Author's notes: Hello everyone! Welcome to my first Ereri fanfiction!
I'm actually publishing this story mainly on A03 but I thought about posting it here too.
I put a lot of chapters all at once because there were already out on A03 but I normally update weekly :)
I hope you will enjoy this story!

Eren looked at his phone in his hand with furrowed eyebrows. He had been looking at it for the last twenty minutes without succeeding in making up his mind. Should he do it? Should he not? If he did, will it bring the comfort he was looking for?

He let out a deep and long sigh, messed with his hair in a vain attempt to calm his nerves and finally opened his messaging app. He clicked on the familiar name with trembling fingers and started typing what had been on his mind since the beginning of the day and threw his phone on his bed in front of him once he pushed the send button. He put both of his hands in front of his eyes and tried to contain the tears that was threatening to fall on his cheeks.

He nearly choked on his own breath and fell backwards when after a few minutes he heard the familiar ringtone of his phone notifying him of a new message. Did he just received an answer to the text he just send? No way that was possible. It was probably Mikasa checking up on him or Jean sending him a dumb message to try to cheer him up.

With a deep breath, he reached out for his phone and opened his eyes wide at the name staring back at him on his lock screen. He really got an answer. How? Why? He unlocked his phone, still not believing it, but he needed to be sure. He pressed the notification to open the conversation and looked sadly at the name written in big black letters before turning his attention to the messages.

Me:
i know it's been a while but i needed to do this
everyday it hurts more than the day before
i miss ur voice ur face and ur laugh
i don't know what else to say other than this
i miss u so damn much

Armin:
Hey, sorry to break it to you kid but I think you have the wrong number.
I have no idea who you are and you look like you really need to say this to the person it's destined to, so check the number again and send it to the right person.
Good luck brat.

Eren stared at his screen for at least ten minutes before comprehending fully the situation. Someone else had Armin's number. Someone else had his number and replied to him. So, this meant his parents terminated his phone contract and gave up his number? Well it wouldn't actually be weird if they did, considering it had been a year now. But still, it hurt Eren deep in his heart to know that a total stranger had the number he had come to know by heart for how many times he had been calling it before.

He took another deep breath to calm himself and decided to reply to the stranger that kindly told him he had the 'wrong number'. It was also a way for him to have some kind of closure. He knew from the first time he had sent him a message after the incident that it was in vain, but it cooled him down in a way, so he had started doing it frequently to appease his aching soul. But now would be the last time and he had to engrave this in his head so that he could move on.

Me:
sry i actually have the right number but didn't know the owner behind it changed
thks for telling me have a good day

He hesitated a bit while looking at his screen but decided to add another thing.

Me:
how do u know i'm not 40 or smthg anyway?

He then waited impatiently, sitting cross-legged on his bed, his hands on his knees. He had no idea why or what he was waiting for, but since he had asked a question, he couldn't help but wait for an answer. Besides, seeing the familiar name of his best-friend on his phone was somehow comforting. He knew it was weird, that it wasn't him on the other side of the phone, but it was bringing a familiar and warm feeling to his body. One that used to make him smile during the oh so many evenings he had spent texting his blonde friend. When his phone buzzed, he practically jumped on it and replied instantly.

Armin:
Well, it's my phone number now.
It sucks that you don't have this person new number.

You text like a thirteen-year-old so I assumed you were a middle schooler.
You're not then?

Me:
am not! i'm actually 20 so no brat here!

and well long story but i can't have this person new number

Armin:
Look who started to use punctuation at last.
Someone have to tell you this, but capital letters are a thing in the beginning of a sentence, punctuation at the end or in the middle of it too.
And there is actually something called spelling that you're doing wrong.

That sucks. Had a fight or something?

Me:
Okay geez, sorry!
There, better? Aren't you the one who's 40 actually?

No, not really, like i said, long story…..

Armin:
Ugh no, I'm not there yet, thank you very much.
But yes, it is better, brat.

Man, sounds complicated… Want to talk about it?

It's not like I can judge you or anything since I don't know you.
You might feel better after letting everything out.

Eren looked at his phone while munching on his lower lip in a nervous way. Should he? Except from the 'brat' surname, this person didn't sound that bad. And he could actually feel better to talk about it to someone that didn't already know what happened. Maybe he wouldn't take pity on him and give him some kind of comfort.

He should have been thinking of this long enough because he suddenly got another text from the stranger.

Armin:
Sorry, didn't mean to sound pushy or to meddle in things that are not my business.

Me:
No it's fine. I was actually thinking about what you said….

Armin:
And?

Me:
How do you know if i'm a man or not?

Armin:
You little shit… It's a way of talking.
Do you prefer when I call you brat? Or should I call you girl since you felt offended?

Me:
No it's fine, i'm actually a guy
And stop calling me brat, i told you that I'm 20!

Armin:
You're younger, so you're still a brat to me.

I'm a guy too if that helps.

Me:
Younger? How old are you? If you're not 40… ;)

Armin:
28.

