He bore his gaze into it, eyes wide and unblinking, thinking that it may melt with his intensity. Sweat threatened to bead off his face and his windpipe sealed tight within his throat. He suppressed a groan that tried to escape his throat, catching another in the back of his mind. He couldn't bring himself to care as he continued to look. His ears were thrumming, emotions peaking, chest heaving, it was getting close, oh so close, just a little more, more, more...

And finally, the clock struck three.

He let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and closed his eyes, allowing himself to bask in his relief. The students around him had already cheered in their own celebration of the end of class. They hurriedly filed out of the room while he stayed seated and waited for it to empty. Some less excited students remained behind, taking their sweet time; he figured they still had classes left. When the last student left and the professor had wandered out of the room, he pulled out his mobile and dialed that familiar number. The answer was almost immediate.

"Arthur! Hey, what's up?"

Arthur relaxed in his chair. "Hello Alfred. Nothing, really. I just finished my final class, is all. What are you up to?"

"I am…" his voice dragged on, as if he were occupied. Suddenly a loud whoop from the other end startled Arthur. "Hell yeah! And that was one handed too!"

Arthur waited impatiently for his answer until there was some crackling and Alfred was back on the receiver. "Sorry 'bout that, I'm shooting hoops in the basketball court. You should come and play since you're free now. Man, I wish you saw that! It was pretty cool."

Arthur realized the professor had joined him in the room again and decided to leave. He gathered his jacket and slung his bag over his shoulder, exiting the classroom and making his way towards the parking lot. "I'm not sure, Alfred. I'm not a big fan of basketball, and I have to get home. I have this terrible nagging feeling that I left the telly on this morning…"

There was a pause, then a small "Pfft…"

Arthur flushed a little. "Shut up, you. I can practically hear your smirk."

"I'm not smirking, I'm laughing!" He laughed as if to prove his point. "Hahaha. You and your British."

Arthur frowned. "You and your American." He had reached his car by now, pulled out his keys, unlocked it, then opened the door (left side). He threw his bag in the seat beside him. "I'm in my car now," he stated, "so I'm hanging up. I swear these cars will be the death of me…"

"Okay! Don't forget to come by the courtyard or else I won't forgive you!" And with that Alfred hung up before Arthur could get a word in.

Arthur sighed and took a moment to relax again before starting his car. He figured he might as well go; today had been a long day, and it would be nice to vent some of his pent up energy. It's not like he had a choice though, as empty as Alfred's threat was. He had nothing better to do anymore, no homework finish, no classes to prepare for. Going back to his apartment now would be irritating and even depressing. So he drove out of the parking lot and headed towards the center of the collage, where the coliseum and stadium were located. The drive was short, but definitely preferable to walking a mile in the unforgiving afternoon sun (especially since Arthur burnt like toast). When he was parked, Arthur pulled out his phone to create a new text message.

To: [Alfred]

Message: [Get your arse outside. I don't want to go in by myself or I'll get lost.]

By the time he was parked in front of the stadium's entrance, Alfred was there, waiting with a grin on his face. A basketball was tucked underneath his right arm. He waved when he saw Arthur, his eyes brightening and his teeth flashing. Arthur stepped out of his car and observed the now dull sun. He joined Alfred's side.

"Today is fairly hot, isn't it?" Arthur remarked as they stood together. He took in his surroundings, examining the enormous coliseum that was surrounded by lush, evergreen grass. The building blended in well next to the football field and the large, asphalt parking lot in front of them. The suns' heat reflected off of several cars and radiated their burning heat waves. Still, it was noticeably cooler here than in the student buildings (because, it was of the utmost importance, after all, that the athletes receive the best treatment while the rest of the student population suffered heat strokes from the lack of air conditioner). He felt odd standing there, considering he had no reason to be there other than Alfred.

"Hot? You think it's hot? It's only 85 degrees!"

"Yes, well, I'm used to ten degrees-" He stopped himself short. "…Cooler," he finished, finally looking at Alfred up close.

He was wearing a simple grey tee shirt and blue basketball shorts, both loosely fitted and obviously well worn. His shirt was saturated with sweat and his hair clung to his shiny forehead. Sapphire eyes glistened behind his glasses that threatened to slip from his sweaty nose. His breath came short and his cheeks were blotched with red.

He caught Arthur staring. "Checkin' out my sweet bod'?" he said, grinning ear to ear.

"You stink."

"It's awesome, I know. Sweat is a medal of honor for an athlete. No, wait, it's the muscles-"

"Oh do shut up."

Alfred laughed. "God, your accent! I almost want to hug you."

Arthur quickly jumped away from him, chortling in disgust. "I swear, if you touch me…"

"Chill dude. Let's just go inside, it's cooler in there." He walked passed Arthur as he huffed and rolled his eyes.

