"Lilli! Are you ready to go yet?" Vash called from outside her door.

"Hold on, bruder!" Lilli quickly finished tying her bow in her hair. She was so nervous for her first day of school, even if she had her brother there just down the hall. She looked over her reflection in the mirror. She had hoped her summer vacation wouldn't end so that she could continue to hang out with Belarus and Seychelles. It was certainly better than having to go to a school where it was rumored that even people in her grade sold drugs and picked fights just about every day. She had read in the newspaper that the school had kicked security up, but she still had her doubts about the school. She sighed and picked up her backpack, opening her bedroom door while faking a smile.

Vash smiled. "Are you ready for your first day of High School?"

Lilli nodded nervously. "Bruder, I'm a little bit nervous."

Vash's face instantly turned hard and serious. "Don't be. If anyone picks on you, come find me." He smiled down at his sister. He really hoped no one would hurt her. Just the thought of someone hurting her made him want to punch a hole in the wall. Or shoot someone. Preferably that stupid Italian kid, if that one kid Ludwig didn't protect him all the time.

He opened the front door and stepped outside with his sister. He couldn't help but feel proud of her, like he had to protect her. Just thinking about someone hurting her made him want to shoot someone, like he had thought earlier. Punching a hole in the wall was over-rated, he decided. Anyways, he would kill someone to protect Lilly, preferably shoot them. Especially if that someone was Arthur Kirkland. That kid was nothing but trouble. It was rumored that he was the one who had started selling drugs in school, and he was always asking for a punch in the face or a kick in the crotch. Yes, a kick in the crotch. Nein, nein, a shooting in the crotch. That was more appropriate for what he thought.

"Bruder, what's wrong?" Vash snapped out of his violent string of thoughts and looked down at his sister. "It's nothing, I was just thinking..." He paused. Was he really going to ask her? She probably wouldn't even see him that much. Oh well, better safe than sorry. It would save him a bullet or twenty in the future.

"Can you do me a favor, though?"

"Sure, Bruder. Anything for you."

"Stay away from Arthur Kirkland. He's got blonde hair, green eyes, and a punk style uniform. His eyebrows are too big for his face, too."

Lilli looked up at her brother a little confused. He probably had his reasons for asking this. She paused before saying, "Okay, bruder."

Vash looked over and saw the school coming closer and closer into view until they were finally walking up to the front doors. "Lilli, good luck today." With that he left to go to his own classes, leaving Lilli a bit confused on where hers were.

Lilli walked around the school, confused. Questions flew through her mind. Where was she? How did she end up here? Was she late for class? Had school even started yet? She was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn't notice when she bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry!" She said, and then she looked up. She had bumped into a teenager with bright green eyes and messy blonde hair. He was wearing his uniform differently. He was wearing a black suit, sort of. His thin dress coat was unbuttoned and clinging to his sides. His dress shirt was the union jack flag, ruffled, and his red tie had black checkers all over it. Chains were holding up his pants like a belt, and he had a black choker around his neck. Suprisingly, she noticed, he wasn't wearing make-up like most gothic men do. Oh well, the less he looked like a goth, the less he creeped her out. He looked down at her.

"I've never seen you around. Are you new here?" He looked down at her. His emerald eyes had a questioning look in them as he looked at her.

"U-uhm, yes. I'm a little lost though." Lilli looked at her surroundings. When had those lockers gotten there?

The teenager laughed. "I'll say, you're all the way in the eleventh grade's unit. How'd you end up here? Didn't anyone show you to your classes?" There was something odd about this girl. She sort of reminded him of Vash...'That ass couldn't have a sister as innocent as this,' he thought. '...Or could he?'

"Oh, my bruder had to go to his classes. I tried to find my own way to class, but like I said, I sort of got lost." She let out a nervous sigh.

'She must be Vash's little sister. Maybe I could toy around with her...Then again, Vash had probably already warned her not to step near me.' Then a plan formed in his head. He gave himself a mental high-five. His sexy British ass had just come up with a marvelous plan to get back at Vash for what he did Queen Victoria knows how many years ago. "You must be Vash's little sister. If that's the case, I'll show you to class." He gently took her hand and smiled at her.
Lilli looked up at him, suprised by the sudden action.

