~How will a head strong girl who doesn't take no for an answer deal with a Briton who only seems to know the word no?
~How will a quiet, timid Canadian overcome her shyness, and in the process fall in love with a brash, red-eyed German?
~How will a fiery, stubborn Italian deal with the charming and ever smiling Spaniard?
~How will a carefree, scatterbrained Italian come to adore the strong, organized German who keeps her in line?
~How will a reserved, mistrusting Belarusian endure the woos of a boisterously loud American?
HEY HEY! HELLO! Did I get your attention? Oh Good. So..basically, this is my first story, and the writing in it is not nearly up to par with my current writing standards. Bear with the writing during the first few chapters; I promise you that it does get better as the story progresses xD The writing in my more recent stories is totally different and I'd like to think better. Perhaps one day I'll rewrite this again, but right now I can't be bothered to. Anyways, enjoy~!
Love is a red-eyed boy?
Ugh, History class again. Yeah, yeah. I know that history is important and stuff, but when you have an uptight ass crack of a teacher, you'd understand my pain. Mr. Edelstein rambled on and on, not minding the lack of attention that his class was giving him. The man clearly enjoyed to hear himself talk.
"My young historians, I hope you pay heed (honestly who says this crap) to everything that I have taught you this semester. As we embark on our final journey…" And he lost me again. I looked to Bella, who was slumped over her desk, snoring.
I smirked and whipped out my phone. Hey, snoring beauty, want to meet up after school today? Bella jolted up in her seat, her face flushed red, while I tried to stifle my laughter. The Belgian kept her phone in her bra and I always made it my mission to catch her off guard.
I didn't realize that Sadiq was watching this until he chuckled at Bella. "You know babe, a phone is isn't the only thing that could light up your chest, try me I could light up your entire world." Sadiq gave her one of his 'dazzling' smiles, and I resisted the urge to vomit. Just gross, of course Bella's pretty with her cute bobbed blond hair, and near perfect figure, but that doesn't excuse the fact that the creep was practically salivating all over her.
A dangerous glint appeared in Bella's green eyes. "How you would you like it if I light up your face dick wad?" she growled. Good girl, literally and figuratively, the girl acted like a Pitbull when she was mad. I turned and gave Bella my nod of approval. "Tsk tsk Bella, vous savez qu'il est un petit garçon insécurite.''
Bella flashed me with an impish grin. You see, my Papa was originally born in France, and both of her parents were from Belgium, so speaking French was only natural for us.
Sadiq wiggled his eyebrows at me, ignoring my comment. "Come on pigtails you know that you want this." Damn that stupid nickname. I looked away to hide my disdain.
"Oh come on, your hair's adorable, no need to take it to heart sweetheart," Sadiq drawled, "What? Are my muscles too powerful for you?" Sadiq flexed his muscles and blew an air kiss towards Bella, who looked utterly repulsed by this action.
"What muscles?" Bella questioned. Catching on to her ruse, I looked to Bella with a wry smile. "Oh are you talking about those little bumps on his arms? I just thought that the wee little guy was cold," I cooed.
Sadiq's eyes darkened. "Watch your mouth bitch. Any girl would be lucky to have a stud like me."
"Forgive me. I'd love to have an egotistical maniac for a boyfriend," I snapped. Bella giggled and we high fived. Too bad we didn't realize that Mr. Edelstein was still immersed in his rant. A pair of angry violet eyes interrupted our moment of triumph.
"Seychelles, Bella, and Sadiq, would you like to enlighten us on what is so amusing?" I reluctantly looked up to meet my teacher's agitated face. Mr. Edelstein pushed his glasses up on his nose and began to tap his foot against the ground in an irritated manner. Bella gave me a pleading look and I sighed.
"Well, you see sir, Sadiq was confused about some material, and Bella and I were explaining it to him," I lied profusely. Did I ever mention how much I suck at lying? I mean Bella was no better. She's actually used the 'my dog ate my homework' excuse before.
"Oh, I see," Mr. Edelstein said with a clear look of disgust on his face. "Then why were you two high fiving then?" he asked. I could feel Sadiq's disgusting smirk from halfway across the room.
"W-we were just passionate about teaching, that's all." I gave Mr. Edelstein a pleading look. Unfortunately for me, puppy eyes didn't work on the stuffy Austrian.
"It's one thing to talk during my class, but to lie straight to my face? I won't tolerate it! Pack your things and leave."
Mr. Edelstein pointed to the door. "OUT."
I sighed. There was no point in arguing with this guy. I grabbed my books, refusing to look at Sadiq as I trudged over to the front door.
But alas, the bastard just had to have the last word.
"Ah sweet victory," the Turk mused to himself. "Oh, and Mr. Edelstein? Bella and pigtails were arguing over who was going to take me to prom."
"OH! GO FUCK YOURSELF," Bella and I said in unison. Mr. Edelstein looked like he was about to have a stroke, either that or he was really really angry. Yeah, I'm going to go with angry.
"BOTH of you, get out of my classroom," he hissed. Bella met me at the door, her green eyes widening with worry when she noticed the furious look on my face. The Belgian hands reached out to grab my elbow, but I was already on the move.
"Oh and Sadiq," I said sweetly. "Grow a pair," I flipped him the middle finger. At this time, Bella practically dragged me out the classroom before Mr. Edelstein could slam the door in our faces. Oh well. It was the last day of school anyways. It's not like I had to deal with these idiots for much longer. Just a few more days until I escaped from this hellhole.
Now that was something to look forward to.
