Summary: Alfred is shipped off to England to concentrate on his studies. He meets a punk, intelligent classmate named Arthur. Although their friendship starts out a little bit rocky, they warm up to each other. How will this turn out?

Alfred's POV

I step off the plane, arriving in London. I look around, and at first I'm overwhelmed by the noise, smells, and all the British accents around me. I see my aunt waving at me holding a sign with Alfred F. Jones written on it. I hurry towards her, and sweep her up in a bone-crushing hug.

"Aunt Elizabeth! I haven't seen you in a really long time! I've missed you!"

She squeaks, "Ah! Alfred, it's so nice to see you again! Although, I would feel a bit better if you stopped squeezing me so hard." I immediately release her, and she laughs. "Oh Alfred, it's been so long since I've seen you as well. You've grown so tall! I remember when you were only up to my knee." She hugs me, and then leads me through the crowd. "The cab is on the other side of the terminal. We'll take the cab over to my house and we'll get you settled in."

When we're in the cab, I ask Aunt Elizabeth, "So…which school will I go to?"

"I've decided on Sir John's Academy at Oxford. It's one of the best schools in Britain, and they have an excellent program there. I'm pretty sure that your parents would appreciate that."

I wince. "Yeah… they think that I spent too much time playing football, and that my grades suck balls. I guess that's why they shipped me here."

Aunt Elizabeth places a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Alfred, they love you very much, and the education in Britain is very good. To be willing to send their only son to Britain to concentrate on his studies is not an easy choice for them. Plus, think of this as an adventure! There's much to do here, and our history is very interesting. I'm sure you'll love it here."

I feel better with her reassuring words. I press my face against the window of the cab and watch the sky darken and start to pour buckets of rain. Aunt Elizabeth glances out the window, and pulls out two umbrellas. "Oh dear, I can tell it's going to get a bit wet outside".

When we finally arrive in front of her apartment, the rain has gotten so bad that the gutters are overflowing. My sneakers are drenched in the 10 second walk from the cab to the door.

"Wow. This place seems smaller than I remember." I have the courtesy to take off my wet shoes before I wander around the house. Aunt Elizabeth laughs and steers me to the bathroom.

"You've grown so big, of course this place will seem smaller to you. Now, get yourself cleaned up, and I'll fix up some dinner for you."

At the prospect of food, I perk up. "Will there be hamburgers?"

"Unfortunately no, but I can make fish and chips, if that will make you feel better."

I deflate a little. "Okay. Thanks Aunt Elizabeth!"

"Oh please, call me Aunt Liz or Liz. Aunt Elizabeth is just too long to be saying all the time" Liz grins. I close the door behind me, and I hear her banging around in the kitchen.

As I sit down at the table, Liz hands me an envelope with "Sir John's Academy" stamped across it.

"This contains everything needed for your registry. I've filled out the necessary paperwork, but I'd like you to look over everything just in case I've missed something. They've also included an informational brochure, so it'd be nice if you looked over that as well." I read through all the paperwork, and the reality of the situation sinks down upon me. I feel a moment of panic, but it soon goes away as I think, I'm a hero! Heroes don't get intimidated easily. I can do this!

"Alfred?"

"Huh? Yeah, Liz?" I test the name. It sounds cool and modern, I guess.

"You just had a momentary spasm of panic show through your face. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah! I can totally handle this!"

"I know that you've just moved to Europe, and also left your friends and old life behind…"

"Really Liz, I'm fine. I can always keep in touch with them, and I'm sure I can make new friends here in Britain. Everything's gonna be alright 'cuz I'm that awesome!"

Liz chuckles. "I'm sure you'll do fine. You're the big friendly sort of type. You'll make friends easily." She continues, "You also start school tomorrow, and I've already got your uniform ready."

Oh. That's why she wanted my measurements…

"Do you want to see it?" She scrapes her chair back and rushes off into her room. She soon comes back with a cellophane wrapped package and hands it to me. I open it, and I see that it consists of a white dress shirt, with a burgundy and gold striped tie, a matching burgundy blazer, and khaki pants. Emblazoned on the breast pocket of the blazer is a coat of arms with some Latin written at the bottom. There's also a pair of shoes.

