Sweet Serial Killer [ Riren ]

FORTY TWO

FORTY TWO
♜ ♜ ♜

That night, Eren actually dreamed for once.

All day, his movements were tired and sluggish due to him staying up late. But when he finally collapsed, his head hitting his pillow and his body curling up into his blanket, he let sleep take control of him. He welcomed it.

That was when he actually blinked open his eyes, and found himself stranded in some strange, unfamiliar place. Yet, as he continued to look around, his confusion gradually faded. It all felt . . . Natural. His memories of the waking world faded as he stood up, embracing his surroundings wholeheartedly.

Staggering forward, he trudged around blindly before peeking down at what he wore. He had on beige pants criss-crossed with some strange straps, accompanied by a brown vest with a logo of blue-and-white wings on it.

A part of him knew he should be wearing pajamas, but that logic was fuzzy and unclear in his mind. Instead, this felt right, and he discovered that he didn't mind this odd attire at all as he continued to trek around aimlessly.

That was, until, he heard a voice.

"Eren!"

Turning, Eren's eyes widened by a fraction to see Armin. That part of him from earlier reminded him that this was unnatural; Armin was gone. But the overwhelming sense of familiarity overpowered the sensible side of his brain.

"Armin!" Eren exclaimed, a smile pulling onto his lips. Armin was dressed exactly the same as him, matching his entire outfit. Eren grinned at him, greeting him with a bone-crushing hug. Armin returned the embrace, seeming confused by Eren's overuse of affection. Eren was puzzled, too, before he recalled that a sliver of him believed that Armin was dead. Impossible, he's right here, Eren told himself.

"Are you ready for the mission?" Armin asked as they pulled away. What mission? Eren's inner conscience demanded, but the words spilled out anyway, "Yeah! I was born ready. We're going to kill so many Titans!"

Laughing, Armin said, "I wouldn't be too overconfident, Eren. It's dangerous out there." He paused before leaning closer, his bright blue eyes glimmering. "But hey," he went on excitedly, "we'll finally see the outside world!"

"Yeah," Eren agreed wistfully. "Maybe we'll find the ocean!" He suggested, and Armin shrugged. "Possibly. Though if the Survey Corps haven't discovered it yet, I doubt we will. But we have plenty of time to search," Armin answered.

What's the Survey Corps? A tiny shred of Eren wondered, but still, he blurted out, "Of course." He looked down at Armin, smiling gently. "We are going to see the ocean together." He slung an arm over Armin's shoulders.

"I promise."

"You promise, Eren?"

"I do."

"Then I believe you."

"Good." Eren smirked, keeping his arm around his best friend. He glanced around once more, noticing fully that they were in front of some huge castle. Headquarters, a minuscule side of him whispered, and he furrowed his brow.

"Are we the only ones here?" He questioned. Armin looked at him as if he had gone crazy, shaking his head. "Are you insane, Eren?" He chuckled. "No, we're not. Everyone is just asleep. You dragged us out here in the middle of the night, remember?" He playfully poked Eren in the rib.

"O-oh, yeah," Eren stammered, laughing a bit nervously. He resumed to staring at the castle. There was a faint light illuminating the area around them from various lanterns scattered about on the ground, permitting them to see.

"Let's stargaze," Eren suggested suddenly, removing his arm from Armin's shoulders and promptly sitting down. Armin took a seat next to him with an "okay." Together, they tilted their heads back and watched the midnight sky.

His gaze locked onto the moon, which was glistening down on him; no, them.

His stare then scanned each individual twinkling star intently.

Armin's voice broke into his thoughts. "You believe in me, right?" He asked quietly. "Duh!" Eren exclaimed instantly. "You trust me?" Armin inquired. "With my life," Eren retorted. "Why?" He studied Armin closely.

Armin smiled, his eyes lighting up with a certain twinkle and glistening sheen.

"Just asking, Eren."

"Hm," Eren hummed, leaning over to rest his head on Armin's shoulder. They sat in silence for a while. It wasn't an awkward or tense silence. No, it was the opposite. It was peaceful, and everything Eren desired in that moment.

"I love you," Eren murmured abruptly. He didn't exactly know why he said it, but some ration of him was screaming at him to do so. Naturally, he complied. Armin glanced at him, smiling. "I know," he muttered. "I love you, too."

Slowly, Armin stood up, dislodging Eren from him. Baffled, Eren straightened, pouting. "Where are you going?" He questioned, staring after Armin, who looked at him. "It's getting late, Eren," he said. "I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" He echoed. Don't leave me here alone. Please.

Not again.

Wait . . . Eren's eyes widened. Again?

Suddenly, everything began to fall apart. Armin had turned to face him, his face still holding a smile as darkness crept up on Eren. His consciousness scrambled, Eren could only stare at Armin's fading figure as it all dissolved.

With a start, Eren woke up.

He was sweating bullets and trembling uncontrollably. He tried to remember what had gotten him so shaken up, but barely anything came to mind.

The only thing he was certain of was that Armin was there.

As Eren leaned back on his bed, the fragments of his dream forgotten, he didn't notice one thing.

Even after he had left, even with him in his house, the moon and stars continued to shine down on him.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

(A/N: Okay but can we talk about the new Killing Stalking chapter?? Wtf man. Anyway, I'd like to give a shout-out to jeagerlovesu. If you like this story and obviously Riren, then go check out her books! She supplies good amounts of Yandere! Levi and I just 👌🏼 I live for her updates tbh.)