Alarm Clock - Ereri/Riren (Re-uploaded)

Chapter 14

I was trying so very hard not to smile. So very hard to focus on the fact that I was hanging out with my friends and eating fast food in a park instead of how funny drunk Levi was. Maybe I just needed to talk to someone about something random to distract myself. Sasha was going to town on that burger and there was no distracting her from her food. Connie was testing a stupid theory that Jean and Marco could read each other's minds. Mikasa and Annie were looking at embarrassing pictures of people Annie snuck during class. So I guess the only person I could really talk to right now was, Armin.

"Hey Ar, Whatcha been up to lately?" I asked, laying my head on my folded arms on the table as I looked up at him. I was probably staring at him way too affectionately, but he didn't seem to mind when directed his attention away from his book and looked at me with the same smile I had.

"You know. The usual. Reading, studying, doing a bit of music here and there." he answered casually as he closed his book and set it on the table.

"That's cool. You got any new voice memos?" I asked.

"Yeah but they're not the finished product. Most of them are those riffs you told me to come up with for the songs we haven't finished."

"Let me hear." I said scooting closer to him. He kind of flinched and then there was a slight tension between the two of us. He took out his headphones from his backpack, hooked it up to his phone and gently put them over my head. I waited a bit and heard little keyboard noises of him typing in his password. Then, he suddenly sounded off his Gibson and jumped a bit at the sudden sound. I took in the sound and analyzed it a bit in my head, closing my eyes and moving my head to the rhythm. Then when it was finished, I took off the headphones, resting them on my neck and looked back up towards him.

"It sounds different then what you usually come up with. It's a lot more, mellow yeah? Nonetheless, it's excellent as always." I said. I was always mesmerized by how well he was able to come up with a sound that complimented what I would come up with on my end in an unexpected way. It was like I was the fire and he was the ice. It was oppositional but it was amazing.

"Yeah, I've been experimenting. And I've been listening to R&B lately so that might have influenced it." he added.

"Sounds super dope."

"Thanks." he said blushing slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Got any plans for the weekend?" he asked now resting his head in his arms just as I was.

"Yeah actually. I'm gonna go to a drive-in movie with someone." I said.

"Sweet. I've always wanted to go to a drive-in. Who are you going with?"

"Oh just Levi." the innocent smile on his face had partially faded, but you could tell he was trying to keep it up.

"Oh. Are you guys like official now or-" he asked, slightly quieter and more nervous than he was previously speaking.

"No. We're just friends. Why does everyone assume otherwise?" I huffed in frustration. Was it that obvious how much I was trying to renounce my feelings for him?

"Well it's just that you guys were kissing in the closet when the cops came and I figured-"

"We didn't even kiss. We almost did but even if we did it wouldn't be like that. He was drunk and we were just following the rules." I said with anger inflected in my tone.

"The rules that Hitch made? No one really follows those unless they want to hook up with someone." he said raising an eyebrow.

"Jesus. Armin, why are you getting so worked up about this? Even if Levi and I were a thing, which we are not, I've hooked up with people after you, you know?" I said, instantly regretting every word that had come out of my mouth. I knew deep down that had nothing to do with what he was saying. The rest of the group had gradually become quiet and focused their attention on us.

"I know that and so have I! I'm not the one getting worked up. I just asked my friend a question about a person they clearly have feelings for!" he said with the same anger reflected in his voice. We had both gotten to our feet and were fuming.

"Uh, guys" Connie said from the corner, but we both ignored him.

"Why would you even bring our relationship up? What? You think I'm jealous?!" he yelled.

"Uh, yeah. A little." I said sassily.

"Don't flatter yourself Eren! You could fuck Ackerman from behind on the table right here in front of all of us! I couldn't care less!" he said in his defensive and witty way of speaking. He had such a rough way of communicating when he was angry. It contrasted his regular self very intensely.

"Woah woah guys this is getting-" Connie said, getting increasingly uncomfortable. But we just kept yelling over him.

"Oh I think you could care less! You wouldn't be yelling at me if you didn't actually care!" I snarled.

"And so what if I do?! Don't you think it's kind of strange that you're basically in love with the guy who used to date Petra of all people?!"

"I am not in love with him!"

"Keep telling yourself that!"

"I will! Because that's the truth!"

"Come on guys cut it out." Connie said once again.

"Shut up Connie!" we both said simultaneously jerking our heads to him. He then shrunk down a bit into Sasha's arms, clearly terrified as she patted him on the head.

"It was to spin the bottle! Just because you follow the rules of a stupid middle schoolers game, that doesen't mean you're in love with someone!" No matter how much I wanted to stop speaking and just shut the fuck up, I couldn't. This was going in a direction that I was not liking at all.

"I saw you guys! The entire night you'd been doing weird cutesy things with each other!" he yelled again. "You fucking love him Eren!"

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do! Your ears are red! You're lying!"

"Stop looking at my fucking ears! So what!? What's it to you!? You still love me or something?!"

"And if I did!?"

"I don't know!"

"Well I don't know either!"

"Jesus. Fuck!" yelled Jean marching over to both of us. "I just wanted to enjoy a fucking hamburger but you guys had to bring your stupid unresolved emotional trauma into it!" He grabbed us both by the ears and threw us on the bench of the table, both facing him as he stood above us. "Armin, if you still have feelings for Eren, too bad because Eren likes Levi now. And shut the fuck up Eren you're way to easy to read so don't even deny it now! If you both still have feelings for each other, good! Get back together! Whatever, I don't care! Just let me eat my fucking burger without you too fighting in the backround!" He raged. We just stood there silently, in a state of shock. Everything we just said was so heavy. They were things we never expected to say ever again. "Armin, do you still love Eren?" he asked sternly, pointing a finger at him. He hesitantly shook his head. "Eren, do you still love Armin?" though it felt wrong, I shook my head as well. "Armin, do you mean any of the nasty shit you said?" Armin then shook his head again. I believed him that time. "Eren?" I shook my head too. "Then it's settled. Hug it out. You guys are friends again. No more drama. At least not in front of me!" and so me and Armin awkwardly hugged it out. It was weirdly comforting and I took a deep breath, resting in his arms.

"I'm sorry. Let's just forget this happened." I said softly.

"Yeah. I'm sorry too." he replied.