"The school colors are burgundy and gold and their motto is 'Knowledge is power'. Try it on! I bet it'd look great on you." I carefully put the uniform on, trying not to mess up the creases. I need Liz's help in tying the tie and putting on the blazer, but when we're done and she steps back, Liz gives a little gasp, "You look absolutely amazing!" and snaps a picture with her camera. Sheepish, I turn my head away as she glances at the clock. "My God, is it 11 already? It's time for bed. You can leave your dishes here Alfred; I'll take care of them." Liz hustles me off to my bedroom, and closes the door behind me. I take off my uniform and carefully drape it over the closest chair.

"Goodnight Alfred, sweet dreams" She smiles, and closes the door. I lie awake on my bed for a while, thinking of the life I've left behind in America. My football buddies, my school, and my girlfriend Kristina. Come to think of it, I don't really miss her for some reason. This troubles me for a little bit. Shouldn't a boyfriend miss his girlfriend when he moves to another country in Europe, across the Atlantic Ocean? I worry over this for a little bit, but then it makes my head hurt, so I fall asleep instead.

Arthur's POV

I HATE EVERYTHING.

Everybody misunderstands me. Nobody understands me. That's fine, because I don't want to understand anybody either. They could all die in a hole for all I care. School and music are all that matter to me. I don't need anything else. I don't need real friends, or my family. Bloody fuck, I hate everything.

I slam down my pen and push my journal away. The counselor said that if I wrote down my feelings, I would be better at communicating with people. So far, it isn't working. I still feel angry inside as I did before. My mint bunny flies down and settles on the edge of my desk.

"Arthur, why are you so angry?" Its voice is gentle and musical and reminds me of wind chimes blowing in the wind. I smile and pat its head.

"I don't know. People just piss me off for some reason, but you guys don't. I don't need people friends; I have my own friends right here."

"You'll never leave us, right Arthur?"

"I'll never leave you."

"OI ARTHUR, YOU TALKING TO YOUR IMAGINARY FRIENDS AGAIN?"

I swivel around in my chair. "GIT, GET AWAY FROM MY DOOR. IT'S NONE OF YOUR BLOODY FUCKING BUSINESS." A fit of laughter erupts outside my room.

"I swear he's gone bonkers. I always hear him talking to those imaginary friends of his. Maybe that's why he hasn't got any REAL friends of his" Again, the voices outside my door snigger, and my older brother continues, "Really. He keeps to that corner of his in the cafeteria, and doesn't even bother looking at those girls sitting at the table next to him. I wonder what's wrong with him?"

"I bet it's those hideous eyebrows of his. They're so big and furry; it looks like he has caterpillars growing on his face!"

Finally, I can't take it anymore. I fling open the door and scream in their faces "SOD OFF YOU BLOODY JERKS. GET AWAY FROM ME THIS INSTANT!"

One of my brothers snorts. "Oh belt up Artie, we're just playing with 'ya." I clench my fists, and I glare daggers at him. "Oh wait. I forgot you don't like being called Artie…Artie!" They all howl, and run off before I can punch them in their sorry faces. I storm back inside my room and slam the door. My mum's voice floats from the room next door.

"Arthur dear, please don't slam the door so hard…" I sigh, and walk over to her room. She's been bedridden ever since she got that damn cold of hers.

"Are you alright? Do you need more soup?" I tuck the bed sheets back under her chin, and she smiles sadly at me. "No, everything's alright. It's getting a bit late though. Have you finished all your homework?"

"I finished it at school."

"That's…good…" and my mum falls asleep once again. I walk out of the room and sit on my bed. I don't hate everybody in my family, I hate most of them. My dad left us when I was really little, and all my brothers ever do is torment me. Mum is bedridden with a cold, and can't do anything about it. I flop onto my bed and peek at the clock on my windowsill. It's 11, and school starts at 7 tomorrow, and the rain is still pouring outside. My mint bunny flies over to me, and curls up next to my face. Smiling, I stroke its back and fall asleep.

/Author's note/

My first fanfiction! I hope you like it ^^;;

Because it's my first fanfiction i've ever written, i'm not really expecting it to be good. So please review! Thanks!

I don't own Hetalia or it's respective characters. they belong to their creator Hidekaz Himaruya .