Circles | Eren x Reader

Chapter 39- (Y/N)'s Letter:

Eren's POV:

I showered in silence, breathing in the hot steam while trying to think. The past few weeks had been especially rough. My dad left pretty suddenly— one morning he was here— the next, he went out for work and was gone. My mom was still in denial. If anything, she believed he went missing or, worst case scenario, died. I wanted to believe that too, but knowing Grisha Yeager meant knowing that, one day, he would leave.

I hadn't been showing up to school. Oddly enough, the more time that passed between him leaving, the harder it became for me to tolerate him being gone. It was only after about the third week since he left that I decided to stay home almost entirely. My mom was home a lot too, so I stayed with her. Mikasa went to school to collect homework and take notes on my behalf. She didn't act like it, but I think my dad's departure had been hitting her pretty hard too. So, the whole house was a mess. I didn't really mind though. It was nice to stay home from school. I didn't have to listen to (Y/N)'s cold remarks about me. I could never understand why she was trying so hard... and maybe I never would. To be honest, nothing she had ever said about me truly bothered me much, I never really cared what others thought, but the fact that she hated me with her entire being really tore me to pieces. It felt like I wasn't given a fair chance. The cards had just happened to not play out in my favor. If only I—

I heard a knock outside. I ignored it. If it were Mikasa or my mom, they'd come back later. I heard a more aggressive sounding knock again. After turning off the shower and wrapping a towel around myself, I stepped outside to see what the issue was. My eyes widened when I saw a figure at the window.

"(Y/N)?" I questioned, confused.

(Y/N) was clinging onto the side of the house uncomfortably with a backpack on her shoulder. I knew I couldn't leave her out there, so I slid the window open and invited the very frightened looking girl into my room. I quickly told her that I needed to finish showering, still greatly confused as to what was going on, snatched my phone off the bed, and went back into the bathroom. As soon as I jumped back into the shower, I called Armin. I wasn't afraid of (Y/N) hearing me. I knew the the sound of the water running would mask my voice. Armin picked up almost immediately:

"What's up?" a grainy voice said through my phone.

"(Y/N)'s here," I replied abruptly.

"(Y/N)?! Wha— Eren! What is she doing there? Is she with you? Can she hear us?"

I sighed. Talking to Armin was like playing Twenty Questions. He had to know everything that was going on, so he could prepare for every possible outcome.

"No and no. She's in my room right now. She interrupted my shower," I said, rinsing my hair. "And I'm not sure what she's here for. She said she brought dinner, but..." I shrugged. "I dunno, Armin. I haven't talked to her in months. And—"

"— And not to mention (Y/N)'s been a horrible person to you this entire time," he interrupted.

I disregarded his comment, "Well, yeah, I suppose— but more importantly, she's here. After not talking for months and she's here."

"I know," Armin affirmed. "That's the problem."

I thought for a moment. I didn't really find it to be a problem. It was nice to hear her voice again. Well, her voice when she wasn't cussing me out in front of her friends.

"No, Armin, it's fine. I don't really mind. It's nice to have her talk to me again."

"Are you kidding me?!" he yelled through the phone. "Eren, are you out of your mind? Have you forgotten what a— and excuse my French here— but, what a bitch she's been lately?"