It was a rainy, miserable autumn morning as Matthew Williams stepped out on to his front porch, pulling the door closed behind him. He shifted his backpack on his shoulders and hooked his thumbs into the straps, setting off down the street after his older brother, who was currently laughing and calling back at Matthew to 'hurry the hell up'. The fourteen year old sighed at the far too exuberant teen walking along ahead of him, but quickened his pace to catch up with Alfred anyways.
He really didn't understand how his brother could be so goddamn eager to get to school this early in the morning. But then again, when wasn't the sixteen year old eager about something? Alfred tended to throw himself wholeheartedly into whatever he was doing, whether it was walking to school or playing football, and always seemed to command attention when doing it. His natural charisma and boundless energy could charm just about anyone, and he was easily the most popular boy in school, possibly even in their town. Everything about Alfred was larger than life, which stood in direct contrast to everything about Matthew.
Matthew was quiet, thoughtful, and painfully shy. He didn't play sports, he didn't command attention, and lord knows he couldn't charm anyone if he tried. Despite both brothers living in the same small town all their lives, very few people seemed to know that Alfred Jones even had a brother (well, half brother. They had different fathers, hence the last names). Even though they shared virtually the same facial features, Matthew's perhaps a bit softer and less defined, and the same wheat-gold hair colour, people just didn't really connect the two. Unless of course they were mistaking Matthew for Alfred, which was never a fun experience for the shy boy.
Matthew let out another tired sigh, brushing some of his near-shoulder length hair out of his face. He really should get it cut, though he was a bit worried it would end up looking a bit too much like Alfred's, and then people wouldn't have any way to differentiate the two. Matthew kept his eyes on his feet which were shuffling lazily down the wet sidewalk as his brother seemed to practically bounce along. Really he just wanted to get school over with so he could go home and watch some movies or something. He didn't have much to look forward to in his school days. Where Alfred had the opportunity to go and hang out with his many friends and talk about sports and chicks and who knows what else, Matthew didn't really have anyone. Sure, there were acquaintances and people who he had lunch with, but he tended to only hang out on the fringes of friend groups, not really being memorable enough for anyone to want to get to know him better. He wasn't complaining, though. It's not like he was disliked or anything, and he almost preferred it this way. Sure, it never felt good to be ignored, but Matthew tended to enjoy being alone or with his dog, Kumajiro. Really, there wasn't much for him at school, but at least he could always come home to his lovable slobbering fluffball (the dog, not Alfred).
The two brothers walked on, Alfred chatting away about some new band he had just found and Matthew pretending to listen, offering the occasional hum or nod of his head. The morning air was cold, even for autumn, and smelled of salt water and fresh rain. Matthew shoved his hands into the pockets of his faded red hoodie and suppressed a yawn. He didn't want to be rude to Alfred, who'd probably think he was boring his little bro. Which he was, but that didn't mean Matt would be obvious about it. They walked their familiar route down the same streets they'd been using since elementary school, past the park and the old fishing pier and the only restaurant in the entire town. Alfred frequently talked about moving to the big city, mainly New York or LA or somewhere equally "cool" as he had put it. That is, somewhere in the states. Matthew had no doubt that his brother would manage to get a football scholarship or something similar and go off to play in the big leagues or something. Things always tended to work out well for Alfred.
Ten minutes later the two boys were strolling through the front doors of their small high school, swept up in the crowds (crowded by small town standards, at least) of other students. Alfred caught the eye of some of his friends and offered Matt a brief "Later, dude" before running off to greet them. Matthew gave a small wave that wasn't even seen before navigating his way towards his locker, trying to push as politely through the other students as possible.
By the time Matthew had made it to his ugly beige locker in the music hall (chosen because it was the hall with the least amount of traffic) he had about four minutes before the start of class. Even though his first class, Canadian History, was on the opposite end of the school, he made no move to rush. Being practically invisible meant that he could easily slip into the room any time between the bell and roll call without drawing attention. So Matthew shoved his bag into his narrow locker, pulled out his binder and textbook, and began meandering his way towards room 102, stopping to grab a quick drink of water. Sure enough, the bell rang before he got there and he made no move to pick up the pace, knowing the teacher wouldn't even notice.
