When the last bell rang, Annie and Armin left class together. Annie wanted to start the tutoring as soon as possible, so Armin suggested they start that day. The blonde girl just wanted to get it over and done with, all I have to do is catch up with everyone else and then it will be over. I won't have to spend anymore unnecessary time with Armin and I won't have to worry about the principal dragging him into this.
As they walked along the crowded hallway together, they were suddenly interrupted.
"What's Arlert doing with the new girl with the nice ass?" Reiner's voice was right behind them, he was accompanied by Bertholdt Fubar, a very tall but timid boy.
Annie stopped right in her tracks and swirled around quickly and shot Reiner a deathly glare, "Did you forget what I did to you the last time you said that?" she hissed. Armin just blinked and turned to Reiner, trying to process what was going on.
"You should learn to take a compliment, honey." Reiner smirked. It seemed like he was in the mood for being an extra big jerk today. In contrast, Bertholdt looked extremely uncomfortable beside him, the tall boy looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment, and his face was becoming all red and sweaty.
"I don't see it like that. If you say it one more fucking time I swear I'll make you infertile."
"Big words coming from a shorty like you." Reiner teased.
Armin didn't interfere but was becoming annoyed with the way Reiner was speaking to Annie, jerk.
"Anyway, are you and Armin going out? It's just that my friend here likes you." At that moment, Bertholdt looked like he was about to explode. He shook his head stupidly and was unable to say anything coherent in response.
Annie looked up at Bertholdt for a brief moment, she raised her eyebrows at him and her expression remained blank and unimpressed. The blonde girl then turned back to Reiner, and the glare was back on her face once again, "It's none of your business what I'm doing with him. Leave me alone." Annie was growing impatient and grabbed hold of Armin's arm. She pulled him away from the two and hurriedly made her way down the corridor and out of the school building, dragging Armin along with her.
Bertholdt likes Annie? No way…And wow, Reiner is more of a jerk than I had first thought. Now I can completely sympathise with Annie for kicking him where it hurts before. When they got outside, Armin felt relief as Annie's hand left his arm, her grip on my arm was pretty tight…she's really strong…. Armin looked to Annie and asked, "Are you okay?" his voice was soothing, he wanted to try and calm her down because he could tell that she was all worked up.
"I'm fine. I'm just sick of idiots like them." she muttered and glared at the ground.
Armin forced out a soft laugh in an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere, "So, should we go back to your house then?"
Annie looked up at him quickly, "No we can't." she raised her voice in an attempt to sound harsh and firm. She was internally panicking at the thought and wanted to make it clear that going back to her place wasn't going to happen.
"Oh…I just thought that you would feel more comfortable in your own—"
"Well you thought wrong." Annie interrupted, "Let's just go to your house and get this over and done with. And hurry up, it's cold." she mumbled, shoving her hands into the pockets of her hoodie.
Armin shrugged but smiled, "Oh okay then. I live about fifteen minutes away from here so we can walk."
Despite it being mid-November and the weather being cold, Annie was grateful that she didn't have to get the school bus. On the days when she had woken up on time, she had taken the bus to school and found it almost intolerable. Everyone was just so loud and annoying.
Armin attempted to make small conversation with Annie as they walked, but she didn't seem to want to hold it. He was becoming increasingly nervous at the thought of being alone with her at his house. He had been so happy and excited earlier that he hadn't had the time to feel anxious. Little did he know that Annie was feeling the same way.
She didn't understand why, but assumed it was because she wasn't used to being around others. She couldn't even remember the last time she had gone to a friend's house, it must have been years ago.
"Here it is." Armin said as he approached the front door of his home. Annie looked up at the house and followed behind him, "I'm going to have to ask you to remove your shoes" the blond boy removed his pair of Converse and Annie copied him, placing her shoes next to his. "Well, um…firstly, before we start would you like anything to eat or drink?"
"No it's okay." Annie replied, looking around.
"Okay, well I'm going to get a glass of water, you can go into the living room. Make yourself comfortable." Armin smiled as he went off in the direction of the kitchen.
Annie did as she was instructed to and went to the living room. The room felt very cosy, far different from what she was used to, it wasn't always like it is now, though she reminded herself. There were two large bookshelves stacked full on either side of the room, and the fireplace on the wall opposite. Annie's blue eyes fell upon the photos that were placed on the fireplace, she couldn't contain her curiosity and decided to go and check them out. She saw a couple of school pictures of Armin, a picture of a couple on their wedding day (she assumed they were his parents) and then a picture of a much younger Armin with the same couple; she noticed how he was wearing suspenders in the photo, what a dork,she thought. She also noticed how Armin looked cute and happy and it suddenly made her heart ache ever so slightly because it reminded her of the old days. She became so absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to notice that Armin had entered the room.
