Matthew Williams was an official senior high school student.
It took almost all of his strength and dignity not to shout it out to the entire world about how excited he was to start a new year with his friends. He closed his secret journal and happily walked out of his room. Tonight, he and his guardian were going to be out celebrating his new year at a restaurant with his fellow "gang members". Francis felt lucky he had his little boy to bring along with him. He was tired of going alone. Well, he wasn't entirely alone. He had his childhood friends to talk nonsense to. But it still wasn't right for him. So he was elated that Matthew was only one year behind of being able to stay inside a bar without any parental guidance. Yet he still followed along behind him wherever he went.
"Francis? Are we still going to the restaurant?" Matt asked him. Francis was ready and full of happiness.
"Of course, Mathieu!" he replied. "I just got off the phone with Antonio. They said they're already there and have been waiting forever." And then they were off.
~ (^_^) ~
The fancy restaurant was crowded and noisy and full of elderly people. It must've been a day for all the seniors to get free meals or something. The lights were dimmed and the tables were built in solid black marble and glass. There were lots of potted plants lurking around the dark corners and the detailed portraits stared down at the guests dining in the fancy seats. It was such a swell joint. The other two were seated in a long booth next to the most openly viewed window in the whole restaurant. Matthew had trouble trying to recognize their faces. It had been a long time since the last reunion with these friends. It was a little bit after Matthew was born and taken into the care of Francis Bonnefoy. The smiling Frenchman held his boy's hand firmly as he dragged him to the occupied, polished table in the back.
"Bonjour, my fellow idiots!" he greeted them.
"Hola! Man, where have you been? We thought you were gonna totally ditch us!" Antonio said. The two sat down next to the Spaniard, Antonio and his little henchman, Lovino. Of course that Italian was bored and not in the spirit to be where he was. It was really simple to catch from the frown on his face and the wrinkle in his eyebrow. There was another man in the picture. His hair was snowy white and his eyes were ruby red. He seemed to be one of the tallest; his legs were long and arms were thick. He wasn't exactly masculine in the least. He wore a black shirt with a jean jacket to compliment it. Matthew tried not to stare at him. Instead, he looked at the couple that was located closer to him. He figured Lovi and Tony would be together someday. At least, they looked like they were dating; Tony had his arm around the other and Lovi, though he was probably too shy to do it right, had laid his head against the Spaniard's chest and his hand gently on his thigh. Tony would rest his cheek in Lovi's hair from time to time too.
"So, how's life treating you?" the white-haired guy said. Matthew looked and saw that he was referring to Francis – not him.
"Merveilleux, and you?"
"Okay, I guess," he answered. "Hey, who's that kid you decided to pull in over here?" He grinned at the blushing Canadian next to him.
"Oh, that's just Mathieu," says Francis. "He's my little boy. He looks so much like me, doesn't he?" Both of the older ones examined the honey-blond boy with puzzled faces.
"Are you blind?" Romano says. "That guy doesn't look nothing like you!" Francis shrugged.
"Well, I wasn't really asking you, was I?"
As the night passed on, the whole group fell into a conversation about how hard getting a job is and supporting themselves and their underlings. Well, only Francis and Tony could relate to something like that. The warm, summer air was blowing through the window and forced the Canadian to remove his thick sweater. The stars were shining brightly through the pitch-blackness; there was a new moon being born. The country was very silent, unusually. It was the only city that could be heard across the country. It was a glittering capital, a taste of the future, a paradise city, a perfect picture. Everything that made Matt wonder why he didn't dislike it for being so popular and full of unnecessary noise around four corners. But it really didn't matter – especially since Francis gained custody of this young boy long ago. He would only be allowed to visit his home country if it was to see a loved one or take a break from all the disgusting citizens of his guardian's homeland. Oh well, he could've been in a far worse situation. Matty felt lucky he no longer had to spend his time constantly being yelled at and mistaken for another copy of him – his half-brother. The boy turned his head to notice how quiet the whole table had gotten since the waitress came to take their orders. Because he wasn't a big fan of meat, Matthew decided to just enjoy a hearty salad with croutons and ranch dressing spread all over it. Now he realized all three men were staring at him.
