Almost Normal

Chapter 9

A/N- OMFG!!! Thank you guys so much for over 500 reads on this! It truly means so much to me that all of you are reading and commenting on this little story of mine <3 So I give you all Chapter 9! Happy Reading!-Zenovia. WARNING for this chapter:  Mentions of self harm and triggers.

Armin's POV

Chapter 9

Time was flying past me in light years. There was only one week left until Thanksgiving Break and I was still writing in my secret journal. I hadn't stopped writing. All of the words were flowing from my fingers to the page. It was a sensation that was indescribable. I had even turned in some of these little excerpts of my journal into Professor Petra for extra credit. Each time that I gave her a new one, she would smile and nod her head and say "You've found your touch, Mr. Arlert." My grade in her class was a  B+ now. For my creative writing class, Professor Petra gave us the details of our final early, so that we could write to our hearts content. The final stated that it should be fifteen to twenty pages of why we think we were put here on this planet, and what we are going to do with ourselves the rest of our lives. The assignment was very vague, but I was ready for the challenge. I really wanted to impress myself with this. I want to inspire myself to write more. That's what I've been doing for the past two weeks. Writing, then more writing, and then before I go to bed, some extra writing in my journal. 

Although, this sudden reclusive behavior wasn't taken well with Eren. "Come on Armin, you have to see the sunlight at some point." He preached. Eren pulled back my shades, and the light of the sun blinded me for a few seconds. "You've got to be kidding me." Eren mumbled under his breath. Eren then picked up my journal and tucked in his bag. "Ereenn." I whined out. I didn't want Eren to have that journal. One reason was because I wasn't ready for my friends to see what I wrote in there. The other reason was because I mentioned Eren's name in there many times. That notebook had many excerpts of my liking for him, and if he ever laid eyes on it, he would probably hate me forever. Eren sighed and looked at me deeply. "Alright, I'll make a deal with you. Tomorrow night, there's going to be a football game at the college stadium, you have to go with me. Then, I'll give you your journal back, and don't worry, I'm not going to look inside it. I know how you are with your secretive writing habits. But seriously Armin, you need to get out of your dorm. I haven't seen you skateboard in a while. You just go to class, then come back here and write. It's not healthy." 

"But you were the one who told me to write everyday." I argued back. Eren chuckled a little "Yeah I told you to write a little bit every day, not a novel." He retorted. Eren started to look around the room, "Plus, your dorm looks like a pigsty. I can help you clean it up, but only if you agree to my deal." I thought about his offer for a few seconds. Spending some quality time with Eren did sound pleasing to the ear. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a night off from writing. "Uhh, alright, I give. I agree to this deal, but you have to buy me food at the football game." I said. Eren nodded his head in agreement. "Alright, let's shake on it." He then put his hand to his mouth, and profusely spit into his hand. He then held out the slobbery limb to my own. I looked at him as if he just committed a heinous crime . "No way in hell am I shaking that...thing." I gestured to his slimy hand. "Only way to seal the deal" Eren said. I looked up at the ceiling, waiting for an asteroid to crash in and crush me. I slowly held my hand up to my mouth, and spit into it. I reached out for Eren's hand, and he quickly grasped mine in his. I gagged a little in my mouth and said "You are fucking insane." "No, I'm fucking brilliant." Eren said with a smirk. "Well Blondie, I'm gonna head on home, get some sleep tonight, big day tomorrow." He waved. "See you later Eren." I said. Then he was gone. The room was quiet, and for some odd reason, I did feel sleepy. Maybe Eren was right, maybe I needed to take a day off and have some fun before break started.

I got into some pajamas and climbed into my small bed. I was to tired to even put music on. The second my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light. I wish I could have said that I had fantastic dreams that night, but I can't. It was like the nightmare I had at the beginning of the year. The only difference this time, was that Eren was nowhere to be found in my dream. I was standing in the middle of a huge open space of land. The grass went up to my knees, and I could see a lake in the distance. The place reminded me of Eren's park. My breathing was unsteady, as if I'd been running miles on end. I could feel hot tears in my eyes, straining to be let free. Then, the heat came. It was the same as last time. I felt my skin blister and bubble. It was excruciatingly painful. I didn't know where the heat was coming from because there wasn't a fire anywhere. I looked down at my feet to make sure I was still standing on solid ground, when I noticed it. My journal. It was lying on the ground, and as I looked around, white pieces of paper were strewn all over the ground. I couldn't understand why I would do something like that. I loved my journal.