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Anyone who understood me well enough knew that it was pretty unusual for me to be attending a Christmas party.
Okay, so maybe it was kind of unusual for me to be attending a party, full stop. I was usually pretty busy with school and it was just the kind of environment that screamed chaos at tenfold. And chaos, all in all, was definitely not my scene. One thing’s for certain though, I definitely wouldn’t have shown up if Eren hadn’t made the extra effort to drag me over here himself.
And not to say that I hated parties or anything, there was just a lot of stuff involved that lets say, wasn’t really within my league of expertise. But I think the biggest understatement of the century would be to say that I felt extremely out of place and uncomfortable in this situation. Especially with all the really unfamiliar faces and the lingering smell of booze and cigarettes littering the Jaeger house up until it felt almost entirely foreign. The only thing that really kept me completely grounded at this point was the familiarity of Eren’s lounge, a comfort I found practically impossible not to indulge in.
The music gave me a headache almost as soon as I’d walked into the house and though I only lived right across the street, I didn’t want to rush out and make a complete ass of myself like I did at every other so-called ‘special’ occasion, regardless of the school work that was piling up at my desk back home. Eren had told me to socialise and I guess I didn’t really have a choice this time around unless I wanted to keep wandering around like a complete numpty. Though, when worst came to worst and I grew tired of the unbearable screaming and the thumping of the music, I decided to advocate my search for sanctuary.
I slipped past a couple of people on my way out of the crowd standing around in the hall and narrowly dodged a tall brunette in bright purple heels that stumbled over the Christmas lights in the doorway. This was not going to go well.
The initial plan was to walk around a little (unnoticeably, I may add), have one or two drinks to clear my thoughts and then sit somewhere until I passed out, but after being forced into the crowded living room for one hour straight with all the dancing and the drinking, I figured I might have missed a step somewhere a quarter way through my internal monologue. It was time to take matters into my own hands.
“Ugh!”
I heaved the couch away from the wall and Annie shot me a strange look from where she was lurking in the corner, gingerly sipping at the can of beer she’d been nursing for twenty odd minutes. She shot me confused glances every few seconds but as ridiculous as it seemed, this was probably the only place people wouldn’t come looking for me. And by people I mean Eren, in particular.
“You really think this is gonna work out?” Annie deadpanned and I shrugged.
“Well, no,” I sighed, slipping into the small space I had created before kicking the couch in a poor attempt to widen the gap between the furniture and the wall, “But I really don’t want to go back out there, the smell is making me feel sick.”
Her eyes flickered towards the door and I stopped to breathe. Was the couch really this heavy? Maybe I was just getting weaker, “You can go if you want,” I continued, “I’m sorry for dragging you in here.”
Annie just sighed quietly like she usually did in response to something stupid and walked over to where I was standing before pulling me in for a hug, “Just make sure you say goodbye when you leave,” she mumbled into my sweater, “I’m going back out of town to see Reiner and Bertholdt next week.”
“Ugh, again? When will you be back?”
“Who knows, things are always pretty hectic over there. You have a good night though, alright?”
I nodded and she let go, sending me a short wave over her shoulder before heading out into the empty hallway. I sunk back against the wall and my weight pushed the couch forward, allowing me to swivel around and press my back up against the flat side. I crept towards the worn, green curtains and did my best to push them into the empty space between that and the wall so that if someone did start looking around, they wouldn’t be able to see me from the side, only above. When that was sorted I finally sat back against the couch again, crossing my legs uncomfortably.
What now?
I picked at a hole in my jeans for a short while, the material coming away easily and leaving a patch of wiry thread sticking out. I even looked like a total loser, why the hell did I agree to this again?
I could hear talking now from outside of the room and I couldn’t help but sigh a little when I heard Eren’s voice out in the hallway, calling my name repeatedly. I felt like a bit of a jerk for doing this but the last time I had seen him he’d asked me to dance with him and Mikasa and that was way, way too far out of my comfort zone. This was just like high school all over again. Eren and Mikasa would be out in the crowd talking to people and I’d be in the bathroom or just anywhere else that could be considered a graveyard for those cool and socially adequate, geez. Just another couple of years, Armin. Yeah, more like the rest of my life, no doubt.
The skin under my fingernails turned red because of the picking and I sucked one of them into my mouth, trying to soothe the throbbing pain.
