Shattered (Aruani Highschool AU - AOT/SNK) ✔

Twelve

Rain dripped down the window and the trees blew in the bleak and grey morning. I sighed, as I sat, with my headphones in, on the windowsill. A few minutes passed, and a small knock cane from the door. Careful not to wake Ymir and Christa up, I opened it gently.

"Oh.. Hi." Armin stood at the door, grinning.

"I have something to show you."

"I hate surprises."

"Yeah... Whatever. Suck it up. You'll like this one anyway." His grin grew. He was wearing a raincoat. "Bring and umbrella this time," he joked. I raised an eyebrow.

"What are we doing? Its pouring it down, and its seven. On a Sunday."

"Yeah, I know."

"Well...?"

"Well, you always go running at seven. And I'm occasionally up reading or something, and I always go out to the bench by the running field. Its normally empty until you arrived. So I knew you were awake. Lets go."

I put on a raincoat, and tied up my shoes. Then I followed him outside, and into the woods.

"What if we get caught?"

"We won't. There's no CCTV here since Levi the head boy threw a rugby ball at it. We're safe."

"Alright then," I muttered back. After a while of walking deeper into the forest, Armin stopped.

"Here we are! I found it the other day." I smirked at the memory of seeing Armin and his friends run off all happy-go-lucky into the trees for what Sasha called "an adventure". Armin laughed nervously and coughed. There was a group of trees closer to each other than the rest, and a lot older, with lower branches and were covered with leaves and twisting branches, with a hidden inside.

Then it hit me. It looked identical to the old secret hiding area I used to play in when I was younger. The place I had shown Armin and no one else.

"Armin..." I started. He walked forward, opening up the little entrance.

"Look, its just like the old den. Except, there are higher branches. Which I great considering we're a lot taller. I just stared in amazement. Armin smiled, climbing up to sit on a branch. My face moved with his. "Come on!" He was sitting there, watching me from below. I shook my head, and started climbing, reaching him and sitting next to him. We sat in silence w a while, enjoying the view.

"This is incredible Armin. I love it."

"I'm glad! So glad you like it! It's not even raining in here." I looked up. The trees were completely covering us. I hadn't noticed.

 "I guess this wasn't a bad surprise," I said. Armin turned to me, nodding.

"You see. You can trust me, right?"

"Yeah. Of course I can."

"Oh, good!" He sounded as though he wasn't expecting that answer. I sighed.

"So, take me through your friends again. I only know the maniac Jaëger and his sister. Oh, and the really enthusiastic girl who likes food."

Armin laughed. "Well, yeah. There's Eren, me and Mikasa. The girl is Sasha. The short haired one is Connie. Then there's Jean and Marco. And that's us basically. Seven of us."

"Oh. Well, alright for some I guess."

"There's always room for one more," he added. I scoffed.

"Yeah, right. Me and people. We don't mix."

"What about me though?"

"You're different Armin. I just cant explain it." I added afterwards. He rolled his eyes. Then something important cane back into mind. "You haven't told them... About me, have you?"

"No... Well, only Eren. And Sasha walked out and saw us talking yesterday, but I told her you were asking about history homework. No, they don't know about anything."

"How come Jaëger knows?

"Oh.. He kinda walked in on me shouting for you that night you ran away. Then I told him, and he told me to go and find you. So he really was the one that brought me to you."

"That sounds really soppy," I smirked. "Whatever. You were gonna anyway. I know what you're like."

Armin changed the subject. "Sasha likes you. She's always saying how she'd love a best friend. Always says you're cool."

I smirked. "Sorry. She'd get bored to be honest. I'm not-"

"You are though, you're so interesting and secretive and stuff."

"Well, there's no secrets."

"I don't believe you," he joked.

"Oh really?"

"Nope." With that, he jumped down the branch, landing on his feet nicely, and disappeared under the tree into the little burrow.

"Armin? What the-"

"Come and catch me!"

"Oh my god. Armin!" I moaned, and jumped from the branch. I ran into the trees, and looked around for him. After circling the place a few times, with no luck, I jumped when I saw him lying on the floor. "Armin?" I ran over. He wasn't moving. "Hey... Armin? Are you alright?" I leaned down next to him, shaking him. After a few moments, he jerked quickly, grabbing my arms and pulling me down.

"Armin! Not funny!" I laughed, lying down right next to him.

Then something inside me erupted, and I started laughing, and smiling. He noticed this, and sat up watching.

"I've never seen you smile before," He commented. My smile decreased.

"Yeah, I kno-"

"You're beautiful. You know that right?"

"Shut up," I muttered, embarrassed.

"No, I'm serious. Its okay to say it here. We're alone hear. No one will hear us."

He then stood up, and cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted: "Very very beautiful!"

"Armin! Please!" I laughed. He turned around,and playfully grabbed my arm, pulling me up, and ran towards the long, thick branches in the middle if a tree, sitting on it. I shook my head, running over to join him.

He was, and still is, the only person who has ever made me feel this way.