The stadium itself was much smaller on the inside than it appeared on the outside, separated into several different halls according to sport. To the immediate right was the basketball court and farther to the left the weight room, which was connected to boys and girls locker rooms. Straight down the hall was supposedly the swimming pool, but Arthur couldn't see it clearly from where he was standing. The basketball court was large; every inch was colored blue, except for the strange pinkish-whitish-orange walls. There were royal blue bleachers, blue hoops, blue floor panels that printed their school's mascot and slogan, blue eyes that crinkled with joy-

Oh.

"So how do you play?" Arthur asked to escape the silence. "I'm not wearing appropriate clothing for this, am I?"

"Naw, it doesn't matter as long as you don't care about getting them dirty. You'll probably get all sweaty though." Arthur glanced down at his white button-up long-sleeve shirt and green slacks and shrugged. His shoes might work, and he could always wash everything else later.

"Oh yeah, and I don't know how to play. I just sort of dribble around and shoot hoops." Alfred dropped the ball under his arm and let it bounce back up to him. He continued like that and just stared at Arthur, smiling, Arthur staring back with one large eyebrow quirked. The smack of the ball bouncing off the floor was the only sound to be heard.

"Well?" Alfred shouted. "Aren't you gunna grab it?"

Arthur blinked. "Am I supposed to?"

"Duh! You're supposed to snatch it from me then dash away and jump ten feet in the air, then slam dunk the ball into the hoop!"

"…That's impossible."

"Just try it!" When Arthur didn't budge, Alfred shifted his feet and rolled his eyes, shoving the ball into Arthur's hands. "Like this. C'mon, dribble it." Confused, Arthur glanced one more time at Alfred then let the ball drop to the floor. But the ball didn't even bounce back to his hand, for Alfred had snatched it away and bolted towards the nearest hoop. It took Arthur a moment to process what had happened before he took off after him, screaming curses in every direction. Alfred's booming laughter played continuously throughout their game. It was a delightful warm sound that encouraged Arthur's legs to move faster. They ended up running in circles, always managing to steal the ball from the other's grasp but never actually making a shot themselves. Arthur pointed this out after a while, breathlessly suggesting they stop their game of chase and rest. Alfred begrudgingly agreed, pouting when Arthur turned his back to him.

Arthur's face was flushed with heat and his breath came in short gasps, hunching over himself to calm his lungs. He felt uncomfortable in his clothes and his feet were sore. Alfred, on the other hand, was watching with a shit-eating grin, his own breathing mostly regular. His cheeks were painted a light pink, but no new sweat had accumulated. Arthur glared but said nothing as he plucked the basketball from the floor and tossed it at the hoop. Instead, the ball veered off to the side and rebounded off the rim, rolling happily to the edge of the court.

"Shut your trap! It's not like I come here every day like you do; I've hardly ever played before!" Arthur blurted out before Alfred could even giggle.

"Excuses, excuses. And I don't come here every day, per say." He stuck his tongue out and jogged to the ball, throwing it from the side and missing by a long shot. "I'm a swimmer, remember? My stamina is what's awesome, not my basketball skills."

Alfred had become unusually quiet. Arthur watched as he trotted back with the ball and passed it to him. "Right, I remember." Arthur started dribbling it. "So are you finished with all of your classes?"

"Technically, yeah, I have one tomorrow but I'm blowing it off. I want my first day of summer to start on a Saturday and I do NOT want to wake up at eight o'clock. I already took my exam for it anyways."

"I see." The air became thick and they both squirmed. Arthur continued to dribble, staring blankly at the wall.

"So I'm dropping out of swimming."

And just like that, the tension popped and morphed into a rush of confusion and anger. Arthur dropped the ball and faced Alfred.

"What? Why? How could you do that, Alfred? It means so much to you and you've been doing it your entire life!" He paused, staring him down, his voice raising a few decibels. "What about all that time I've wasted listening to you ramble on about how much you absolutely loved it? Hm? What about all that? Wasted!"

Alfred was cowering from Arthur's gaze and shrunk a few inches in height, so that now their faces were level. His hands were raised in his defense and he looked away from the intense, fuming jade eyes. "Sorry, I just don't think it's for me anymore. Geez, I didn't think you'd freak out like this.

Arthur straightened himself and pulled away from Alfred when he realized he'd lost his composure. He sighed and ran his fingers through his wild lemon tinted hair. "I'm sorry, I honestly can't help myself. After all these years, it seems... terribly inconsiderate to throw away all of those years of training and hard work. I thought you loved it."

Alfred relaxed when Arthur did. "Yeah, I still love it, but everyone on the team are total douches and don't need any stupid drama. It doesn't seem worth it to me."

