A Game of Hearts.
Chapter 1: Let the Game begin!
A/N: Buenos noches/día/whatever time it is where you are. This is Alice, writing a story about… Alice. Well. Arthur, really. And no, that wasn't a spoiler, because it's in the summary. So nyah *pokes tongue out*. Anyway, I know I should be writing my other stories (here and in The Bright Pink Notebook), but… This is just so easy and fun I can't help it. I hope it's good~
I don't know how to make a line thing, so have a barrier instead, yeah?
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Alice Kirkland was Queen of her school. There was no disputing the fact. Kind, pretty, sweet, smart and well-liked by everyone - students and staff alike -, her seemingly only flaws were her quick temper and bushy eyebrows, and even those only aided her endearment.
However. There was something about her that was completely different to everybody else: Alice did not believe in love, and therefore rejected the many, many declarations of love she received on a daily basis (some people just didn't seem to get the message!), leaving numerous broken hearts in her wake. This had earned her the status 'Untouchable', yet had increased her popularity, the complete opposite effect to which the creators of the title (jealous, less popular girls) had hoped for.
Yes, Alice Kirkland was the Untouchable Queen of Romulus H. Vargas High School. And she wouldn't want it any other way. For you see, Alice had a secret, a secret so big, there was no way anybody could ever be allowed to know it…
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"So, I've called this meeting because I've come up with a great game!" Alfred F. Jones announced proudly to the five teenage boys sitting on various pieces of furniture in front of him.
"A game? Rike a videogame, Arfred-san?" A Japanese exchange student named Kiku Honda asked politely, his dark brown eyes showing a spark of interest. The games Arfred-san prays are arways pretty good. Onry he cries after if they're scary and we have to pray Barney-san the dinosaur…
"No, an actual game in reality. Like, hide-and-seek, only better! We're going to start a competition between ourselves!" there was a pause as the excited boy waited for his statement to sink in. The silence continued for far longer than he expected, until a Hispanic boy smiled lazily, dark green eyes glinting anticipation of new entertainment.
"I'll bite, amigo. What is this game you want to play?"
Alfred grinned happily, wire-rimmed glasses glinting as he stepped up onto a table, deeming it a hero-worthy place to deliver news from. "Whoever steals the Queen's heart wins!"
There was an even longer silence after THAT. Then a laugh from an older teen as he flicked back his wavy blonde hair, crossing his legs as he leant back in his chosen place of rest, otherwise known as the teacher's swivel chair.
"Ohonononon~ zat is nigh impossible, mon chéri. The Queen will not fall for anyone, not even someone of great passion and beauty such as me."
"And that's why it'll be fun! Not to mention, as an added prize...!" A small bag was produced from the bespectacled one's trousers pocket and upended onto the floor. Out spilled five twenty-dollar notes, floating gently to rest on the carpet. "One hundred dollars, courtesy of the student council treasury."
A decidedly feminine Chinese boy frowned at the plastic green rectangles laying innocently before the greedy eyes of the occupants of the room. "Alfred! That's not your money, aru!" he scolded. Being the student council treasurer, he had the right to complain at least.
"Hah! I'm the President! That means everything is mine!" sitting down on the desk, Alfred shot a 'don't argue' look at the Oriental. "And besides, it'll be yours if you win it, Yao. Then you can put it back in the piggy bank, if your conscience disturbs you that much."
Yao hmmph-ed but closed his mouth, accepting a consoling pat on the pat from the massively tall male beside him. So that was why Shinatty-chan the piggy bank was looking so sad and empty this morning, aru..!
"So? So! Will you guys play? Pleaaaaaaase?" The all-American President pleaded, discreetly scooping up the (Student Council) money back into the bag.
It seemed today was a day for long silences and deadpan stares.
"Da. I'll play." The first to agree was the massively tall Russian. He fiddled with the pale lilac scarf around his neck, avoiding eye contact with Yao, who gave him a look of disbelief.
"Okay. If Ivan agrees, I will play too. But only to get back the money you took, aru!"
"Great! What about everyone else? C'mon!" Alfred's blue eyes got bigger behind his glasses and he pouted slightly, resulting in a cute puppy-dog face. Please please please it'll be so much fun! His face read.
