nine, dimmed

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***One Week Later***

EREN'S POV

Fine, yeah, I'll admit, maybe it wasn't the smartest decision I've made.

But who could resist?

Her voice is so heavenly. The type of voice you only hear in porn videos. And trust me, ... I've watched plenty of those to know. Honestly, it was the perfect opportunity to get her to kind of believe I wouldn't trick her in that way. If I was outside her house, she would feel that it was me.

To kind of trust me. While also hearing that sweet, sultry voice of hers.

She's so scared, she must think I'm some murderer, and she must've thought I was there to hurt her in some malicious way. But I'm not and I wouldn't.

When I first laid my eyes on her, I knew, I felt, that she was the one. The one that's capable of handling my storm and taking it full force. Yes, she'd run away. I knew that. She already has and is. But...

I also knew she'd be barreling right for me in due time. She'll want me in the same way I want her. See, I know that the little comment she made at the bar about not telling if I want to murder or fuck her was a subtle hint that, that had crossed her mind. Whether she realizes it or not.

I get that reaction a lot.

Most girls don't question if I want to murder them, because I never looked at them the way I've looked at Y/n. Believe it or not, she's bringing out these sides of me, that I won't say were never there, but rather were waiting for their time to shine.

I can tell when a girl wants it, even if they're not making it obvious, but even though Y/n was cautious of me, under the fear in her eyes, there's intrigue. She'd waltz right to me if I'd given her that chance.

But no.

That's not the direction I want to go with her. I want her to know that she should be afraid.

Of not only me but Armin too.

She should be afraid because we're gonna show her an entirely new side of things. I know the grief she's been through and all I want is to rip that away from her. Make her smile like I know she must've before.

I want to make her scream in pleasure. I don't want to see her cry herself to sleep anymore and I'm telling you, if Armin doesn't hurry his little plan along, I will be taking things into my own hands.

My knee bounces with impatience.

She's been at that horse face's apartment for about a week now. I know that phone call scared the shit out of her and that's what drove her away. But like I've mentioned... I couldn't help myself.

Armin keeps mentioning how it's payback or karma for calling Y/n against his wishes but I just flip him off every time he mentions that bullshit.

Please. Mikasa's a scarier bitch than karma is, and I've handled her all my life.

Fortunately, Armin did fix that little "traceable number" thing, so we don't have to worry about that.

Armin wants to specifically reveal himself when the time is right, when she's least expecting Armin to be Anonymous. Honestly, it's just a big game to him. He has a thing for watching the game play out in his favor.

But me?

I'm the type to take right when I want it.

There's only so much time before the leash Armin has me fucking bound to, snaps.

I can't wait to see her again.

Y/N'S POV

It's been a few days since you got the call that all the locks in your house have been fixed and replaced. You had them mail the new keys to Jean's place, because you don't have a mailbox, and you don't know if Kruger's out there, watching and waiting. 

Unfortunately, Jean and his roommates never left you alone, so you literally found no time to go to the police. If one was at work, the other was here, there was just no escaping it.

Apparently, a week is enough for you to grow pissed at the thought that he drove you out of your home, and gain the courage to storm right back.

For the last week, your therapy sessions have been over a video call. Levi, surprisingly, wasn't the happiest about it. He had gotten used to seeing you in person for every session, and the change bothered him a bit, but he understood.

He understood more than anyone, actually. He's the only one who knows.

But you have a feeling, it won't remain that way. Jean has been growing antsy, not believing the lies you've told him. Honestly, you almost broke a few times and spilled everything, but the thought that he could get hurt because of you, terrified you.

It really terrified you.

And that night... when you saw someone walk out of Jean's apartment... but everyone who stayed here was still here afterward...

Everything in you was screaming. A big part of you believes it was Kruger and he had followed you here. Which meant you led him right to your friends anyway.

Another part of you, a smaller part, believed it was somebody else. Who? You don't know. Maybe it was someone Jean knew.

But what if it wasn't? You stared at your notes every night, specifically at the letter typed at the bottom of one. You didn't want to even entertain the thought....

But it had crossed your mind a couple of times.

Was there more than one person you needed to look out for??

No. You won't go down that rabbit hole. If you do, you'll only get more paranoid and shun everybody out. Shunning people out didn't get you anywhere last time, but an insistent best friend and a therapist.

Which you're grateful for, but you're afraid this time, you'll only get thrown in an insane asylum, and be labeled as "incurable", "a lost cause", or "a waste of time". No, you won't have that.

Either way, you're going back today. You won't let him control you. It's your house. Your life. But there was another reason you needed to leave today.

You couldn't help but brew over the week you stayed at Jean's, the fact that you know Armin's friend is a shitty, creepy person who like... stalks people. So, you've scheduled a meeting to warn him. You didn't want to go to Kruger's again, for obvious reasons, so you asked if he knew where else to meet up.

