Chapter 1: A New Feel

Hey… First of thanks for reading. This is going to be my first, well the first one I've posted at least, based on my favorite anime, so you might want to watch it before reading. Pairings are the common ones, some lemon scenes may be included so read at your own discretion, Okie story time. Feel free to review

No. Not this, please not this again. Stop it. Eren wake up, c'mon you have to wake up. It's no use, this is not happening dammit, Eren, EREN!

"Eren" said a voice from behind.

Huh, I awoke, slowly rising from my bed, looking to where the voice had come from.

"What is it Mikasa" I responded, my voice felt weak, I haven't been getting enough sleep. After all it's not easy being in the Training Corps

"You're going to be late for class… again" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming, you go on ahead" I said, impatiently. I guess she didn't know about the certain, um.. "dilemma" we boys have in the morning. After looking at me, I could tell she was curious but finally, she left

Phew, close one

I had that dream again, the same one. Why am I being repeatedly tormented by my own memory… Mom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything about it. But don't worry, I promise you I'll have my day. But right now I have to concentrate on the day ahead of. Taking a long sigh I got out of bed.

Groaning, I made my way to the bathroom. Another lazy Monday I though. But then again, each day I train, each day my chances grow stronger, and every minute I spend I grow closer to that glorious day. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I got dressed, standard Corps uniform, even though the pants were a bit uncomfortable. I could complain, but then I'd have to wash the classroom and honestly I'd rather wear the pants

"Armin, wake u-

I said, but stopped in between. Obviously everyone is an early bird except me. I made my way to the class and took my seat next to Mikasa and Armin. Mikasa glanced at me as I walked in, and shifted to the side, giving me space to sit. Armin just smiled.

"Look who's finally up" Armin said, smirking a bit

"Yeah yeah, what does it matter, I'm here aren't I" I replied, sighing.

"You're lucky you're not late, otherwise you'd have to clean the boards again" Mikasa added

I looked at Mikasa, who just sat there, looking back at me.

"Hmm.." I hummed in agreement, I wanted her to stop staring me down, making me feel guilty.

Mikasa Ackerman, my "sister" even though we're not really related by blood. Maybe she's seen more than I have; after all it can't be easy to lose both your parents the same day, to murder, as if things weren't already hard enough. I don't think I've ever seen her smile, which makes me kind of sad. She's a pretty cute girl. What…

I mean she's cool, yeah, I meant to say cool. But I guess I can't really blame her. I took a glance at her scarf, looking at her was better than a boring lesson in 3D maneuver lesson. The red shade had faded. I felt touched, must have been what, 6 years now since she's kept it with her.

"What's wrong?" she asked inquisitively

Crap, she caught me staring.

"Oh nothing, I'm just bored, I was just looking at your scarf, it's gotten pretty old now huh." I said quickly. I didn't want her to get the wrong idea. After all, right underneath her scarf would be…

"Well, technically it's your scarf" she said calmly.

"Not anymore, I gave it to you remember" I added, smiling a bit

She glared at me for a while, then huffed a little

"I guess…" she said, I could sense the indifference in her tone

Finally, class ended, everyone scattered. Time to get some food, I'm starved, and sitting in class only made me hungrier. I joined the Training Corps hoping to get my hands on some useful techniques, but the ratio of boring classes to the real deal is horrible. I'm not sure how the others feel, but I'm sure Sasha and Connie agree with me. Crap, I got lost in my thoughts again. I'm not going to get a table at this rate.

"Let's go Armin, Mikasa" I said, motioning to my friends.

I had a pretty mundane conversation with Armin on the way over to the mess hall. All he talked about was how I should improve; Mikasa would occasionally nod in agreement. Why is everyone always trying to change me? Sure I've got some flaws but, who doesn't. Besides I managed to stay up with a broken maneuver gear, that's pretty impressive I guess. The mess was bustling with noise, people fighting for tables at the same time trying to save their lunches, the tables filled up quickly, each with a different group of friends

"Damn, where are we goi-" I got cut off

"Eren, Armin" said Mikasa, who had already scouted a table. Wow, talk about fast. I walked over with my tray, it had bread, and some boiled potatoes and something which the chef called "curry" although it looked like a mash up of old vegetables to me. Armin and I shared a look of disgust and agreement upon inspecting our tray. I looked over to Mikasa, looking to see her reaction, but was met with something else. She was sitting quietly, no tray in front of her.

