Hi. It's EverythingMath here, with something kind of interesting.
First off, I don't really write for Hetalia Fanfic anymore. It's very likely that other than one or two updates on Headcanons, this will be my last story.
Second, might as well go out with a bang! THIS STORY HAS 16 CHAPTERS! It's a first for me.
Third, I wrote the story out in full,and finished a few months ago. I'm posting this before I loose any affection I had for this piece. This means I can promise that I won't be late on an update and this will be seen through to its finish. :)
Anyway, I never meant for Jealousy (originally titled A Picture Of Three Women) to extend past one-shot, but here you go. You're lucky, I guess. :)
Happy reading! ~Em
Jealousy
Chapter one
A Picture of Three Women
Let me paint you a picture of three women. The first stands tall, hip cocked, arms crossed over her chest. She's not as feminine as the girl to her left, but she has a nice figure and long, toned legs. Her silver hair cascades over her shoulder. Her skin is pale. Her eyes? Red. You can tell she works out, and she's wearing a tight white miniskirt and top. It is trimmed in black, with black designs: a Prussian eagle spreads its wings on her chest.
The second girl, on her left, is bent forward, a playful smile on her face. Her hand touches her lips; she's blowing a kiss to the camera. She has a perfect figure, and did her makeup to look pretty but natural. She is blonde, blue eyes, everything about her from the clothes to the kiss screams 'French'. She wears a form fitting blue dress with buttons; it flows to her knees and she has bright red leggings underneath.
The third girl has a less defined hourglass figure. However, she's tan, beautiful green eyes, and she's got this 'pretty without trying' look. She doesn't wear a skirt. Instead, she has tan pants and a flowing green top. She's standing in an easy pose and has the most cheerful smile a girl can possibly have.
This is the Bad Touch Trio. Julchen, Francine, and Cheyenne.
And this picture was in Natalya's future-seeing mirror.
Natalya, her brother Ivan, and her sister Natasha were all magic users. The mirror was something that Natalya peered into from time to time. An elderly witch had given it to her a while ago, for a few coins.
Right now, Natalya stared at the mirror in anger and jealousy. These girls, she knew, lived a life she and her family never would have had.
The sisters had never had someone to love, as Natalya's strangeness and Natasha's ugliness drove everyone away. It was enough, when she looked at this picture, to cause her to turn to her brother for a spell. If Natalya couldn't have love, these girls wouldn't either.
"Ivan?"
Ivan appeared in the doorway, presently.
"Please, will you perform a curse for me?"
"Of course! Who for?"
"Them." Natalya gestured to the mirror. "Anything you want, so long as it causes them to live a life without love."
"I will make their kisses burn like freezing snow," Ivan decided, casting the curse.
She has her reasons, Ivan supposed.
++This line break is brought to you by Flying Mint Bunny++
Now, to said women.
Julchen Bielschmidt was twelve. She was faster and stronger than most of the guys, and albino, and proud of it. She was the one to stare at as she walked down the hall. She was the one who, when kids were asked about her, they answered "Oh, that's Julchen" in a condescending tone to hide their jealousy.
She didn't mind. She didn't want a boyfriend, as many girls seemed to. She looked down on middle school relationships. And she didn't need a friend.
There was one girl she hated. The girl was her opposite: mundane grades, mundane fitness, and a flirty French attitude. That girl, Francine, had had two boyfriends. Two! She was TWELVE!
French. What a joke. German is a respectable language, and if her classmates didn't like her speaking in German, well they could-
"Julchen!" her inner West said. She thought of her conscience or whatever it's called as West because he was more sensible. "No bad words. Be more creative with your insults."
West, a nickname for Ludwig (long story), was her younger brother. Usually a control freak, he had learned English, German, and Julchenish at a young age. See, ordering Julchen around doesn't work, but the girl likes a challenge!
Anyway, back on topic. Julchen ran home, as always. On the way, she got one of those sudden chills, but it went away and she paid no attention.
"WEST! I'm home!" she yelled in German, crashing through the door. "Anything happen today?"
"We ran out of eggs," he replied in the same language.
"Great. That means I have to go to the store to get some."
The rest of the day was spent with homework, dinner, and an amazing game of Peanuts.
+break+
Francine Bonnefoy hated Julchen with a passion. There weren't many people she hated, but that girl just grated on her nerves. The harsh accent, the full-of-herself attitude, and the way she always seemed to pick fights was just- ugh.
In Francine's opinion, her French accent was beautiful. Yes, French is more refined, just like her.
A lot of boys adored her accent. She knew how to be charming, she knew what to say. Now, isn't she a picture of a young lady?
Some people, she knew, disapproved of middle school relationships. She wasn't really in a relationship, she thought. A tiny kiss was a normal greeting, for goodness sake!
Francine huffed and walked home, picking a delicate flower along the way. She twirled it in her elegant fingers. When she reached home, her mama was there.
"Maman!"
"Bonjour, Francine!"
Her mother helped her with homework until dinner. Dinner was delicious French food made by Francine's mama, a cook; and Francine herself. She was on her way to being a world renown cook like mama. Okay, the world renown part was a slight exaggeration, but only slight.
