So I had this really cute idea after reading Sarah Dessen's 'This Lullaby'. If you like cute SpaMano stories, I really recommend it! Both characters really remind me of Spain and Romano. I'm a little cramped for time, so RxR and I hope you enjoy!
"Every single day, he repeats it like a mantra of annoying begs and pleas. Every single day he follows me around. Every single day – like a recurring nightmare."
~oO0Oo~
Instead of the normal, boring introduction in which all I do is talk about myself and how special or different I am, I'm going to first talk about the people around me. Because they make up pretty much my entire life.
Let's start with my younger brother. His name is Feliciano, though I call him 'Feli' for short. He's a few inches taller than me and for some odd reason, his hair is lighter too. Our personalities are completely different too. He's the type of guy to jump right into the crowd, all smiles and giggles. He may be a raging homosexual, also.
Then there's my grandpa, or grandfather – It depends on the situation. He's almost like an old geezer version of my younger brother. Almost. His name's Romulus Vargas. There's rumors he was a mob boss. I'd believe it, too. He's a fashion designer and book writer. Somehow, he inexplicably has like, a gazillion dollars and lives in a really expensive mansion-like house. He favors Feli more, but we'll get to that later.
There's Matthew, last name Williams. I always thought that was a first name, but whatever. (Who named you, child!?) He's Canadian, and very soft spoken and shy. He's probably the first and best friend I've ever made.
Next we have Alfred F. Jones, Matthew's brother. (Nobody knows what the 'F' stands for and I really don't care.) I'm pretty sure they're step-brothers or whatever, but that's not important right now. Alfred's like this crazy lunatic that screams everything he says. He also eats a lot too. He loves sports, almost more than he likes Star Wars: Revenge of The Sith. Again, like I said. Almost.
Alfred, Matthew and I make up this small little group at school. You know, the group that doesn't exactly stand out and does their own thing, not giving a fuck.
I don't want to come off as those bozos that sit around, folding paper planes and throwing them across the room, firing spit wads that have long since gone out of style. No, we were just simply too busy doing more important stuff.
"So, next episode is coming out next week! Wanna come over since it's the season finale?"
...Okay, so maybe we were just the tiniest bit geeky...
But, that's a problem for another time!
…
There's also this girl named Femke. She's a real pretty girl too. Short, curly blonde hair and big, green eyes. She has long eyelashes, and is very feminine. She dresses so pretty all the time, it's hard to believe she doesn't have a boyfriend.
She has an older brother, and yada yada yada... I think I'm done with introductions.
After all, there are plenty of weirdos at my school. I can't go through all of them.
So, now that I've started this off with other people's introductions, I suppose I won't mind talking about me. Not that I'm this really extraordinary person leading this really extraordinary life.
To start things off, I moved to America from Italy along with my younger brother a few years ago, before we entered middle school. You got it, that makes the both of us Italian. Yippee. We both had a small Italian accent, not very noticeable. Until you get one of us riled up. I can't tell you how many times I've had to save Feli's ass because he was getting bullied for getting overly excited for spaghetti, which the kids thought was hilarious because he was apparently like a stereotypical Italian. Little shit should've known better.
I got bullied a lot too, only because I had a darker skin color than usual, but that was only because I spent a lot of my summer's in Southern Italy with other relatives. Apparently, it was SO WRONG to be darker. Like, a lightning bolt would zap you, or a piano would miraculously fall from the sky, simply because you were slightly darker than other people.
Not that it's very important, but a kid actually tried to paint me white, which he thought would stop the mean kids from bullying me. We were like, five or something, so I can't really blame the guy for trying.
Another reason I was bullied, was my attitude. Feli got a lot of shit for being: too scrawny, too short, too much of a crybaby, too Italian, too weak, etc. Basically, for being too him. So of course I wasn't going to just watch, then roll over and let them bully me too. No, I actually stood up for myself. I would sock the biggest kid straight in the face just because he bumped into me during lunch.
Though, during high school, that changed. The kids got bigger, meaner and scarier. They weren't afraid to hit you back, they weren't afraid of being threatened and they certainly weren't afraid of a 5'4" Italian.
