Chapter One

Arthur groaned as he dropped on the bed. After a week of sitting in a car all day he had gotten stiff and tired. He was just glad that his father had come up with his older brothers and had everything settled in by the time his mother and younger brothers had arrived with him.

"Arthur~" he heard from his doorway and he groaned again as he glared at his red-headed older brother.

"What do you want, Colin?" Arthur demanded. Colin snickered.

"I was wondering if you'd noticed yet, but obviously not. See ya," Colin said and left. Arthur sat up immediately to survey his room more closely. His Union Jack themed bedspread and everything was just the way it was at his old house, with the exception that the wallpaper of his walls were a lot darker than his previous baby blue. Why his parents had desired to move to such a creepy house was beyond him.

He narrowed his eyes at his closet and approached it cautiously. Something was going to jump out, he just knew it...

Before he touched the handle a noise from the attic startled him. He settled down enough to think something a bit more rational than ghosts.

"Just a mouse, probably," he muttered. He opened his closet and nothing happened. He huffed irritatedly; Colin was just picking on him again. He returned to his bed and proceeded to try and relax. He could feel his eyes slide shut as the drowsiness from the long trip swept over him in a flood...

His eyes shot open as another, louder noise sounded from the attic. It was dark out now... He sat up and got out of bed irritatedly- Colin needed to pipe down. But he didn't remember his brother saying anything about staying in the attic...

He grabbed a flashlight and pulled the ladder down. He climbed in irritation and poked his head through the way into the attic. All around him were old, cobweb covered, dusty bits and boxes of junk. It was obvious that nobody had been up here in a long time. He shined his light around, seeing an old mattress that seemed to once harbor a guest some time ago, but now only had a moth-eaten blanket and down pillow on top. There were papers nearby. Arthur curiously stepped farther into the attic and began to head for the only part of the spatious room that appeared to have once inhabited someone.

He hadn't paid attention to his path and walked right into a web. He panicked and dropped the flashlight, flailing his arms as he fell backwards with a cry at the fact that there was an actual spider in this one. He pulled web away from his face as soon as he was sure he had no spider on him and whimpered in embarrassment, even though nobody saw his little panic attack. He looked around for his flashlight, unable to see the light anymore. Then the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as a chill swept through the room.

"You dropped this," a slightly obnoxious voice said beside him as the flashlight flicked on. Arthur looked over in the dim light and almost screamed. There was a guy right there beside him.

"Hey, don't look so freaked out. I've been here a long time. It's nice to see someone here after all these years," the other said with a smile. Arthur shook with fright. Who was this guy and why was he in his house?!

"Wh-who a-are y-you?" Arthur stammered. The other grinned.

"My name is Alfred F. Jones. Sorry I didn't say so sooner," the other teen, Alfred, said. "Now who are you?"

Arthur was taken aback; dishwater blonde hair, bright blue eyes, glasses... This looked like his cousin Francis's little brother... Matthew? He couldn't remember his name at the moment...

"A-Arthur Kirkland," Arthur said as steadily as he could and offered his hand. Alfred just grinned.

"Nice to meet ya, Artie! Dude, I can tell we are gonna be great friends. You know, it's really stuffy up here. Let's go back to your room, huh? I figure you moved here to see if the house really is haunted. Honestly, I'm at a loss. I mean, I've never seen any ghosts around here, so I assume all these dudes that moved in here are nutty in the brain, ya know?" Alfred chattered on. "Hey, dude- let's go. Oh, and there's a spider in your hair," Alfred added and pointed at the eight-legged fiend that was now inching down in front of Arthur's eyes by a thread. Arthur paled and slapped it away with a girly squeal before scrambling down to get to his room. He jumped in his bed under the blankets and trembled. First he gets attacked by a web and he finds a creep in his attic... The attic. He forgot to close it.

His comforter was thrown from his body and he looks back with fear as he sees Alfred standing there.

"Dude, lucky you I closed up the attic. So what are you gonna do now?" Alfred asked.

"I-I-" Arthur stuttered, unable to say anything. Alfred looked at him and grinned hugely.

