Circles | Eren x Reader

Chapter 42- Cherry Cola Slurpee:

Hey y'all~ sry I'm a bit late with the update today, I had to finish some last-minute school work bc I procrastinate 😍👍✌️ Anyway, hope y'all enjoy!!! ❤️❤️❤️

We left campus, still in our PE uniforms, and walked to the 7-Eleven nearby so I could pick up some hand sanitizer and two Slurpees, despite the cold weather. I payed for Eren's as an apology for earlier. Not that it mattered, but he got Cherry Cola.

At this point, the frigid air was starting to bother me. I didn't dare say anything, since I knew I'd be back home soon enough, but it was hard for me to hide the goosebumps on my skin. I walked with my arms crossed to the park, where Eren and I had decided was the best place to sit. We didn't say much— Eren drank his Slurpee next to me quietly while I stared at the ground, trying not to feel cold. At one point, while I was admiring the paved sidewalk, (aka, avoiding looking at Eren at all costs), I almost walked into a streetlight, but Eren pulled me to the side casually by the collar of my shirt. I awkwardly bumped into him, but he didn't seem to mind. He let go of my shirt collar lightly and continued to walk, teal-green eyes focused on the road ahead. He was a very confusing boy... I could never really get a read on him.

When we got to the park we sat on the same bench— the one a few feet away from the little 'J' I had carved into the tree. I asked Eren to give me his hand. As he held it out to me, I debated the best way to go about fixing it. I didn't want to hold his hand because, well, that could be misleading, but I knew that if I didn't steady it, I wouldn't be able to clean it effectively. I went with the next best thing:

"Just put your hand face up on the top of the bench," I ordered.

Eren stared at me, confused. As an example, I moved my hand to the backrest of the bench. He nodded quietly and copied me.

"Thanks," I said.

I pulled out the cheap hand sanitizer I had purchased at the convenience store.

"You know," I continued, shaking the bottle. "This would have been a lot easier if you just went to the infirmary. Then, I wouldn't have to do such a shitty job of cleaning your hand up."

"Doesn't matter how bad it is— I'll clean it better when I get home."

I raised an eyebrow: "I don't trust that."

I popped open the cap of the hand sanitizer and held it over Eren's palm. The blood had dried, so it would take a couple tries to clean off.

"This might sting a bit." I squeezed out the tiniest drop of hand sanitizer onto Eren's hand.

"Ow!" he flinched, pulling his hand quickly away. "That hurt."

"I literally just said that it would sting," I replied apathetically.

"Yeah, 'a bit'. That stung more than a bit," he defended.

"Well, now you're prepared," I motioned for Eren to bring his hand back. "Again."

Every time I squeezed a bit of hand sanitizer onto his hand, Eren immediately pulled away. After about three tries, I gave up.

"Eren, you can't keep pulling your hand away every time I try to clean it," I sighed.

"I know, but it's instinct. I can't help it," he complained.

"You're such a baby," I teased.

Eren made a face. I groaned internally. I had no other choice.

"Fine," I resigned. "Give me your hand. I'll hold it so you can't pull it away."

Eren looked at me with fear in his eyes, but tentatively gave me his hand anyway. The second I touched him, he turned pink and looked away. I held it as lightly as I could, my cheeks flushing just the slightest bit, but the second the hand sanitizer hit his cut Eren tried to pull away, and my embarrassed expression disappeared to one of irritation. I wrenched his hand back over to me angrily: