During the next week, Mr. Levi kept Eren working at all times. Whenever they were at school, the boy was in the shorter man's classroom doing intense amounts of work. It was supposed to prove that he could be focused if he gave it his all. In a singe week they had reviewed everything they had seen during the year, and now they were working on the new topics.

But they were often not at school. Levi would take Eren out to do different community service activities to show that he could still be a productive, even benefiting, member of society.

Both Armin and Mikasa were very unsure of what to think. The only times they were able to see Eren were during history class when the boy was working, sitting on the teacher's desk. He would always make sure Mr. Levi wasn't looking before waving at either of his friends. Armin's heart ached at the distance. He desperately wanted to spend some time with his friend. Even just hugging him would have sufficed, but he knew Mr. Levi didn't want the boy to be distracted from his goals. Armin understood this was very important and that the rest of Eren's future was on the line, but he also thought that isolating Eren was not the answer.

Eren's parents were quiet concerned as well. They also hadn't seen him for a long time because they had been asked, by the school board, to grant Mr. Levi temporary custody over the boy.

Mikasa was very quiet now a day. She would have her face buried against her scarf almost at all times. She looked fragile, almost sick. Every night she would fight the tears in her eyes at the thought of Eren being far away from her and she swore then and there that wherever he ended up going she would go with him.

Armin was in his room, staring at the ceiling. Lately he couldn't find the energy to do anything. Jean had been very worried about that. The blonde appreciated his concern but didn't know what to tell him.

As he lay there, his phone began to vibrate. He thought it was Jean, and for a moment and even considered letting it ring on. Finally, he forced his tired limbs to move and take hold of the apparatus. His eyes widened when he realized who it was. With a sudden spasm of energy, Armin whipped the phone to his ear.

"Eren?!"

"Hey, Armin! Man, it's good to hear your voice." The blonde found himself smiling.

"How are you? Is Mr. Levi treating you ok? I know he's being hard on you but I think it'll really pay off!"

There was silence for a moment and Armin felt his heart beating fast.

"Eren?"

"I miss you." The blonde felt tears stinging at his eyes. He sat at the corner of the bed and wrapped an arm around his knees.

"Me too."

"How's Mikasa?" Armin bit his lip before nodding.

"She's ok. Missing you, obviously. She keeps telling me she wants to beat Mr. Levi up." That was a lie. Mikasa was not ok and she hadn't said anything in a long time. Armin couldn't tell him that. Eren needed support, not worry and guilt.

"Hehe, yeah I figured. He doesn't actually know I'm calling."

"Did you sneak out or something? Eren that really isn-"

"I'm not! I just sneaked my phone from his room. He really isn't that bad, he just wants me to be completely focused on this."

"How has that been going?"

"Well, the school work is a pain. Mr. Levi is the strictest person ever and if I mess something up he makes me clean his house! He's really weird actually. But the whole "helping the community" is actually not that bad. People are really thankful for everything you do and it feels nice."

Armin felt a tear run down his cheek. After being yelled at and threatened by all of the teachers, having someone smile and thank him must be the best feeling in the world.

"…Armin?"

The blonde forced himself to laugh it off as he wiped at his eyes.

"I-I was just imagining Mr. Levi holding a broom his size."

There was the sound of a door opening on Eren's end of the line.

"Shit. I have to go…" there was a pause and something in his voice changed. "I'll see you soon, right? I mean, this is going to end soon, no? I'm doing everything right! I'm working really hard!" He sounded scared for a moment and Armin wanted nothing but to hold him.

"Y-yeah. Everything will be fine, you'll see. You better go before you get in trouble."

"Bye. Say hi to Mikasa for me."

"Will do."

Eren hung up and Armin stared at the phone for a moment. He then dropped it and buried his face against his knees.

It was two weeks later when Annie pulled him by the arm into a corner of the school. Armin was shocked, but stayed silent as he watched Annie's conflicted face. He knew her well enough to know there was something bothering her. Something she wanted to let Armin know.

They both stood before each other without saying anything. Finally, she looked away and spoke.

"Do you really think I'm… a good person?"

Armin was surprised by the question but recognized it as a test.

"A good person? I… I don't like using that word." The blonde felt troubled by this. He felt like there was a lot at stake on his next few words. "I feel like that only means a person is good for you." He looked straight into her eyes. "So I guess... if you don't help me... then that makes you a bad person." He used to be very close to this girl and he recognized that something was very wrong and whatever information she wanted to tell him was very important. She wasn't surprised by his understanding of the situation, she was just silent for a moment.

"… Someone is planning to highjack Eren's next community service project. He has to clean up this house but they are going to get there earlier, trash the place, and blame it on him. Say that he lost control all of a sudden… "

Armin's entire body tensed. He had a flash of fear before it turned into anger. He had to stop this.