That brings us here, my high school. Packed full of jocks, stoners, emo's and everything else in between.
When we first came here, Feli and I weren't used to being separated. We had different classes. After all, most people thought we were twins, despite the obvious height difference. Like, DUH PEOPLE.
So seeking refuge, I established a friendship with Matthew, who had Alfred in tow.
"Lovino?" Matthew whispered, nudging my shoulder.
Oh, shit. By the way, my name's Lovino Vargas...that information might be important...
"What?" I turned to him, expecting to see his face that always seemed to look scared.
But no, he was smiling. "Did you hear me?" I shook my head. "I said we should go to the mall after school today. You know, to shop for clothes for the dance this weekend?" Matthew said softly.
I nodded slowly. That rang a bell.
The thing is, I don't particularly like social gatherings.
"Do we have to go? I'd rather stay at home, reading or being on the internet or something..." I sighed.
Matthew looked the slightest bit disappointed. "Did you forget? We promised Alfred we'd go. We swore!"
I rubbed my temple irritably. It was one thing to force me to go, it was another to remind me why and who I'd have to go with. Especially if it was with that loud mouth.
"Fine. But I have to be home by seven." I complied, already regretting my decision.
Matthew, however, seemed to relax. "Good." He nodded, satisfied, then turned to leave. Probably to tell Alfred the 'good' news.
I checked the clock above the cafeteria doors that led into the hallways. 12:30. I still had time to get whatever slop they were serving...
~oO0Oo~
Another boring, ordinary school day, nothing special. That is, until after school. Matthew, Alfred and I were currently walking around the local mall. Of course, Alfred was dragging us to different stores that had nothing to do with shopping for clothes.
"You two are boring! Why can't I hang out with cool, awesome people for once?" Alfred sighed as he picked up a blue dress shirt.
My eyebrow twitched. I was seriously getting sick of his shit. Here I am giving up my afternoon and weekend to please him, and he's complaining! "Now listen here, you little shit..." I started, but Matthew hurriedly tugged my arm, pulling me away.
"I know he's being unreasonable, but please try to bare with it. You never know, the dance could be fun?" Matthew smiled at me.
I wasn't convinced. Feeling slightly less irritated, I pulled my arm out from his grip and made my way to another part of the store, far away from that idiot Alfred.
As I searched through the clothes, I noticed how colorful they were. This wasn't prom, so one doesn't have to go all out. I made a face at a bright orange dress shirt. It looked horrible.
I was about to pull out another, hopefully less-disgusting-to-the-eyes dress shirt, until my hand was captured from someone on the inside of the clothes rack.
Naturally, I freaked out.
"What the fuck!?" I yelped, before getting pulled into the clothes rack with the culprit.
"Shh! They'll hear you!" Someone said as I stumbled in beside him. Feeling extremely annoyed, I struggled and pushed away from him, but he kept his grip firm. "What are you doing? Stop struggling!" He whispered, now throwing his arms around me.
Now that did it. Nobody just puts their arms around me!
"No! What the fuck are you doing!? Let me go, you fucking freak!" I snapped at him, waving my hands around and successfully slapping him on the cheek.
"Ow! Okay, sorry...but look, over there!" He said in a urgent voice that got me to comply and stop struggling for a second. He pushed some clothes aside and I saw two guys who looked about my age. One had curly blond hair and some stubble. The other had silver hair and strange, red eyes. Both were dressed in black and red clothing. They looked like they were searching for something, or someone...
The guy beside me sighed and let the clothes fall back in place. "They just won't let up, will they...?" He said, sounding disappointed.
"...Why are they looking for you, and why did you pull me in here?" I said in a sort of monotone voice.
The guy beside me chuckled. "Ah, that...Well, they want to-"
"Try searching the clothing racks, he seems like the type of person to hide in those." A voice nearby said.
Immediately, the guy beside me grabbed my arm and pulled me out from the clothing rack, dragging me out of the store. I looked back to see if they had seen us, but they were too busy looking through other clothing racks.
