This is a high school au with England x Bad Friends Trio. I recently saw someone on tumblr mention it and how there's not much out there for it, so here's my addition to the ship. I don't know how offensive the terms Arthur is called are, so if you're offended, please notify me and I'll change it.
England: No one cares about your author's note, so get on with it already.
Me: You're so rude, Arthur.
England: And yet I'm still your favorite character.
Me: ...
Me: Even I don't understand it.
Hetalia and all these characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.
Arthur walked home from school alone, trying to remember where the toy store was. He had been saving money for weeks to buy his eight year old brother a new train set, and he finally had enough money. As he passed by an alley, a familiar voice called out to him.
"Hey, Brit!" the voice shouted. Arthur stopped and turned around to see who was there.
Alfred pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and continued, "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Teabag. Got any money?" Lovino and Matthew exchanged a smirk behind him, eager to watch the situation unfold.
"Bugger off," Arthur snapped. He turned around and started walking again, but immediately heard footsteps running behind him. He was grabbed by the arm and spun around by Alfred.
"You need to learn some respect," Alfred sneered.
Arthur jerked his arm away and replied, "No, you need to learn some respect. I'm your elder."
All three of them laughed. Lovino flicked his cigarette butt toward Arthur and teased, "You could've fooled us. What are you, five feet tall?"
An angry blush spread over Arthur's cheeks and he insisted, "I'm almost five and a half feet, asshole."
"Oh wow, that's so intimidating," Alfred said as he drew himself up to his full height of six feet to tower over Arthur. "Now give me all the money you've got."
Arthur looked down and pretended to reach into his pocket, but instead he sunk a fist into Alfred's stomach and took off running back toward the alley. Ha, he thought, they may be taller, but I'm faster. He was almost at the other end of the alley when a rock hit him in the back of the head, causing him to lose his balance and trip. He tried to get back up, but a foot slammed down on his back, forcing him to stay where he was.
"Well, well, well," Alfred said slightly out of breath, "looks like we need to teach you a lesson."
Arthur wheezed, "What you need is—" Alfred dug his foot harder into Arthur's back, making him gasp in pain.
"Shut up," Alfred ordered. He took his foot off of Arthur's back and continued, "Now get up, feb." Arthur slowly came to his feet and glared at the three freshmen. Alfred nodded at Matthew, and the quiet boy yanked Arthur's arms behind his back.
When Alfred pulled back his fist, Arthur blurted hopefully, "Let's fight one on one. Then we can see who's really stronger."
Alfred smirked and said, "I don't think so." He gave Arthur a punch in the gut identical to the one he had received. The beating continued for a few minutes until Alfred got tired. After that, Lovino took his turn. Then Matthew dropped him, delivered a few vicious kicks, and reached into his pocket for his wallet.
He pulled out five twenties and announced, "Jackpot! Thanks for the money, Red Coat." The three bullies laughed and walked away, leaving Arthur in a heap on the ground. After ten minutes, he finally stood up and limped home.
"Hi, Arthur!" his brother greeted him when he opened the door. "What happened?"
"Nothing, Peter," Arthur replied.
Peter frowned and said, "But if it was nothing, then why do you look like that?"
"It's none of your business," Arthur snapped and pushed him out of the way.
Of course, Peter started crying and yelling, "Mum, Arthur shoved me!"
"Get in here, Arthur!" His mom shouted from the kitchen. Arthur sighed and did as he was told. His mom was cooking dinner, while his dad sat at the table reading the paper.
"What is it, mom?" Arthur asked from the doorway.
She replied, "You're late. And what's this 'mom' stuff? Are you American now?" She finally looked up at Arthur and shrieked, "Oh my gosh, honey, what happened?!"
"It was nothing," Arthur insisted as his dad looked up as well.
"Tell me who did this to you, and I'll go take care of it right this instant," his mom demanded.
"No! This is my problem." Arthur objected. "You'll just make it worse."
Alfred's mom turned to her husband and asked, "Norman, are you seeing this? Talk some sense into your son!"
