"Dude, I am so pumped for this! No one has run against me for years!" Alfred F. Jones grinned madly, propelling a fist in the air. Lovino Vargas. That was surprising. Since when did the Italian have an interest in student government? Well, no matter. He'd beat him no matter what!

"Maple, Al. Lovino is kind of scary…. Are you sure you want to compete with him?" Matthew, Alfred's brother, whispered as the American scanned the other announcements on the bulletin board. He rubbed his chin before smiling brightly.

"Of course, bro! And little 'vino isn't that scary, he's just really mean!" Alfred laughed, swiveling on his heels and heading towards his first class of the day. Lovino Vargas and Feliciano Vargas were a pair of renowned siblings around the school. They were both prodigies from Italy that appeared to be twins at first sight, but there was actually a two year difference. The younger one, Feliciano, was really bubbly and flirtatious. Lovino was awfully moody and cold to everyone, and also withheld a habit of cursing. Overall, they were very talented.

"Alfred, you're late. I'm going to give you and your brother a warning, bien?" Alfred sent his Spanish teacher a thumbs up, moving to his seat and plopping down. Matthew seated himself near a friend while Mr. Carriedo started to call the role. When he called Lovino's name, the American waited for his response and quickly located him when he heard it. Now he had the chance to talk to him about his position in the student body.

"Here, damn it." It wasn't very bizarre that Mr. Carriedo let his cursing slip by. In fact, the instructor was very easy going and a great educator. He was Alfred's favorite, in fact. A native Spaniard with a love for tomatoes and a passion for singing. His class was entertaining and so far, the only one Alfred hadn't fallen asleep in. Mr. Carriedo ordered for everyone to get in pairs or groups and play a game that helped them practice new words. Taking the opportunity, Alfred grabbed a spare chair and settled in front of Lovino, who looked up at him in boredom. Shuffling the deck of cards with pictures on them, he glanced at the teacher before exhaling.

"Ciao." Alfred nodded, greeting him with a "yo" before they began to play the game, silent for the first few minutes. They rehearsed the new vocabulary for a third of the class until they decided they had reviewed enough. Lovino dropped the cards on his desk as Alfred folded his arms on the surface and rested his head on the uppermost one.

"So, Lovino... I heard you're running for student body president." The Italian nodded, rubbing at one of his shoulders which appeared to be sore. Alfred flickered his eyes over the brunette, noting how handsome he was. Dark brown hair, amber-green eyes, lightly tanned skin, average height, slender curves and that cute little reoccurring curl that independently stood from his other strands of hair. … Huh… Cute…

"Si, I am. Does it really concern you?" Lovino muttered, darting his eyes to Mr. Carriedo again. Why does he keep doing that? Alfred pondered, shifting so he blocked the teacher from view.

"It concerns me, Lovino, because I, the hero, am running against you," he announced proudly, winking at the brunette. Lovino stared at him blankly before rolling his eyes.

"I know, idiot. And I'm going to run your ass into the ground, "hero"." The blond gasped, clasping a palm to his chest in offense. Pouting, his attention was then caught by Mr. Carriedo who walked over and squatted down at the side of the desk, placing his chin on a closed fist with a mockingly disappointed expression.

"Now Lovi… Are you playing nice?" Lovino swiftly raised a hand to flip up his middle finger before tucking his hand in his lap again. He wet his lips and picked up the deck of cards as Mr. Carriedo joined their game, pulling up a seat. The next day, Alfred arrived at school with a new goal in mind, flinging open the backseat door of his car in order to grab a box full of promotional fliers. Lovino avoided him during Spanish class, but after school, the blond took his chance and pasted the papers everywhere in the school with the help of two of his friends who were just as narcissistic as him. He started planning his next move to convince people to vote for him, starting to write his speech.

"No one's going to vote for you, git," Mr. Kirkland told him while he sat in the library before the start of school the next day. Alfred flipped to the next page of his notebook, scribbling more and marking out the parts he didn't like.

"You know that isn't true, Mr. Kirkland! I won every other year, so obviously people like me. Plus, you're only trying to bully me when secretly I'm your favorite student. Why else would you follow me to the library in the morning just to talk to me," the American teased, making the other color red in fury.

