The relationship between Portugal and the United Kingdom dates back to the Middle Ages in 1373 with the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. During the late 16th century England found itself fighting against Spain which at this time occupied Portugal. The English Armada was launched as part of this conflict in an attempt to restore Portuguese independence. In 1703, Portugal joined an alliance of England and the Netherlands in the War of the Spanish Succession.

The two countries now enjoy a healthy and close relationship.

Paulina Sampaoi's foot quietly tapped the ground as she sat through a history lesson. The clock at the front of the classroom indicated that class would be over in less than five minutes. Five minutes seemed like an eternity. As Paulina looked around the classroom, she realized she wasn't the only student who felt this way. Alfred Jones, who sat to her right, was resting his head over his arms. She could see the small trickle of drool as the blonde boy slumbered and she had to look away from the sight. In front of Alfred, Natalia Arlovskaya was practically peering over Ivan's shoulder. Ivan was a sturdy young man, the kind that wasn't intimated by anything. But Paulina saw him slightly tremble when he looked over his shoulder at Natalia. Paulina was actually enjoying her peer watching today, it wasn't something she often did, but it was the only entertaining thing to do at the time.

This was interrupted, when she saw the person in front of her slightly turn to her. Arthur Kirkland's eyes weren't looking at her, but she had an idea where they were looking. You see, Antonio Carriedo was located in the back of the classroom, along with Gilbert Beilschmidt. The music emanating from their earphones weren't loud enough to catch the teacher's attention, but they were distracting enough for the students around them. Arthur's gaze landed on Paulina and she gave him a smile. He didn't return it; instead he faced the board and crossed his arms.

When the bell finally rang, Alfred slightly jumped in his seat and let out a loud groan. Everyone turned to face him, though he was already half way out the door. Paulina quickly gathered her books and schoolbag, wanting to get out of this place as well. By the time the traffic at the classroom door died, she had lost sight of her friends. She sighed, slowly walking along the corridor. Although classes were over, the halls were going to be crowded for a while longer. Club activities would commence soon.

Paulina thought about returning to her dorm, to drop her things off, but she couldn't afford to be late again. Instead, she shoved her books in the bag and picked up her pace. By the time she reached the Student Council room, she was the second one there. Arthur was writing something on the board, so she tried to be as quiet as possible. She was always trying to be quiet, seeing as she wasn't exactly an officer of the student council. No, Paulina was actually part of the Welcoming Committee, which was sort of a sub-division of the student council.

"Oh," Arthur said when she turned around and saw her taking seat. "I didn't hear you come in."

"You know me, I didn't want to interrupt," she replied.

He did know her. It wasn't a widely known fact that the two of them were friends. Most of the time, Arthur was busy with the other council members, and Paulina had her own group of friends. If anything, the only time they spent together was in this very room.

Arthur and Paulina first met during their first year at World Academy. At the time, most of the first year students didn't know each other and attending a private school in a completely different country wasn't something they suddenly became accustomed to. Some of them tried to make friends quickly, really tried. Antonio Carriedo was a friendly, loud boy from the get-go, maybe a little too friendly for Paulina's taste. Arthur intervened when he realized Paulina wasn't enjoying her time with Antonio. Though he did something kind, Arthur waved it off, making sure to tell her that it didn't make them friends. Even though he was always coming to her aid, from that moment on. In return, she would try to defend him as well.

She knew Arthur didn't need her defending him, much less wanted it, but it irked her when other talked about him in her presence. She gave people a taste of her mind when it happen, which earned her a reputation of sorts. She was referred to as his shadow, something she didn't appreciate very much. Was it such a crime to stand up for a person you considered a friend? Was it because she was a female?

"Have you given thought to what we discussed last time?" Arthur asked, taking a seat next to her. Normally he preferred to keep his distance from the girl, especially in a public place, because he was aware of how easily rumors could spread. It surprised Paulina to see him this close to her now. She slightly shook her head at his question.

"I'm still not sure it's the best idea."

The Student Council's Vice President was, to say the least, spontaneous. However, no one expected his decision to drop out of the council in order to… 'Pursue other career choices', as he put it himself. So that left the position open and up for grabs. It would have made sense to let out of the class representatives take his place, but Arthur was advocating for Paulina to take the spot. One would assume that he was doing it out of the kindness of his heart, that he just wanted a friend to rely on if he needed their support. Paulina knew that wasn't the case, at all. Arthur was a smart, young man. Surely, he figured out that if the Vice President was someone he knew would back him up, he wouldn't have to worry too much about enforcing school policies. It was only normal for a girl to feel used by this, but Paulina didn't want to feel that way. Like Arthur, she strictly followed the school rules. However, if she wanted the position, she'd have to run against a number of candidates. She was passionate, but sometimes very lazy.

Arthur reached over, tentatively placing a hand on her shoulder. She sighed, knowing that eventually she'd cave in.

"If, and I mean if, I decide to do this, then you're doing all the work for me." Her brown eyes locked with his and he smirked at her. Something in her wanted to reach over and… smack him, but she held back for now. She needed him for this, although he wanted her to go along with his plan more than she did. His emerald gaze detached from her face and he glanced over to the door. In a split second, his eyes went wide and he was up on his feet.

"Stop right there, you bloody pervert!" Arthur's finger was pointing straight at a tall blonde male, who had his arms around a small, dark girl. Paulina stood up as well, a bit alarmed at Arthur's reaction. Before she could stop him, Arthur dashed out the room, following Francis Bonnefoy and his companion. She crossed her arms and sat down with a small frown forming on her lips. Every time she thought the two were going to share a nice, friendly moment, he had to ruin it.