"O-Okay." She just then noticed a blush was forming on her cheeks as she felt her face heat up. '...What? Why is my face heating up?' she wondered to herself.
The teenager noticed her blush and almost smirked. Instead, he fostered a caring look on his face.

"You okay? Your face is red." Lilli looked up at him from her sudden train of thoughts and her blush deepened.

"I-It is?"

The teenager nodded, and put his hand on her forehead. He almost laughed when he saw her blush deepen."Well, you're not sick." He paused slightly, looking down at her. He towered over her. It figured, since she was a ninth grader and he was in eleventh grade. "So, what's your name?"

"I'm Lilli," she said while looking away. The blush was far from leaving her face yet.

The teenager chuckled. "I'm Arthur, Arthur Kirkland. Pleased to meet you."

Lilli's eyes widened as she stopped walking. This was that guy her brother had told her to look out for! She mentally slapped herself for falling into such a trap. Then again, he could be nice. It could be that he just cared for everyone in the school, and she was no exception. Bruder could just hate him. Vash hates a lot of people now that Lilli thinks about it...No! Her brother told her to stay away from Arthur. Vash doesn't give her orders without reason.

Arthur looked back at her. "You seem to be spacing out a lot."

Lilli nodded. "Yeah, it's just my brother told me to look out for you. And I sort of broke that promise just now." Wait, what? She slapped herself mentally again. Why was she telling him all this? He turned around and took her face into his hands. She blushed at the feeling of Arthur's fingers. "I can assure you, Lilli, I am not going to hurt you just because I don't like your brother." He leaned in closer to her face.

She could smell his breath {Minty. Was that his toothpaste, or mints?}, and even feel his warm breath on her skin. She felt a strong blush burst out across her cheeks again. "B-But bruder told me to look out for you..."

Arthur looked her in the eyes. So far his plan was going smoothly. All he needed now was time for her to realize that she had fallen for him. All girls did eventually. "Did your brother tell you he doesn't like me because I told him his sister was cute?"

Lilli looked up, a bit suprised. She knew Vash would probably kill someone if they said that, so what he said had a possibility of being true. "R-Really?"

Arthur smiled and nodded, leaning in further. He rested his forehead against hers, his lips almost touching hers. A smirk was pulling at his lips. It was taking all his willpower not to smirk, but then again, it was taking all his willpower not to lean down and kiss her. Wait, what? Did he just...no. "Really." His words were almost a whisper, dwelling on his lips a little longer than they should have. He pulled his head back and stood straight up. He looked down at her with his famous trade-make smirk. He had chosen to lose his willpower to the smirk. He still couldn't figure out why he had wanted to kiss her. Was he that desperate? "If we don't get going, you're going to be late for class."

Lilli was still a little struck by what just happened, but simply nodded as she followed him to her classroom.

"How am I not late? I thought that school started a while ago," said Lilli.

"It did. For the upper grades. Each class starts at a ten minute time difference. Twelfth grade starts at 7, eleventh starts at 7:10, tenth starts at 7:20, ect.," explained Arthur.

"Why is that?"

"It's so that we can clear the hallways, and I can yell at people who aren't in class. The people that are supposed to be in class and not running an errand, anyways."

"...Oh."

Arthur paused outside of the classroom door to kiss her cheek. He leaned in towards her ear and whispered, "You're beautiful."
Lilli looked up at him, a little suprise showed in her green eyes. "T-Thank you." What the hell? Go away, blush. You're not welcome right now.
Arthur nodded. "Now come on, let's get you in the classroom." He opened the classroom door and watched her walk in before closing the door and going back to his duties.

Since the grade levels get out at different times, Vash had to go home before Lilli, who would get out of school thirty minutes later. (They wait ten minutes for every grade to walk home before letting the next grade go. ._. Don't ask. Please.)

When Lilli was finally dismissed, she walked out of the front doors of the school and was greeted by a familiar face that she had only met seven hours ago. Or was it eight? She had lost count, not that the length of school mattered to her that much.