"Are you insane!?" I told him, after we reached the end of the mall, far away from the other two guys...and Alfred and Matthew. I turned and felt my eyes widen. The guy beside me was really something to look at...
He had dark brown, curly hair and bright, green eyes. His skin was darker than mine, and he stared right back at me, a big smile on his face.
I felt my face warm, and I averted my eyes.
"No, not insane. But hey, did you feel it just now?" He said, and damn...you could practically hear the smile he was wearing in his voice. If...that makes sense...
"Feel what?" I growled, wondering why he didn't just walk away and leave me alone. Why'd he take me with him in the first place?
"That feeling just now, I dare say we had a moment~" He said, sounding like he was talking about the weather.
I felt irritated now. "What!? W-we did not have one!" I snapped.
He just grinned even wider, feeling around in his pockets. "What are you doing this weekend?" He asked, sounding ecstatic.
I eyed him uneasily. This guy is just not giving up. "None of your business, asshole." I growled.
He pulled out a sharpie marker, suddenly grabbing my arm and fucking writing on it. I never let anyone touch me, let alone write on me. With a fucking sharpie! So I yanked my arm back, messing him up on whatever he was writing.
Just then, we heard two voices. "There he is! Hey!" I turned and saw the two guys we saw earlier, running towards us. The guy beside me gave me one last glance at me, then turned and dashed into another larger store.
I simply watched. Watched as he went out of sight, and watched as the two weirdos dashed past me. What a strange trio.
I headed back to the front of the mall. Matthew and Alfred were probably really worried.
When I entered the store, I was immediately greeted with a hug. Ugh, why can't people understand personal space!?
"Alfred. Get. Off." I demanded, pushing him away.
"We were looking for you! Where did you go!?" He cried.
Matthew came over, looking relieved. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"It was nothing, just a run-in with some weirdos. It's okay now." I reassured them.
Matthew opened his mouth, but stopped when he noticed my arm. He grabbed it and looked at what was written. "What is this? A name and a number?" He blinked, studying my arm.
I sighed and resisted yanking my arm away. "One of them was a douche." I said.
"It looks like...A-Anto...Antonio?" Alfred said, squinting his eyes at the name. The first three numbers were there, but the fourth number was smeared. "God, that's some awful handwriting..." He added.
"Whatever. I'm going to wash this off as soon as I get home." I grumbled, pulling my arm away. "Let's just get this shopping over with."
~oO0Oo~
We ended up buying some nice dress shirts. Mine, if you must know, was a dark red. By the time I got home, it was about 7:30-ish. My younger brother and grandpa were causing a ruckus which the whole neighborhood could probably hear.
I sighed and made my way up our front steps, wishing everyone could already be asleep. When I opened the door and stepped inside, I was greeted with my grandpa and Feli on the couch in the living room, crying and sobbing over some stupid movie.
"It's soooo not fair! Why him!?" Feli cried, wiping his eyes with a tissue.
"Life isn't fair, such is the true cruelty of this world...!" Grandpa sobbed, blowing his nose.
I kicked off my shoes and shook my head. Another teenage drama movie.
"Oh, Lovi you're back? Dinner's in the fridge if you want to warm it up." Feli acknowledged my presence. I simply nodded and walked past the kitchen. I had more pressing matters to deal with.
But before I could go into the bathroom to wash my arm, I heard Feli's voice from downstairs. "Ah, Lovi! Can you take me to the store real quick? I forgot some stuff for my project tomorrow!" He called out to me.
Great. Real fucking great. Sure, I knew how to drive, I just really hated driving around whiny little brothers that changed the radio station to stupid pop songs, or rolled down the window when it was really cold.
"Ugh! Whatever, get your jacket...!" I grumbled, coming down the stairs.
"Hehe~ Sorry..." He gave a weak smile.
"We'll be right back." I told my grandpa, pulling the keys out from a small bowl where we kept loose change. He nodded, waving his hand at us.
Feli quickly slipped on his nice, black boots and rushed to catch up with me, as I was already getting in the car. I turned the ignition and the car started up. As he got in beside me and put on his seatbelt, he gave me a small smile. "Thanks, Lovi~"
I furrowed my eyebrows and pulled out of the driveway. "Sure."
