Warning: Long A/N ahead, you may skip it if you wish
Hey, guys! Mei here for another one of her amazing stories! Okay, first off, I would like to explain a few things: 1. For those of you who are reading our other stories, I apologise greatly for not updating. Mickey and I have been having some problems with getting ourselves time to actually type/edit out stories... Sorry... 3: 2. I know I shouldn't be writing a new story until I finish my other ones... But I'm weak, and scared I'm gonna lose my ideas. 3. Guys, this is my first Hetalia fic, so please don't hate. Also, this is one of my favourite ships and I'm scared to death that the characters are going to be too OOC, so I'm kinda panicking. Also, I'd like to explain that this is the prologue and it takes place a few years before the actually story... Honestly, you could probably skip the prologue and still understand the story, and I apologise if this doesn't make too much sense and it's just drabble. It was the only idea I had for the beginning, but it will get better, I swear (it's just an introduction to the characters). 4. Last but not least, I would like to thank two very people for helping me with this idea, Mickey and Vermilion Jay. They both have been very supportive and have helped me with ideas for this story, (and helped me edit and keep the characters in order) so they both deserve as much credit as I do. Thank you guys! Anyway, here is the prologue, I hope you guys like it :3. (Also, I do not own Hetalia)
Fear, excitement, anxiety – all the feelings of the first day of a new school.
The fear of getting lost, not being able to open your locker, and, hell, just agonizing about fitting in were all very common worries that crept into the brains of freshmen as they started their journey through four years of work, judgmental bullies, and the pressure of juggling your social life with schoolwork and sleep. But, for a teen switching not just schools, but different countries, right smack in the middle of his first year, the trepidation was times ten.
"Hello, my name is Mathias Køhler. I'm fifteen years old and I just moved here from Copenhagen, Denmark." The blond teen sighed out as he stood, a bit agitated, in front of his new homeroom class.
Now, Mathias wasn't a normally timid person. The Dane was a very open and loved attention just as much as the next fellow. He had an animated aura and a bright grin that could make even the grouchiest of scrooges smile. But his appearance was never enough for him to receive the attention he loved. The blond was born with wild, pointy blond hair that could never be domesticated, even by the strongest of hair gels. A pair of thick-rimmed cracked glasses, just a little too nerdy to be considered cool, sat upon the bridge of his nose, acting like a window for his sparkly sapphire eyes. Though he had an attractive face overall,but the thick layer of dork would easily overpower it, causing anyone who caught a glimpse of him to take a double take. His attire consisted of a white button-up uniform top from his previous school, accompanied by a red and white tie, tightly hanging around his neck, and black dress pants. He seemed to wear this outfit everyday with the exception of switching ties.
Yes, Mathias was a stereotypical nerd. If the twenty-year old grandpa glasses, odor of old books that seemed to follow him everywhere, and braces weren't enough to convince you, his interests sure would. The Dane, like most others who were stashed in the click of "geeky losers", enjoyed spending his free time playing chess on his school's chess team, collecting Pokémon cards, playing dungeons and dragons, and hanging out with his cosplaying group.
Mathias sighed to himself as he wished he was allowed to sit down now. His sparkling eyes skimmed the classroom, carefully observing the faces of his peers staring at him. Like anyone other high school, it was full of the usual stereotypes. There were the traditional preppy girls making googly eyes at boys they considered hot, the jocks who held expressions of boredom and annoyance, and a white-haired boy whispering a joke to his friend next to him, both releasing a chuckle – the Dane assumed the white-haired boy was going to the the usual class clown.
"Thank you, Mathias. You may take your seat now," a cheery chestnut-haired teacher dismissed him from his position in front of the board.
As the blond began to head to his seat, his eyes moved to the back of the room. His orbs widen slightly as they met a figure sitting in the corner staring out the window. The boy who's eyes were fixed on the outside world had platinum blond hair, that was shaved on the left side in the shape of a cross. He acquired silver piercings all up his ears, a black lip piercing and a metal ring that looked like it was trying to escape his nose. He expressed an emotionless face and couldn't care less about being here. He wore slightly ripped black jeans, a cut sleeveless Sex Pistols shirt, revealing a dragon tattoo climbing up his arms.
The Dane's heart almost stopped when the boy turned his indigo eyes towards him. The boy's eyes were filled with nothingness, like a wall was built up in front of the windows to his soul. The mysteriousness of this teen was enough for Mathias to internally "lose it". His chest was penetrated with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Now, Mathias was a pretty logical teen and wasn't too keen withe the phrase "love at first sight", but this boy, a kid he didn't know the name of, seemed to overtake him, forcing this emotion into him.
As the mysterious boy turned back to the window, Mathias took his seat, trying his hardest not to look back at the boy in the corner. His mind ran wild with thoughts on the platinum blond until...