People were singing Christmas carols in the next room and it reminded me that I still hadn’t found time to buy anything for Eren and Mikasa. It usually didn’t take long to figure something out but a lot of thought always went into their gifts whereas mine were always sort of mediocre at best.
Great, now I felt even worse.
Maybe I should write a book called ‘how to be a crappy friend 101.’
Do other people even talk to themselves like this? Because right now I felt like a complete and utter nutjob.
I suddenly heard footsteps to the side of me and immediately froze in place, stilling my breathing as best as I could. Oh my god. Please don’t see me, please don’t see me.
There was rustling and quickly whipped my head around to face the curtains. If it was Eren I’d have no choice but to go back out there. Oh man, it was definitely Eren. Maybe I should have just left and snuck out while he wasn’t looking, then I’d be at home with my books and my TV and no one would bother me or force me to dance ever again.
The sound stopped a second later and I relaxed and took a deep breath. The window might be open, it was probably the wind. I could still hear conversations from further away, most likely beside the door or in the hallway, since people didn’t usually frequent empty rooms at parties, did they?
Did they!?
I held back a scream as I was pushed back against the carpet, banging my elbow hard against the wall, “Ow--!”
“Shit! What the hell are you doing back here!?”
I didn’t recognize the voice. It was deep and laced with what was most likely annoyance. I frowned and glanced up at the person that was practically lying on top of me.
Oh.
“I could be asking you the same question,” I replied as calmly as I could manage. How did he even find this place!? I brushed my bangs out of my eyes and matched his piercing stare.
“I asked you first,” he bit back and I swore that I recognized him from somewhere.
The guy was unfairly good looking and the observation may have made me even a little bit more upset. Because by good looking I meant really good looking, with a strong jaw and weird two-toned colored hair that worked but also kind of hurt to look at. His eyes were a tawny mix of amber and brown and I did my best to tear away from his gaze and compose myself while he worked his way off of me.
God, Armin. Say something! Anything!
“Well, I was here first,” I replied rather triumphantly and he groaned, resting the back of his head against the couch before sending another glance in my direction.
Okay, so maybe that didn’t work.
It didn’t look like he was going to reply so when he finally spoke I repressed a jolt. He sighed as if speaking to me was a huge effort in itself, “I’m hiding.”
“From who?” I shot back immediately.
He paused and I awaited his answer patiently. He was definitely familiar and the situation was rather uncanny. Both of us hiding from someone in exactly the same place.
I mean, this was the kind of cliché stuff that happened in movies, right? Like guy meets girl, minus the girl part, obviously. He definitely looked like he could be some sort of actor or maybe even a model, well, if he were charismatic enough in the least - which obviously he wasn’t, going by the fact that he didn’t even apologize for running into me. The vibe he gave off made him appear totally arrogant to the boot.
He narrowed his eyes and I immediately felt embarrassed for checking him out. I didn’t even know him, geez. What if he was a creep or a homophobe or something? I mean, I couldn’t just rule that out. I had definitely seen his face somewhere before. No, Eren surely wouldn’t invite someone like that to his party.
He suddenly jerked upright and I flinched, not expecting his stance to change so suddenly, “Hey, I know you!”
He does?
“You do?”
He grinned, looking sure of himself. Oh lord help me, he had a really nice smile, “Yeah, you’re Aaron, right?”
Wrong.
“We’ve met before, somewhere…And I think I’ve seen you on Facebook - Wait, no that sounds really creepy.”
I rose my eyebrows in disbelief.
“-It’s not like I stalk your page or anything like that I just-”
“It’s Armin, actually,” I replied, feeling slightly insulted now. Jerky attitude, weird hair. How could I forget, “And you’re John, right?”
It was the name of the guy I knew Eren fought with sometimes and it didn‘t take very long for me to connect the dots. Unless he really was someone else. If he was then assuming he were friends with Eren it was sure to offend him. I mean, why else would he be here? Oh god, he definitely had to be friends with Eren to be here. There was even a guest list for crying out loud!
“It’s Jean, actually,” he replied, breaking my train of thought.
My response could only be described as something halfway between a laugh and a squeak and I stared back down at my fingers again, feeling more than a little embarrassed. Oh my god, his name is Jean. His name is Jean and oh man, he is super hot.
This definitely can’t be the guy Eren always mouths off about.
Right?