After dinner, Francine practiced her violin for a while.
+break+
Cheyenne Carrideo loved the tomatoes that grew around her house. She ate the beautiful red fruits whole, juice spilling down her chin. Of course, she was a pretty good cook as well and could make amazing Spanish food, with lots of tomatoes, of course.
Cheyenne had three younger sisters and a younger brother named Jocelyn, Susanne, Stella, and Jacob respectively. On cue, they all arrived home from elementary school, demanding to know what was for dinner.
"Calm! Calm! You will not starve!" she exclaimed, laughing. "Here."
She served the food, and it was gone in a flash. All five of them had sizeable appetites. Unfortunately, that meant Mom and Dad were stuck with leftovers.
When Cheyenne's parents did finally come home, they sighed at the children's appetites, but didn't complain when their eldest daughter washed the dishes. Cheyenne's evening was spent doing homework, helping with her siblings' homework, and entertaining the youngsters with a game of tag.
Cheyenne couldn't care less about the existence of a girl named Julchen and a girl named Francine.
+break+
A change came in tenth grade, when the girls chanced to go to the same school. Julchen and Francine were arguing again, about something trivial. Cheyenne watched.
Francie glared at Julchen, then turned and flounced across the street. Cheynne's eyes widened as she saw the teen texting at the wheel.
"FRANCINE!" she bellowed, lung power from years of keeping four siblings in check.
Francine turned; her eyes widened. A scream tore from her lips as she tried to run out of the way of the car, but she wasn't fast enough. She lurched forward from impact and crumpled on the ground, blood starting to form.
The driver didn't even notice, as Francine was not run over.
.
Julchen let out a string of German and English explicatives, and Inner West didn't even censor it. She couldn't leave someone to die, even if it was Frenchie. She dashed into the road as Cheyenne followed suit, running forward to halt the traffic. It was dangerous, obviously, and involved much break slamming, but it was better than letting the other two girls get run over.
After she pointed out the bleeding girl to the annoyed driver, she called the ambulance. Julchen now had the injured and passed out girl in her arms, bridal style. Julchen was seriously strong.
"Is she... alive?"
"She's got a strong breath. But it's getting weaker. I think she passed out from pain and blood loss, but I can't tell where the blood is coming from. There's so much blood!"
Cheyenne forced herself to take deep breaths. "You seem calm."
"My brother's split his forehead, I've broken an arm and several fingers. I can deal with blood and stress. Doesn't mean I'm not freaking out."
The earsplitting cries of the ambulance arrived, and the silent crowd around the three girls parted. The paramedics pulled up.
"What happened?" a woman asked gruffly.
"She got hit by a car. She tried to get out of the way, but..."
"The driver?"
"It was a hit-and-run. I'm not sure he noticed; he was texting," Cheyenne contributed.
The woman nodded, and helped lift Francine into the ambulance with practiced ease.
.
Francine was loaded in to the vehicle. The skin on the back of her head had split, as well as a fairly shattered arm, which was the cause of the bleeding. She was bandaged, and the other two were allowed in.
"Are you guys good friends?" someone asked.
"Actually, no," Julchen said, guilt filling her voice. "If we hadn't been fighting like usual, she might have paid more attention. She might not have been hit."
"Don't blame yourself," Cheyenne whispered. "Blaming won't help right now."
Julchen nodded.
"What is the girl's name?" a man asked.
"Francine Bonnefoy."
"Do you know a cell number we can contact?"
"Oh Gott. Um, I have Josh's number from the science project. Do you think he'll have hers?"
"Worth a shot," Cheynne murmured.
Julchen whipped out her phone and called the boy. "This is an emergency. Francie's been in an accident. We need her mom's number."
"Sure, it's 000-000-0000."
"Thank you."
Julchen recited the number, and the paramedics called the house. By this time, they were at the hospital and Francine was being taken in.
On an impulse, Cheyenne wrapped her arms around Julchen, and the two stayed like that for a long while, hugging each other.
.
"Is she okay?"
"She'll live."
Julchen supposed that was the best answer they were getting out of the doctors until they had actual news. Francine's mom had come, and now sat next to the girls as they waited. Cheyenne broke the silence.
"You carried Francine, though."
"She's light."
"Still, you're not that much heavier."
"I train with Ludwig."
"Ludwig?"
"Mein bruder. My little brother."
"Ah."
The room fell again to an uneasy silence.
...
An interruption came in the form of the nurse. "You can come see her now."
The three of them leaped up. Francine now had a massive cast on one arm, a little tube in the other, and bandages around her head.
"We originally thought she had a broken rib as well, but she had not. She's actually doing pretty good; it was more blood loss than anything."
"I'm glad she's safe."
Suddenly, Julchen's phone rang. She rushed outside the room to answer it.
"Hallo Westie! I'm fine. No, I am at a hospital... be quiet for a moment! I'm fine! Francine's in the hospital. Yeah, the French girl. But I was arguing with her and now I feel kinda responsible, and anyway, I was the one who carried her out of the road. Cheyenne's here too, you know, she worked on that math project with me? Okay, yeah, ich liebe dich. Bye."
