When Flowers Bloom-EreHisu fanfic

5: Realization

Eren and Mikasa went through their morning routines meeting up with Armin to walk to school together. Eren noticed his dad hadn't left for work yet. Was he actually taking time off to support his mom? Still angry he shook those thoughts away. Helping out for one day doesn't mean Eren would forgive him. Not that easily.
"Hey." Mikasa and Armin turned to him as he spoke. "There's someone at school I wanna introduce y'all too."
Armin smiled. "Oh, who are they?"
Eren hesitated. "Christa, I just met her yesterday but she's new so she doesn't have many friends yet."
"That sounds alright." Mikasa spoke softly. "It's hard making friends on your own."
Armin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we'd love to meet her!"
Relief washed over Eren. He knew his friends would be more than happy to meet her but he had still been nervous. His phone buzzed in his pocket. A text from Christa displayed itself across the screen. "She just texted. She said she's by the courtyard."
"Let's hurry then!" Armin said excitedly. Eren smiled at him. Despite how soft spoken Armin was he'd always enjoyed meeting new people. Mikasa and Eren had to practically chase after him as they made their way to the school.
As they made it past the school gates and towards the courtyard Eren's eyes scanned the area for Christa. A smile broke out as he saw her sitting beneath a tree. In her lap sat a book that she seemed very engrossed in.
"There she is." Eren pointed, leading his friends. "Hey, Christa!" He called out as they approached.
She looked up and smiled at Eren. His heart thudded in his chest as her too bright smile pierced through him. "Hi Eren." She greeted him as they sat around her. "Are these your friends?" He nodded and she smiled sweetly at them. "He's already told me so much about you both."
They introduced themselves and to Eren's relief got along almost instantly. Eren watched as the three of them talked and got to know each other. Throughout the conversation Christa would glance over at him and each time she did he felt his heart skip a beat. He just smiled pretending nothing was wrong, but something definitely was. Why did he cease to function just from a simple glance from her? He'd never felt like this before and he wasn't fond of not having complete control over his body. Their conversation came to an end as the starting bell rang. Reluctantly they said goodbye to Christa and went off to their first period.
As Eren turned to follow his friends Christa reached out grabbing onto his arm. "Eren, I'll see you in 2nd period."
He froze momentarily. "Yeah, see you then Christa." She smiled one last time and went off to her class. He rubbed the spot where she'd held onto him. His skin still tingled from her touch and his heart still hammered in his chest. Something was definitely wrong with him. He was sure of it.
The school day went by fast not that Eren was really present for any of it. Not mentally at least. The entire day thoughts of Christa filled his head. The two classes he had with her were the only classes he was fully there for. But even then he was a frazzled mess. Each kind tone and slight touch from Christa drained him of his strength. And she was naturally just a touchy person so without thinking she was constantly leaning against him or resting her hand against his or reaching up to brush fuzz from his hair. He was surprised he hadn't fallen apart yet.
The last bell rang and Eren was thankful to be done with the day. Mikasa had after school practice so he decided to walk home with Armin. As Armin talked to him he got a text from his mom. He frowned as he read it.
Armin looked over at him. "What's up?"
Eren didn't bother texting her back as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. "My dad took the day off. Is it ok if I go home with you for awhile?" He rubbed his forehead as the beginnings of a headache came on. "I don't want to deal with him right now."
Armin nodded, an empathetic look in his eyes. "Of course." They walked in silence. Armin kept glancing over like he wanted to say something but never did.
"Hey there boys!" Eren looked up as Armin's house came into view. Armin's dad was in the front yard digging up weeds. Every time Eren came over Armin's father was most likely tending to his yard. He took great pride in his landscaping. Standing up he brushed grass from his worn out jeans."How was school?"
Armin smiled and waved at his dad. "Hi dad! School was good." Eren glanced away as Armin approached his father and gave him a hug. His dad chuckled and wrapped his arms around his son.
Eren had always been slightly jealous of Armin's relationship with his father. Even as a child he'd noticed the way his dad interacted with him. How he spoke to him. How completely loved Armin felt. Eren's father had never been very affectionate. He wasn't a bad father but he wasn't a good one either. It was a sore subject for him. His attention snapped back to Armin as he spoke.
"Eren wanted to hangout for a bit. We'll be in my room." Armin turned to Eren smiling. To Eren's relief he hadn't sensed his foul mood.
Armin's dad sighed. "Sounds good. Stay for dinner if you'd like, Eren. We always enjoy having you over!"
Eren rubbed the back of his neck. "Thank you Mr. Arlert."
His dad went back to his yard work as Eren followed Armin inside. Their house was quiet but the faint sound of music could be heard. "My mom is probably in her study." Armin's mother was an author and artist. She spent most of her free time in the basement polishing her artistic skills. She was the reason why Armin was taking a journalism class to begin with. Armin had confessed to Eren that he wanted to be an author just like his mother.