"Calm down, Abigail," his dad said. "Arthur is right. He needs to fight his own battles. You won't always be able to solve his problems for him, and he needs to get used to that."
His mom looked pained, but she finally gave in. "Alright, if it's what you really want, I won't interfere. Go wash up for dinner."
-TIME SKIP-
It had been a month since the first beating, and it still wouldn't stop. Alfred, Lovino, and Matthew stopped him on his way home every day. Apparently he was their new favorite, and they made it painfully obvious. He had learned that as difficult as it was, it was better to just keep his mouth shut and do what they said. That's why he found himself waiting in the bathroom after school one day, just as they asked.
He sat on the floor against the wall and clenched his eyes tightly when he heard the door open. When it shut, he opened his eyes and looked down at three pairs of shoes standing in front of him.
"Let's just get this over with," Arthur sighed.
"Get what over with?" a voice he had never heard before asked. Arthur whipped his head up and saw three boys, but they weren't his bullies. One was pale with silver hair and red eyes, the second was blue eyed with long blonde hair, and the last was cheerful looking with tanned skin, dark hair, and green eyes.
"Who are you guys?" Arthur asked suspiciously, thinking they looked slightly familiar.
"I'm the one and only Gilbert," the silver haired one said, "and these are my sidekicks."
"Shut up, Gilbert," the blonde playfully slapped Gilbert. "My name is Francis, and this is Antonio. What's your name?"
Still not completely sure he could trust these kids, Arthur reluctantly answered, "Arthur. I'm kind of waiting for someone, so if you wouldn't mind…" I'd rather not have an audience when I'm humiliated.
"Who meets someone in a bathroom?" Gilbert asked. Before he could answer, the door slammed open and in walked the three bullies.
"Sorry we're late," Alfred apologized, ignoring Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio. "Our last appointment took longer than expected." He walked forward and pulled Arthur up by his arm, then shoved him into one of the stalls.
"Toilet, meet Arthur. Arthur, meet toilet," Alfred said as he shoved Arthur's head into the water. A few seconds later, Arthur felt the pressure on his head disappear. He immediately took his head out of the toilet and coughed a few times, then looked behind him. Matthew and Lovino were helping Alfred, who had a bloody lip, up from the ground.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Gilbert demanded, shaking out his hand.
"This isn't any of your business, freak," Lovino sneered, glaring daggers at Gilbert. No one moved at first, but then all hell broke loose. In the end, Alfred, Lovino, and Matthew were cowering by the sinks, bruised and bloodied.
"Now get out of here," Antonio ordered. "Before we decide you haven't had enough." The three ran out of the room, giving Arthur looks promising revenge as they left.
Francis helped him up and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Arthur answered, embarrassed now that they were alone. "I could've dealt with that myself, you know."
Gilbert laughed and said, "Yeah, sure you could. You were just sitting here waiting for them."
Arthur blushed and replied, "I-it was all part of my plan."
"It's okay to ask for help once in a while," Antonio reminded him.
"I don't need any help. I can handle my problems by myself," Arthur said. He walked out of the bathroom, but didn't get very far. The second he left the school building, he was ambushed. A heavy stick swiped his feet out from under him and Alfred, Lovino, and Matthew surrounded him. They each had a murderous look on their face and a branch in their hand.
"So, you thought you could bring some friends to save you, huh?" Alfred asked. He slammed the club down onto Arthur's side, drawing a shriek out from the short boy.
"You made the wrong decision. Prepare for the beating of your life," Alfred told him. Blow after blow fell onto his body. Nowhere was safe. Tears ran down Arthur's face as he looked around him. In his search, he found the same boys who saved him before. They watched, and Arthur remembered what he had said to them. Desperate for help, he looked at them with apologetic eyes, and mouthed, "Please." The trio turned away from him, and Arthur closed his eyes in despair.
His hearing was beginning to go fuzzy when his attackers were thrown to the ground. Arthur cracked open a swollen eye and saw Gilbert holding a knife to Alfred's neck while the other two were held down by Antonio and Francis.
