The Only Exception | Armin x Annie

Chapter 3

Annie's Point of View

I opened my eyes and saw him.

Armin Arlert.

His gorgeous blonde long undercut hair swayed temporarily as the wind from the opening door went through it. It abruply stopped and there I saw his ocean marbles filled with surprise to see someone like me standing in front of his doorway.

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked deadly at me. He was about to shut the door close when I placed my hand through the door to stop him.

"Mr. Arlert, right?" I said and as he heard my voice, his face softened. He pulled me into his apartment and locked the door shut.

"You can take off your disguise now." As he said that, I took off my mask, sunglasses, and cap.

"I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. I thought it was someone else." He spoke softly as his right hand laid at the back of his neck giving me an awkward eye smile. He thought that I was Christa maybe due to my blonde hair and the way I disguised myself since we were both stars after all.

"I'm sorry for coming to your place without prior permission to. I'm Annie Leonhart." I gave him my hand and he didn't hesitate to shake it.

"Let's sit down first." He said and offered me a sit at his living room. Just beside his living room was the kitchen.

"Say...Ms. Leonhart--"

"Oh you can call me Annie." I smiled at him and he chuckled softly as he looked at me.

"Okay Annie. You can call me Armin then." He said as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Armin...What were you saying?" I asked him and used the name he wanted me to address him.

"Do you want anything to drink? Some tea? coffee? soda?" He offered as he rummaged through his refrigerator.

"Water would be great." I answered and he looked at me with his eyebrows up, not sure if what he heard was correct.

"Are you sure?" He asked again to know if I was certain about my choice of beverage.

"Water would be nice. I'm not allowed to drink soda, coffee would keep me awake all night, I'm not really a big fan of tea. So water it is." I said and he laughed gently before placing a glass of water and a pitcher on the coffee table in front of me.

"I'm sorry I tend to be talkative most of the time." I begged my pardon as I took a sip of water from the glass he offered.

"It's definitely alright, Annie. I tend to be talkative as well when talking about my passion or the things that define my identity." He sat down beside me but made sure to leave a space since he only had one couch.

A moment of silence hit the both of us. I was just moving both of my thumbs at the side of the glass of water I held.

"So why are you here? It's unlikely for a famous actress to visit a man at this time of the night." He spoke.

"I read your work. All the bright places."

I could hear his breathing and how it changed when I mentioned his book. Was there something behind that book? Who did he write it for?

"Oh that." He laughed inaudibly. "What about it?"

"I read it...The night I was supposed to kill myself." He looked taken aback by my sudden confession. He looked at me with a tensed posture but he softened himself to make me comfortable.

"May I ask...Why did you want to do it?"

I pursed my lips as I remembered what I did last night. I hated being in pain that I wanted to take all that pain away. But as I read that book, I realized that there was more to life than I expected it to be.