The Boy I Knew

13. No Goodbyes

Rain pattered against the roof of your house. You had been lying awake for hours, debating on whether or not you should go through with your "plan." You needed to convince Eren to come with you, which you hoped was the hardest part. The Garrison could be bribed with alcohol, but you planned on going at night. Fingers crossed, they'd be asleep, making getting him out would be easy. The only issue you had was that you didn't know where to find Zeke. Were you just going to ride around until you found him? Would you let him find you?

You had no way to fight titans, either, and once Eren found out that you planned on leaving the walls, he'd not want to come with you at all. Tilting your head towards your nightstand, your eyes met the jar of chloroform and washcloth that sat there. You pulled a few strings with your job and managed to get it. The brown jar made what you were doing ominous, like you were killing someone. 'Maybe I am.' You didn't know what Zeke wanted with Eren. For all you knew, they just wanted him dead.

Doing this was an extreme for you, but you wanted this to be all over. For Erwin. Maybe he'd become less stressed with having to worry about people coming for him or Eren. What would a couple lives be if they saved a thousand? It had been plaguing your mind all morning. There was a high chance that you wouldn't make it back from this. 'At least he has Marie, right?' Your heart hurts at the mere thought of her name. How much did he love her?

Pushing it out of your head, you got up and put on your warmest outfit and packed a change of clothes and food. Not knowing how long you were going to be out there, you didn't want to starve. And since you couldn't be too prepared, you had various first aid items in the pack, along with the chloroform. The idea was to get Eren away from the group long enough to allow him to pass out from the chloroform and put him on horseback. With any luck, you'd get away from the group and it'd be a while before they noticed he was gone.

It didn't occur to you until now that you'd have the Scouts looking for both of you. If they found you, you'd be taken to trial and held accountable for your actions. Worse yet, you could get Erwin in trouble for it. They could think that he put you up to kidnapping Eren and escaping with him. 'Let's hope I succeed.' If you managed to make it back alive, you'd have to face Erwin at some point. The thought of that caused your stomach to knot; it sat heavy on your empty stomach.

Heading out the door, the sun greeted you with warmth. You requested this day off because you knew the Scouts weren't training or doing anything important today. Stopping by a cafe to pick up something to eat, you made your way to the barracks where you'd hope you'd find him. And you loved it when you were right. You could hear the laughter while standing outside of the guy's building, from a few different people. Forcing yourself to step up to the door, you knocked, ready to get this over with.

Connie answered the door, "What's up, chica?"

"Looking for Eren." Connie's presence made you less nervous. "Hange has some last minute questions and I offered to come and get him."

"Okay, but you gotta promise me something?" You could hear Jean laugh in the background.

"Yeah?" He leaned in like he was going to whisper in your ear. You could tell he had been drinking. Maybe not drunk, but the smell of alcohol was there.

"Don't lose him." Despite the guys laughing, you didn't. It made you afraid.

"I won't." Only then did Connie back up to let Eren through. You hadn't noticed him standing behind the door. "Ready?"

"Of course. Not like I can so no to Hange, right?" You gave him a chuckle. Surprised at how well getting him away from the group worked, you pulled yourself on to the horse and offered him an arm. You let him sit behind you. It would make it difficult when you went to put the cloth to his face, but you'd cross that bridge when you got to it.