Circles | Eren x Reader

Chapter 59- Walk-In:

I undressed entirely besides my underwear and shimmied the dress Historia gave me up to my waist. I tried pulling further, but my finger was caught in a string. I heard the store bell ring and the mumbling of a small group of people, but the sound of the dress ruffling muffled the voices.

"Agh! Get. Out!!" I cursed, trying to wiggle my hand out without destroying the dress. I was about to call for Annie's help when the curtain flew back. "Annie! Wait! I'm still topless—!"

I froze. Annie was not the one to pull the curtain open.

It was Eren.

"Eren!" my faced turned scarlet as I desperately tried to pull the dress over my bra and cover myself up.

"Uh..." his eyes made their way slowly up to my face, his mouth hanging open just slightly.

"GET OUT!" I yelled, pushing him out of the dressing room and closing the curtain behind me.

I gave up on the dress and collapsed on the bench, leaning my head back against the wall with a sigh. Dear God, why me? This was probably worst-case scenario. Of course, this had to happen right after the two of us fought. I touched my cheek— it was scalding hot. I was so embarrassed. My other hand was still caught in the dress. I tugged slightly and in a second, my hand easily slipped free.

"You have got to be kidding me. That couldn't have happened earlier?" I mumbled, beginning to push the dress off. I was done shopping for the day. More than anything, I just wanted to run out of the store and go home. I sighed deeply, replaying the two-second event that just happen over and over. It felt like it lasted for a year. When Eren poked his head in, his face was bruised and he had thin scabs over his cheeks and lips.

Jean. You shouldn't have done that...

It made me wonder, though: If Eren looked that beat up after a ten minute encounter with Jean, what did Jean look like? Was he okay?

"(Y/N)!" I heard Historia call. She snapped me out of my train of thought and I heard Sasha's screams being muffled by someone, I assumed Ymir, behind her.

"Did you get the dress on?" Hanji asked.

I inhaled deeply. I guess I don't have a choice. I pulled the dress back up and over my shoulders, zipping up the side. I turned to stare at myself in the mirror. It fit well, accentuating my figure nicely. Surprisingly enough... I felt like I looked good.

I peeked my head out of the dressing room hesitantly, checking to make sure Eren was gone.

"Don't worry," Annie said, looking at the floor. "He's two rows back. He can't see you," she paused, then added more quietly "... I'm sorry. I thought you were one room over... I'll guard the isle." Annie stood tall, head titled up, blocking Eren's only exit to the stage.

"Yeah, it's unfortunate that you can't really knock on curtains to see if someones inside," Hanji said somberly. "But, Annie hit him good! If we weren't in a store, I'd bet she and Mikasa would be in a full on brawl right now!" they added lightly.

Trusting Annie, I stepped onto the stage and smiled awkwardly. The dress was (A/N: just describe ur ideal dress here. Also, if you don't like dresses, just pretend I said suit.)

"Wow, (Y/N)! You look amazing!" Historia squealed. "You have to get that one."

I looked at Annie for validation. She gave a quick nod of approval.

Sasha gave me a thumbs-up with her one free hand, the other holding a plate of food samples. Hanji and Ymir agreed, and it was decided that this would be my dress.

"Great! We're finished here, then! Let's buy everything and go home!"

After checking out, Annie led me out of the store, checking behind her every so often to make sure Eren didn't see me. I appreciated it. Who knew Annie could be so protective?

Before I walked through the door, I tilted my head back and saw Eren peeking up over the isles of clothing, staring at me with a strange expression. I wasn't sure how to describe it.

On the car ride back, I was dead silent. All I could picture was Eren's horrified face when he had seen me. I must have looked so ugly!! I screamed internally. While I knew I had promised Eren that I was never going to forgive him and that we weren't friends, I still didn't want him to think of me as disgusting.

Hanji elbowed me, "Don't look so sad, (Y/N). It's only Eren. Besides, you pushed him out of the room so fast, he probably didn't even see anything. Not to mention," Hanji smiled mischievously at Annie, "Annie's kick probably made him lose his memory anyway."

"Stop it, Hanji," Annie said flatly.

Ymir butted in, "It's true, (Y/N). Eren is hardly relevant. Whatever he thinks doesn't really matter. He's ugly, after all— and a fucking twink."

"Ymir!" Historia scolded, "Don't say things like that!"

"Fine, fine," Ymir tapped the steering wheel as she spoke. "He's not a twink, per say. But he sucks and I don't like him."

"Ymir, are you saying you don't like twinks?" Sasha asked suspiciously. She was now squished in the back seat with the rest of us, since Connie had dropped her off and she had no ride back.

"No! I'm not saying that at all!" Ymir raised her voice. "It was a figure of speech! I— It's not even that insulting! You guys are way overthinking this! I'm just saying that..."

The conversation in the car melted away and was replaced by my encounter with Eren. I had only seen him for a few seconds, but he looked so worn. So many bruises. Was I responsible for this?

I snapped out of it. No, (Y/N). You have to stop caring about him. For real, this time. No take backs. I sighed. For some reason, I felt like I wasn't going to be able to do that.