I'm Driving Myself Crazy
Armin POV
Armin had been dreading this party all week. It wasn't that he didn't want to see his friends, but the thought of Eren and Mikasa being in the same room was enough to make him want to crawl into a cave and never come out. But at 830 on Saturday night, he was dutifully waiting outside his dorm for Eren to pick him up. He let out a sigh as the car pulled up.
"You don't look thrilled." Eren commented as Armin climbed in. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Something's bothering you. Is it your bitch aunt again?"
Armin shook his head. "Just cold."
Thankfully, Eren let the matter drop. "So, who all do you think is going to be there?"
"According to Marco, everybody and then some."
"Awesome." They were late getting to the party, as Eren had to work that evening, so they had to park a block and a half away. "A lot of cars." Eren observed as they power walked down the sidewalk.
"Told you." Armin could already hear the music from down the block. "Good thing their neighbors like them, or the cops would be crashing this party."
"Yeah." Eren chuckled as they jogged up the front steps. He rang the doorbell.
The door swung open to reveal Connie, who grinned at them. "Hey guys! Come in!"
"Hi, Connie." Armin smiled, stepping inside. He immediately felt warmer. He felt Eren step up behind him and heard Connie shut the door.
"Okay, so drinks are in the kitchen. Food is…everywhere. And Marco should be somewhere around here. Also, we'd prefer if everyone stayed downstairs, except for bathroom breaks. And Jean says if anyone goes in his room, he's chucking them off of the roof."
"Good to know." Armin said before Connie walked off. There were a lot of people here.
"Oh my god! Floch is here? Fuck that guy!" Eren said, leaning in close to Armin to be heard over the music.
"Be nice." Armin chided.
"Let's go mingle this way." Eren pulled Armin into the living room. It was there that things went wrong. Mikasa had been standing by the electric fireplace, chatting with Sasha, but she came over as soon as she saw Armin.
"Armin!" She smiled, pulling him into a hug. "I've missed you." They hadn't seen each other since before Christmas.
"Yeah.' He said, hugging her back. "I missed you too."
"Mikasa." Eren said flatly, crossing his arms.
"Eren." She replied in the same tone as she pulled away.
Armin wondered how long until they were at each other's throats. Suddenly, there was a loud squeal and something solid collided with him, knocking him several steps back. "Oomph!" He recognized it was a person, and saw they were hugging him. He wrapped his arms around them.
"You made it!" Historia beamed up at him. "I haven't gotten to show you the ring!" Ymir had proposed to Historia on New Year's. She grabbed his hand and pulled him away from Eren and Mikasa.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Somewhere quiet." Apparently, somewhere quiet was the sun room on the back of the house. "Look." She held up her hand.
"Oh, it's really pretty, Tori." He said, taking her hand and looking at it. "Is that a garnet?"
"Yeah! I about died when she pulled out the box, I was so surprised."
"Why? Ymir's been saying she was going to marry you since we were 13."
"Yeah, but I never thought she meant it. I always thought it was to get under Reiner's skin."
Armin smiled. "Well, that too. But as long as you're happy."
She beamed at him. "I am. I'm over the moon happy! We're thinking a fall wedding."
"Something to look forward to then."
"You aren't trying to steal my woman, are you?" Ymir stepped into the room.
"I would never, Ymir." He grinned as he let go of Historia's hand.
"Good man." She wrapped an arm around Historia's shoulders and gave her a soft kiss on the head. "I can't wait for Reiner to get here to show him that ring."
Armin shook his head. "Some things never change." He left the room and made it back to the living room in time to see Mikasa vs Eren: Round 1.
"You're so oversensitive. Not everything is about you." Mikasa snapped. "I wasn't even talking about you."
"Christ." Armin muttered, jumping in between them before Eren could respond. "Eren, why don't you go get a drink?" he gave Eren a look, and the brunette turned and left the room. "I'm going to lose my shit if I have to play referee all night."
"I'm sorry, Armin." Mikasa said.
Armin sighed. "He promised me he'd be good."
After a couple more hours, and several more rounds of E vs M, Armin gave up playing ref. He'd rather herd cats than keep those two separated. No, he'd rather herd alligators. Instead, he ended up on the couch between Floch and Marlowe, listening to the most boring conversation he had ever heard. He should not have come to this stupid party. "You look like your soul is leaving your body."
Armin looked up to see Jean standing in front of him, holding a beer. "I can assure you, it already has. I'm just waiting for the rest of me to go with it so I can know sweet oblivion."
Jean raised an eyebrow. "Beer?" he held the bottle out towards Armin, who wrinkled his nose.
"No thanks. I don't drink glorified wheat juice."