"Hey! Psst! You!" A voice called out to him in a hushed whisper.
The blond turned his head to meet red eyes staring right at him, causing him to jump a little in his seat. The teen sitting next to him had snowy white hair and crimson red eyes. His lips were curled into a smile and he wore shirt with a yellow bird on it.
"Since you're new here and you don't have any friends yet, let the awesome me be the first one!" His voice was coated with a thick German accent and his teeth were bared into a grin. "I'm Gilbert! The most awesome person you'll ever meet!"
The Dane grinned and opened his mouth to greet the albino when...
"Whoa, dude, no way." The attention of the two were turned to a new voice booming behind Mathias – a teen with dirty blond hair and glasses much cooler than the Dane's. "I'd like to say that I'm the hero here, and the hero is always awesome." The dirty blond teen continued. "I'm Alfred, by the way."
"What makes you think you're better than me?" the Prussian challenged, clenching his fists.
"I'm the star of the JV football team!" he retorted with a smile.
"JV? Ha! I made varsity soccer!" he replied, leaning on Mathias's desk to get closer to the American.
"Well, I'm only a freshman," Alfred defended, lips uncurling from his previous smile.
"So am I." Gilbert knew he had won this argument.
"Well," Mathias finally found the courage to speak up. "At least you two are on sports teams...I only play chess..." He looked down in embarrassment.
"Hey, that's still cool!" Alfred comforted with a smile. "You must be really smart!"
Mathias shrugged. "I guess so."
"If it's chess you like, you can join the school's team." The white-haired boy suggested with a shrug.
The Dane's eyes brightened. "That's a great idea! Thanks, Gil!"
"No problem, the awesome me is always happy to help the less awesome people."
The two blonds rolled their eyes at the Prussian as the bell rang and the students headed to their next classes.
Mathias let a sigh escape his lips as he entered the crowded lunch room. So far, all his classes seemed somewhat decent; the main downside was that beside Gilbert and Alfred, he had failed to make any more friends. During his math and gym classes, he had noticed the mysterious boy from his homeroom, but fear had him glued to a seat far away from the punk. Though, it was probably the best idea that they didn't talk in gym, since Mathias was still being accustomed to the warm weather and threw up all over the water fountain after running five laps under the merciless sun's rays and everyone avoided the Dane for the rest of class.
The blond skimmed the cafeteria. Friends had already met up with each other and gathered to their usual places amongst the tables. Long lines to buy lunch wrapped their way around the border like a giant centipede. To the teen's dismay, he could find neither Gilbert nor Alfred in the room.
He dropped his head in disappointment as he made his way to a table in the corner of the room. Most times he would be going to another table, attempting to make friends with anyone he could, but the mortifying scene of him throwing up all over the only source of water for the tired gym class kept playing like a record in his mind, refusing to let him sit near any form of human life. He sat down in the stuffy corner, accompanied by dust bunnies and cobwebs that made their homes in the corners and cracks on the walls.
Mathias pulled out a sandwich from his neatly pack lunch bag and took a bite, watching the other teens eat and share happy conversations with their friends as he sat all alone, no one to listen to his funny jokes or questioned him about his hometown.
"Hey..um...Can I sit with you?"
Mathias looked up, meeting faces with a young looking boy. He had blond hair and bright violet eyes. His face held a friendly smile and two shiny piercings could be seen under it. The boy wore a slightly baggy black shirt, his wrists were covered with spiked bracelets and chains were hanging from his grey jeans. His appearance shouted "metal", but his adorable face said quite the opposite.
Mathias grinned. "Oh, yeah. Of course!" He patted the seat next to him, welcoming the younger boy.
"Thanks." The boy sat down, opening his brown lunch bag. "I'm Tino, Tino Väinämöinen." He held his hand out.
Mathias shook his hand. "I'm Mathias. I just moved here from Denmark."
Tino's eyes widen. "Whoa, really? You're the kid who threw up over the water fountain?"
Mathias hit his head on the table. Was that really the most interesting gossip going around the school? "Yeah..." He reluctantly answered the blond.
"H-hey! Don't be embarrassed!" he spat the words out, shaking his head. "Believe me, not too many people know about that..."
Mathias sighed. That was a relief – well, it would be if it didn't prevent him from making friends that day. "Wait, so how did you find out?" He tilted his head in confuzzlement.
The blond forced a chuckle and rubbed the back on his neck. "Well... I was just... um... There's this guy in that class I kinda like, and sometimes I pass by to see him." He turned his attention back to the Dane. "You can't tell him, okay?" He asked.
Shit! What if it was that one Mr. Mysterious? Of course he'd choose Tino over a wimpy nerd! Not only did it look like they had common interests and they dressed alike, Tino wasn't afraid to talk to people and openly stated that he stalked his crush's gym class. That took some courage.
