Hello again queens~ how have y'all been? Ready for the cliffhanger to be resolved?

Since last week's update was so late, I decided to post early today. 

Also, if anyone has any Eren/Jean/etc headcanons, I'm super bored rn so feel free to comment.

Hope you enjoy! ❤️❤️❤️ Love u all, Muah~

Eren's POV:

"Fuck me," I cursed, reading (Y/N)'s text about a blue stain. How could I not have realized that I had given her that blanket? Then again... how the hell did she even find the stain in the first place? It was so tiny that it was barely noticeable.

Oh well... Too late to wonder about it now.

I texted her back nonchalantly, changing the subject to Levi and his obsessive cleaning disorder. Usually, that was a safe bet. A few minutes passed without a response. I knew she was waiting for me to say more. Does that mean she knows what's on the blanket?

I frantically began typing back: What did it say? I almost clicked send before I realized my mistake.

"You moron," Armin criticized, leaning over my shoulder to get a good look at my phone. "If you send that she'll be suspicious."

I was sitting on the floor, leaning against my bed while Armin was lying face-down on my mattress, head lifted with a disappointed air. After receiving my first text from (Y/N) tonight, I filled Armin in on what specifically was on the blanket and the many potential problems it could expose. I was grateful that I did, because I had run out of ideas. I looked over at Armin dumbly and he rolled his eyes.

"Eren, stains aren't usually made up of letters. If you immediately ask that, she'll know that you know there's something important written there."

"Oh..." I nodded. "So, what should I say?"

"Hm..." Armin dropped his face back onto the bed. "Say: 'But, thank you for cleaning it.' It's simple, to the point, and should end the conversation nicely," his voice was muffled by the blankets.

I started typing his message before stopping myself midway: "But, Armin," I countered, "I don't want the conversation to end. I want to know if she knows what it said."

"What good will that do you?" he said, picking up his head again so I could hear him clearly.

"Probably none," I said reasonably, "but— I still want to know what she thinks. I don't want her drawing unnecessary conclusions about me."

"Why?" Armin asked.

I ignored him. He sighed loudly— I had never seen him so openly irritated. I guess he doesn't want to waste his energy on meaningless stuff like this, I figured.

My failure to answer made Armin keep talking. "Fine. If you want to do things that way, then ask if the stain was hard to get out. Maybe that will give you clues as to what happened."

I nodded appreciatively and finally responded to (Y/N).

"Cool. And now, we wait," I said, dropping my phone on the floor. It buzzed right after I sent my message. I snatched it up eagerly to see (Y/N)'s response: "Awww..." I groaned.

"What?" Armin asked.

"I have to work tomorrow!" I flopped onto the ground.

"Isn't tomorrow Friday?"

"Yeah, but I guess one of my coworkers cancelled last minute..."

"That sucks."

(Y/N)'s POV:

I opened my phone and read Eren's message:

—————————————————

xxx-xxx-xxxx

who are u? Levi??

but thank you anyway— was it hard to get out?

—————————————————

"What kind of question is that?" I mumbled to myself. Jean turned over in his sleep. I shut my mouth tightly— I did not want him to know anything about this.

—————————————————

me

I wasn't able to get it out actually.

Sry.

—————————————————

I chewed my lip in frustration, wondering if I should text more.

I can't leave it at that, I thought. Otherwise, I won't be able to get any more out of him. I did my best to repair the damage and continue the conversation:

—————————————————

me

I gave up pretty quickly tho.

Once I realized the stain was made up of words I wasn't sure if u wanted them out.

————————————————

It was a conspicuous and weak attempt, but Eren would probably be too dense to realize anyway.

Eren's POV:

I read (Y/N)'s text and panicked. I heard Armin sigh behind me.

"Is she even trying anymore?" Armin asked annoyedly. I raised an eyebrow. "She's baiting you. It's so obvious." When my look of confusion didn't disappear, Armin continued, "(Y/N) wants you to admit that you know what's on the blanket."

"So what?" I asked frantically. "That doesn't change anything. I have no idea how to answer this without giving anything away."

Armin threw his head down onto the bed and screamed into the mattress. "All of this over a stupid blanket?!" He cried irritatedly.

Damn. I've never seen him like this before. I inched a bit further away from my bed— and Armin.

"Just act like you have no idea what she's talking about," Armin waved his hand away. "She has to give up sometime."