As he followed Armin into his room his mind began to wander again back to Christa. Why was he thinking of her now? Not knowing it he stood frozen in Armin's room, mind swirling with questions and new feelings. He didn't hear Armin talking to him and huffed as Armin threw a pillow at his face grounding him back in reality.
"What was that for?" he acted fake hurt.
Armin rolled his eyes. "You've been so spacey all day. You okay?"
Eren sat beside Armin on his bed, his fingers picking at his knitted blanket. He shrugged and tilted his head, rubbing his hand at his temple. "It's just a headache has been bothering me today. I'm okay." he lied. Sure he did have a headache, but that wasn't why his mind kept wandering.
Satisfied, Armin offered him some pain killers but Eren insisted he didn't need them. As they chatted Armin's phone chimed loudly and he quickly fished his phone from his pocket. He unlocked his phone and let out a small gasp. "Oh my god."
Eren stiffened up. "What? What's wrong?" Genuinely concerned he leant over to get a look at his phone but Armin quickly pulled it out of view. "I- It's nothing!" His voice rose in pitch, clearly nervous.
"Lemme see!" Eren pushed him over and climbed on top of him successfully wrestling his phone out of his hand. With one hand holding Armin at bay the other held his phone steady for him to see what Armin was freaking out about. On the screen read a single text that said, "hey, that sounds good, when should we meet up?" . From, Annie.
Eren grinned ear to ear and dangled the phone out of Armin's reach. "Do you got a date with Annie??"
Gaining the upper hand, Armin finally got hold of his phone. "No it's not like that." He huffed and straightened out his shirt. "We're just gonna study together. For the ACT. She wanted to get a head start before she gets too busy with volleyball. i just offered to help." Armin's face flushed red as Eren kept grinning at him. "What?!"
"Nothing, I'm just happy for you." He wrapped his arm around Armin's shoulders and gave him a squeeze. "Can't believe you already worked up the courage to talk to her."
Armin seemed offended. "I talk to her pretty often actually.." He sighed and flopped back onto his bed. "But, man it's scary. She's so pretty I can't even think of what to say when i'm in front of her."
Eren nodded. Knowing his best friend was about to go on a love rant he buckled down for the ride. "You're so mushy."
"I know i am." Armin sighed and smiled. "Sometimes all i can think about is her. Like no matter how hard I try and focus in class I just keep thinking of her."
At first Eren was tuning some of what he said out but he perked up when Armin said that. It sounded eerily similar to how he'd recently thought of Christa. Intrigued, he pushed Armin along. "What else?"
"Hm?" Armin glanced at him, puzzled.
Eren cleared his throat. "Uh like.. " he fumbled his words. "What else do you feel like when you're with her?"
Armin nodded, understanding now. "Oh, like whenever we talk sometimes she accidentally bumps into me and I get all tingly and nervous. It feels like my heart is gonna burst out of my chest, ha ha!" Eren noticed the slight red tinge painting Armin's face. "Geez, I'm really head over heels for her huh?"
Normally Eren would laugh and tease him for it but instead he silently nodded. He couldn't help but notice the similarities between how Armin felt towards Annie and how recently he felt towards Christa. Did he, like her? The idea startled him sightly. Of their trio he was the only one who hadn't really liked anyone before. Honestly, it was most likely a combination of his stand offish demeanor and his oblivious nature. A few unfortunate people had had crushes on him but stuck in his own imagination he hardly noticed. A knock sounded on the bedroom door drawing Armin and his attention.
"Yes?" Armin chimed out.
Muffled from the other side his mother's voice could be heard. "Armin sweetie, Eren's mother just called. It's getting late."
"I guess I should get home." Eren mumbled still caught in his own thoughts. "See you tomorrow, lover boy." he added playfully.
Armin ignored his comment waving as he left. "See you tomorrow."
Armin's mother lead him outside and he thanked her for letting him stay over. "Oh! Before you leave." She hurried back inside and returned with a small basket in her hands. "Take this home for Carla, honey." He peeked under the red and white towel gently and the smell of fresh bread wafted around him.
"Thank you, mom will love this." He bashfully stared down at his beat up shoes. "Um, thank you for looking after my mom. She really needs it."
Mrs. Arlert just smiled and pulled him into a hug. "You don't have to thank me darling. Now hurry and get home safe."
She pat his back as he turned to leave, she'd always treated Eren like her own son. She was just a naturally mother figure. Eren tucked the basket under his arm and walked home. Now alone, his mind circled back to what he and Armin had been talking about. Love, affection, feelings? Nervousness. The way he'd been feeling lately was starting to make sense. Maybe he did like Christa. No, he thought, he had just met her. He hardly knew her. How could he like her? She was just. Friendly, and sweet. And so nice to be around. The thought of her sing song voice in his head made his cheeks heat up. He stopped in his tracks. Realization hit him so hard it seemed to knock the breath out of him.
He liked her.
There wasn't an ounce of him that could deny it. The thought made him go through a swirl of emotions. Happy, confused, unsure, scared. But what now? How was he supposed to handle these feelings? This was all so new and foreign to him. What to do with himself now.
He hadn't a clue.

End of Chapter 5
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Author's Notes: it's been literally 2 years since i've worked on this.. i missed it so much! i can't tell you how many times i re wrote this chapter. i really hope it's enjoyable, thank u for reading!