Grinning broadly, Antonio stepped out of his host parent's car, waving to them once. With that, he shut the door, and turned upon the school. It was his first day as an exchange student from Spain. The school itself was a decent size, with a student body just over two thousand. Or so he was told, he hadn't seen it until now. A huge grin crept onto his face, shrugging his backpack onto his shoulder. He began the short walk up the sidewalk to the school building, looking up at it as he went. It's so big and fancy! Completely absorbed in the architecture of the regal looking school, Antonio failed to notice another student, just short enough to be out of sight as he looked up. The Spaniard walked straight into him, sending the other kid tumbling to the ground, and tripping over him and hitting the pavement as well.

"Lo siento! I didn't see you there! Lo-"

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT! MERDA!"

Dios Mio.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE FUCKING GOING, YOU BASTARD!" All Antonio could do was blink and nod. The one he had just run into was no taller than six feet, swooping auburn hair that had a small curl twirling out from the part. Cuuute! I want to pull it! The little curl, which swept over the boy's face to the right, was bobbing up and down slightly as he continued to rant and rave. Antonio didn't hear him anymore, it was all just a buzz and he observed the features of the kid. Still swearing, Antonio noted the strong Italian accent in the others voice. Maybe he was an exchange student too! Though he looked a bit young, maybe sixteen or so. "Stop starting at me like that, you fuckin' creep!" But Antonio couldn't. He had been caught in the trap that was the eyes of the other. They were like liquid gold, honey, and everything other wonderful thing that happened to be that shade of yellow. They were mesmerizing, as well as filled with burning anger. But Antonio ignored that part.

"Sorry, sorry!" Antonio pushed himself off the ground, patting stray dirt from his pants. "Here, amigo, let me make it up to you!" Antonio flung himself towards the younger boy, (Who, as soon as he figured out was happening, began to flail and curse, "No! Wait, dammit! You bastard, stay away from me!" to no avail.) Antonio wrapped his arms around the other boy's waist, giving him a pat on the back and adding, "Lo siento!" once again. He backed away, quite pleased with himself. He was making friends already!

The brunette, however, didn't look nearly as pleased. His face was bright red, and he looked like he wanted to die. He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it. He huffed loudly, and marched past Antonio without a word, shoving him as he did so. What's his problem? He watched the boy shove the door of the school open and walk inside. His stare lingered for a few more moments. Americans are confusing. Or was he Italian? I suppose they're both pretty strange...

He was tapped lightly on the shoulder, turning ever-so-slightly to see who wanted to talk to him. The boy who had done so was much shorter than him, and looked remarkably similar to the one who had...Wait, what? He had gone into the school and now he was here! How did that happen? I thought the Japanese were ninjas! It made no sense to Antonio, until he looked into the eyes of the boy behind him. They weren't the shining pools of gold he had seen before. No, it was more like looking at a tree's bark, or a puddle of mud. They weren't nearly as pretty as his brother's. From there, Antonio noticed more differences. His hair was a slightly different color, he was a tad shorter, and he radiated happiness. The curl, though he shared it with the other boy, went the opposite direction. "I'm sorry for my brother!" Oh, that explained it. "He can be kind of a dick sometimes! But he's not bad, really!" The two had to be twins. They looked so similar, and they sounded almost the same, though this one hadn't cursed at Antonio yet, which was a good start.

Beaming, the Spaniard laughed, "It's alright! I'm not mad at him or anything!"

The young Italian relaxed considerably, hugging Antonio suddenly. "Ve~! We'll be good friends, then! We'll paint and make pasta together! Ve, ve, ve~!"

"Yes! Good friends!" Tonio laughed, returning the Italian's hug happily. So strange! But, even if the Italian twins were a little odd, Antonio wasn't going to turn down a friend. Besides, he was so happy and excited! How could he say no? As the younger boy stepped back, Antonio extended his hand, expecting the Italian to take it. Americans did that a lot, right? He'd been told so. "I'm Antonio! Antonio Fernandez Carriedo!"

