Chapter One
Ten Years Later
Armin groaned at the familiar sound of his alarm clock blaring at exactly 6:30 a.m. He ungraciously felt the table for his clock, head still buried in his pillow at the last attempt to get some sleep. When he found the clock, he pounded his fist into the button and everything went silent. Letting out a final groan, he flipped onto his back and swung his legs from the bed, rolling and landing face-first on the carpeted floor, his hair sticking out in all directions.
He lazily went to the bathroom to get a bath and slumped as the warm water hit his skin. He's usually eager to wake up and get ready for school, but not this time. The only reason he's like this today was his dream. Annie had once again visited him in his dream and he didn't want to wake up. Armin clasped his hands on his face in an attempt to remember his dream, to no avail. All he knew was that it was about Annie.
Annie. His former bestfriend. His first and only crush to date. The girl who left him.
He pushed the thoughts away. Now is not the time for that. Armin systematically finished his bath and quickly dressed up for school. Running down the stairs, the smell of pancakes entered his nose.
"Morning, Grandpa." He greeted.
"Morning, Armin," his grandfather waved before placing the pancakes on a platter. "You look like you don't want to go to school."
Armin stopped on his tracks and nervously smiled. "If you mean the eyebags, I slept late last night because I finished Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code." It was a half- lie. He was a fast reader and slept on time. Sophie Neveau reminded him of Annie, strangely. Short, attractive, and smells good, which may have been the reason why he dreamt of her.
"You're not fooling anyone here, young man." Grandpa Arlert chided, setting the plate before him. "Is it about Annie?"
Armin ran his slender fingers through his own mop of blond hair before rubbing his eyes tiredly. How did grandpa know?
His grandfather handed him a mirror and Armin looked at his reflection. He looked slightly pale and his hair was a mess, but otherwise, he looked fine. To him, atleast.
"I'll know that look anywhere. Your father had the same look when your mom's away."
"She left me. Annie." Armin blurted out, fists clenching and unclenching. He thought of that day. He was talking about the world and promised her he'll take her places. How is he going to fulfill it when he has no idea where she is now?
"People come and go," his grandfather said gently. "You were just kids."
"I want to see her again. Atleast ask her why she left. Afterall, I deserve an explanation." Armin devoured his pancakes angrily before chugging down his milk. Why did you leave, Annie?
The doorbell rang and Armin stood to open and see who it was.
Surprise, surprise, it's his new bestfriend, Eren Jaeger. He was clutching his skateboard, helmet still attached on his head. Sweat soaked his shirt and he was still heaving, but he had a bright smile on his face.
"Armin!"
"Eren!"
"Aaaaaarrrrrrmmmmiiiiiinnnnn!"
"Eeeerrrrreeeeeeeennnn!"
"AHRMIHN!"
"Grandpa."
The boys turned and saw Armin's grandfather smiling mischievously at them. Armin shrugged and let his bestfriend enter the house. Wrinkling his nose, Armin pointed out that Eren smells.
"Smells good?"
"Smells terrible," Armin mumbled.
"Anyways, Armin, I've heard that there will be two transferees in our school! Isn't that great?"
Eren and Armin study at one of the most prestigious schools in Trost- Maria, Rose, Sina Academy or MaRoSi Academy. Eren had no trouble getting in, his father being the highest paid and most excellent doctor in the country. Armin, however, got in because of his Academic Scholarship. Although his Academic records were superb, he's lagging off in the school's mandatory Military Training and Gym.
MaRoSi Academy was formerly the barracks of the soldiers who fought "titans" before turning into a school with high academic and physical expectations from its students.
"I've watched yesterday's news and found out that the princesses of Shiganshina and Stohess are transferring schools! Armin, that could be OUR school! I'm finally going to meet Princess Mikasa, can you believe it?"
Armin couldn't help but chuckle at Eren's eager face. He had this huge crush on the princess of Shiganshina for who knows how long. Armin couldn't blame him, though. Princess Mikasa was really pretty and her battle skills impresses Eren in such way that he would stare for five whole minutes without blinking. As for the princess of Stohess….
"Eren, who is the princess of Stohess?" Armin asked.
"No idea," he admitted, "but I heard she's amazing in hand-to-hand combat and really tiny."
"That's mean, Eren." Armin chided.
After a few more minutes of talking, Armin's grandpa ushered them out of the house or else they will be late for school.
Armin grabbed his bike while Eren held fast to his skateboard and they both rode to their school.
.
Normally, the boys of the academy will be on the football field playing or watching some football game, but today's different. The two boys were quickly overwhelmed by the number of guys blocking the main gate.
"What's going on?" Armin asked out loud.
A freckled boy tapped his shoulder gently. Turning, he saw that it was the school's Fourth year Representative- Marco Bott. Beside him was the Public Information Officer- Jean Kirstein.
Marco had tan skin, bright brown eyes, black hair, and ofcourse, a majestic shower of freckles across his cheeks. Jean had a two-tone brunet undercut, lean build and a look that strangely resembled Eren's.
"Didn't you hear?" Marco started, "two students are transferring here."
"Royalties they are," Jean added.
"Do they happen to be Princess Mikasa and the one from Stohess?" Eren asked eagerly.
A small blush appeared on Jean's face as he nodded slowly. Looks like someone's got competition.
"Don't tell me you have a crush on her!" Eren yelled at Jean. The two rammed heads and exchanged death glares.
"So what if I do, huh, Jaeger? Whatcha gonna do?"
"Lay off her…" Eren threatened.
Armin was about to hold back his friend when a limousine parked right in front of them
.
Annie kept an expressionless face as their annoyingly long vehicle stopped right in front of two bickering brunets and sighed. Really? Fighting early in the morning?
"Sorry about them, your highness," a tall boy with olive green eyes and dark skin- Berthold apologized. "Eren and Jean are just like that."
"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Annie?" the blonde groaned and pressed her back harder onto the seat.
"Sorry, Annie."
A buff blond chuckled from the driver's seat before turning to look at his two childhood friends. His barely there eyebrows and gold eyes glinted mischievously. His wide grin added to the mischief look.
"Well then, Annie, see anyone you like?"
"Shut up, Reiner." Annie glared at the blond.
"Aw comeon," he whined. "You never liked any other guy than the boy you were secretly dating ten years ago!"
"Reiner, stop it!" Berthold chided, giving his bestfriend a hard glare.
"Whatever," Annie muttered before gazing at the scene that was the two brunets.
Reiner had been continuously trying and failing to matchmake Annie to various guys against her and her father's will. Annie would do her best to scare and intimidate the unlucky guy, which proved to be relatively easy. None of them were like Armin. Her father, on the other hand, wanted her to not have anything to do with anyone at all.
Annie shifted her gaze from the fighting duo to the persons surrounding them.
There was this freckled boy calmly holding the taller brunet and there was another one, a blond standing straight and doing nothing but stare at…her. Well, her window since no one could see through the heavily tinted glass. His wide blue eyes shone with curiosity as he tilted his head slightly to the side, brows scrunched in concentration as if trying to figure out who she was. He had a cute nose that Annie only saw in only one person. She sucked in a breath as the familiarity of the blond's features hit her.
Armin?
I do not own SnK or any of the characters.