"That's because you ran unopposed!" Mr. Kirkland hissed, causing the librarian closest to them to shush him. He apologized instantly and huffed, settling down to finish the book he had brought along. Alfred chuckled good-naturedly and continued writing. His teacher was pretty much accurate with his accusations. He wrote during the few minutes he had until the bell.

"But… You would vote for me if you could, wouldn't you?" Mr. Kirkland was silent for a moment, staring at the page in front of him thoughtfully. Bookmarking his page, he stood up and pushed in his chair.

"Sure, Alfred. Maybe until my mind changes. Let's just wait for Lovino's campaign." Poking out his tongue, Alfred packed up as the seconds ticked down. Mr. Kirkland signed him out of the library, waiting on him even though he tried not to make it obvious. Slinging his bookbag over his shoulder, Alfred followed him out of the room just as the bell rang. The thick browed blond trailed his way to his first class while Alfred headed to Spanish again.

"Hola, Alfred. I see you're on time," Mr. Carriedo welcomed from his desk. Alfred waved and sat down, turning in his seat to watch Lovino's reaction to his flyers. The brunette's nose twitched as he attempted not to have a fit of anger. He furrowed his eyebrows, glaring straight at Alfred who smirked back. Moving over to sit in the desk next to Lovino, he snickered tauntingly.

"Shit, you asshole. I haven't even started yet…" He confessed, causing Alfred to laugh obnoxiously. Lovino's face was as red as a beet, which was amusing and endearing all at once. The American brushed the sentence off in a gesture of reassurance, folding his arms over his chest proudly.

"Don't worry, I haven't done much yet. But when I do, I'm running your ass into the ground," he jeered competitively. Lovino snorted, slapping open his Spanish binder and flipping to a clean page. He tucked a pen between his teeth as he shook his head at the American doubtfully. A rare streak of arrogance crossed his beautiful eyes as he narrowed his eyes at him.

"Oh, hell no. It's on, fat ass." Alfred growled in feigned anger, reaching forward to pinch some of Lovino's skin between his fingers. The Italian cried out, chopping at his wrist.

"Who are you calling a fat ass, fatty?" Of course, he was only teasing. He could tell by the lack of fat gathered before his two fingers that Lovino was much leaner than him. In fact, he was shapely and curvaceous with a figure that Alfred yearned for. He wasn't overweight exactly, but he was heavy for someone his age and was a bit flabby while Lovino was on the skinny side. Maybe he could cut down on the hamburgers he consumed...

"Shit, I'm skinnier than you!" He lurched forward to return the action Alfred had committed against him. Straddling him in his seat, he attacked him with invasive fingers as he peeled his shirt up and tried to clench a lump of skin flesh between his fingers. Instead, he accidentally grazed one of Alfred's ticklish spots.

"Ahahahahaha! D-Dude, get… Off!" Gaping at him for his reaction, Lovino's mouth clamped shut as his eyes darkened with an evil look. He started to tickle him again until Alfred squawked in agony, making the Italian retreat to see a light pink scratch on his stomach.

"Bastard… Maybe I can tickle you until you laugh all of your fat off…" Lovino mumbled with a satisfied smirk. Pouting, Alfred coaxed down his shirt and cut his eyes at the brunette. They stayed in their position for a minute, both of them panting while trying to catch their breaths and exchanging meaningless glares until Mr. Carriedo interrupted with a remarkably unfriendly voice.

"Mr. Jones, please go back to your seat and leave Lovino alone." Lovino's face heated up as he recognized the position they were in and scrambled out of Alfred's lap. His blush remained furious and humiliated as he plopped down in his assigned seat and mechanically returned to his work. Standing up with a few overworked breaths, Alfred pulled down his shirt completely and staggered to his desk. Sitting down, he was fuddled at Mr. Carriedo's nasty stare. What did he do? He was only having a little fun with Lovino… Thankfully, his normal cheerful mood seemed to return after Alfred concentrated on his classwork and didn't bother Lovino again until class ended.

