I woke up the next morning to a certain blond body tapping lightly on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked up at him hovering over my face. His bangs hit my forehead and excess side hairs rest on my cheeks. "Y/N, I need to go pee," he whispered. His hot breath skimmed your face. "Then go pee," I replied, oblivious as to why he was asking. "Where? I don't know where to go," he explained. Right, I'd forgotten that he wasn't completely familiar with my house. Most times he'd been there, he'd used the upstairs washroom. He didn't know where the basement washroom was because I'd never showed him. 

I held his humid cheeks and pulled him close for a morning kiss. He must have been in a better mood because he kissed me back. Once we released for air, he looked at me and smiled excitedly. "Feeling better?" I asked playfully. "Yeah, sleep really helped," he said. Thank God he didn't remember the day before. If he remembered, he might never forgive himself for hurting me. I didn't want that. He was in such a good mood and I didn't want to ruin it, so I decided I'd keep it a secret from him. "Good, I'm so glad you're in a better mood," I purred. We got up and I brought him to the bathroom down the hall. "I'm gonna go get dressed," I told him. 

I ran into my room and got undressed quickly. Looking in the mirror, I noticed a huge bruise on my back. There was another on my arm. They hurt pretty bad. I heard Armin open the bathroom door and I began to panic. I needed to hide any evidence of the day before. I put on a big sweatshirt as Armin walked in. "I hope I did that right," said unconfidently, adjusting his shirt.

"Hey, why's this shirt all torn up?"

I forgot about how destructive he'd been to himself.  "Um, I don't know. Maybe you caught it on something?" I lied. "I feel so bad, this was yours," he mumbled. I told him it was fine. He asked me if he could get me a new one and I walked up to him. I held onto the bottom of the shirt and pulled it off, over his head. "I said it's fine," I reminded him, pulling him in for a quick kiss. "We'll get you another, okay? Here..." I continued as I opened my closet. I told him to pick whatever he'd like and that excited him, more than I thought it would. He went to the closet and scavenged through everything. "This!" he exclaimed pulling out a sweatshirt similar to what I was already wearing. "I wanna match with you!" he explained. It was too cute. He slipped on the sweatshirt and looked at himself in the mirror.

"It's not exactly the same but still, close. I like it."

He looked back at me with a smile, then turned around and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I don't look as beautiful as you in it," he whispered. I could feel your face warming up. I liked it when he flirted with me. I thanked him, I snapping out of my flushed state and composing myself. "Oh yeah, I was thinking we could go back to your time after lunch today," I suggested. "That sounds fine," he giggled, flopping down back onto the bed. I wondered why he was in such a pleasant mood. He'd been so sad for the past several days, so it was strange. 

We got back just as everyone was going places for free time. Armin and I walked together, up to my cabin. For lunch, Armin enjoyed some soup, back at my house. We turned, walking down the left pathway towards the Girls' cabins. There were some people walking down past us. "Did you hear? Jean's been getting it on with some girl here," a girl started. "Really? It's probably someone that's really desperate. I mean who'd want to do things with him?" another girl said. "Right? I heard it's for revenge," I heard someone say. 

"On who?"

"I don't know, probably another girl."

"Yeah, probably."

The girls giggled and the conversation faded away behind us. The tension between Armin and I got thicker. Believe me, neither of us wanted to hear that. We knew exactly what it was about. Once we got to my cabin, we ran up the steps and went inside. "Uh Y/N... about that... what the girls said..." Armin muttered. I stopped him, "how about we just don't talk about it, okay?" "Yeah, I was gonna say that," he replied. I plopped myself down on the couch and asked him, "so what do you want to do?" He looked kind of nervous. His demeanor had completely changed from what it was when we were in my time. I was worried about him. "I don't know," he said, "I was thinking of taking a walk."

"Where are we going?"

"Actually, I kind of wanted to go alone. I'm sorry, please don't think I'm upset with you or that I don't like spending time with you. I just need some space away from everyone. I can't remember the last time I've been on my own," he explained, looking down and fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweatshirt. "Is something wrong?" I interrogated, concerned. "No, I just need to think about things," he stated. I stood up and walked over to him.

"That's fine, I understand needing some time to yourself. Where are you planning on going, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I don't know. Probably around the forest near boys' cabins. I know that area best," he said. 

"Alright. Will I see you at dinner?"

"Of course."

I smiled and told him to enjoy himself. I gave him a hug. He smiled at me and walked out. I thought it was a good opportunity to catch up on sleep, so I lay down in my bed and closed my eyes. I wondered what was on his mind.

Armin walked quietly down to the cross paths. The cool wind gently blew through his hair. He tucked some loose strands behind his ear. The truth was, he didn't need to think, he needed to cry. He just didn't want to cry in front of me. Sure, he'd cried in front of me several times before, but he'd felt like it was taking a toll on our relationship. His happiness, that day, was all an act and he didn't want me to know that. He walked up through the main boys' cabin area and down a thin pathway. It wasn't just the girls who had an extra cabin, the boys had one too. He walked past the cabin and into the forest behind it. His feet crushed the fallen leaves below them, destroying their original complexions. He stopped, noticing the sound of someone behind him. There was a second, no, a third pair of footsteps coming from behind him. All of a sudden, Armin turned around and was grabbed.