He was silently leaning back against the couch and I glanced over at him, trying to muster up the courage to ask him again why he was still sitting back here with me. I mean, he didn’t seem like a total ass but he wasn’t exactly polite. Anyone else would have probably told me to scram or left to find somewhere else to hide when they realized I was there but this guy just didn’t seem to give a damn in the slightest.
Surely someone like him would have better company.
“Well,” I said, finally breaking the silence, “Jean. You still haven’t answered my question.”
“And what was your question again?” he replied tonelessly.
I forced down the urge to roll my eyes, “Who are you hiding from?”
He paused, eyes raking over my face for a moment while I sat back, fiddling with my fingers again. He seemed to be taking in my appearance and I covered the hole I had picked in my jeans self-consciously when I saw his face screw up in distaste. After another minute of scrutiny he finally sighed and turned away.
“It’s kind of a funny situation.”
“I’m listening,” I replied without hesitation, genuinely curious.
He looked frustrated but that expression eased quickly and was replaced with something adjacent to surprise. He turned to face me properly and I was caught off guard, still trying to understand his mannerisms.
“Well, I’m not really supposed to be here, if you really want to know that badly.”
His words weren’t condescending and that helped me relax, “Right…”
“And showing up uninvited to a party isn’t really the best way to make amends with it’s host so…” he trailed off, though the rest was self explanatory.
“I’m hiding from Eren too,” I replied, grinning back at him when his eyebrows rose expectantly, “I can’t dance for shit.”
He shot me a small smile back that looked somewhat sympathetic, “Gotcha.”
“So about the facebook thing-”
“Oh my god, please don’t.”
“Okay, okay,” I held my hands up in surrender and peeked over the top of the couch. I enjoyed talking but a large part of me still wanted to bolt out of here as quickly as possible before Eren caught me. There was no way I was sleeping over tonight, I had to get back to my history project.
Jean’s gaze was sharp and I felt my face heat up as he watched me sit back down, “New topic. If we’ve met, how come I don’t remember you? I mean, if I had seen that ridiculous haircut once, I don‘t think it‘s something I would have forgotten about.”
He scoffed, looking mildly offended as he reached back to rub the back of his neck, “Hey, hey, this shit is pretty popular with the ladies, alright? And you remembered my name, kind of… That’s something.”
“I guess it is,“ I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I hadn’t known who he was when clearly he had recognized me. I ran a hand through my fringe in frustration. I really wanted to get out of here.
He was still staring and I felt uncomfortable. Why was he looking at me like that? Was there something on my face? “What?”
“Nothing,” he answered quickly, stretching his legs out and propping his feet up against the wall. He looked embarrassed for a second before speaking again, “You’re kind of odd.”
I frowned, “Says the guy hiding behind a sofa.”
“You’re hiding too!” he sniped playfully back.
“Yeah, but at least my reason is actually a good one,” I said, rolling my eyes when he had the decency to look peeved off, “I can’t believe you showed up to a party you weren’t invited to just to sneak around behind pieces of furniture the whole time.”
“Well excuse me from trying to avoid a death sentence,” he snickered, “Eren isn’t exactly a passive guy.”
“Pfft, you’re telling me,” I sighed, thinking back on the short battle we had on the way here. In the end he had just lifted me over his shoulder to carry me next door and I sulked all throughout the time he spent putting up Christmas lights in the living room, “I mean, Eren’s my best friend and all, but I was pretty much dragged here against my will. Mikasa tried to put a stop to it all but alas, it was too late.”
He rose an eyebrow, “You know Mikasa too?”
I was a little put out for a second but the feeling ebbed away quickly. I wanted to scold him because of course I knew Mikasa, she was my best friend! How long had he even known them and why hadn’t she and Eren told me about this guy? I forced another smile and traced a pattern on the carpet with my finger.
“Am I the only one in my group of friends that hasn’t been introduced to you yet?” I said, glancing down, “Like geez, you showed up out of nowhere, huh?”
“I actually met Eren and Mikasa a long time ago,” he drawled, and I looked up. Maybe I’d get my answer after all, “It’s kind of a funny story actually…”
“Do tell.”
He grinned, “So…you know Annie, right? Annie Leonhardt?”
I wanted to ask how he knew her but I just nodded in response, opting to stay quiet and listen to his story.
“Well, to set the scene for you, we all met at her thirteenth birthday and things got,” he looked away for a second, trying to think of the right word, “kind of messy.”