"Hey," said Arthur, smirking. Had he just kept smirking all the seven or eight hours of school? 'That's lame,' Lilli thought to herself forcefully. Honestly, she thought his smirk was cute. No, she couldn't think that. Her brother would kill her. Well, he wouldn't kill her. She'd kill him. And she didn't want his cute smirk gone anytime soon. Wait, stop. Reply to him. Take a deep breath.

Lilli looked up at him, blushing. "What are you doing here? You were dismissed thirty minutes ago!"

"I waited for you. Is that a problem?" Arthur raised one of his too-big eyebrows slightly. He had fun teasing her, and seeing her blush. It seemed like that blush never left her face.

"Well, bruder wouldn't be happy if he saw you talking to me."

"Your brother left thirty minutes ago. I thought I'd walk you home, since he was too rude to wait for you."

Lilli looked up at him. "Are you trying to committ suicide? Vash wouldn't like that." She paused. Wait, she actually didn't know her way home from here. Vash had led her here this morning and she had forgotten how to get back. Damn it, now she had to follow him. No, play cool. Pretend you know the way.

"Well, I don't like the fact he left his sister here because she got out thirty minutes later than him." Arthur frowned.

Lilli frowned as well. "It's a school rule. You only stayed because you're supposed to get kids to go home so the next grade can be dismissed."

"I could've let him stay if he asked."

"Why are you so persistant on walking me home?" Lilli was getting a little bit upset that Arthur was making a big fuss over her walking home, even if she didn't know her way home.

"Around here anything can happen. I just want to make sure you get home safely." Arthur put a real look of concern on his face. He was done with faking for now. This plan would never succeed without real care. "You know what a horrible neighborhood this is. Anything could happen to you if you walk alone."

Lilli's face switched from stubborn to suprise. He didn't seem like he was acting...Maybe she could trust him. Would her brother really mind?

"Take my hand," said Arthur. He held out his hand with a stern look on his face

.
Lilli looked up at him, then back at his hand. She finally slipped her small hand into his much bigger one. "I can trust you, right?"

Arthur let out a light chuckle. "Yes, Lilli, you can trust me. Your house is this way, right?" He pointed towards the road to her house.

Lilli was a little confused. How did he know where her house was? Had we watched Vash walk home? Oh well. She simply nodded and followed the route to her house with Arthur. "Um, Arthur, how do you know where I live?" She asked after a long silence.

"I used to visit Vash when we had to work on a science project together. I had to come to his house a couple times, and the route sort of just stuck in my head."

Lilli pondered on if he was telling the truth, then remembered that she had seen a kid with blonde, messy hair and green eyes a couple times in her house before. He had been in Vash's room, and she would talk to him when her brother was out of the room. Wait, why was she thinking about this? Didn't she trust Arthur at all? She didn't trust him enough if she was asking herself these questions.

"Hey, you okay?" She blinked out of her thoughts and looked over at Arthur. Why was he always asking that? Was she spacing out that much?

"Yeah... Arthur, why do you always ask me if I'm fine?" Lilli stopped walking as she asked this question.

Arthur stopped walking and looked over at her. He turned so that he was facing her. "Am I suddenly not allowed to know if something's wrong with you since you've stayed silent almost the whole entire walk home?" Lilli almost didn't even notice that they were almost right in front of the apartment. Actually, they almost were. They were just off by a couple centimeters.

"..." Lilli heaved a sigh. "Well, thanks for walking me home."

"No problem," Arthur said chuckling. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. Her eyes widened a little in suprise as she looked up at him. He was already walking away. Lilli tried to shrug off the kiss and walked inside of the apartment she shared with her brother.

"Bruder, I'm home!" Lilli walked through the door and slipped off her shoes near the entrance, off to the side. She put her bag down on the couch and looked around for her brother. She walked up to the table and found her brother standing near the window. She immediately noticed that window looked down and out to where Arthur and her had been standing just a minute ago. She froze and her eyes widened. He turned around to face her and raised one of his eyebrows.

"Who was that?"

Even if it was a simple question, Lilli hadn't mentally prepared herself to lie to her brother. She messed with a loose string on the hem of her sleeve.

"...Lilli? Who was that?" Vash repeated.