Humming as we slowly made our way to the office, I skipped through the hallways, smiling as I said goodbye to all the things that I wouldn't miss. Bella, on the other hand, didn't reciprocate my pleasurable mood. "Cheya, just for once do you think that you could control your temper?" she lectured.
"Hey, you were the one who decided to join me remember? I wasn't the only one who told that bastard off," I scoffed.
Bella's mood lightened up at the thought. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she giggled. Bella was the model student, and I had a rebellious streak, so it was little unnatural for us to be friends. But hey, opposites attract right?
We continued to walk in silence and I was beginning to worry until Bella turned around to grab my shoulders. "You know, Cheya, I'm going to miss you," her voice trembled.
"Ahhh Bells we've been over this. When you leave, you can skype me at any time of the day! All I ask is that you allow for me to do the same in return." I struggled to put my arm around the Belgian's shoulders (She was a good 5 inches taller than my 5''2, sigh).
Bella was going to Belgium for the summer and planned to come back in the fall for school, whereas I was staying here for the summer, and planned to go out of town in the fall. As you can see, irony rules my life.
"Just promise me that we'll keep in touch ok?" she whispered. I nodded and gave her a quick hug.
"Oh! And one more thing."
I groaned. "Yes, Bella?"
"Don't you ever let go of that stubbornness of yours," the Belgian grinned as she pushed me forward with a playful shove.
I smiled. "But of course."
I strolled into the office and grinned when I saw that two of my other best friends were casually lounging around on the all too familiar leather sofas. Gilbert, the white haired and red eyed wonder boy, was currently snapchatting a picture of the office assistant's butt. No surprise there.
Antonio looked up, his green eyes sparkling with mischief as he shed Bella and I with a smirk. "Chicas, to what do we owe such a pleasure?"
"Oh come on," Gilbert drawled, his eyes still locked onto the office assistant's rear end. "They obviously did something very naughty."
"Gil, if you'd stop looking at asses all day, maybe I'd be able to tell you," I said a little too loudly. The office lady turned around and gave a little squeak when she realized what Gilbert was doing. Hiding her flushing face behind her long honey brown hair, the office assistant gathered her papers and quickly dashed off into another room.
"Thanks for ruining the view, Cheya, now what am I going to do?" Groaning, the German cursed to himself as he looked up to the ceiling dramatically. "It's shit on Gilbert day isn't it?" Before I could say anything, our principal stormed past the front desk, his face nearly purple with anger as he jabbed an accusing finger at a smug looking Gilbert. "Ms. Héderváry looks more than a little flustered Gilbert, care to explain?" he snarled.
"Why whatever are you talking about Mr. Vargas?" Mr. Vargas, on the other hand, was not having any of it today. He straightened the tie of his expensive Italian suit as if he were preparing battle. "Fine then, I guess I won't pass you in Roman history. You can consider that credit gone," Mr. Vargas threatened.
Gilbert stood up. "Fine, fine old man. I'm deleting it, see?" Mr. Vargas' face shone with pride. "Who's the boss?" he muttered to himself.
Antonio looked up from his phone. "I am," he proclaimed. Everyone in the room exchanged confused looks with one another, but no one dared to question the Spaniard on his comment. Perhaps that was for the best.
"Hey Romulus," I grinned. Papa was friends with Romulus and it was always fun to see him pull his hair out every time I got in trouble, which was a lot. Romulus ignored me and gave Bella an exasperated look.
"You too Bella?" Mr. Vargas whined. Shying under Romulus's disappointed gaze, Bella shuffled her feet nervously. "I'm very sorry—"
"Well you see, there was this asshat called Sadiq," I cut in, "And he decided to harass us, and then we kinda just ended up here," I said casually.
"You always just 'seem' to end up here. I don't know what's worse, the amount of calls that I have to make to your father, or the amount of times that I have kick him out of the school for flirting with anything that moves," Romulus complained.
"You're just jealous that that I'm a better flirt than you, mon ami," Papa strolled into the office. He was wearing a fancy white blouse and black dress pants. Ooops, looks like I pulled him from work.
Ms. Héderváry, upon realizing our little distraction, took this moment to sneak out of her office. "Ah! Mademoiselle, may I help you with anything?" Papa completely forgot about me and practically hurdled himself over the front desk.
"That won't be necessary Francis," Romulus said curtly as he dragged Papa back by the collar.
"Mon dieu, Romulus, I was just trying to have some fun," Papa pouted.
"I think you get enough action at work Francis," Romulus snapped while I winced. I definitely didn't need to hear that. Papa flipped his blond, shoulder length hair and leaned against the front desk. I pretended to ignore his glare. An awkward silence filled the office and I decided to admire the carpet.
"Cherie, are you going to tell me what you did?" Papa brought his face close to mine, his blue eyes burning holes into the side of my face as he tapped his fingers against the desk impatiently.
Don't look. Don't look. He knows that you're a terrible liar.
Oh Merde, I looked.
"Well, if she's not going to say anything then I will. She was being disruptive in history class, told a boy to fuck off, and to top that all off she flipped him the middle finger," Romulus sighed as he raised a hand to massage his temples. Papa exhaled and gave me a small look of disappointment.
"To be fair, that guy really is an asshole though. He's always going after girls, and not in a classy way like yours truly. The guys a real sleaze ball if you ask me," Gilbert defended. I gave Gilbert my most genuine smile. Sure, the guy was a jerk, but at least he was loyal.
Romulus looked intrigued. "And just how would you know that Mr. Beilschmidt?"
