whatcha listening to? -armin arlert

seventeen

c/w

alochol use

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As Annie and I lock up the store at the end of the night, I spot Armin on his usual bench across the street, eyes trained on a book in the dim streetlamps. I turn to murmur a goodbye to Annie, only to find her halfway down the sidewalk in a rush to get away from me. I roll my eyes at her absurdity before crossing the street to Armin.

"Hey, thanks for waiting for me." I say as if it's scripted. We follow this short song and dance every Thursday.

"Of course, wouldn't want you to walk home alone." Armin answers, right on cue. "How was work?" He asks as he tucks his book under his arm and pulls his earbuds out.

"It was alright, I got a lot done until Floch came in. But I'm tired of talking about him by now. How was your day?" I reply, falling into step beside Armin as we make our way home.

"It was good, I think my exam went really well. It seemed a bit too easy, so I'm a little skeptical of my grade." He answers, and I playfully roll my eyes at him.

"Stop being silly. It was easy because you studied for eight hours." I say. Everyone seems to think that Armin's intellect comes naturally, and that's certainly a part of it, but his passion and hard work is a lot of it as well. He doesn't get the credit he deserves.

"I guess you're right, but you know me. I always stress about this, even if logically I know I did well." He answers sheepishly, and I giggle lightly.

"With all of your meticulous planning, it's a wonder you don't have scheduled stress times to focus on the rest of your life." I joke, and he chuckles as well.

"That's a great suggestion, I'll have to work that into my routine." Armin jokes back, and a comfortable silence falls over us as we continue our walk without speaking. I look over to him a few times, smiling at the sight of him wrapped up in a hoodie, jacket, scarf, and hat. The way he gets cold easily is adorable to me, and I want nothing more than to take his hand in mine to warm it up.

I start thinking about the day's events, but not as negatively as I had been feeling. Connie and Mikasa's words brought me a great deal of comfort, in dealing with Annie, as well as in my crush on Armin. Getting closer with Mikasa has been such a gift, she's so kind, open, and intelligent. Her endeavor in her psychology degree makes so much sense.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Armin asks as we near the split in the sidewalk that leads to our respective dorms.

"Just grateful for the peace and quiet after today." I reply honestly, looking up to smile at him.

"Understandable after dealing with Floch." He says as we come to a stop at the split between our dorms. "Are we still studying tomorrow?" He asks to change the subject, knowing that I'm fed up with today's events.

"Absolutely." I say, looking up to him with a smile.

"Awesome. I really think that your next math exam is the one we can use to bring your grade up to an A." Armin says excitedly.

"You're more obsessed with my grades than I am." I joke.

"No, I, uh, it just makes me happy to see you succeed." He stutters out, light pink flooding his cheeks.

"Armin, I'm just teasing you." I reply, giggling to myself at his flustered response. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"I'll see you tomorrow." He confirms, smiling and waving at me before we turn away from each other to head home.