Author's Note:

Guess who's back with a new usuk fic? I am! I haven't been active in a very long while – sorry about that - and recently celebrated 1 year of being on this site.

Seeing that I made this account 1 year ago and have done very little with it made me want to post something so here it is! This time I am determined to stick with this fanfiction and dedicate my upmost attention and brain power to it in order to finish it, even if we have just got a new Labrador puppy in the house that is 14 weeks old and needs a hell of a lot of attention.

So I've kind of had this idea for a while now but couldn't figure out how to put it into words in the way I want – I have this problem a lot because I imagine the scenes perfectly in my head but can never portray them in words exactly how I would like and this leads me to give up. But! I refuse to give in with this one.

So I hope you guys like the first chapter and please tell me if it is good enough for you guys.

On to the story!

*What Lies Beneath*

Chapter 1

Skies of baby blue were scattered with light white clouds, floating to wherever the wind carried them and creating shapes and forms across the open air. It was the perfect backdrop for one's first glance upon their new school. The building stood tall and proud as it was designed to give off a great impression. Silver gates signalled the entrance onto school grounds, the concrete paved ground leading towards the double glass doors that was the entrance to the front of the school. A large sign was perfectly intact above those doors reading the schools name and logo in perfect text and shined under the sun showing it had been cleaned recently and was well looked after. Forest green eyes took in the sight of his new school, looking over its features before his eyes landed on the doors he would have to walk through to begin his new adventure and life here in America. A gentle, but warm, breeze ruffled through straw blond hair before allowing it to settle back into its messy form atop his head, strands spiked out in many different directions. A few strands of hair fell forward, drifting in front of his leafy eyes which were bright despite the fact his thick and dark eyebrows were angled above them into a frown. His skin was pale like porcelain and under the warm rays of the sun almost glowed, showing his British heritage almost instantly. A bag was thrown upon his shoulder and left there to dangle beside his hip, only a notebook and a pencil case thrown in there in preparation for the day. Taking in a deep breath he stepped forward and walked towards the double doors to the school, suddenly becoming self-conscious when a few students exited the building and walked past him, giving him glances that studied him quickly. He did his best and ignored them, holding his head high and pushing open the doors. Instantly a cool air pushed against him as he entered, indicating the air conditioning system was doing its job. Nerves that had subsided in his stomach twisted and curled, scratching at his insides as they made their presence known. Without thinking his walking stopped and he looked around at the new sights.

A reception desk was neatly placed in front of him with a small waiting area consisting of a few chairs. On either side of the reception were sliding doors that entered the main building of the school students walking in and out as they so pleased. The blond was ripped from his thoughts when someone slammed into him, knocking him off balance and sending him stumbling. He managed to gain his balance and looked back at the person who'd hit him when he was pushed again, this time a rude 'get out the way' coming with it. Scowling, he regained his composure and looked in the direction of the people who had knocked him.

"Wankers!" He shouted, his British accent bouncing from the walls, before turning back to the sound of chuckling, the receptionist doing her best to hide the giggles behind her hand. Red painted his pale cheeks and he looked down at the floor in embarrassment, pleading it to open and take him back to England, however, it didn't do anything of the sort.

"You must be out new student," The receptionist smiled from behind her desk, signalling for him to come over.

"Um… Yes."

"Can I take your name, it's just so I can make sure."

"Arthur Kirkland," He said as he walked over, adjusting his bag on his shoulder before peering over the desk at the woman. She fluttered through several papers before nodding and smiling warmly at him.

"Welcome to World Academy Arthur, here is your time table. Be sure to learn it." Arthur nodded and took the paper offered to him, eyes scanning the lessons he had and which rooms in which they were held. A slight sense of panic washed over him when he saw the room numbers – he didn't know where these rooms were!

"Don't worry; a student with the same timetable as you is coming to show you around. Although he should be here by now, if you'd like to take a seat I'll find out where he is for you."

Oh great.