That made Jean laugh. "So, what do you drink then, kiddo?"
"Absolut."
"I have Pinnacle."
Armin considered it. He shouldn't drink. But why shouldn't he drink? It wasn't like he drove here. He glanced at Marlowe and Floch. Anything to get out of the economics major company. Then, he glanced around Jean to see Eren vs Mikasa: Round 7. Fuck it. "Good enough."
"Excellent." Jean held out his hand and Armin took it, letting the taller man pull him to his feet and lead him to the kitchen. "So, would you like it mixed or as a shot?"
"Give it to me straight."
"Armin's doing shots? This I have to see." Ymir straightened up from where she'd been leaning against the fridge.
"Are you joining?" Jean asked Ymir after pouring out two shots.
"Why not?" She stepped up next to them.
Jean poured out a third shot. "Now it's a party." He said before the three of them lifted the shot glasses and downed the vodka.
Armin closed his eyes as the alcohol burned it's way down his throat. After a moment, he opened his eyes and banged his glass on the counter. "Another."
"This is the greatest day of my life." Ymir laughed.
"You're engaged." Jean countered.
"Yeah, but I'm finally going to see Baby Arlert drunk. Historia will understand."
"Besides, it's not like she's gotten married yet." Armin chimed in.
"See! He gets it!"
"Are you fuckers in here doing shots without me? Connie asked, bursting into the kitchen.
"Yes." Ymir said simply as Jean poured out another round of shots, adding one for Connie. "Do you have like a sixth sense for shots? Where did you even come from?"
"Yes, he does." Jean answered as they all picked up the glasses and drank.
The second shot went down easier than the first. His first instinct was to ask for another, but he figured he'd better slow down. "So, what now?"
"Now we wait, pretty boy." Ymir patted his cheek.
"What are you guys doing in here?" Sasha asked from the doorway.
"Shots." Ymir answered.
"Not without me, you're not." Sasha stalked over and poured herself a shot, swallowing it quickly. "Phew. Now, we're talking."
"Pair of drunks." Ymir grinned as Sasha and Connie took a second shot.
"Well, we try."
They stood around joking for a few more minutes. That was when the alcohol began to hit him. He felt great. Slowly, he leaned against Jean and zoned out for a while. Then, he heard Ymir say, "Well, I liked it, so I put a ring on it."
"I know that dance!" he exclaimed suddenly.
"What?" Connie asked.
"Sasha and I learned it in high school." He turned to Sasha. "We should do it. Right now!"
Sasha's face brightened. "I have the music!" She raced out of the room. Armin followed her.
"I have to see this." The other three followed as well.
"We should put liquor in Armin more often." Ymir laughed.
"Excuse us, everyone!" Connie called as Sasha cut the music off for a moment. "We're going to have a very special dance performance here in a moment, if you all could clear a space." The party goers looked confused as they slowly moved.
Armin took his place and after hitting the play button, Sasha ran over and joined him. As the first notes played, there was a gasp, and Jean's friend Hitch ran up. "I know this too!"
They launched into the dance, which had everyone laughing. Well…ALMOST everyone. He heard Eren say, "What did you do to him?"
"Let him have fun." Ymir shot back.
Armin couldn't believe he still knew all of the steps. But he did. After the song was over, Hitch followed Armin back to the kitchen, while Sasha started the music back up. He took another shot, and Hitch took one too. "This is way more fun than they last party these guys had." Hitch giggled.
"That's because we didn't have the party people!" Connie exclaimed, walking in with Sasha, Jean, Ymir, and Reiner. Their group was growing.
"I heard this is where the real party is." Reiner said.
"You're damn right it is." Ymir replied, pouring out shots for all of them.
After another round, some fifteen minutes later, Armin couldn't tell you how he ended up on the counter with Hitch. But his worries had melted away, and he was having the time of his life. "Ymir! You should put me on your shoulders!" He had no clue why this was an idea of his.
"Excellent idea!" Ymir said, walking over so that he could climb up."
"Hey! Someone should climb on Jean's shoulders. He's like the same height as Ymir!" Sasha gasped.
"Hitch!" Connie said.
"Fuck no!" Hitch replied.
"I'll do it." Historia said, appearing in the doorway.
"Yes, babe!" Ymir exclaimed.
So, Historia climbed onto Jean's shoulders and they began to playfully push each other. "Isn't this a pool game?" Reiner asked.
"Maybe we should go into the living room." Historia suggested.