"Don't worry." Mathias sighed. "I don't even know who you're talking about."
"Oh, I'm talking about Berwald!" Tino smiled at the sound of the name.
See? At least knew his name, one thing Mathias longed to know.
"You know..." Tino continued. "You and him could be good friends. You guys looked like you could be."
The Dane sent him a bewildered look. "He looks nothing like me."
"Yes, he does."
"No, he doesn't."
After a minute or two of this going on, Tino finally clarified. "Yes, you do! You're both tall and you both have glasses and blond hair."
Oh. So he wasn't talking about the other kid. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were talking about someone else." He looked down, mortified that he jumped to conclusions too quickly.
"Who?" Tino questioned.
"This one kid who kinda dresses like you, has a tattoo, half his head shaved." Mathias tried to describe without saying the words 'hot' or 'sexy'.
"Ooooh." Tino smiled. "You mean Lukas, don't you?"
Lukas, so that was his name.
"Yeah, Lukas and I used to be in the same homeroom until high school. He seems like a cool guy, but he doesn't talk to anyone except his brother and his best friend." Tino added. "Sometimes he stops by the chess practice and just watches."
"Really?" This chat just got interesting. Chess and Lukas at the same place? Was this heaven? "Could you show me where the chess club meets? I'm interested in joining."
Tino smiled. "Of course! I go all the time and watch Berwald. One of these days I'm going to ask him out – I wonder if he likes coffee..." Tino thought aloud, causing Mathias to chuckle.
"Hey, maybe I'll become friends with him and I can help you," the older blond offered with a smile.
Tino's eyes almost popped out of his head as he smiled and nodded excitingly. "Oh my god! That would be amazing! Can you really?"
Before Mathias could nod, Tino grabbed his wrist, dragging him out of the cafeteria as the bell rang, pulling him along to their next class.
"So, yeah. I've liked Berwald ever since he moved here, which was in seventh grade." Tino rambled as they strolled to the library. Apparently, the duo had their last two classes together, so they took this opportunity to get to knew each other (more like Tino talked about himself and Berwald as Mathias listened, always being cut off whenever he had something to add). "But," Tino continued. "I've never had the courage to talk to him, he's a little intimidating, but I know he's a softy at heart, I can just tell. Oh, we're here." Tino stopped suddenly.
Mathias looked through a window that lead into a library. Several teens had already started gathering and began practicing and perfecting their chess skills.
"Oh, there's Berwald!" Tino pressed his face against the glass and pointed to a tall nerd.
As soon as he saw him, Mathias recognized the taller blond from gym class. Well, Tino was right, they did look alike. Berwald wore almost the exact thing as the Dane, with the exception of a sweater vest and a blue tie. His demeanor was much more serious than Mathias's and he always looked like he was in an awkward situation.
Mathias opened the door and turned to the Fin. "You coming?"
Tino stepped away from the glass, leaving a smudged mark. He smiled. "Yeah, I'll be in in a minute."
The Dane gave him a nod of understanding before entering the library. Instantly, his eyes caught the tall nerd sitting by himself with a chess board. Mathias took this opportunity to sit down and get familiar with him as they played a friendly round of chess.
"Hey, I'm Mathias!" The blond greeted with a smile as he plopped down into the chair across from his opponent. "Mind if I play a round with you?"
Berwald looked at with emotionless eyes and let out a mumble, which Mathias assumed to be a "sure". He smiled as he moved the first piece.
"What's your name?" Mathias questioned, though he already knew the answer.
"Berwald," he said barely above a mumble in a thick Swedish accent.
Mathias nodded as they continued their chess game, having only small talk. Obviously the Swede did not enjoy much conversation and tended to give one word answers. The thought of the talkative metalhead falling in love with this quiet bookworm amazed Mathias to no end.
After what felt like an hour, the game finally came to a close, resulting in the Swede winning.
"Well, good game." Mathias held his hand out to shake the winner's victorious hand.
Berwald gave his hand an expressionless look before giving it a quick shake.
As they shook, Mathias smiled. He had a feeling this was going to be the start on a great high school life for him.
Guys, forgive me, I had no ideas on how to end this. At all... Anyway, yeah, this is the just the prologue and it will get better, please don't judge the story on this chapter. Also, yes, I do play chess, but I have no idea how chess teams are... So please forgive me for that part too. Just forgive me for this whole chapter in general. R&R and tell me what you guys think...? Well, until next chapter, see ya!
Mei-chwan takes feedback very seriously, so constrictive criticism is very much appreciated! Though, as stated before, please don't give unnecessary hate, I don't tolerate that kind of thing. All other reviews are accepted with love and gratitude~! - Mickey