Lovino sneered at him when the bell signaled their dismissal, grabbing his things and scurrying out the door with an animalistic hiss. Shrugging off his change of behavior, Alfred traveled to his next lesson. Depressingly, he didn't share anymore classes with Lovino. It didn't seem to matter before, but now it seemed like he would make a fun classmate in each of them.

"Yesterday was awesome! What can we do for you now, Al?" An albino smirked, throwing an arm around his shoulder. Alfred had forgotten that the platinum blonde (or very light haired) teenager had this class in common with him. The day previous, he was one of the companions who helped him decorate classrooms and lockers with the fliers. They had a great time, especially since the activity involved music, rivalry, and skating around the empty hallways. And it ultimately ended with ice cream and sandwiches from a fast food area.

"I don't know, Gil. Any ideas? I have to beat Lovino, bro," he chirped, making the albino- Gilbert- sit down in front of him and think about it. His red eyes skimmed the room as he sat backwards in a desk, annoying a male near him.

"Hmm… Well, speeches and shit are un-awesomely boring. So hand out stuff… Like food and junk. Bring free food, everyone loves that," Gilbert cackled, nodding at his advice to confirm it. Alfred took it into consideration. What would he bring? Cookies? Ice cream? Pizza? Why not all? This was America. … This was an excellent idea indeed. He hummed in respect, jotting the suggestions down on a spare sheet of paper. He began to pay attention to the mentor with these ideas freshly churning around in his head. After getting permission, he came to school the next day with cupcakes and other unhealthy foods that teenagers loved.

"Fuck yes! Cupcakes!" Matthias Kohler yelled when he saw the treats. He hogged most of the miniature desserts, but no one really minded since there was plenty to go around. It was safe to say that Alfred was going to get many votes, judging by the responses he received from consumers. Turning around with a mouthful of pizza, Alfred halted when he saw the brunette he was running against. He was scowling, clenching his hands as his nails prickled the inferably soft skin.

"What, are you mad that I one-upped you? Come at me, bro! Hahaha!" Lovino rolled his eyes at his childish display, skirting through the crowd to get closer so that Alfred would hear him speak.

"Shut up, hamburger bastard. This isn't over yet. I'm just starting." The last sentence appeared to be very true, judging how he had nothing up about his campaign, save for his posters. He pulled a chair from close by and stood on top of it, signaling that he had an announcement. He blew a small, portable air horn in his hand, frowning as the students shrieked in displeasure. He placed his hands on his hips, clicking his tongue in disappointment.

"Listen! Do you dipshits really think this crap tastes good? Ha, my younger brother bakes better cupcakes than this guy! Trust me, I'm Italian: This shit you call pizza would make my grandmother cry. Italian gelato tastes way better than your ice cream! If you want to taste real food, I'll be happy to introduce healthier, better tasting food than this. Not this American produce that brings shame to my family!" He suggested, spitting out the words with hatred. Brushing his fingers through his hair, he winked at a group of girls before stepping down and smiling victoriously at Alfred. The students around him cheered, ecstatic about tasting foreign recipes.

"Take that, ass-face," Lovino whispered in Alfred's ear before walking off. And oh, how he liked the way that fine Italian walked… The way he rocked his hips and-

"Wait, no- Not cool, man. 'vino's just a friend. A really sexy one, but still a friend..." Plus, it wasn't really traditional for guys in the Jones-Williams family to stray off the path of heterosexuality. But for Lovino… Damn, maybe Alfred could afford to stray a little. At least onto the bisexuality path. Mm, that sounded nice.

"Alfred, you can't spend so much money on this," Matthew told him later that night as they prepared to go to bed. He removed his clothing and crawled into the bunk bed. Alfred scoffed, sitting down on the bottom bunk and tugging a shirt over his head.

"Shut up, Mattie, what do you know? Do you have a job? I thought not, brah," Alfred retorted, beaming when his brother rolled his eyes and curled up in his bed. He rested his head on a pillow, yawning. Alfred followed his example and entered the world of sleep. Matthew was partially right, but his words held no significant meaning. Besides, unlike with other schools, the race only lasted two weeks. Then the new student body president would be elected and everything would be over. Oh, how he would mourn when Lovino would stop talking to him after it all ended. … No! He was going to make sure Lovino didn't start ignoring him again after everything.