"Si. I'm up for it. It's much better than that jelly fight you wanted yesterday." The Spanish boy shrugged, glad to have escaped the prospect of another barrage of food in his soft curly hair. Jelly was a pain to wash out; it got squishy and stuck for days. Especially the green jelly. That colour seemed to stick around for far longer than any of the other colours.
"Ohononon~ I'm up for ze challenge of charming our lovely Queen." The longer haired Frenchie blonde agreed, producing a red rose from seemingly nowhere.
"Righteous, brothers! Since Antonio and Francis are in, that just leaves you, Kiku." Alfred grabbed the Japanese student by the shoulders and stared into his eyes, blue orbs meeting dark brown ones. Immediately Kiku shoved the blonde away, and then looked ashamed.
"Gomenasai, but personar space, Arfred-san. Hai, I wirr pray your game." He nodded.
"Yay! Everyone agrees! The Game starts Monday, and you can only use the classes you have with the Queen to charm her. Unless you invite her on a date or something. Game on, everyone! America for the win!" Alfred threw his arms into the air in triumph, his brown non-uniform bomber jacket creasing slightly as he did.
"Victory for Spain!" Antonio declared, followed by a smirk and an exclamation of "Non, France will win. We have ze city of love, remember~?" from Francis. The two best friends turned to each other and hi-fived, a silent challenge communicating between them. Francis and Antonio were part of a group of an exclusive group of three dubbed the 'Bad Touch Trio', notorious for their romantic exploits. (Their third member, an albino Prussian by the name of Gilbert Beilshmidt, was away sick.)
"I will win, and Alice Kirkland will become one with Mother Russia." Ivan Braginski murmured, his Russian accent thickening his sentence. Then I can give the money to Yao, and he won't be upset anymore.
"The samurai way wirr prevair." Kiku said quietly, the competitive spirit breaching even his usual cool and calm demeanour. Only Yao remained silent, fiddling with his long, silky black hair, which was pulled back into its regular ponytail. I don't really want the Queen to fall in love with me. If only Alfred was less selfish and bored… How troublesome this is, aru!
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The bell rang, its loud clanging as sweet as the songs of angels to the students eagerly awaiting release from their prison of education. Their wardens dismissed them, and whooping with the feeling of freedom only Friday can provide, the teenagers hurriedly gathered their belongings from their lockers and flooded out of school, as if they would be forced to stay if they didn't leave as soon as humanly possible.
Alice Kirkland patiently stood just outside the school gates, leaning slightly against the strong steel bars and returning greetings to several passersby as she waited for her cousins to exit. They should really repaint the gates, she thought, idly picking at the flaking white paint so that the dull silver showed through. Then again, the President doesn't seem to really care about the real issues of our school. The only reason he was voted for was because the other choices were either a controlling, short-tempered Nazi, or a lazy, whining Italian who promised to serve pasta every day for lunch. I would have run for the position, but being President takes up too much time. I already have to look after Peter, and now that Jack and Kylie have moved next door, they're over almost every day, the house is never empty. Or quiet. And I don't really want to be President.
"G'day, cuz! How goes it?" a boisterous male Australian voice interrupted Alice's thoughts, and she turned around to find the very two cousins she had been thinking about.
Jack and Kylie Kirkland stood side by side, the former proudly sporting an adhesive bandage on his nose - the price he paid for being the star captain of the school's AFL football team - while the latter beamed up at her brother, colourful paint streaking and dotting her skin and clothes.
"I am fine, thank you very much. Where is Peter?" Alice replied, noticing her younger brother wasn't with them. This was odd, as Peter usually rushed over from the Primary school next door to Kylie's locker and then looked for the older two.
Kylie shrugged. The action caused her brunette side-ponytail to bounce on her shoulder. "I didn't see him when I was grabbing my stuff, and Jack found me, so we decided to wait for him out here. Oh, and we need to wait for Linda, because she's sleeping over."
No sooner than the words came out of her mouth, the trio noticed a very short girl racing over to them, a blonde boy lagging behind her. He may have been taller, but his young face betrayed the fact he was younger.
