The Gift of Memory (Armin Arlert x Reader|Modern AU)

8•A Dinner More Awkward Than Donner's

"You're not allergic to anything, right?" M/N kindly asked the blonde before her with a close-eyed smile.

"Ah, no, I'm not." Armin gulped. He was currently in the living room with everyone staring at him.

The people who seemed to be Y/N's father and brother were glaring at him, and the girl who was only a little older than Y/N, maybe a sister or cousin, was just kind of... well... staring.

"Y/N, why don't you show him around the house?" She asked, tilting her head. It was actually kind of creepy, and Armin actually doubted the smile was genuine.

"Yes, Mother." Y/N hollowly answered because grabbing her 'boyfriend's sleeve between her index finger and thumb and began walking out of the entry area. "Let's go, dear." She then started making their way up the stairs.

'My heart was pounding, again, when she called me dear...'

She pulled him into a hallway before opening one of the doors and practically dragging him inside the room.

She let go of him and sat in a dark S/F/C lounge chair that was by a wall.

He got a good chance to look around. It was definitely Y/N's room. The walls were a light F/C, which was a color she wore often. It had no family pictures on it, though her nightstand did have a picture that must have been taken a few years ago. It was of Y/N and her mother, both smiling genuinely at the camera.

Other than that, most of the pictures were of animals or mountains, there was even one of the park she always sat at. He figured they must've been taken with the same camera that she photographed him with. It made him wonder what she did with that photo...

"Feel free to look around, though you probably won't find anything interesting. Dinner will be ready in about two and a half minutes." Y/N mumbled the last part.

Her bedroom was rather plain. There weren't many accessories, other than the few pictures. There was a bookshelf that had dictionaries, English and with a few other languages.

Armin's eyes spotted a black picture board displaying some pictures above her bed. But one picture specifically caught his eye.

She had to be about ten, but there was no way in hell. She must've just been very short, or something. Or maybe she was graduating from elementary school. That was the most possible case.

She was standing in the picture with a white cap and gown. Next to her were two women, one was probably in her sixties, the other, probably her mid twenties. She actually looked somewhat familiar.

"Hey, Y/N, when was this?" He asked, raising his eyebrow before turning to look at her and point to the picture with his index.

"Oh. Geez, I had to be about... eleven, in that picture? Those were my tutors from my high school classes. My parents never sent me to school, they just hired tutors." She shrugged.

'Well, that would explain why she was never in school. If she always finished her classes after going to the playground in the morning, but before the afternoon.'

"How old were you when you started high school?" He questioned with furrowed eyebrows. She had to have entered middle school rather young if she graduated at age eleven!

"Hm... I was probably eight or nine?? I was far ahead of other kids my age, so that's why I couldn't go to school..." She sheepishly looked to the side. "Sorry, I'm not trying to brag."

"No, no! It's fine, it was just a bit surprising... I've never met anyone so smart." He mumbled the last part so quietly.

Secretly, he felt very little compared to her. He was tested for gifted multiple times, but he always failed on purpose so he could stay in the same classes as his friends. And here he was, in a bedroom with a girl who was in high school by the time she was ten!