"I'm Feliciano! Feliciano Vargas!" He took Antonio's hand, shaking it not once, but over and over again, refusing to let go. Is this normal? I hope not, my arm will fall off before the end of the day! Antonio internally sighed in relief when Feliciano finally decided to let his hand fall. "The one you ran into was my fratello, Lovino!"

Lovino... that name was truly adorable! Antonio thought about Lovino as he and Feliciano walked into the school together, and how he went off on a such a temper tantrum for being run into. Did he do that all the time? And when he had been hugged, his face was so red, he looked like a tomato! He and Feliciano parted ways, Antonio going to history. From there, Antonio's thoughts wandered from tomatoes, to his class, to the pretty girl who had just walked by. A little bit lost, he wandered around, looking from the sheet of paper that was his map of the school, to the numbers above the doors. He was a bit confused by the hallways and how they were situated, (and a bit confused as to why he had to find several classrooms. Wasn't that the teacher's job?) but he found his class with time to spare before the bell rang.

He fell into a random chair, looking around the room. Antonio was pretty good at English, but the sheer amount of words around the room, on posters, on the wall, on the board, it confused him a bit. It was so much to look at at once, it almost made him dizzy. He looked down at the table he had sat at, took a pencil out of his bag, and began to doodle on the desk. It wasn't anything great, but it was enough to keep him focused and busy. So focused, in fact, that he failed to notice someone clearing his throat at the front of the classroom. He did it again. No response. Again, but louder. Still nothing. Sighing, the teacher sat up, tapping his fingers on the Spaniard's desk.

"Oh!" Antonia looked up, smiling at the teacher. He wasn't smiling back, but that didn't change Antonio's mood.

"There's a seating chart up front. And don't draw on the desks!" Letting out an exasperated, overly dramatic sigh, the teacher returned to his chair as Antonio got up. What was a 'seating chart'? It was in the front, apparently. A piece of paper sat on a stool in by the whiteboard. That had to be it. Looking it over, Antonio noticed his name towards the back of the classroom. There was another name next to his, since the tables in the room seated two people.

Francis Bonnefoy.

Antonio's smile grew even wider. Another chance to make a friend! He started to go back to where he was assigned to, but he was suddenly overcome with the urge to see if Lovino was in this class. He looked it over, but to his disappointment, it wasn't. Oh, well. There are three more classes I might have with him! A small brunette girl with short, boyish hair walked into the classroom, looked at the seating chart, and sat across the room from Antonio. After that, nobody else came in until the warning bell at 7:40. Students began to pile into the classroom after that, filling up every seat. When does school start? 7:45? His table mate hadn't shown up yet, and it was 7:43. I hope he comes soon.

7:44.

Antonio had given up hope, and sighed. Oh, well. He'd have lots of chances to make friends! Plus, what if someone even cooler was assigned to sit next to him because of it? Maybe one of the pretty girls...

"Oh hohohohoho! Gilbert, You are such a dog!" There was more loud, obnoxious laughter, and at 7:44 and fifty-seven seconds, a stylishly dressed blonde walked into the classroom. Antonio looked around. The only empty seat in the classroom was next to him...So that had to be Francis! Excitement bubbled up in his chest, his foot tapping and grin growing in response. Watching him walk into the classroom was like watching a lion walk majestically into his den. Francis's golden mane flowed behind him, he walked with confidence, and shot sly glances at the girls around the room. His clothes were immaculate and perfectly matched, as well as stylish. He radiated beauty and oozed confidence.

He took his seat next to Antonio, setting his belongings neatly on the desk. The aroma of roses filled the air around him, but this kid made it seem totally manly to smell like a flower. Antonio was so awestruck by everything about Francis, it took him a long moment to respond when Francis turned to him, "I don't think we've met before," Antonio realized he had been staring, and suddenly jolted upright.

"No, I'm new this year! I'm Antonio, the exchange student from Spain!" Antonio blinked, but smiled when the other started laughing next to him.

"Caught in the act of checking me out, no? No need to be ashamed," He ran the back of his hand along his jawline, sweeping his gorgeous hair behind his shoulder, "It happens to everyone! I'm Francis, though I'm sure you already knew that! Oh ho ho~" Francis laughed and winked at Antonio, who laughed along with him.

