If Only... (Eremin)

Parties and Problems

(Annie is genderfluid in this fic, just to resolve any confusion. Annie doesn't care what pronouns are used but leans more towards 'she'. I'll probably switch between she and they pronouns throughout this chapter.)

Armin sighed as he watched Mikasa and Eren disappear into the rain. He remembered he needed to tell his grandpa about the party and stepped out of his room.

He found his grandpa asleep on the couch, a book clutched in his hands. Armin smiled as he snored. Armin was out to his grandpa but...things were complicated. His grandpa said he really didn't understand it but he supported it, he said that he wanted Armin to be happy. Still, the older man was stuck in his habit with pronouns and such.

When Armin came back down from his thoughts, his grandpa was sitting up and looking at him.
"Is there anything you need?" He asked, looking at Armin with his wise yet surprisingly vivid eyes.

"Oh, um yeah. There's a party at a friend's house and Mikasa and Eren are going, can I go too?" Armin said, getting excited and nervous at the thought.

His grandfather chuckled, "Why of course! But if you're staying the night give me a call and let me know."
Armin beamed, "Thank you Grandpa!" And ran back to his room.

Armin looked himself up and down in his mirror, for once he wasn't picking his appearance to pieces though, just contemplating what to wear. He threw his binder on his sky-blue bedspread along with a white v neck that had thin, navy-blue stripes on it. After pulling on every pair of pants and shorts he owned, which was alot, he settled on some denim shorts that were about mid-thigh.

He decided to change later and lounged in his big sweater, putting in earbuds and listening to Death Cab and reading the book Paper Towns, which he found intriguing. He thought that people were to critical of John Green, he personally enjoyed his books.

Armin went to the kitchen and nibbled on some carrots to hold his stomach off for a while. Considering there would be a ton of dancing, partying, yelling sixteen and seventeen year olds at the party, he knew there would be enough food there to feed a horde of elephants.

He pulled out his phone and chatted with someone he knew over the internet for a while before getting a text from Eren.
"Party is gonna start soon, we're on our way to pick you up."
Armin retreated back to his room and changed into his outfit, wondering if he should change it last-minute. He decided against it.

After about five minutes of wrestling with his hair to find a good hairstyle, he pulled it back into a little ponytail. Stray wisps of hair collected at the nape of his neck and in front of his ears. He inspected himself in the mirror and found himself to be satisfied with the final product.

The doorbell rings and Armin rushed over to the door to answer it. He opened the door to see Eren wearing a green tanktop and some skinny jeans.
"Hey." Eren says, smiling. One side of his smile lifting up more than the other cutely. Armin tried not to focus on that.
"Hi, where's Mikasa?" Armin asks softly.
"Oh, she had to stay to do some last minute setup, but she's gonna be there, don't worry."

Armin pulled on some shoes quickly and Eren held out his hand for Armin.
"Shall we?" He asked, his eyes sparkling as he grinned.
Armin rolled his eyes and took Eren's hand as they walked outside into the rain.

The way to Connie's was quick. Eren swung open the door and walked in, not bothering to remove his damp shoes.
"Sup losers? Let's get this party started!" Connie and Sasha cheered and whooped. There were a few other kids and Mikasa was among them. More people started to arrive and Armin clung to Eren nervously.

Mikasa came over to wear Armin and Eren stood. "Hey, loosen up a bit!" She said to a tense looking Armin gently, her dark grey eyes sparkling. Suddenly her eyes darted to the corner of the room and she whistled real low.
"Daaang, they're attractive. See ya, I got people to talk to." She said, a small grin flickering across her face momentarily before she disappeared into the crowd of teenagers.