She Who Seemed Heartless

Chapter 16

"It has been a dream of mine to take the person I love to the ocean in my hometown. No one else but us, holding her hand and telling her how much I adore her. It's pretty cliché but I think that's quite romantic and simple. Pure and uncorrupted love is what I want, not a come-and-go kind of relationship. If ever, I want to make it plain as much as possible. I'm so lame, aren't I?"

"I fell in love with Annie Leonhardt and I didn't know how."

She took the sweet kiss and accepted it whole-heartedly, yet she was reluctant to recompense. So what he was trying to do that night at the park wasn't a joke. He really did intend to kiss her. Did she regret reacting to it falsely? Perhaps. Maybe this was the better place compared to the park. Realizing what he had done, he swiftly broke the kiss and held Annie's shoulders, hands trembling.

"I-I'm so sorry...! I didn't... Oh God, forgive me, Annie..." He was starting to tear up but Annie assured him that it was okay. She liked it anyway. Her eyes were recovering from the earlier assault.

"Don't be. It's okay."

"I was just... Ugh."

"Let's just keep it between us. Will that be better?"

"O-Okay... Thank you, Annie."

A heavy sigh escaped Armin's mouth, dropping his shoulders in the process along with his arms and hands. Before they could even reach the fabric of his shorts, Annie swiftly grabbed his hands and trapped them between her own. This action caused the blond to glue his sight onto her and no one else's. She wasn't smiling, but he knew she wasn't upset either. None of the two spoke for a moment. They just stared at each other's eyes in the middle of the sea, not giving a damn around them. For Armin and Annie, time stopped and there was nothing around them. Only the vast ocean, witness to the act that neither of them regretted at the very least.

"Armin". Annie finally broke the silence. She paused for a while then continued. "What was that kiss for?"

The words... they rolled out smoothly from her lips. No stutter, no anxiety, no fear. For someone like Annie, it wasn't foreign. What surprised Armin, however, was how calm and collected she was despite of what had happened. For someone like Annie, physical contact was unfavorable for her.

For someone like Annie, expressing affection would be the end of her.

Armin did his best to push it at the back of his mind for now and concentrate on what to respond to her. What was the kiss for? What did she mean by that?

"Perhaps she meant if that kiss was meant to be in a kinship manner or... more than that."

He swallowed hard. How could he answer if he didn't know it himself?

No. He knew.

He knew what it was for. He knew the answer. Yet, what he didn't know was, was it right? Sometimes, Armin hated himself for being too analytical. However, everything in existence has their own reason as to why they're there, or why it happens. Everything has a reason.

That's when he deemed himself wrong.

"Love has no reason", he started, slowly regaining his composure. "Not everything happens for a reason. Annie, if I tell you I love you, not as a family member, but as you are, will you think I'm crazy?"

"That's not the answer I'm looking for."

"I love you."

Annie felt like something got stuck in her throat, impeding her ability to speak. Armin continued. "But give me some time. I'm probably just saying this out of the blue. I... I'm sorry."