Annie's eyes widened but it wasn't wide enough to show her vulnerability.
"A-Annie…?" Eren tried again, his voice cracked but it was clear. "You…you escaped?"
The girl slowly recovered from her little shock, her eyes returning back to its cold glare.
"What do you think, Eren?" she asked, her tone flat. "I'm here, aren't I?"
Eren blinked, lips slightly parted, green eyes wide and filled with shock.
Annie waited for him to say more, but nothing else came. Her bangs were in the way so she tucked it behind her ear again, waiting.
Nothing.
"So, if that's all you had to say," she scowled. "I'll be going."
She walked past Eren who was still frozen in shock, trying to understand the event that just happened. He was still trying to process everything that was going on.
His teacher.
His mentor.
His friend.
The girl named Annie, who was a traitor to humanity and to himself, who trapped herself in a freakin crystal, was finally here, in front of him. Free.
She continued to walk away, not even throwing a glance back at him.
What was she doing?
She was supposed to capture Eren, not avoid him!
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Well, even if she did shift and manage to grab him, that Levi bastard would probably catch up with her in three seconds and tear her apart just like before.
Yeah, she couldn't risk that. Not again she couldn't.
"Annie!" he called out again.
Oh? He finally found the courage to talk?
His voice sounded angry now, it wasn't shaking nor was it cracking.
She smiled a small smile to herself, her back still against Eren's glare.
Yes, that was the voice she was waiting for. That tone that was filled with hatred, disgust, fear, and anger. She deserved that sort of voice after all.
That was the tone that she was expecting from him. That was the tone of Eren Jaeger.
"What?" she said, her grin falling as she turned to look at him.
He looked furious alright. His eyes were practically burning holes in her face. His hands were clenched into tight fists as he gritted his teeth.
Now this was the part where he would scream and curse her. The part where he would pour all of his hatred into the air, hurl whatever insults he could possibly think of, and threaten her until her very name was dripping with the curse of death.
That was what she was expecting.
However, this is Eren Jaeger - the suicidal bastard. The unpredictable boy who could transform into a titan and fight for 'humanity.'
She could never really predict his reactions nor could she predict his words.
"Why?" he said.
Annie blinked, her eyes still cold.
"What do you mean why?"
Eren's knuckles were turning white as he dug his nails into his palm, his gaze never leaving Annie's.
"Why did you do it?"
"You need to be more specific, Eren Jaeger." She said with a bored expression.
He swallowed, eyes burning with the fires of hell.
"Why did you betray humanity? Why did you betray your friends?" he asked darkly. "Why did you betray me?"
He needed an answer. He needed an answer now.
Annie said nothing as she kept her stoic expression. The wind picked up her golden locks, gently caressing her face.
"Why indeed, Eren…" she whispered. "Why did I betray you?"
Eren gritted his teeth even harder as he tried to contain his bubbling fury.
I betrayed you because you need to protect something that's even more important than your so called humanity.
I betrayed you because you need to protect more than just stupid walls.
I betrayed you because you have a life outside of those walls.
That's what she wanted to say, but that was not her job. Her job was to simply capture Eren and take him where he belonged. A boy like him, a shifter like him, did not deserve to stay behind those suffocating walls.
"Because I'm evil."
Eren blinked at her words, his anger being replaced with puzzlement.
"W-what? Evil?"
Annie was also surprised at her words.
Evil?
Well that was a bit unexpected. A bit far from the actual truth, but it'll have to do.
Actually, it was technically a bit true…
She was evil. She believed that she was evil so she was sort of telling the truth.
"You…you're not evil!" Eren exclaimed.
Again, he said something unpredictable.
And that pissed her off.
"Really?" she raised an eyebrow, arms crossed, daring him to state a reason why he thought that way. "Can you really say that, Eren?" she said quietly. "Can you really say I'm not evil?"
Eren looked taken aback and his eyes suddenly found interest on the ground.
Yes, that's right. He couldn't call her good.
She killed too many of his friends to even be considered good. She killed way too many innocent people to not have the word 'evil' hang over her head.
She is evil.
A cold, heartless person.
Evil.
"I'm leaving." She said.
She couldn't stand to see his sorrowful face anymore.
Someone like him shouldn't be feeling pity for an evil girl like her.
Someone as good as him shouldn't be looking at an evil person like her.
"W-WAIT! Annie!" he said shrilly.
She ignored him and continued to walk.
That was when Eren slammed into her, tackling her to the ground.
Unpredictable as always.
But when it came to close combat, Annie was always superior.
She managed to kick him off and quickly scramble back on her feet, eyeing Eren as he struggled to get back up as well.
"Let's see…" she breathed, her icy blue eyes having a certain spark to them.
Eren panted as he looked up at her, half furious and half confused.
"See what?" he snapped.
"Let's see how much you've improved." She raised both her arms in front of her.
Eren's eyes widened at her familiar stance.
"Come, Eren." She said with a deadly glare. "I want to see how much you've grown."