By now the halls were mostly deserted, save for the occasional straggler here and there. Once or twice one of Alfred's friends called or waved to him and, not feeling like stopping to correct them, Matthew simply waved back and kept going. Really, you'd think the fact that Matthew was shorter and skinnier than his jock brother, as well as younger, would be a pretty obvious tip off for people, especially those acquainted with Alfred who knew that he definitely didn't shuffle tiredly the way Matt does down the hallway.
He shrugged it off, though, and continued on to History, probably the most boring class there was, second only to math. Just as Matthew was turning a corner into the hall of his first class, however, he was knocked clean off his feet by what felt like a brick fucking wall slamming into him. He fell backwards and landed hard on his back, winding him, and the other person (who was in fact a human and not a moving wall) came down on top of him.
"Scheiße! Oww," The other person groaned, cussing in some kind of language Matthew wasn't familiar with. Not that he was too focused on that right now, considering the stars still swimming in his vision. The guy on top of him seemed to recover faster than Matthew, as he pushed himself up off of the smaller boy.
"Oi, dude, you alright?" Matthew heard the other boy ask in what sounded like a thick German accent.
That was unusual, Matt couldn't think of anyone he'd ever come across in person with an accent like that. Opening his eyes that he'd just realized had been clenched shut, Matthew was met by possibly the strangest person he'd ever seen kneeling over him, face about inches from his own. The boy looked around his age, perhaps older, with a shock of white hair and bright red eyes. Matthew probably looked pretty dumb, eyes open wide and mouth gaping, because the guy leaning over him took on an expression of mild amusement.
"What, did ya hit your head your head too hard or are you just in awe of my awesome self?" The boy said with an air of total and utter confidence (some would even call it cockiness. Actually most. Most would call it cockiness).
"Uhmm," was about all Matthew could get out as he sat up, rubbing his head gingerly.
The other boy just appeared even more amused at this, and stood up with a smirk plastered on his abnormally pale face. And that was saying something, considering this was Canada, where most people didn't tend to get much time in the sun. "Well lemme introduce my awesome self, then. The name's Gilbert," the boy said, offering his hand to help Matthew up. He hesitantly gripped the outstretched hand and was immediately yanked to his feet as if he weighed absolutely nothing to Gilbert.
"Thanks," he murmured, offering the other a weak smile. "Uhm, it's nice to meet you, I guess," Matthew said, trying to be polite while his head and back throbbed painfully.
"Damn straight it is. Y'know, I'd normally kick someone's ass for running into me like that, but you seem alright, kid. You got an awesome name, dude?" Gilbert grinned sharply, and Matthew couldn't help but feel a little unsettled by the predatory smile and creepy red eyes of the other boy. He tried to mask this with a smile, however, as to not be rude. Not bothering to point out the fact that it was technically Gilbert who'd run into him, Matthew replied.
"Uhm, my name's Matthew," He said in a voice just barely above a whisper. He really wasn't too good at meeting new people.
"Huh? Speak up, I don't have super hearing or some shit."
"O-oh, sorry. My name's Matthew," he tried again, as loud as he dared his voice to go.
"Matthew, huh? Cool name. Not as cool as mine, but it's close. Can I call ya Mattie? Or how bout Matt?"
"Uhm, sure, I guess" Matthew hesitantly replied. Gilbert's weird friendliness was kinda throwing him off, but he did his best to smile as politely as possible. The guy was clearly new, so maybe he just didn't realize that people didn't typically stop to make new friends after bowling each other over on the way to class. Speaking of which, he really should be getting there because he was about five minutes late by now and the teacher was probably starting roll call. Matthew bent down to gather his fallen textbook and binder, and prepared to politely excuse himself from this extremely strange and awkward encounter.
