a slave to freedom (Eren Yeager x OC female)

1

"NO! COME ON! DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS!" a boy yells, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face as he holds the body closer to him. in a blood curdling scream he shouts, "MIKASAAAAAA!!!"

his eyes shot open as he quickly sits up, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead, his chest rising and falling quickly, tears falling down his cheeks. he stares into his shaking hands, breathing still heavy. he looks up, whipping his head in every direction to take in his surroundings. i'm in my room, in my bed, it was just a dream... just breathe. he attempts to take in slow, deep breaths, failing at first but eventually getting his breathing back to normal. he lays back down against his pillow, arm over his eyes as he takes in a few more deep breaths. dammit...

he drags himself to the edge of his bed once his phone goes off, reaching over to his nightstand he grabs it answering. "hello?" his voice groggy and drained. "Eren, you're up! finally! it's almost 12 in the afternoon!" the voice on the other line chuckles. Eren holds his phone down to look at the time on his screen, 11:42. he lets out a sigh, "yeah, sorry about that. long night, didn't sleep good," he rubs his eyes with his free hand, resting his elbow on his knee as he leaned forward. "what's up, Armin?" Eren finally speaks after a moment. "come to the dining hall and eat lunch with us since you missed breakfast!" Armin invites, cheerily. "i don't know," Eren hesitantly replies, Armin falls silent for a little too long. "hey, you there?" Eren asks, sitting back up. "please, Eren. you keep yourself locked in that house of yours most of the time. it's good for you to get out once in a while," the friend encourages. defeated, finding it hard to reject Armin, Eren agrees. "i'll be there in 30 minutes," Eren speaks before ending the call. he stands up, heading to his bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

Eren reaches the door to the dining hall, already hearing how rowdy it is he reluctantly opens the door, all eyes immediately falling on him as he steps through the door.

*** Adeline's P.O.V ***

she looks up from her hands on the table as the doors open and someone steps through. "EREN!!!" Armin chimes as his best friend walks through. she smiles softly at the man as he walks up to the table, his hands in his pockets. "hi, Eren," she spoke softly as she looks up at him. he gives a weak smile back and a very quiet "hey",  taking the seat across from her. Eren has changed... a lot... ever since that day. he slowly distanced himself from everyone, now we barely see him. it's hard getting him out of his home. i can't really blame him... i think i'd do the same if i was the reason- her thoughts paused as someone suddenly wrapped their arm around Eren , causing him to shoot up from his seat. Adeline stood up slightly, "Eren, are you okay?" she asked, gently, reaching her hand out to him. his fingers flinch a little at her touch but he eases down once he realizes who's touching his hand. "Eren, it's alright. it's just Connie," Armin softly says. the entire room is now staring at Eren. "i'm sorry, Eren! i didn't mean to spook you like that!" Connie laughs, taking the last seat available next to Armin. god, if only Connie really knew... Eren's breathing got heavy again, Armin slowly pushed Eren back into his seat, Astrid keeping her hand on his across the table, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles trying to relax him. "it's alright, man. i just woke up so i'm still a little disoriented," Eren manages to laugh off, trying to pull himself back together. he taps Armin's shoulder as a thanks, simultaneously signaling Adeline that he's good now and starts piling food onto his plate. everyone returns to their usual chatter. so much has changed, the world is slowly coming back, it's only been 8 years since The Rumbling but it seems the last 20% of the remaining humanity has been coming along nicely.. well for the most part. there will always be the type of people who try to restart what happened. Eren had his followers still, people who believe they would have been better off dead, others are proud of the Eldian soldiers of Paradis who fought their comrade, Eren Yeager, to stop him and his rampage.

everyone had left the hall, leaving Astrid, Armin, Eren, and Annie still at their table. Adeline stared at Eren, she had always worried about him, especially around this time of the year.. more specifically today. "Eren," Adeline speaks up into the silence, Eren raises his head to look at her. his sea green eyes stared at her, his fingers start to fidget, he knew what she was going to ask. "let's have a sleepover," she smiles softly at him. Eren looks at her shocked, definitely not what he was expecting. usually he's asked how he's doing, if he's okay, making sure he's eating and taking care of himself, etcetera. "ooh a sleepover! that sounds perfect! right, Eren?!" Armin claps his hands together in excitement. "i don't know," Eren says shortly, taking his eyes off her and looking down at his fidgeting hands. "come on! we haven't had a proper sleepover in AGES! and Annie can join!" Armin, with a big smile, looks at Annie who sat next to Astrid. Annie looks up from her phone, confused for a moment as she wasn't fully paying attention. "oh, no! i-," Annie begins to decline. "it's okay, Annie. i was only asking Eren. Armin wasn't invited," she gives Annie a reassuring smile. everyone at this table has been through so much together. well.. everyone has. everyone's changed so much except for Armin. sometimes Adeline wonders if he's just keeping a front. he did lose one of his best friends in battle. despite not having the same bond Eren and Armin shared with her, Adeline always thought of her as an older sister. though she was only older by a month. Adeline once again takes hold of Eren's fidgeting hands on the table. she reached out her hand to Armin who took it cautiously. "Mikasa," Adeline lifts her head to look at the ceiling, she felt the two boys hands squeeze her's. "it's been 8 long years..." she pauses, her eyes getting watery. "i hope you're watching over us," her voice cracks a little, fighting back tears. she looks at the two boys who were now staring at her, tears filling up their own eyes. Eren's grip held on tighter than Armin's, not by much, but enough for Adeline to notice.