"Oh, you know there's a thing called the internet. When you see two hot girls flipping off and swearing at a guy, it's hard not to share and rewatch the video," Gilbert said sarcastically, his lips curling into a smirk as he continued to pester Romulus with a smug glare.
"How many hits does it have," a pale faced Bella whispered. The Belgian looked horrified.
"I don't know, but I already blogged it, so we'll see." Bella leapt for Gilbert, but I caught her just in time. Gilbert shrunk back in his chair, a look of pure terror emanating on his face. For all the talk about how awesome he was, not even Gilbert could withstand Bella's death glare.
Papa turned back to look at Antonio. "Is this true?" For some reason, the only boys that Papa liked throughout my entire childhood was Gilbert and Antonio. Any other boy would feel the wrath of French snobbery and distasteful sighs.
"Yes, Mr. Bonnefoy, Even I don't like him… and I like everyone!" I smirked at Romulus, "See! The guy had it coming to him," I declared. My smile faded when I saw Papa's disapproving look.
"Did you really swear at that boy?" He interrogated. "Yes papa," I mumbled. "And did you really stick up the middle finger at him?" I nodded my head in silence.
Papa's lips curled into a grin. "Good girl. Come on kids we're going for ice-cream!" Papa put his arms around my shoulders and gestured for my friends to join.
"Hey, I still have to deal with those two and-."
"Romulus," Papa held up a hand to interrupt a distressed looking Romulus. "Remember when I agreed to write that recommendation letter for your granddaughters? Consider this as your favour to me… or should I go back on my word?"
My eyes glittered with amusement. "Oh-oh Rommy, better act fast," I teased. Before Papa became a real estate agent, he used to own a five star restaurant in France. A recommendation letter from Papa would surely get Romulus' granddaughters into the program that they wanted.
I battered my eyelashes at Romulus and pouted my lips into a frown. "Please Romulus?" The Italian man glared at me, his eyebrows furrowing into a scowl as he let out an offended scoff. "Please Mr. Vargas?" I corrected.
Romulus' angry expression softened. "I guess I have no choice. My nipoti would strangle me if they didn't get accepted into their culinary program," he sighed.
I beamed. "I knew you'd come around, Gramps." I linked arms with Bella and Antonio, giggling as we proceeded to skip out of the office. Of course Gilbert didn't join. Something about him being too awesome to do 'girly shit' like that.
I ruffled my hand through Antonio's mop of curly brown hair. "Mr. Nazi over there doesn't know what he's missing."
"Mr. Nazi can hear you, dummkopf," the German snapped with a scowl.
"Listen here BEILSHIT, do you want me to tell Ludwig about your little office visit?" I threatened. Ludwig was Gilbert's stick in the mud younger brother, but the weight of my threat lay with the fact that his brother was also the student council president. Ludwig was a stickler when it came to rules and if he heard of this little escapade, he was sure to tell their Opa.
Accepting his defeat, Gilbert sighed. "Alright, you have me there." I smiled and linked my arm with his.
"Gilberte, when a pretty girl asks to link arms with you, don't question it," Papa snickered.
"Ja, Ja." The German rolled his eyes.
After our ice cream escapade, Papa dropped us off at Bella's house. All four of us sat in Bella's basement, lounging on her expensive leather sofas and chatting lazily as we enjoyed the freedom and bliss of a Friday night. Rows of expensive looking TV's lined the walls, and speakers lit up every corner of the massive room.
A giant bowl of Jalapeno Dorito's sat on the glass table in front of us, but Bella seemed to be the only one eating. She angrily munched on her food, spitting food everywhere as she immersed herself in one of her rants. "I. Just. Don't. Understand. Why. Muscth thesh happawn to meh."
"Slow down Hase, your storing enough food for winter," Gilbert smirked. I'm just surprised that he stopped fiddling with the couches vibrate mode. Bella glared and him and swallowed dramatically.
"But it's not fair! All three you get to go to University together, and I'm stuck here studying at some bogus business school," Bella wailed. Bella's parents owned a Belgian chocolate company and they expected her take over the business in a few years' time, so alas, she would be stuck here while the rest of us went off else where.
Gilbert, Antonio, and I listened in silence, knowing better than to interrupt Bella when she was caught up in one of her rants. "And you know what makes it even worse? Even Antonio made it into the damned University!"
Antonio's head snapped up from his phone. "That's not very nice Bells," he chided. Bella ripped open another Doritos bag. "I know Tonio, but I thought that at least you would stay here with me!" The Belgian purposefully avoided bringing up the Spaniard's poor grades. "But I guess that I'll just wither away and die alone, while you guys live it up and have fun without me," she pouted.
"Bella, enough already. If you really don't like it at Trenton, then just transfer over for the winter semester," I suggested.
"Easy for you to say. My parents would never let me live on my own. You throw one party, and all of a sudden you're treated like a fucking five year old. They wouldn't have even known about it if you didn't scratch the damn wall," the Belgian glared, jabbing an accusatory finger at me as she downed a can of mountain dew with a sharp flick of her wrist.
"Oh, come on! I was the life of the party," I protested, smiling at the memory. When Bella threw a party at the end of grade eleven, I thought that it'd be a good idea to ride a laundry basket down the stairs. Turns out you can almost break your neck doing that.
"Chica, you almost died," Antonio laughed. "And who was the one that had to detach that basket from your bum? Not that I'm complaining or anything," Gilbert said with a provocative wink.
"Shut it demon eyes. I swear no one knows how to have fun anymore," I growled.