"Sì amigo, whatever you say!" Antonio grinned, turning his attention to the front as the teacher began his lesson. But a few minutes in, something flicked his arm. He looked down, and noticed a small piece of paper next to him. He looked up, noting the teacher's back was turned, and picked it up, quietly unfolding it. It read:

Antonio, the dark-haired girl in front of us is very sexy, no?

The note was written in delicate, flowing, almost calligraphic writing, every low hanging letter ending in an elongated swirl. It seemed a bit feminine, but Antonio had no doubts about Francis' masculinity. He looked ahead, observing the girl in front. She was indeed very pretty. Her long, brown hair was pulled into two pigtails, kept in place with ribbons. It flowed over her shoulders and down her back, and her facial features, which Antonio could see since she was looking out the window, were all perfect. She had caramel colored eyes, that reminded him of...Lovino. They were almost the same shade.

He grinned, and hastily scribbled his reply.

Yes, she is beautiful! She reminds me of someone I met earlier today!

Glancing at the front again, he quickly crumpled the note, and flicked it at Francis. He had his head down, and it got stuck in his hair. Antonio had to slap his hand to mouth to keep from laughing, but couldn't quiet the snort that escaped through his nose. The teacher raised his eyebrows, looking back at him. Antonio had regained his composure, and watched him innocently. Rolling his eyes, the teacher returned to his lesson.

Francis looked up from his work, one eyebrow cocked at Antonio. The paper fell out of his hair, and he stared at it for moment. Not as amused as Antonio, (Who had to bury his face in his elbow and fake a cough to hold back his laughter) he rolled his eyes as he unfolded it. He read it, grinning. He scribbled again, and gently passed the note to Antonio.

Ohohoho! You like them? I may be able to set you up if I know them! Who was it? You can tell Francis anything~

Francis chuckled as Antonio turned red as he read the note. Playfully punching his shoulder, Antonio replied:

I don't 'like' them! I met them for a few minutes just today!

Love at first sight, no? Oh, and you're a terrible liar, my friend.

Antonio stuck his lip out. He wasn't a bad liar! Besides, he didn't have to tell Francis anything, despite his claims. Including the fact the one that he was writing about was a guy. Antonio definitely wasn't in love with Lovino anyway. It had been a rather short first encounter, and a little on the hostel side. But still, the Italian had a fire in him that drew Antonio in, wanted to get to know him better. Why was he so angry? Was it all the time? To everyone? These were questions Antonio had, and wanted the answers to.

The rest of the hour was wasted in a similar manner, the topic of his and Francis's notes changing back to the brunette in front. Antonio didn't hear a word of what the teacher said, not that he really cared. First days tended to be dull and unimportant. He was led to his next class by Francis and his friend, Gilbert. They laughed the whole way, and were fast friends in no time at all.

Antonio's next class, Astronomy, was painfully boring. Nobody he had met was in it, and the person who sat next to him was quiet and reserved. The Asian looking boy had short, raven hair that neatly framed his face. All of Antonio's attempts to socialize were shot down, since the boy only responded with one-word answers or ignored him completely.

"Hi! I'm Antonio!"

"Hello."

"What's your name?"

"Kiku."

"Cool! Hows your day going so far?

Silence.

"Mine's been going very good! American schools are so weird, though–" Completely oblivious to the amount of stress he was putting on Kiku, and the extreme amount of awkward that practically radiated off of him, Antonio continued to ramble, making the Japanese student more and more red-faced. I ignore him, but he keeps talking! Stressful social situation! What do I do?

Finally, Kiku was saved by the bell, and fled the room like it was on fire, leaving Antonio mid-sentence. "So I said – Oh, okay, see you tomorrow amigo!" Antonio collected his notebook and pens, stuffing them lazily wherever they'd fit in his backpack.

He'd been looking forward to his next class ass day: Cooking! He was a wonderful cook, and spent a lot of time doing it at home back in Spain. He hadn't done much since coming to the United States, since he was busy with unpacking and meeting people and adjusting to life, but now was a great opportunity for him to stay in practice, and maybe even learn something new! He really hoped he could make something with tomatoes in it, though. God, Tomatoes were like a delicious, juicy, exploding orgasm in his mouth. Hm, now that he thought about, orgasms and tomatoes weren't that different...

