The next morning when Armin woke up, he made sure to take his medicine before the 'walls' came in. Preparing himself before the three sisters came in, Armin sighed recalling the events that had happened yesterday. Smiling sadly he looked at himself in the mirror placing a hand over his chest. Mentally he promised himself that he would try to ignore his emotions once more, if only to have him live past this year. Hearing the door to his room open, Armin saw the three 'walls' with their kits. Allowing them to do their daily routine, the blond sat there silently until he was allowed to be released.
Walking into the car to see Mikasa and Eren patiently waiting for the way to school everyone was silent, Eren making it a point not to talk to Armin throughout the whole ride. When they were out of the car however was the time Eren had taken Armin's arm whisking him off into the distance. Leading the shorter male into the space between two buildings, Eren pinned him against the wall.
Back against the wall, Armin watched Eren's angry expression as he gripped the bricks of the building to settle himself. Awkwardly looking up, Armin brought a hand up to fix his invisible glasses. Feeling his finger connect with the bridge of his nose, the blond was reminded he was not wearing them.
"W-what are you doing!" Armin exclaims moving to the side to escape,only to be blocked by Eren.
"I need to tell you something important." Eren replies.
"Well you can do it without pinning me to the wall. I have to get to class."
"Well this is more important than class."
"What?"
"They're having a physical exam."
"Well I guess my secrets out."
"No it's not,you're going to be skipping made a deal;We're going wedding planning."
"Wedding? Eren we agreed I would only be your girlfriend/fiancee. I would not be your wife."
"Well things changed..."
"Like what?"
"That's not important. I just need you to not be at school."
"Well how about my other one?"
"You can go to that one Just miss this one okay?"
"Fine I guess, but you owe me big time for marrying you. And if we have to go on a Honeymoon, I get to chose where and we get separate rooms."
"Fine, Fine! Come on let's go!"
"You know with the amount of class I'm missing here,even if it's just one, how come I'm not getting in trouble?"
"Because you're my girlfriend. The girlfriend of the hottest and most powerful guy in the school. There is nothing you can't get away with when you're with me."
"A little confident in there aren't ya? You know there is a word for people like you. What was that again? Oh yeah, conceited!"
"I am not! I'm just confident in myself."
"You just bragged about how powerful you are. You even called yourself the hottest guy in school. If that's not conceited, I don't know what is. It also amazes me on how you keep dragging me. Ah, it makes my chest hurt."Armin tells as he rubs his chest deciding to hint to Eren that something was wrong with him.
"You over exaggerate too much, and you might just have to burp." Eren replied dismissing Armin's hint as another excuse not to go with him. "Anyways come on, I said it was cool."
"Yeah yeah, what are we going to do first anyways? Last time I've heard planning a wedding is a hard thing to do."
"The easiest parts. Cake tasting and dress picking."
"Ugh, you better not pick an awful dress. I may be cross dressing for out lie, but I am sure not looking horrible in it."
"Whoa, that was different."
"Hey, it's a wedding day. Even though this will be my first and last one, even if it's fake." He whispers the last part to himself sadly.
"What was that last part?"
"Nothing, let's just get this over with. I want to be early to my real classes so I can ask the teacher some things."
"Ah Eren, long time no see! I haven't seen you in such a long time~!" Sina rushed over pushing Armin out of the way so that she may hug Eren.
"Yeah, it has. Have you brought 'her' dress yet?"
"Yes, I'll bring it out right now." The woman says before running away to get the dress.
"So you gonna tell me why we're getting married yet?" Armin chimes in deciding he would at least want to know a reason behind his 'marriage'.
"I said I don't want to talk about it."
"Eren, I may not have known you for long, and you might not even like me. But I really want to help you with your problems. I will listen to you even help you, so why not trust me?"
"Because I haven't trusted anyone in a long time."
"Well maybe you could start."
"I don't want to."
"Oh come on, I know for a fact you won't tell Mikasa anything. And we're suppose to be friends, so this is what friends do. So let me hear it."
"You won't stop pressuring me until I tell you huh?"
"Yup."
"Are you sure that you want to hear about my problems?"
"As sure as your forcing me into a dress and marrying you."
"Okay then sit back and relax."
"Ready."
"The reason why I'm forcing you to marry me is because my father would have forced me to marry someone else." Eren lies through his teeth, not wanting Armin to know the truth. "So since everyone else knows you as my fiancee, I kinda told him I would get married in December. It was all so he wouldn't pair me up with a random actress or something so the company can prosper."
"I see, why didn't you tell him you can't marry someone you don't love."
"Because he and I don't know what love is. We haven't felt it for a while."
"What do you mean?"
"Well I'll give you a small idea about it since I'm not fully ready to tell you yet. My father stopped loving my family long ago when I was small. And since I grew up with him and his multiple girlfriends, I never knew what real love was. And whenever I saw it, I would get weirded out about it."
"Well love isn't something so simple you know."
"Yeah I know that, it doesn't take a genius to know that. Sometimes I even think that there is no one out there who would like me. Even if I have a lot of fans."
"Well can I tell you something, my favorite quotes?"
"Oh god."
