I noticed that Eren had found Armin. I knew this because I saw them sitting together at dinner, later that day. Armin looked like the life was drained out of him and it was all because of me. I felt horrible and assumed that I probably didn't have a friend anymore. I felt so low that I decided to go to bed early that night. I ran straight to my cabin after I had my dinner. I didn't say a word to anyone. I just minded my own business and stayed out of everyone's way. After all, that's how things were when I first arrived there.

I absolutely did not want to go to class the next day. I wanted to avoid Armin at all costs. I did not want to make this worse for him or for myself. I thought about faking sick the next day but I figured that I would be called out for it. For once, I actually didn't want the attention, not that I've ever really been an attention whore. I felt like my stomach was a pit of despair and guilt was just swirling around in my head. I was not quite sure about what wrong I had done to Armin but I still felt horrible for it. I passed out quickly that night. I slipped into a deep sleep.

***

All of a sudden, I woke up. I sat up, startled, not understanding what had woken me up. From what I could tell based on the dimness of the room, it was nighttime. I then heard a loud knock at my cabin door. I reached down underneath my bed and pulled out my pocket watch. It read '11:30pm'. I wondered who was at my door this late at night. Then, there was another series of knocks. I got up off of my bed and groaned dramatically. I emphasized the frustration I felt due to having to get up from my slumber, hoping the person outside would understand my irritation. I opened the door and to my surprise it was Armin. This was not just some normal visit of his, something seemed off. Well, something was off besides the fact that he was visiting so late. I could vaguely see that he was covered in wet mud and dirt, crying.

"I didn't know where else to go," he whimpered, voice cracking, and tears pouring down his face. I felt a sudden jolt of energy rising from within me. "Oh my goodness, come inside," I said as I used my hand on his back to guide him through my doorway. During this moment, it felt as if I should have panicked, but I didn't. He walked inside, still crying. I closed the door and faced him. He tried to wipe away his tears but he just got mud all over his face, which made him cry harder. His crying stressed me out immensely. "What happened?" I asked as I sat down on my bed. "I needed some time..." he said as he hyperventilated, making it sound like he was having a panic attack. "S-Some time to myself so... so I left m-m-my cabin..." he began to tremble.

"J-Jean was awake s-so he followed me... and pushed me into the mud... I went back to the cabin but he locked me out."

Armin began to bawl louder after saying this. I could tell that what Jean had done had really upset him. "I really didn't know where to go, I'm so sorry," he finished. He was an absolute mess. Clear beads of sweat and tears ran down his face. And to complement it all, there was mud- everywhere, including all over his beautiful blond locks. "My family is out of town so they won't be at home," I told him. "Do you want to come to my house and have a bath?" I asked as I began to get up and walk towards him. "Mmhm," he hummed in approval. He sniffled a bit and stopped crying. "Yes, I would like to very much," he chuckled calmly as he began to smile warmly. "Okay, well you can't trail mud through the house, so I need your clothes. Just put them in a bag and I'll wash them when we get there," I ordered, beginning to scavenge through my baggage to find a plastic bag.

"M-My clothes? No way. I don't want to be... naked," he muttered under his breath, shamefaced. "Well, there's no choice. You can keep your underwear on but the rest is going to get mud everywhere if you don't take them off," I informed him. "I can keep my what?" He asked. That's right, they did not even have underwear in this time. I remembered reading that underwear was invented in the 1800s.

"I'll just give you a towel to wrap around your waist".

He covered his face with his hands and I walked over to him. I pulled his hands off of his face and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"Armin, I'm not trying to make a move on you, I'm only trying to help."

I smiled gently and he looked at his feet to avoid further eye contact. It took a lot of convincing, but Armin finally agreed to cooperate. "Fine, but please don't look at me," he begged. "Okay, just let me get you a bag and a towel," I said as a began to rummage through my luggage again.

Finally, I found what I needed. I stood up, turned around, and faced Armin who was standing awkwardly in the center of my cabin. I opened the bag and held it out in front of him. He was hesitant but he slowly started to strip down. He took off his shirt and put it into the bag. A tear then ran down his face. "Armin, if you don't want to do this I'm not forcing you to," I reminded him, feeling bad for what I had just done. He sniffled then said, "n-no, it's fine." He proceeded to take off his shoes and, lastly, his pants. He then put them into the bag. I tied the plastic grocery bag up and looked at him. "You said you wouldn't look!" he yelled at me, grabbing the towel from my hands in a panic.

"Why can't I look at you?" I questioned as he wrapped the towel around his waist. "I'm naked!" he exclaimed. "Whatever, anyway, let's just go. Here," I uttered, holding out my hand before him. He gently grabbed it and I used my other unoccupied hand to open a portal.