It was 4 in the morning when he got the call from Matthew, exclaiming how he wanted his favourite province to accompany him to the 2 week conference of the countries of the world. He didn't want to go... He couldn't go! He had numerous meetings to attend to and the children at the schools were looking forward to him visiting and since the incident with Alison Redford- Alberta still agreed to go with his father country, Canada. Besides, what kind of province would he be if he let Canada down? He would be like rebellious Quebec! Saying that Alberta despised the other countries and their own young was rude, so Alberta stayed far away from saying that. Though the truth was closer to that than anything else. Alberta had a little bit of social trouble.
Forcing himself to roll out of his plush bed surrounded by an abundance of plush animals and pillows, Alberta strolled into the bathroom that conjoined to his bedroom. Not before he got a text from Canada, of course, the ring tone of the nation himself singing Oh Canada. It was quite adorable. With an overexaggerated grunt, he made a sharp U-turn and drowsily stumbled back to his bed where his phone lay. He picked it up and read the message.
From: Mattie
Be at the usual hotel in New York at 8 tonight, Emmett!
Alberta had no clue why Canada used so much exclamation points.
One would expect Alberta's name to be along the lines of Albert, or Al, or something like that. But a city in him and one year older than him already had that name. Besides, St. Albert was the best rated town to live in in all of Canada, so he deserved the name. Canada gave Alberta a different, simpler name.
Emmett.
Alberta never complained. He liked the sound of it.
Alberta shuffled back to his bathroom, staring at his scraggly reflection in the mirror that took up the upper half of the wall. He blinked at the reflection staring back at him. His hair was an absolute mess. Emmett had no clue how he did it, but whenever he went to bed he managed to royally fuck up his hair. Little blond bits were sticking up, defying gravity and curling this way and that. His bangs, which he usually kept in front of his right eye for reasons looked like a big wave framing his face. Running a comb through his hair, he was only able to subtly tame it. Emmett wasn't too fond of his hair. For starters, it grew to fast. Currently, when straight, it reached his shoulders, though with it's usual wavy appearance it neared his chin. Second was the bed head. Terrible, shitty bed head. The colour faded from a bright blond, like Canada's, to a dark, earthy brown. He blamed the oil sands.
Emmett leaned over the counter, pulling on the bottom lids of his eyes as if that would magically rub away the dark bags under his eyes.
Teeth needed brushing, animals needed feeding, many things needed to be done. Thankfully, Emmett always showered before bed, so he didn't have to add another thing to the list of things he needed to do before heading off to New York.
Would New York be there? Probably. But would America bring another state? Alberta hoped he wouldn't. One of the only states Alberta could stand was California.
Emmett finished freshening himself up, brushing his teeth with minty teeth whitening toothpaste, brushed through his bangs till they perfectly sweeped over his face and covered his right eye. He tried, I repeat, tried, to make the singular hair sticking out of his head flatten to his skull. It just wouldn't cooperate. The damn thing was inherited from Canada. His took a different shape though. Some say it looked like a heart, though he had to disagree.
When he finally crawled out of the bathroom, still clad in sweats and a tank top that hugged him in all the right places, he tumbled down the stairs and into his backyard. Backyard wasn't the right word. Forest was a better term. The woods behind his house stretched on for miles, the Rocky Mountains a good hike away. 15 minutes up the road brought him to the closest town, Jasper. A little further he would be at Hinton, where he would take the Jasper-Hinton airport into the Edmonton airport and then from there he would go to Toronto, then, finally, New York.
He would have to leave soon.
Even though he could take a private plane straight to New York, he didn't think it was all that fair.
Once in the backyard, Emmett trudged through mud to the outdoor freezer where he kept all of the food for his companions. It was nearing the end of April, and the land was beautiful. Leaves and petals were sprouting on trees, shrubs and flowers and herbs and the such reaching up from the ground towards the sky. The sun shone brightly, as it always did. Alberta was nicknamed Sunny Alberta, after all.