"W-Well...Arthur walked me home." She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes.

"...Why did he walk you home?"

"He offered to walk m-me home, and well...You know what could've happened if I walked home alone." She gave her brother an exhausted glance. She didn't want to have to go through the trouble of him asking questions, or her having to lie. Why didn't he just use his common sense, or ask Arthur?... It would be less of a pain for her if he did that.

"..." Vash stayed silent for a couple minutes. He honestly didn't know how to reply. Once or twice he tried to say something and opened his mouth, but no words came out. For once, he didn't know what to make of the situation. He didn't know whether he wanted to shoot Arthur in the face or just let it go like nothing happened. He looked over at Lilli, trying to decide on what to do. He wouldn't have liked it if she had gotten hurt...

He sighed. He knew she was telling the truth because she had never lied to him before. "Go get your homework done."

Lilli almost sighed in relief. She hadn't been expecting to get off that easily. She nodded. "Yes, bruder." She walked back into the living room, grabbing her bag and carrying it into her room. After she closed the door, she felt her knees getting weak. She rested her back on the closed door as she thought. She thought of how lucky Arthur was not to be killed by Vash for what he had seen. She was lucky that her brother wasn't rampaging around with his gun. She was lucky that she was even allowed to go to this school, seeing as all the other schools around this area were a lot worse.

Wait...Why was she thankful that Arthur wasn't dead? Why WASN'T Vash killing him this very minute? Millions of questions flew around Lilli's head. She began to feel lightheaded, so she used almost all of her strength to stand up. It took the rest of the her strength to walk over to her nightstand and get her iPod before plopping down on her bed and turning on the device. She put her iPod on shuffle, and to her great annoyance her iPod suddenly died. She must've forgotten to turn it off last night.
She turned over, putting her iPod back on her nightstand. She hadn't had any homework, seeing as it was the first day of school. Today had been...Different. Much, MUCH, different. That boy, Arthur, was weird. Not weird...Different. Everything about her life in England was just...different. It wasn't like she lived in the best part of the country, either. Already, she had been out of the house eight or seven hours and she had at least ten people her brother knew came up to her offering her drugs, cigarrettes, or alcohol. Things had been much better in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. She had learned that if you went to this school, people called you by a country's name according to where you were from, or what your heritage was. She must've been the only one from Liechtenstein, because that's what they called her.

Suddenly, she saw her door open as Vash stepped in. She sat up and looked at him nervously, wondering what he wanted. He stood in front of her with a stoic look on his face.

"Lilli...Oh, Lilli..."

He put his heads in his hands, feeling his knees getting weak. What was it about people entering Lilli's room and having their knees get weak?

Lilli could do was look down in shame. He had warned her to stay away from him, and she had disobeyed him...On the other hand, though, Arthur seemed like a nice person. Vash just doesn't like a lot of people, she tried telling herself. She tried to tell her that over and over while the silence stretched. She could feel her brother's ashamed gaze on her. She looked down at her hands folded neatly in her lap, trying to avoid his gaze.

"Lilli..."

She was suprised to hear her brother speak so suddenly. She jolted her head up and looked at him. "Y-Yes, bruder?"

"Lilli, what did I tell you? I don't want you to get hurt by that sick, twisted bastard!" Vash had a pained look on his face, and his voice was shaking with worry. "He didn't do anything else to you, did he?"

"No, bruder! He just walked me home, and nothing else!" She was sitting up completely straight on her bed now, looking her brother squarely in the eye. Judging by his expression, her eyes were clouded with panic and fear. Her voice sounded a bit too desperate. Was she that desperate?

Vash paused, staring at her for a minute. His head wasn't in his hands anymore. He took this into serious consideration. "...Lilli."

"Bruder?"

"...If he touches you inappropriately, you tell me. I can't stop you from hanging out with him. Just please be careful."

What. What. WHAT. He hadn't killed Arthur? He hadn't gone off with his gun yet? He...was LETTING her hang out with him? Don't push your luck, Lilli.
Lilli walked up to him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, bruder!"

~END CHAPTER ONE~~~~~~ ಡuಡ

INDENTATION. Y U NO LIKE ME. ;A;