Goldilocks is the Beast
She had just completed her transformation…but it was somehow different this time. A hooded figure stood before her, but strangely, she had remained the same size as him. She reached out, the visible muscles and tendons stretching on her titan hand, and whisked the hood back from his face. The boy had hair roughly the same color as her own, but cut only slightly shorter. A knowing smile played across his face. The hand that had removed his hood now rested on his shoulder. It was pulling him closer to her, of its own volition, as if it weren't Annie's own hand at all. Once the boy was near, her face closed in near his own, then swiftly bit down on his neck as if it were the first juicy apple of Autumn. She chewed, rolling the meat around her mouth and swallowed, the blood gliding down her throat, like coffee with lots of milk and sugar, making her feel jittery and awake and alive. The front of her hoodie was now dyed a grotesque scarlet. Since when had her hoodie been on? Wasn't she nude when in her monstrous form? Armin still stood before her, now shirtless, the blood coursing all down his side. Annie leapt forward, teeth connecting with his pale forearm this time…
"Why are you avoiding Armin?" Mina asked during lunch. "I thought you liked him."
"...I had a dream." Annie murmured to the carrots on her plate.
"Ooh! I see how it is! I thought you looked restless last night. Oh my, Annie…" Mina blushed, cupping her face with her hands.
"Not like that!" Annie growled. "It…it…was...never mind."
She took a forkful of the vegetables from her plate, but upon reaching her mouth, the memory of that taste from her dream came rushing back. She spit into her napkin.
Annie looked up, expecting Mina to be full of concern, but she was instead looking over to the boys' table.
"Armin and Marco are sitting next to each other today! Let's go over there- I'll talk to Marco, and then maybe Armin will strike something up with you!" Mina exclaimed, turning back to Annie who rolled her eyes and shrugged.
Mina and Marco chatted pleasantly while Annie held her arms crossed, focusing her eyes on anything in the room that wasn't Armin Arlert.
After an afternoon of intense training, dinner time quickly rolled around.
Just the sight of everyone in the room bringing food to their lips, grinding it between their teeth, like pigs eating from troughs, made Annie feel an urge to crawl out of her skin. The revolting sounds of chewing and gulping stabbed at her ears. Her nails dug into her thighs.
"I'm not feeling well." Annie mumbled to Mina, standing and leaving her plate untouched. "I'm going to bed early."
Annie entered the girls' dorm, letting her hair down, and plopped down flat on her bunk. She closed her eyes, back of her hand across them to block out the setting sunlight from the window. It was no good- the images of the blond boy being torn apart seemed to be tattooed on the inside of her lids. She pushed her hand harder against her closed eyes, causing colors to parade about. This only served to cause a horrible juxtaposition- the colors swirling before the macabre images, creating a technicolor horror show.
She bolted upright off the bed and crossed to the window, opening it. To get out through the front door, she'd have to pass everyone again. She couldn't explain to Mina what was wrong. Even omitting the part about her other form, she just couldn't burden such a kind friend with such a disturbing dream. Not only that, but she certainly couldn't allow Mina to worry for her. No one must worry for her.
She hopped out the window, down onto the grass. It was nearly dark now. The summer air was pleasant, but buggy. A mosquito nipped her exposed neck as she walked toward the front of the building. She smacked her exposed skin, but the bug was long gone. She pulled up her hood and sat down on the porch.
The simple hood couldn't shield her from the things inside her own head, but at least it could protect her from the dirt on the porch, as she changed position to lie back on the wooden boards.
It was funny- even when she was high up in the trees during training, the stars never seemed to get any closer. They were just as far then as now. She tried closing her eyes again.
The porch boards were hard and rough, much less comfortable then the bed. The change of scenery still did nothing to abate the vestiges of the nightmare.
Footsteps could be heard from inside. Everyone must be heading to bed now. She prayed that Mina wouldn't come looking for her, that she would just assume Annie was using the outhouse.
The door did creak open. Annie groaned softly and tugged the strings of her hood, causing it to tighten over her eyes.
"…Annie?" soft footsteps were followed by a gentle voice.
The girl remained silent.
Armin sat beside her. "You were quiet during dinner."
"I'm always quiet." She rolled over on her side, facing away from him.
"This was different. You didn't look well and you didn't eat much."
He had been watching her that closely? She had always thought that Armin was too preoccupied with Eren and Mikasa, and well, pretty much everyone else to ever pay her any mind.
She loosened her hood slightly. "Did Sasha take my leftovers?"
"Most them. She left you this apple," he reached across her, placing the apple in front of her face. "She's really a pretty good person, you know. You should get to know her."
Annie stared at the ripe piece of fruit before her face. Even in the dusk, the red color turned her stomach.
Suddenly infuriated, she once more bolted upright, grabbing the apple and flinging it into the bushes.
Everything was red.
The next thing Annie saw was Armin's pale, exposed neck immediately in front of her eyes. She felt the warm night air in her mouth as she realised that it was open wide, millimeters away from the warm, fleshy area. A small drop of saliva had already splashed onto his skin.
Annie recoiled, eyes wide. Armin was sprawled out on the dusty wooden floor, shirt pulled partially open. He just stayed there like that, regarding her mildly, even after she had ceased her attack. Like a doll tossed to the floor. She felt a burst of anger in her gut.
"Move. Say something!" she growled in low voice, still mindful of those still inside.. "I tried to rip your damn neck open! Is that okay with you?"
"But you didn't." He finally propped himself up on his elbows, meeting her eyes. The piercing icy blue gave him a chill, even in the growing dark. "I knew you wouldn't hurt me, because you're a good person, Annie. Whatever you were doing, there must be a reason for it."
Annie broke away from his gaze. "If you say so."
She stood, walking toward the door, then glanced back to Armin once more. She sighed.
"Lie back down," she ordered.
Armin's eyebrows betrayed some surprise, but he complied. Annie moved back over to where the boy remained, laying quiet and still, and lowered herself to the floor once again. This time, instead of against the hard, dirty boards, her head rested on the blond boy's chest partially exposed.
He definitely had a bit of muscle, she thought idly, but probably not as much as even some of the girls, like Mikasa or Ymir.
Armin made a small questioning sound as she felt his body tense slightly. He seemed more frightened now than when he had been under attack.
"I haven't been sleeping," she said by way of explanation. "I'm tired."
She shifted slightly. "This is just right."
The end