Completely engrossed in that interesting thought, he almost walked right past his classroom, until he almost ran into Feliciano. "Oh, Feli!" He grinned, throwing an arm over his shoulders. "¿Cómo Estás?"

The Italian laughed, happily patting Antonio's hand. "I don't know what that means, but what class do you have now, Toni?"

The way he smiles all the time is so damn cute! "I have cooking class this hour! ...But I think I lost the room..." He looked around, realizing that he had no idea where he was anymore.

"Really? Me too! Ve~! This is so exciting! We can make pasta together for an entire 80 minutes! Isn't that great? Plus, my brother is in it, too! So we can all be a group! Ve~e!"

"Yes! This is fantastic news! We'll make paella and eat tomatoes!" He laughed with Feliciano, letting the overly-happy brunette pull him to the cooking classroom. Antonio beamed when he saw Lovino pouting in a chair near the back of the room, taking a seat next to him. Feliciano took a chair next to Antonio, and much to Antonio's delight, Francis was in this class too! He noticed them, waved to a group of girls, and sat across from him. Lovino made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat as he approached, but other than that ignored him.

They laughed and talked until class started, and the teacher at the front, Mrs. M-something, (Antonio didn't really care enough to remember. All he knew was that she looked like a dinosaur, with her arms always close to her chest and the way she stalked around the room) began to explain the assignment to them. She spoke fast, and used a lot of words and an accent Antonio didn't really understand, so he only caught about a third of the lesson. Luckily for him, both Francis and Feliciano were there to translate and explain it for him a bit better. Mrs. M-Dinosaur handed out sheets of paper, recipes, with a list of amounts and ingredients on them, but no indication as to what it was they were making. Antonio looked at it carefully, reading it over.

1 cup of flour,

What in God's name was a 'cup'? He had never learned this. And, there was a 'teaspoon'. How much was that? Did it have anything to do with the drink? Because he wasn't very fond of it. And what kind of ass-fuckery was a 'smidgeon'? Antonio knew he must have looked horrible confused, as Feliciano took the paper from him and said, "Just let us deal with the measuring, okay?"

"Ah...Okay..."

The whole point of the assignment was for them to be able to make what was on the sheet and to identify it once it was done, since to do that, you had to follow directions. It was a stupid assignment, in Antonio's mind. Anyone with a basic knowledge of American foods and such would be able to know in an instant what it was! But, he wasn't one of those people, and none of his group members would tell him. So, Francis, Feliciano, Lovino, and himself all set to work making the whatever weird American food it was. Everyone in their group was more than decent at cooking, but all put together, they fought and messed around so much that it all went downhill fast, and nothing got done, leaving Antonio to stand around and wonder what the hell 'lbs' stood for. Did they need a lobster's worth of chocolate in this? How big was this lobster? Cooked or raw? Lobster was delicious, but using it with chocolate seemed very unreasonable and disgusting. Although, he'd heard they had chocolate-covered bacon in the USA before, so he decided that wasn't too far-fetched.

Lost in thought, he didn't realize what he was supposed to be doing until Lovino waved a hand in front of his face, frowning.

"Hey, fucktard, why don't you actually try and help us get this dumb ass assignment done?" He stormed off, yelling at Felicano about something and threatening to hit Francis with a wooden a spoon. (Which ended with Francis commenting, "Oh, if you're into that kind of thing, I guess! Oh ho ho~" and Lovino yelling at him more. "Stop being such a pervert, you sick fuck!")

So, Antonio was assigned the job of gathering all the materials for them, and they took care of the rest. He found a bit of help with a long-haired brunette girl named Elizabeta, who was in the next group over. He didn't know a few of the English words for things they needed, and she kindly pointed them out for him. She seemed a bit distraught as she did, though. The rest of her group was an obnoxious group of boys who got even less done then Antonio's group did. Alfred, Mattias, and Arthur, plus Elizabeta. Caught up in small talk with her, Antonio had, once again, completely forgotten about the assignment they were supposed to be doing. Until a spoon flew through the air, nailing him in the back of the head. "OW!"