“Messy how?” I replied, raising both eyebrows in confusion.
“Messy as in Eren dumped a whole cake over my head.”
I snorted and quickly covered my mouth with my hand. Oh my god. He was definitely that ‘John.’
“I’m sorry,” I giggled and he scowled at my reaction, “Did I hear you correctly when you said that Eren dumped an entire cake over your head?”
“It wasn’t funny at the time, okay!” he shot back, frown turning into a small smile that seemed to sit so nicely on his face, “We were both twelve and that shit was pretty traumatic!”
“Okay, okay,” I replied, still laughing softly as I rest the back of my head against the couch to match his position, “So how did this whole thing escalate to get to that point?”
“Well, I was just hanging around, minding my own business like a good kid does ya’ know?” he started and I shook my head jokingly in disbelief, “and then suddenly I see this smoking hot chick like 'woah, man this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, go get her! Is what I tell myself in my head-'”
I was full on laughing now and he stopped mid story, amusement crossing his own features when my fingers curled around my mouth to hide my smile, “Go on…”
“So I go up to her, and this little twerp who looked about a foot shorter than me and had the bushiest eyebrows I’ve ever seen in my life- jumps me! Just as I’m about to lay down my best pick up line. Then he says something like 'hey don’t go macking on her with your dirty animal germs, creepazoid, you hear me!'”
“Yup, that sounds about right.”
“So we get into this ridiculous fight and things got pretty intense and soon we were over by the buffet table…BOOM, all I can see is a whole lot of pink frosting and Annie fuming across the yard.”
“Oh my god, that sounds like a disaster,” I cringed from secondhand embarrassment, still muffling laughter into my hand at the thought of Annie’s expression, “and this smoking hot chick just happened to be Mikasa, right?”
He chewed his lip and grinned, “Oh yeah, definitely. And thus, a legacy was born! Emerging from behind the frosting like a brave hero should- IT IS I, JEAN KIRSCHSTEIN!”
“Nooo. Shut up you are making me even more embarrassed for you,” I whined, uncovering my face a little to peek out at him.
“Yeah, I was kind of a loser,” he sighed and shrugged.
“No it’s not that. You guys wrecked a birthday party fighting over a girl!”
“And?”
“Well, based on my first impression of you alone, I didn’t really gather that you were the type to get involved in something like that.”
I could feel myself blushing now and tried to force it down. He appeared really chilled out to begin with so I put it bluntly. Unexpectedly, he didn’t seem to take the observation to well.
“W-what!? But he started it!”
I shot him a look that I hoped read ‘seriously?’ and sank my fingers into the carpet again before speaking, this time aiming to come across more calculating, “Well yeah but from the way Eren used to speak about you…” I trailed off and he looked confused.
“Eren told you about me!?”
Surprise, surprise.
“Well it was more like John said this, John did that-”
“It’s Jean! And I thought you said you didn‘t remember me!”
“Oh no, it‘s all coming back now…” I replied, teasing him, “I just couldn’t put the name to a face. You‘re the boy I thought he had a crush on.”
Well, until I found out he was aro.
“What!?” he exclaimed, looking even more conflicted, “Nah…really!?”
“Yeah, I guess. Well, thought. Past tense,” I said, smiling softly. He was probably distracted enough for me to get away now. I shuffled quickly to side and stood up before stupidly realizing that I’d had to move past him to get out, and there was no way in hell was that going to happen, “You know, I better get going. And it’s probably kind of late for this but…”
Oh my god, was I seriously about to do this? He is the first cute guy you’ve spoken to in forever, Armin of course you have to do this!
He raised an eyebrow, curious now, “But…?”
I felt myself flush and tucked one side of my hair behind my ear bashfully. Do it.
“Well, if you wanna ever hang out sometime or whatever,” I mumbled, swaying slightly as if this would do something to lessen my embarrassment, “you can ask Eren or Mikasa for my number and send me a text or something…”
Ugh, I can’t look at him, this is so humiliating.
I hopped over the back of the couch skillfully but I knew I couldn’t just leave without saying anything. Dammit, why did I think this was a good idea?
He seemed to be deliberating it so I sighed and decided to prompt him, “Okay?”
This appeared to break whatever trance he was in and he blinked rapidly, tripping over his words when he tried to reply, “Yeah, yeah that would be cool- like to hang out, I mean.”
