Chapter Twenty-One
"No way! Go by yourself!" Mikasa crossed her arms and glared at Eren.
"Please, Mikasa! I told her you guys are coming. It'll be weird if you don't go!" Eren pleaded.
"If it's supposed to be a date, why are you bringing us along, anyway?" Mikasa's eyes narrowed and Armin's heart skipped a beat. Oh no. Had she figured it out?
"Because Annie and I didn't feel comfortable going alone. Besides, it will be weird if I just bring Armin."
"Please don't make me be a third wheel." Armin hadn't wanted to go at all, but it would be bearable if Mikasa went.
"Where are you even going?" Mikasa huffed.
"The movies, then a walk around the mall, with dinner at the food court."
"What movie?"
"I don't know. I was going to have Annie pick."
"Do Armin and I have to see the same movie?"
"Mikasa!" Eren was getting very worked up.
"This whole thing is stupid! The two of you can't even go see a movie together?"
"I still think we should just skip the movie." Armin chimed in. He saw no point in dragging this out any longer than it had to be.
"I agree. I don't feel like seeing a movie today."
Eren sighed heavily. "Fine. I'll ask Annie. But you'll come?"
"Yes, I'll come. But I'm wearing this." She motioned to her jeans and oversized hoodie.
"Why do I care what you wear?" Eren shrugged. "Besides, you don't have time to change because Annie is already here." He raced from Mikasa's room.
"What?" Mikasa screamed. "Eren!" She whirled around to look at Armin. "Did you know she was already here?"
"I have very little idea of what's going on. I'm just along for the ride." Armin shrugged.
"This is going to be a disaster." She said as she started walking out of her room and down the stairs. Armin followed behind her.
"Possibly."
"Bringing us along is the worst idea. Annie knows we don't like her."
"I never said I didn't like her." Armin said quickly.
"The last time you talked to her, you called her a slut." Mikasa stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked at Armin.
"I did not! I merely suggested that her taste in men seems to vary rather quickly…after she had insulted me first."
"You basically called her a slut, Armin. I'm not judging you. I also think she's been a bit of a slut this year."
"Mikasa!" Armin was taken aback. This trip was going to be a real disaster.
"Well, let's get this shit show on the road.
It was an awkward car ride. Eren was in the front seat next to Annie while Armin sat in the back with Mikasa. Armin kept sneaking glances at Mikasa as they drove to the mall. Annie was not happy about them being there. She had agreed to skip the movie though. As they got out of the car and starting walking into the mall, Armin caught Mikasa's elbow and tugged on it a little, letting Annie and Eren get ahead of them. "Am I the only one getting the feeling that Annie didn't actually want us to come along?" Armin whispered to her.
"Oh, it was 100 percent Eren's idea." She whispered back. "I'm wondering if he even gave her a heads up that we were coming."
"Given what he did to you, I doubt it." That made Mikasa laugh. Armin couldn't help but smile. Mikasa had an infectious laugh, at least to him.
"What are you two laughing about back there." Eren had realized they had trailed behind, and stopped to wait for them.
"What we want from the food court." Armin said quickly, and then grimacing. That was a stupid answer.
"And you have to whisper about that?" Annie asked snidely.
Armin squeezed Mikasa's arm. He could tell she was trying not to snap. It was going to be a long day if Annie was going to be like this the entire time. Mikasa put a hand on her hip. "We whisper about lots of things. You wouldn't get it."
"Well, let's go get food first then, since it seems you guys are hungry." Eren said cheerfully. Either he was oblivious to the tension, or trying really hard to ignore it. Armin wasn't sure which possibility was worse. They walked to the food court.
"Armin, I want a burger." Mikasa said, before sitting down at a table.
"Got it." Armin walked off to go get their food. As he waited, he could see Annie had chosen a table 10 feet away from where Mikasa sat. Great. Maybe Eren would get the hint. He got back to Mikasa at the same time Eren got back to Annie. Eren looked between the two girls.
"Oh, I thought we were sitting together."
"Or we could not do that." Annie said.
"We're not moving." Mikasa said, grabbing Armin's arm and yanking him into the chair next to her.
"Ow, okay." He said as he landed with a thud.
"Come on, Annie." Eren said, walking over to the table where Armin and Mikasa were. Annie sighed heavily, but got up and walked over. She intentionally sat at the table next to theirs. Eren opened his mouth to say something, but Mikasa beat him to it.
"Just sit down and eat, Eren." He sat down next to Annie quietly. Armin felt bad for him. He had clearly wanted this to be a fun group outing. Unfortunately, he was the only one.
"So, did you do anything fun for Christmas, Annie?" Armin asked. He would try, but only for Eren.
"I ordered pizza with my dad." Annie said flatly. "We don't really celebrate Christmas."