"FOCUS! Do you hear me, you Mexican asshole? If you're-"

"Heeey! I am not Mexican! I am Spanish!"

Alfred, from the other group, piped up, "There's a difference?"

Everyone stared at him.

Snarling from across the room, Lovino stared him down. "Yes, Alfred, there is, in fact, a fucking difference."

Alfred stared back for a moment, brilliant blue eyes wide. He didn't say anything, but smirked victoriously.

Antonio simply watched, confused. He was touched that Lovino was to the one to correct Alfred, so he didn't have to seem like an asshole, but now even he could practically feel the tension in the room. But he had no idea what in God's name was going on. He had taken the mixing spoon from his group, holding it between his lips as he watched. The entire room was silent.

"I think Blowjob's got a little crush on the Mexican!"

"Por favor, I am Spanish."

Alfred turned to him, grinning. "Be careful how you suck that spoon! It might give Lovino wet dreams!" He laughed loudly, joined by Mattias and Arthur. Everyone else just quietly returned to work. "Why don't you ask him out, faggot?"

Antonio blinked owlishly at Alfred, and turned to Lovino. "Uh, ami-" He stopped. Lovino had his head down, eyes on the floor. Where was his fire? Why wasn't he shouting back and calling them all kinds of names like he had done to Antonio earlier? He just looked...defeated. It hurt, actually, physically hurt, Antonio to look at him and all he could do was watch. Finally, without a word, Lovino left. He simply walked out of the classroom, and out of sight.

Antonio was dumbfounded. It took him a moment to figure everything out, but finally he gathered two things. The first was that Lovino was gay. The second was that he got hell for it. How often and by who, Antonio had no idea. He looked over to Francis, who was busily distracting Feliciano with something else.

Alfred and his friend's laughter picked up again, and they resumed work. Elizabeta looked furious, but she didn't say anything. She kept her mouth shut, and went back to work, as did everyone else. The idle chatter of the room picked up again. Was this a routine, then? Did it happen so often that everyone expected it and could just ignore it and move on?

He opened his mouth and turned to Alfred. There were a lot of things he wanted to say, and wrap it all up with a punch to the mouth, but he had already turned away, and was talking with his friends. And why bother? Why bring it up again? Lovino wouldn't want his sexuality to just get dragged up scrutinized and again. So, Antonio could only turn back to his group, minus Lovino, and continue to work. Feliciano seemed to have missed the entire show, and was confused as to his brother's whereabouts.

"Hey, where did fratello go?" He looked around the classroom, tipping his head at Antonio.

"Uh," Antonio put his hands up, scrambling for an excuse. "W-well, he...you see, he was not feeling so good, so he left. When he will be back, I don't know." Smiling reassuringly, he patted Feli on the head. Francis sighed in relief, and brought up the cooking once again to keep the boy's mind off it. The rest of the day passed with a horrible slowness. Antonio wasn't his usual, cheerful self for the rest of lunch, the next class, and the short 20-minute free period after. He smiled for his host parents, and told them the day went well, but as he lay in bed that night, he couldn't shake the feeling of regret weighing on his chest. He could have done something, said something, anything to defend Lovino, but he didn't. He stared and stayed silent like everyone else. He was disgusted with himself, truly. He considered Lovino a friend, but what kind of friend was he being? He turned one of his cross necklaces in his hand, chuckling lightly to himself.

Next time, Alfred. There'll be hell to pay.

A/N: Just a quick note here, I want to advise everyone to most definitely not eat something with a pound (Or a lobster's worth) of chocolate in it. I'm pretty sure you'll get instant type-II diabetes.

Another quick note: In this fic, Lovino and maybe two others, along with Antonio, are going to be the only gay ones. Everyone else is straight. Because it doesn't make much sense for Alfred (And I'm sorry America fans, but I singled out Alfred to be a dick in this fic, along with England. Mainly because Spain doesn't like them much) to pick on Lovino for being gay if he is as well. And yes there's, "He's just doing it to cover up his own gayness!11 !11!1one!11" but that's a dumb cliché I don't want to get into.