"Anywhoooo, who wants to prank call Mr. Edelstein?" the German clapped his hands together, grinning mischievously.
I resisted the urge to face palm. "Gil, where did you get his number?" I immediately regretted asking that question.
Electricity sparked in those red eyes of his. "I may or may not have looked in his desk," Gilbert shrugged. "Or scrolled through his phone." Gilbert shrugged his shoulders as if invading someone's privacy was a common occurrence for him.
"I think that it'd be fun!" Bella giggled. Gilbert pulled Bella into a playful headlock. "Did I ever say how much I love-," Gilbert doubled over when Bella kicked him in the groin.
"No need to be so violent," Gilbert wheezed. "Oh, and Cheya? You're up" the German smirked as he tossed his phone into my hands.
"Why me?" I whined. Gilbert cackled evilly. "Too late! I already dialed the number."
"Fuck no!" I threw the phone at Bella, who then proceeded to throw the phone at Gilbert. It was like playing some sick version of hot potato, and unfortunately for me, the phone just happened to land in my hand the moment that Mr. Edelstein decided to answer.
"Hello," a stiff voice spoke on the other end of the receiver. Oh great; Gilbert put the phone on speaker.
"Um hello, it's me Ms. Héderváry," I spoke in an awful impression of a Hungarian accent. I heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by a raspy sort of chuckle.
"I knew that you'd come around, my love," Mr. Edelstein purred out in gravelly tone (gag). Antonio pressed a pillow against Gilbert's face, trying to stifle his friend's booming laughter, but failing miserably as he himself was cracking up too.
Damn those idiots.
I turned to Bella. "What do I do?!" I whispered. The Belgian made shooing motions at me, her green eyes bright with amusement as she urged for me to continue.
One day. All I ask is for one day to be normal.
"You don't know how long I waited for this moment Elizabeta. I was genuinely disappointed when you turned down my offer the other day. I'm glad that you came to your senses my dear."
"Yes, I, uh… just wanted to say that I admired your performance at the closing ceremony. The way that your fingers caressed the piano, it was simply breathtaking," I murmured.
"I do love my piano, but there are other things that I would love to caress. Particularly you my love."
I laughed nervously. "Mr. Edelstein, let's keep it professional here shall we?" Crap. My voice just squeaked.
"Please, call me Rodereich." Poor Elizabeta. The woman got harassed left, right, and center. I guess that it was time for me to swoop in and save the day.
"Oh and Rodereich," I asked. "Yes, love?" I smiled, relishing in the moment before I decided to drop the weight of an atomic bomb onto my least favourite teacher. "If you ever go so far as to harass me at school again, I'll post the tape of this conversation all over the school's twitter base. Have I made myself clear?"
The Austrian man swallowed his remaining pride. "Yes ma'am."
"Good", I hung up the phone and collapsed onto the couch. "If you guys make me do that again I swear to God-"… and I was just tackled by a wave of teenagers.
"Get off me, you fatasses," I screamed but to no avail. "What? We're just congratulating you on your half awesomeness," Gilbert pouted.
"Can't. Breath. I. See. The Light. Jesus, is that you?" I stretched my arm, reaching for the ceiling as I panted for good dramatic measure. Laughing, my friends scrambled off me, their faces contorted into mock expressions of worry as they decided to play along with my joke.
"Oh no, better call Vash! I'm sure he'd like to know how the sexy French goddess fell for his sick 'guns'," Gilbert flexed his arms. I couldn't stop the heat from rising to my face. Vash was a senior that I had a crush on last year. With perfectly toned muscles, shoulder length blond hair, and piercing green eyes, Vash was my definition of a total hottie.
I exhaled sharply. "Gilbert dear, would you like me to leak that picture of you?" I threatened.
"What picture?" the German asked warily.
"Amigo, I think she's talking about the time when Mr. Edelstein made you wear a toga," Antonio chuckled.
"Nah. I think it's the time that he got his ass stuck in the baby swing at the park," Bella proposed.
"Or the time when-."
Gilbert gave Bella and Antonio a sharp look. "Ja, Ja, go on and make fun of me. Just remember that I recorded you two making out."
"IT WAS ONE TIME YOU FUCK WAD," Bella screamed.
Antonio laughed, nervously scratching his head. "To be fair we were both drunk. I'd have made out with anyone really," he protested. Bella, who obviously took that comment the wrong way, directed a headbutt towards the Spaniard's gut. Antonio gasped and doubled over.
I cleared my throat loudly, revelling in the chaos as I tried to balance it my favour. "Now, now children. I can assure you that those moments are well documented in my phone, but I think that you're forgetting about what happened last Christmas," I purred. I looked to Bella and Antonio, both of whom were sporting identical fiendish grins.
Gilbert paled. "Mein Gott. I thought we agreed that you would ERASE that from your phone," he groaned.
"Hey, I held up my deal of the bargain! I erased it from my phone, but not before I uploaded it to my laptop," I shrugged. Last Christmas, Gil had gotten so drunk that he blacked out. Being the good friend I was, I placed him in the safety position; however, that didn't stop me from having my fun. With Antonio's help, I had been able to strip Gilbert of his clothes. Now add my fashion style and Bella's make up skills. The result: A dolled up inebriated German in a pink, frilly tutu.
Gilbert's laugh snapped me back to reality. "Liebste, I think you forgot about the video that your father sent me. Would you like me to pull it out?" The German leered, chuckling to himself when he saw me cringe out of embarrassment. When I was ten, my father recorded a video of me dancing to the Macarena. Thanks a lot Papa. Fucking traitor.
