He Lies Within the Sea (eremika)

Chapter Ten

To face him again with the knowledge of her mother's truth was almost worrisome. Mikasa trusted him, but it was her mother's secret. It wasn't hers to tell, and it concerned her family. Now, she held onto two secrets that could mean life or death, both of which contained carefully in her heart and mind, locked up with a swallowed key. She swore she would say nothing of it, reveal nothing of it. She cared too much for her family, and she realized that she cared too much for Eren, too.

When she showed up at school, her heart thudded in her chest. For whatever reason, she felt twinges of nerves to see him again. She never once spoke to him all of Winter Break, considering the circumstances. Her parents forbid her from leaving because her mother was afraid she'd see him again, and her mother didn't trust that he'd listen to her warnings about taking her daughter to the sea. Because he didn't have a cell phone (rather, couldn't), there was no way to contact him. It solely depended on whether he appeared before her or not. He hadn't.

She didn't see him for half the day. Not until lunch. At lunch, she moved to her lunch table where Sasha and Christa weren't at. Instead, she knew they were taking tests that they missed on the Friday before break. They were one of those kids that skipped the Fridays before breaks. The only person at the lunch table today was Eren, dressed comfortably in a t-shirt and jeans, picking away at the school's cafeteria macaroni- something hardly appetizing. Today, Mikasa had brought her own lunch.

She sat down across from him, pulling out her brown, crinkled paper bag. As she pulled out the contents, she said, "I'm sorry."

He cocked a brow. "Why?" he wondered. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. Your mother... scolded me."

"That's why I'm sorry," she clarified, sighing. She brought herself to look into the bright green of his eyes, like emeralds. His skin was a smooth tan despite the winter, his hair a little messed. She knew it was because he had to let it dry before he showed up to school. It would be a little odd if he walked in wet everyday, covering his ankles with socks. At least he was safe in that regard.

"There's no need to apologize," he muttered, forcing down another bite of the god awful macaroni. It smelled like the cheese had been burnt, and Mikasa was careful to breathe through her mouth rather than her nose. "Your mother was right. I insisted that we keep going by the sea, but your fear was too overwhelming."

Her insides turned. She hated lying to him that it was a fear rather than the truth, but what could she do? It was an allergy, her mother had called it. Perhaps it was a fear, too, considering she'd die if she went into the sea.

"How was your break?" she asked, swiftly shifting subjects. It was growing awkward, like the tension rippled and lingered in the air. It was uncomfortable.

"Fine," he said. "I just hung around the village and everything. I-I'm sorry I didn't come back up to say anything."

"It's fine," she said. "I wasn't allowed to go anywhere anyways. My mother didn't trust that I wouldn't go out by the sea again."

"Understandable," he remarked. "How about your Christmas?"

"We don't do much for it. My mother- never celebrated it," she replied. It occurred to her when Christmas rolled around just why her mother never had celebrated it, but in her youth, it was her father and his parents that were primarily into it. They usually had it at her grandparents' house. "This year, we just had a few presents to open at home. My grandparents still didn't feel well enough to invite my father or his brother out for celebrating it."

"You have an uncle?"

"Is that such an odd thing?" she wondered. "He's never been married though. He travels a lot and writes articles about the places. I used to be envious because I was always stuck in this small place, never living the nice life I always imagined."