(Chloe's POV)

"Good morning, Raven." I said groggily as I sat up. My dark, brown hair was pulled into a messy bun while my tank top was strewn every which way. I rubbed my eyes and yawned loudly before reaching over to pet the black cat with green eyes. He had a pink nose and white coated paws. I had her declawed last year because she liked to scratch up all my furniture no matter how many times I scolded her.

The cat meowed happily in my direction before muzzling against my arm. She was the one who always came begging for me to feed her in the morning. It's really weird how she's also the skinniest cat. She eats like a pig but never gains any weight. I guess my cats can be just like my actual friend. She was the skinny one of the bunch.

I'm pretty sure all the other cats were running somewhere, probably waiting for me walk into the kitchen so they can weave between my legs and try to make me trip and fall. I plopped back onto my back, not closing my eyes; I didn't want to go to work. My job was awful. I worked in a grocery store on the outskirts of town. It was really small and hardly ever had any visitors. Sometimes, people would pissed off at the poor service then take it off on me, a simple cashier whose main purpose is to check you out, not to make your visit the most magical thing you could ever have happen to you.

I sighed and finally leaned out of bed and look down to see I was only in my blue underwear. Since I lived alone, I had no problem what-so-ever walking around like this—except when I had guests—so I would spend just about all my mornings like this. I walked out of my bedroom and straight into the living room to be greeted by my ever loving kitties.

I squatted down to put them on their little heads, starting with pumpkin first. She always gets the most love from me because she was rather injured right now. She recently had snuck out of my flat and into the streets. She was harassed by one of my neighbor's little pugs so I made sure she wasn't hurt by running her by the vet a few days ago. She just sprained an ankle and would be limping for a while. But something tells me she won't be sneaking out again anytime soon.

I fed all the cats by pouring wet and dried cat food into two big bowls for them to all share. Some preferred dry and other preferred wet so I'd have two bowls for them to pick from. I poured fresh, clean water into their water bowl before getting up to prepare my own breakfast. I wasn't a bad cook if I do say so myself. I just prepared myself some bacon and eggs, sharing just a couple chunks with the really picky eaters and rushing off to get ready for work.

I rushed to take a shower, letting the water heat up as I brushed my teeth. Finishing my shower, I turned it off and stepped out. I rushed to throw on my uniform which was just black jeans with a short sleeved, brown dress shirt. I wore a black, long sleeved shirt under it since it was really fucking cold outside. I attached my name tag to my shirt which read 'Hello! My name is Chloe!'.

I laced up my black converse before standing and stretching. My dark brown hair was still a little damp from the shower, but it'd dry before I got there. I gave all my cats each a peck on the head before grabbing keys and rushing out the door. I had little Hetalia charms on them. I had America, Canada, Russia, Japan, and Greece. Greece was my favorite because he's so much like me. I just can't stand to see a stray cat on the the street so every time I pass one, I have to give it a place to sleep.

I ran to my green truck that was parked in front on the large apartment building I currently lived at. I unlocked it with the click of a button and hopped in the driver's seat. After roaring the car to life, I raced off for my job, hoping I wasn't going to show up late. My manager was really strict with that sort of thing. She was kind of a jerk.

After about fifteen minutes of driving and letting the heater in the car dry my hair a bit, I finally arrived at the grocery store. I killed the engine before hopping out onto the snow covered parking lot. I parked in the back since I was an employee so I was surrounded by about four or five cars. I walked in, taking in the beautiful snow that wasn't very high but still not very low. I could hear it crunch, but it wouldn't engulf my shoes so it was safe to wear converse without drenching my socks.

I walked into the store through the back way. I was just putting my keys into my pocket when my manager approached me angrily. "Where the hell have you been?" She asked me angrily. I huffed. She was a loud American. I was Irish and living in the UK. Yes, my manager is American, I am Irish, and I live in the UK. Whoa. Nationality-ception! Right? All my co-workers except my manager—which I really wouldn't refer to her as a co-worker—all are British and all refined sounding and stuff. I stuck out a lot which is why most customers didn't like visiting my register much.

"Sorry, ma'am." I told her, trying to sound as apologetic as possible. "I woke up a bit late today, had to feed my cats, eat, get ready for work, and drive all the way here." I explained to her the best I could. She sighed irritably and rubbed her temple.

"Alright then," she said, still sounding annoyed, "just go check in and get to the register." She ordered me before racing off to do whatever it is that woman does. I sighed, thankfully I didn't get in too much trouble this time. After checking in and all that crap, I had to stand at register three for the rest of day unless someone needed an extra person. Sometimes they would ask me to pick up all the carts in the parking lot or clean up one of the aisles.

