Hey guys! Uh..(derp) I don't know what to say. Long first chapter 'cuz I wanted an interesting opening plot-thingy. Haha, um, yeah :P so let me know how I did please? Enjoy, guys! :D

Oh, also, yeah the little intro doesn't really make sense, but it will later on!

Everything was so dark. It was always dark; too much so. Arthur rolled in agony, twisting the stained bed sheets between his fingers as he moaned lightly. His brow crashed together in a pained scowl, and his emerald eyes stared, fixated, on a distant sliver of light. He recognized it to be a candle that burned weakly on the last few centimeters of wick.

Slowly, Arthur closed his eyes and heaved hot, panicked breaths. He felt his lips become wet with spit as it dribbled down and to his chin. Arthur thrashed again, horrified at his weak, helpless state. Never had he felt so abandoned or quite frankly terrified in all his life. What had he done to get himself here?

The bed squeaked only slightly as Arthur moved round atop it, for he had lost a respectable amount of weight that was almost dangerous, given his already lanky stature. He hacked roughly to the ceiling above him, resulting in the unpleasant feeling of germs coming to rest back on his skin. Arthur wrinkled his slim nose in disgust and clutched his stomach, rolling to the side and burying his face halfway into his sunken pillow. He fell quiet, his body finally resting from its constant thriving battle. Arthur took this moment of somewhat peace to ponder what was happening, really.

One Year Earlier [Month 12]

Arthur stared at the screen in front of him, twisting the camera strap between two fingers idly. He furrowed his brow in annoyance and dragged the bar to the beginning of the clip, moving his mouse to the play button and restarting the clip over again. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily, letting his shoulders sag in defeat. Arthur yelled and flung his camera across the room, letting it smack against the wall and burst apart upon impact.

"Fuck!" he shouted, pushing himself up quickly and causing his chair to scrape on the linoleum harshly. Arthur yelled again and bent, sweeping his arm across the flimsy table's top and knocking everything on it to the floor. The computer blinked out soon after it hit, taking all the light in the room with it. Arthur groaned, suddenly regretting his actions, and stepped to his bedside table. He flicked on the lamp and stood, examining the mess around him. He shook his head sullenly and swiped his jacket that lay haphazardly on his mattress. Arthur shrugged it on slowly, thinking to himself. He fingered the fabric for a second before he turned his feet and quickly stepped out the front door.

Arthur trotted down the apartment steps, taking certain measures to avoid the seventh from the bottom, like he always did, because it was loose and always smelled more of urine than the others for some odd reason. He kept his hands shoved firmly in his coat pockets as he walked, opening the door with a nudge from his foot. It squeaked open easily, being that it lacked the latching mechanism. With a deep sigh, Arthur lunged forward into the smelling backstreets of London.

He walked briskly, fighting the biting wind by burying his face deeper into the scarf wrapped securely around his neck. Arthur, despite it being fairly dark out, dodged the bags of rubbish that spilled their rotting contents in his way with skill, for they hardly ever were removed. One particular bag that smelled of fish had been there for almost a month.

"It was a stupid idea," he muttered, joining the bustling crowd on the main streets. He quickly fell to their will and allowed them to somewhat carry him along. A loud clap of thunder drew a second of attention as the sky seemingly ripped open. Rain began to fall, pounding down like bullets. Arthur stared ahead, his face pulled firmly into a scowl. He continued to walk, doing his best to skate to and from the umbrellas that were opening up around him.

"You'll never make it. You don't have any actors; what were you thinking.." Arthur spat to himself coolly, feeling a dreaded cold wretch his heart. He pushed his face into his scarf deeper so that it came slightly above his nose. Arthur hastily reached up and moved his drenched bangs from his eyes. He scanned the area around him and quickly darted into a small shop. His shoes squeaked as he continued to walk at his set pace to the bathroom.

The door clicked closed behind him. Arthur trod slowly to the mirror. He reached shaky hands outward to grip the sink. As soon as his fingers grasped the ceramic, Arthur found himself leaning heavily, pushing all his weight on his arms. He stared into the mirror and frowned hatefully at the figure staring back.

Arthur was working on a movie, but it wasn't going anywhere due to the lack of actors. All his clips were from botched projects he had done ages ago. Arthur had tried to get people to work with him, but it seemed nobody wanted to work with a man who could hardly hold his scraggly ass up on his two legs. He was thin, dissolved, and generally sickly looking. Arthur was poor, and it was obvious.

Tears leaked from the corners of his shimmery emerald eyes. Arthur watched as he cried, his fingers gripping the sink harder and his knuckles turning white. He sobbed, struggling against the miserable choking noise that escaped his mouth. Arthur spat distastefully and scowled.

"Pitiful. Look at yourself." Arthur hiccuped and pushed himself upright again. He shoved his hands back in his pockets and examined himself through his blurry eyes. "You're a nobody. Arthur, you're never going to make it."

Arthur heaved again and twisted the knob, letting the cold water rush over his fingertips. He splashed his face a few times and sighed, shutting the water off again. He turned and, regaining his composure first, briskly walked out the bathroom door and through the shop. Arthur kept his eyes low, hesitating only for a second before jumping back into the streets.

He pushed against the crowd, forcing his way against their flow of footsteps. Arthur felt his head spin; he didn't know what he was doing. His life was a wreck. Arthur didn't even know what he was doing outside. Why did he even leave his apartment? His day had slowly spiraled downward since he stepped outside, and he was starting to regret it.