He'd embarrassed himself in front of the receptionist and now his guide for the day was late, could a first day possibly get any worse? Just as Arthur sat down and placed his bag on the floor at his feet a student flew – literally – through the sliding doors, stumbled over the carpet and fell flat on his face with a resounding thud. Luckily for him the reception area was empty except from the receptionist and Arthur himself. Arthur watched in a startled silence from his seat as the boy scrambled to his feet again, albeit a tad bit shakily, and looked around like a deer caught in the headlights. The boy was visibly taller and built bigger than Arthur, his muscled arms bare for all to see from the T-shirt he wore. His skin was nicely tanned from the sun's rays and matched perfectly with the golden wheat locks sat upon his head, a strange strand of hair curled skyward; Arthur questioned whether it was styled like that or natural. Cerulean blue eyes were wide as they darted around the room before landing on Arthur, wire framed glasses sitting upon his nose which were slightly crooked from his fall. Quickly he adjusted his glasses so they were straight again before bouncing towards Arthur with a perfect white smile that was almost blinding to the eye.

"Hi! Are you the new guy?" He asked cheerfully as if he hadn't just face planted the floor mere seconds before. Behind him, Arthur could see the receptionist was shaking her head with her hand over her eyes before she noticed Arthur was watching her, giving him a quick encouraging smile. Green eyes flickered back to the blond stood in front of his seat and nodded as he stood up.

"Yes."

"Awesome! I'll show you around because I'm a hero like that and we have all the same classes together, how cool is that?" The enthusiasm and energy coming from the boy hit Arthur in the face like a tonne of bricks and was so overwhelming that Arthur could only blink blankly at him, his timetable being stuffed harshly into his jacket pocket.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, you want me to slow down? No problem that's cool, it is hard to keep up with a hero such as myself-"

"Please stop."

"Huh?" Arthur looked up into surprised eyes that reminded him of the endless skies, his eyebrows angled into a scowl.

"I can't understand a single word your saying."

"Oh… sorry…" The student rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and looked down at the floor before shyly holding out his hand, a softer smile upon his lips. "Um… Let me start over, I'm Alfred. Alfred F Jones." Arthur found himself smiling ever so slightly at the other – he had to look friendly at least - as he gripped his hand and shook it.

"Arthur Kirkland."

"So can we start over? Like, let's pretend I didn't fall flat on my face like a lame ass and was late. You saw none of it okay?"

"Saw what?" Alfred's smile brightened immediately before he turned and looked at the reception area.

"Well… this is reception."

"I can see that," Arthur chuckled as Alfred sighed and slumped his shoulders as he began walking into the school, Arthur following.

"I haven't done this before okay?"

"I can see that too."

"That obvious huh?"

"Slightly, but that's quite alright. I'd rather someone show me around like this then some know-it-all who would list every minute detail about something stupid like the architecture and history of the building," Arthur reassured him as he noticed the deflated look in the other's eyes fade away with each word he spoke. Alfred seemed like a nice bloke, although his happiness and excitement already grated on the Brit's nerves slightly; he never was a social butterfly nor did he really have friends back in England, talking to people other than himself wasn't something he was greatly experienced with.

"That's great because between me and you, I don't really know every inch of the school so even if you asked me to explain everything I kinda wouldn't be able to…" Alfred chuckled nervously but Arthur nodded in understanding as the tour around the school continued. Alfred explained different things about the school along the way but it was in such a unique and interesting way, Arthur never really noticed he was learning a lot. He simply indulged in the knowledge Alfred was pouring out despite stating earlier he nothing about the school; Arthur noted that he knew more than he was letting on. Each room was shown to the Brit, Alfred giving clear directions on how to work around the school and get to each classroom, sometimes a personal experience of Alfred's slipping in about a certain room or class. He told Arthur about break times and where to get lunch, what activities there were after school and that the library stayed open an hour later than when school finished for those waiting for others participating in the clubs and those who wanted to stay back and read a particular book. By the end of the tour a whole hour had gone by and the shriek of the bell alerted the two that lunch break was beginning.

