We have each other

Part 6

They barely made it back to the bus stop on time. Lucky for them, the bus driver didn't question why they had just come running down the street instead of from inside the school. They sat close together in a seat near the front and talked in hushed voices as the last of the other kids climbed on board.

"I can't believe we got away with it!" Armin exclaimed massive grin on his face, "I thought there might be someone waiting at the gate for us or something but it was fine!" He quickly glanced out the window just to make sure. Seeing Armin so excited made Eren excited too. "I know right! That was really great!" 

The pair were exhilarated but exhausted, hiking had taken a lot of effort. They leaned against each other as the bus pulled away from the curb. Armin rested his head on Eren's shoulder and by the time they arrived at the end of his long driveway he was nearly falling asleep.

After that day the boys became almost inseparable. Every day they would spend as much time as possible together, on the bus, between classes, lunchtime and after school they were always at either Armins house, on the beach or in the woods outside of town. Actually having a friend made time fly, unfortunately for Eren that meant Friday came very quickly.

He begrudgingly said goodbye to Armin on the bus that day and watched him walk up his driveway before the bus pulled away. He sat glaring at his hands in his lap. He didn't want to see Zeke but he also didn't want to upset his father again. He sighed and looked out the window. 

When he'd told Armin about it he had promised they could hang out the next day and that they'd have the whole day to themselves. Eren smiled at the thought of haveing a whole day to spnd with Armin but he would have still preferred to have gotten off the bus at Armin's house that afternoon. 

He recognized Dina's old blue car parked outside as he got off the bus. Sure enough, when he got inside Dina and Grisha were chatting happily in the living room while Zeke sat off to the side on his phone. "Ah, you're home." He said looking up. He quickly put his phone in his pocket and jumped up "Let's go," 

Eren dropped his bag in his room before Zeke hurried him out to Dina's car. "Sorry about rushing you like that. My mother decided to come too and I couldn't take much more of their flirty bullshit." Zeke said pulling on his seatbelt. Eren scrunched up his nose, kinda thankful he didn't have to hear it. 

"So I was thinking we could go catch a movie or something and then get dinner," Zeke said as he started up the car. "That sounds like a bad date." Eren raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed. "It does a bit, we could do something else if you want?" Eren shook his head, "It's fine." He didn't really care too much what they did if he was honest, he just wanted to get it over with.

The ride into town didn't take too long. Eren stared out the window the whole time, listening to the cheesy radio music and thinking about what he and Armin could do the next day. When they arrived at the theater, Zeke let Eren choose the movie and brought them popcorn. Eren picked the latest Mavel movie which they both enjoyed, even if the air between them was slightly awkward. 

Afterward, Zeke asked Eren where he wanted to go for dinner. He wasn't feeling particularly creative so they went through the McDonalds drive-through. Zeke didn't want to dine in, he said he knew somewhere cooler they could sit and eat. He drove around the streets and then along a road that headed up the side of one of the hills that ran between town and Armin's house. 

Eren watched out the window as the town got smaller and smaller. Eventually, they pulled into a small lookout near the top. Eren got out of the car and his eyes went wide. The sea spanned out to the horizon, looking truly massive from this far up. He knew it was much bigger still but seeing it like this really put into perspective. The sunset made the water look pink and orange and it took Erens breath away. He wondered for a moment if Armin had been up there, it seemed like something he would love. Maybe tomorrow he would bring him up here, He smiled at the thought of being the one to show Armin something cool for once.

Zeke brought their food out and they sat on the bonnet. It was slightly windy but they managed to eat without anything blowing away. After they'd finished, Zeke dumped the paper in a nearby bin before rejoining Eren. They sat for a few moments before Zeke spoke. "So, I wanted to talk to you something." Eren looked over at him. "Dad is an ass." He stated "I think you think so too. He's selfish and just generally shit to be around and I'm gonna assume after what happened with your mother he hasn't been much better." Eren shrugged, he was right, he had been on his own dealing with most of what happened but he had handled it. "I just wanted to let you know you don't have to be alone. If you wanna talk or need to get away from Dad, just call me." He said "I know what it feels like to be left on you're own like that and I don't want that for you." 

Eren stared at the concrete in front of the car. He wanted to say that he didn't need help and that he was fine on his own but he couldn't bring himself to. As much as he wanted to deny it, the thought of someone he could depend on to help him made him want to cry. In a good way. His mother used to be the one he depended on for any sort of support. He nodded, suddenly feeling like he might cry. He really hated this feeling. Zeke shuffled closer and pulled him into an awkward but warm hug. Eren found himself relaxing into it, maybe hanging out with Zeke wasn't such a bad thing.

When they got back, Dina asked about their evening and Grisha asked if they would like to spend the night. Luckily Zeke convinced Dina that they had to go home, neither he nor Eren wanted to think about what Dina and Grisha would get up to or what they might hear if they stayed over.

After they left, Eren watched Grisha as he went about his business. He was humming and there was a spring in his step. Eren scrunched up his nose at him and headed up to his bedroom. A smile crept onto his lips as he went to brush his teeth, the sooner he went to bed the sooner he could wake up and go see Armin. When he walked back to his room he had a similar spring in his step to his father.