Communication Error (Eremin)

Chapter Fifteen • Lost

Armin grabbed his set of keys on the way out of the house. He was sure to be quiet for the most part as he had gotten ready to go, and he continued to be so as he walked out the door and locked it behind him. As he headed off the porch and down to the sidewalk, he shoved his keys into his backpack, then slung the bag over his shoulder. His arms slid through the straps quickly.
He was in no hurry to get to school that morning. He was tired and not yet with it. Plus, he had some time yet until he just had to be at school. He'd surely have a few minutes to spare if he just went straight there as soon as possible. Clearing his mind and instead thinking of how his eyes burned, Armin blinked slowly, staring at the ground when his eyes opened. They really did burn. Closing them tightly again, he rubbed the back of his wrist against one eye, then against the other, in hopes that would help. It did for a moment, but only a moment. Whatever. He blinked a couple more times before leaving his poor eyes alone.
    The early morning sun was not visible. It was foggy, and Armin couldn't see too far off, as everything disappeared behind a curtain of thick, gray mist. It was quiet out, too, besides the sounds of cars rolling past and a few birds here and there. The atmosphere was relaxing to him. However it kept him feeling drowsy, and encouraged greatly his desire for his warm bed that he already had a hard time overcoming earlier.
    A wave of wind sent chills up his spine. It was cold. More so than he was used to now. The many leaves that were on the ground were now drifting along the current of wind. He watched them casually as they twisted around and fell to the ground, swirling, and slowing down. After that, the whisper of the wind and the scratching sound of the dead leaves against concrete had faded, it was quiet again. Off he was to school again, realizing he had stopped in place.
    Armin zipped his jacket up and pulled the collar up to his lips, hoping to warm himself more. But the jacket slid down to its appropriate resting place on his neck. He refused to wrestle with it, so his lips were left to be chapped from the weather. Shoving his pale hands in his pockets, he wished he had tested the weather prior to getting dressed. He hadn't guessed the temperature would've dropped so drastically overnight!
    In the distance, a crackling sound echoed. It was very silent, and obviously a ways off. It grew a bit closer, then stopped.
    Armin, not necessarily scared, but curious all the same, turned around.
    Nothing was there.
    He turned back around and continued walking.
    Then another sound surfaced. Footsteps against concrete. They were quick and constantly becoming louder until they were definitely only a few feet behind Armin.
    Concerned, he swiveled around to face the direction of the sound. A blurry silhouette, obviously one of someone human, grew rapidly larger and clearer. Before he could pin down who was coming at him, they ran straight into him. Flinching defensively, he blinked tightly and bit back an instinctive scream. The impact only pushed him back a little ways; definitely not enough to do damage or knock him over. Anxious and frightened, Armin didn't move very much. And he only made noise when his shoulders were grabbed by the person that had run into him. It was a tight grip, but it wasn't solid. Obviously whoever had run into him wasn't in a very relaxed mood themselves. This only made him more anxious.
    Concentrating now that he was not being hurt, he realized it was Eren that had run into him! Where was Mikasa, though? Why was he by himself?
    Eren seemed to have noticed Armin before Armin had noticed him in return. He looked concerned, Armin realized. His grip softened on the pale boy's arms, and he looked at him apologetically.
    "What's wrong?" Armin signed after making sure he had Eren's attention.
    "I lost Mikasa," he admitted.
    "You lost Mikasa?"
    Eren's eyes displayed shame. He avoided looking at Armin for a moment. "I mean . . . I got lost."
Armin blinked. "How did that happen?" he asked, concerned for Eren, and for Mikasa as well. She must be worried about him, he realized.
"Well . . . We were walking to school, and, as you can see, there is a lot of fog," he began. "She told me to stay close. At some point, I was walking in front of her, and she was right behind me.
"I don't know what happened, but I turned around and she was gone. I tried going back to find her, but I couldn't see her anywhere.