...

"'Vino!" He galloped to his desk and startled the Italian, who dropped his pen. Frowning deeply, he watched as Alfred bent down and picked up the pen, handing it to him. The brunette flushed when their fingers touched, jerking the pen from his grasp. Darting his eyes away, he started to write again.

"W-What do you want…?" Alfred smiled and slipped into the desk next to him. He stuck out a hand.

"After all of this is over, I want us to be friends. You're really fun and interesting, dawg," he felt giddy internally when he saw Lovino's mouth twitch almost into what nearly looked like a smile. He slid closer to the other, chuckling as he threw an arm around his shoulder.

"'Dawg'? Really, dumbass? You Americans and your odd slang…" He muttered, cupping a hand over his mouth. Alfred pulled him closer, causing the other to grumble and try to shove him away.

"Aww, is that a yes?" He gasped as Lovino clawed at him and succeeded in scratching his face. What was his problem? He was always grating his skin and scraping it with his fingers. Soon, Alfred would be nothing more than a being skinned alive. Grabbing the other's wrists, he frowned at him.

"Damn you..." Lovino purred tamely, suddenly losing all viciousness. Releasing his wrists, Alfred felt his face burn while the other only slanted his head and stood up, backing away.

"What the hell?" He directed him a peculiar look before relocating to a desk at the contrary side of the room, starting his work without another glimpse.

"'Vino!" Alfred wailed, only then realizing that his imagination had got the better of him. Lovino had never purred at him, much less in a seemingly tame way. No, in reality Lovino was spiteful and uncaring. Recovering, he climbed back into the seat of the desk, swallowing. He needed to calm down before he caused a greater shift in their relationship.

"Mr. Jones…" Shit, what was it now? Mr. Carriedo was glaring again. What was his problem? He had never been such a prick... Holding up his hands in surrender, he watched the Spaniard call the roll again. Obediently, he did his work and waited for class to be over. When the bell rang, he dashed out and to his next class. Later, he discovered that Lovino had stayed true to his promise and brought home-made pizza, gelato, and cupcakes. Judging by the reactions around him, he was starting to lose to the Italian. Crap…

"Pizza?" Lovino suddenly spoke up from behind him, holding a plate out to him. Scowling at him, Alfred took an aggressive bite out of it, causing Lovino to raise an eyebrow. He began to trash talk with his mouth full.

"See, your pizza tastes like sh…. Mmm… Holy shit…" He gasped. Lovino crossed his arms and waited. Finishing the rest in a few quick bites, he held up a finger until he was finished swallowing.

"…. As I was saying, it tastes like shit!" He spat, yet his words didn't ring true as he reached for another slice and gobbled it up. Sitting down, Lovino observed as he went around insulting everything he had made, yet finished every bite and went for seconds.

"Mmm… Don't think this is over, 'Vino! Oooh, gelato." Of course, the next week Alfred came back stronger. He had finished his speech and they were going to present them at the end of the week. But Lovino had brought a secret weapon with him: Mustaches. It sounded ridiculous at first, but when Alfred came to school, he saw that everybody was wearing paper mustaches attached to popsicles sticks. He didn't understand at first until Lovino walked up to him in Spanish, swinging those lovely hips…

"I mustache you to vote for Lovino Vargas… Bastard." Alfred couldn't help but think how adorable it was that Lovino was holding a fake mustache up to his lip and spoke so nonchalantly. And he mentally gave him points for that pun. His cheeks tinting a light shade of pink, Alfred yanked the mustache from his hand and tossed it across the room. Lovino pouted, crossing his arms.

"... Jerk..." Grinning, Alfred sat in his assigned seat as Mr. Carriedo retrieved the mustache and handed it to Lovino, who was glad that he didn't have to move much. Surprisingly, when they were playing a review game again, Lovino pulled up a chair and sat in front of him. He didn't question it and they began to play right away.

