heartbeat's • echos ||ereri

prologue

[10 years ago]

'02/04/00'

'01/07/00'

'00/03/00'

'00/00/00'

the brunette sighed as he sprinted towards the exit. He needed a whiff of fresh air especially after the events he witnessed. Tears were brimming in the corners of his eyes as he found it harder to breathe. He halted by the stairs and just stood there, wondering.

'What is this? Am I sick or something?! Hallucinations or is there something wrong with my eyes' his heart was beating rapidly and the fact that the hospital was crowded wasn't helping a single bit. He felt as if he was suffocating.

The nurses were mumbling among themselves as they rushed towards the ER, the visitors seated in the waiting area either complaining about the heat or had worried looks etched on their faces, and the patients...oh the patients. Eren could never bring himself to look at them. Not again.

His entire body was shaking. Tears were spilling. He wouldn't allow himself to show that though, nonetheless in public. He wiped his tears, regained composure and continued his venture to the exit. He knew that the parking lot there was always empty regardless of how busy the hospital always seemed to be. It was just abandoned.

After cutting through multiple groups of people in corners and hallways he finally emerged through the doors of the back exit and into the parking lot. It was spacious, concrete grounds and a metal gate around 5-6 meters high designating the lot's borders. There was a path to the hospital's main entrance and a garden somewhere there surprisingly but it didn't matter to Eren at the moment. Right now, he needed to release everything he felt. all those pent up frustrations and the newfound grief he never thought he would experience. So he did.

Right there, by the stone steps that descended down to the previously mentioned space. He sat down and all of the thoughts flooded in. It was so overwhelming especially for a boy the mere age of 12.

He was hysterical. His heartbeat rapid, tears falling out of his eyes as if they were faucets and his breathing uneven. He wanted to scream but he knew he couldn't for it would attract attention. He needed to bear with this by himself especially with his father's constant reminders that Carla was gone. She wouldn't be there to take care of him nor comfort him. He accepted that. She was gone for a long time now so he needed to live in solitude. Well not entirely. He met this boy, around the same age as him. His name was Armin Arlert.

He was an orphan. Eren met him around 6 years ago in the playground by his neighborhood. Armin was being teased by his peers for what was it again? An interest in marine life? Or was it the worn out straw hat he always wore? Either way Eren took it upon himself to protect Armin from those bullies. The boy looked so sweet to the point Eren even mistook him for a girl. Well Eren was shocked to say the least when he discovered that he wasn't but that never hindered their beautiful friendship that came to be. As the years passed by they became inseparable. They were each other's family. The family neither had. It was euphoria for Eren whenever he was with Armin because he had someone he could completely trust, someone he could confide in, someone who accepted him for everything he is even when Eren couldn't accept some parts of himself.

His chest felt heavier and his vision became blurry. He directed his direction towards the sky in order to distract himself. It made things worse though. He was so fixated...it reminded him of Armin's eyes and then the time he and Armin sneaked out of school to explore the forbidden area in the park.

They found a hill at that time, and they laid there under an old birch tree. The skies were clear and they merely found comfort in each other's presence. There was discomfort lingering around Eren though. He noticed that the numbers above Armin's head were constantly fluctuating. He never wanted to bring it up because he thought that it would scare Armin but in retrospect he now knew that deep inside Armin always knew and that Armin already accepted it. At that time though, Armin sensed that Eren was worried. So with that he assured him with the softest voice he could muster

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me...I may look like a weakling but I'm not ok? What even made you think I wasn't fine to begin with?"

Looking back at it from now, before those previously mentioned events Armin would frequently excuse himself to the bathroom and when he came back he was paler than usual and he was...quivering. He would eat less and get more frequent headaches.

Back to the story, Eren took a deep breath "Just an intuition. And who said you looked like a weakling?!" He tried to divert the topic somewhere else

"Says the person who thought I was a girl the first time we met!" Armin sat up and looked at Eren. "And I'm not dense. I know you...just don't worry about me" the numbers increasing and decreasing rapidly again.

Eren didn't want Armin to catch on or think he was crazy so he sat up as well. "What!? At least i thought you were cute. And how can I not worry about you?!"

The numbers weren't stabilizing and Eren was panicking. "You're the only friend I have of course I'd be worried! You look like you haven't slept in days and you never hang out with me outside of school anymore."

Armin was taken aback. His eyes softened and a sad smile etched itself onto Armin's dry lips. "Sorry...I'm glad you care but I'm just also confused on what's happening to me as well"

Lies. Armin was smart...he knew.

Eren believed him at the moment though. "You'll be ok...you're strong right?" He did his best to ignore the numbers. He leaned on the tree. "I mean you'll find out soon either way. You're the smartest person I know"

Armin did the same. "I'm the only person you know. You wouldn't know if anybody else was smart because you don't talk to them that much!"

"Well I'm glad it's you" Eren smiled at Armin.

There was suddenly an awkward silence. "Eren...just know I'll always be with you right? You're my family. You're important to me so take care of yourself and don't go picking fights with highschoolers. And-"

Eren cut Armin off "Dude don't talk to me like you're going to die. And I know...the same goes to you" he put his hand on Armin's shoulder and Armin grasped it. He was shaking and Armin looked into Eren's eyes. It was Armin's way of saying 'please don't mention it' and Eren respected that. Instead Eren just hugged Armin but he felt him tense up.

Eren was confused so he let Armin go. "I-i was just surprised...sorry Eren." Armin awkwardly laughed.

"I don't want to tell you what's wrong because nothing is wrong. Just believe me when I say that we'll always be together as friends. I mean if I'm not here who's gonna keep you from killing yourself? I mean if it wasn't for me Jean would have pummeled you!"

"I would have pummeled him! And if you say so..." he decided to believe him. "As long as you promise me you're ok and you'll tell me when you're not?"

"I promise" Armin held his pinky out

"Great" Eren did the same and so the promise was sealed.

Well promises were meant to be broken and the numbers above Armin's head were rapidly decreasing and decreasing until today...it finally hit 0.

He recalled his last words: "i'm not breaking my promise...you aren't alone please believe me. B-but thank you...for everything. Just because y-you cant see me doesn't mean i'm n-n-not there. I-"

He was cut off by the monotone wails of the heart monitor and Eren lost it. He was the only family Armin had to witness his passing. He never wanted to believe in that countdown. He prayed countless hours that it was just a farce. That the entire thing up until Armin was a strange coincidence but no.

Now Armin was gone and he was alone. He was still gazing up at the sky when it seemed like he felt a being embrace him for a split second. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed harder, mourning the loss of the most important person of his life.

"C-come back..."