"But then we won't know—"

"—Eren," Armin cut me off. "I think we know everything already. She probably figured out what those words said and, depending on how obsessive she is, she may have made the definitive connection that it was you who wrote it. There's no need to push it."

"How would her answer be definitive?"

"If she kept the letter you wrote to her many months ago, (Y/N) could use it to see if the fonts match."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Huh. I would have never thought of that."

"Of course not," Armin stated matter-of-factly. "But I'm sure she did. So, you have two options—" Armin raised a finger. "One, admit that you know what she's talking about and let it go from there, or—" he raised another finger, "deny, deny, deny. Make her do the work if she wants you to confess. Either way, one of you will have to confront it."

"What if neither of us confronts it?" I asked.

"Lack of confrontation is also a form of confrontation."

I didn't bother to ask what Armin meant by that. Instead, I tried to formulate a response for (Y/N).

(Y/N)'s POV:

—————————————————

xxx-xxx-xxxx

??

—————————————————

Very articulate, Eren, I commented sarcastically in my head. It looked like he wasn't going to confess. That, or he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.

I mean, ink can bleed pretty easily... Maybe he just didn't notice it, I reasoned. Still, though...

I wanted information. I wasn't sure why, but I had to know who he was writing to, if there was anyone. Against my better reasoning, I decided to keep pushing him on the subject. I wouldn't, however, admit that I knew it was his handwriting.

Perhaps he'll cave under the pressure of this...

—————————————————

me

It says 'I love you'

On the blanket

—————————————————

xxx-xxx-xxxx

what

—————————————————

"Just admit it already!!" I yelled.

Jean jumped awake beside me. "Admit what?" he asked tiredly.

"I— uh... nothing. I was talking about the movie. The main character has this big secret that he won't tell anybody, and I'm just really over it, so I want him to admit it."

Jean turned his attention towards the TV that was playing softly in the background. "I don't remember anyone in Mad Max: Killer Road having to keep a big secret."

My face paled, "I— uh..."

Jean pursed his lips and looked at me, his jawline carved out perfectly by the dim light. "What's going on?"

I bowed my head in defeat. I was cornered. I knew that if I lied again, Jean would be irritated. He'd probably lose trust in me quickly after— and that was not something I was willing to risk. I breathed in deeply and the words spilled out of my mouth:

"Eren let me borrow this blanket he used for work because it was cold outside and I didn't have a jacket and when I came home I left it behind the bushes because I didn't want anyone to see it and when I took it out it was dirty so I decided to clean it and when I cleaned the blanket I realized it said 'I love you' in Eren's handwriting and I want to know what it means but Eren won't tell me."

Jean raised his eyebrows, trying to process what I had just said. "Punctuation would have been nice," he commented. "You said that a little quickly."

I stared at the floor, avoiding his gaze. Man, he must be so angry right now. I bet he's going to ask why I care. I have no idea what to say to that!

"Why won't he tell you?" Jean asked inquisitively.

"I—" I paused in shock. I was not expecting that response from him. "I don't know."

"That's sus," Jean said, pushing himself off of the pillows and leaning over to see my phone. "Does he have a girlfriend now or something?" His eyes widened slightly in terror. "Do you think it's Mikasa?"

"No. Why would he write Mikasa a letter? They live in the same house."

"Romantic flare," Jean reasoned. "So, who is it, then?"

"No idea," I replied, staring at my phone, pondering my next move.

"That would be a shame if he did have a girlfriend," Jean said absentmindedly, biting his cheek.

I snapped my head up. "What? Why?"

"Because I hate to see Eren happy," he said, looking at the TV. "Plus, you like him."

I stared at his profile, my eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Jean tilted his head back and met my vision cooly. I wasn't sure how to respond.

"It's okay," he said. "I don't care anymore. I hate both of you equally. It only makes sense for you to be together."

I still couldn't find the words to answer him. That couldn't be true, right?

"I'm kidding," Jean said after reading my mortified expression. "Mostly. I don't hate you... as of now. Anyway, you should probably text back. It's been a few minutes now, so you look a bit suspicious."

I snapped out of my trance and focused on the matter at hand. "What do I say?" I asked desperately.

"Just be honest. You said it's in his handwriting, right?"

I nodded.

"Repeat yourself." he paused. "But, don't say why. Don't mention that you know it's in his handwriting either. Use that as a last resort."

"Okay," I started typing obediently, terrified to meet Jean's eyes again.