She hung up, and turned to Cheyenne. "You should probably tell your parents were you are too. My grandfather and West are coming to pick me up."
Cheyenne nodded. "Can I borrow your phone?"
"Sure."
Cheyenne dialled her parents, and began speaking in rapid Spanish. When she was finished, she handed the phone back to Julchen.
"Thank you. My parents are coming to pick me up too."
They waited in chairs next to Francine, until someone told them that their 'guardians' were waiting outside the room. Cheyenne and Julchen walked out.
"Hey, Lutz," Julchen said, slinging an arm around her brother's shoulders. "And Opa."
Grandfather 'hmm'ed.
Cheyenne was being hugged by four younger siblings. "Shhh, shhh!" she whispered. "We're in a hospital!"
"She's awake," came a voice. The nurse stood there.
Julchen darted into the room, with Cheyenne close behind. Francine's eyes were open.
"Quoi..."
"Francine!" Julchen exclaimed. "You okay?"
"Hurts..."
"Um, you got hit by a car," Cheyenne contributed.
"I remember that. Wait, Julchen? You're here?"
"Yeah, she carried you off the road."
"Aww, thanks! And you still have my blood all down your front."
Julchen made a face. "I hadn't noticed. I was preoccupied with your injuries."
"So how bad am I?"
"Broken arm, stitches in your head, I think," Cheyenne listed.
"C'est mer-" Francine was stopped by her mom giving her a LOOK.
"I wouldn't be fussed. You'll recover," Julchen threw in. "West's had his forehead banged open, and he's still fine."
Francine nodded. "When do I get to leave this place?"
"Tomorrow. You spend the night so we can observe for signs of a concussion, but we think the cut was from a sharp rock," the nurse cut in.
Francine huffed, and looked at her nails. Only one was damaged, broken past the skin so a single bead of blood welled up.
"Good thing your nails are perfect," slipped out before Julchen could stop herself. It was something she'd say at any other time, in a snide tone, but now she could stand a little sympathy! "I'm sorry, Francine. I didn't mean it like that."
"It's okay," Francine murmured softly.
"Julchen," Grandfather muttered. "We have to go home. You may come back in the morning."
"Opa-"
"Now, Julchen."
The girl nodded and followed her grandfather out the door.
+break+
The next morning, Julchen was up at five (like usual.) She dressed, ate breakfast, and spent the next fifteen minutes pestering Grandfather to take her to the hospital. Ludwig walked to school with his friend, Feliciano.
.
At the hospital, Julchen was admitted to see Francine. The French girl was sitting up, legs crossed. Her arm hung in a sling.
"Bonjour, Julchen."
"Hello, Francine. Are you okay?"
"It's nice of you to come see me!"
"Yeah, well..." Julchen flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"The cast is heavy."
"Ah."
Julchen grabbed Francine's hand on an impulse, and Francine hugged her with one arm. "Thank you. From what I hear, you and Cheyenne saved my life."
"But it was my fault! I'm always such a- such a mean person toward you, and then you got hit by that car and-"
"Shhh, it's fine."
Cheyenne walked in to see Julchen's arms around Francine, so she sat down next to them and hugged both girls.
"Hey, Cheyenne," Julchen said.
"Hey Julchen, and Francine. Are you all better now?"
"I've got a stupid heavy cast, but I'm good right now."
"Good!"
"Thank you, by the way."
"Me? I was just doing what anyone should. Julchen, she was risking her life to get you off that road, and she didn't even like you at first!"
"That," Francine hummed, "is an understatement."
Julchen's cheeks were red at Cheyenne's words.
"So, since we kinda skipped half of school already, why don't we go out to lunch?" Cheyenne suggested. "I know a good place not far from here!"
"Okay," Julchen replied.
Over lunch, it seemed, they became the best of friends. Of course, saving someone from getting hit by a car probably helps too.
+break+
Francine, Julchen, and Cheyenne returned the next day, and rumours had already circulated the school. One girl asked Cheyenne if it was true that a car was totalled and two people died outside of school.
"No. Francine got hit by a car, but she's okay now. There was a lot of blood though."
At least the rumours has toned down to "Francine Bonnefoy got hit by a car and bled out, the hospital had to restart her heart."
"Stupid," Julchen scoffed, and Francine had to agree.
.
Because Francine had all her classes with either Cheyenne or Julchen (or both), they wrote for her while her right hand was out of commission. The students spread rumours about the sudden turnaround of Julchen and Francine's relationship, but after a while, the three girls were so inseparable they were known as the 'trio'. As Francine's notorious flirtiness, Julchen's egoistic attitude, and Cheyenne's unfathomable cheeriness were taken into account, their name became the 'bad trio', 'bad friends trio', or 'bad touch trio'. Bad Touch Trio stuck.
That was the end of the first chapter, I guess. All translations throughout the story are pretty simple. If not, it would be worth your time to google translate them, they can be useful. :)
I haven't decided on a post rate yet.
More to come! Please review! I don't own Hetalia.
~Em