Emmett opened the freezer, pulling out a hunk of flesh from a deer hide that he had hunted himself. Almost immediately when the meat was out, a young mutt bounded from the forest line, following it three more pups and a pair of older, larger hounds. They all attacked the deer, the puppies rubbing up against Alberta, yipping and squeaking with joy. Squirrels were nibbling on feed from their feeder and birds were eating from theirs. A caribou trotted through the clearing Emmett was currently sitting in, munching on grass. It bumped heads with Emmett before retreating.
Emmett considered all animals to be his companions.
..o..
Alberta could be quick if he wanted to. That's why, in record time, he was prepared and packed and in the Jasper-Hinton airport. It was small and hardly crowded, just the way Emmett liked it. He got a hot chocolate from the small Second Cup and waited by the gate, playing on his phone while he waited. It didn't take long to board the plane and to take off. In 50 minutes, he arrived at Edmonton. In another hour, he was leaving Edmonton for Toronto. 4 hours later, he was heading to New York, and, finally, 2 more hours passed and he was getting checked into his hotel room.
2: 43 p.m.
Good timing.
The whole Refinery Hotel was booked for the world meeting, the conference center being a little ways down the street. This was a conference for the countries and only the countries, with an exception of their partners.
Alberta was lucky enough to not get noticed by anyone else while he checked in, though the kind lady at the desk talked with him much more than he would of appreciated. He retreated to his room, taking in the beauty of the hotel. There sure weren't that much hotels as amazing as this in Alberta. Everything looked so fragile. He was worried he would break anything he touched.
His room was the perfect size for him. Not too big, not too small. A bathroom broke off from the door hallway, the hall leading off into a medium sized living space, another area reserved for a bed and closet. In the living room was a television, desk with a lamp and assortment of papers, and a mini fridge attached to a cabinet with a keurig, glasses, and ceramic cups on top. It was quite pleasant.
Emmett had no idea what to do for the rest of the day, so he pulled out his phone. Two text messages.
From: Mattie
Hello, Emmett! Are you here yet? I've been here since the morning and I'm getting quite lonely... When you get here, please text me back!
Emmett was quick to type up a simple reply, telling Matthew he was at the hotel and which room was his. The next text made his heart drop to the pit of his stomach
From: Texas :(
lol hey, guess who is at the meeting. dont even pretend u rnt here. i saw u in the looby thing
He chose not to reply to that. His relationship with Texas was- er, to say the least, not the best. He couldn't say that he hated the other. Hate was a emotion too strong for poor little Emmett to feel.
A few deep breaths and he checked the text message he got back from Canada.
From: Mattie
Alright, cool! I'll be right there! I hope you don't mind Kumijiji!
Alberta smiled to himself, tossing the phone onto the bedside table and waiting for the nation to arrive. He had no clue how he couldn't remember his own pets name, Kumajirou. Though Kumajirou never could remember Canada, so, I guess it's karma. Poor Canada. Alberta had no idea what it felt like to be forgotten so easily. That's probably because he hardly ever escapes his own little community. Emmett was never very social. He spent most of his time online, watching anime that Honshu suggested he watch and playing video games. That's the way he liked it, too. He wasn't forgotten or mistaken as much as poor little Canada.
A tepid knock at the door to his room knocked him out of his train of thought. A glance to the clock told him it was nearly 3:30. He leapt off of the bed and up to the door, opening the door with a small smile.
"Hello, Matthew." He said to the taller blond man standing before him, clutching a fluffy, white bear with the cutest black button nose and eyes.
"Hi there, Emmett!" Canada nodded his head as a formal greeting and entered the hotel room. Emmett closed the door behind them and followed Canada inside.
"How has your day been so far?" Canada asked as he sat down in one of the armchairs off to the corner of the room. Emmett sat himself on the chair beside Matthew.
"The usual." He said with a half-hearted shrug. "Except you woke me up at freakin' 4 in the morning!"
Canada laughed nervously, a beautiful ringing bell. "Sorry, sorry! I forgot about the two hour time difference." Alberta returned the giggle.
