Pretty Little Liar (Aruani Element Shifter AU) ✔️

Seventeen

Eren yawned, leaning on his hand and looked out of the cafe window at the busy street. It was lunchtime. Hectic and always moving, much like this whole weekend.

I sipped at my coffee.

"Umm, so. You okay?" Eren asked.

I nodded. "I think so."

"Anything you want to know? I know Mike kinda crammed a lot in yesterday. But is there anything else?"

"How do you stay so hidden? So disguised amongst everyone else?"

He frowned. "You just do, I guess. I don't know. After a while it gets easier. When I was in the same situation as you're in now, I couldn't control it. He had to keep me inside for a month before I could control my eyes and make the emblem disappear."

Even though the cafe was almost completely empty, we were whispering so that the waitress couldn't hear.

There was a small pause as Eren drank his orange juice. Then I said; "So, an earth shifter huh?"

He smirked, then grinned. "Yeah. I'm a rare species."

"I can imagine."

"Yeah, well. It's not like I can ever really use my powers." He looked away, back out of the window. "I wish things were different. If only we could just turn back time and rewrite it all."

"I don't want to use this for anything," I muttered. "It's not like I gained anything from it," I sighed.

Eren nodded. "Yeah, I know. I know exactly what you mean. I mean, it's pretty cool and whatever. But it's just not worth it. If we're always hiding and running, then what's the point?"

He looked genuinely very upset as he stared at his sandwich.

I closed my eyes, trying not to tremble. This whole situation was just as hard on anyone else as it was on me. I hesitated before I asked what was desperately on my mind.

"So how did you become a shifter?" I asked. Eren looked up with a raised eyebrow.

"Well. I guess I was born with it. Both my parents were shifters. Earth."

"Oh, right." I said. But seeing Eren's upset face, I decided to leave that there.

I took this time to eat my sandwich and look at Eren carefully. His carefree attitude was visible in his dress sense and slouching position. With one arm stretched over the sofa he sat on, he looked completely comfortable and at ease. He was tall, with dark, messy brown hair and bright green eyes.

He turned back to me, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his head on his hand.

"So. That's enough about me. How about you Armin?" He grinned. "Let me hear some facts about you."

I blinked. "Umm, Well, I'm seventeen."

"Same here," he said.

"I live here in the city in one of the estates surrounding it. Umm, there's a good high school a few yards down that I go to. That's it I guess."

Eren nodded. "Eh, I'm homeschooled. Oh come On, there must be more than that! Girlfriend?" He winked.

I blushed. "No."

He nodded. "Okay. I believe you."

I sipped on my coffee again. "I have one friend. And she's gay."

"Oh right. Fair enough then."

We both grinned, then finished eating before Eren stood up and payed for the whole meal.

"Oh, no, please..."

"No, no. It's okay. You can pay next time!" He chuckled. I smiled.

When we left, Eren took a long, deep breath before turning his head towards a path that lead to the park.

"Fancy a walk?" He asked.

I looked down towards it. A strange shiver went down my spine as I remembered Annie running down that exact path from the post office where we had bought our ice creams from on the first day of summer. The summer she died.

I hastily shook the images out of my head, mentally praying that we wouldn't walk further down to the river.

"Okay," I replied.

We walked down the path until we reached the big green park, where Eren picked a nice bench in the middle. No where near the river.

We continued to talk about normal, nice things. I felt happy talking to somebody else.

Eren must have felt the same because he stopped what he was doing while listening to me and said;

"You know, I think you're the first real friend that I've had."

I blinked, repeating his words in my head again.

"You're the first male friend I've ever had," I sighed. "I've only ever had two friends."

He smiled and nodded. "I'm glad I have some company. It's so lonely in the post office. It makes me happy to know I'm not alone."

I nodded. "Exactly. I'm glad too."

There was a small moments silence where we smiled at each other.

Then, Eren's phone went off. He picked it up and held it to his ear. "Hello?" He asked. "Oh. Oh right. Yeah. We're in the park. Yeah, okay. Oh right. Okay." He hung up. "Armin, your parents will be wondering where you are. What was the excuse you gave them again?"

I frowned. "That you and I are doing a joint project for the term, and I'm going to your house to do it. You're a new guy at our school," I repeated what Mike had told me.

Eren stood up. He looked rushed. "Okay. Mike was just making sure. You can go back home now. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

I nodded. "Umm, yeah, okay. Bye," I managed, before he ran off, waving back at me as he went.

I was left sitting alone. I sat there for a while watching the life of the park move in the slow Sunday afternoon.

As soon as I stood up and started walking back home, I felt the wind hit my face but no shivering feeling or discomfort.

Once I arrived back home, mum and dad were both watching television. I smiled at the both of them, who smiled back. Mum stood up and walked over to me, asking how my day was and boiling the kettle in the kitchen.

Being at home and talking to Eren were the only times when I felt normal and happy. I forget that Eren is a shifter in his company, and to me that was a very good thing. Hopefully being at school will pose the same feelings.

If I couldn't blend in here, I couldn't ever blend in anywhere else. And believe you me, I intend on doing so.