He actually insisted it would be fine to have the meet-up at your place. And you wanted to tell him no, but... you clammed up. You were still a bit starstruck by the fact your favorite Author wants to work with you, ... so let's just say telling him no, wasn't exactly easy to do.

So, you didn't.

After Jean dropped you off, albeit reluctantly, and he drove off, you quickly ran inside your house. You huffed, as you placed your bags on the ground and shut the door behind you. The smell that came with your house greeted you and you felt at home.

You scanned the living room with your eyes, finding nothing out of place. So, you quickly walked to your kitchen, retrieved the biggest knife, and looked through your house.

You should seriously get a better weapon, this close-distance utensil wasn't appealing to you anymore. But for now, you had to suck it up. You, as stealthily as possible, walked through your home, checking every room quietly. The only creaks you heard were from the wood groaning beneath your footsteps. The only thumps you heard... was when the doors hit the wall softly, as you opened them.

You reluctantly checked through closets, around corners— every place you could think of, but no one was there.

No Kruger or 'E'... to be seen.

You sighed as you walked back to your kitchen, a sigh of relief leaving your lip balm-covered lips.

You looked down at your attire: a white spaghetti-strapped tank top and grey sweats. Over the week that you stayed at Jean's, Sasha ended up giving you a pair of slides that she didn't wear. They looked new, like she never wore them at all. When she told you they weren't her style, it made sense.

So, you had white socks to match and a pair of brand-new slides.

Still, you had company coming over any minute. You walk up the stairs to your room and look through your closet for something decent. You decided on a pair of, much to your dismay, tight jeans, that you definitely grew out of as well, but they were your favorite back then so you slid them on over your thighs and jumped a little to get them over your ass.

You shrugged into a white oversized dress shirt and buttoned it up. You rolled up the sleeves just as a knock sounded at your door.

You ran down the stairs as you let your hair down, running your hands through it a bit in hopes you were making it look decent enough. You decided to ditch the slides and just stay in your socks. You were home after all.

You ran your hands over your outfit, making sure invisible dust stayed invisible, and opened the door.

You smiled. "Armin, hi-"

Your smile faltered a bit. The blond stood in casual clothing, jeans that bunched up slightly as they curved around his expensive-looking shoes, a casual dress shirt, and a silver watch around his wrist. One hand tucked in his pocket, the other resting by his side. He looked handsome, to say the least, with his freshly trimmed undercut and pale, pink lips.

But that's not what had you frozen in your tracks.

Beside him stood a taller man. Around six feet, no doubt. He was in... a much more.. put-together outfit; not as casual. He stood in all black, black slacks, a black dress shirt that had a few buttons popped open, and a blazer that draped around his broad frame to match. He wasn't facing the door before you opened it. It looked like he was looking off into space with a hand on his chin, caressing it. His brows sunk in impatience, his hair tied up in a loose bun, some strands in the back teasing his neck.

Kruger.

He was facing you now though. They both were, and each of their gazes pierced yours.

"Hello, Y/n," Armin spoke up, his voice reaching your ears, that sultry tone of his flowing like the deepest ocean. He stepped forward, causing you to instinctively step back to let him in. The air that whisp passed you caused you to shiver as he did. Kruger followed his steps, his gaze lingering on you and smirking slightly, but you ignored it.

You turned around to look at him, your door still open. "You remember Kruger," he says, letting the back of his hand hit the tall one's chest. "Hope you don't mind me bringing him along, he's my best friend, so, it only felt natural."

You nod, but the action is automatic. Despite feeling like a mouse waltzing right into a trap, you shut the door behind you.

"So, what'd you want to talk about?" Armin smiled, while Kruger stood casually by, touching a candle you had on the side table next to your couch. He sniffed it and pursed his lips, seemingly deeming it good enough to smell.

You refrained from rolling your eyes. The audacity is slowly killing you.

But then you process Armin's question. "Oh, ... uh, oh yeah, I also wanted to talk a little more about the art you want me to make for your book."

"I told you it would come to you, it's really no rush," he reassured.

"Yeah, no, I just wanted to show you my art room," you say quickly, gesturing to your stairs. "It's upstairs."

He hums. "Can't say no to that," he and Kruger share a smirk and Armin turns to walk up the stairs.

"After you," Kruger gestures to you, like he's some gentleman. You wanted ever so desperately to tell him to go fuck himself. But you thought against it, so all he got was a glance before you quickly walked after Armin. Nearly flocking to him, to get away from Kruger.

But honestly, he was right on your tail. When you glanced back, his eyes met yours immediately and he smirked, keeping his hands in his pockets as he slowly walked after you. As if confident you're not getting away.

Which was true. You have nowhere to run up here.

Fuck, you're so stupid.