"If you ever touch him again, I will personally slit all three of your throats," Gilbert threatened. "You do not want to mess with a kid who spent the last year in juvie." Alfred tried to nod, but froze when the knife nicked his skin.
"You win," he said shakily. "Please, just let us go." Gilbert removed the knife, and all three freshmen were allowed to get up and sprint away as fast as they could.
Gilbert turned to Arthur and said, "You don't need any help, huh?"
Slightly ashamed, Arthur whispered, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, kid," Antonio smiled and carefully helped Arthur stand up. "Why don't you come on over to our place so we can fix you up?" Arthur nodded and limped with them over to three motorcycles.
"Here, you can ride with me," Francis offered. Too exhausted to be embarrassed, Arthur sat in front of Francis on his motorcycle.
"Isn't he supposed to sit behind you?" Antonio asked.
Francis agreed, "Normally, yes, but I don't know if he has the strength to hold on to me. It's safer for him up here where I can keep a hand on him."
With that, they were off. It was exhilarating being on the motorcycle, even though he had to adjust Francis' hand a few times when he roamed too low. The ride ended too quickly when they stopped in front of a run down, small house. Gilbert fished around in his pocket for a moment, then pulled out a key and opened the door.
"Ludwig!" Gilbert shouted. "We're home!" A thump came from further in the house, and a minute later, the boy who must've been Ludwig walked into the room.
A light blush covered his cheeks as he apologized, "Sorry, we were just, uh, watching a movie." When he finished speaking, Lovino strolled up next to him.
Arthur couldn't stop his voice from getting a little higher as he stepped back reflexively and asked, "What the bloody hell is he doing here?! This is all just a joke, isn't it? They were waiting for you to bring me here so you all could attack me!" Panicked, Arthur tried to run away, but Gilbert stopped him.
"Hey," Gilbert said as he put his hands on Arthur's shoulders. The short blonde continued to struggle, so Gilbert shook him and repeated, "Hey! Calm down! No one is going to hurt you. That's not Lovino. It's his brother, Feliciano."
Arthur looked over at the startled boy he mistook for Lovino and started to see differences. Lovino was slightly taller, and he had darker hair. Feliciano also looked innocent and caring, the complete opposite of his brother.
"See?" Gilbert said reassuringly. "Everything is alright."
"What's wrong with him?" Ludwig asked, confused.
Francis explained, "Lovino and those good for nothing Jones kids have been giving him some trouble. It must've been going on for a while to cause such a strong reaction."
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Feliciano exclaimed. "Lovi hasn't been the same since our grandfather died."
"I-it's okay. I didn't mean to freak out like that," Arthur mumbled.
Feliciano gave Ludwig a peck on the cheek then announced, "Well, I'd better get going. I know you three well enough to be sure Lovi will need help cleaning himself up when he gets home."
When he left the house, Arthur asked, "Why does he help his stupid brother? The guy's a jerk."
"Lovino has always hated us," Ludwig admitted, "but Feli is too nice to give up on him. He always sees the good in everyone."
"Oh," Arthur answered, and then turned to Gilbert. "So, is Ludwig your older brother or something?"
Antonio and Francis burst into laughter while Gilbert insisted, "No way! He's my little bro."
"Oh," Arthur repeated. "Does that mean this is your house? Where are your parents?"
"Man, kid, you sure do ask a lot of questions. I'll explain while we clean you up," Gilbert said. Arthur nodded and allowed himself to be led into the bathroom. After extensive convincing, he stripped down to his boxers and stared at the ground as his face grew warm.
"Damn," Antonio whispered as they looked over Arthur's battered body. "Why didn't you tell anyone about all this?"
"My dad said I need to fix my own problems," Arthur admitted. "Besides, they would've just done something even worse as revenge. It's simpler to just deal with it."
"No one should ever have to just deal with that," Gilbert said angrily. "I wasn't joking. If those fucks ever lay a finger on you again, tell me, and I'll kill them."