"Hey, 'Vino… Can I make a deal with you?" He asked indifferently, catching the other's attention. Leaning across the table, he whispered in his ear. He was grateful that Lovino liked gambling, otherwise he wouldn't risk it. Basically, he had chatted up Lovino's little brother, Feliciano. After an hour, he learned a few things about Lovino. For one, he loved tomatoes. He also enjoyed gambling and was quite good at it, which made him good friends with a cousin of Francis Bonnefoy's from Monaco. Additionally, Lovino lived with his grandfather. He hated anything that wasn't Italian and he was bisexual, his preference leaning more towards the male side. For once, he was thankful Feliciano was a blabbermouth, because the more he thought about it, the more he fancied the thought of dating the older Italian.

"If I become student body president, you have to date me. Deal?" Lovino liked the challenge and agreed. He was quite confident he would win after all. They finished the game and started to pick on each other's looks again. When class ended and everyone emptied out, Alfred stayed behind. Mr. Carriedo looked at him, puzzled about why he was still there.

"Yo, Mr. Carriedo... I can trust you, right?" Mr. Carriedo shrugged a bit. He sat down, gesturing for Alfred to go on. Sighing, the blond started to spill his heart out. He told him about his crush and how he thought it might be developing into something more. Maybe he finally found someone to love more than himself (maybe).

"Well... I really want him to date me. Any advice?" The Spaniard made a face that looked almost sorrowful for him. Tapping his chin, he thought about it for a few seconds. Turning back to Alfred, he smiled sheepishly.

"He's attracted to people with similar culture, so that's why he's so mean towards Americans. Ay, this is hard... I don't think he'd like to date you, amigo. But it's hard to predict what Lovino does," the teacher laughed before looking at the clock above his desk. "You should go to your next class now before you're late. Here, I'll write a pass."

Mr. Carriedo peeled a sticky note off of a pad and jotted down a pass. Taking it, Alfred went to his next class with his words in mind. Now that he replayed the words, they now only sounded discouraging. But he was most likely only over-thinking. By the end of the week, miniature American flags were planted everywhere, mustaches adorned every classroom, students were boycotting the lunch ladies in favor of replacing them with Lovino (what the actual fuck, was that legal?), and Alfred had painted his slogan everywhere. At the moment, he and Lovino were standing on chairs in the middle of the main hallway and shouting through megaphones.

"Lovino isn't American! He's an illegal immigrant, guys! Do you really want him in the student body?" He fibbed a bit, yes, but it was for a good cause. Lovino's jaw dropped at his statement, lowering the megaphone. He narrowed his eyes at him, glaring before raising the megaphone again.

"You little shit! That's fucking racist!" Alfred cackled uncontrollably at his red face and fuming face. He lifted his megaphone to shout back.

"Shut up! You're in the land of the free, not your sassy Italian country!" He laughed louder when Lovino flipped him off. Finally, the time came for their speeches. They were going to speak over the intercom during the morning announcements. Lovino went first. Students around the school were given small slips of paper, ballots. Alfred was honestly impressed by the Italian's speech. It sounded as if it was written by a teacher. He was so flabbergasted that he didn't realize it was his turn until Lovino snapped his fingers in front of his face.

Blushing, he started to read his, feeling dumb. His confidence was restored when Lovino rolled his eyes and Mr. Wang placed a hand on his shoulder. Straightening up, his performance strengthened. He ended his speech and they were dismissed as the students started voting. Alfred went down the hallway to get water, Lovino following for some reason. He fiddled with his tie as Alfred bent down and gulped down water.

"Hey, bastard, tonight I'm having a party to celebrate winning. Come or not, I don't really care as long as you don't trash my fucking house." Alfred wiped his mouth off and shook his head at Lovino, standing up straight.

"But you don't know who won. In fact, I'm telling you right now that it's me." He pointed to himself as he walked backwards. Lovino groaned and walked after him. The winner was announced at the end of the day. Lovino didn't show any fret, only playing with his tie. Alfred squirmed in excitement, knowing he was one second closer to dating Lovino Vargas. But his smile soon fell and he realized he was going to the Italian's party later that night.