"Hey, where's your tray Mikasa?" I asked, I felt kind of bad looking at her glum. It was my fault we were late in the first place.

"Someone must have taken it while I was getting a table" she said, I could sense a minor sadness in her tone. I swear I felt my heart break a little. I scanned the room quickly, looking for someone who had sniped two trays. It became obvious after a while that whoever did must have done it before or during class. I didn't bother to look around in class so I can't really tell who was missing, I had a feeling it was Sasha though.

"It's okay I wasn't hungry anyways" she said, putting up a brave face.

She's in the top leagues of the Corps; she trains harder than anyone here I know, she didn't even get any rations before. Like Hell she wasn't hungry. I grabbed my potato, the best one I could find, well at least in my opinion, and pushed it towards her.

"I'm not that hungry either" I said, smiling, hoping she'd accept. She's a modest girl but I honestly couldn't stand eating when I knew she hasn't.

She studied my face, perhaps searching for an intention? After a while she took the potato and I could have sworn that she smiled, maybe just a bit.

That was pretty sweet of Eren; it's not like him at all. Usually Mikasa is the one who takes care of him. And the one who takes care of me. I'd probably be dead by now if these two weren't with me.

"Eren, can I have your bread?" I asked, hoping he was in a giving mood. I was hungry, especially after class I was feeling a little extra greedy.

"You've already got one Armin, don't be greedy" He said, shoving the bread I wanted into his mouth.

Rats. Well, at least I have one. But then again two's better than one. Mikasa and Eren started conversing, leaving me out of it. How rude. I had nothing to do other than quietly finishing my meal and sit there, glancing around the room for something even vaguely interesting. My scan came to a stop when it landed on Annie, who had been sitting with Sasha and Connie. She seemed to be in the same situation as me. I smiled a bit, happy knowing the fact that I'm not the only one. She sat; quietly sipping what I presumed was tea, turned out to be milk. I could tell when a couple of streams dripped down her mouth. For a girl she was pretty messy, but I'm not going to be the one to tell her. Her sullen blue gaze fixated on the dirty tea cup, guess she wasn't interested in looking around much. I have to admit that she was quite a sight. Pretty, I thought. Without warning, perhaps in a fraction of a second she looked up at me, and our eyes met. I chocked on my spit, and immediately looked away. She just sat there, probably looking at what a fool I had made of myself. She caught me staring; I hope she doesn't think I like her or anything, because I don't. I was too afraid to look back at her. What if she was still staring? What if she was expecting me to look back? Not going to take that chance. I heard my name, and that was the moment I swear I felt my heart skip a beat.

"ARMIN" said a voice, angrily and impatiently

"Wha what what, what's wrong" I spluttered

"You spaced out, c'mon we have combat training" Eren said, grabbing my sleeve as if to drag me along with him

"Alright, alright I'm coming" I said, tugging my shirt back

The crowd slowly thinned, I waited for everyone to leave. I didn't want anyone to see me blushing. This cursed complexion really does amplify the redness in my cheeks. Wait, why am I blushing, I just took a peek at her, it's not like I like her anyways, I've said that twice now which definitely means I don't. After I was sure everyone left I got up releasing a loud sigh. Close one I thought. Well time to get going, I walked towards the exit feeling like I had just dodged a bullet. But somehow, I felt that I wasn't alone. I took a glance around the room, nothing but some creaking kitchen doors, the cafeteria worker scrubbing the metal trays making an eerie grinding sound, and the dripping of spilled milk from one of the tables. The wood floor had taken a beating from the repeated stomping of over excited cadets. Honestly why is everyone always in such a hurry.