"Hey, you wanna get some lunch?" Alfred asked as Arthur looked around the corridor they were stood in. Lockers were lined against the walls and soon after the bell students filed out and began to fill the small area, diving towards their own individual lockers. "Don't worry about a locker, they're pretty much useless. Most of us don't bother with them because they're easy to break into; this lot just haven't learnt that yet." Emerald eyes looked up to the American at his side, curiosity shinning in his eyes.

"You've had something stolen?" Arthur asked, scowling when Alfred grabbed him and pulled him to the side to avoid a collision with a group of boys who strode past without a care in the world for others.

"How about we discuss this when we get lunch? Standing here isn't the best idea." Arthur was about to protest that people should show some respect when he saw a rather huge and angry looking boy storming towards them, his eyes locked on the locker behind them.

"Yes, I totally agree with that idea," he spat out as fast as he could before grabbing Alfred's wrist and dragging him towards where the canteen was, managing to dodge the large student who crashed into his locker and angrily ripped it over, almost tearing it off its hinges. Both students watched the boy, Arthur in horror, as he let go of Alfred's wrist. A scowl settled firmly on his face when he heard that Alfred was laughing.

"What are you laughing for?" Blue eyes looked in his direction and he smiled brightly at the Brit.

"That's Monster Murray, staying out his path is probably the best."

"I noticed that! He could have crushed us!"

"That's Murray for ya."

"I mean really, people need to show some respect for their fellow pupils not try to kill them."

"You wanna go tell him that?" Alfred asked as he pushed open the doors to the canteen, allowing Arthur to walk in first before striding in at his side. The canteen looked very different now that it was bustling with students. All the previously clean and empty tables were littered with student's lunches and trays of food, people hunched around their tables almost protectively. Arthur also noticed how loud it was, the voices of all the students combined pounding against his ear drums as they demanded to be heard. The Brit followed closely as Alfred led them to the line for lunch, picking up a tray for both of them and sliding them along the line. Arthur watched carefully as Alfred asked for his food, noticing how the dinner lady smiled brightly at him as she delicately placed his dinner onto his tray before turning to Arthur, her smile falling and her eyes losing all interest. The small smile that had formed on his thin lips died instantly as he asked for his food, blinking in horror as it was slopped onto his plate and the woman shouted 'Next!' in his face. His tray was then pushed out the way by the girl behind him but he successfully managed to hold it steady in his hands as he gave it a death glare, daring it to fall over. His eyes then floated up to see Alfred stood waiting for him, chuckling slightly he smiled brightly at him. Arthur felt his cheeks heat up and lowered his head as he walked over to him, the American giving his shoulder a gentle nudge in the correct direction. The smaller blond looked around at the busy canteen and how most people had turned to look at him, giving him dirty glares as he passed their table – some even hiding their free chairs so he had no chance of sitting with them.

…

Well stuff them!

Arthur would happily sit wherever there was a space even if that meant at the very back by himself in the corner where he noticed a table was free.

"Hey!" A familiar toned voice brought him from his thoughts to see Alfred stood a couple of strides behind him, holding his tray in front of him and watching the other questioningly. "Um, where're you going?" Arthur blinked in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing further as he looked back at the table he was headed too.

"I thought…" He mumbled looking at the table then down at his food, suddenly embarrassed.

"Aren't you gonna sit with us? Well… um… I mean… aren't you gonna sit with… me?" Alfred stumbled on his words, his voice only just reaching the Brit who watched as the American's cheeks lightly dusted themselves pink and his wonderfully blue eyes avoided his gaze. Whilst the other wasn't looking Arthur allowed a tiny smile to grace his lips, making it vanish the instant Alfred looked back to him. With a nod of his head he turned on his heel and walked to Alfred's side, giving the empty and peaceful table one last glance before looking up at the other.

"Where do you sit?" He asked and watched as the light reappeared in Alfred's eyes.