The pair talked for a while, chit-chatting about nothing in particular.
At 4:45, Matthew suddenly jerked up in the middle of a conversation as if remembering something.
"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt, Emmett, but I have to go to the conference building to help set up for the meeting tomorrow." The unspoken words of 'I doubt anyone would notice me, but I still have to go!' were heard loud and clear through his expression.
Emmett nodded, waving his hand as a dismissal. "Don't worry about it, Matthew. We can talk more tomorrow. I'll see you then, right?"
Canada nodded in agreement and fled from the room, nearly stumbling over his own over-eager feet.
Emmett was alone for the rest of the night.
Waking up the next day was difficult. It always was, when Emmett had to wake up early. Early, as in, whenever the alarm clock woke him up. It happened to be at 8 in the morning that day.
Emmett over dramatically rolled out of bed, bringing his heap of blankets with him onto the floor with a loud groan. He wormed his way to the bathroom, hoisting himself up onto the counter so he didn't have to stand by himself. He fixed up his rats nest of a head of hair, not bothering to conceal the dark bruises under his eyes.
Conceal.
Conceal, don't feel.
Don't let them know.
Let it go...
As Emmett was pulling on his 'fancy clothes' for the day, he was singing Let it Go at the top of his lungs.
"Let it go! Let it go! And I'll rise like the break of dawn! Let it go, let it go! That perfect boy is gone!" He took a deep breath, jumping onto his bed and using his hairbrush as a microphone. "Here I stand in the light of day! Let the storm rage-" He jumped off of the bed. "On!" He took a few deep breaths before finishing. "The cold never bothered me anyway."
Loud clapping knocked him out of his joyous trance. He jumped, throwing the hairbrush into the wall, probably leaving a dent.
There, standing at the door, was 6 foot and 2 inches of pure muscle. Texas stood, leaning against the doorframe, a cocky grin spread across his disgustingly handsome face. Musky brown hair was styled in that perfect style that made it look totally un-styled. His skin tight t-shirt showed off all of his perfect muscle, his broad chest, forearms- Emmett was staring. He had to stop.
Instead, he started to blush. Like mad.
"Y-You... ho-how... How did you g-get in h-here!?" He managed to stutter out, pointing an accusing finger at the large man.
Texas pushed off of the wall, approaching the puny province. "I have my ways, sugar blossom." His deep voice was hinted with the lightest of southern accents. "Don't forget, this whole state is my brother!"
Emmett winced, blood not fading from his cheeks. Alberta excused himself, walking around Texas and out of his room. Just ignore him.
"That was rude of you, yesterday, not textin' me back 'n all!"
Emmett didn't say a thing, only walking down the brightly lit hallway towards the elevator that would bring him to the main lobby.
"I should punish you, nice and good!"
Emmett's face was bright red again.
The elevator was so close.
"Stop ignoring me, you little punk!" Texas pushed Emmett into the wall, his shoulder blades connecting rather painfully. Emmett stared up at Texas, his visible forest-green eye wide and full with fear. Who wouldn't be scared, pushed up against a wall by a large, and powerful, state, but also as a person. Emmett was a very nice province, he was! Though, physically, he had some issues. He was short. Very short. Under 5 feet short. He had no muscle. Even though he adored sports and activity, he was scrawny. Naturally he was terrified of this position.
The look on his face apparently pleased Texas, for he grinned and pushed away. "See 'ya at the meeting, squirt." Texas walked down the hallway and entered the elevator by himself.
Emmett sighed, feeling his knees buckle slightly. He forced himself to stay upright, distracting himself by fixing the crinkles in his black vest. Emmett would never be caught dead in a suit, so he wore the next best thing. A white button up with a black vest over top, complete with dress pants and a black, currently unzipped hoody. He looked spiffy, in his own opinion.
After a moment or two to recollect himself, he left to go to the meeting.