"I'm here! And I found Peter!" she announced breathlessly, glasses perched askew and short chocolate curls flying as she fought to regain her breath. A slight Spanish accent gave her words a sing-song quality. Linda Santiago Hernandez was the smallest person in the whole of the high school, but she made up for it with her big personality and energy. She was also Kylie's best friend.
"Hey, lil' mate. I'll carry your bag, it looks heavy." Jack ruffled Linda's tufted ringlets before taking her backpack, easily swinging it over his broad shoulder. The Mickey Mouse bag was packed fit to burst, and Alice could have sworn she saw the zipper straining to stay closed. She also swore that every time Linda was around, Jack found a way to pat her head, or carry her bag, or carry her. It was obvious he had a crush on the Salvadorian girl, but she wasn't sure how long it was going to last, or what would become of it.
"Sorry I'm late, Ms *Hungary* made me stay in for a few minutes after class." Peter said, avoiding eye contact with Alice, who tried to ignore it. He had the same English accent as his sister. By now, most of the other students had left, but a few still lingered on the grounds, waiting for parents or just freely conversing.
"That's alright, Peter. Let's go home, shall we?" Alice suggested. After a few comments of general agreement, the group of five moved off in a straggling pack down the path away from school.
Home was only a few minutes away. As soon as their place of abode was reached, the Australians (and accompanying Salvadorian) said their farewells and turned into the house next door to Alice's and Peter's. The remaining Kirklands entered their own house, and after locking the door behind them, went their separate ways - Peter the kitchen, Alice her room. The house was strangely quiet without anyone else around; it had only been two weeks since their youngest older brother Aleck had moved out to be closer to the University he attended, and it was rare that the Australians weren't over to kick up a ruckus. Their other older siblings had moved out quite a while ago, so Alice and Peter were used to having each others company and spending time with another. Maybe that's why he's so disappointed…
The English girl sighed again and flopped on her bed, throwing her large handbag onto the floor beside her. (She was using it as a schoolbag, so the books inside made it quite heavy.) Feeling a familiar itch on her scalp, she sat up again and reached over to the full-length mirror by her bed and pulled it so that it stood in front of the double bed. Scooping up multiple face wipes from the surface of the chest of drawers on the other side of the bed and pulling off her glasses, Alice sat back down on her bed, scrubbing at the makeup on her forehead until it felt completely clean and natural. Then, reaching back into her beautiful long blonde hair, Alice pulled out the hair ties holding her shiny tresses into twin ponytails, undid hair clips and slid out bobby pins, until her hair was successfully down. Finally, she unbuttoned her skirt and slid it down, revealing a pair of shorts (because who goes to school in a skirt without shorts on underneath, especially a school with Francis Bonnefoy in it…) and slid her shirt over her head, then her singlet.
Alice Kirkland looked into the mirror.
Arthur Kirkland looked back.
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A/N: That's right~ Alice is actually an Arthur. But you knew that already.
To my readers of other stories (or story), yes, I wrote this when I should have been writing that. I admit it. Scold me, you have every right.
But I'm not super sorry. Just a little bit.
OKAY! *cue Channel Seven News Bulletin music* About the pairings… I want you to vote for them! I'm an avid fan of Spam-in-a-can (Spamano), Us-you-okay (USUK), Roach- chew (RoChu, I think it's called? Whatever. China and Russia) and I also like Prunes-in-a-can (PruCan), Fran-can-can (FruCan)… ohhh wait, I haven't introduced Canada yet. I doubt he'll be a mainie though. Probably just a sidey, like Oz and Wy. Anyway, who do YOU think Artie should end up with? Who should discover his secret? His first date? First kiss? Well? It's up to you! VOTE NOW! (^U^)
Who, long-ish author's note… Waaah there's soooo much stuff to do… (TT^TT) Whyyyy am I writing another story..? (I'm an idiot, that's why… *sigh*) Okay. I'm off to finish Toradora. Only four episodes to go!
Adios~
P.S. Linda is not going to be a mainie, so OC haters, don't you worry. She's just like, a guest star from another story I'm writing about a few countries not mentioned in Hetalia… She's El Salvador. And Aleck (mentioned once as an older brother of Arthur and Peter) is also from that. He is Scotland. I'll be trying to squish in as many cameos and mentions of other countries as possible.
Okay, real adios now~