"Thanks," Arthur said gratefully while the three began using wet cloths to wash his wounds. Gilbert's comment jogged his memory and made him blurt out, "Wait a minute, why were you in juvie?"
"I guess it's time to explain everything," Gilbert decided. "I grew up in Germany, but I wasn't the greatest kid. I got in fights constantly. After I got kicked out of school for the third time, my parents decided to send me over to America to learn, hoping it would help me shape up. They eventually decided to send Ludwig with me because they were worried he'd follow in my footsteps. I was fifteen, and Ludwig was twelve. We lived with a host family, but soon enough, I packed up our stuff, took Ludwig, and left. My parents tried to get a hold of us, but I ignored them. Eventually they took a flight out here, but the plane never made it. It crashed somewhere in the Atlantic."
Gilbert grew quiet, so Arthur took the opportunity to say, "I'm so sorry, Gilbert. You don't have to tell me anything else if you don't want to."
Gilbert shook his head and replied, "No, it's alright. Anyways, I enrolled Ludwig into school and got a job at a little shop by lying about my age. I tried my best to provide for Luddy, but we were still living on the streets. After a few weeks, my boss caught on to me and told me I needed to go back to school. He hooked me up with a friend of his, and that's how I came to live here without even paying a cent. I showed up at the local high school one day and without any questions they placed me in the ninth grade. I met Francis and Antonio soon after, and life was pretty good for a couple years. Then when he was fourteen, Ludwig met Feli."
Gilbert stopped speaking again. He was looking off angrily into the distance, gripping the rag he was holding tightly.
"I was so happy for him. Feli was nice, and they were so cute together. Some boys in their class didn't agree. They tormented them for awhile, but Ludwig never told me anything. One day, he came home crying with a broken arm and explained everything. I have never been so mad in my entire life. I marched right over to where they hung out after school. Ludwig followed me the whole time, pleading me not to do anything. When I got there, I lost it. I beat the shit out of them. I put two fourteen year old kids in the hospital when I was almost seventeen. Everyone wanted to try me as an adult, but the judge took pity on me. A year in juvie later, and here I am."
"My god…" Arthur whispered.
"It's okay, kid, I'm much calmer now," Gilbert reassured him.
Arthur said, "B-but you just threatened to kill a bunch of fifteen year olds."
"Lovino is actually sixteen," Antonio interrupted. "Dumbass got held back. Besides, you don't have to worry about that. They won't ever give Gilbert a reason to follow through."
"Okay," Arthur replied uncertainly. "Do you guys live here too?"
"Yeah," Antonio said. "I emancipated myself when I was sixteen. My dad was an asshole, and my mom wasn't much better. I left after he did this." Antonio pointed to a scar on his cheek, and then Francis jumped in.
"I don't actually have a problem with my parents. I moved in to help Antonio take care of Ludwig while Gilbert was in juvie. It's actually pretty nice; my parents give us money for food and everything." Francis said.
Gilbert piped up, "His parents are loaded. Well, now you've heard our stories, so what's yours?"
Arthur stood up and followed them out of the bathroom, saying, "My life isn't that interesting. I moved here from England when I was ten. I've had to deal with jerks making fun of my accent and where I'm from before, but it was never too severe until Alfred and his stupid friends. My brother's lucky; he was only two when we moved, so he sounds like an American."
"Kids used to tease my brother about his accent too, but they stopped when I showed up to class with him one day and screamed at them in German. It was awesome," Gilbert shared as they stopped outside a door. "Anyways this place only has two rooms, so I share this one with Ludwig. Come on in."
"Wow," Arthur said when they stepped in. "It's so… clean."
"Gilbert and Ludwig are neat freaks," Antonio explained. "You'd expect it from Ludwig, but not Gilbert. He's a spaz."
"What are you talking about? I'm very quiet and polite," Gilbert argued as he rummaged around in his dresser. "Here, you can borrow some clothes from me. They'll be a bit big, but they'll fit better than any of theirs. Do you want to sleep over?"