"Just over there. C'mon!" He cheered and hurried towards a table were a few people were already sat, a chair already empty and obviously awaiting the eager American. Nerves fluttered again in Arthur's stomach as he realised Alfred was taking him to 'his' table, where his friends were sat and that meant being introduced to those friends and worse: introducing himself. Alarm bells rang out in his head telling him to back out and retreat to the corner while he still could, that way he wouldn't make a fool of himself and be thought strange by Alfred's friends. However before he even reached the table all of Alfred's friends turned to look at him as if they knew he was coming their way, each one inspecting him. Apparently Alfred didn't notice any of this and threw his tray down on the table as he smiled and greeted his friends, none of them answering or looking away from Arthur who had frozen to the spot gripping his tray so tightly his knuckles were turning white. After a moment of getting nothing out his friends Alfred realised they were all staring the Brit down – obviously making his new friend uncomfortable – and bounded away from the table to the green-eyed blond. Arthur's mouth had gone completely dry and he hardly registered that Alfred had come over and was tugging him to the table. He shook his head and avoided the gazes watching his every movement.

"Hey guys! So this is the new kid I was asked to show around! His name's Arthur~" Alfred beamed and patted Arthur on the back rather forcefully causing his tray to rattle when he put it down upon the table beside Alfred's. Forest green eyes looked over the people at the table and awkwardly lifted his hand to wave it only for his hand to move only a fraction.

"…Um… Hi." Arthur forced a small smile to try and look somewhat natural but it failed as his arm fell to his side and sighed lightly for even bothering to try and make a good impression in the first place. After an awkward moment of silence the group seemed to suddenly relax, smiles brightening their faces as they looked up at Arthur as if they hadn't just been giving him the glare of death. Beside him he swore he head Alfred sigh heavily in relief but ignored it as the boy sat in the chair closest to him stood up and held out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Matthew. I'm Alfred's twin brother."

There was defiantly now doubt in that.

He looked almost identical to Alfred at first glance however instantly Arthur could spot the differences between to two. Matthew's hair, although the same colour, was longer and waved around his face as it was cut to his jaw, a strand of hair looping into a loose curl and hanging to the side of his head. His eyes were also framed by a pair of identical wire framed spectacles but behind them were strange and unique violet eyes – something Arthur had never seen before and found rather intriguing. Arthur nodded and took his hand, shaking it, and looking into the pools of lavender that oozed with kindness and warmth.

"Arthur."

"Nice to meet you Arthur, I'm sorry you had my brother show you around. He can be a bit… overwhelming at first."

Que a faint 'Hey!' from Alfred.

"Oh it's quite alright, in fact, he's been rather nice to me so far." Arthur jumped when an arm fell around his shoulders and Alfred's laugh echoed down his ear, Matthew smiling fondly at his twin.

"Hear that Mattie? Artie and I are besties!" Arthur's cheeks flushed a little at the close contact before he shook his head and looked up at Alfred with a deep scowl, his arm slowly falling from the Brit's shoulders.

"I'm sorry what did you call me?"

"Artie~"

"What the bloody hell is an 'Artie'?"

"Your nickname!" Alfred beamed but before Arthur could respond there was a rather loud crash at his side before someone literally fell onto his arm, almost tugging him to the floor. Immediately leafy orbs turned and noticed that Matthew was no longer stood in front of him, instead he was struggling to get out of a chair he'd obviously been pushed into. Arthur supressed a giggle at the other's fed up expression as he looked down at his arm to see a boy standing up, using Arthur's arm as support. As soon as he was stable on his feet he looked at Arthur and almost blinded him with a smile that rivalled Alfred's.

"Hi! I'm Feliciano but everyone calls me Feli so you can too if you want~" The boy said brightly and Arthur could only blink at him, no emotion upon his face.

This boy was defiantly something.

He appeared to be bouncing on the spot as he gripped Arthur's sleeve, golden brown eyes filled with light and happiness – maybe a little too much happiness for Arthur's liking. Reddy/Brown hair hung around his face with a centre parting revealing his fair skinned forehead, a stray strand of hair curled to the side of his head.