"Guess it was nothing" I said out loud, feeling relieved, the last thing I want is for someone to see me blush.

"Sure about that" said a lowly, sort of alluring voice.

Immediately facing the source of sound, my face was met with a sight which made me jump at first, and then fall, only not on the floor.

".. Hu hey" I said, trying to find the words

She didn't say anything; she just looked, staring me down as if to show dominance. She succeeded, I lowered my gaze, I just couldn't stand those eyes, those grimly blue eyes. After a while of silence, I could still feel her stare, still feel my heart beating rapidly. The awkward silence finally broke after she said something which made my cheeks burn red, as if it wasn't bad enough.

"Find something you like, Armin?" she asked, almost seductively.

Hearing my name coming from her mouth made me shiver, sending goose bumps even though I didn't quite get what she was saying. I suddenly realized where I had directed my gaze.

"Wha what, no no no no no it's not what you think really, I I I was just um…" I said laughing nervously. Crap, she's going to kill me.

"We're going to be late, ya know." She said, as if nothing had happened, and walked away. I could have sworn I saw her look back, was she waiting? As if.

Did that just happen, am I dreaming? No, I'm not dreaming. That happened.

With the uncontrollable blush I was facing I thought of skipping training, I didn't want anyone to see me like this. I thought of the consequences of skipping, and decided it would be better to go rather than playing hooky. I made my way into the training ground, again, like the mess hall, several groups banded together and separated from the mass of students into their own private "studying". I looked around for a familiar face, since I had no interest in fighting. Not because I don't want to but the blush is embarrassing enough, I didn't want to get my ass kicked to.

"Oy Armin, get over here" said a heavy voice, coming from the far end of the ground. I could see a large figure standing, I could tell it was Reiner, damn. What does Reiner want; I hope he isn't planning to use me as his punching bag. I walked over to him; he gave me a sadistic smile, and then stepped aside, revealing the much shorter girl behind him.

"Annie's been skipping on training, don't you think 'WE' should teach her a lesson?" he said chuckling a bit.

"Um.. I- I mean you want.. Me?" I said hesitantly

"Sure, you can take her, right?" he said smiling, pushing me closer to her, a little to close for comfort.

She didn't even flinch. He pushed me close enough to get an eyeful of the girl. I hope she couldn't see me blushing

Annie looked me in the eyes again, this time I sensed a different feeling. I feeling that can be best described as an "I'm going to get my ass kicked" feeling. She raised her fists, preparing to fight. Taking a defensive stance I prepared myself for the harsh blows she was going to deliver. We stood for a while, both standing our ground. The more I looked at her, the more fear I felt.

Is she expecting me to make the first move? This girl doesn't know me at all

After waiting for seemed to be a lifetime, she shifted her foot, pulling it back and delivered a kick aiming for my face. Luckily keeping my hands up like an idiot had its perks, I managed to block the heavy boot. I felt good, knowing I successfully blocked a dangerous blow, but victory lasted around two seconds, because the next thing I tasted dirt was mixed with blood. It happened so fast, I never saw her other leg lift of the ground. After that somehow I landed on my stomach. Groaning, I finally felt the pain come, like a train, it delivered jolts of pain all over.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Arlert, I expected better" said Reiner

Pfft, if he could defeat her he wouldn't have to call me over, was he purposely trying to embarrass me, or maybe he actually thought I could beat her. Well I guess it's time to get up of my belly, I won't be getting anywhere laying in the floor now would I? I tried lifting myself but couldn't, I felt weight on my back. I turned my head to see what or who was on top of me. It was Annie, she sat, looking at me quietly, studying me. I'm pretty sure it was obvious who had won, what kind of victory dance was this.

"You need to train, Armin" she said strictly. The way she would say my name was definitely weird, or maybe it was just me.

