Trouble (Eren/Reader/YandereArmin)

Chapter 4

It was clear that change was in the air, and not just for one particular person either. It seemed like it was the start of a new season for multiple people. Ymir was currently celebrating a recent birthday and had just turned twenty-two, and with aging usually came some sort of growth. Armin felt like he struggling to stay afloat as he navigated the waters of this new found obsession, no this new found love. He was keenly aware it wasn't quite normal (or at least it hadn't been for him before) and he was also so painfully aware that there was no quick solution to be found to his problem, he was doomed to sit and suffer. Just waiting until she and Eren were no more and after a respectable amount of time he could swoop in... Of course, during this he would have to do everything he could to slowly and carefully insert himself more and more into (Y/N)'s life, but that was fine. She was worth the wait and definitely worth the effort.

But it was clear that change was in the air, and not just for one particular person either. Eren had been enraptured by whatever spell (Y/N) was able to cast. The infatuation had clearly not hit him as hard as it had Armin, but Armin couldn't help but feel like his long-game plans were beginning to lengthen as he watched the subtle changes. Eren's palm protectively placed on her lower back, leading her, making sure she was always there; Armin had been watching for about 30 minutes now and only once had he seen his gentle grip falter. Eren's new found responsibility when he turned down the red solo cup offered to him and grabbed a bottle of water instead muttering something about driving here... like that had ever stopped him before. The thing that really stuck out to Armin though, was the way when she started to speak Eren leaned down, moving his ear closer to her lips so he could hear her words. A simple but deliberate act that let both of them know he actually wanted to hear what she had to say. Eren was Armin's best friend, there were many things Armin enjoyed about him and he had many strengths, but it's almost impossible to know someone's strengths without knowing their flaws. Eren suffered from being a dick most of the time, it was a joke within their friend group that he always had a new girl with him, usually one he wasted about 2 minutes of his life wooing, however long it took them to hookup (that greatly depended on their drunken state) and lastly about 10 or so minutes for Eren to order himself or her an uber home...

"Never thought I'd see the day ol' Eren settled down." Armin hadn't even noticed Connie and Sasha appearing by his side until Connie's joke pierced his thoughts.

"Eh, it's one date." Armin hoped that the bitterness he felt didn't leak through to his voice.

"And 4 lunches!" Sasha added, "They're kind of cute, I hope he's serious... she always has snacks in her bag."

"Yeah... hey, where's Ymir and Historia, I haven't said hey yet?" Armin tore his gaze away from the couple. He just needed a little space. Realistically, it would be better if she were around all of them longer even if that meant she had to be around Eren longer too.

"I'm just saying it would've been nice to know it was a birthday party!" (Y/N) was a bit annoyed she hadn't been prepped, she could've brought a card or something, just to be nice. However, it was hard to come off as too angry with a few stray pieces of Eren's long brown hair tickling her nose.
He grinned at the giggle, "I told you it's not a birthday party. It's a party in response to a birthday, we were under instructions not to bring anything! You would've ruined it if I told you... I'd bet you anything you would've showed up with a gift card."

"Yeah, and she would've probably liked it because who doesn't like gift cards?"

"There's not even a cake... that should make you feel better, right?" Eren could tell she wasn't actually upset, more or less probably feeling a bit more out of place. There were a lot more faces here, some he didn't even know, but mostly just more of their friends that he didn't see on the same schedule, thus not having a chance to introduce them.

"That makes me feel worse! Now you're telling me we don't even get to eat cake?" She joked trying to ease her nerves a little bit. If she were being honest, she felt... weird. Everyone there mostly knew each other well and she only knew a handful of them barely. Add that onto the fact that she felt overdressed, and it wasn't like she was an idiot... obviously Eren Yeager had a reputation, and while she didn't really feel like he was using her, she got a few looks that suggested they knew something she didn't. She just felt weird. Maybe they'd be lucky enough to run into Mikasa and Sasha soon, she really liked them.

"You want cake? We can leave right now and go get you cake!" Eren teased although, if she were to respond with a 'yeah' he probably would've done it. Or at least found some grocery store that was open late and bought one.

"No, but a drink would be nice. I'm gonna go grab one, you want one? I know you're driving but surely you're not that much of a light weight?"

"Yeah, I guess. Do not let Jean make it... I don't trust him. I'll explain later." Eren watched her walk away laughing at his 'joke'. Though he really hadn't been joking. Eren had pulled a friendly prank months ago where he tipped some salt into Jean's soda and since then he's refused to leave his drink around who he liked to call Horse-Face. He just knew that Jean hadn't forgotten, but rather was waiting to strike when he didn't expect it.

"Wow, I can't believe she actually came with you! I figured after putting up with you for so long she would've come to her senses." Jean laughed as he walked towards Eren, he happened to be on his way to the kitchen himself but he had to mess with him a little on his way. They were friends.

"I know you're not used to it, but people actually like me." Eren smirked, wrapping an arm around his date when she reappeared next to him with two plastic cups in her hand.

"Oh- hey, Jean!" She was a little confused when Jean rolled his eyes with a small wave before leaving them. "What was that about?"

"He's just a jerk, you should know this by now," Eren took the second cup from her hand with a chuckle. Of course, he knew it was mostly just annoyance that her timing had messed up his joke... but it was asking a lot of the man to pass up the opportunity to insult his friend. "Come on, I wanna show you off to a few more people. You at least have to meet Bertholdt, Reiner and Annie."

Armin half-way thought about checking out early, calling some ride-share app and making it back home. He wasn't drunk, but obviously not driving did have some disadvantages too. Most of everyone had left at this point in the night, only leaving their normal group: Historia, Ymir, Annie, Sasha, Mikasa, Bertholdt, Reiner, Jean, Connie, Eren and Himself. Well, of course (Y/N) was there too. Armin wouldn't have forgotten, but Eren wouldn't have let him forget either. They seemed to be attached to the hip, and while Armin could remember finding it rather annoying to see random girls hanging all over Eren, it was even more annoying to see her do it... doubley so to see the affections returned by Eren.

Perched on the sofa, Armin had just about the perfect spot to usually have the two in his line of sight. No matter how much he tried to distract himself with friendly conversation, his gaze always drifted back. Just in time to see her arm on top of his as they both laughed at someone Connie said or did. Just in time to see Eren prop his elbow on top of her head as a joke and then swiftly pull her close to ease the (barely there) sting of the teasing. Just in time to see him lean close and whisper something that caused the blood to rush to her face and her eyes to roll- Yeah, it'd probably be better if he were just to get out of there.

He fished his phone out of his pocket, but before he even had a chance to open up the app he was looking for Eren and (Y/N) appeared beside him, both plopping on the couch. (Y/N) bounced a little from the force Eren pulled them down. Armin froze when her leg brushed against his thigh, and thanked his lucky stars that this couch happened to be on the smaller side. "Oh! Sorry Armin..."

"It's okay. W-what are you guys doing?"

"Ymir says she's feeling nostalgic and wants to play truth or dare," Eren rolled his eyes like he was annoyed at the prospect, but then his lips twisted into an excited grin, "We wanted to get the good seats!"