the hilt | eren jaeger

t h i r t y s e v e n

But then everything comes crashing down. Eventually, it always does.

But she doesn't know if she'll see him again. She told him to come by. But he was just a stranger. And he didn't have to listen to her. He had no moral obligation to do the very thing she so desperately wanted him to do.

Jo didn't know why she called out to the random man. She hadn't caught more than a glimpse of him when she called him over. She hadn't processed anything about him. He just happened to be the one walking by. Someone else could've heeded her call and came towards the booth, and honestly, she wouldn't have known.

But this was different than she expected. 

The moment she looked into his eyes, she found something she hadn't realized that she'd been looking for. A glimpse of what she couldn't have. Instantly drawn to a possibility she knew she likely wouldn't taste. 

And his name. His name was so familiar to her. And his face, and his stature, and everything about him. She nearly believed that in another life, they'd been intertwined in some strange twist of fate- but she shook that off. She didn't want such thoughts so soon after meeting someone. 

But she lied to him. She was a dick to him. She was foreign to herself in those moments. But yet, he didn't push her away. He leaned into it, and acted the way someone accustomed to that would. But she ignored that. And she tried even harder to ignore that her stomach was on fire the entire time they were interacting. That her fingers were shot full of electricity. That her breath hitched in her throat as she tried so desperately to breathe in. 

But she was back in that old, dusty home now. And she didn't know who she was. 

All she could do was walk over to the window and watch the sun as it set down past the water. And even though she thought she was happy, devoutly and absolutely, a small tear fell from the corner of her left eye, and she did not feel it as it rolled down her face and dripped onto the floor.

*****

The rest of the Scouts were all intoxicated. After the drinks were passed around, and the music started, they all partied to their hearts' content. 

Eren had something else on his mind. 

He couldn't bring himself to try any of the liquor, and he couldn't bring himself to let loose. His thoughts were garbled by the conversation he'd had earlier. He was stuck in a state of wonder, of mystery. 

She was alive, yes, but in what state? But in what manner? Who even was she now? And could he trust her? Could she trust him?

A drunk Armin grabbed onto his leg as he stood up to go, "Erennnnn?" He hiccupped then held on tighter, "Where are you goinggg~?"

Eren gently removed Armin's arms from his leg, "I'll be back. Don't worry about me while I'm gone."

Armin took on a sad pout, "I'll always worry about you." He crossed his arms defiantly.

Eren smiled a little, patting his best friend's head, "It'll be okay." But before Eren even finished, Armin got distracted by someone he saw in the distance. 

He wanted to stay with them, to be himself one last time, but he had someone to see. The past six months had ripped a hole inside of him, an echoing chasm that every qualm fell into. And so, Eren slipped out into the night, no one to see that he had gone, except maybe Armin's foggy memory.

*****

"I didn't think you'd show up, Eren." She stated, looking him up and down as she leaned on the doorway to her home. She backed up and held open the door for him, and he walked through the archway.