Hidden Fantasy (Eren x Reader)

Prologue

"Under the Willow Tree"

__________

"Why are you alone?"

You took your gaze off the concrete ground, and looked up to see a pair of green eyes staring back into yours. 

"No reason," you finally decided to say, as you mumbled. "I'd rather be -"

"Huh?!" the boy interrupted abruptly. "I can't hear you, you're too quiet," he teased, pulling a cupped hand to his ear, brushing the soft brown hair on his sides.

"I said, I'd rather be alone," you huffed in annoyance. Dang it, leave already,  you thought to yourself. You drew circles on the dirt next to you to distract yourself from the uneasy atmosphere between you and the stranger. 

But he didn't say a word. Instead, he plopped down next to you, and you heard a little cling. 

A key?  you thought to yourself. You glanced over at his belt, but there was nothing. It was empty. Where could he be-

"Is it 'cause you're lonely?" he blatantly interrogated, breaking the silence. Your eyes widened out of shock as they snapped back to his. His face was sincere, but it bothered you for some reason. Why would he ask such a ridiculous thing? I mean, it was true you were lonely, you had only two people you really conversed outside of your school. But even if it was true, why would he ask anyways?

"So what if I am?" you sneered, trying to put up an unbothered front. "It's not like I need friends anyways." Dang it. I said the wrong thing. Now you seem like a typical wannabe-emo middle schooler! Stupid Y/N!

He was too direct for your liking, and you felt like he could easily read every face you made. You finally peered your eyes over to his, afraid of his response. 

But what you saw wasn't what you expected at all. The boy's eyes were as clear as daylight, and his eyebrows were raised ever so slightly so that he looked taken aback by the way you responded to him. 

"I never said it was bad to be lonely. I'm actually wanting to be alone right now. I'm avoiding my two best friends because they're annoying the hell outta me." He shifted his weight to his hands, and opened up his body to the sky with his legs stretched out in front of him. His emerald eyes longingly glazed over the clouds, past the tree leaves you two sat under. "I think sometimes, we're probably better off not being around anyone. I mean, it's not like we're really alone. We have ourselves to talk to, right?" the boy joked, letting out a slight chuckle. 

"Ye- yeah, you're not wrong I guess," you agreed as you wiped your face your hand. Who is this boy? And why did he turn into some philosophical bozo out of nowhere when he's barely in seventh grade? Who the heck taught him to talk like that? 

The bell shrieked a loud RIIIIIING, signaling lunchtime was over. The other kids started throwing their lunch away in the trash, and some started feeding their leftovers to the birds on campus. You've seen this scene every day since the school year started, but why did everything seem so colorful?

"I'm Eren. Eren Jeager," he announced as his hand extended out to you. "What's your name?"

Without a second thought, you latched on to his hand and he helped you stand up. "Y/N, Y/N L/N." He gave you another one of those stupidly soft faces, this time it was a smile, and patted the back of his pants to take off the dirt. 

Is this the beginning of my first official friendship?  You watched as he strolled away from you, your mouth gaped just a bit.  

"Oi, what class you got?" he called out to you. You snapped back to reality.

You answered, "Honors Eldian History," closing the distance between you and him. "You?"

"Eh," he whined, "I got English now, but to be honest I really suck."

You giggled, readjusting your backpack, when suddenly, your eyes widened. "Um, where's your backpack?"

His face paled, and his body stiffened in the blink of an eye.

"Oh no," he wailed and started to jog. "Y/N come with me before Mikasa walks into class with two backpacks again!"

"Mikasa?" you asked, as you picked up pace.

"One of the best friends I've been trying to avoid!" he bawled out again, his eyebrows creased so close together he looked like he was about to cry in pain. "She really annoys me sometimes and so does Armin, but hey, at least I can talk to you now!"

Armin? Mikasa?  Well, it didn't matter. Whoever those people were, they're probably great like Eren. 

And just like that, with not a happier thought within your head, you took off with a smile as you and the boy escaped together from under the willow tree.