Hang out? Ugh, I’ll take it. The sentiment still did wonders to the fluttering feeling in my chest, “Awesome.”
“Awesome,” he affirmed, giving me a small nod back.
“Hey, Armin!”
Oh no. Eren. I was just about to escape.
“What the heck are you doing back here?” he came up behind me and clapped a hand on my back. His hair was even more mussed up than it had been when I’d last seen him wandering around and his eyeliner was smudged almost completely over his lower lid. Well, if I was going down, I was going to bring everyone else down with me.
“Oh, I was just getting acquainted with your friend Jean over here,” I said matter-of-factly, “You know, the one you never introduced me to.”
Eren scowled and narrowed his eyes suspiciously over at the couch that had been pushed back at an even stranger angle than it had when I first moved it. He leapt on top of it at once and leaned over the top to get a good look behind it.
“Get the fuck out of my house,” he hissed but Jean’s reply came back muffled from where I was standing, “-Well go get comfortable somewhere else!”
I felt slightly smug but I didn’t let it show on my face when Jean finally stood up. Oh wow, he was really tall.
“Thanks,” he spat bitterly in my direction.
“For what?” why was he thanking me? Didn’t I just get him busted?
“Uh, for ratting me out?” he replied, though it sounded more like a question than an answer, “Kind of thought you were on my side.”
I was until you prevented me from leaving with your oddly beautiful face.
“Well,” I hummed back, feeling a satisfied smile tug at my lips, “I’m sorry to be a disappointment.”
He didn’t respond but I could still see him studying my expression. He didn’t seem angry and just appeared to be somewhat more amused, which was honestly pretty kind of endearing.
“Nah,” Eren suddenly said, drawing my attention back to him, “this guy is just a huge jerk.”
“I know you are but what am I?” Jean sang childishly back.
“Wow, congratulations. You are an actual seven year old.”
“Eren,” I sighed. There was no way I was going to entertain this when my warm bed was still waiting for me right across the street, “I know this sounds stupid but it’s probably getting late and I’m really tired so I’m just gonna head home.”
“What-! No, no, Armin!” I made to leave but Eren grabbed my shoulders to keep me from moving and I inwardly groaned, “The party is just getting started!”
As he had said three hours earlier.
I felt pretty bad about skipping out but if I stayed here any longer I was sure to end up cowering in another corner somewhere else so no thank you to that. I was tired and I still had schoolwork I had put aside just for stopping by.
“Yeah, but I’ve still got a project I haven’t finished yet…” I shuffled my feet apologetically, “and you know this isn’t really my scene…”
I did my best puppy dog eyes and he frowned right back, sighing in defeat after a few more seconds of silence. Victory!
He let go and I rushed towards the door, “I’ll see you later, okay?”
I waited until he nodded for reassurance and slipped out into the hallway. That sure was a lot of work just to get home. I met a cute guy out of it though.
The thought perked me up and I pushed through the crowd hovering around the entrance to the living room to get to the front door and grab my coat off the hanger. Why the hell was it so rowdy over there anyway? Wasn’t there enough room or something?
I shook it off and walked outside, relishing in the crisp winter air that hit me as soon as I’d opened the door. There was snow still piling up in the driveway as I stepped out so I edged around it carefully, glancing back up at all the bright lights littering the front of the house. Eren sure knew how to decorate at least, there was nothing I loved more at Christmas time than seeing all the lights at night.
Luckily it was barely even considered a walk to get back to my place since it sat right opposite Eren’s own. It was fun living next to your best friend but I surely wasn’t all that fond of times like these. The atmosphere outside kind of made it worth it though.
Once I’d made it across the street, side eyeing the broken sprinklers on my lawn for good measure, I reached around to pull my keys from my bag but paused instantly upon looking down.
I forgot my bag.
“Nooooooooo,” I whined, pressing my forehead against the cold front door. Why did I always do this!?
Grandpa was probably awake so I could probably go without my keys and get my bag back from Eren sometime tomorrow. But no ugh, my phone was in there, what if that guy called and I missed it?
I debated internally for a couple of minutes before deciding fuck it. I was going back.
The road was still super icy as I braved walking across it for the third time that night. I was just lucky that Eren’s door was still unlocked when I tried opening it again, stepping into the warm house and not bothering to take my coat off this time.