You're not sure if it'd be smart to warn Armin about Kruger right in front of Kruger, and there's a good chance Armin would side with his best friend over you. And you really don't have any more room for mistakes.

Armin pauses and stands right beneath the attic. Kruger looks at him curiously for a moment before his face straightens out. "Couple of rooms up here, which is the art room?"

"Just down there," you say and Armin wastes no time continuing his journey down the hall to your little studio.

You have no doubt Kruger already knew where it was, and the thought makes you clench your fists. Right before you disappear into the art room with Armin, Kruger grabs your wrist and pulls you into him. It happened so fast that you didn't even get to react before he was whispering lowly in your ear.

"You weren't... planning on telling Armin our little secret, ... were you?"

You shiver, pulling away from his grasp and he surprisingly lets you go easily. You glared back at him, and right as you were about to give him a piece of your mind, Armin called, "These are beautiful."

You huffed through your nose slightly, and Kruger smirked at the action. You rolled your eyes and walked into the art room. Armin was standing in the middle of it, examining every one of them that was on display. "This one..." he mutters. "What's it about?"

He asks, tracing his finger down the intricate detail.

You walk to stand next to him, looking at the painting you drew a while ago. Truthfully, your relationship with your parents has been weighing on you for a long time. "My parents."

It's a simple setting. One half of the painting displays the sun, the other, the moon. Both shining brightly above a field. But in that field, is a cradle. Just a black cradle contrasting greatly against the bright green grass.

'If the sun and moon had a baby, it'd be a star. And it'd be one of the brightest stars to ever exist.'

Armin looks at you in curiosity. "Your parents?"

Your eyes fleeted to Kruger. You didn't like the idea of him hearing something so personal to you, but for some reason, you still said it, "For the past year, I haven't really kept in contact with them. The most they got from me was a message I sent months ago, telling them I was fine. I painted this...- honestly, it's just a painting of longing and feeling sorry." You summed up.

"Are they..." Armin trailed.

"No," you say quickly, the thought plaguing your mind. "They're still alive. My friend checks in with them more than I do. Mainly, to put a mutual ease in my and my parent's minds. No, I just feel like I've let them down," you nod. "That I couldn't shine bright like the star they wanted me to." You let your finger trail the pitch-black cradle yourself. But after a second, you clear your throat and turn away.

In your peripheral, you notice Kruger's closer than before.

"Anyway," you sigh. "I really haven't gotten far in my latest painting." You say, walking over to the red one. "Like I've said, I'm pretty stumped. A lot has happened this past year that just— that I just can't seem to work through. Or get past."

"Is this the one you're working on for my book?" He asks, his hands in his pockets as his ocean-blue gaze watches you carefully.

"Well, no... not necessarily-"

"I want this one," he cuts you off.

"What? Wait, this one-"

"This is the one, Y/n, I wanna see what comes of it," he tells you, in a tone you can't say sounds negotiable.

"If you're sure..." you trail. Suddenly, you hear a smooth sliding sound and whip around to find Kruger uncovering a certain painting.

You stalk over to him and put a hand on his arm. He looks at you and you glare at him, "Don't touch that." You say lowly. He's the last person you want looking at something so personal.

So painful.

You snatch the sheet and cover it back up immediately. Once it's covered, the dread that was clawing its sharp, piercing talons into your throat, wisped into mere shadows that floated away instantly, and your chest felt significantly lighter.

You gulp and turn around to find both men staring at you with unreadable expressions. However, ... neither of them shared that same pity most people gave you when they saw you. So, that was a relief. If they were smart, they would see that the painting means a lot to you, even if they don't know why.

"Was that all, Y/n?" Armin asks.

You swallow softly and nod, hating yourself for making it awkward in a room with your favorite Author.

His gaze lingered on you a second longer, as if he wanted to say something, but decided against it. He walks over to you both and gives you his hand which you promptly shake. His soft, warm hand engulfs yours soothingly and Armin gives you a firm shake. "Until next time?"

"Until next time," you agree, offering him a small smile.

Kruger turns and copies the gesture, waiting for you to take his hand with a smirk. You stare at his hand for a second like he's crazy. But then he raises a brow, and the dangerous glint in his eyes has you taking his hand and giving it a quick shake.

He pisses you off and he knows it too.

Armin shakes his head and walks out, but you catch the smirk playing on his lips as he does. Kruger closes the distance, forcing you to only look at him. "Soon. Just be good, won't you? Don't make me come earlier than planned, Angel. It'll hurt if I do."

"Me or you?" You scoff.

His smirk widens. "You."

LilReaper_

Originally written 07.25-26.24

Published 07.26. 24

total words; 3094

Was this chapter boring? 😭 I don't know if this was super interesting or not but i feel like this chapter is the transition into the crazy stuff. or at least a pretty good introduction to what's partially in store.

tell me what you think, love you guys 🫶🏾