"Ya think" I said sarcastically, I recalled her saying it to me before, so I tried to crack a joke. I immediately regretted saying that after feeling the weight on my back increase. She seemed to have lifted her feet up as well, sitting in a criss-cross manner, getting more comfortable. I'm surprised no one saw us. I didn't want to get fresh with her, after all, she did kick my ass once, who says she won't do it again. Preparing myself for another boot I closed my eyes, but instead of a sharp pain in my side, I heard something which left me speechless, a giggle. I had never heard a more sweet sound. For the first time, I heard a giggle from the queen of "Kick everyone's ass". I looked up at her, not only did she giggle. She blushed, smiled, her eyes clenched, her eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes for the first time were filled with happiness. Her sullen, almost sick looking blue eyes looked happy. What in the world. She even kicked me, albeit playfully this time, well maybe she thought she was playing. It actually hurt a bit.

"Um could you, maybe get of off me" I asked, submissively, how long was she planning on sitting, I thought.

She nodded slightly and got off, and then I saw something which shouldn't have, but hurt me anyways. Her face had gone back to its original state; her smile seemed to have been taken of, as if she had been wearing a mask for just a little while

"Thanks, maybe you could teach me that sometime" I asked, not really expecting a positive answer.

"Maybe" she said, and left without another word.

And at that moment the only word that roamed my mind was "Fuck"

I was in love with her.

YOU COULD ATLEAST GIVE ME A CHANCE

I was getting pissed of even more, not being able to land one blow on Mikasa

"You have to move faster" Mikasa said, swiftly dodging each punch I threw, mocking me

"I *huff* am *hua* trying!" I tried saying, in between punches

I guess she finally grew tired of sparring with me, I could tell because she delivered a blow to my stomach. I felt my diaphragm deflate, as I fell to the ground.

"Get up, Eren" she said, does she know that her fists hurt

All I could do was groan and accept defeat.

"Maybe, tom *cough* tomorrow Mikasa" I said, looking up at her. I had a pathetic look on my face, but she didn't seem to notice.

I managed. She helped me up and put my arm around her neck walking me to the next class. Each class was a blur; they all seemed the same, some about history, others about maneuver gear repair and a health class. I'm no good in concentrating, more of a practical guy. Each class I sat, staring at the clock, watching the hours go by, and occasionally at my comrades. Sometimes I'd take a glance at Mikasa. Her being so close to me gave me a feeling of comfort. It's not that I needed protection, but having her around made me feel somewhat more confident. Maybe it wasn't just that, I thought. I was starting to notice more of her. She sure was pretty. Even though she kept herself hidden most of the times, I could always notice some of her traits, no matter how subtle. She did take my advice of cutting her hair short. Honestly I never thought she would look cute. Her pretty little eyes concentrating on every word the teacher spoke, her little upper lip visible through the scarf. Occasionally she would brush a bang or two of her face. Sometimes when she sat further away from Armin I would get a whiff of her scent. I guess saying she smelled nice would be an understatement, because her scent was literally alluring, making me want to get closer, closer to her. I wanted to get closer to Mikasa. The girl I had never thought of.

Class didn't last very long; I seemed to have been lost in my own thoughts, thoughts of her. I wonder what she thought of me, a baby brother, a savoir, family. I honestly hope not. Could it be that all this time, I've been falling for her. For someone who was like family. Sure, she would tick me of sometimes with constant advice. Plus, I may be a bit jealous. She's way stronger than she looks, and way stronger than me too. She had always been closer to me than anyone around, including my family and Armin. Our relationship had always been a confusing one. We could never be siblings, but neither could we be, well… Perhaps.

"Eren?" Mikasa said

"What's wrong" I responded, looking at her hopeful expression

"Thank you" she said, looking me right in the eyes

At this point I was confused, for what? Did she read my mind or something?

"For this morning, the cafeteria" she said, looking rather pissed that I forgot so quickly

"Oh yeah. Oh don't mention it." I said, giving her a smile

We looked at each other for a while, I stood there confused, she seemed to know what she was doing, or what she was looking for

"Well… its late, I'm gonna go to bed, you should to" I said, breaking the awkwardness

"Good night, Eren" she said, and leaned in close to give me a small kiss on the cheek

What. Did she just… Fuck

Thanks for reading, please tell me what you's think :D