geek | armin arlert

pinky promise

"you didn't have to walk me, it's already late."

"how could i let you walk all alone at night?"

armin and you walked hand-in-hand. by now this shouldn't come as a surprise, but to explain, the night weather had been freezing and the boy bold. bold enough to offer to walk you home then carefully slip his hand in yours (once again) claiming the confinement would help with the coldness.

you were too dazed to really care, and it did feel nice having his body heat radiating from hand all throughout your body. plus nobody was around to see, the streets were lonely due to the time, and the only noise was ongoing cars and dainty footsteps.

the tip of armins nose had been incredibly red because of the cold winter air and in any sensual moment would you teasingly look up to kiss it warm. this was of course just a thought, but it started becoming concerning how many thoughts like this you'd been beginning to have.

the relationship you two had was nothing close to being something as a partner. you enjoyed his company, as did he, but that was it.

"that wasn't the worst movie i've ever seen."

this was your crooked way of admitting the movie was good, funny. perhaps it'd been the lack of movies you'd watched that weren't the usual 2000 chick flicks, but it was rather amusing. never would you find yourself watching it on your own will, however the company and atmosphere made it worth the while.

"oh really? high praise for someone who was on their phone half the movie."

armin chuckled at that, a bit flustered by the cold breeze and intimate hand-holding. the heat rising in his cheeks blended well with the redness of sensitive skin, luckily warming up his face.

"it was nice, being around people who are just authentically themselves."

there was a genuine bond forming with mikasa, the girl was sweet and reminded you of the simplicity of girlhood. the type of girl you'd have a silent sleepover with, but it would be peaceful instead of awkward. although she was into unusual stuff such as ghosts and the supernatural, there were things like twilight that closed the gap.

eren and marco were both delightful as well. marco seemed the sanest out of the four, eren was more on the free-willed side. if the nerds hadn't picked him up he'd most likely have dabbled in the delinquent side of school due to his uninhibitedness. seriously, his bluntness would've earned him a black eye.

"you could hang with us more, you know, we're not that scary."

he wanted to point out the movie nights and ghost huntings they'd do and how fun it would be if you tagged along, but knew it'd sound like prying. you look at him, the rawness in his voice throwing you off more than any history question he's ever given you.

"i would but soon i'll be busy again with cheer practice."

"right, i forgot." the shooting stars within in his eyes had been long gone, leaving the emptiness of space to roam "after tomorrow, we probably won't talk much again."

"not unless i fail another test."

although he meant it seriously, genuinely concerned too, you'd taken it as a joke it seemed. not that it was anything to joke about, you just couldn't believe the boy thought he'd easily go back to being a completely irrelevant side character like before.

the concept of a small wave in the hallway or maybe a chat during class didn't seem unrealistic, at least not to you. but that wasn't reciprocated, and the realization that armin had found you shallow enough to disregard someone entirely after using them was a bit upsetting.

usually what people thought didn't keep you up at night, but after hearing so many different perceptions of yourself by other this week, many of them wrong, maybe you should start caring about how others saw you.

"armin, we're friends."

"i didn't think associating yourself with me would continue to do you any good."

there it was again, this completely wrong perception. it was beginning to become shameful, all the wrong doings from before coming back to bite you in the ass. admittedly so you weren't far off from a bitch, perhaps spot on, but that didn't mean you had no remorse for other peoples feelings.

"then why don't we make a promise."

stopping in the tracks, the tip of your left pinky stuck itself out, visibly beginning to freeze with the lack of confinement. the boy quickly noticed the lack of presence, as though he'd been dragging on weight from his left arm instead of guiding it, he turned around to seize the determined look.

"a promise?"

he'd caught onto the idea of a pinky promise, something he probably hadn't done since elementary school. it was childish, but an admittedly adorable attempt to keep his concerns at bay. not to mention he was a master at keeping a pinky promise.

"we won't stop talking to each other after this week."

was the appointed promise you decided to announce. he'd never forget that look on your face as you wiggled your pinky impatiently, a crinkle to the eyebrows due to the evident hesitation on his half. without any afterthoughts, his was wrapping around, locking it to signify the promise that had been solemnly sworn.

"if you break the promise, i'll break your finger."

you said through a giggle.

there was a realness to it which he enjoyed. at that moment it felt as though the storm of disillusion was clearing, undoing the unattainable feeling of levels which he couldn't have imagined reaching.

as if you two were just silly highschoolers finding ways to have fun in a shitty town, not a gorgeous cheerleader with excruciatingly high standards and a dorky nobody who obviously did not reach those standards.

when there was nobody to enforce the social status' food chain that was a myth in every average highschool, things were different. you two shared a look — comfortable, uncertain, hopeful.

"i think i like you best when you're just with me and no one else."

you look away first.