He got ready, getting dressed and driving there with Matthew. His brother split from him as soon as they arrived and Alfred walked through, trying to find Lovino. When he found him, he was in the kitchen, swigging from a bottle. They talked and drank for a while until the brunette became tipsy enough to ask him to dance. Innocent swaying turned to grinding after the first song. A red cheeked Lovino frowned, whispering huskily into his ear.

"I… I cheated…. You were supposed to win," he hiccuped, pressing kisses against the American's neck. Alfred couldn't find himself caring about the confession. "I spread rumors about you and... And I sabotaged some of your campaign shit... A-And Mr. Carriedo helped me with my stuff. I played diirrty, Alfie... I'm a dirty boy..."

"Dude, you are pretty drunk," Alfred laughed, pulling away from the Italian. He received a glare as the other pouted.

"If I was that fucking drunk, you'd know." Their lips met in a soft kiss and Alfred felt the other's fingers travel into his hair. Parting Lovino's lips with his tongue, he invaded his mouth and conquered his tongue. Sucking his lip, Lovino hopped up and hooked his legs around his waist, pressing their hips together.

"Still think I'm drunk after I managed to do that perfectly?" Alfred was speechless for a moment. He guessed it was true. Lovino was genuinely interested in his lips and too perfectly balanced to be so drunk. There was suddenly a gasp from behind them.

"Big brother! Oh, gee. You're drunk. Not good. Luddy, help me take Lovi to his room!" Feliciano flailed helplessly while a tall, buff blond tore Lovino off of Alfred's body, throwing him over his shoulder. Alfred stammered in loss as the German started towards the stairs, Lovino cursing at him and attempting to kick him in the groin.

"Fuck you, potato asshole! Hey, hamburger bastard! We'll finish this tomorrow!"

"Thanks for helping me, Mattie bro! You're the best brother ever," Alfred thanked his sibling as they cleaned the hallway of campaign posters, paint, flags, food, and anything else they could find. This wasn't the first time he had to clean up his mess after the elections. Luckily, Matthew was faithful to his cause and always helped on each annual Saturday. Though Lovino was supposed to be around the school somewhere.

He and Matthew mopped, swept, and washed for an hour. After they finished his part of the mess, he actually convinced his sibling to help with Lovino's portion. Alfred hummed as they cleansed, musing about how the Italian was most likely missing out to nurse a hangover. Or at least that's what he assumed from Feliciano's message about taking care of Lovino and making sure he got a lot of rest.

"Maple!" Alfred flinched as he heard something crash and turned to see a liquid spilling all over the floor. Matthew apologized profusely about the soda, almost in tears about his mistake.

"Chill, bro! I'll just get another mop." He walked to find the nearest janitor closet, sighing as he thought about how he had only returned a mop to a random one minutes ago. Why did Matthew wait before making a mess? ... Well, he loved him anyway.

"Hurry up, Al, it's spreading!" Alfred reassured Matthew as he jogged to the janitor's closet. Praying that it was open, he twisted the handle and flung open the door. He stepped forward to snatch a mop or something similar when his mouth fell open. Forgetting about the situation at hand, he absorbed the scene before him with shaking hands. The two didn't seem to have noticed him. His crush… Ex-crush… was sitting in the lap of his favorite teacher, his arms wound around his neck. The Spaniard was kneading the Italian's behind in his hands while they had an intense face sucking session, evidently with tongue.

"… M… Mr. Carriedo?" Alfred's heart broke when the pair separated their lips and Lovino stared at him with wide, olive eyes. There was a silence in which they only exchanged shocked glances. The teacher winced at the sight of the American student and slid his hands from Lovino's butt to his sides, tenderly lifting up the Italian. Setting him down, he stood up and rubbed the brunette's spine to comfort him.

"Lo siento, Alfred… I… I didn't have the heart to tell you…" Mr. Carriedo whispered with a painful look in his eyes, nodding to Lovino. He couldn't believe it… He talked to the brunette just a few weeks before; he shared his feelings with his teacher. And yet, after his confession to this man he had trusted… He betrayed him… Turning to look at Lovino, Alfred shook his head in disappointment and stepped back.

"You sicken me." Grabbing the mop to their sides, he swirled around and stormed away.