"You shouldn't quit your passion because of a group of immature people that upset you." Arthur glanced at Alfred for a brief moment. "That is what life is about, correct? A bunch of immature people. I only feel that if you quit now, you won't be able to handle more difficult situations further in life. You shouldn't quit for just a small thing like that."

During the whole speech, Alfred's eyes flitted around the room in a hazy daze. It took a moment for him to realize that Arthur was finished. He snapped out of his daze and broke into a wide, dimpled smile. "Yeah, I'm gunna quit."

Arthur spluttered and glared at Alfred. "Were you even listening-!"

"I'm going to quit," he continued, still smiling, "unless you join with me."

Arthur stopped mid curse and gaped, mouth slightly parted. "What…Alfred…I-I can't do that!" He gasped. "I'm not exactly the athletic type…" He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

"Neither was I when I started!"

"… You were ten."

Alfred's smile was fading. "C'mon dude, it's not hard. I can't stand anyone there, and if you joined I would definitely have some more fun. Swimming is awesome, you'd really like it."

Arthur walked to the nearest bench and sat himself down, Alfred following behind. He stood towering over the Brit. "No Alfred, I'm not sure it's possible. I've never had to compete in sports a day in my life. I would be terribly self-conscious, I'm not in the least bit coordinated, and I have a job during the summer, and-"

"Fine." Arthur looked up at him and saw that the smile was gone. He sighed in relief, but didn't catch the glint of mischief behind his eyes. "Then I challenge you to a bet."

Alfred was nose to nose with Arthur now and a full blown smirk was smacked across his face. "Let's play a game. Any game; if I win, you'll have to join. If I lose, then you won't have to. Or you can get something else if you want or whatever."

Arthur felt his gut sink. "You little cheat! How could you bet that when you know I'm not…"

"That's why you'll choose the game." Alfred's smile grew as he strolled to the center of the court. "Whatever game you want. But hey, since you're so unathletic and uncoordinated, you're definitely going to lose."

Arthur could feel his pride bruising; he could have easily walked over there and properly sock the confidence right off his face, but that would be uncharacteristic of him. What game could he possibly challenge Alfred to? Croquet? No, that was too predictable. Alfred would surely laugh at him. Perhaps football? He hadn't played the sport since his seventh year, and his feet had most likely lost their coordination as well. He wouldn't want to risk that with Alfred, who had played football (or soccer, as he often liked to correct Arthur) since his teen years. There was no way he was going to back away from this bet, lest his pride be further damaged. What on earth could he possibly do?

Then it hit him. A smile bloomed across his face. Of course!

"Have you thought of something yet? Unless you want me to pick-"

"Let's play chess."

Alfred faltered. "Chess?"

"Yes."

He shifted uncomfortably. Arthur sauntered over to him with the gleam of a snicker in his eyes and a victorious smirk on his lips.

"But, chess isn't even a-"

"Oh yes it is, my dear friend." Arthur said. "It is a game. One that you can win, or lose, one that you can compete in, and one that you can win bets in. A game does not qualify as a physical activity." Oh how clever he was. He knew he'd won already as he watched Alfred gulp.

"That's not fair. You cheated!"

"Would it have been any fairer if we'd play a sport? You would have had the upper hand, and you knew that, therefore you are a cheat as well. What you didn't count on is me out-smarting you." Arthur had him concerned. There was a bout of silence as Alfred weighed his options. Seeing there were none, Alfred sighed and crossed his arms. He was beginning to pout.

"Fine. Whatever, we'll play chess. But I want some time to at least learn how to play it."

Arthur nodded. "A week then. I'm sure that's plenty of time for you. Chess is a fairly easy concept to learn, after all."

"That's more than enough time," he bragged. "Let's meet at the school's library, ok? Next Saturday at 2:00 cause', ya know, I have places to be at night."

"Yes, yes, that'll do." Arthur rolled his eyes; Alfred may have been popular, but it was obvious when he was lying.

"Great!"

Alfred offered his hand and Arthur shook it firmly.

Alfred was trying, he truly was. He had an amazing attention span when he put his mind to it, but that usually only implied to the things he enjoyed. He couldn't find anything to enjoy about this.

"Then you would move your bishop diagonally to capture my Knight."

"What? I thought Bishops moved sideways."

"No, that's the Rook. They move sideways, forward and backwards."

"But I thought the Queen only did that!"

"They do, but they can also move diagonally if you want-"

"Ugh! Why do I want your stupid Knight anyway? It can only move in an L shape which stands for loser!" Alfred stood abruptly from their table and was ready to flip it over when Matthew grabbed his hands.

"Alfred, calm down! It's just a game!"

"No, it's not! Games are supposed to be fun. This is just frustrating! There's no action, there's no build up, there's not even any math! It's just… something! It's boring!"