So, they did, with Armin ducking through the doorway. He didn't know where Mikasa or Eren had gone, and in hindsight, he was glad neither of them witnessed what happened next. IT started out as playful pushing, but then Historia, maybe not knowing her own strength, shoved hard. "Oh, fuck!" Armin yelped as Ymir stumbled backwards, right into the back of the couch. She landed safely on the couch, but Armin flipped off of her shoulders, and crashed onto the floor.
"Oh my god!" He heard Sasha gasp.
People began to lean over him. Jean pushed past them all and knelt down next to him. "Armin! Are you okay?"
"I'm so sorry!" Historia exclaimed.
Armin's response was to start laughing. "That was wicked!"
"He's gonna feel that in the morning." Reiner said.
Jean and Ymir pulled Armin to his feet and Ymir raised his hand like a winning boxer. "He's good!" She yelled.
Everyone cheered. A lot of alcohol had been consumed by now. "Hey, where's Marco?" he asked as the group returned to the kitchen. "I haven't seen him in ages."
"I don't know. Several people have vanished from the party." Connie said as another round of shots was poured.
"You don't think there's a serial killer picking people off one by one, do you?" Sasha asked.
"How drunk are you exactly?" Reiner asked her.
"I think that would make things exciting." Ymir said.
"I for one hope Floch gets picked off next so I never have to hear him ramble on about stocks and the DOW and GDP ever again." Armin said, leaning against the counter.
"Dude, I'm sitting right here." Armin spun around to see Floch sitting at the table with Marlowe, playing cards.
"Oh. Whoops."
They all started laughing. "He's got a point." Hitch giggled. "You two can be really, INCREDIBLY boring to talk to sometimes."
"So, I deserve to get murdered?"
"We're ALL gonna get murdered, dude. Keep up." Connie said. "We just want you to be next, is all."
"You guys are great friends." Floch huffed.
"I'M not your friend." Connie replied. "Marlowe maybe, but not you."
"Gee, thanks." Marlowe said flatly.
Ymir suddenly flung an arm around Armin and hugged him close. "You know, if I was drunk enough, I could probably mistake you for Tori and take you home with me."
Armin looked up at her face. "Yeah, but I think you'd be disappointed with the equipment you found once you got me in bed."
"HA! If I was drunk enough, I'd probably be down for anything, and I bet you would be too, lover boy." She patted his cheek.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing." Historia said, shaking her head.
"Awwwe, babe. I love you the most!" Ymir let go of Armin and hugged Historia.
"Hey, are we doing these shots or not?" Reiner asked.
"Fuck yeah!" Armin exclaimed, grabbing one of the glasses.
"I think some people need to slow down." Armin noticed that Jean looked right at him when he said it. In response, Armin stared Jean right in the eye as he downed the shot. Nobody was telling him what to do. Not Eren. Not Mikasa. Not Jean. Nobody. Not tonight. Just for spite, he stole Jean's glass and downed that one too.
"Goddamn, little man. Look at him go." Hitch laughed.
"Cut him loose from his babysitters and he's a party animal." Ymir grinned.
Armin immediately felt bad. Jean wasn't being like the others. He was just trying to look out for Armin. "Maybe Jean's right."
"It's a little late for that now." Jean shook his head.
"Awwwe, but you still love me, don't you?" Armin stepped over and wrapped his arms around Jean.
Jean let out a heavy sigh and hugged him back. "Yes, Armin. I still love you."
As Armin rested his head against Jean's chest, his mind began to whirl. He'd known Jean was interested in him years, but he'd never really considered him. Why? Jean would probably make a good boyfriend. He was certainly more attentive to him than Eren. It was Jean who was with him all night. He hadn't seen Eren since the Single Ladies dance. Where had he gone? He hadn't left, had he? "Hey, Jean?" he looked up at Jean's face.
"Yes, Armin?"
"If my ride has turned out to be a piece of shit and left me here, will you give me a ride home in the morning?"
"Yes, Armin. I can drive you home in the morning."
"You're the best." He rested his face against Jean's chest again. He didn't know if he was smelling cologne, or after shave, or some amazingly long lasting body wash, but he liked the scent of Jean.
Suddenly, he found out where Eren and Mikasa were. "Have you ever considered the idea that maybe the entire world doesn't revolve around you?" Mikasa screamed.
"Are they upstairs?" Connie asked.
Armin looked up and let out a heavy sigh. "I'm still not drunk enough for this."
Jean started to pull away. "I'll go deal with them."
Armin's arm snaked out, seemingly of it's own accord, and grabbed Jean's hand. "No. Stay."
Jean stared into Armin's eyes. "Okay." Just then, the next song came on. "Connie? Is this Cheap Trick?"
"What? I like this song." Connie replied.
Armin wasn't sure what compelled him back to the counter, but next thing he knew, he was up there, dramatically singing along to the song.