"Hey, why haven't you said anything yet?" the white-haired said to him. He looked down at his thighs and fiddled with his hands.
"W-well, I'm just…I'm-I'm…just…tired," he said. "That's it, I'm really, really tired from staying up all night."
"How come you stayed up all night?" Tony said. The boy shrugged.
"I don't know, I was working on a story for my journal," he replied. "Yeah, I didn't get to work on it all summer, so I'm trying to finish it up before October." The others just nodded and there was a moment of silence.
"You like writing?" the first one said again. Matt turned to face him.
"Y-yeah, I really like it," he said. "I use it to show how I feel and I express it. Without my writings, I probably wouldn't have much personality in me." The dude nodded.
"I'm Gilbert by the way," he said, holding out his hand. "I'm not usually this quiet when I'm with these guys." Matthew timidly shook his hand and blushed with pure embarrassment. He didn't say much. However, Gilbert continued to speak.
"I don't think I've ever seen you around here," he said. "Where do you live?"
"Oh, I live in the northern side of the country," Matt said. "It's not close to here, and it's very peaceful. Unlike this area."
"How old are you?" Gilbert wondered.
"17, I'm a senior student," he said. "And I go to a public school."
"That's cool," Gil says. "I'm out of high school now. Living with my younger brother. 19 years old, and I still can't find a job I really like." Matty wasn't sure what to say to this. Maybe he should pity him as much as he did himself.
"Oh, gee…I'm really sorry about that…"
"Eh. Don't worry about it," he said. "You're more helpful that my brother will ever be." Gilbert didn't know how much anxiety he was causing the younger boy to have. But he knew he wasn't going to say any more than he already did. So he turned back to the others having their little talks.
"What?! Are you serious?" Tony said. "Why'd she do that to you?"
"I have no clue," Francis replied. "But I'm sure she had a good reason, no?"
"That's no excuse for leaving you all alone in this sad, little piece of land." Tony says.
"But I'm not alone," Francis said, wrapping his arm around Matthew. "I have this little guy to make me feel better." The Canadian felt special. Maybe if he really got to know this other guy a little bit more, then he'll be noticed by more people over time. He remembered how hungry he really was – and he began to munch on the fresh slices of cabbage and smaller vegetables that tasted of salty dressing and pepper.
The visit was long compared to a regular schedule. They laughed, they debated, they spoke, and they even disagreed with a lot of things said – and every four seconds, Gilbert would turn his head to see if Matthew was laughing or agreeing with him. He kept smiling at him and he even scooted closer to him on the seat. Matt didn't know why he was suddenly feeling the urge to stare at the intimidating guy. First of all, he was always questioning about his own orientation. It wasn't like he was sexually active or super attracted to other men. But he really didn't appreciate how demanding and physical women out there could be. Judging how neglected and mistreated Francis had been because of them, it really didn't seem like it was going to work out for the Canadian. Second, he was trying this new thing that involved him getting used to and finding out all the information about a person; he didn't want to end up with a total stranger. There were no more words said from the smaller male across the table. Finally after three hours, it was time to hit the road.
"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Francis," Gilbert said. "And it was nice meeting you, Matthew." He shook his hand again.
"Yeah, that kid's great," Tony said. "C'mon, Lovi; you can sleep on the way home." All four had put on their coats. Matthew thought he was by himself at the doorway – until the same person showed up right beside him.
"Hey, do you have a phone?" he asked him.
"Um, yeah?" Matty said. Gilbert pulled out his own cellular device.
"What's your number?"
"123-456-7789," the Canadian said. The older looked up confused before he caught the small smirk on the other's face.
"Ha, okay, what's your real number?" Matthew chuckled.
"Okay, here it is," and he repeated the number in his new friend's ear. The adult put the phone back in his pocket.
"We should really hang out more." he said.
"Yeah, that'd be great," Matthew said. "Well, see ya." And they said their goodbyes as Francis walked with him back to the car.
~ (^_^) ~
Later that night, Matty was checking his status on his social network profile. He already had a new friend request on his second day. Of course it was from the guy he just met a couple of hours ago. He didn't really care, so he confirmed it and now they were buddies online.
"You know, I think he really likes you, frère." Francis said while looking over his shoulder.