Arthur thought about it for a moment, then decided he didn't feel like seeing the disappointed look in his dad's eyes when he saw the condition he was in. "Yeah, sure, that'd be great."
"You can call your parents in the kitchen," Francis said and led the way. After a quick phone call, everything was set. The group of five had a couple frozen pizzas for dinner, with Francis complaining the whole time about how it was an abomination to eat such trash. He shut his mouth once Antonio threatened to take his share and ate the food, grumbling the whole time.
"Hey, Ludwig, do you mind if Arthur sleeps in our room?" Gilbert asked when everyone was almost done eating. "I can sleep with Antonio and Francis, unless Arthur would rather sleep with them."
Francis choked on the bite of pizza in his mouth and burst into a coughing fit. When he got himself under control, Antonio elbowed him and gave him a dirty look.
"Uh, no, I don't mind," Ludwig replied, looking at Francis and Antonio with a confused look.
Gilbert stood up and exclaimed, "Great! Let's go to bed, especially you, Luddy. It's past your bedtime."
Ludwig face was pink as he mumbled, "I don't have a bedtime." Nevertheless he stood up and started walking away.
"Don't forget to brush your teeth!" Gilbert called out. Arthur could see the tips of Ludwig's ears growing red before he sped up and turned the corner out the room.
"You go on ahead, too," Antonio told Arthur. "We'll clean up out here." Arthur nodded and moved to the doorway, but stopped and turned around before he left.
"Hey," he said softly. "Thanks for everything. I-I don't know what I would've done if that continued much longer." The other three stopped what they were doing and gave Arthur a group hug. W-what is this feeling? Why is my heart beating so quickly?
"You're part of the family now," Francis reassured him before they all let go and allowed Arthur to leave.
Arthur laid in bed for a while before turning to see if Ludwig was still awake. He could see the boy's bright blue eyes staring up at the ceiling, so after hesitating slightly, he spoke up.
"Um, Ludwig? Can I ask you a question?" Arthur said.
"Sure," Ludwig replied.
Thankful it was too dark to see his flaming red face, Arthur asked, "How did you know you loved Feliciano?"
"Ah, well, I definitely wasn't expecting that," Ludwig admitted.
"Sorry, I was stupid for asking," Arthur berated himself.
"No, no, it's okay," Ludwig assured him. "No one has ever asked me that before, that's all. Let's see, I think I loved Feli before I allowed myself to realize it. When I did, it was so obvious. He makes me nervous sometimes because I don't want to mess anything up. My heart beats faster around him. My stomach does little flips when he smiles. Being with him makes me happy, and I could never imagine living without him. Does that help?"
"Yeah," Arthur replied. "That helps a lot. Well, I'm going to sleep." He turned over and closed his eyes, picturing Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis in his head. There's no way I feel that way about them. My heart must've been beating faster from embarrassment or something. Unconvinced, Arthur fell asleep thinking of his saviors.
-ZE AWESOME GILBERT'S POV-
"I'm not gonna lie," Gilbert said as he cleared the table. "Arthur's pretty adorable."
Antonio agreed, "I was thinking the same thing, and we all know Francis wants to get in his pants."
"Oh come on, can you really blame me? Gilbert asked if he wanted to sleep with us. I bet you both thought the same thing," Francis defended himself.
"Yeah, but we're betting at hiding it," Antonio countered.
"Whatever," Francis dismissed the topic. "Do you think we should tell Arthur about us?"
Prussia asked, "You mean about the screwing?"
"No, about our adventures in fairyland," Francis replied sarcastically. "Of course about the screwing. Should we tell him we've got a relationship?"
"I dunno, he might think it's weird," Antonio said. "I don't want to scare him off."
"I think Ludwig suspects something, so maybe we should just sit both of them down and explain everything," Gilbert suggested.
Francis decided, "I like that idea. That way we can stop hiding it."
"Looks like I'm outnumbered," Antonio gave in. "I guess we'll tell them tomorrow."
-TIME SKIP, BACK TO ARTHUR'S POV-
When it was time to leave for school the next morning, Arthur walked outside to see Gilbert standing by his motorcycle with a mischievous grin. After looking down, Arthur understood why.