"Yo, dude," Gilbert said before Matt could open his mouth. "You mind, like, showing me to the office? I gotta register or some shit and I can't find the damn place."
Matthew toyed with the idea of just apologizing and getting to class and probably never interacting with this weirdo again, but his politeness got the better of him. He couldn't very well leave the poor guy to wander the school lost and alone. With an inaudible sigh, Matthew forced himself to smile and said, "Sure, follow me." With that, he turned and set off down the opposite end of the hall.
"Sweet, thanks man. You're, like, officially awesome," Gilbert said as he fell into step beside Matthew.
"O-oh, really, it's no trouble," Matthew said. And really, he almost meant it. It's not like he minded a late on his record all that much. "So, um. You're new here, right?"
"No, Matt. I've gone to this school my whole life. We've just never met and this morning I just spontaneously forgot where the office was," Gilbert deadpanned.
"Oh, s-sorry. That was a stupid question."
"Pfft, relax, man. I'm just messin' with ya," Gilbert said, punching Matthew playfully in the shoulder. "Anyways, ya, my family just moved here from Germany."
"Oh really? What brings you to Canada?" Matthew asked, rubbing his abused shoulder.
"My old man got offered a job at some fancy corporation that was, like, twice what he was getting paid back home. So of course he picked us up and moved us to the middle of "butt-fuck nowhere", as I've heard this place called," Gilbert explained, making exaggerated quotation marks with his fingers. Matthew chuckled at the German boy's description.
"Which corporation?" He asked next, if only to keep from lapsing into an awkward silence. Although, with Gilbert, he wasn't sure if there was such thing. He seemed like the type who could make conversation with anyone, sort of like Alfred.
"Ah I don't remember the name. Some car company with a factory just outside town, I think. My pop's like the manager or something." Gilbert seemed pretty disinterested, shoving his hands into his faded jean pockets. " Anyways how bout you? You been stuck here your whole life or what?"
"Yep. Born and raised right here."
"Geeze, it must get so boooring. Like what is there to even do? Totally not awesome, man."
Matthew laughed at Gilbert's groaning. "I'm sure you'll find something to do, it's not as quiet a town as it seems at first.
"Anyways, here's the office," Matthew said, stopping in front of a set of glass double doors through which they could see a stern looking old woman typing away at her desk. She looked thoroughly uninviting. "That's Mrs. Finch," Matthew informed upon seeing Gilbert eyeing her warily. "I'm not quite sure why she works here, since she seems to hate teenagers with a fiery passion. Just don't take it too personally if she calls you an insolent cretin or anything like that, alright?"
"Heh, Thanks for the warning," Gilbert smirked. "See you around, Matty." The albino boy then raised his fist towards Matthew, and it took him a moment to realize he was expected to bump it with his own. He was rather unused to this ritual of parting, as it was always more Alfred's style than his own, but he humored the strange boy before turning to head to his first class. Behind him though he could hear Gilbert enter the office with a loud "Yo!" and he smiled and shook his head.
When Matthew finally managed to slip into History, he was almost fifteen minutes late, though the teacher didn't even look up from her reading. There was in fact a bright side to being overlooked, and Matthew was pretty good at exploiting it.
The remaining half hour was spent gazing out the window and wondering how a certain German boy was getting along. Matt figured that may well be the only interaction he'd ever have with the guy, considering how easily he tended to be forgotten. Gilbert would be hanging out with tons of other friends in no time, and probably never spare another thought to the quiet blonde boy who'd helped him out on his first day.
If only he knew how wrong he was.
A/N: So, this is my first ever fanfiction, woo! I know it's not the most original idea in the world, but I figured it would be fun to write, and I just love this pairing! Please feel free to review and tell me what you think; constructive criticism is always welcome! If you're interested in reading more, I've already got this story mostly mapped out, and plan on updating shortly. Thank you for your time :)