"Looks like he's got you there, chica," Antonio chortled. But I wasn't done yet. "Remember the time-"
"Ok enough, let's relax and watch some movies shall we?" Bella shut off the lights to end our bickering.
Gilbert poked my cheek and when I didn't bite his finger, he took this invitation to wrap his arm around my shoulders. "Truce?" he whispered.
"We'll continue this battle later Beilschmidt," I muttered, grudgingly leaning into his chest.
The rest of the night was filled with a Disney movie marathon (cue male groaning), and two teenage girls screeching at the top of their lungs, off key in their singing, but still nonetheless enjoying the time that they all spent together.
What the friends didn't realize at the time, however, was just how fast their summer would fly by.
2 months later...
I rushed to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Merde. My hair was a mess. "Braid day it is," I grumbled as I wove my hair into a single braid. I slipped on a fluffy pink robe and matching slippers and sprinted downstairs. I was starving and the heavenly aroma of strawberry crepes wasn't helping.
I entered the kitchen and smiled at the two goofballs sitting in front of me. Gilbert was talking to Antonio with grand hand gestures, and the Spaniard, with wide eyes, was soaking up every word that came out of the German's fat mouth. If I had to guess, the German was probably trying to convince the oblivious Spaniard into playing along with one of his schemes. Don't fall for it, I wanted to scream.
The boys sat at my kitchen's island, hunched over as they clutched at their matching maroon sweaters for warmth. Gilbert tried to persuade me into buying one of our University's sweaters, but the idea of it made me feel cheap. I'm not some preppy, propaganda slut that loves her University. School is school; there's nothing fun about it.
I shivered and closed my robe. The end of August was nearing, but Papa wasn't about to give up his precious AC. Can't have frizzy hair in this humidity now can we?
"Come on dude, it's a fresh start. Sure it's going to be hard the first week or so, but I know that it'll be a blast," Gilbert declared.
"Gilbert, it's ten in the morning can you keep it down please?" I hissed. "Oh look, the vampire came out of her cave, better give it its morning fix of blood," Gilbert slammed a cup of coffee in front of me.
I gave him a dark look, but drank my coffee anyways. Antonio sighed. "I don't know. It's just, I've never been away from home for that long," he murmured.
"Aww, Tonio, you know that the University is only a three hour drive away," I reassured him. "Besides, I could always ask Papa to pick us up every now and then."
Antonio nearly blinded me when he flashed me with his pearly white smile. "Cheya you're the best," he proclaimed.
I gave a low bow as I poured myself a glass of milk. "We better get going though, I still have to finish packing." Of course I had to leave everything to the last minute. Our train for the University left at 7:30 tomorrow morning, and apparently watching Netflix all day was much more important than packing.
"Knowing you, we're going to need a separate compartment just for your suitcases," Gilbert muttered bitterly. I smiled at the German's comment. I mean, I was my Papa's daughter.
"Bonjour!" Papa strolled into the room, grinning as he flaunted around in his flimsy navy robe.
"Ah Papa! Close you're robe!" I protested. He was always so casual with company and he never failed to embarrass me. I heaved myself on top of the white booth chair next to Gilbert and with a groan I slumped my shoulders into a lazy slouch. I let my face rest against my elbows.
Papa clicked his tongue. "One more word and I'll change my mind about letting you leave," he teased. He bent over and pulled a stack of crepes from the oven. My mouth practically watered at the sight.
"Oh, did you want these?" Papa practically waved the food in front of my face. Bad idea. Teasing three hungry teenagers with food was like poking a wild animal with a stick. Before Papa could even move, three forks snatched their own respective crepe.
"Ah!" Papa acted like he just got shot. "After all I did for you for kids! Oh dark betrayal, what a life," Papa cried as he gripped onto the counter for support. Ignoring that comment, I went to the pantry to get some maple syrup. I sensed Papa behind me, but before I could react, he gave me a swift kick to the bum.
"Ack!" The maple syrup bottle slipped from my grasp. "Don't worry Cheya, I'll protect you!" Gilbert covered me while I dove in to grab the maple syrup. Gilbert and I pressed our backs against one another as we slowly made our way back to the table, our eyes never breaking eye contact with the scowling French man.
"Roger. Antonio. Mission accomplished," Gilbert spoke into a banana. Antonio rolled his eyes, but he was too fixated on his delicious crepe to truly care.
"No fair! She deserved it," Papa pouted as if he were a small child. I smiled and poured a large helping of maple syrup onto my plate. Papa took his seat at the island and pushed a small bowl of strawberries in front of me. Sigh. This 'Get Cheya to eat healthy thing' was getting old. It's not like I gained weight anyways.
"Cherie, don't come crying to me when you can't fit into your designer skinny jeans," Papa lectured.
"More of me for you to love then," I joked as I slurped on a giant spoonful of maple syrup.
"She'd still be beautiful anyways," Gilbert laughed. I gave Gilbert a puzzled look. "Since when does the 'Great Gilbert' give out compliments?" I questioned. Gilbert nearly choked on his crepe. This tended to happen whenever someone challenged his fat ego.
The German's chest puffed up like a blowfish. "If I were you, I'd appreciate that comment. That ladies and gentlemen is a rare occurrence, and you should all count your blessings that you got to witness it," he declared.
"Or you're just too awesome to admit that you're a softie at heart," Antonio countered. Gilbert shot Antonio a murderous glare. Antonio continued to attack his crepe, blissfully oblivious to his friend's anger as he chuckled to himself.