"Thank you." He said quickly before running away.

Alone in the corner of the hall, Annie smiled.

"I'm glad I could be a good person for you…"

Armin ran through the hallways, desperately trying to reach the exit. He didn't know where Eren and Mr. Levi were, so he would just have to go to the place they had planned to go and try to stop those people himself.

He should've looked for Mikasa, but for some reason the person he wanted to go to was Jean. The blonde caught sight of him talking to Reiner. Armin ran there and called out without even catching his breath first.

"Jean!" There must have been urgency in his voice because the brunette immediately looked concerned. "Someone is going to hijack Eren's community project today." The taller boy's expression became serious.

"Do you know where that place is?"

"I have the address." Well, he kind of did. On his own, Armin had tried to keep tabs on all of the projects Eren had been doing. Since teachers usually liked him he was able to get the one in charge of the school's community service projects to send him all of the addresses of the possible locations that needed help. The blonde mentally discarded the ones that Eren had already been to and that left 3.

"Then let's go." Armin was thankful for Jean's support, he hoped that a nod would be sufficient to express that.

"I'll go too!" Reiner said suddenly. "This sounds serious. You need all the help you can get."

"Alright. Let's go."

That's how they ended up taking Reiner's giant pick up truck. Armin explained the 3 possible destinations and Reiner began to drive to the nearest one. The blonde was sitting in the copilot seat while Jean had his head over the seat's side, looking at the map on Armin's phone.

The blonde's heartbeat was crazy fast with fear. If they were going to the wrong location they would be losing lots of time. Time that otherwise could have changed Eren's fate. He forced himself not to think about the consequences and just focus on what he was doing.

"What are we going to do if we find them on the road?" Jean asked.

"We stop them and beat them up." Reiner said without hesitation. Jean expected Armin to disagree, but the blonde stayed quiet.

That was when he gasped.

"Stop! I know which one it is!" The truck came to a violent break, everyone lurched forward a bit but the blonde was too focused on something on his phone to care. You could see he was deep in thought.

"I just remembered… something that Eren told me…" The day before, Eren had said that people would thank him for helping them, meaning that he was helping out in their homes or other populated areas. Annie had said that the people would trash this location and blame it on Eren, which meant that there would be no one to witness that taking place. It wasn't a house… it was probably a school, closed down for repairs… and the only community with a school was…

"Here!" The blonde pointed. He quickly read out the address to Reiner, who changed directions.

They kept driving at high speed, trying to make up for the used time. That was when they saw a car parked by the highway. It was big, but not bigger than Reiner's. They just knew that those were the people they had been warned about. Had they gotten lost on the way there, or were they back from a job well done? Jean cursed.

Reiner parked at the opposite side of the highway.

"Well Reiner, ready?" Jean muttered. The taller blonde nodded. He turned to Armin for a second.

"Stay here."

The two of them got out. Armin watched them from his spot in the copilot seat, incredibly fearful. Jean didn't seem to be worried in the slightest, but Armin was having sudden regrets of bringing him along. He didn't want him to end up hurt.

"You go to the left, I'll go to the right. We'll corner them." Reiner said. Jean nodded with a light smirk.

"Let's get these sons of bitches."

They began to circle the car. Jean couldn't remember the last time he felt so angry.

We're going to make you pay for what you did. What the fuck do you think you are doing? You're ruining someone's life! That's also hurting Armin and I wont let you get away with that.

Suddenly someone in the car spotted him. He nudged the other and pointed at him. Jean could have sworn they smiled.

They wouldn't dare…

The car roared to life, and Jean felt his blood run cold.

I underestimated them! I'm done for!

The car accelerated towards him and he thought he saw his life flash before his eyes, when there was the sudden terrifying sound of an impact.

It took him a second to take in the scene, but Jean gasped in horror as he realized Armin had crashed Reiner's truck to their side so to stop their advancement. The brunette's eyes widened as he caught sight of an Armin with a bloody head. His brain quickly inferred that boy had unbuckled his seatbelt to move to the front seat and drive the truck. The impact had caused his head to slam mercilessly against the steering wheel.

"Jean!" Reiner suddenly took hold of his arm and pulled him all the way to his truck, where they both got in through the front door, moving both Jean and Armin into the copilot seat.

Armin tried to blink the daze out of his eyes. He realized that Jean was in the truck now and was holding him. Reiner quickly pulled back from the area and drove away as fast as possible.

Once they figured they were far away enough, Reiner parked. With one glance at Armin, he took out a first aid kit that he always kept under the front seat, and searched for bandages.

They carefully exited the damaged truck. Jean sat Armin down on the grass and Reiner began to wrap the bandage around his head. By now the blonde had been able to clear his mind and realize how terribly everything had gone. All they could hope for now was that those people they met with hadn't been coming back from the school, and that the incident had scared them away.