I ran back to the lounge, narrowly avoiding the crowd that was still hovering in the doorway to the living room. What the hell was even going on in there?
I picked my satchel up from where I’d left it behind the couch and held it to my chest, letting out a deep sigh before looking through it to check that all my stuff was in there. Wallet, check. Keys, check. Bus card, check. Phone, check. Good, good.
The cheering in the living room continued this time and I was too curious not to stop by and check it out.
“Ugh!” I yelped as I felt myself almost slip in something wet. Water? Why was there water all over the floor!?
People were screaming and skidding around on the floor and I was beyond confused by this point. It was like someone had decided to turn Eren’s living room into one giant (much more dangerous) version of a slip-n-slide!
“-It’s not my fault you grabbed onto us with your bloody wench claws!”
Was that, Jean?
I tried to maneuver into the room to get a better look at what was going on. All the furniture had been placed up high and I almost laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. I could see Eren and Mikasa arguing on the other side of the room, most likely over how they were supposed to clean all this mess up. Probably. I was about to head over in their direction when I heard a loud shriek across the room and I couldn’t help but let out a small gasp when I suddenly saw Jean slip and fall onto his back on the ground and I quickly made my way over to stand beside the other two people hovering over him.
“Oh my god, are you okay?”
His face flushed and he frowned back up at me, throwing me off guard, “What are you doing back here?”
He didn't look all that happy to see me. Maybe coming over to help was a mistake.
“I uh, left my bag…um…” I thinned my lips in thought and offered a hand out to him before I had the chance to persuade myself out of it, “here.”
He reached up to take it, looking more on the grateful side of things. A boy with wide green eyes and a buzz cut scoffed from where he was seated on the couch beside us and I immediately felt embarrassed. These were probably his friends, they could have helped him. There was absolutely zero need to come over. A tall girl I recognized as the one who’d tripped over the Christmas lights earlier on in the party howled with laughter beside him and Jean shot her a quick glare, though it did nothing if not fuelled her hysterics further.
“O-oh my g-g-od!” she snickered into her hand and I froze, “Man, you sure a pretty little thing aren’t you!? I’m sure Jean would just eat you u-up! Hahaha-”
“Shut up!” Jean snapped back, looking just about as embarrassed as I felt.
This was one of those uncomfortable situations I had been looking to avoid. Now I’m going to make a complete ass of myself for certain.
“I-its okay,” I managed to get out, ducking my head so I could stare down at my hands. My fingers immediately started to fidget and I felt the urge to run all the way back home, screw the snow, “I was just on my way back out and I wanted to see what the commotion was about-”
“N-no!” Jean replied quickly, still bright red in the face, “Uh, we didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable we are just playing around. She‘s drunk as fuck!”
“Yeah,” the brunette giggled, now fanning herself with her hand. I eyed her heels for a second, wondering how she was still able to stand up perfectly straight on the slippery marble floor, “Sorry.”
“We were thinking of heading down to McDonalds later,” the green-eyed boy leaned forward and suddenly chipped in, “Wanna come?”
No, no, no. I don’t even know you.
“That sounds fun but I can’t,” I sighed, just wishing I could get out of here already. The atmosphere was getting way too awkward for my liking and by the look on Jean’s face, he definitely did not want to talk to me any longer, “I’ve got a history project I’m working on tomorrow so I gotta go home and catch up on sleep while I still can.”
Why are you so good at lying, self?
The boy looked convinced and adjusted his position to look up at me properly from where he was sitting, “Right.”
I turned to walk away but he started to speak again, “-oh wait, didn’t catch your name.”
“It’s Armin.”
“Cute.”
Huh?
“Agh, yeah we get it guys! Armin is adorable,” Jean cut in before narrowing his eyes at his friends, “But yeah, it’s getting kind of late so maybe you should start heading home.”
He was definitely not going to call me.
“Yeah…” I smiled politely to mask my disappointment, “I’ll see you, maybe.”
I made my way back to the entrance slowly, feeling more and more like a complete idiot the further I got away. There was absolutely no way in hell a guy like that would go for someone like me. What was I even thinking!?
I sent the three of them a short wave over my shoulder as I made my way out and felt a little better when they returned it before I head back down the hallway, this time with my bag slung pathetically over my shoulder.
It was worth a try but nothing was going to come out of it. Even a complete and utter fool would know that.
I was just the same as I’d always been.