"Hey it may help you understand why you can't find love so simply as others."
"Go ahead you're on a role already."
"I see your rude personality will never changes."
"Is that a quote?"
"No."
"Then why did you say it?"
"To state the obvious. Anyways the saying is from one of my favorite animes."
"And that would be?"
"Toradora."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't want to explain. Anyways, the saying goes like this.'In this world there's this thing that no one's ever seen. This thing is very kind and gentle. And if anyone could actually see it, there would be a whole bunch of people wanting to have it. Maybe that's why the world keeps it hidden away from everyone. If it's hard to get that makes it even more special. But one day someone will find it, and whoever does they'll be the person who is suppose to find it. Because that's the way it was meant to be." Armin finishes saying with a somewhat sad look on his face. The sad look in his eyes seemed to shoot through Eren's heart as he watched the other recite the quote.
"Wow, I have to say for a second I thought it was going to be stupid. But that somehow makes sense. Maybe there is more to anime than all the fan service I see."
"Yup. And that particular anime was revolved all about thinking you're in love with someone, when in reality the person you were looking for was there all along."The blond replies gripping his feeling his symptoms starting to act up once more. His heart beating faster just thinking of the indirect feelings of love that made him want to scream to the world. Noting that he needed to calm down a bit, Armin pinched himself and gave the model a smile.
"Sounds like a whole lot of drama."
"Well they did say love was a hard thing to find. So you see, don't worry about trying to find it. Chances are your dad never found it and was blinded by the idea of love. Meanwhile you are still trying to find what real love is, and the person who is meant to be with you. Who knows, maybe you'll be like Ryuuji and realize your Taiga was right in front of you all the time."
"I have no idea who those people are."
"Then I have to have a marathon of Toradora with you. Warning if and when we do, I will cry."
"Then I'll cry with you, because I'm a sucker for sappy romances too. Tell anyone and I'll kill you."
"Cho Hee! I've got the dress for you to try on!" Sina interrupt their talk holding out a dress bag happily in the air signifying that it was long. Looking over at the woman. Rolling his eyes getting the hint that her arm was loosing the strength to hold it up. Dismissing himself he allowed himself to be lead into a room where she would help him be placed into the dress.
-Time Skip: Next day-
"What is this Cho Hee" Jean ask as he was being handed a cream envelope with a bow at the center along with Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger on it.
"I'm getting married this Christmas." Armin shamelessly replies as he sips his coffee and watches Jean freak out.
"Is he forcing you into this? Why are you marrying him? You know this will be legal right!?" The actor says in a hushed voice making sure other didn't hear him.
"Calm down will you. I promised him I would. It's not like I'm marrying out of love."
"But shouldn't you? Armin I've known you for the longest time, romance is basically what you live for."
"I know, but things happened and it turns out I can't fall in love naturally."
"Yes you can."
"No I can't. I had my chance in high school and middle school. Now that I'm in college it's all about studies, I don't need it anyways. All I need is animes and dramas to get my daily fill of romance. By the sides, I'm not marrying him as me. I'm marrying him as Cho Hee."
"Aren't you a little worried that something bad may happen."
"Nah not really. He's a very fragile guy if you talk to him."
"I find that hard to believe."
"Many people do, but anyways can you give Connie his too? I have to leave singing class early today since I have lessons to make up."
"Sure thing I guess. But is that really the only reason you wanted to meet me before class so early?"
"Of course not! Why you don't like it? I miss hanging out with my best buddy. I guess if you don't want to, I'll just hang with Connie more~."
"N-No, it's fine. I just, you were always a school work first kind of guy."
"Knowledge is power, and if it gets me to be a doctor so I can help people with cancer and asthma I'll do it."
"You're such a nerd."
"But I'm your nerd, forever!" Armin rubs it into Jeans face unknowingly watching the other blush as he made odd gestures as he fluttered his fingers.
"Yeah yeah don't remind me, it's almost a tragedy really." Jean sarcastically says as he runs his hands through his hair.
"A beautiful tragedy!"
"Don't you have to go to class or something?"
"Yeah yeah, how about you? You're no special."
"I know, but I'm not the soon-to-be wife of the school's owner's son. Wow that sounded weird."
"Just because I'm 'marrying' him doesn't make me special."
"You really haven't realized it yet huh?"
"Realized what?"
"Nothing, you might panic if I tell you. Worry wart."
"Can you not?"
"Fine, not now. But you owe me for all of the heart break I've went through because of you. Friendship wise. Oh look, another piece of my heart shattered." The brunette jokes around about his pain as if it were nothing. However, even though he knew everything was a lie it still hurt to know that Eren was getting closer to Armin. Sure he was able to joke around about it, but the fact that Armin would never understand what he was trying to tell him made him suffer even more.
"Okay, who am I to leave your heart all broken," Acting as if he was picking up actual pieces Armin put his hands on Jean's heart, "There pain be gone, and I promise I'll by ice cream or something next time. Okay?"
"You better, anyways gotta go. Yeah me too."
"Bye, I'll see you later."
"You too." Armin waves and begins to pack up the rest of his things preparing himself to go to his other school.
