A dark night is accompanied only by the tapping of the rain on the awning. The dull sound of a pencil scratching away at homework is masked by the faint strum of a guitar airing from the radio. The room is lonely, as is the home. Out working his fingers to the bone, the blonde's grandfather rarely is home as of late. Though, he is not foolish enough to see this as a lack of care, but a sign that yet again he is a useless burden. He can't even help keep a roof over his head.

Pausing, Armin sets down his pencil and glances around the room. Barren as always, his only company is the radio and an ancient Dell desktop.

This is where the loneliness begins to set in. He imagines Connie with Sasha, out grabbing a bite to eat, Jean with Marco tailing his side with an array of followers. His mind then drifts to Eren, probably with his parents, Mikasa trying in a futile effort to convince him to do his homework.

And where was he?

Alone with his thoughts tantalizing him, reminding him that he is utterly useless and would be easily forgotten had he gone away.

However, he is strong another day. Instead of joining his parents, he leaves his homework unattended and crashes against the pillows. His eyes slip shut and a small prayer asks of the divines to allow him to forget his troubles in the Dream World.

Chapter One

Resistance

Around is noise. Wordless, toneless, just the constant chatters and yells from classmates. Armin can set on no one voice or sound in his dazed stupor. That is until a volleyball squishes with an airy pound just beside him. This rips him from his imageless fantasies.

"You could have put some effort into it!" Jean snaps at the blonde.

He blinks dumbly before taking a step forward and capturing the ball nimbly between his fingertips.

"Sorry," He replies absently, though the tisk from between Jean's lips tells him that the apology was not accepted or acknowledged.

After a moment, the party rotates and Armin steps to the front where Reiner smiles curtly at his left-hand side.

"You 'couldda done it, I'm sure. Just an off day, right?" Reiner assures him.

The shorter gives a pathetic little grin and nods. "Yeah."
Though a part of him doesn't think he could have even if he had been paying any mind. Whether it was lack of interest or lack of ability, he was unsure. He dubbed it as both.

X

"Just lay off!" Eren's yell vibrated through the locker room and he is sure that from the girl's, Mikasa can hear him.

"I'm only stating facts," Jean retorts as he throws his shirt over his shoulders. His tone is already bored with the situation. "Everyone can do it, he just chooses not to. It's pathetic."

Eren clenches his teeth and takes a few steps forward with his fists baled. From behind him, Tomas and Reiner grab at him. "You think you're so tough and you're always the one running away from a fight! Hiding behind words and you pick on people who can't fight back! Pick on someone your own size for once, coward!"

"You're not even my size, so…" Jean rolls his eyes before he struts away, Marco trailing behind.

The room laces with an uninterrupted silence. After their daily disputes, this seemed to be a far more familiar scene than it should have been. A soft sight comes from the subject and he whispers to Eren, "You didn't need to do all that."

The short blonde adjusts his gym bag over his boney shoulder as Eren's eyes take sight of him.

"Well someone needed to," He huffs as the two begin out of the room and into the hall which was crowded with overworked, young adults and adolescent teens. Some of which forgot that their bodies were growing and odors did as well. So this leaves the stagnant scent of sweat and colognes.

Armin's head gives a dissatisfied little shake as he allows icy eyes to mingle with caramel. He dares to speak on, "Let me rephrase: You shouldn't have."

The tone arises a little more forceful than Armin had intended however, it seemed to set the record straight. Eren falters a moment. Expecting a reprimand, Armin darts his eyes away and glues them to the floor. His shoulders sag low and he grips the strap to the shoulder bag tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"You don't," Eren growls out. "Someone's gotta take care of you."

"I can do it myself!" Armin insists.

He stops in his tracks even though people around groaned and complained. The blue pools that glared at Eren are about ready to spill over and even though Eren wants to yell and scream at him, he pauses. For once, he seems to think about his next step. As per usual, his emotions get the better of him as he rasps out, "Too busy fighting me."

He turns away from Armin and storms down the hall. The blonde steps forward, reaching out even though the other is well ahead of him. He calls out weakly to him, his eyes welling up even though he tries to blink the water away,

"Pick your fights. You're a smart guy but every time it matters, you never back yourself up! It's stupid! And every time you get hurt you ignore it! Will you just fight back a little – against the right people!? How do you ever expect to win when you don't even try!"

With each word, he gets louder, stunning the latter. Eren runs his hands through already disheveled hair in aggravation and he is too distressed to notice the other's hurt expression and the tears dripping down his cheeks. Though he hadn't taken note, the raven haired girl who had previously waited at the end of the hall does.

"Eren!" She hisses out in a reprimand. She doesn't need to ask to know the reason for the boy's easily-obtained tears. A deaf man could hear Eren's yells from a mile away. She also doesn't need to speak out any more for Eren to realize he is in the wrong. One would think that the oy who as known Armin for longer than anyone would be a professional at approaching him. However, popular opinions such as that are usually wrong. Especially since not a soul understands the true situation.

"Armin—"

She would have went forth with a pep-talk had he not cut her off.

"I-I'm going to be late," He murmurs before brushing pass the two, wiping the wetness from his skin.

They would never understand – no – he didn't want them to. His troubles weren't that pressing and there was no need in bothering them over pointless matters.