Now do you want to talk or not?
I actually don't have all day.

Me:
8 years doesn't allow you to call me a brat!

Oh, yeah you asked me that, sorry….

If you don't mind i actually would like that….

Armin:
You were still a brat when I turned legal so yes, I have every right.

I wouldn't have asked you if it bothered me you know.

And stop with the over punctuation, it's weird since you found what it was minutes ago.

Me:
Well excuse me OLD MAN

What's your name anyway?
Kind of weird to talk to you with my friend's name…

Armin:
Levi.

Yours?

Me:
Eren

He smiled to himself a few seconds before going to the settings to change the name of the contact. It was actually weird to erase Armin's name to put another one. It even hurt a little. But it was better to change it since he was going to talk about him. He took a deep breath once the name changed and went back to the conversation, his throat starting to tighten.

Levi:
I still prefer brat but that will do.

Nice to meet you.

Me:
Nice to meet you too, Levi

There i changed the name

Levi:
Will you actually start talking at some point or do you really not want to talk about it actually?

Me:
Yeah, sorry, i will, it's just kinda hard…

Levi:
Bad story, huh?

Me:
Not a good one, yeah. At least it doesn't end well

Levi:
My bad for urging you.
Start when you are ready.

Me:
I am, just need to figure out how to start this

Levi:
Maybe start by who this person is to you or something?

Me:
His name was Armin and he was my childhood friend
Actually my best friend in the whole world

I did everything with him, bad or good things

Levi:
Something happened to him?

Me:
Yeah…

He got into an accident… 1 year ago

Didn't make it…

Levi:
It sucks. Sorry to hear that.

You must really miss him.

Me:
Yeah i do

But you got my first message so you already know that

Levi:
I hoped it wasn't this kind of situation.
I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Sorry it happened to you.

Me:
Thanks

But… What you just said…

Did you….?

Levi:
Yes, I lost someone too.

Two someone actually.
They were my best friends too.

Like I said, it sucks.

Me:
Man i'm sorry too…

What were the odds that the exact same thing happened to the both of us, huh?

Levi:
I don't think it's exactly the same thing that happened, but you're right…

Sorry to say that, but welcome to the club.

It's not cozy and we actually don't like having new members.

Eren started giggling a bit in front of his phone. He thought the conversation would start being kind of awkward once he would have said the cruel truth, but it actually didn't. Levi was also trying to lightened the mood even though he went through the same atrocity.

He was actually starting to warm up to this new person who he only knew the name and it felt kind of good. Strange, but good. He didn't want to be depressed all day even though he had assumed he would be. This 'texting the wrong person' situation actually helped him get rid of the cloud of depression that had followed him all day and he was actually glad. He wanted to remember his friend and smile, not be depressed all the time. He was sure that's what Armin would have wanted.

Me:
Thanks man, i actually feel a bit better
Talking about it really helps

Levi:
You mean you're feeling better that you're not the only one that went through this situation and feels like shit after.

Me:
No! That's not what i was saying!

Sorry if you got it that way!

Levi:
Relax brat, I was joking.
It happened a long time ago for me, I'm fine.

You're the one who's not.
Don't worry about my feelings.

Me:
But i do, it's not something to talk about lightly, even if you say it was a long time ago…

It's pretty fresh for me but i assume it still hurts even after a lot of years…

Levi:
It's true, but you still move on.
That's the best and only thing to do.

You remember them but you still go on with your life.
And make the best of it.

Me:
I try, but sometimes it's hard…
Everything reminds me of him…

Levi:
If you were that close I can imagine.
Don't you have other friends to support you?

Me:
I do, but…

Levi:
But?

Me:
I don't know, it's strange sometimes…
One is always worried about me, but she was also very close to Armin so she must be hurting too, but we don't really talk about it…
The other always try to make me feel better by joking around like we used to. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it just doesn't…

Levi:
I totally get it, my friends are actually like that too.

But sometimes you just want to remember them and let your emotions take you where they want to.

Me:
Exactly!

Damn i'm glad you answered my text

Well it kind of surprised me at first and i didn't know what to do, but yeah
It's nice to talk about that with someone that gets it

Levi:
Don't get all sentimental on my ass, we started talking an hour ago, that's too soon for mushy feelings.

But anytime, Eren.
If you want to talk, you can text me.

Me:
Thanks Levi. You can do that too

Levi:
It's nice and all that, but I actually have to go.

Good night brat.

Me:
Good night old man

Eren smiled to himself while lying down on his bed, his eyes glued to the ceiling. What started with a desperate need to talk one-sidedly o his late best friend on his anniversary ended up in a nice little chat with a stranger named Levi. Instead of feeling all depressed he actually felt kind of wistful. He was also feeling kind of warm on the inside, just like he had felt every time he had had a long conversation with Armin during the evening or the night. Of course, he wasn't trying to replace him or anything! He was actually thinking that his blond friend would have liked the new friend he made.

What do you think of him, Armin? Nice guy, huh?