You're Special: a PruCan fanfic
Chapter One:
Weak sunlight trickled through the blinds, like they were trying to bring warmth in the snoozing Canadian's room. A stray stream stung and burned Matthew's eyes, making him squirm. However, he woke up, feeling elated; it was his birthday, at last. A hint of a smile appeared on his face, as he realized what day it was.
Let's just hope that some people will remember, he thought, full of hope.
A miniature figure popped up from the sheets, awkwardly wearing a way-too-big party hat. Before Matt could process this, the stuffed bear, Kumajiro, chanted, "Happy birthday! Happy birthday! To…" He quickly lost train of thought. His owner, stretching, pulled his friend into a hug. "An A for effort, yeah?" he murmured.
The boy got up from bed and peeked from the blinds: it looked like an Italian painting. The sky was a shade between blood red and orange, morning dew twinkling on each grass blade, clouds scattered around, like random cotton balls. Matt almost forgot to breathe by this sight. Now filled with glee, he put on his glasses, pulled his bear tight, and went to the bathroom. "Happy birthday" was on repeat in his mind, from having a shower, to putting on casual home attire. Today, he was lazy; he was wearing a white t-shirt with a painted red leaf on the front, pajama bottoms, and red socks.
While traveling downstairs to the living room, Matt warned Kumajiro to not forget about him today. The bear answered with a quick," Okay". Matt began to feel much confident that his birthday will be better than last year. And the last. And years before. An exuberant shout interrupted his somber memories, almost giving him a heart attack.
Oh no.
The voice squealed, "MATTIE!" while a figure sprinted toward the Canadian, like a bullet train. Matt began to yell, "Wait a min-", but got cut off by his brother's heart-warming embrace. If you count having your bones crushed and not getting enough air. Alfred swung his light-headed brother around, singing "Happy Birthday" in an awful soprano voice. After the impact, Matt and Kumajiro were both gulping up air. "Good morning to you, too," he croaked. Alfred simply smiled, while catching his breath also.
The American looked rather ridiculous: red and white streamers were stuck in his hair, his glasses askew, his hands and pajamas coated in red and white paint. "Heck yeah, it is", he answered, "You thought I would my lil' bro's special day?" His brother, in response, flushed in a flash. He was expecting Alfred to forget, as he did previous times. Who are you? What did you do to my brother? Waving a hand in front of the confused Canadian, Al said," Earth to Canada…do you read?" "Wha!? Oh. Yes, I do read." Rolling his eyes, Matt gave in that his self-centered, childish big brother really did remember. "Did you do all of…whatever this is?" he asked, gesturing all over the room. It looked like everything related to "birthday" blew up. Stray confetti and streamers lay on the floor or furniture. Red and white banners were tied up to most of the walls, reading "Happy B-day Mattie!" The one decoration that stood out was the gigantic Canadian flag draping from the ceiling. It was so much, the Canadian did a double take. Alfred, pulling out an innocent look, replied, "Who? Me?"
Before Matt could utter a word, the doorbell rang. His brother's face lit up, full of anticipation. "Stay here," he cautioned, as if his brother would be abducted by aliens. Unfortunately, he knew this look: it was a look of complete adrenaline. Who would visit us at this hour, especially today? What if it was…no. No, it couldn't be. Matt started to pray that it wouldn't be…him. That one guy who creates chaos or mayhem at school, who every air-headed girl gossips, or dreams about, etc. To Matt, he truly, deeply despises his every being. Why? Because he has no common sense. His bear gave out a tiny grunt of pain, by his owner crossing his arms tightly. "You ready?" Al said, hand on top of door handle. Putting on a fake smile, his brother said, "As I'll ever be…" All he could hear was his unsteady breathing, but he could hear America's words. "Dear brother, since you hate being alone, I've personally selected a special (Matt cringed at that word) someone to make this day totally bad-ass!" I'm sure we have different definitions of that word, bro.
When Al opened the door, a quick chill trickled down the nervous Canadian's back. Just peachy. Happy birthday to me. The person entered the door, completely shocked about America's decorations.A low whistle escaped from him, muttering," An artist's work, I might say. Well done." The pleased American just shrugged. "Did what I had to do for the birthday boy." Matt slowly turned his gaze to the floorboards, trying not to get the guest's eye contact. Of all the days. What did I ever do to deserve this? "If you're trying to sink into the floor, it's not vorking, freund." Annoyed, Matt glanced up, hiding his grimace with an apologetic smirk. It really was him. He was wearing a light green, sleeveless tank top, a plaid white and navy blue shirt wrapped around his waist, black jeans, brown Combat boots, and a red and white beanie. Also, he had a traveling bag on one of his shoulders. After a winding silence, Matt chirped up a forced laugh, saying, "What? I can't use my powers randomly?" The Prussian's eyes lit up happily. "Sure. Just don't do them on purpose", he replied, as if he understood the conversation.
Really? You bought that?! This was going to be a long birthday…not in a good way.
America, glancing between the two boys, said, "Sorry to interrupt this interesting talk, but I need to ask the both of you questions." Before Matt could cut in, his guest nodded toward his brother, accepting this situation. "Let's just get this over with, please," the upset Canadian shot back.
Clapping his hands together, Al turned toward the Prussian first, which made the other boy worried. He better not say something ridiculous or inappropriate. Or both. "For you, being the guest of my bro, Matthew, today, will you treat him as if he was the last person on Earth?" Is he trying to be as smart as he says he is, Matt thought, puzzled. Taking a deep breath, Gilbert glanced at the confused birthday boy, as if it will give him courage. "That, and more, sir", he answered, after shooting Matt a sly wink. The air between them became more heavy than usual. This guy's playing with him, no doubt about it. "And you", Alfred continued at his anxious, speechless brother, "I know it's hard for you to do this, however, will you be in your best behavior, with Gilbert around?" Before spitting out a poisonous reply, the Canadian muttered, "You know me."
That was that. A whole 24 hours with the one person that Matt couldn't stand or face with. No going back now. As if on cue, Gilbert did a small, graceful bow towards the stressed Canadian. "I swear, that on your special, special day, that you'll remember this day for years to come." Shifting on his feet, Matt said, bitterly, "I hope so, too."
Hope this wouldn't be a living hell, also.