For just about the entire day, I only had to stand around at the register, checking people out so they can rush home to their busy lives. I sat there with no one in the line at the moment.

"Hey, Chloe." I heard someone whisper behind me. I turned to see Britt walking up next to my register with a cart in her hands. She must have been pushing it to the rest which all rested at the front of the store. Some people would take them, never use them, and just leave them in a random aisle where they realized that they never needed it. "Want to eat lunch with me here in a few minutes?" She asked me with her kind smile. I nodded happily before she continued pushing her cart.

I was playing with my phone since no one was here and the store was pretty much dead today. I was watching an episode of 'Hetalia: Axis Powers' with the subs so I didn't have to turn on the sound. I read the subtitles before I spotted a movement in the corner of my eye. Someone was at my register. Trying to be an acceptable cashier, I quickly whipped my phone away and into my pocket. I looked up when I was done to see a man about my age. He had dark brown hair with a couple curls sticking up at the top. His face was emotionless and blank and he was wearing a t-shirt with a cat on it that was captioned 'I'm not a cat lady. I'm a cat man.'.

I mentally chuckled. He was probably a cat person like me. I smiled at him. "Hello, sir. How are you today?" I asked him, my Irish accent shining through thick. He set his groceries down which consisted of mostly fruits like carrots, apples, the normal stuff. But something I really noticed was five boxes of dry cat food and three cans of wet cat food. Hey, he uses the same brand I did. I began to ring his stuff up.

"I like your accent." He said in a quiet voice. He definitely was not all British and sophisticated sounding. "Where are you from?" He asked me as I began finally ringing up his cat food. This man's voice was very familiar. He even looked really familiar too. His green eyes were really pretty and glistened in the most beautiful way.

"I was born in Ireland, but I moved her when I was really young so I don't remember much." I told him as I finished putting his stuff in a bag. I smiled and pointed at his shirt. "I really like your shirt, by the way! I'm kind of addicted to cats. I have a ton in my apartment right now." I giggled behind my hand.

"Oh really?" He asked me, equally as quiet as before. "That's cool. I love cats. They' irresistible. I'm glad that I am not the only one." He commented and wrapped the grocery bags around his fingers and elbows. Right before he was about to leave—

"Hey, have I met you before?" I asked him before grabbing his arm slightly. I quickly pulled back to my place behind the register. He shrugged. I then saw someone step up to him from behind and nudged his shoulder before saying some incoherently. I couldn't hear very well since his voice was just as low as Mr. Cat man over here. He said something back even more quiet.

"What is your name?" He asked me questioningly. I told him my name before he actually smiled. He smiled... I wish he would more instead of holding that weird poker face thing. "That's a really pretty name." He told me before the short man with the straight black hair started saying something to him silently.

"Heracles," he started, "we have to be getting back now."

He was just ignored and waved off by the man known as Heracles. That's a really cool name. "Oh you think so? I personally always thought it didn't really fit my personality." He shook his head.

"I think it suits you very well." He told me before turning to the much shorter man. I noticed what the shorter man was wearing. Was wearing a yellow t-shirt with a long sleeve shirt under it that was white. He was wearing grey sweats and black boots as well. He had flat, brown eyes that seemed kind of lifeless. His black, straight hair cut strait across his forehead and wasn't hugged against his head. It was very loose and free. "What is it you needed?" He asked him, his smile disappearing.

"I was just saying that everyone else is waiting." He told the man, looking like he was being careful not to get to close to him. He was obviously not British either. He had been replacing all his L's with R's since he started talking. I wonder where he was from... "You know how Alfred is. He'll probably call me the moment he sees we're late and start crying into the phone. He always tries to guilt trip me."

"Oh, okay, Nihon." The man nodded and turned back to me. He smiled. "My name is Heracles. I'm from Greece. This is my friend, Kiku. He is from Japan so I call him Nihon." He gestured to his friend who just waved simply before slightly bowing.

"Konnichiwa. It is very nice to me you." He said before turning to walk, expecting the Greek to follow. Heracles did as expect after nodding to me. He was such a sweet guy. I wish I could have talked to him a little longer. I forgot! I have to meet up with Britt for some lunch! It's my lunch break. I grabbed my lunchbox and rushed outside where she was already halfway through a sandwich. I sat next to her on the damp curb.

"Took you long enough." She said with a full mouth. Her accent may sound all sophisticated and British-y, but she was no different from me or my boss. "I was going to come get you, but I saw you chatting with a couple hot guys." I turned red at that.

