THE OTHER SIDE. aa

dreißig.

     THE FOLLOWING DAYS went by well, if you say so yourself. your friendship with reiner never changed, you two were still the best duo to ever walk on earth. heck, you two would often joke about being each other's crushes and the rejection on both part just for the fun of it. the others were in disbelief after learning what happened that cold night.

     they were mostly shocked about the fact that you no longer like reiner, when you took all lengths to avoid him when you confessed your feelings and got rejected. you'd always cringe at the said thought, as that reason was very petty and you regretted it. now that you had the chance to be with him after years of being friends, you just had to reject him.

     with reiner, on the other hand, they felt mostly betrayed that the blond didn't at least tell one of them his true feelings about you. they would've helped him with his confession or force you to be with him which reiner only laughed at.

     though you appreciate their kind gestures, you and reiner already moved on and consider yourselves as friends. of course, you were always worried about reiner's feelings. there's that slight concern that he's hiding his pain or true feelings because he'd rather not ruin your friendship. you always made sure to tell him that he can confine in you or the others, if he needed to talk to someone about his emotions and he'd only smile and mess your hair up.

     now, your relationship with armin was going pretty well. there were worries and concerns here and there but after communication and comfort, you'd be up in each other's arms again. armin constantly proves to you how much he loves you, and you do too. he got used to your affections and doesn't blush as much when you suddenly kiss him, which you kind of miss because he always looks adorable. the two of you would continue reading books to each other, switching between you and him from time to time but it always end up with armin reading the whole thing. the blond was an avid reader and often doesn't want to stop reading when you suggest a short break. within a few days, the two of you already finished the third book thanks to armin.

     that was why you planned to visit zeke's library once more after class, to return the books you borrowed from bsfore and to borrow another set as the blond wanted to read more. it was cute seeing him excited, too, he's like a child on christmas day.

     your knuckles rapped against the wooden door of zeke's home and within seconds, the door opened to reveal a tired-looking zeke with his hair sticking up.

     "what happened to you?" you questioned as you arched a brow. "you look like you were just fucking someone."

     he choked, "why would i fuck someone?"

     you shrugged and slyly smiled, "hey, we all have our needs and desires. i won't judge you."

     zeke snorted and stepped aside for you to come in, "you sound like you've fucked someone."

     sighing, you whispered your reply. "i wish."

     you flashed him an innocent smile when he looked at you weirdly, which he only narrowed his eyes. he lead you towards the library while making small talk, which mostly consists of him complaining about tutoring colt and his never-ending references of vines and tiktok. you've never met colt again aside from that one time but now you could conclude that he's one hell of a cultured man.

     "alright, i'll come back for you." zeke chirped out as he left you inside the large library.

     you inhaled the smell of the awaiting books, a small smile painted on your face when you realized you had the room all to yourself. you quickly got to work and you returned the books you had in their respective shelves. looking around the room, your fingers trained the spines of books you've seen or haven't yet. you went to another shelf that you haven't really checked, reading the spines for their titles that could pique your interest. armin always praised you for choosing a good book so he left it to you for you to choose the books that you know armin would love. you went to the second floor of the bookshelves, looking around for another interesting book. your eyes landed on the end of the shelves, your mind suddenly remembering the maroon book that caught your attention. you hurriedly went to the last shelf, kneeling down to check for the same book you were curious about. you wanted to check it out first and borrow it afterwards, it was really mysterious to you.