Day 3: The sun shone through the dusty windows of a long cabin hall. A group of about forty kids were gathered inside, seated six or so to a table, chatting loudly. At a corner table, Armin sat with the rest of his cabin. It was mid-day, and this group's turn at arts and crafts. Armin wasn't too pleased with the idea; he'd much rather have spent his afternoon reading under a tree or exploring the grounds further. They'd only been at camp a few days and Armin was still learning his way around. Eren sat to Armin's left, and he too wasn't keen on arts and crafts. He didn't have anything better planned, like Armin did, he was just too old for the activity, as he had told his cabin more than once. The group had a choice between making key chains or necklaces; Eren had scoffed at the idea, and Armin has chuckled to himself at Eren's boldness.
Armin was giving his attention to his key chain. Though not exactly excited about the activity, he didn't see the problem with giving it a go. Plus, he thought to himself, maybe it would make a nice gift for someone special. Eren, on the other hand, sat absentmindedly playing with the materials for his necklace, not interested at all in making one. The activities director bounced around the room, giving encouragement and pats on the back to the younger kids, and smiling at everyone's work. She approached the table where Eren and Armin sat, and noticed Eren's lack of anything. She frowned in his direction. "Not feeling it today?" she asked. Eren shook his head, a scowl on his face. "Why don't you give it a shot? If nothing else, you can give it to your mom. I bet she'd love it if you made her something." The director smiled at him and walked away to spread cheer elsewhere.
Eren's scowl intensified and suddenly, he stood up and started walking towards the door. Armin, noticing the sudden movement, looked up from his basically complete key chain. He watched Eren leave the hall, walking fast. Curious and concerned, Armin stood up to follow, pocketing his key chain. If he had walked any slower, he would have missed Eren entering the mass of trees nearby. He barely saw him as it was. Armin picked up his pace, wanting to catch up to Eren before he had to call his name out. Eren slowed down a short distance into the woods, allowing Armin to easily catch up and sparing him for yelling. He slumped down the trunk of a large tree, sitting with his arms around his knees. Armin wasn't sure how to react; he had only known Eren for three days, and although the two had been getting along great, especially after their kiss the first night of camp, he had never seen Eren so emotional. He was usually so calm and collected.
There was another tree almost directly to the right of the tree Eren was sitting against, and Armin decided to sit down there. Eren wasn't crying, but he had a faraway look in his eyes that suggested he was sad about something. Armin wanted to comfort him and find out what was wrong, but was scared they weren't close enough for such a reaction. Remembering how he chose to be brave by initiating their kiss two nights earlier, Armin decided to be brave in offering some help. He reached out his left arm and put it around Eren's shoulders. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Eren didn't answer for a little while, and then said softly, "I guess so."
"What's the matter?" Armin continued, hoping the issue wasn't too personal. He didn't want to scare Eren off.
"It's what the director said," Eren said with a sigh "About my mom." electing to let Eren continue as he saw fit, Armin didn't say anything.
He did continue, after another short pause. "My mom died a few years ago." Armin let out a gasp, but before he could offer his condolences, Eren spoke again. "I would love to give my mom a stupid necklace I made, but I can't. She's dead." He blushed at this sentence.
Armin tightened his hold on Eren's shoulders. "I'm so sorry, Eren." He said, leaning closer "That's just awful." Eren nodded. They sat in silence for some time, Armin holding on to his new friends, and Eren staring into the dense forest ahead of them. Eren broke the silence first. "It's okay. She didn't know, it's not like I told anyone. I just wish I could make a necklace for my mom, ya know?" At the end of that sentence, he looked at Armin for the first time since they were in the arts and crafts hall. Armin nodded. He didn't fully understand, of course, but he felt for Eren. At this, Eren flashed the tiniest of smiles.
Armin removed his arm from Eren's shoulders and dug in his pockets. He pulled out the mostly complete key chain he had been working on. He laughed at his sloppy handiwork, turning it over in his hands, before looking up into Eren's eyes. "I made this with you in mind." Armin said, handing Eren the key chain. Eren held it up to inspect it closer and a much larger smile spread across his face. It was thick braided string, not unlike a friendship bracelet, and in the middle was a small heart shaped bead.
"It's beautiful. For me? Really?" Armin smiled and nodded, before almost tumbling over, for Eren had crashed into him and pulled him in for a very tight hug. "Thanks, Armin, it means a lot."
