catalyst ⋆˙⟡ nerd!armin arlert x reader

chapter 24 - a ˚. ᵎᵎˎˊ˗

Armin tried to maintain composure as he sat at his desk, inside his dorm, you across from him, sitting on his bed, texting Sasha about where you were.

The last time a girl was in his room was Annie, and it was under very different pretenses. He never took girls back to his dorm, ever. He didn't know what had gotten into him, but he felt like he was going genuinely insane. 

You had no idea what you were doing to him. 

You were on his bed in that skirt that was driving him crazy, and those cat ears he thought were beyond cute. He had lost the air in his lungs when he saw you at the party, even from across the room, he knew you were going to be the death of him. He would have forced anyone away from you, but it was Reiner who was a lucky surprise. 

You looked around his room, setting your phone on his soft, black duvet. You were intrigued and shocked by his room, which was organized but also cluttered, mostly with anime-related items, including an impressive collection of figures.

It was the first thing you noticed when you walked in, aside from how good it smelled throughout the dorm, a surprise considering two men lived in it; Mikasa trained them well. 

He seemed embarrassed even to have you in his room, which shocked you, seeing as you'd heard so much about him sleeping around, it seemed off that he was so apprehensive about a girl in his room.

Armin failed at masking his nervousness.

Since he fought Reiner, he had been benched for the next week because of it, seeing as Reiner had gone straight to Coach Smith with a broken nose, and Armin and Eren saw no point in lying, they'd kicked his ass. 

Seeing him being weird to you at the party, which he had already expected the second he saw Reiner taking shots, was enough for him to go along with the lie you had come up with, seemingly off the dome. 

Armin didn't mind at all. You saying he was your boyfriend had made his stomach flip in a way he was not expecting, and defending you felt like second nature. He wanted nothing more than to keep you far away from Reiner, and maybe every other man who had any interest in you, which seemed to be everyone. 

You turned heads everywhere without even realizing it, and it drove Armin crazy. 

"So," Armin cleared his throat, and you looked over at him, leaning against the wall, his bed pushed against. He knew you were expecting him to get onto you for lying about the two of you dating, but it couldn't be more opposite. "Annie and Reiner think we're dating."

You nodded, pursing your lips together. "Yeah, again, I'm sorry. I'll explain everything to them tomorrow."

"It's fine, really," Armin insisted. "It's good, actually." You frowned. Armin sighed, exhaling softly. "I know this will sound stupid, but I don't think we should explain it to them."

"Like, tomorrow? Or ever?" You asked, trying to hide your shock. 

"Not tomorrow, but not never," Armin replied. "I think we should keep it up, for a few months, at least."

You let your mouth open slightly, jaw slackened as he spoke. Was he actually agreeing to go along with this?

"Why?" You asked, and Armin gave you a confused look. "What do you gain from this?"

Armin didn't reply, bringing his lips into a straight line, trying to find an answer. The truth was stupid, and he knew you'd never believe it.

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter, you need this."

"Sounds like you might need it more than me," You quipped. "Might I remind you I was ready to tell them the truth?"

Armin found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. He did need this more than you, but he couldn't find the words to tell you exactly why.