Papa got up from his chair. "Well, I have to get dressed for work. Tonight we can all go out for dinner and celebrate our last night together," Papa said with a sigh. I ran over and hugged the French man, giggling as I looked up to meet his forlorn blue eyes.
"Think of it this way, with me gone you're free to have all the ladies you want," I teased. Papa wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace. "You're the most important girl in my life," he whispered in my ear. I tensed, blinking tears out of my eyes.
Damn. I missed that old fool already.
****** (Later that night)
I slouched in the back of Antonio's SUV (it was really his mom's but he referred to it as his baby), while the boys sang along to stupid songs on the radio. Papa got caught up at work and called to say that he wouldn't be able to make it to dinner tonight. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not mad. I know that he would be here if he could. Heck the man almost lost his job when he snuck out to see my dance recital when I was five.
I sighed and picked at my frilly, black romper.
"Chica, you alright back there?" Antonio screamed over the music. "I'm fine," I yelled back. I turned away from the blinding light of the setting sun and pulled out a mirror to apply some mascara. Hey, it didn't hurt to look good.
Antonio whizzed around cars like no tomorrow, earning himself a handful of rude hand gestures and crude insults. "Antonio, can you slow down please? The café's not going anywhere," I pleaded. The Spaniard turned around to give me his famous puppy dog look.
"Aw, but Cheya, we have to get a good seat. You'd love-." Gilbert dove for the wheel, steering us away from the curb as he shouted out various profanities in German.
"You almost got us killed, you dummkopf," Gilbert shouted angrily.
"So where exactly are we going?" I asked warily. The Spaniard was full of surprises and most of the time they resulted in some form of disaster.
Gilbert glared. "If you hadn't already noticed, the moron has two functioning brain cells. It's best if we don't distract him," he huffed.
When Antonio stopped at a red light, he gave Gilbert a hard flick to the forehead. "Anyways," Antonio sang, ducking when Gilbert swung a punch at his jaw. "I'm taking you guys to Café Nostalgia. It's pretty hip. Tonight's slam poetry night."
"And what about the food?" Gilbert and I said in perfect harmony. Even though he was still grouching, I could tell that Gilbert was smirking. Food was always a priority.
"Um, I don't know. You can buy lattes from the Starbucks in there." Antonio clearly didn't think this through.
"Turn the fuck around, we're going somewhere else," Gilbert demanded.
"Gilbert, can you stop acting like a two year old and grow up already?" I seethed. "This is our last night in town. The least you can do is act your part." Gilbert's angry expression softened. "You're right, Liebste. But there better be some food that I can buy in there," he frowned.
"It's too late anyways. We're already here," Antonio gushed as he pulled the car into a dingy looking parking lot (Warning #1). Gilbert groaned while I slipped on my black converse.
The car door opened and Gilbert held out his hand for me. "My lady," he bowed courteously. I put my hand to my chest. "Why thank you, kind knight." Fun fact: Gilbert was obsessed with the Teutonic Knights when he was just a wee little shithead.
I hopped out of the car and glanced at my reflection. I really did look like a five year old with those pigtails. I pulled out the red ribbons from my hair and gave my head a good shake.
I noticed that both Antonio and Gilbert were giving me odd stares. "What?" I growled. Antonio cleared his throat. "You never wear your hair down, that's all," he smiled.
"Yeah… and it looks good," Gilbert practically choked out. Weird. Gilbert was acting really funny lately.
"I guess I just wanted to change things up," I shrugged and walked towards the café's spray painted sign (Warning #2). We followed the sidewalk which eventually led us to a descending staircase (Warning #3). Seriously it looked like something straight out of a horror movie, you know one of those places that leads you to the murderer's secret layer? Yeah, that's what this place looked like.
I raised by eyebrows at Antonio, but he gave me an encouraging smile. "I promise, it's much better on the inside," he beamed. Come to think of it, I did hear faded clapping coming from somewhere behind the door.
We walked down the stairs and opened the rusty door (Warning #4). A delicate looking boy with bright blue eyes and shaggy blond hair stood behind a wooden podium. Red curtains were closed behind him and you could hear muffled excited chatter in the background.
"H-Hello. T-table for three?" the boy stammered. Antonio flashed him with a hearty grin. "No need to be so formal amigo!" the Spaniard chided. "And yes please." I rolled my eyes as Antonio paid for our tickets. The boy stepped down from his stool and opened the curtains for us.
"Follow me please," the boy whispered. He led us into what appeared to be a mini theatre of sorts. A stage was set in the middle of the room and cloth covered tables littered the floor. Teenagers of all sorts were hanging out with their friends as they laughed, joked, and drank their overpriced lattes.
Antonio clapped his hands together. "We made it just in time, eh Ravis?" The Spaniard then clapped the poor boy on his back. Ravis gave a little squeak and responded with a weak smile. He led us to a table in the center of the room and pulled out a chair for me. "Thanks sweetheart!" I grinned.
"Cheya, he's our age you know," Antonio scolded.
My face paled and I looked to Ravis. "Sorry I didn't know!" I exclaimed. Ravis's cheeks turned pink. "N-not a problem. You're too pretty for me to be mad anyways," he said shyly. Before I could respond, Ravis scurried off, nearly tripping over his own feet as he made a break for the cafe's front room.
"Pipsqueaks' got game," Gilbert snorted. I ignored the German's comment, deciding to enjoy the calm atmosphere of the room instead. I closed my eyes and took in a whiff of the vanilla scented candle resting in the middle of the table. Besides the stages lighting, candles were the only things that lit up the room.
