Sun and Moon (English)

The life of Armin

Two days before

A large mass of pupils hastily left the classes when the bell rang for the break and squeezed their way through the corridors of the Albert-Schweizer-Schule just to get to the canteen as quickly as possible. Armin tried to stay calm because even if you rushed, you would only end up standing in line for a long time before you finally got something to eat.

He preferred to calmly pack his utensils into his backpack and slowly made his way there, completely without this stress. In the hallway, several students pushed him, without taking much notice of the blonde boy, but this was nothing unknown to the fifteen-year-old, this happened day after day over and over again.

He was only rarely noticed by other people, which was mainly because of his appearance. He wore horn-rimmed glasses and a long pony covered a large part of his face. Almost like Izumi from Love Stage were his thoughts when he looked at himself in the mirror. It didn't bother him. Less attention also meant less time he had to spend with idiots.

"Armin." shouted a voice, making him turn around. "Wow," he said with a little smile to Jean, who caught up and finally stopped next to him. "So you made it out of the conversation with Rector Shadis alive?" "Yes, even if it wasn't easy," his buddy replied with a grin and tousled through his hair, which he acknowledged with a soft grumble.

"But Jäger got it bad, too." "As expected," Armin muttered with a soft sigh and just shook his head. "Blame yourself. Why do you have to fight each other? Jean did not look pleased with these words and removed his hand from his hair. "As if that is my fault. I often don't understand why you two are friends."

"We've known each other for ages. It's like we've always been friends." That was true; their friendship had begun in kindergarten and had lasted for twelve years. "But I like you too. That's why I wish you'd just stop this silly fight. Especially because you're not as different as you think you are."
Armin always openly expressed his thoughts, for denying it brought nothing. And especially with Jean, he had little qualms about being beaten up by him.

"You're seriously comparing me to him?" said Eren, who had unexpectedly appeared next to them. "You can't be serious, Armin!" Jean's lips curled to a mocking grin as he put a hand on his hip. "Come on, Jäger, that is a great honor for you. After all, the little one knows what good taste is.
At least when it comes to me." His archenemy growled quietly and crossed his arms in front of his chest with a hostile look.
"You arrogant asshole think you're better than everyone else."
"Yes, better than you Jäger."
"Shut up, Kirschtein. Not even in a hundred years."
"Your stupid talk gets worse and worse, you dream dancer."
"Fuck off!"

Armin shook his head almost amused as he followed the 'conversation'; this could be called a new record: One minute was enough for Eren and Jean to fight again. But even that was nothing unusual for the outsider - after all, it happened almost every day anew. Armin did not know exactly whether it was due to the different views of them, whether it was a misunderstanding or even jealousy. However, he was very interested in that.

"We should now go to the canteen before the break is over," he interrupted the discussion just in time before it degenerated into a fierce argument and set himself in motion. If his friends fought each other again, the director would probably give them harsher punishments this time. As expected, they now followed him mutely but kept casting a poisonous glance at each other.

By the time they entered the canteen, most of the students were already sitting at the tables, so they could easily reach the food counter. Armin immediately fetched a tray and looked at today's menu selection. He had the choice between two dishes, one vegetarian and another quite normal. "The rice pan with vegetables," he said to the cafeteria woman and brought it together with a glass of orange juice to a free table. Eren and Jean sat down with him and began to eat.

Surprisingly, they were often able to spend time together here without discussions. It was one of the few moments when Armin noticed how similar the two squabblers behaved. Not only the way they talked, they often chose the same menu. They probably didn't even notice, but Armin didn't want to tell them either, because who knew what happened then? Maybe it just made everything worse. As expected, the two boys didn't bother each other as long as they had filled their mouths with food and were busy with it. He used their silence to think a little and gradually sink into it.

In two days, this Halloween party... Should he go? Somehow he would feel very uncomfortable between all these happy people; such events weren't exactly his favorite places, where his bawling classmates, completely drunk, danced to meaningless songs or snogged with some girls. Even at this performance, he was shaken inwardly, so he drank a few sips of orange juice to calm down. But... Jean had asked if he accompanied him. "You're too much in your room," he had complained at this day. "That's why we should do something together again. Don't you think so?" With a heavy heart, he finally agreed. Why couldn't he resist when he looked at him with his olive eyes?

"Aren't you hungry or why don't you eat?" Eren asked suddenly and brought him back to reality with his words. "Uh... I was just thinking." Hastily he loaded a few forks with rice into his mouth and smiled at him with a sheepish glance. How embarrassing! But it was a good opportunity to mention the party, though. "Jean... what am I supposed to wear on Saturday?" He looked up from his plate and blinked briefly. "Uh... Good question. Do you still have an old costume at home?" The blonde shook his head and stared down at the table.

"To be honest, it's my first costume party. And I don't fit into the ones from my childhood anymore." Jean grinned briefly. "That is clear, I already knew that. The best thing is to go and buy a new one after school. Should I go with you?" Now Eren interrupted the conversation again and crossed his arms. "No, that's my job! Who knows what kind of stupid clothes you pick for him! "Shut up! Knowing you as I do, he'll be forced to wear an ugly costume! Don't you dare, Jäger! I'll punch you straight in your face!" They got up and growled at each other.

Breathing deeply, Armin stood up and put a hand on their mouths. "So... I think if it goes like this, I'd better do it alone." He smiled at both of them and then took his tray before leaving them; because of this renewed discussion he was no longer hungry. The break was over anyway, so he took the opportunity to prepare for class.

Inside it was dark, a musty smell struck the boy. Did they ever wipe the dust in here? He went to the costumes and looked around in peace; apart from him, there seemed to be no other customer here. Creepy... But this thought vanished quickly after he thought about which costume to buy. Alien? Little devil? Maybe a mummy?

When Armin finally take a complete clown outfit from the clothes rail, he shrugged and preferred to let it go. No way, he was pretty scared of them! A little more despondent, he continued to search through the shelves and coat racks until he suddenly found what he was looking for. A magician. That could be just the thing for him.

With a smile, he clasped his clothes under his arm and happily walked to the bar to pay for them before going home - forgetting this strange feeling. So Armin did not notice how a man in the crowd looked after him.