♫
Papi Chulo - Avalon Lurks
That week moved gratingly slowly. The days started following a pattern; wake up in Sasha's dorm, attend classes, avoid Eren's stares, gossip at the cafe with the girls, cram homework in the midnight hour, then rest my guilty bones in Sasha's dorm.
I was avoiding my own dorm room because it was plagued with a womanizer, and I had no intent to talk to him let alone reconcile.
Armin's lips alleviated me on Tuesday, but we never managed to catch another moment alone that week.
When Connie had interrupted Tuesday's session, Armin and I regained immediate composure and gave each other longing looks while we heard all about Jean's woes. Connie was oblivious, and continued to complain about the Jean-Mika situation.
The situation seemed to be exactly as we predicted it. Mika's not ready to be hot and heavy, but Jean certainly is.
I discussed this with Sasha and Tori, who, since Tuesday, were giggling over the secret outfit they bought me. Jean's dejection urged him to throw a party to forget it, but it was just vague ideas at the moment. They said they'd show it to me come the next party.
Throughout the week's classes, memories of Floch and Marco popped in my head, among all the sinful memories involving Eren. I had brief daydreams of meeting up with the two of them again. Then I realized that probably neither of them would like my company anymore, granted I've changed a lot since high school. I used to be a pushover with a high-pitched voice and sharp humor.
I probably wouldn't like their company anymore, either.
Still, I stalked their dead Facebook profiles with Sasha and Tori on Thursday night. I discovered that both of them were attending the college in Trost, the same one that Eren's ex attends, as Ymir pointed out over text.
We stayed up cyber-stalking until about four, then moaned like crybabies in the morning when we had to leave for Levi's morning class at eight-thirty.
Thursday was a write-off day, but then came Friday.
Armin's eyes glittered in anticipation for the arcade outing on Saturday. I'd never been to an arcade in Paradis, but I assumed they wouldn't be much different to the ones in Marley. Maybe they'd be a little cheaper.
Enduring Eren's glances on Levi's Friday morning class proved a more mortifying experience than the previous days of the week.
And the pattern this week was... well it went like this;
I'd be gossiping in circles with my girls, then Eren and Armin emerged from the theatre doors and Armin would trot up to meet me at my desk. He'd give me a lopsided smile and glittering eyes, then talked with me until the professor arrived. After taking a seat next to Eren, I'd pay the brunette a glance; but he was always already looking at me. Then I'd look away as if singed.
Then the guilt would swirl deep in my stomach. It felt like the sins plaguing my chest metastasized.
*
When Levi's morning class concluded, I made a path to the library. I'd left behind that book I wanted when Eren made me late for class, so I thought I'd finally go get it and check it out of the library.
The odd peppermint feeling of the aisles filled my senses. The library was pretty vacant at this hour, so I lurked in the aisles in happy solitude. My eyes scanned over the spines of books jammed together in the shelves.
I was reading the M's with my mouth stupidly hanging open as if I really needed to focus that hard on reading book titles. I just needed to find the mustard yellow cover of the Many Myths of Ymir, I didn't even need to recognize the font of the title. Its color was iconic.