"Well if it isn't Cho Hee the soon-to-be bride." A high pitched voice said as the shadow of three people came into view."And what were you doing with Jean?"
"Nothing, just talking to a friend."
"Eh, looks like you were trying to get at him. The way you were so close to him, it was sickening really. What a slut." Another voice comes in which he could only assume was Ymir after the first being Christa.
"I-I am not a slut! I was just hanging out with a friend, is that so wrong? I bet you two have had moments like that, so why is it wrong for me to have those moments?"
"Oh please like you can't tell, he likes you idiot."
"Impossible, and don't call me names."
"I'm not calling you names, I'm calling you what you are."
"I am much smarter than you'll ever be!" The singer spat out gripping his belongings close to his body ready to run as fast as his body willed him to.
"Shut up you whore," Historia yells," Get her Ymir, I don't want to get blood on my uniform."
"Anything for you babe." Ymir replies cracking her knuckles as she walked forward and kicked Armin between his legs sending him down to the floor. Gasping in pain, Armin closed his eyes trying to remember he was a girl at the moment. Opening one eye he saw a fist connecting with his face, and soon enough he was on the ground being kicked an punched repeatedly.
Both Historia and Ymir took turns hurting him as best they could without killing him. As air started to become to Armin in gasped, he feared the worst would happen. Getting up when he noticed that both of their movements were slowing down, he grabbed his things and pushed the two out of the way. Eyes closed as he ran, Armin prayed that he memorized the school well enough to go through it without sight. And indeed he did.
Turning from corner to corner, he was able to successfully get away. Once he stopped, he looked over his body and checked his injuries. On his face his cheek began to swell as an open cut bleed out the crimson liquid from his body. Bruises peppered his body along with small cuts and scrapes with blood trickling from some of them. Taking one more step forward, Armin collapsed to the floor as a surge of pain starting from his ankle ran through his body.
Chocking back tears, Armin searches for his boy clothing and ripped the fabric wrapping it around his leg where the most blood came from. Sitting alone in the courtyard as class was in session, Armin wondered what he should do next. Getting up as best he could, the blond limped towards a safe place to sit and grabbed his phone. He then notified his teachers that he would be a bit late to today's lessons.
Waiting patiently for the stinging to his wounds to stop for a little bit, or the pain in his ankle to heal Armin allowed only a single tear to fall. Memories that had long been buried resurfaced as he experienced a beating once more. The name calling still cut through the blond's self esteem once more like a knife. The familiar pain throughout his body being ignored as he was teleported to a dark world.
A world in which color didn't exist,a world Armin didn't wish to come back to. His sorrow soon returning to him as he dug through his bag for his inhaler fearing an attack if he didn't take it. Inhaling the medicine, he calmed his nerves as he watched birds fly and sing to each other in harmony. Looking down to his hands that were dirtied by mud, he wondered why it had to happen again blocking out the world once more.
Every breath he now took felt surreal that he didn't even know if he was living anymore. Though his heart beat and breath reminded him of his humanity, Armin felt as if he was stripped of it once more. He felt like an animal more than anything. And it pained him to think these thoughts in his brain imagining the advice he would give to himself, but never follow. Laying down carefully on the concrete floor, Armin closed slowly closed his eyes to get some rest and to forget everything. Though he knew it wasn't the best option, he couldn't help but want to sleep.
"Cho Hee!" He heard someone yell, but didn't respond in anyway whatsoever. Hearing his girl name be repeated over and over again countless times, he lazily got up hissing in pain as he accidentally bumped his cuts and bruises. Propping himself up with his arms so that the upper half of his body was up, Armin saw it was Eren who was running towards him. Forgetting his sadness and pain for a split second,the scenario ran in his head of what could happen if Eren had gotten to him. Blushing from his somewhat girlish thoughts, Armin repeated to himself how illogical love could be and the dangers of it towards him.
Grabbing his things, he took one deep breath and ran trying to avoid Eren was best as he could. As he ran he was able to hear the yells of Eren's desperate voice calling out to him. Pumping his arms and legs more, Armin then wondered why on earth he was running away anymore. Cutting his losses, he stopped running feeling light headed knowing what that meant. When Eren was within a few feet of him, he decided he was ready to be caught, literally too. Falling backwards, he allowed gravity to do its job. Falling into Eren's arms he looked up to see a worried face holding him so that he wouldn't hit the ground.
"I really do hate my life." Armin mutters before he faints.
"Man she got away...And I wasn't even going full out yet." Historia says huffing as she crossed her arms.
"Don't worry we'll get her next time." Ymir replies with a simple pat to the back.
"Still, beating her up isn't enough. I want Eren back."
"Yeah, but then again beating up his soon-to-be wife wasn't the best option."
"I know, ahhh if only there were something I could use against her!"
"Maybe you do," Ymir bent down to pick up an ID holder," This may just be what you need." She says as she hands the card holder over to Historia who takes the card out of its casing.
"Oh you're so right Ymir!I can use this! I can use this! You watch your back Armin Arlert, I know your secret!"
Admin: Is slowly leaning towards not updating here, but then like nah. But then again still a 80% possibility. Sorry I'm so eeeehhh!