"It requires a lot of strategy and patience, both of which you lack." Matthew sighed and pulled his cousin away from the chess set so he wouldn't upset it. "There's no way you're going to be able to learn this in three days, Alfred. This would be a good time to give in.

"I can't! I have to win; I can't lose to him!" he cried. His eyes sparkled with tears as he looked down at Matthew, Alfred's hands gripping his arms. "He has to join the team with me. I can't lose."

Matthew sighed for the umpteenth time since he'd began teaching Alfred. He was always the type to be overdramatic about everything. "Then what are you going to do? He probably knows how to play well and has years of experience. No one would be able to teach you to that level at this point."

There was a pause as Alfred's mind raced. He suddenly gripped Matthew's shoulders and smiled all too brightly at him. "I know exactly what to do."

Matthew stood there awkwardly until it finally clicked. "No. No way. Oh my God, Alfred, you can't be serious."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"I can't do it, no!"

"Yes you will!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

Matthew cursed his own willpower.

Arthur was humming quietly to himself in his car. His favorite punk album was singing with him in the background as he viewed the passing scenery through his shades. His confidence was soaring through the sky. He even thought that it could rival Alfred's own, but that might've been going to an extreme. He was already planning his victory speech. He imagined Alfred's discouraged face and then his losing face, one he has yet to see. Maybe he would just pout. Arthur hoped not, because that would be very disappointing. He was so lost in his happy delusion that he almost forgot to turn into the school. It took him the rest of the journey to the library to compose his giddyness and appear presentable.

Alfred was already outside waiting for him. He was as casual as ever, wearing his baggy blue jeans and large leather jacket.

"Why on earth are you wearing that?" Arthur asked, approaching him and removing his shades. "It's scorching out here."

Alfred had been staring off into space. When he realized Arthur was talking to him, he shrugged. "It's not that hot to me," he said.

"Well, I'm burning up, so let's get inside and get started, shall we?

"Yes."

Arthur glanced at him. Something was a bit off. Maybe Alfred knew of his impending doom and was more subdued? He smiled to himself.

The cool library was very relieving and they both let out an audible sigh. Quickly they found the, thankfully unoccupied, chess table and sat themselves opposite each other. Arthur took out the chess set he brought himself but hesitated before setting up.

"Which side would you like, black or white?"

Alfred's head snapped up. "Oh, you can be white, I don't mind."

Arthur was mind blown. He had fully expected for Alfred to choose to be white, so that way he could move first. He always wanted to be first when it came to games like this. Maybe he just didn't know? He examined Alfred's face. Something was off. Very off. The lighting in this part of the library was horrible, but he could clearly see the paler color of his skin and his thinner frame. His shoulders slumped as if unsure, shying away from on-looking eyes. Arthur found himself worrying. "Are you unwell, Alfred?"

He met Arthur's gaze from across the chess board. "Hm? Yeah… why?"

"You look ghostly pale…" Arthur leaned closer but Alfred backed away quickly.

"U-Uh, personal space…dude!" he spat out softly. Softly? What? "Now come on, let's finish this game so I can go home and… play video games. And stuff."

Arthur peered at him for another second before returning to setting up the board. "All right. Just tell me if you're not feeling well."

Alfred nodded, then they began.

"So how'd it go?"

Alfred and Matthew were standing in their kitchen, Alfred preparing dinner.

Matthew glowered at him. "Of course I won. It was a bit of a challenge, but I won."

Alfred laughed. "Wow, so he was actually good enough to challenge your skills? I'm impressed."

Matthew continued to glare. "Shut up. He was probably the best from where he came from, so he was expecting an easy win against you. I feel terrible, lying like that."

"Why? He knew that I didn't have a chance anyway, so that's kind of cheating too!" Alfred threw a tortilla on the frying pan and watched it heat up.

"But you should have seen his face! It was like I stole his prized trophy or something then pointed and laughed right in front of him. I bet he even forgot what your entire 'bet' was about."

"Hey, if it makes you happy, I'll treat him to dinner or something for all his misery. I'm just still amazed that he didn't catch you."

"Well he did ask if I was sick the whole time, but that's all." Matthew sat himself at the dining table. "He's pretty sharp."

"Yup." Alfred prepared the tacos with all their meats and veggies and things then brought their plates to the table. "Now, for your troubles, my awesome high school champion-chess-playing-cousin, here is your favorite meal; Mexican food!"

Matthew smiled. "It's not my favorite, but it's the best thing you make besides burgers."

Alfred laughed. "True that!"

Ok so new AU. I have yet to see a swimmer Alfred so I thought it'd be a fun mix up, since he's always an expert at football or basketball. And swimmers are a lot thinner. And hairless. And less jerkish. So there.

Thanks to my beta-er Emmy Lou :)