"Hello."

"Oh you're British! Lovino look he's British!" The boy almost squealed as he tugged on Arthur's sleeve. Arthur forced an awkward laugh and nodded as he pried his shirt from the other's grasp, brushing out the creases he'd made in the fabric.

"I don't care! Leave the poor kid alone; can't you see you're fucking him up?" The voice came from across the table and took Arthur's eyes with it revealing a much less happier look-alike to the boy stood beside him. The two looked very much alike however this boy's hair was darker like a mahogany colour with red shining through it and also his skin was olive in complexion allowing his rather mystifying eyes to stand out. Amber eyes looked like liquid gold however there were spots of green splashed in there making his eyes a very earthy tone and one Arthur had never seen before.

"The fuck are you staring at eyebrows?" He glared and Arthur naturally glared back with the same intensity at the mention of his eyebrows but again, before he could speak a word, he was cut off by a whine from Feliciano at his side.

"Aw Fratello! Don't be nasty to him."

"I'm not, he was staring and he shouldn't be," Lovino said without tearing away from his glaring competition with Arthur which finally shattered when Matthew finally got to his feet and stood in the way, Alfred grabbing Arthur's wrist and forcing him down into the chair that was empty. Acidic green eyes turned and looked up at the American, blinking in confusion before scowling at him.

"I'm perfectly capable of standing."

"I know." Was the response he got before Alfred dragged up another chair and sat beside him, nudging the tray in front of him and silently telling Arthur he should start eating. The Brit rolled his eyes and looked at the food on his plate, not really sure he wanted to eat it simply from the way it was looking at him.

"It's not that bad," Alfred said from his side, pocking at his own food until he found a bit that he liked and ate it.

"If it wasn't bad then you wouldn't be picking at it."

"I'm not picking at it."

"You're picking at it, I can see."

"No I'm not!"

"Alfred, just admit the food here is shit. I'm Italian I would know," Lovino sighed from across the table as he sat back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the table in front of his brother who didn't seem to mind, instead playing with the laces on his shoes. Arthur looked over the said Italian slightly confused as to why he was backing him up at this point before ignoring that and glaring at his feet on the table because Arthur was a man of manners, having ones shoes on the table was simply not hygienic. He was quick to get over it (He lived with 4 older brothers, he was used to this kind of behaviour) and turned back to Alfred who rolled his eyes and pushed his tray away from him as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Fine! The food here is shit. Arthur, please feel free to slap Lovino if he gets on your nerves."

"Ha I don't think so," Lovino chuckled. Arthur smiled and decided to play along, looking down at his food he pocked with his fork.

"I think I could take him if it came to it."

That comment was something Arthur hadn't expected to cause such an impact.

Suddenly a pair of hands were slammed on the table in front of his face, either side of his tray. Instantly Arthur jumped, his eyes snapping up to see Lovino's eyes burning into him.

"Even attempt a move on me and trust me, you won't see what's coming at you," He growled in his face, giving Alfred a dark glare before scraping his chair back more and storming off. Feliciano scampered to collect his bags and get to his feet, giving a small apologetic wave before fleeing after his brother a faint 'Lovi wait!' echoing back to the table.

"Sounds like a fun chap," Arthur sighed as he looked at his hands folded in his lap, completely losing his appetite. Alfred laughed, covering his mouth that was now filled with sandwich as he did so; Arthur noticed that Matthew was missing half a sandwich but he didn't look too bothered.

"Lovino's like that, he tends to get a little grumpy towards people. Never seen him act like that though."