"You're blushing! Dude, that's adorable," Alfred said and laughed obnoxiously. How nobody else in the house heard the loud boy, Arthur didn't know. He blushed brighter as what Alfred said sank in.

"I knew it! Creep!" Arthur squealed accusingly. Alfred looked taken aback and he turned his face to the floor, pushed his hands into his pockets, and shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"S-sorry... I didn't mean to impose or anything..." he murmured. "Mom always said it was a bad thing... That I was going to hell... She said Satan would take my body if I didn't quit it..." Alfred muttered almost inaudibly. Arthur cocked his head.

"What's a bad thing?" Arthur asked. Alfred glanced up before pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"Liking other boys... I didn't mean to freak you out... You can hit me now," Alfred said and dropped to his knees.

"N-no... I won't hit you... I just... I'm sorry," Arthur said and rubbed the back of his head. Alfred looked up and blinked in surprise.

"Why are you sorry? I'm the one in the wrong," Alfred said, confused.

"Because I just came out and... You were giving me a compliment and I shot it down. It's not polite," Arthur said and placed his hands on his lap.

"But... Aren't you upset that I like guys?" Alfred asked. His hands were wringing themselves nervously and he looked genuinely afraid of Arthur's answer. Arthur shook his head.

"If I were upset that would be very hypocritical of me," Arthur explained. "My brother teases me, but that's just how Colin is."

"Hippo... What?" Alfred asked.

"Hypocri- it would be wrong if I were upset with you for something I do as well," Arthur explained.

"Yeah, what?" Alfred asked. Arthur gritted his teeth.

"In other words, I like boys too," Arthur admitted through clenched teeth while his cheeks darkened. Alfred blinked in surprise.

"Don't your parents hate you for it? Don't they beat you and punish you and make you go to church and pray for forgiveness and tell you God hates you?" Alfred asked. He seemed worried, confused, and slightly upset. Arthur shook his head.

"Mum and Dad are fine with it," Arthur said simply. "Why do you ask?" Alfred looked up at Arthur.

"My parents hated me... They pretended I didn't exist... They made me live in the attic like some dirty secret, only letting me out of the house to go to church..." Alfred looked at the floor, lost in his thoughts.

"Alfred?" Arthur asked, concerned. Alfred looked up slowly, looking close to tears. "Where is your mother?" Alfred looked back at the floor, his tears hitting the ground with soft 'plip's.

"... I don't know," Alfred whispered. "She just... Disappeared one day..." Arthur got on his knees beside the other boy and slowly enveloped him in an awkward hug. Alfred cried softly into Arthur's shoulder as he clung to the blonde with the large eyebrows. Something was off about this situation...

Alfred's face brushed Arthur's neck and the Brit jumped out of his skin at how cold the other's cheek had been. He pulled back and grabbed Alfred's hand to find it cold as ice.

"You're freezing!" Arthur exclaimed. He made Alfred sit on his bed and remove his shoes before wrapping the boy in his comforter. Arthur placed a hand to Alfred's forehead, finding it to be as cold as his hands.

"Why are you so cold?" Arthur asked. It hadn't seemed that chilly in the attic...

"I dunno," Alfred said, shrugging under the Brit's hand. "But you feel so warm and nice..." Arthur blushed and turned his eyes away. He felt the cold hand touch his cheek and he flinched slightly at the icy temperature.

"Your face is much warmer, now..." Alfred said softly and smiled. Arthur felt just inside the collar of Alfred's shirt, finding the same ice-cold sensation on his fingers.

"Bloody hell you aren't warming up at all!" he said. "Move over," he muttered. Alfred slid over easily and Arthur climbed into bed. Goosebumps prickled at his skin while he lay there and tried to share his body heat. Something was wrong; Alfred felt like he had been submerged in ice water and wasn't warming up. Alfred threw his arms around Arthur.

"If you wanted to sleep together all you needed to do was ask," Alfred said with a grin.

"Don't get any funny ideas," Arthur said and shoved the other's arms away, shivering. Alfred shrugged and rolled over.

"I'll be here still if you want to cuddle up to me," Alfred said simply. Arthur faced away from Alfred. There was some sort of puzzle here... He just couldn't piece it together...