"You think so?" Matty says. "I don't really know how I feel about him, though." The Frenchman came over and sat next to him on his bed.
"There's no need to rush things," he told him. "It may take some time for you to know exactly how you feel."
"Yeah, but what if I find out he doesn't like me then?" the Canadian replied. His guardian shrugged.
"Then you'll know how you'll feel too," he leaned over and kissed the boy's forehead. "Well, I need my beauty sleep. Bonne nuit, mon garḉon."
"Good night, Francis." As the man left the room, Matthew closed his laptop and got into bed. He turned off his lamplight and fell asleep quickly.
Th next morning, Matthew's alarm clock woke him up really early. He had to be fresh on his first day of school. 6:00 am sharp. The school would start at 8:00 its own time. The school officials would be really cranky if the students weren't there on time – even when it's the first day after a long summer. It was a big school. The maximum amount of students would be 1,120 total. Matthew felt like he was in a teenage flick where he'd find friends or even join a nerdy clique for the first year. Being a nerd was the "new thing" all around the world. Popular kids were completely dreading it. Matt first found out while he was walking down the road to the front of the school. He saw a kid with medium, brown hair next to a kid with blonde hair the same length. That poor brown-haired kid; he was being made fun of by the blonde and his other friends. There was a really tall one with a thick, pink scarf and violet eyes, and a really small one who was forced to be part of the crowd. Mr. Williams tried his best to sneak past them and avoid eye contact.
"Hey, who's the new guy?" the blonde said. The Canadian was caught. The tallest one was staring down at him with evil irises.
"He looks like silly little girl, da?" he said.
"Uh, y-yeah…sure." the brown hair says.
"Well, like, hello small guy," says blondie. "Like, my name is Feliks Łukasiewicz. And that's Ivan. He's Russian, not so important." Slowly, Matt turned to face the scary-looking guy.
"H-hiiiiiieee…" Matt said. That's when the bell rang for class and every student walked inside the building – and Matthew ran in along with them.
~ (^_^) ~
First period: English 5. It was all about reviewing the year before. All the juniors from last year stopped their learning when they got to the course about reading Shakespeare. They haven't got to Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet. The teachers would much rather spend time talking about it and how sad they were than actually finding out all the content. Sounds like they all were full of it. Today's senior lesson was lecturing about how the students felt about the book and how they formed an opinion by being interested in it. And of course all the kids couldn't say anything about that. Only one person was raising her hand to react to what the teacher assigned them to do.
"We've actually never read it." she replied. "The only piece of information we learned is about how clever and brave Juliet had been and how mournful Romeo was during her false death and that was everyone's only conclusion." If there was one smart blond in this classroom, there had to be more in the school. That was when the educator took out a plastic bin of small books and called everyone up to select one to read. An hour and thirty minutes was the amount of time each period lasted. There wasn't enough time for everyone to complete the whole novel. The teacher just decided to assign each kid their first homework to read the book and finish it by Wednesday and then write a three-page report on the elements of literature. Reading was another favorite of Matthew. He figured if he didn't like to read, he didn't like to write. He placed the small book in his bag and left for second class.
No one gave him a hard time today. He didn't sit alone in the cafeteria. But it probably would've been better than sitting next to that Russian. Both his whole calculus and history classes were accused of being very lazy from their vacation. As a result, Matty had extra homework for no reason. The day was finally over with his last class being methods of inquiry where they did nothing but explain their names and personalities to the rest of them. It was an exhausting day to be exact. Matthew accidentally took the longer way home while he was walking. He wasn't paying any attention to the road; he got a text from Gilbert and he was struggling to reply back. The boy also had to text his guardian to let him know that he was arriving at home and would be there in five minutes. Williams put his phone in his back pocket and walked with his hollow bag on his side. It was passed five minutes already. Matthew began to feel unsafe as he followed the wrong path to his house. He didn't expect to fly by the poorest neighborhood in the whole country. This must've been where all the lower class and the poor homeless people lived. The Canadian shook his head. He felt really bad for those people. He really didn't ask to be spoiled by his caretaker. Yet here he was going back home from the highest and well built school near this dirty, forgotten place.
