Alone Together - Armin x OC

Eight.

I'm outside the door, invite me in so we can go back and play pretend..

~~ About three months later ~~

"I can't do this anymore!" I screamed, nearly ripping my hair out. Armin and I had been having arguments nonstop for the past two weeks over the littlest things, our bedroom was in a state, and I'd just about had it, I couldn't take the arguments anymore, we fought more than we showed each other love. "I love you but if we keep fighting, I will just up and leave!"

"See if I care! All you do is flirt with other guys, so you have your choice of places to go." Armin shouted back, before sitting down on the bed, covering his eyes like a scared child.

Anger bubbled in my belly as I snarled back, "I do not flirt with other guys you liar, I wouldn't stay here if I did."

Armin removed his hands in one quick swipe to reveal watering bloodshot eyes, before shouting back, "I'm a liar?! Well that makes two of us, doesn't it?"

Something inside me snapped at that point, I yelled, "That's it, I'm gone!" I grabbed a rucksack, quickly stuffed it with random pieces of clothes and ran out of our room, out of the blocks of rooms and into the streets, I wanted to scream the houses down and cry until I couldn't feel anything, I felt like I had lost him and myself, I felt like throwing up until I couldn't breathe, I hated him, yet I didn't want to lose him. I walked around the city for a while, until I found the same tree that Armin and I made a tent next to months back. I sat underneath it and took in my surroundings. The sky went from a dark grey day to an even darker night, the only light I had was a tiny candle that I keep for good luck, at the time, I thought I could use some good luck, maybe it will grant me my wish of a happy ever after, the wall was lowly lit by candles dotted around, and the grass was so dark that you wouldn't guess it was green. Then a figure  walked towards me, I assumed it was the last person I wanted to see, so I said, "Go away Armin," with a grimace.

"Who's Armin?" Asked an instantly recognisable voice, it was my brother, Ralph Goman, the walking contradiction, the man of clichés.

"Ralph? Where the hell have you been these past years?" I asked. Ralph replied with a simple 'somewhere' and sat next to me, I rolled my eyes and sighed at his immature antics. I hadn't seen him since we left the trainee squad, and I didn't really know what to say.

We sat there in silence for a while until Ralph opened his egotistical and cocky mouth, "I heard about Mom and Dad. Sucks balls, am I right?"

"Sucks even more when you know you could have saved them." I sniffed, avoiding his stare.

"You could have?"

"I'm not talking about this now, this was months back, I've mourned for them, and I'm not going back to being the mess I was."

"Okay okay, I'll drop it," He said, "So, who's Armin?"

I frowned, "My boyfriend, I just stormed out on him."

He enquired, "Why?"

"Because I was 'flirting with other guys.'" I mocked Armin's whiny tone.

"Were you actually flirting with other guys?"

"All I did was pat one of my best friends on the butt and complimented him! We do it all the time!"

"That's.. Listen, I wouldn't really like my girlfriend doing that, so why not see it from Armin's perspective?"

"He can't take a joke."

"Maybe it didn't look like a joke to him. Does this flirting go both ways?"

"Well, he does compliment me a lot and breaks the touch barrier."

"See, he's probably scared that you'd leave him for that guy. Just apologise and don't do anything like that again."

"I'm not apologising."

"And that's probably another reason why your relationship is in the crapper. You're too stubborn, and you see yourself as perfect."

"No I don't! If anything he sees himself as perfect, and you do too, you're a giant turd who'd rather go missing for years without so much as a goodbye."

"Woah woah woah! What happened to your rage against Armin? Jesus, leave me out of it."

I thought about what Ralph said and it started to make sense, the words that were being repeated in my mind slipped out of my mouth, "He doesn't deserve me."

"Damn right he doesn't... How about you come away with me?"

"Wait what?" I asked, bile rose in my throat as I thought about considering leaving.

"Break up with him, and travel with me." Ralph restated, slowly and clearly like I had hearing problems.

My heart was telling me to go but my head was telling me no, I couldn't decide, so I told Ralph, "I can't do that.. I love him."

"Listen to me Serena. What good have you given him throughout this relationship? You'll be doing him a favour."

The words you'll be doing him a favour ran through my head, for a while my doubt tried to toss it aside, but it was no use, it was true. I had done nothing good to him, I've only given him more stress and nothing else. I lowered my head and muttered, "I guess so." And with that, I stood up, told Ralph where I'd meet him in the morning to go, and left. I had a feeling of cleanliness wash over me, like something was being hidden from me had been revealed. For once, I felt like my life had direction, I walked for a while again until it was morning.

Morning

"Serena!" Armin greeted me as I walked through the door, "where have you been?!" I replied with a simple 'somewhere' and sat both of us down.

"Armin, we need to talk," I uttered with a shaky voice, "I think it's time for us to break up." Armin simply nodded, I knew he would, I know he loved me but he understood why we had to do this, "We're too different and too alike in the wrong ways. We both are insecure and weak, and I'm stubborn and you're a pushover, it's just not going to work out for us." Tears rolled down my cheeks, as I poured out my heart. "I hope you can understand."

"But what are we going to tell the guys, can't we just go back to the way we used to be, or just pretend?" Armin cried, gently grabbing my hand and holding it close to his heart.

I shook my head, "It's not what we are going to tell people, it's what you're going to tell people. It's too late, I'm leaving soon, I don't know where I'm going, or where I'm staying but it's anywhere but here."

Armin spoke with a hard catch in his throat, "So you're just going to call it quits? After everything we've been through?"

"I have to. I'm leaving because you deserve better, and I know you'll find someone prettier, someone smarter and someone that won't leave you stressful and worrying all the time," I blinked hard, trying to stop the tears, "if you love me, let me go."

"Okay Serena.. Just go." So with that, I packed my things and left.