Chapter 1: Gilbird
Matthew stifled a giggle after seeing Gilbert trip over the threshold, and nearly face plant, holding something tightly in his hands. Sure, he wasn't supposed to laugh at his crush, but tripping made Gilbert seem more… attainable. And maybe one day, Matthew would be the one to do that. He was brought out of his thoughts with Gilbert's very recognizable voice.
"Hey, hey, everybody! Guess what I found?" Gilbert shouted to the group of friends. Alfred was too occupied still giggling to ask what he found. Arthur and Francis just rolled their eyes, like always. Antonio was the only one to actually ask. And the way Gilbert's eyes lit up after that, there was something coming. Bad, most likely.
"AH! Well, I am glad you asked! Look!" Gilbert shuffled closer to the group and opened his clasped hands. They all looked down, and then, there was screaming. Francis was stumbling backwards shrieking, shoving his hands in and around his hair. Alfred was screaming too, but only because Francis was - he really didn't know what was going on.
As if on cue, a bundle of yellow flew out of Francis' hair and landed nicely on Matthew's head. He was frozen in place. Instead of trying to nest in his hair, like the bird had tried with Francis, he sat still, seeming as if he was content with where he was.
"WELL?! Isn't he amazing?!" Gilbert asked, delighted. He didn't wait for anyone to answer, and no one was going to, anyway. "I named him Gilbird! So he can be almost as awesome as I am!" He laughed loudly, dispersing the weird silence that had fallen upon the group.
"Y-yes, he's very amazing, Gilbert," Matthew commented quietly. He paused, before continuing, "But do you think you could get him - um, Gilbird - out of my hair?"
"Yeah, sure, Mattie," Gilbert complied, walking towards Matthew in a slow pace in order to not scare Gilbird. He lifted his arms to grab Gilbird and take him off Matthew's head. He flashed Matthew one of his bright smiles and started to walk away from the group to take Gilbird home. He turned his head back and looked at Matthew.
"You know, awesome attracts awesome. And Gilbird is awesome," Gilbert chuckled.
And, as quickly as he had ran in, Gilbert - and Gilbird - were gone. Matthew was left frozen in place, an apparent blush across his face. Gilbert thinks he's awesome. He didn't even care that no one noticed him the rest of the night, because Gilbert thinks he's awesome!
End of Chapter 1