please me ; eren yeager x oc

chapter 5; confession?

The air in Emma's apartment felt thick, like it was holding its breath right along with her. Eren's words echoed in her mind as she sat there, still gripping the takeout container as though it would ground her. "I think there's something between us. And I'm tired of pretending there's not."

She blinked, unable to process the moment properly. For all the bickering and tension, for all the stupid comments and eye rolls, she hadn't been prepared for this. It wasn't supposed to be real. The push and pull between them had always been a game, a way to avoid dealing with the real feelings bubbling underneath. But now, Eren had taken that off the table.

Eren was waiting for her to say something, his gaze unwavering, but the weight of his words made it impossible for her to speak. She couldn't meet his eyes. Instead, she stared down at her food, pushing it around with her fork, her brain scrambling to come up with a response that wouldn't betray just how much his confession had thrown her.

"You're joking, right?" she finally said, her voice weak, even to her own ears.

Eren's expression didn't change. If anything, his gaze became more intense, like he was silently willing her to meet him in this moment. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

That was the problem. He didn't. The way his eyes bored into hers, the way his posture was relaxed but his shoulders tense, it told her he wasn't playing around. Emma could feel the shift in the room, the seriousness of it all, and it scared her.

She exhaled sharply, trying to focus on the air coming in and out of her lungs to calm her nerves. Her heart felt like it was racing, but at the same time, she didn't want to give in to the confusion and emotion swirling inside her.

Eren sighed softly, pushing himself up off the couch and moving to the window. He ran a hand through his messy hair, his frustration visible in the taut line of his shoulders. "I don't get you, Emma. One minute we're at each other's throats, and the next... we're like this. I don't even know what to make of it anymore."

His words pierced through the haze in her mind. Emma finally set her food down, pressing her palms against her knees as she tried to gather her thoughts. She didn't know what to say, because part of her had been avoiding exactly this conversation for months now. Eren had always been a mystery to her—someone who was constantly under her skin, even when she didn't want him to be. And maybe, in her own way, she liked it. But the idea of giving in to whatever was happening between them scared her.

"I don't get me either," she admitted softly, almost as if confessing it to herself. "But this—" She motioned between them. "This can't be real. We're just... I don't know, messing with each other, right? That's what we do."

Eren turned away from the window, facing her again. His eyes softened, but there was still that underlying intensity. "Maybe that's what you've been telling yourself, but I'm done with that. I'm tired of pretending that all we do is annoy each other." He took a step closer to her, his gaze never wavering. "Because when you get past all the bullshit, there's more here. You know it, too."

Emma's breath caught in her throat. She hated how easily he could do this to her—get under her skin, break down her walls. She didn't want to admit that he was right, that she had been avoiding this for months. She didn't want to acknowledge that she cared, because once she did, everything between them would change.

"I don't know how to deal with this," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly as she looked up at him.

Eren's gaze softened even further, and for the first time in a while, there was no teasing smirk on his face, no sarcastic remark at the ready. He knelt down in front of her, placing his hands on her knees gently, the gesture so unlike their usual banter that it almost caught her off guard.