"Then, after looking for a few minutes, I saw her a ways off. I ran to her, and," he paused, smiling nervously, "turns out, she was actually you."
Armin took Eren's information in fast as he could. "Okay." He thought for a moment. "So . . . You came from that way," he said out loud to himself, looking in the direction that Eren had appeared. He looked at Eren. "I'm on my way to school," he signed. "Come with me and we'll go to your school. I'll stay there with you until Mikasa shows up. I'm sure she'll find her way and expect you to be there," he suggested. "Okay?"
Eren nodded in agreement.
"Stay close to me, though. I'm sure you don't want to get lost again."
"Okay." Eren held out his hand to Armin, hoping that he'd take it.
At first, Armin was unwilling, but he decided it was a good idea to take it. After all, if he was holding Eren's hand, he wouldn't be able to lose him. Unless he somehow lost his hand, which was highly unlikely to happen.
Eren gripped Armin's hand tighter, as if he was scared.
His hand is warm . . . Armin thought to himself. It wasn't too much larger than his own, however he did recognize his own hand better because of how pale it looked in comparison to Eren's caramel skin-tone. Ah . . . He looked at the ground in front of him as his cheeks heated up. He was holding Eren's hand. Better yet, Eren took his hand. All by himself. Butterflies riled up in Armin's stomach, making him feel restless. He knew he had to divert his thoughts—his thoughts that he specifically agreed to disagree with not more than the night prior. This is going to be difficult, he told himself, looking from he and Eren's intertwined hands up to Eren's observant face. His eyes, in this weather . . . He began, but he stopped himself. No. Stop. I'm getting him to school. He's only holding my hand because he doesn't want to get lost again. As soon as we get there, he'll let go, he stated silently, slightly frustrated. He won't recall this silly detail a month from now.
His attention turned directly to his surroundings when a car came roaring past right in front of them. It scared him and Eren, who jumped back almost in unison. He realized they had stepped right into the edge of the street. He looked at Eren with an apologetic expression, realizing his not paying attention could've brought great harm to the both of them right then and there.
When the road was clear, they crossed and continued their trek to Eren's school. It wasn't much longer at all until they reached the familiar building. It was harder to see it in the thick fog, but it was surely Eren's school.
    They both headed inside.
    Eren let go of Armin's hand, which made something in him notice a saddening absence inside of him. He looked at Eren, then signed for him to go on, and that he'd wait for Mikasa here.
    As Eren turned to leave, the both of them spotted Mikasa coming down the hall. She noticed them, too, as her pace quickened.
    She hugged Eren tightly and seemed very happy to see him. She seemed extremely relieved, like a weight was lifted from her shoulders.
    "Where did you go?!" she asked Eren, suddenly appearing more serious.
    "I got lost," he replied.
    "Obviously!" Mikasa signed sharply. "But where did you go?"
    Eren blinked. "Looking for you. But I ended up finding Armin instead.
"He brought me here to wait for you so you'd know I was fine."
    Mikasa looked at Armin, gratitude sparkling in her dark eyes. "Thank you, Armin."
    Armin blushed in embarrassment. "I was on my own way to school. I didn't think it would hurt to help him out. And, I mean, I knew you'd be looking for him."
    "You don't have to explain yourself. I appreciate you helping him. And me, too." She smiled.
    Armin nodded. "You're welcome."
    Mikasa faced Eren again. "Me and Armin have to leave or we'll get in trouble. Don't go outside after school until I'm with you."
    Eren frowned almost rebelliously.
    "Please."
    He finally signed in agreement.
    "And don't be stubborn just because you can be," she directed as she stepped beside Armin, persuading him to start leaving.
    As Eren was on his way to class, Mikasa and Armin left the school-grounds for their own. They stayed close together in the cold, ugly weather, and were highly aware of things around them in case they took any wrong turns.
    A few minutes later the two of them walked through the doors of their school and parted ways.