Jean watched them from a distance. The adrenaline from the last few moments still hadn't worn off. His heartbeat was uncomfortably fast and he felt his heart clench at Armin's bandaged forehead.

What are we going to do now? We can't just leave him like this. What if it's something serious? He could be fine one second and then drop dead the next! Internal bleeding or something like that! He needs medical attention, but we can't abandon Eren like this. If we leave now all would have been for nothing and any chance of keeping Eren in school will disappear.

Jean cursed.

Why is this happening!? And why am I the one who has to think about this!?

Reiner finished. He patted Armin's shoulder softly.

"Is your head still fuzzy?"

Armin blinked as if his thoughts had been interrupted.

"Y-yeah."

The taller blonde stood up.

"Well, we need to think about what our next step is going to be. We either have to take Armin to the hospital or we-"

"I'm fine."

Both boys turned to him in surprise. Those blue eyes shined with determination. Jean didn't know whether to feel frustrated or fond at the blonde's selflessness. He also didn't know whether he could trust Armin's words. He would surely say anything to keep them going and helping Eren.

"Armi-"

"We must continue! I'll be fine!"

Reiner's attention was suddenly caught by something over Armin's shoulder.

"Looks like you wont have to."

A small and familiar car suddenly appeared driving towards them. The car stopped and out of it came a blonde girl.

"I'm so glad I finally found you!" She called out.

"Christa!" Everyone said in shock.

"W-why are you here?" Armin asked.

"Annie sent me. She though you might need some more help… Armin! What happened to you!?"

Soon, Armin had been forced to be taken by Christa to the hospital. Jean had reasoned with him that they would continue on their own and would let him know if anything happened.

As they drove away, Armin realized how tired he felt. He laid back against the seat and looked out the window.

Please let this end alright…

"Don't sleep!" The boy jolted at the sudden yell. Christa had a panicked look. "I'm not a doctor or anything but I know it could be dangerous to sleep with a head injury so just… stay awake, ok?"

Armin forced himself to blink the grogginess from his eyes.

"Ok." He said simply. He really wanted to sleep though, just to escape the world for a moment.

Reiner and Jean drove in silence, but the atmosphere was screaming with tension. They had already passed the scene of the "accident" and the people they had faced were gone.

Jean felt restless in his seat. At least he didn't have to worry about Armin anymore, now that the blonde was going to be properly looked after. The other threats, however, where very much present.

What if those guys already trashed the place? There is literally nothing we can do if that is case, is there? Maybe we could explain the situation somehow! Show the damage to the truck as proof!

Jean cursed. He had a feeling that there would be no getting out of this one for Eren.

They were about to reach the school. Reiner and Jean looked at each other, both somehow knowing that they were too late. As they parked outside of the building, the damage to it was clearly evident.

"Oh shi-" Both boys' eyes widened. They quickly unbuckled their seatbelts and got out of the truck. They stood there, staring at building which must have already been in bad conditions to begin with, but was now completely beyond use. The weak door had been pulled off it's hinges. A chair lay broken on the ground, apparently the consequence of going through a window. Even the roof had been damaged.

Silently, the two boys entered the ruined school. It was a single classroom. There was not a single desk or chair standing. The walls, made out of wooden boards, had chunks missing. The only cabinet had one door completely out of sight and the other terribly bent.

"This was… vicious…" Reiner said. Jean couldn't find words.

That was when they heard a car park outside. The brunette felt like he was going to be sick when he saw Mr. Levi and Eren run into the building.

They both stared in shock around them for a moment, before the shorter man caught sight of them. His face immediately turned to rage.

"What is the meaning of this!?"

Neither Jean nor Reiner could speak. Mr. Levi took a step forward, looking ready for murder, when a choked sound came from Eren. Immediately, the 3 of them turned to look at him. He was just standing there, too shocked to move. His eyes were terribly wide and his face expressed pure confusion and… fear.

Then a scream was heard from outside. Reiner, Jean, and Levi all turned towords the sound, but Eren was still in a daze. A woman entered the building, looking absolutely devastaded.

"Wha-what? H-how?" There were tears coming from her eyes. Suddenly more people entered. Jean and Reiner gasped as they saw the 2 boys from the car incident.

"See! It's just like we told you! He destroyed everything!" One of them said.

"W-wait-" Mr. Levi tried to say but even he was at a loss. There was nothing any of them could say to ease the horror in everyone's faces.

The woman's whole body was trembling. She suddenly looked directly at Eren.

"Y-you! You monster!"

That snapped Eren out of his shock. He took a step back and opened his mouth with a fearful look.

"How could you do this!? How could you!?" someone else screamed.

Suddenly he was surrounded. Mr. Levi's objections were drowned by people's yells.