We sat in silence, absorbing and enjoying the casual atmosphere of the room. That is until Gilbert's stomach decided to let out an unruly growl. "Oh! What do you guys want to eat? I'll go get us something," I offered.
Gilbert shook his head and handed me his wallet. "I'll pay, just get me something awesome to eat.″
I turned to Antonio. "Anything's fine Chica. Especially when you're handing it to me," he purred. The table moved quite conspicuously and Antonio yelped, bending over to clutch his shin. Gilbert's angry expression faltered when he noticed my glare.
"Try not to kill each other when you gone," I hissed. I stood up and snatched Gilbert's leather wallet. Oh great, a picture of an eagle, probably something to remind himself of his small ass brain. I was about to leave when Antonio cleared his throat. "The other way Cheya," the Spaniard winced as he pointed towards a staircase in the left hand side of the room. Ok, I'll admit it. I can be pretty intimidating when I'm angry.
I turned around and left without saying a word. Weaving in and out of tables as quickly as possible, I stopped only when I heard a familiar slimy voice come from my right. "And I was like girls, girls, no need to fight over me. There's plenty of me to go around. You should have seen Bella, she practically begged me to go on a date with her last week," Sadiq gloated.
Fists clenched, I walked over to Sadiq's table. The Turk was surrounded by a flock of raccoon eyed girls, grinning to himself as he thrived off of the slutty attention that he was receiving.
I stomped up behind him and pulled down the hood to his green sweater. "Newsflash asshole. If you're going to lie, at least do your research. Bella's been in Belgium for the entire summer," I growled. An angry looking Turk turned around to face me.
"And just who the fuck are you?" he snarled. It took his thick head a moment to register 'just who I was.' A twisted smile crept onto the bastard's face. "Pig tails," he grinned. "Looking good! Ladies can you move over please?" When no one moved, Sadiq practically pushed a girl out of her chair.
A red haired girl with green eyes glared at me. She stumbled around in her five inch heels and wore jean shorts that barely covered her butt. Hovering over me, the girl pointed a clawed finger at my chest. "Back off bitch, he's mine."
I laughed and pretended to wipe a tear from my eye. "Honey, how much did he pay for you? It looks like you came from 'straight outta the trashcan," I mocked in a ghetto voice. Before the girl could give her retort, Sadiq decided to cut in.
"Aww pigtails wants a piece of me. C'mere." The Turk gestured for me to sit in his lap.
I picked up a glass of water from the table. "What I want is a piece of justice. If I ever hear you talking about Bella like that again, I WILL end you," I raised the glass over Sadiq. "Enjoy pisshead," I cried as I proceeded to pour water all over the man's, correction, boy's crotch.
"Oh no! It looks like this little guy had an accident!" I cried. Heads turned and people laughed as they watched Sadiq pat his down his crotch with an army of napkins.
It was only until that I was halfway up the staircase that the bastard decided to retaliate. "Thank GOD, I don't have to deal with a BITCH like that," I turned away.
Don't cry, he's just a little shit. Just go upstairs, get some food, and enjoy the rest of the night.
I came back to the table and was met two worried faces. Antonio looked like he was about to say something, but I shoved a chicken salad sandwich into his hands. "Here," I muttered as I tossed Gilbert his BLT. I rummaged through my bag and pulled out my spinach and cheese sandwich.
"Cheya, are you alright?" Gilbert asked softly. I looked away, knowing that I would cry if I talked about it. I went to grab my sandwich, but the German had already snatched it up from the table.
Gilbert teasingly waved the sandwich in front of my face. "You know you can tell us anything, Liebste."
"Fine," I grumbled, "Sadiq called me a bitch."
"I'll fucking kill him," Gilbert stood up, his chest shaking with rage as his eyes scanned the crowd for a certain Turk.
"It's not worth it," I pointed to the stage, "Besides it looks like the curtains are lifting." And indeed they were. Black curtains were drawn from the center of the stage, revealing an average heighted man with blond hair.
The man grabbed the mike. "Hellllllooo," he said in an accent that I couldn't quite place. "Welcome to Café Nostalgia's poetry night," he squealed.
"My name's Tino, and today I've got plenty of good acts lined up for ya! First up we have Heracles Karpusi performing 'A Melody of Cats.'"
The lights shut off for a brief second and some girl let out a frilly scream, or at least I think that it was a girl. The lights turned on again and a trembling Tino stood in the middle stage. "Calm down Finny, everything will be fine," he whispered to himself. When he realized that the lights had turned back on, the Finn let out a relieved sigh.
"Sorry about that! Technical difficulties. Anywhooo…. please give a round of applause for Mr. Karpusi." I started to clap loudly until I realized that I was supposed to snap. How Cliché.
A tall lanky boy with pale olive skin and shoulder length brown hair walked onto the stage. Blinking from the stage's bright light, the man ran a hand through his bed head, sighing deeply before he decided to grab the mike.
Who wouldn't want to be a cat? (Cue Dramatic sigh)
They don't have to deal with debt.
They can eat what they want.
They can sleep when they want.
But do you know why I want to be a cat?
I want to lay in the sun.
I want to be held close by cute girls.
Ahh cute girls, as they hold me tight. (Moans)
I purr into their chests, and lick their face.
No one can judge you when you're a cat.
No one tells you to stop when you're a cat.
I want to have fun. But no one lets me.
If I was a cat
I could sleep with pretty ladies all day.
And you know what's the best thing about being a cat?