"H-huh?" I spat out to defend myself. "They were just a couple customers who were kind of interested in maybe knowing me. I got their names, by the way. The tall one was Heracles and the short one was Kiku. Or Nihon as Heracles called him." She giggled. Yeah, Heracles was a bit of an odd name for someone in the UK to have. It practically screamed Greece. She stared at me intensely, still biting into her sandwich. "Okay, okay... I have to admit that Heracles was kind of cute."

She nodded with a 'I knew it' kind of expression on her face. I rolled my green eyes at her and began to unpack my lunch which was just come chicken I picked up at McDonalds this morning. I began eating the chicken nuggets when she suddenly nudged with her elbow. We sitting out in front of the store so we were able to see Heracles and Kiku just leaving. They were conversing to each other until they reached a Honda car. Makes sense that Kiku would get in the driver's seat since Honda is a Japanese car.

"Check it. It's the hot boys." She said with a wicked smile at me. I shook my head. "Oh, come on! You know you want them. Or at least Heracles." She said and wiggled her slightly fluffy eyebrows at me.

I was just about ready to pull that red hair right out of her head. But she's, like, my best friend—I love her to death—plus, she owes me a crap ton of money. I shook my head a second time before biting into my nuggets again. I just wanted to get Heracles off my mind for a while. I'm probably never even going to see him ever again. Who knows? Maybe he's visiting from Greece and he can only be here a little while. Or maybe he only came to this store just because all the other ones were closed for the holidays.

Anything was possible.

(Greece's POV)

I wasn't lying to her when I said her name was really pretty sounding. It was. I honestly kind of like it better than most Greek women names. I was sitting in the car next to Nihon who was driving us to America's Christmas party her was hosting. He invited me this year for some reason. He almost never invites me. He probably just wants something for me. I wouldn't be very surprised. "Hey, Greece?" I heard Nihon. When I looked over at him, he spoke up once again. "What was that girl's name again?"

"Her name was Chloe." I said without having to think. This must have surprised Nihon. "W-well, it's not like I was thinking about it or anything. I've just always liked that name." He rolled his eyes as if he didn't believe. "Why the eye roll, Nihon? You don't believe me? Well, that's the only reason I remember it, okay?" I was shaking. I hope he doesn't suggest anything.

"Do you like her, maybe?" I was shocked. I shouldn't have thought such a though. I totally just jinxed myself. I shook my head, staring out the passenger's window. "Greece, you can't really hide it from me. You looked at her the exact way you look at your cats. Or at least when I'm around." He said with a slight chuckle. Was this funny to him?

"It's nothing, okay? She's nice and all but... I'm a country and she's a mortal. It wouldn't work even if I did like her." I said, emphasis on 'did'. He sighed and kept quiet for the rest of the drive. It was a two hour drive to the edge of the UK. Then we hopped on Nihon's jet that he had parked there and flew over to America which took about three hours. When we finally arrived, we were tired and immediately crashed on his couch. Or at least I did. I was out like a light after about two minutes of thinking to myself. Mostly about Chloe.

"Dude, is he okay?" I heard America's loud voice booming over all the other loud noises. When did the party start? It felt like I had fallen asleep just a second ago. "He's been asleep for, like, half the party." I felt a finger poke my cheek and opened my eye to see someone in my face. It was just a curious America. He was wearing an American flag t-shirt with black jeans and cowboy boots. MY eyes were just barely opened which I guess he had noticed. "Man, he's up! Have a nice nap, Greece-dude?" He said with a loud laugh.

I leaned up, still groggy from my nap. It was then that Chloe popped right back into my head. Her long, brown hair that framed her face perfectly; her green eyes that looked so happy; her pretty smile she gave him when he approached the counter. It was all there. I couldn't shake her. She was there to stay. I don't think this is healthy to think of a person this much.

The party was okay, I guess. America got drunk and convinced everyone else to get drunk except me. So, basically, I was surrounded by tons of drunk people all night. Even Nihon was drunk. He stuck next to me all night, but he's a quiet drunk so he wasn't that bad. He wasn't at all like America when he was drunk. There were people who tried to get under my clothes, but obviously I wouldn't allow them to. I pretty much fought them off; I wasn't afraid to hurt anyone because I pretty much hated everyone there except Nihon the rest of the Axis.

"I'm so tired... Everyone is being so noisy—" Nihon said but was interrupted by a loud, drunk America. He ran over to us and threw his arms around us both. I winced at the strength he had. "A-America?"

