thank you. [eremin]

viii

Eren's POV

I should just brush it off. It's probably just a misunderstanding. Was he mad at me because I yelled at him yesterday? I was just trying to help. Sure I have an aggressive way of wording thing but-

Mikasa cut off my thoughts and said, "You're overthinking things."

She was always quite calm and collected. She would spend much of her time studying people's behavior and actions. Through this, she got quite good at reading me.

I sighed balling up my hand into a frustrated fist.

"Go easy on him. He's not great at expressing his feelings especially his hurt or pain."

I was surprised she already learned so much about Armin in the past week she's known him. I guess they are friends too.

I walked upstairs with my hands in my pockets and shuffled onto my bed. I face planted into my pillow, breathing heavily to make up for the lack of oxygen.

I breathed in deeply through my nose taking in all the scents of the pillow. How had I not noticed it before? This pillow smelled like Armin. From when he slept in my bed. I cuddled the pillow in my arms, taking in it's scent.

All I wanted to do was comfort Armin, maybe even cuddle him in my arms. In a friendly way, right. No, there's not friendly way to do that. I have definitely developed feelings for Armin.

Oh maybe I could write him a letter. If I talked to him in real life I would just stutter and probably say something I didn't mean to.

I grabbed a thin piece of lined paper out of my draw and sat down at my dimly lit desk. I chewed on the end of my pen, trying to figure out the best way to word this.

I set my pen down and started writing. Once I started, I couldn't stop. The thoughts just flowed out of me.

When I finally finished I sat down and reread the letter. It read:

Armin,
I wanted to write this to say I am so sorry for getting upset with you. I just want to help you because knowing that you're struggling makes me want to do something about it. I understand that it's annoying or hard to talk about your feelings, but you can trust me right? We're friends after all. You know, I've never really been that close to anyone besides Mikasa. Everyone at school is just fake friends and fake popularity. But I feel like I have a genuine connection and friendship with you. Because of you I've been doing a lot better in school and I feel more motivated to do things. I guess what I really wanted to say was, thank you.

-Eren

No. That was way too sentimental for me. I crumpled up the paper and threw it on the floor. I slumped against my desk, resting my chin in the crook of my elbow.

Mikasa knocked on the door and handed me an envelope marked with just my name.

"What's this?" I asked Mikasa.

"Not sure, it was in the mailbox with the rest of the mail," She replied.

She left the room, gingerly shutting the door behind her.

I opened the envelope. It was a few papers. The first one was a note.

Eren,
Study these terms and I think you'll do great on the exam on Thursday.
Sorry we couldn't study today. How's tomorrow? You can just text me if you'd like.