Complexity- Armin x Reader

Chapter 18: Divergence

Short chapter, but the next one will be long, I promise. Happy Monday!

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Armin blinked at Y/n's out-of-the-blue question.

If he was being honest, he was looking forward to just being with Y/n at the movies, but he didn't want to be rude.

Swallowing his disappointment (and slight bitterness), he gave Y/n a plastic smile and nodded.

"Sure, that's fine. The more the merrier!"

Gritted teeth hid behind a strange smile, and Y/n completely looked past it, grinning at Armin brightly.

"Thanks, Min!"

Y/n, blissfully unaware of the nasty and unwelcome spite that Armin felt, sipped on her Capri Sun and ate the last of her fruit slices.

Armin would be bummed about the situation until the very day they would go to the movies, finding that Eren and Mikasa and practically the rest of the group had weaseled their way into going as well.

The blonde sighed at the concession stand as he saw Jean and Y/n in the distance with drinks in hand, talking excitedly and joking around while Connie and Sasha munched on snacks beside them and occasionally joined in.

Armin hadn't noticed he'd been staring until Eren shoved a bucket of popcorn into his arms and Reiner and Bertholdt came over.

"Dude, calm down." Eren gave Armin a sharp look. "They're just talking." The brunette handed him some candy and a few napkins.

Reiner began to sip on his drink obnoxiously, garnering the attention of the three boys next to him.

"I dunno," he said mysteriously in between long sips.

Eren groaned and slumped slightly. He knew where this was going.

Reiner motioned towards where Y/n and Jean were. "Looks to me like they've gotten closer. Look at the way Y/n's laughing. Isn't that weird?"

Armin turned and saw Y/n smiling widely at something Jean said, with the tall boy explaining something to her animatedly while Sasha and Connie looked on.

Armin was watching the two, and Reiner winked over at Eren, but the brunette only frowned up at him.

"Cut it out, Reiner." He said firmly and low enough for Armin not to hear.

Reiner rolled his eyes and ignored the boy.

"I'm just pushing him to do something. Sooner or later he has to say something, this might just be what he needs."

Bertholdt's lips dipped as he saw Armin staring gloomily ahead. He tapped Reiner on the shoulder and whispered over to him.

"I think Eren's right, Reiner. This isn't moral."

"Not you too, Bertholdt. What's wrong with you guys?" The tall blonde glanced over at Eren and Bertholdt, clicking his tongue. "You're all too soft. C'mon, let's go."

Reiner patted Armin's back firmly and the blue-eyed boy yelped in surprise, spilling some of his popcorn on the floor.

"Go get your girl, Armin."

Reiner led a blushing Armin over to where the rest of the group was and Eren trudged right behind them with Bertholdt in tow.

Armin was shoved right into Y/n, courtesy of Reiner, and Jean raised a brow at the action.

"Reiner, what was that for?" Y/n questioned, a bit annoyed, as she grabbed ahold of Armin's shoulders to steady the flustered boy. She smiled awkwardly up at Armin and lightly patted his shoulder before letting go.

"Just for fun." Reiner smirked before heading into the theater, and Jean just rolled his eyes.

"I thought Reiner didn't even like AOT. Didn't he say he thought it was nerdy?" Y/n questioned as she and the rest followed a distance behind Reiner.

Bertholdt cleared his throat and spoke in his usual reserved manner.

"He does like it. He just doesn't wanna admit it. Says it could ruin his reputation if people found out he liked anime."

Connie guffawed.

"Bro his reputation is already ruined, he hangs out with me and Sasha!"

"For real!" Sasha agreed and the both of them laughed it off. Eren and Jean chortled as they headed inside the theater, looking for Mikasa.

They all shuffled around and took their seats, Armin being petty and making sure he was right next to Y/n and Jean nowhere near them.

Jean didn't notice. He mostly focused on finding a place next to Mikasa and away from Eren, who was staring daggers at him for daring to come within five feet of the girl.

Throughout the film, Y/n had to remind herself to keep herself distant from Armin.

No more hand holding, or cuddling, or leaning in to rest her head on his shoulder. She stayed perfectly stiff and reserved, ignoring the times where she would accidentally brush against Armin's hand when reaching for the popcorn, ignoring how her cheeks would burn momentarily and how her heart would race.

Armin on the other hand was being as affectionate as he could be. During the slower parts of the movie, he would playfully kick at Y/n's shoes. He would reach over and squeeze Y/n's hand out of excitement whenever his favorite character did something cool. Y/n would only smile slightly at him and roll her eyes before quickly taking her hand back and grabbing a fistful of popcorn.

Y/n couldn't believe she was saying this, but Armin being this close to her was her worst nightmare.

Either that or a Godsend.

As soon as the end credits rolled, Y/n bustled out of her seat and excused herself to the bathroom, leaving behind a concerned, doe-eyed boy. Y/n hastily entered a stall and locked the flimsy door, finding solace inside the small space she had away from Armin.

She stood there and wondered what the hell was happening. She wondered why Armin was being much more affectionate all of a sudden, and how he couldn't have chosen a worse time than now to be this friendly, when Y/n was trying to quit the boy cold.

This all was becoming a bit overwhelming for the girl.

"How am I going to do this?" she whispered to herself.

She knew exactly what she had to do, but it hurt her to think about it.

After the movies, she took Jean's advice and distanced herself from Armin as much as she could. Or at least as much as she could without hurting him.

March and April faded away into the backburner, and became nothing but distant memories of hours, days, weeks that simply fell too short.

Come May, Y/n hadn't hung out with her friends as much as she used to. In her attempt to pull away from Armin, she ended up pulling away from the others, not really going to many gatherings and outings.

Freshman year ended, and Y/n would keep her distance.

Much to Armin's growing dismay.