The small grocery store that was closest to our house was about five minutes away. Five minutes alone with my obnoxious brother.
He turned the radio on to the annoying pop song channel, then rolled down the window, just like I expected him to do.
"Ahh~ Say, Lovi?" He began.
"No." I said immediately.
"I didn't say anything yet!" He cried, turning to me.
"You didn't have to. I don't want to talk." I said flatly.
"Ve...I met this guy today." He started again anyway.
I felt my lip twitch. He just ignored me. "Yay for you." I replied.
"He's really nice..." Feli ignored me yet again. "I was on the bus home today, and he had no where to sit, so he sat next to me, then we started talking. He seemed scary at first, but he was actually really kind. He's transferring to our school next week, along with his brother and his friends." Feli said, playing with the strings of his jacket idly.
I shrugged. "I met a guy too. He was annoying, stupid and an asshole." I grumbled.
Feli tilted his head curiously. "At the mall?" He asked.
I nodded, pulling into the parking lot of the store and finding a parking place. "Go get what you need so we can go home." I told him, changing the radio station.
Feli sat there, fumbling with his fingers nervously. "A-actually, Lovi...I might need your help..." He muttered.
Goddammit. Now I had to go in!? I sighed and opened the door, locking it as Feli and I walked inside.
"What do you need?" I grumbled.
"A cardboard box, and some construction paper." He told me.
"You couldn't have done it yourself?" I snapped.
"Ve...The cardboard would be too big for me to carry..." He said sadly.
We walked to the art supplies and got some construction paper. Feli held it close to his chest like it was some precious treasure. "Now the cardboard." He said determinedly.
I nodded and walked up to the customer assistance desk, politely asking for a decent sized cardboard box. As I was waiting, a hand rested on my shoulder.
"Dammit, Feli...you know how much I hate it when people touch m-" I turned and expected to see my younger brother. Instead, I was greeted with the guy from before – Antonio.
"Hey there!" He said cheerfully, a big grin on his face.
I took a step away from him, glaring at him. "You again." I grumbled.
"Me again." He confirmed, then added. "I couldn't help but notice you haven't washed it off yet." He pointed to the sharpie name and phone number that was written on my arm.
I blushed and covered it. "Idiot. I didn't get the time to." I snapped irritably. "Why are you here!? Are you some sort of stalker?"
Antonio laughed at this. "No, not at all. I just think we were meant to be together, you know?" He said smoothly.
I was not impressed. The lady behind the counter returned, holding a cardboard box with some difficulty. "This big enough?" She asked.
"Yes, thank you." I said, and took the box from her. Damn, it was hard to hold.
"Want some help with that?" Antonio offered.
I shook my head, already walking away. "No, and I'm not interested. I'm seeing someone." I said flatly.
Feli later joined me outside. "Sorry, had to pee." He explained, getting in the car. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." I grumbled and started the car, pulling out of the parking lot and driving home.
~oO0Oo~
"So? When are you going to dump Sadik?" Matthew asked in his usual, hushed tone. We were currently sitting behind the gym building. It was PE, and the jocks were playing basketball.
I shrugged, chewing on some gum. "I dunno. I'm waiting for the right time. I was thinking at the dance." I murmured thoughtfully.
Alfred nodded. "As long as you do it soon. The class trip is coming up, and he just might ask to room with you."
I nodded. Every year, the entire class took a trip to some fun place like an amusement park or aquarium, or something like that. It was a three day long trip, so we each had to find a roommate to share a hotel room with.
"So I noticed you washed off that guys number." Alfred said, pointing to my arm.
"Of course I washed it off. The guy was an idiot." I rolled my eyes, bringing my knees closer to my chest.
Matthew bit his lip. "He doesn't know your name though, right?" He asked nervously.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "No. Why would I do something like that?"
Matthew averted his eyes. "I-I was just a bit concerned..." He murmured.
Alfred sighed and laid on the grass. "Man, if only there was something more interesting we could do." He complained.
"...Wanna play Dungeons and Dragons?" Matthew suggested. We all agreed.