Bruises and Caresses

Chapter 1

He didn't know how long it had been going on. He had lost track by what, maybe the 5th or 6th time? It had been going on for months now. Eren lived in constant fear almost everyday from his boyfriend, Levi, who hit him when he did something he either didn't like, made him mad, or him just simply taking his

anger out on Eren. He had learned not to raise his voice, talk back, or try and call for help. And to definitely never attempt to leave.

Eren confided in one person and one person only; his childhood friend, Armin. He was the only person who knew about the abuse going on between Eren and Levi, he had kept Eren's secret quiet from Eren's adopted sister, Mikasa, who they both knew would flip out and attempt to kill Levi if she ever found out. Eren didn't want her to intervene, it was already a huge risk letting Armin in on it, he didn't want to even begin to imagine what Levi would do to him if he told Mikasa and she came after Levi. Although Mikasa had her suspicions, Eren never told her a word.

One evening while Levi was working late, Eren decided to call Armin over. He figured it'd be a good opportunity to talk to him while Levi wasn't there and wouldn't be home for a few more hours. Eren picked up his cell phone and dialed Armin's cell, "Hi, Armin." he said, "Do you think you could come over for a little while?" he asked.

"Sure." Armin replied, "I'll be there in 15 minutes."

"Okay, see you soon." Eren said as he hung up the phone.

Within 15 minutes Armin arrived at the door, "Come in." Eren said as he opened the door for him.

"Thanks." Armin said politely, "Where's Levi?" he asked as he looked around the room.

Eren was a quiet for a moment, "He's not here.." he replied, "He's working late tonight.."

Armin came to the realization, "Oh.. So that's why you asked me to come over, huh..?"

Eren nodded softly in response while starring down at the floor.

"Eren," Armin began. "It happened again, didn't it..?" he asked as he gently tilted Eren's face up, only to find a large bruise on his cheek.

"Yeah, it did.." Eren replied, trying not to look at Armin directly.

"And I'm guessing Levi doesn't know I'm here..."

Eren nodded in response.

Levi never allowed Eren to have friends over if he had just gotten hit and had bruises left over. If one of Eren's friends happened to see the bruises, he had to make up a lie to cover for it. "Eren, you have to do something, you can't just keep letting him do this to you.." Armin said in a concerned voice.

Eren shook his head, "No, Armin.." he began." You don't understand.. There's nothing I can do."

"You can come live with me and Mikasa." Armin suggested.

"If I do that, then I'll never find another person to love me again, he's my soul mate, he loves me-"

"If he honestly loved you he wouldn't constantly hit you all the time!" Armin interrupted.

Eren looked at him. He was right.. And he had a point. But, who would he ever find again that loved him like Levi did? He knew Armin was right, but he didn't want to admit it, he wanted to think that Levi was the only one for him, that he would treat him better eventually, that things would get better soon. He was silent for a moment as Armin's words raced in his mind. After a few moments, Eren broke the silence. "Anyways.." he began, "Why don't we go sit in the living room and play video games or something?" he said, trying to change the subject. Armin decided to just go along with it and drop it.

((TIME SKIP A FEW HOURS LATER))

As time had passed, it was getting late, and Armin thought it would be best to go home before Levi came home. Eren walked him to the door, "Thanks for coming over." Eren said.

"No problem." Armin replied. "And if you need anything, anything at all, please don't hesitate to call me, okay?" Armin said in a caring voice, "I'm here for you, Eren.."

"Thanks, Armin." Eren replied. "I appreciate it."

"Anytime.. Well, I'll see you later. Bye, Eren." Armin said as he walked out the door.

"See you, Armin.." Eren replied as he shut the door and locked it.

"So, you're sneaking people in while I'm gone, huh?" said a familiar voice. Eren turned around, only to find Levi leaning against the edge of the doorway with his arms crossed and an angry look on his face.

Eren jumped as he turned around. He was immediately over come with fear, "L-Levi!" he said, "W-when did you get home..?!"

"Oh shit.." Eren thought to himself, "I'm so done for..."

**Authors Note**

Hi! If you read this, I hope you enjoyed it! I've written many fanfictions before, but this is the first one I've actually uploaded online. If there's any mistakes with the writing format, or anything else, please let me know so I can have it right in my future chapters ^-^ if you like this chapter, please let me know what you think!

~CupcakeChan~ (=^-ω-^=)