Glasses chinked together as the bartender began to close up shop for the night. The bar was completely vacant, save for one extremely drunk patron. Said patron was currently passed out at the bar counter. The bartender eyed him warily. This was not a new occurrence to him. Arthur Kirkland was a regular customer to the tiny bar right off Rock Road. The bartender finished putting away the last of the shot glasses when he finally decided to wake the beast. "Arthur, it's time to go home." He said as he gently shook the man's shoulders. The Briton grumbled something incoherent before swatting the invasive hands away from him. The bartender frowned. "Arthur," he scolded, "Do you need me to call someone?"
The Brit shook his head begrudgingly. After putting forth an unneeded extreme amount of effort, Arthur peeled himself off of the bar and stumbled ungracefully towards the door. The bartender watched his swaying figure as he retreated. He sighed heavily once the front door slammed shut behind the man. "Poor sap." He muttered as he moved to lock the door behind him.
Arthur grimaced as the cold morning air hit his flushed face, the alcohol slowly seeping out of his pores and into the crisp, fresh air. He mentally noted and groaned at the severe lack of taxis at this time of the day. Luckily, he wasn't staying too far down the road. He had managed to get a great deal on a fairly decent hotel right in the heart of downtown. Slowly, and with a heavy heart and aching feet, Arthur started towards Oldtown. The streets were eerily quiet with only a few cars passing by every now and then, paying no attention to the empty soul along the way.
However, the alcohol that was still in his system made his mind a bit hazy, which in turn made his sense of direction go askew. He meandered around for what seemed like hours before finally ending up at a familiar place. Arthur looked up blearily to find the looming blue dome of Century II staring back down at him. He knew Wichita could be confusing, but he did at least know that Oldtown had to be close by now. Or at least he hoped so. Arthur was beginning to turn away from the massive theater when he heard distant shouting voices coming from behind him.
Curiosity getting the better of him, the blonde cautiously turned around. He didn't have time to react as a dark golden blur ran by him quickly, managing to pluck the Brit's wallet out of his blazer pocket without so much as a second glance. By the time Arthur had realized that he had just been robbed, the teenager was already turning a corner on the street behind him. "Hey!" He yelled as he turned on his heel and chased after the boy as best he could without falling over. To Arthur's surprise, he found himself catching up to the boy. He'd like to contribute that to the fact that the alcohol he had consumed earlier had somehow given him superhuman speed, but he ended up attributing it to the fact that the boy was probably tiring and slowing down on his own.
"Bloody git!" Arthur yelled in a fit of rage. The boy visibly tensed at the sound of the exasperated voice. Just as Arthur was closing in on the thief, however, the boy seemed to get a burst of adrenaline as he sprinted down the street, leaving Arthur in the dust. Arthur let out a cry of frustration and stormed angrily all the way back to his hotel. By the time he got back to his room, he could barely keep his eyes open. He flopped onto his bed and buried his face into his pillow. It smelled like mint chocolate and soap. He sighed into it and tried not to lament over his stolen wallet as he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning hit Arthur like a ton of bricks. From the moment he woke up Arthur's head would not stop its insistent pounding. The fact that he left the blinds open the night before only succeeded in worsening his already bad migraine. He had nursed plenty of hangovers like this one before, however, so it didn't bother him all that much. He dragged himself out of bed and peeled off his sticky clothes and stepped under the warm stream of water in the shower. He let his muscles relax under the scalding liquid and sighed deeply. He tried to remember exactly why he was visiting this town. Something to do with one of his brothers, he supposed. His mind was still a bit hazy after last night's events.
Not that he minded too much that he couldn't remember. He enjoyed Wichita. He thought it was the perfect size; not big enough to where Arthur felt claustrophobic every time he walked down the street, but not small enough to where there was nothing to do. The locals were relatively polite, although he sometimes ran into the occasional rude person who shoved him aside in the parking lot of Towne East. Arthur still wanted to find that man and punch him square in the jaw. He was tired of the East coast, which smelled eternally of fish and was muskier than London even on a good day. And he was definitely tired of the West coast, with its eternal layer of smog and bitchy, over-sexualized celebrities who held that pompous attitude that screamed 'I'm better than you in every single way possible.' He shook his head, letting the water run down his still tense body.
After stewing in his thoughts a bit longer, he turned the knobs on the porcelain wall slowly, feeling the last of the water wash away his languid thoughts before stepping out. He shivered as the cold air hit his naked body. He quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his skinny waist. He started gathering his clothes while trying to remember what it was that he had to do that day. "Brother." He mumbled to himself as he buttoned up his shirt. He needed to meet his brother somewhere, but where? He cursed his inability to remember the location his brother had set for them to meet. He scoffed, "I'll figure it out." He said aloud as he went to grab for his wallet only to find that it wasn't there. He had already forgotten the hooligan who stole it out from under his nose last night. He cursed under his breath, grabbed his cell phone, and headed towards the lobby.
