The reason I'm a Hero.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA OR ANYTHING HETALIA-RELATED.

My name is Alfred F. Jones, and I am a hero. Many people don't know it, claiming that I'm nothing but a kid and don't know anything about the real world. And in a way, they're right. I'm still pretty young and inexperienced, by the world's standards. But that doesn't change the fact that I am a true hero.

If one of my allies needs help, I'm there. If they're surrounded, beaten to their knees and about to fall, I'll catch them. And damn it, the bastards who did this to my friend will pay.

I stand up for my friends, and for what I believe in.

Many people don't see it that way. They call me obnoxious, rude, and headstrong, saying I should've waited to help or that I shouldn't have stuck my nose in their business. But I can't help it. If I see my friend going down, I can't just stand and watch. I have to reach out to them, to save them from drowning.

But they don't see that, or the other reason I'm a hero.

I'm incredibly selfless.

I don't tell other people about my problems, because they don't need to know. They don't need to see my scars, figurative and literal. If I told them what lies beneath my happy, obnoxious, strong shell, they would run. Once they saw who I truly am- someone who wants nothing more than to be loved,- they would laugh, scorn me, and abandon me. If they saw how truly scared I am, how much I'm hurting, and how alone I feel, they wouldn't be able to trust me to be their hero. And that's the only purpose I feel I have- To protect and safeguard my allies when they can't, to stand up for my friends and my beliefs even if it costs me my life, and to act as the one my friends and allies can depend on.

But sometimes, I grow tired of being so solid and strong. I don't want to be strong all the time. I want to be able to break down, to fall, to become weak and know that someone, somewhere will have my back.

I will never break.

Never.

I will NOT put my allies through that. I refuse to show them this side, the side that longs to cry on someone's shoulder and not be the comforter. If I did that, that would be admitting defeat. It would mean admitting I'm not the rock-solid, invincible, ridiculously happy person they think I am. And I can't bring myself to do that to my allies. And so I do what a true hero would-

I keep those feelings locked inside my heart and refuse to let anyone in, lest they find this weakness.

I don't do this for me. I'll do anything to protect my friends. And if that means burying what I really feel, then so be it. What are my feeling compared to that of my allies'?

Nothing. The hero's first priority is not himself.

And if this eventually destroys me, then I hope I go down defending someone.

Because even if it kills me, I will never abandon my friends and allies.

This is based off how I feel about my friends. I was thinking tonight about how easy it is for some people to open up, and why I don't. This is what I came up with, and then I realized how closely my own thoughts can match up with how America possibly feels.

So, this is my first attempt at a one-shot. What didja think? Hopefully it wasn't too mind-blowingly horrible. Reviews make me happy! :3

I'm out. Maihai~

-Ziayre Michaelis