Almost Normal

Chapter 7

A/N-So first off, WOW! Almost 400 views?!? Thank you to everybody who has been reading. And secondly, this will be the first Eren POV! Forgive me if it drags a little but I want to have Eren's emotions in all of this as well. So here is Chapter 7. Happy Reading!-Zenovia 

Eren's POV

Chapter 7

Grow up Eren. Those were the words that I heard for all of my life. During school, at home, with my so called "friends" in high school. It didn't matter. I had to grow up the minute somebody told me too. That made me defile the rules every second I could. I didn't want to grow up. But sooner or later, fate made me. After my mom died, I had to become the man of the house because my father was never caring for Mikasa and me. I won't get into the details of the beatings and fights that went on in the little place that I had to call "Home" but let's just say that I took advantage of leaving for college.

I had to be the one to protect everybody I loved, and if I messed up I would pay the consequences. I have been trying to be strong my whole life. I put on a mask and showed people that I was strong. That I could carry on a small family of only two, by myself. Sadly, I didn't take off my mask when I got to college. I got the reputation of being the one who is always happy. The one who takes care of people. The one who can be strong for others. My freshman year of college was okay. I made some better friends than I did in high school. Mikasa was only an hour away so I could visit her whenever I wanted. But I still felt alone. Nobody at my school really knew who I was.

I traveled a lot into the city during college. Normally I would take my truck, but on one fateful day. It broke down. So I took the train. After I was done running all of my errands, I just decided to go back to my dorm room and mope around. It looked like it was going to rain that day, but my window was fogged up, so I looked onto the other side of the train, and there he was. My saving grace, I like to think of him now. I kept observing him and of course he knew I was. I was meet with bright, blue, sapphire eyes. That night was the beginning. My new beginning. And it was all because of him, that I am the person I am right now.

He became my new home. Armin discovered things about me that I would have never let anybody else know. He understood me, and for once, I didn't have to put on my mask for him. He saw the real me, and that's all that I have dreamed for in life, for somebody to see the real me, and not be disgusted with the sight they are met with. He was a miracle. Between words and songs, and family matters and being scared of horror movies, he understood all of my imperfections.

That night of Halloween was a breaking point for me. I had to hold all of my fear inside because people thought me strong. But he didn't see through my mask. He came to my rescue when I asked him too. He was amazing to me, he was the stronger one. I am pressed up against him now. My hair still damp from the shower I took in Armin's bathroom. All of his words seem to be flowing together because I don't understand what he is saying until he says the one thing that I have been dying to hear for as long as I can remember. "It's going to be okay Eren. I am right here. Nothing is going to hurt you when I am here." He said. I can't help the slow hot tears come out of my eyes. He wipes them away like a mother would do for a child. But he isn't treating me like a child. He is treating me like me. He understands that I can't be tamed sometimes, that I can be dangerous in my moments of depression. I hear the sounds of music play in the background, and I can feel being swept away into a state of sleep, but I know that I have to thank Armin for everything he has done tonight. "I love you Armin. Thank you for being my everything." I say, and I mean it. The only way I can describe him in this moment is 'My Everything.' Finally, after hours of stress and fear, I fall asleep.

The next morning, I am met with warm air on the back of my neck and the soft sounds of piano playing in the distance. I can hear my heartbeat in my ears, it is slow and steady, the way it should be. All of my fears of last night have slowly cascaded away. It's all because of him, the strong blue eyed boy laying next to me. I turn my body to face Armin. He is still asleep. I start to look at the detail of Armin's porcelain like complexion. His mouth is open just a little, and I can notice all of the freckles that lay on his little button nose. He shifts his position just an inch, and a piece of his hair falls down into his face. I see that his nose is twitching at the sudden disturbance, so I gently grab the piece of hair and put it back in place. He looks almost angelic, laying here like this. He is so peaceful, so calm.