He noticed that it was considerably warmer today than yesterday as he stepped outside into the warm Kansas sunlight. He shielded his eyes and looked skyward. There were a few scattered clouds here and there, but for the most part it was clear. He could get used to this kind of weather. He straightened his tie and pulled out his cell to call for a cab. It took a few minutes longer than it should have for the cab to arrive, but Arthur wasn't about to let that ruin his day. Not before he met his brother, anyway. He wasn't exactly sure what Scott wanted to show him at this Exploration Place something or other, but he knew it better be damn important to drag him all the way from London to the bloody United States of all places.
He told the cab driver his destination and received a gruff nod as confirmation. The cab pulled out of the hotel parking lot slowly. Arthur relaxed in the back seat and turned to rest his forehead against the window. He watched as house after house flew by at a cruising rate of forty miles per hour. He sighed and closed his eyes. He was still a bit worn out from his escapades the night before. He was about to drift off again when his cell phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket, causing Arthur to jump and curse loudly. The cab driver eyed him in his rearview mirror, but soon returned his eyes back to the road. Arthur fished around in his pocket for his phone and pulled it out hastily. He squinted at the bright LCD screen at the name flashing across it.
"This had better be important, Scott. I thought I was about to meet you in," he glanced at his watch, "now." He said blandly as he noticed the cab driver pulling into the parking lot of the Exploration Place. "Uh yeah, about that…" His brother started. This couldn't end well. Arthur sighed again, "What is it?" He asked through gritted teeth. He heard his brother chuckle sheepishly, "I'm going to have to cancel our little date. Seems other business came up and I have to fly out of KC today! Sorry, bro. Guess I'll have to show you some other time!" Arthur blinked, "Wait what? Show me what? Scott!"
But the dial tone was already blasting through Arthur's already pounding eardrum. The cab driver turned around and spat, "Ten dollars even." Arthur glared at the bloke, but relented the money and exited the vehicle. He stood stiffly in the parking lot as he heard the cab pull away behind him. He contemplated throwing his phone against the concrete below him. That damn brat! How dare he do this to him? Arthur was shaking with rage, but decided it best to keep his only form of contact with the outside world intact. He looked around the parking lot. There had to be hundreds of cars here. What exactly was this place anyway? He decided he had nothing better to do all day since his original plans had just been washed away, so he thought it couldn't hurt to see what all the fuss was about.
Arthur began to push his way through the crowd of people lining up to gain entrance to the gigantic structure. He casually glanced over while waiting to buy a ticket to see a huge water fountain spurting out sparkling water on the waterfront. He watched as the water was propelled higher and higher and eventually fell back to the earth, back into the body from whence it came only to repeat the process over again. He became mesmerized by the repetitive action. "…sir?" He gradually faded back into reality by the sound of a young girl's voice. Arthur turned toward her and blinked, "Pardon me, but what did you say?"
The young brunette smiled shyly, "I asked if you wanted to purchase a ticket." She said quietly. Arthur stared at the fidgeting girl. Glancing briefly at her nametag, he found her name to be Shyllyn. He nodded his head lightly and exchanged a couple of dollars for the small piece of paper that allowed him entrance into the center. Shyllyn grinned brightly at the Brit and waved as he moved to enter, "Thank you, sir! Have a nice day!" Arthur offered a bored wave in response and finally entered the gigantic building.
As soon as he entered, he was awestruck at the enormous displays littering the lobby. He meandered aimlessly from exhibit to exhibit, eventually getting lost within his own mind. He let the displays whisk him away from reality and into the deepest parts of space. In this state of mind, Arthur felt at peace. However, that peace of mind was short lived. As soon as he came down from his high and was just about ready to leave this magnificent place, he caught a glimpse of a familiar golden blur. The boy caught his eye immediately, but Arthur couldn't quite place why he seemed so familiar to him. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.
"You're the wanker who stole my wallet last night!" Arthur shouted to the boy, gaining his and others' attention. Now completely sober, Arthur could finally get a good look at the little rat. He inwardly grimaced as he noticed the boy's sickeningly thin frame and jutting hips. The teenager's blue eyes widened in fear and he realized that the crazy man was directing his tirade at him. "Don't think you can escape me that easily!" Arthur shouted, gaining more unwanted attention from passersby. Arthur moved to trail the boy, who had pretty good speed despite his weak appearance. Shyllyn had just gotten off work when she noticed the pair run out at blinding speed into the depths of the parking lot. Curious, she ran to follow Arthur.
Hey guys! I'm back with another story orz. Few things to note with this story; I'm not a native Wichitan, but I've been there enough to know where most of the attractions and main drags are in the town. There's a reason it's being used as the setting, you'll just have to wait and see what the reason is~ Can you guess who the kid is? (Like it's not obvious orz). I really shouldn't be starting another story this early into my second semester at college, but I really liked the idea in my head and decided to jot it down during my German history class. Also I know a girl named Shyllyn, and I've always thought it was a gorgeous name. However, to quell your troubled mind, she will be the only OC-ish person in this story. Everyone else will be Hetalia related, mmkay? So no worries there. Anyway, sorry to leave with kind of a cliffhanger for the first chapter. fffff- I'm going to go write the second chapter now! Ta ta for now~