"There's no way I'm riding in that stupid sidecar," Arthur insisted.
"Aw, come on," Prussia complained. "Ludwig outgrew it a few years ago, but you should fit fine. It'll be cute."
Arthur's cheeks burned as he snapped, "I don't want to be cute. Take that stupid thing off. I'll just go to school with Ludwig."
"He walks to school with Feli, so that might be awkward," Antonio said as he and Francis came outside.
"Then I'll just walk alone," Arthur decided. He marched down the sidewalk but came to a stop and turned back around. "Um, how do I get to school from here?"
"Kesesesese, you're adorable!" Gilbert laughed. "Tell you what; I'll take off the sidecar. You can just sit behind me."
"Fine," Arthur pouted. "But only if you stop calling me cute and adorable. I'm not five."
"Yeah, yeah," Gilbert said. "You sure are cranky in the morning." A few minutes later, the sidecar was off, and Arthur sat behind Gilbert.
"Make sure you hold on tight," Gilbert warned him. Arthur wrapped his arms around Gilbert's waist and blushed again. There goes my heart. And great, now my stomach feels weird too. Stupid Gilbert and his stupid friends.
Arthur jumped off the bike the minute they got to school and stalked inside. When he saw Alfred and the others, he got worried, but they didn't even look at him. The day breezed by, and at three o'clock, he found himself standing around with Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis.
"Let's go get some coffee. Or tea for our English friend," Francis suggested in a terrible British accent.
"Friend," Arthur said under his breath in awe. Remembering where he was, he cleared his throat and continued, "Yeah, sure, whatever." The four went to a coffee shop down the street and sat in a corner table with their drinks.
"So, Arthur, we wanted to tell you this at the same tame as Ludwig, but he disappeared with Feli before I could stop him," Prussia began.
"What do you want to tell me?" Arthur asked suspiciously when Antonio winked at him.
"Well, the three of us are close," Antonio explained.
Arthur put his cup of tea down and said, "So? I can already tell you guys are good friends."
Francis shook his head and clarified, "No, we're really close."
Finally understanding and slightly disappointed, Arthur asked, "So you guys are dating then?
"Exactly," Gilbert answered, happy that Arthur didn't seem to think it was too strange.
"You're welcome to join in too if you want," Francis offered seductively.
Antonio shoved him and whispered angrily, "Shut up, Francis."
"You guys are weird," Arthur said. "But don't worry; I don't care that you're dating."
"Awesome!" Gilbert exclaimed, grabbing Arthur and giving him a slobbery kiss on the cheek.
"Hey!" Arthur objected, wiping off his scarlet cheek. "You can't just keep doing stuff like that!"
"What are you talking about?" Gilbert asked, confused.
"All of you! Gilbert, you keep calling me cute, and now you kissed me. Antonio, you winked at me, and Francis, you aren't even trying to act appropriate," Arthur said angrily.
All three of them looked shocked, but Antonio apologized, "We're sorry, Arthur. We didn't realize it was bothering you so much."
"Well, alright, as long as you promise to stop making my heart race," Arthur replied without thinking.
"We make your heart race?" Francis asked. It didn't seem possible, but Arthur grew even redder.
"No! That's not what I meant!" Arthur insisted. He banged his head on the table and begged, "Please, just kill me now before I die of embarrassment."
Antonio chuckled and said, "You don't need to be embarrassed. The truth is we like you too."
Arthur peeked up at them and asked, "Really?"
"For sure," Gilbert nodded. "Why else would we do all those things to you?"
"Cause you're stupid?" Arthur suggested weakly.
The other three exchanged a look, and then Gilbert sighed, "So adorable."
Arthur jerked his head up to tell him off, but before he could, everyone leaned in and kissed his face. Even though he wanted to be angry about it, Arthur had to admit to himself that he liked it. This would be one interesting relationship—or rather, three interesting relationships—but he wouldn't have it any other way.
Man, people sure do blush a lot in stuff I write.