The Only Exception | Armin x Annie

Chapter 28

Armin's Point of View

Annie gave me a kiss on the cheek before leaving me with the other boys. As we went inside the room and sat down, Reiner started pouring us shots and gave each of us a glass. I just grabbed it as I watched all of them chug down the glass.

"Aren't you going to drink that, bro?" Porco asked me and I just shook my head before answering him.

"I have to take Annie home."

"Well I can take her home for you. I have a driver with me." Reiner said which made me bite my inner cheek. He was getting in my nerves for how flirtatious he was towards her a while ago. I remained calm and restrained myself because Annie was there but since we're alone, I won't think twice of punching him if he keeps up his act.

The tension just grew bigger as we both glared at each other. The other two noticed so they both laughed and opened another topic to talk about.

"Say Armin, why did Annie meet you at your apartment? I've known Annie for years and she's not the type to make the first move on a man. Right Reiner?" Eren looked over to Reiner and Reiner just looked back at him before slightly nodding.

"Annie was always cautious of her reputation. I was shocked when I discovered the pictures of her coming over to your place not just once. If she did that then she must really want you." Porco said as he poured more alcohol into his glass before drinking it.

"She read a book of mine. The movie she recently starred in - All the Bright Places. She told me that it saved her." I told them. Reiner's intense eyes suddenly grew softer and when he saw me looking at him, he averted his gaze on his glass, pouring in more alcohol.

"Saved her? She planned to do i-it?" Eren asked and I felt his shocked expression when I heard him stutter and shake the glass he was holding.

I remained silent before putting down my glass and intertwining my fingers together. I nodded and looked at the rust colored drink on my glass. Memories of the past came flooding in again. How she comforted me and how she gained my attention. She was different but it was a good difference.

"Shit. We didn't even notice." Porco muttered before drinking another shot. "Pieck was so worried about Annie but she would always say that Annie is a strong woman. Everyone knows how Annie is. She smiles and laughs even through problems. That's why we never...Noticed."

"But why did she keep on seeing you? It's the book she fell in love with. Not the author." Eren said chuckling to lighten up the mood. I know how they feel, just learning now how they almost lost someone close to them. Reiner was the most silent after what I said.

"A book isn't just filled with words. It's filled with the author's thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The author as a whole is what completes a book. She fell in love with me and I ended up falling as well." I answered.

"Weren't you surprised to see someone like her? Why did you two ended up meeting again and in your apartment for the second time?" Porco asked.

"The first time we met, I was actually supposed to end my life." As I said that, all of their eyes widened in surprise.

"I wasn't surprised to see her, I was rather relieved. She was the right time in the right moment. We saved each other. Since then, we ended up being each other's escape." I could see how both Eren and Porco teared up as their eyes shone.

"Damn...It's getting hot in here. I might as well go outside for some fresh air." Eren said before standing up and avoiding eye contact. 

"I-I'll head to the bathroom." Porco said as he hurriedly stood up and left the room.

I chuckled at both of them for being sensitive. They looked like tough guys but they were soft on the inside. I looked over to Reiner who was just silent as he stared at his empty glass. I grabbed a bottle of alcohol and slowly poured some on his glass, making him surprised and look at me.

"I don't really like the way you're intimate with her but since my girlfriend told me that you're a nice person, then I'll see you as a nice person." I muttered before placing the bottle down.

"You're not yet married so I could take her away from you anytime." He said which made me clench my teeth as I smirked.

"I doubt that." I replied.

"What if I told you...We slept together?" He looked at me straight in the eyes while I remained silent.

"Then you must be quite small because she bled when we connected." I saw how his eyebrows furrowed as I said that.

"So you did it..." He muttered. "She chose you, huh?" I looked at him as he took in another shot before heavily exhaling.

"It was three AM. I went to her condo telling her how much I love her. That time, I already knew how Bertholdt loved her, but I still..." He stopped as he traced his finger on the glass' base.

"I ended up kissing her. We ended up taking off all of our clothes. We weren't drunk, we were sober. We were wide awake." I felt my heart sting as he said those. 

"We were about to do it...She told me no. She told me she doesn't want to continue. That she doesn't see me as the man she'll live her whole life with. That she wants to do it with a man who she thinks she'll end up marrying. She stopped me and told me to leave." I looked at Reiner who was now in tears.

"I broke our friendship for my own selfish reasons. I just ended up being a temptation to her. But now I know that you did it with her, I feel dumb. I feel betrayed. I can see how much she really loves you. That she ended up giving her first time to you despite you being a stranger. That she visualized you as the man she'll end up marrying and living the rest of her life with."

I felt my heart ache at what he said. It wasn't the same pain I felt a while ago. It was a type of pain that felt good. I wasn't mad at her for making out with Reiner since that was her life before she met me. But I only realized now how much she loves me.

Everything these guys said to me was the opposite of what she did to me. She didn't like to make the first move but she lowered her pride just for me. She loved her reputation but she still chose the risk of creating a relationship with me. She avoided sleeping with other guys especially strangers but she gave her first time to me in just the second time we met.

I was her only exception.

And only now that I realized, how much she loves me from the first time we met up until this day.

"Please don't let go of her. She won't ever hurt you so please, don't hurt her. There are lots of guys who loves her and would love to be in your place but she chose you. She chose you, Armin." Reiner said as he held my shoulder.

"I'm sorry for being intimate and close to her. I just missed her. Despite me doing all of that in the past, she still told you I was a nice person." He chuckled.

As Eren and Porco went back, the mood lightened and we ended up talking about other things that clicked all of our interests. As the moon grew deeper within the night sky, we managed to get to know each other better.

"So how was your time with the guys?" Annie asked as I fastened her seatbelt.

"It was alright. You were right about Reiner being a nice guy despite him looking like he would kill someone." She chuckled and I could smell the alcoholic scent as her mouth slightly opened.

"Did you have too much to drink?" I asked her.

"Hmm."

I smiled as she leaned her head on the window. The moon light lit on her face showing her beauty, unparalleled and not tiring to look at.

She looked beautiful.

She looked exceptional.

She looked gorgeous.

She looks like the woman I'll be marrying.