"That's me with my parents…" Armin's voice made her jump and she quickly put the photo back on the fireplace where it belonged. Annie turned to look at him, she wasn't the best at judging people's emotions but she could see that the usual light in Armin's eyes wasn't present and he had a bittersweet smile on his face.
"I see. Do they work late?" she asked, wondering where they were. She wasn't sure why she asked in the first place, she was only there for one reason and that was to catch up on her studies. She wasn't there to socialise.
Armin looked down, "Oh um, they are no longer with us."
"I'm sorry." Annie quickly said, feeling awkward. She would have never expected that Armin was an orphan, we're not the same, but we're similar.
Armin looked up again and smiled at her reassuringly, "Don't be."
"What happened?" Annie blurted out and instantly regretted it. Why did she care, anyway?
"They were killed in a car accident ten years ago. I've lived with my grandpa since then. He owns a bookshop and will probably be back soon." Armin explained coolly, though it was evident that it pained him to talk about his parents. Annie was surprised that he was even telling her anything. She was practically a stranger to him after all. She wouldn't dream of telling him anything personal like that. She didn't even know how to reply to him and after a few moments of silence Armin decided to speak again, "W-well, should we begin?" Annie nodded and took a seat beside Armin on the couch.
Armin took the books out of his backpack and Annie did the same, "What subject do you want to look at first?" he asked, Annie just shrugged. "Hmm," Armin looked through his books, "How about history then?"
"Okay." was all she said, she put all of her other books to the side except history and Armin did the same.
"Oh. Before we start, I wanted to ask you, how does your eye feel?" Armin felt slightly guilty for not asking her sooner, her black-eye had been playing on his mind since Saturday.
Annie didn't bother to look at him, "Fine". Please don't start questioning me. I just want to get this work over with.
Armin got the vibe that she didn't want to talk, once again. He respected her feelings and decided to just get on with the work. To say that he wasn't nervous would have been a lie. He even noticed how his hands were shaking a little as he flipped through the pages of his textbook. Despite Annie keeping a little distance between them, she was still so close. He couldn't recall a time where he had been so close to a girl, except for Mikasa, but that was different. Armin persevered despite his anxiousness and started to read from his textbook. He added his own knowledge here and there by referring to his notes, while Annie clung to his every word. She wrote in her notepad as he spoke and every now and then she would ask him to repeat something; he explained the details well and Annie had to admit that she was impressed.
After finishing history, they moved onto the next subject which was science, "This isn't my best subject." Armin warned her.
"What are you talking about? You always get top marks in science class…" Annie stared at him sceptically.
"W-well I just mean—"
"Don't worry. You're a good teacher" Annie looked down again.
"I am?…Thanks…" he blushed lightly and felt a sudden boost in confidence at her words.
Armin watched Annie as she was looking down at her notepad, writing. Being so close to her enabled him to analyse every detail of her face. He noticed that she had extremely long eyelashes, which he found attractive. Her skin was very pale but clear, and even though her nose was pretty big he truly believed that it really suited her face. She's beautiful, he thought silently to himself.
Annie could feel Armin's eyes on her the whole time she was trying to write, does he have to stare? She felt uncomfortable but rather than call him out for it, she decided to keep quiet.
Armin couldn't help but notice how Annie's bangs were hanging forward and it looked as if they were obscuring her vision. Without thinking, he reached his hand out and placed them behind her ear. Did I just…
Annie turned to him abruptly with her eyes wide. Did he just…She was going to shout at him for touching her, but his touch had been so gentle that she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she just stared at him and felt her face soar in temperature. She mentally cursed knowing that there was no way of hiding her blush.
Armin's face was red all over too, including his ears. "I'm sorry." he said quietly, feeling ashamed. I really shouldn't have touched her without her permission, I'm an idiot!
"Don't do it again." was all Annie managed to say in the end. His touch was so soft and gentle, how is it that even possible? I should be furious right now. I should feel like kicking his ass for touching me, but I don't feel that angry at all. What is wrong with me? She kept her head down and rolled up the sleeves of her hoodie, suddenly feeling hot all over. Annie began to write again and as she did, Armin's eyes looked down.
Any embarrassment or shame he had previously felt disappeared when he saw her arms. They were covered in bruises, more bruises!? This could be no accident.
"Annie…your arms…"
"I do Judo, that's how I get bruises." Liar. Annie hadn't done Judo in months. It's all because of him, that abusive, pathetic bastard.
"Oh…I see." Armin didn't fully believe her. Maybe it was because of the way she quickly pulled the sleeves down again as soon as he said it, or maybe it was the tone in her voice which wasn't all that convincing. Whatever it was, Armin was left feeling uneasy. He knew he couldn't persist and question her because she was already shutting him out again. He knew that if he tried to get more information out of her now she'd probably just leave. He concluded that he would just have to keep a closer eye on her from now on.