"We'll make sure you pay for this!"

Christa held Armin's hand as the boy got stiches. He didn't need the support (if anything, she looked like the one who was in the most pain) since they had already numbed the area before they had proceeded. Armin didn't even have the strength to think about Eren and his situation anymore, he just felt drained and hollow. All he wanted was to go home and curl up on the sofa. He knew that news would reach him eventually, whether good or bad.

He couldn't remember the last time he felt so empty and cold. He hardily listened to the doctor as he was told that he would be fine. He automatically answered anything he was asked, and soon found himself back in Christa's car.

He could hear Christa speaking, but his mind was too far gone. He stared at his lap in silence the whole drive home.

He thanked her as she helped him out of the car… at least he thinks he did. The blonde girl sat him on the sofa and watched him for a moment before saying her goodbyes. Finally alone, Armin laid down on the sofa and allowed his thoughts to come to a stop.

Mr. Levi had called Mikasa on the way to her and Eren's house. The conversation had been brief; just stated that Eren was coming back home, and that on Monday someone would stop by to take him to a mental facility.

There were no words shared between Eren and Levi; there was nothing that could be said.

When Mikasa opened the door, both Eren and her just stood there for a moment. It was not until the door was closed behind him that Eren found himself enveloped in a trembling hug. Finally, the boy cracked and began to sob wholeheartedly. Both Mikasa's knees and his own buckled under them and they held each other on the floor. The boy let out all his emotions as he yelled and cried so hard that each breath he took was rasping and painful. Mikasa's tears fell silently, as she painfully bit her already damaged lip.

A long time later, Eren grew quiet but they stayed in that same position, tired. After even more time, Mikasa forced him to stand up and move to the living room. The girl sat on the sofa, and Eren laid his head on her lap. She closed her eyes as she passed her fingers through his hair.

Eren, exhausted both physically and mentally, fell asleep. Mikasa watched him, completely at a loss of what the future would hold.

It was perhaps 20 minutes later that the boy sat up in something akeen to panic.

"Armin!" He turned to his sister with desperate eyes. "Where's Armin?"

"I- I don't know…" She suddenly felt ashamed of how distant she had been of the blonde. It was her duty to protect him, and yet she had left him alone all this time.

Eren took his cellphone from his pocket, and called his friend.

"Hello?" Eren frowned as he recognized the voice as definitely not Armin's.

"Jean? Is that you? Why are you answering Armin's phone?"

There was silence on the other side of the line. Eren felt his heartbeat increase.

"…No one told you?"

Fear punched him in the chest.

"Told me what?"

"Armin… got hurt. Christa took him to the hospital. I've been trying to contact her for the past 2 hours but no one has her phone number. I've been trying to find Ymir's instead but that's even harder."

Eren had stopped listening at the first sentence. The memory of Armin's mouth full of blood after the boy bit his tongue all those years ago resurfaced with full force. The fear he felt as a child ran through him like electricity.

"You saw me today! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"With everything that was going on?! I think you were more than a little busy, Eren!" There was silence. Jean took a deep breath. "Just… if you learn anything let me know, ok?"

They hanged up. Eren stood up and turned to Mikasa.

"We need to find Christa's phone number."

Both of them began to call all their contacts, trying to track down people who could have the blonde girl's number. Eren cursed Ymir with all his soul, since the girl often made sure no one had a way to contact her girlfriend. It was not until they found a guy who had a crush on the girl and had done the impossible to obtain the number that they were able to call her.

"Hello?"

"Christa! It's Eren!"

"Eren! Are you ok? There's just been so much going on today!"

"Christa, please! What happened with Armin?"

"Oh, he's fine! He had a head injury and he got a few stitches but the doctor said he was out of danger and could go home."

The brunette felt no relief, and knew he would find none until he saw the blonde with his own eyes. He quickly thanked Christa before hanging up and telling Mikasa to get the car keys.

The girl drove faster than Eren had ever seen her drive. If he hadn't been so concerned about the blonde he would have definitely been very worried about her. Once they arrived, Mikasa quickly took out her copy of Armin's house keys and opened the door.

The blonde was right on sight, sleeping on the sofa. Both brunettes felt the adrenaline leave them as they listened to Armin's slow breathes. Exhausted once more, Eren walked to the sofa and wordlessly laid down next to the blonde, pulling him close.

Mikasa stayed standing for a long time, watching. Slowly she neared them and felt tears pricking at her eyes again. She carefully laid a hand over Armin's head.

"I´m sorry I left you alone… I'm sorry…"

She slowly fell to her knees and placed an arm over the two people she loved most in the world.

Sorry that took so long! The truth is that the next chapter will take really long too cause I'm going on a community service trip in the summer so I wont be able to write! I promise this will be my top priority when I return!