"Great." Arthur was suddenly met with the image of himself in Lovino's place only without the outburst, realising that he acted like that too. He shied away from people and dared them to break past his grouchy exterior. So far in his life no one had even attempted to get to know him properly after hearing all the rumours about how mean and bratty he was. He wasn't a brat, he never had been, he just couldn't openly trust someone like everyone else. Keeping to himself was something he was good at; having friends wasn't. The Brit nodded before the bell went and Alfred got up to guide Arthur to his classes, discreetly leaving his twin to clean up all the trays on the table.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Alfred sighed heavily as he repositioned his bag on his shoulder, watching the path he walked along with sapphire blue eyes. Beside him walked his brother as silent as ever although Alfred could sense he was quite for a reason this time, as if thinking over a question that he could quiz Alfred on.

"So, you certainly hit it off with Arthur." Alfred stopped in his tracks, his feet acting as anchors latching onto the ground making him stop suddenly. Matthew continued a couple of steps before stopping and looking back at him curiously – was that a smug look on his face?

"What is that supposed to mean?" Alfred asked as he stepped forward and continued walking with his brother. Matthew chuckled and looked up at the sun brightening up the street with it's warm rays.

"Take it how you like. I was just saying you acted a little differently towards him in comparison to anyone else."

"I'm nice to everyone I meet."

"I'm pretty sure I've never heard you sigh in relief like you did when you introduced him to our group." Alfred rolled his eyes as he took in a breath and looked up at the sky beyond the horizon, the houses and buildings making the perfect foreground for the blue background.

"You stared him down like he was some animal!"

"You still sighed like a girl."

"Hey! He's just… Different that's all…"

"… Certainly smells different. You can literally feel the energy emitting from him," Matthew chuckled and Alfred nodded in agreement with a smile.

"So you did notice?"

"You know I did, we wouldn't have started at him like idiots if we didn't notice." Alfred nudged him with his elbow, a suspicious glint shining in his eyes.

"I'm sure you would have."

"We aren't all like Lovino you know, if anyone, he would be the one to glare at whoever you brought over. I'm pretty surprised Arthur acted so calm when he exploded like that."

"I know right!" Alfred chuckled as the streets began to fade away and they took a turn onto the driveway of a large house, thick woodland standing behind it and obviously acting like a garden. The woodland acted like a safety barrier, cupping the house within it so no one could really see what happened behind closed doors.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

That evening Arthur walked into his apartment like a zombie and collapsed onto the thing closest to him: the sofa. He face planted the cushions and allowed his bag to fall to the ground beneath it, exhaling loudly before rolling over and lying on his back with his eyes closed.

He was shattered.

The day had been so tiring and there was so much for him to remember that he felt like he'd been at the school for years, not walked in a brand new student that morning. His eyes fluttered open at the thought as he simply looked up at the ceiling; in fact he felt like he'd know Alfred for years too but somehow at the same time he didn't. The conversation that flowed between them usually came natural – even if it was Alfred pestering him until he answered a question – although it could get awkward at times like it would between any pair of friends, yet he didn't feel like he knew he well enough to call him a friend. From a single day with Alfred he'd learnt that there was defiantly more to him than one would first think. He was more knowledgeable then he let on and Arthur could sense that beneath his Hollywood smile and his ability to befriend anyone there was something more, something Arthur didn't know yet. Sighing to himself the Brit sat up and looked around his apartment, the sight that greeted him not at all the homely one he would like. The apartment was bare, with white washed walls that were slowly staining and wooden floors. The only other thing in the living room other than the sofa was a TV and it was a basic one at that. The kitchen was no better with only the basics that one would need to live off and his front door was slowly falling off its hinges. The bedroom was completely empty save from a creaky old bed and his belongings that he'd tried to brighten the room with. It was certainly not the place Arthur expected to be living in but here he was, complaining about it would get him nowhere as he'd found out when he first arrived here and spent the entire day whining and moaning about the shabby apartment like a child. With tired eyes the blond decided that his plans for tonight would be to complete the homework he'd been given – I mean who gave homework to new students on their first day, really? – Then relax and watch a bit of television with a spot of tea before bed. With his plans confirmed Arthur pushed himself from the sofa, dragging his bag behind him to the kitchen where he fell into one of the kitchen chairs and piled his homework onto the table, glaring at it for good measure before he started and got his evening going.