Warmth suddenly erupted across Arthur's shoulder. Arthur looked up immediately in shock. A strong body, much bigger than his own, had knocked into him. His eyes quickly traveled upward and met with a tall man spilling apologies. Arthur was momentarily taken aback by the shocking bright blue pair of eyes looking back at him. And then, Arthur felt a strong hand wrap around his arm and tug him to the side.

"Hey! What are you-" Arthur was yanked from the crowd and on to a shaded step, where the strange man continued to talk to him. Arthur glared at him, annoyed, and took in the fact that he had one lock of hair that stood up at the front of his bangs.

"Sorry, it's just you were getting shoved around and I was trying to tell you sorry, but you looked like you were going to be sick, so I tried to get your attention, but you just kept looking at me, and I didn't want you to puke on me, or anyone else for that matter, and you were being pushed so I grabbed you and pulled you out in case you actually /were/ going to be sick. Oh, so, are you alright?" the man finished with an exasperated huff. Arthur shrugged him off and grumbled.

"I'm fine, you bloody git," he spat. The man visibly shrunk a little, but he quickly leaned forward again and smiled. Arthur flexed his fingers in his pockets, a ball of annoyance rolling around in his stomach slowly.

"Awesome! Um, I'm Alfred, by the way." He stuck out his hand with a happy smile, bouncing on his heels slightly as he waited for Arthur to shake it. Arthur simply stared at his hand, filling the space between them with an awkward feeling as the seconds ticked on and he refused to return the gesture. After a while, he opened his mouth and drawled slowly.

"Arthur. Charmed." His voice dripped with sarcasm, but Alfred obviously didn't pick up on it. He shrugged and dropped his hand to his side again. Arthur let his eyes roam, stopping on the umbrella grasped tightly in the mans other hand. Arthur glanced to the rain and sighed.

"Well," he muttered, lifting his chin from his scarf, "I have business to attend to, Alfred. I'm off." Arthur buried his nose into the collar of his coat and prepared to step into the mass of people again, but was stopped by the same strong hand gripping his arm again. Arthur turned, ready to yell, but Alfred spoke first.

"Wait! Here, take this," said Alfred, shoving the umbrella into the crook of Arthur's arm. He smiled warmly at him and patted his shoulder. "Stay dry, Arthur," he grinned. And then, he slipped into the crowd and was gone. Arthur stared at the handle protruding from his elbow, confused. He shrugged and resumed his struggle against the people.

He didn't open the umbrella.

Arthur pushed through to his familiar alleyway, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath of the welcoming stench. This was his home, and he was glad to be back to it. He shook himself off slightly, though it was rather pointless as rain still poured down from the wicked sky. Arthur took a step forward and opened his eyes. But something was different.

There, leaning against the wall, were three men. Arthur faltered in his footing, and a little gasp left his lips. He had never seen these men before. Why were they here, mucking up his routine? His gasp must have been louder than he thought, for the tallest of the three turned his angular head towards him.

His face was long and very..intimidating. He had sharp, piercing blue-green eyes, and glasses. His hair was pushed back from his forehead, creating a slick and menacing overall look. He wore a long blue trench coat and tall boots. Arthur shrunk in his clothes, afraid of this man. At that moment, the man grunted and nudged the other man next to him.

This other man, greatly shorter, seemed even more frightening. He wore a scowl that could beat Arthur's own any day, and his green eyes twinkled with rage. He had a light shade of olive skin, and a peculiar curl that stuck out from the side of his head. He wore all beige and brown. When the taller touched him and bucked his chin to Arthur, who was currently standing frozen in confused fear, he didn't even move. All he did was let his teeth grind. After a moment of silence, his lips parted and words oozed out.

"Ciao," he hissed, his eyes finally flitting upwards and connecting with Arthur's. Arthur swallowed and took another wary step. He wasn't quite sure why he was so petrified, but he felt as if he would need new boxers soon.

"H-Hello.." Arthur scanned the wall behind the three men and noticed that they so happened to be blocking his entrance and, in a way, escape. The angry man straightened slightly, folding his arms over his chest deftly. He looked to Arthur expectantly.

"You look-hungry.." Arthur was caught off guard by this statement. He felt his mouth drop slightly at his lack of words. All he managed was a small 'um' and a slow nod. Truth being he couldn't afford food, really, at the moment, and it had been a few days since he had eaten decently. The man gave a knowing nod.

"Si. Would you like some food, rat?" hissed the man again. Arthur didn't notice the dangerous tone the man carried in his words, because he was currently swept off his feet by this offer. Arthur's eyes grew wide and he stepped forward more, fingering his shirt through the hole in his coat. He mumbled a weak 'yes' and began feverishly searching the men with his eyes, trying to find the prize he craved so strongly all of the sudden.

That's when he noticed the third man fully.

Now, he was possibly the strangest of them all. He had wide, muddled eyes and dark, rich skin. His brown hair was mussed halfheartedly around his face, but it seemed to look perfect. His lips pulled into a constant smile, but Arthur noted that it didn't seem to be friendly. Arthur looked closer at his eyes and found them to be almost..murderous. Arthur recoiled slightly as the man ginned evilly at him, his fingers twitching in anticipation. The angry little boss next to him kicked him and gestured to Arthur, pointing a slim finger at him.

"Antonio, get rat here some food.."

#%#%#%

Just to clarify, the three men are Spain, Romano, and..uh..Germany and Sweden's love child? I couldn't decide who was more scary looking, so I combined them. :P also I don't know why Roma calls iggy rat, I just felt like it..fit?

Anyways, tell me what you all thought! Comments, questions, concerns, and anything else are very welcome!

Ciao~!