"Dudes!" He said in a slur. "Why are you acting all lonely over here~?" I kept quiet as he and Nihon conversed. I was so ready to go. We should be driving through England again on the way home. Since Nihon was drunk, I could use that as an excuse to spend the night there and see that lovely, Irish girl again. Chloe... What a pretty name. I began to zone out of the conversation and thought about the girl in my head. I wonder what she was like outside of work. Maybe she was cool and quiet. She could be loud and obnoxious... I kind hopped she wasn't because I don't need another America in my life. Maybe she was extremely patriotic to Ireland. That would be cool, considering how patriotic I am to Greece. We'd be like an unstoppable team.

I kept staring into space until I felt some crash into my shoulder. I looked down to see a snoring Nihon. He must have gotten exhausted and passed out. I smile and began to pick him up, bridal style. After saying my quick goodbyes to people I actually cared about, I raced to the car. Obviously Nihon wouldn't be able to drive in his current state, so I fished the keys out of his pockets and the car roared as it had awoken. I smiled at the sound and drove out of the drive way where we had parked and left down the street.

We drove for a while before reaching Nihon's jet. The pilot normally only took approval to ride from Nihon, but he understood his current state so he took my approval. We flew for a while and eventually landed in the UK. Surprisingly, Nihon was still fast asleep. He should be waking up any time now. We hopped onto his car again that the jet had flown over here, and began riding back to the town that we had met Chloe in. I really wanted to maybe rent a hotel or motel or whatever here to stop since Nihon was drunk. I didn't want him throwing up all over the seats. Plus, I might get to see Chloe at the grocery store again.

I eventually found a hotel we could stay at for a while and check us in. After that long trip, I was ready to his the sheets. Right when I did, I was out like the light I was. But that moment went by in a flash, because I closed my eyes and opened them to see it was morning. I swear, nights need to be longer. It's like when you sleep, time seems to pass you by so quick, but when you're awake, it drags on and on forever.

Nihon was the first to wake up before me with a hangover. He refused to get out of bed but requested that I bring him sushi. We didn't have any sushi with us and the hotel didn't provide any since we weren't even in Japan. So I had to go buy him some.

"My head, it hurts..." Nihon groaned with his arm against his forehead. He must have been in some real pain. After getting dressed and washed up and all that, I rushed out to the car. I then realized that this was my first chance to see Chloe again. Yes! I road down to the outskirts of town to that same little grocery store. It was as small as ever when I walked inside. I didn't even know if she had a shift today, either way, I had to get Nihon his sushi. I ran down the aisles, looking for it when I finally found it. It wasn't as high quality as Nihon's, but it'd have to do.

I searched all the registers to find Chloe, and my eyes widened when I saw a beautiful young girl with her uniform on. She had a white, long sleeved shirt under it and a name tag that announced her name. Chloe. I smiled and walked to the counter, placing my items down. She was staring down at her phone before looking up at me. "Hello, welcome to—" She paused when she saw my face. "Heracles?" She said in shock and smiled. I loved that smile. What am I saying? Didn't I just meet this girl yesterday? Say something cool.

"I didn't think you'd have a shift today." I said in my usually chill voice. Okay, what the fuck? That wasn't cool sounding at all. It sounded like I was trying to avoid her when, in reality, I was actually dying to see her. "I-I mean, well, not that I didn't want to see you. I just—I, uh..." I couldn't spit out the right words. She laughed quietly and reached down to ring me up. She picked up the sushi then the cat toys I had picked up earlier.

"Are these for your cats?" She asked, holding up a little, red stick that had a string with a miniature mouse hanging from the end. I nodded and smiled. "I bet you have really cute cats." I blushed at that even though she was pretty much just complimenting my cats. I smiled back at her as she shoved the items in a bag. "That'd be £10.53, please." She snapped me out of my thoughts. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my credit card. She converted my Greek currency to pounds. They have really weird currency in the UK. "Thank you."

"H-hey, Chloe?" I said, stuttering. She hand me my bag and tilted her head. Taking the bag from her, I said, "When you get off lunch, would you like to have lunch with me? I'm going to be in the area for a while. I'd love it if you were my first friend here." I smiled and beamed.

"I'd be more than happy to accompany you in the UK, Heracles!" She clapped her hands happily together. "But sadly, I can't get together with you for lunch. I'm already eating lunch with someone else. But how about you and I go somewhere to hang out after work around three. Here, take this." She took a slip of paper out from under the counter and wrote something down on it. She handed me the paper. I saw it was her phone number and her address. According to this, she lived in an apartment down in the middle of town. It was kind of a drive from here.

"O-oh, thank you." I smiled and she smiled back. "How about I pick you up after three and we can hang out in town?" She nodded.

"That sounds like fun." What have I gotten myself into?