitedly, running over to her friend. Armin laughed at his friend's antics.
"What is it, Elee?" Armin asked, a grin creeping onto his face from seeing a huge smile forming on her face.
"I got a boyfriend! Crazy, right?" she said, spinning in a circle in front of him; the smile dissapeared from his face quickly.
"Who is it?" he asked, trying to conceal the shock in his tone.
Elise smiled dreamily. "That kid in our class, Jean. You guys are friends, right?" she asked.
Armin nodded and broke a fake smile. "Good for you," he said.
By the time he got home, he broke down crying.
(Luckly for Armin, they broke up five months later).
And so, there they were, both fifteen-years-old. The sun started to set, the light in the sky dimmer than when they had started their meeting an hour earlier. It's now or never, Armin thought. Beads of sweat started to form on his skin, heart pounding against his chest.
"Armin, I've got to go home soon. I don't want my dad to worry about me," she said, getting up to leave, "Well, see you to-"
"Wait!" Armin said, "Elise, I need to tell you something that I should have said a long time ago."
Elise raised an eyebrow, confused as to what he was referring to, but she went along with it. "And what is this important thing you need to tell me?" she asked, smirking slightly. Armin could hear his heart beat in his ears as he tried to think of something smoothe to say.
All that was in vain because he ended up doing things the Jaeger style. "Elise... I HAVE LOVED YOU WE WERE FIVE WILL YOU GOT OUT WITH ME RIGHT NOW?!" he said, face red out of embarassment, and he regretted ever even opening his mouth. He closed his eyes shut and wanted to crawl in a hole and decay by himself.
He looked up and saw what he dreaded: she stared at him, wide eyed, blushing, mouth slightly agape. She suddenly slipped on the grass, and Armin quickly saved her from falling.
Green met blue, but Armin quickly averted his eyes from her gaze. This is it, he thought, she's going to hate me.
He suddenlyy felt a pair of warm lips atop his and opened his eyes, but quickly closed them again, savoring the moment. They soon parted, both blushing like crazy; green met blue again. In the spur of the moment, Armin pulled Elise into an embrace. She accepted iot graciously.
"What is going on?" Armin said, holding the girl he loved in his arms.
She looked up at him saying, "I... feel the same about you."
Armin, the flimsy Armin Arlert, somehow managed to pick her up for one second and spin before falling to the ground, dragging her with him. She landed on the grass beside him, and then rolled over to wrap him in her embrace.
"So we're a thing now?" she asked nervously, shaking slightly.
Armin thought for a bit, and then smiled as he nodded. "I guess so," he said; he got up, and helped her up, wrapping his hand around hers.
"Did you reall mean it when you said I love you?" she asked, averting her eyes from his gaze.
Armin smiled and kissed her forehead "Of course I did," he said.
Elise smiled and squeezed his hand tigther. "I love you too," she said.
The two stood there, hand in hand...
...under that tree.
Thanks for reading. :) Please tell me what you think so I can improve my writing skills (and I love the reviews...most of the time). Maybe I should do more fem!Eren