Being able to lick your-
"OK! Heracles everyone," Tino cut in at just the right moment. The entire room was swathed in silence, a mixture of both shock and bewilderment permeating the air. Wiping his forehead clear of sweat, Tino walked back onto the stage.
"Alright! So it seems that we had a last minute cancellation! Would anyone like to volunteer? Or should I voluntell someone?" Tino asked in an amused tone.
When no one answered, Tino jumped off the stage and walked into the crowd. Blinding stage lights shone on him as he stalked the room looking for his next prey, I mean performer. "Do we have any Casanova's in the room?" Tino teased. I groaned, knowing what was about to happen. Even though he was at the back end of the room, I heard the bastard get up.
"Over here! Over here," Sadiq bellowed. Gilbert and I shared a disgusted look.
"Fat chance douche nozzle. We want to enjoy the night. Not stab our eyes out," Gilbert shouted. Laughter echoed throughout the room, only to end when Tino cleared his throat.
"Who said that?" Tino smirked.
"Over here," Antonio called out, laughing his ass off. Gilbert's face paled as he shrunk down in his chair, trying to hide, unsuccessfully, from the stage lights that were now shining on our table.
"Fuck you, Spaniard," Gilbert cursed as Tino danced his way over to our table. I burst out laughing while Gilbert's eyes widened with fear. "Not so awesome now, huh Gil?" I mused.
"If I go down, I'm taking you with me," the German threatened, his red eyes gleaming. Oh Merde.
An amused Tino pushed the microphone in front of Gilbert. "And your name would beeee?"
"Gilbert." The Finn's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Well, Gilbert, would you like to perform a song for us?"
"Sure," Gilbert gave me a mischievous look. "But let's make it a duet."
"Fine with me," Tino gushed. "And who will this lucky lady be?"
"She's sitting right across from me," Gilbert grinned.
I was now the one to have the microphone shoved in my face. "And who might you be sweetheart?"
I glared at Gilbert. "Call me Cheya," I grumbled.
"Alrighty folks, we've got ourselves an act!" Tino clapped his hands together. "What song will you guys be singing?" Tino whispered.
Antonio grabbed the mike. "How about Love is an Open Door?" I glared at Antonio. Gilbert, on the other hand, didn't seem to be too bothered by this.
"Perfect! Follow me lovebirds!" Tino gushed. Gilbert pulled my chair out for me, earning himself a few whistles and hollers of appreciation. Fuck, don't encourage him! Bowing to the crowd, Gilbert took my hand and kissed it. The little shit was enjoying this way too much.
"So much for 'slam poetry'," I hissed at Antonio, who shrugged in response.
"Come on now," Gilbert teased as he dragged me onto the stage. (Baise-moi)
I stood awkwardly on the stage, looking into the crowd. My eyes met with Antonio's and he gave me an overexcited thumbs up. "Sure, sit at the table on your fat ass, while we go on the stage and embarrass ourselves," I grumbled to myself.
Gilbert patted me on the back and gave me a menacing smile. "Let the fun begin."
My horrified look only encouraged the demon boy. "Cue the music boys," Gilbert hollered.
Well here goes nothing. It was a nice life while it lasted.
Me: "Ok, can I just, say something crazy."
Gilbert: "I love crazy!" (Sure you do you fucking demon)
Me: "All my life has been a series of doors in my face~," I cupped my hands around Gilbert's face. "and then suddenly I bump into you~."
Gilbert: *Strikes a heroic pose* "I was thinking the same thing! 'Cause like I've been searching my whole life to find my own place, and maybe it's the party talking or the chocolate fondue~," Gilbert twirled my hair.
Soon enough we had found ourselves lost in the song, prancing around the stage like a couple of buffoons as we belted out the lyrics with perfect harmony. I was beginning to enjoy myself, and as the song went on my confidence soared. My voice got louder, and Gilbert picked up on this.
Me: "With you!"
Gilbert: "With you!" Gilbert lifted me high in the air.
Me: "With y-you!"
Gilbert: "With you!"
Both: "Love is an open doooooor."
We finished the song breathing heavily, our eyes locked onto one another as we immersed ourselves in the lovers' role. Gilbert's pale hair was disheveled and his eyes carried an emotion that I couldn't quite place. He grinned as we raised our hands to the audience and bowed.
Cheers erupted throughout the room and Gilbert was revelling in this attention. He pranced about the stage, an arrogant smirk plastered onto his face as he blew air kisses to random screaming girls in the audience. I started to walk down from the stage, but Tino, with a surprising amount of strength, hauled me back into the limelight.
"Fantastic! You guys were absolutely wonderful!" Tino gave me a hug. "Any last words"?
Gilbert eagerly grabbed the mike. "Shout out to Antonio for being a little bitch," he enthused. Said Spaniard looked like an angry bull ready to leap out from his seat.
"Oh hush now," I wheezed. "Now find me a chair before I collapse." Gilbert gave me a quirky smile. "Of course Hase, anything for you."
Author's Note: This story has MULTIPLE POVs. It is not just Seychelles lol. I know a lot of people don't like her for some reason or whatever, but that's why I chose her! (Trust me, she's hilarious in this fic) I wanted to give her a chance. Once you get past the sixth chapter, I've actually been using other POVs more than her, so if you came here for the other characters, then I recommend that you stick it through. Or don't. I can't tell you what to do. I ain't your mama.
Other characters who make a brief appearance in this story, other than the main cast include Denmark, Fem! Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, Greece (again), Estonia (mentioned), Fem! China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan (mentioned), Scottland/Wales/ Ireland (mentioned) Sweden, Norway, Fem! Iceland, and Wy.