Unintentional (eremika)

Chapter Six: Changes

6 Years Earlier

Mikasa & Eren are both 16

Mikasa hadn't a clue where her feelings for Eren had come and appeared.

Okay, well, that was a lie.

She knew precisely where they had come and materialized from a platonic type of love to love, love. The intimate, endearing, adorning, and romantic type of love. Her feelings had been there for the longest. For so long had she tried to ignore them, to see Eren only as a friend and even a brother yet somehow she couldn't. No matter how much she fought to ignore them and not think of them in the slightest, she couldn't help herself.

Throughout her time with him, she found herself staring at him a lot. His eyes often met hers, and she found herself lost in them dreamily. It was so cliche for the girl's best friend to be in love with the boy, but she couldn't help it.

Now that she had come to terms with her feelings, things were a bit easier. She was hiding it from everyone else but at least not herself.

"What's going on with you and Eren? Are you two dating?" Historia, a new friend she made in her choir class, asks her. Mikasa stares shocked at first but quickly denies it. "Eren and I? No. We're just childhood friends." she says.

"Hm, sure. That's why you're always staring at him?" Sasha, another new friend she made, asks. "W-what? I don't stare at Eren," she stutters out, cursing herself afterward for acting so suspicious.

"No need to keep it a secret, Mika. We won't tell Eren!" Historia says, rubbing her back in comfort.

Mikasa sighs. "Fine," she says, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. "I like...Eren," she admits. Even though she wasn't admitting it to him, it still had her heart pounding and butterflies fluttering through her stomach.

"I knew it! For how long?" Historia squeals.

"I'm not sure," she says honestly.

Truly, that was a good question. When did she start liking Eren? She couldn't put a precise date on it, but she had to assume that it was sometime after her parents died. She had always loved Eren, but loving him romantically was probably when she realized she was one of the only things she had left from her past.

The school bell rang seconds later, and they all scurried off to class. Her next class just so happened to be Geometry, and Eren sat next to her. It was hard to be so close to him when she felt like this. Often, she found herself watching and listening to him. Watching how he focused on the teacher, watching him write his notes, listening to his breath, or even when he stood up and confidently explained an answer. She loved every single bit of it.

"You haven't been focusing lately," Armin murmurs to Mikasa as they walk home that afternoon. "Why do you think that?" She inquires, wondering what Armin was getting at here.

"In geometry, ever since the teacher made you and Eren partners, you've been acting differently. You stare into space a lot. You also look at Eren a lot...Mikasa do you...like Eren?" Armin whispers the very last part as silently as he could yet Mikasa still hears him. Eren, who walked in front of them, chatting away with Connie and arguing with Jean now and then, defiantly hadn't heard a word.

If Armin was springing this, it meant that he had been watching her for a while. He wasn't bringing this up anywhere. In truth, he was right on the money.

"Don't tell Eren, please," she practically begs.

"I wasn't. I wouldn't." Armin defends. "I was just...curious," Armin says partially.