Complexity- Armin x Reader

Chapter 24: Dynamics

Hitch stepped away from the blonde. She set her hands on her hips and looked at him expectantly. "Ok, how are we feeling?" She raised a brow at Armin, with the boy's hands now in his pockets.

Slouching, Armin sighed.

"Better? I don't know," he mumbled cluelessly.

"Alright, whatever. But maybe we should have you be the one who's flirting," she suggested. "Pretend I'm Becky."

At that, Armin loosened up. He snickered slightly and stopped as soon as Hitch threw him a look.

"Is there a problem, Blondie?"

Armin, smiling, shook his head.

"No, sorry, sorry. It's just that the two of you are so fundamentally different," he said with a laugh. "I can't imagine you being her."

"Well, that's because I haven't gotten into character!" Hitch assured the boy. She cleared her throat and spoke words that seemed unnatural.

"Hey, Min— she calls you Min, right?" Hitch asked. Armin blushed and nodded. The girl continued.

"Hey, Min. Are you excited about the new Star Wars movie? I can't wait to go see it and then take detailed notes on it-"

"Oh my God." Armin burst out laughing and he covered his mouth. "I can't do this. She would never do or say that!" He turned away from the girl and walked ahead, stifling some more laughs. "C'mon, Hitch. Let's just go." He followed the path home and the girl gaped. She scurried to catch up to the boy.

"Who's Hitch? I'm Becky!" she called out.

"Just stop."

"Quitter!"

"No, I just can't handle this."

"Exactly, that's quitter talk!"

Armin chuckled dryly and stopped on the sidewalk once again. He turned to Hitch and sighed.

"Fine, but I'm not doing that again. It felt weird. Can't you just teach me phrases?"

Hitch looked at the boy in disbelief.

"You can't just memorize things!" she exclaimed fervently. "You have to improvise. Flirting is an art, you know." She looked wistful saying this, which made Armin think that she wasn't joking.

The boy drummed his fingers nervously against the denim fabric of his pants, and he nodded. He knew Hitch was only trying to help, but he found this whole situation to be overwhelming. He wondered to himself how exactly the girl could whip him into shape in regards to having prowess in the field of flirting.

"I'm scared," he admitted.

"Just don't be," Hitch said in a flat tone, as if it were that simple.

Armin frowned and heaved a sigh of annoyance.

"Well, we can't all be as confident as you!" he took on a slight tone with Hitch, and the girl only smirked at him, getting closer and looking him in the eyes.

"You're hot when you're mad."

Armin shut his mouth and blushed. His lips went taut as he huffed and quickly turned away from Hitch. He walked ahead of the girl, not looking back at the grin he knew the girl was throwing at him.

"Has anyone ever called you out on your blunt attitude?" He asked indignantly. 

Hitch only chuckled and glided over to Armin, coming to a halt right in front of him and stopping him in his tracks.

"Marlowe has," she said lightly. "Right after I called him cute at swim practice."

The girl's smile was smug, and Armin only frowned, walking past her. He ignored how Hitch had her eyes on him, as if the boy were a new project for her to tinker with. The only thing he wanted from her was advice, and advice only. He wasn't looking for anything else. Definitely not her flirting.

"Hitch, you can flirt all you want with Marlowe, but just don't do that with me, ok?"

The girl pouted.

"You're such a grouch! What happened to the sweet, shy boy from, like, 20 minutes ago?"

"I'm not trying to be a grouch, I just feel weird having you say stuff like that to me so casually," he admitted. "It's...disingenuous. At least that's how I see it," Armin said simply.

"How so?" Hitch tested.

"Because, it sort of seems like you like Marlowe and no one else." Armin said with directness as he gave the girl a side glance.

Hitch gasped, stunned, and began to deny what she viewed as being a baseless accusation.

"I do not!" she said as she stuck her nose up and looked away from Armin. "He may be cute, but I hate his stupid hair and his stupid abs and his stupid up-the-butt attitude!"

Armin grinned to himself, and for the first time ever, teased Hitch.

"That's weird, because earlier, weren't you saying nice things about him? Like how he's a cool guy and how sweet he is?" Armin asked slyly and Hitch got riled up.

"Ugh, I meant that in a friendly way!" the girl very subtly flushed and glared at Armin, who chuckled.

"You also got a dreamy look on your face when you were talking about him-"

"Armin, keep talking, and I'll tell Becky that you're actually an asshole," the girl threatened.

"Joke's on you, 'cause she already knows I am one." Armin laughed and Hitch rolled her eyes.

"Just shut up and learn how to flirt, ya loser."

"Hey! That's uncalled for!"

The two bantered the rest of the way home, and Armin loosened up upon figuring out that Hitch might have (or definitely has) a crush on Marlowe.

The girl tried her best to prepare the boy, and within the next few weeks, Armin felt a bit better about approaching Y/n in a different manner.

His gradual attempts at flirting were amateur, pedestrian. He would often find himself covering up his intentions and playing it off.

"Hey, Y/n, you look p-pretty today," he had told the girl one day with a blush on his face.

The girl, in paint-riddled blue overalls and a baseball cap on her head stammered in surprise.

"I-I do?" she asked skeptically.

"Y-Yeah."

"Armin, how are you gonna tell me that after I walked out of art class with paint all over my hands, and somehow, my face?" Y/n asked with a nervous chuckle.

"I think it's... it's c-cute," Armin had responded meekly.

Y/n steadily went even redder. In a wavering voice, she clutched the binder in her arms and looked sheepishly at the ground. She questioned Armin and his sudden comments.

"Wh-What's gotten into you today?"

"I just wanted to be nice," he had offered in response.

Y/n covered her warm face and slightly smiled.

"If you keep saying that kind of stuff, I'll start to think that you're flirting with me," she mumbled shyly, echoing what Armin had said to her weeks ago in his bedroom.

Armin's heart raced as he felt a surge of anxiousness spring up into his chest. He retreated.

"Th-They're just compliments!" He clarified.

Y/n laughed skittishly.

"I-I know, dummy. I'm just teasing you like you did to me last time."

The two would have exchanges like this for weeks on end, with the both of them walking on eggshells as they danced around their true intentions behind the compliments and the praise.

They were at a stalemate, it seemed, and unfortunately for them, they were both just as thick-skulled as the other,

with their lack of awareness lasting them for months.