He was late. It's not his fault he got distracted by a stray cat that was just a sack of bones. The cat didn't like the idea of being picked up, so Emmett was all roughed up with red scratches from the dull nails all over his face. He had to bring the poor creature to a shelter where it would be cared for properly, then go all the way back to the conference building.
Emmett walked in right in the middle of one of America's idiotic speeches, the loud creaking of the door diminishing any chances of sneaking in. Alfred shut up and stared at Alberta, blue eyes narrowing dangerously.
No, no, please, just look away.
Nothing to see here.
Emmett slowly crept in, the feeling of all the eyes of countries and their companions on him. His face grew dangerously red and he felt ready to cry.
"What is the meaning of this?" A loud, German voice rang out through the choking silence. "I don't appritate tardiness."
Emmett froze on the spot, shuffling nervously and playing with the hem of his vest, eyes trained to his sneakers. "U-Um... um..." He murmured quietly. "Th-There was a c-cat... I h-had to he-help..."
"I can't hear you when you are that quiet." Germany snapped, making Alberta leap in the spot.
"C-Cat!" He squeaked out, voice rising several octaves. There was some laughter.
Please don't laugh at me.
Stop, please.
His bottom lip trembled and he closed his eyes, forcing himself to breathe properly.
"Obviously something important, if my dear Emmy was late!" A girly, French-accented voice speaking out. Emmett glanced up once, seeing Brittany leaning over the table and showing off a great amount of cleavage. "Emmy is never late! Isn't that right, cutie?"
Emmett only blushed harder.
"No one asked you to butt in, hag!" Berlin snapped, assisting his country.
"Don't be so mean, Berry, baby." Brittany purred, leaning back in her seat and winking at France who only smirked back at her.
"Berry? What is the meaning of this!?" Berlin sat up, banging his fist against the table.
"Maybe you should sit down, git! It was a terrible idea allowing these children to join into the conference!" Britain snapped, sending a warning glare to Great London. London rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair and staring out of the window.
"Let's just kick the commies out." Texas laughed loudly, his tone even more annoying than America's could ever be.
"Commies?" Russia's soft voice yelped. "That is awfully rude, friend."
"I'm not your friend, commie!" Texas shouted.
"Hey, Texas, how are your teen pregnancy rates been lately? Above the thousands?" Ryazan spat out, words dripping with venom.
"Do you wanna fuckin' say that to my face, commie?!" Texas leapt from his chair, puffing out his chest like an animal would in the wild to scare away predators. Ryazan stood up as well, looming a few inches above Texas.
A few nations yelled at the bickering children to just sit down.
During all this commotion, Alberta managed to sneak to his seat beside Canada.
"What happened?" Canada leaned towards him to whisper.
"There was a cat, it was starving and in need of help, so I brought it to a shelter. It kinda scratched me a bunch..." Emmett laced his fingers together nervously.
Canada gave his shoulder a reassuring pat.
"You're too nice, Emmett."
Emmett smiled at the kindest nation.
The bickering went on for a while, as it always did, before Germany declared there would be a lunch break.
Canada and Alberta parted ways. They had been whispering back and forth between each other through the whole mess of the meeting. Though, for lunch, Matthew stayed with the other countries in the hotel while Alberta just scampered off to a subway two blocks away.
It was peaceful in the subway, only two construction workers in the building besides Emmett and the lady manning the counter.
Emmett mindlessly ate his six-inch sub, staring out of the window at the people passing by. Everyone was rushing, having somewhere to be and having no time to stop and enjoy themselves. Besides the tourists, of course. There were lots of tourists.
While gazing out of the window, Emmett failed to notice two familiar men walk in and sit down opposite of him.
"Ay, Emmy, babe!"
Emmett jumped and inhaled sharply, choking on the sip of water he had in his mouth. He leaned over the table, covering his mouth and coughing into his hands. When he looked up, he stared at the two states opposite of him.
Texas and New York.
..o..
nervous coughing
um yes hello first story ^^
Please review D:
I have no idea what to call all the provinces/states/territories/etc. together so.. weh...
um... yeah.