Metamorphosis

Chapter 7

At seven o'clock the next morning, I woke up with every intention of staying in bed for the rest of the day. I wasn't in the mood to face everything that happened last night, so I was going to lie here until the memory of Eren's lips on mine vanished. That was the plan for the next forty-eight hours, and the worst part was I couldn't even talk to my best friend about any of this. Before I came home last night, I'd visited Isabel at her apartment and she ignored the elephant in the room like nothing had happened at Club Rose. Not once did her brother's name cross her lips, and I had the urge to grab her by the shoulders and demand that she tell me the truth about what was going on between her and Eren. Instead, I said nothing, went along with her cheery façade, because I didn't want to hurt her. But I knew that keeping all these feelings bottled up inside was hurting her even more.

            With a sigh, I rolled onto my stomach and buried my face against the pillow waiting for me there. There were too many thoughts running through my mind. I knew it would be impossible to fall back asleep. I should get up, be productive, go out and job hunt, but I lacked the will to move. I yearned for the oblivion sleep offered, but it was obvious that I wasn't going to get the sweet release of slumber anytime soon. I might as well get up and eat something, maybe clean for a while, do anything that would serve as a distraction. That much was needed today.

            I sat up and kicked off the blankets, turning around to swing my legs over the side of the bed. I reached up and ran a finger over my lips, remembering the taste of Eren. Why had he come out to search for me? He was supposed to let me leave, not torment me with a fleeting moment of ecstasy. I could still feel his tongue sweeping against mine, filling me with a desire that demanded to be quenched. I squeezed my eyes shut on a groan. This wasn't helping me any. I needed to nip this in the bud, to put an end to it before it could even begin. I wasn't going to accomplish that by moping around every time he crossed my mind.

            Standing up, I picked up my glasses from on top of the nightstand beside my bed and slid them into place. I would go about my day as I normally would, but before I could do that, there was something I had to do. I owed it to Mikasa and Armin to tell them that I would no longer be taking the position as the next male dancer at Club Rose. I also needed to return Eren's shirt, so I had to make one final pit stop at his place of work. I was hoping that he wouldn't be there when I dropped by at ten. I was counting on his absence, because if I saw him, I wouldn't know what to do.

I pulled up in front of the building that housed the club at exactly 9:50. I sat in my idling car for a few seconds longer, to prepare myself for what was to come, and then I shut off the engine and stepped out into the bright morning light. At this time of year, everything was blooming, filling the air with the rich scent of orange blossoms. I turned my head toward the oncoming wind and inhaled the mingled fragrances of spring. As I stood there with the warm wind playing with my hair, a car pulled up behind mine. I darted a glance at the driver, almost expecting it to be Eren, but I met blue eyes.

            Armin.

            I waved to him, half expecting him to shoot me a cold stare, like he already knew the real reason behind me coming here this morning, but he just smiled and waved back. Getting out of his car, he said, "You actually came. I wasn't expecting to see you here after what happened with Isabel last night."

            He knew already?

            "Oh, um..." I trailed off, not knowing how to go on.

            He walked up to me, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind his right ear. Today he wasn't bound in a tight leather suit. Instead he wore a baby-blue long sleeve shirt, jeans, and brown boots. He looked very sweet and cute, nothing like the guy from the night before, the guy who looked sinful in the most angelic way possible. "Eren told me all about what happened," Armin said as he reached me. "He told Mikasa, as well. The three of us are very close, so we tend to tell each other everything as soon as it happens."