"Ah, that's fair." Armin forgot how painful small talk was with Annie.
"I wish Mom would let us get pizza on Christmas." Eren said.
"That'll never happen." Mikasa replied.
"I just don't see the point in stressing out over making a fancy dinner that's being fed to the same people she spends the rest of the year making normal dinners for."
"Because it's special to her." Armin said. "She wants the memories."
"I think it's stupid."
"One day you'll learn to appreciate your mom." Armin sighed. He hated how Eren was about Mrs. Jaeger.
"He's allowed to think things are stupid." Annie interjected.
"He could also learn to look at things from someone else's point of view." Mikasa fired back. "He has a mother who loves him. He could be a little bit nicer to her.
"Not everyone has a good relationship with their mother." Annie said venomously. Clearly she didn't have a good relationship with her mother since all she ever talked about was her dad. But her vitriol was getting on Armin's nerves.
"Yeah, that's true. Some of our mothers are dead. So, we don't really get to have a relationship with them." That put an end to the conversation. No one seemed to know how to respond to that. Armin was glad for the quiet. They all ate silently.
"I think I'm finished." Mikasa finally said, gathering her trash.
"I can get it!" Eren grabbed all the trash and walked off to go find a trash can. Annie pounced the moment Eren was out of earshot.
"Do you have to be like this?"
"I didn't even want to come!" Mikasa snapped back. "Hanging out with you is the last thing I want to be doing with my Saturday night."
"Then, why are you here?"
"Because Eren asked me to come."
"It didn't mean you had to say yes."
"He wasn't going to come on his own so you should really be thanking us." She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "You need to understand now that we don't go away. You want Eren? Well, you get us too, because we're a package deal. Nothing you say will have any effect. I'm his sister for God's sake. So, we don't just disappear. Don't go into this thinking you can change things. You need to decide now if it's a deal breaker for you or not because if you break Eren's heart later on, I'll kil-"
"Hey, Eren!" Armin interjected as he saw Eren approaching. The conversation ended there.
"Hey, buddy. You guys ready to start walking?"
"Yep." Mikasa said, rising to her feet. They all set off. Armin kept glancing at Mikasa out of the corner of his eye. He could tell she was trying to figure out an escape plan for them. He wanted this night to be over as well, at least the part of it where they were stuck with Annie and Eren. He knew exactly when she figured it out. "Armin, come in here!" She seized his hand and pulled him into Victoria's Secret. He had to admit, it was a good choice. Eren would never follow them in here, certainly not while he was with Annie. Armin felt his face begin to flush. He wasn't so sure he wanted to be in here either.
"Should…should we wait?" Eren called after them.
"No, you go ahead. I'm going to be awhile." Mikasa called back. Armin glanced at Eren in horror. He had to sell it. Eren looked back at him with pity.
"Let's keep walking." Annie grabbed Eren's hand and pulled him off deeper into the mall.
"I'm calling Mom to come get us." Mikasa said, pulling out her phone.
"Okay." Armin said, glancing around nervously.
"Don't worry. If I was going to take you lingerie shopping, it would not be at Victoria's Secret." She rolled her eyes as she dialed the number.
"How does going to another store make it better?"
"We literally have had sex and you're uncomfortable around bras and panties?" Mikasa stared at him for a moment before Mrs. Jaeger answered the phone. "Hey, can you come get Armin and I from the mall?" Armin couldn't hear Mrs. Jaeger's side of the call but Mikasa let out a huff. "Well, we ditched Eren so we don't have a ride anymore…because he's on a date and it's weird-no it's not a double date...Because I said it's not…I don't even like Annie, why would I want to hang out with her?"
"We could always just take the bus back." Armin suggested, realizing this conversation would be awhile if it continued.
"Fine. Whatever. Armin says we're taking the bus back, so I don't need you. Goodbye." Mikasa hung up the phone. "She's so annoying."
"If we're taking the bus back, we don't have to go straight back to your house." Armin said, leading her out of the store. He glanced around to make sure he couldn't see Eren anywhere.
"Where would we go?"
"On a real date. Just the two of us."
"It's too late to plan a date."
"It's never too late." They walked outside and went over to the bus shelters. Armin stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.
"I guess we could go to the good ice cream parlor."
"Exactly." He gave her a kiss on the cheek. The bus pulled up and they climbed on. After paying the fare and settling into the seat, Armin leaned in close. "You know, Grandfather is supposed to be going out tomorrow, if you wanted to come over."
"You're insatiable." Mikasa rolled her eyes.
"It seems you're the one with the dirty mind. I was just innocently suggesting-"
"There's nothing innocent about your suggestion." Mikasa smirked. "But I'm not saying no."
"Now, I'm excited for tomorrow."
"Let's just focus on ice cream." She said, leaning her back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. This was perfect.
