to love a liar

black coffee

"She left. How else do you want me to put it?" Eren bluntly stated.

"Wh—where'd she go? You didn't go after her?" Armin quizzed heatedly. "Why'd she leave?"

"I don't know where she went," Eren jabbed, enunciating each word. "I told her it was over and she ran off."

"Over . . ." Armin repeated. "You told her it was over. Why the hell would you do that?"

"What do you want me to tell you, huh?" Eren raised his chin in defiance. "I was sick of her, so I cut it off."

"Huh?" Armin's jaw tightened.

"You want me to spell it out for you or something?" Eren grunted. "Now get out of my way, Armin."

"What's the matter with you—" Armin furiously pressed. "After the shit they said to her—after Lara coming all the way here to ruin everything—you just told her to fuck off?"

"Yes." Boldfaced and no sign of remorse.

"Have you lost your mind?" Armin shoved him.

"Stay out of it," Eren scowled, warning him.

"That girl almost died for you—she's put up with all of your bullshit and when she needed you, you abandon her?"

"I said stay out of it, Armin."

"All her friends turned their backs on her, you don't get to do that too," Armin scolded.

"I don't fucking want her anymore! Don't you get it?" Eren glared back. "I just wanted to get back at her brother."

Armin wasn't sure what came over him. He was never the violent type. Even when he'd get picked on back in grade school, he never wished harm upon the people hurting him. If anything, Eren would come in and take care of that for him.

The fist that pummeled into the side of Eren's face was enough to jolt him back, nearly causing him to stumble over.

Not giving him enough time to recover, Armin moved to land another strike across his face but Eren managed to dodge the attempt. With seamless effort, Eren punched Armin in the side of the jaw. 

Armin wasn't a fighter, they both knew he'd lose.

That didn't seem to bother Eren as much as it should've because he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and began pummeling him, beating his best friend to an absolute pulp.

Armin's choked breaths weren't aiding him at all, nor was Eren offering a singular moment of reprieve. It was just fist after fist. Knuckles as hard as stone colliding with the side of his face. In that moment, he couldn't even recognize that this was his childhood best friend, wailing on him like he was a monster.

"Eren! Stop!" Sasha and Connie's voices blurred into one. They rushed over, pushing Eren off Armin to give the poor boy a moment to recuperate.

Shivers scattered over Eren's body when he met the sight of Sasha crouching down and holding Armin, brushing his hair from his swollen eyes.

Eren's eyes drifted between Armin's half opened eyes to Sasha and Connie's faces. The disgust in their eyes wrung him back to reality and made him take a slow step back. Like they couldn't see a man, only a monster in their midst.

With narrowed eyes, Eren backed away, turning around and leaving through the door. Sasha and Connie shared a look, the former's being lost and confused while the latter's was frustrated and vindictive. Their eyes dropped to Armin, helping their friend up.

"Sasha, take him up to your room. Try calling Y/n again, I'll look around down here," Connie ordered, getting Armin to his feet.

"Do you think Mason is actually here?" her brows pulled together.