Italics – Flashback
-Prologue-
"Slow down, you guys!" I called, the early morning sun warming up my back as I jogged after my friend and two mutual friends.
The shortest of the three - a boyish-looking guy with brown hair (and a curly hair that stuck out and defied gravity,) light brown eyes that were constantly closed for some reason, an Italian accent, and a major love of pasta – turned around.
"Hawaii! I missed you!" Italy exclaimed, hugging me.
"Same here, Italy!" I laughed, looking at Germany and Japan, "Aloha, Japan! Aloha, Germany!"
"Ve…" Italy blurted, his arms still crushing me in a tight hug.
"Italy, will you get off of Hawaii!?" Germany yelled, causing me to flinch at the sudden outburst.
"But Hawaii is like the sister I never had!" Italy whined, pouting.
"Hey, Italy, it's okay! You can hug me, but I need to walk!" I joked.
"Really?" The Italian asked.
"Sure!"
"Yay!" Italy cheered, causing me to laugh.
"What're you guys doing?" I asked once my laughter died out.
"We're going to brunch." Germany replied, his blue eyes trained on the path.
Germany represented – well, Germany. He had blonde hair that was slicked back, blue eyes, and he was tall. Considering my height in comparison to his, the top of my head roughly stopped right below his chin, and I was a pretty tall country.
"Wanna join us?" Italy asked, and ear-to-ear grin on his face.
"Sure!" I replied
"Yay! Hawaii's going to join us!" He happily cried
I smoothed out my dress, which was a red sleeveless - with a white leaf pattern – that stopped at the knees.
I fiddled with my lei as we walked down the path.
"Japan, where are we going to eat at?" I asked, tucking some of my brownish-black hair behind my ear.
"It's a restaurant that recently opened. I haven't been there yet." He replied, his speech slurred from his accent.
"Arigatou, Japan!" I exclaimed, deciding to say some Japanese to express my interest in other nations and their cultures, and then I faced Italy. "Do you know what they serve, Italy?"
"Pasta!" He sang, throwing his hands into the air…
And one of those hands hit me in the face.
When Italy unintentionally threw a hand into my face, I started to fall back.
I felt the leaf crown I made start to fall off of my head.
"Help me!" I squealed, a hand flying to my crown to keep it on my head.
I felt a hand firmly grab my shoulder, and then I was tugged forward.
Once I was still, I opened my eyes, and saw two concerned faces and one angered one.
"Italy, you idiot! Hawaii could've gotten hurt because of you!" Germany yelled, his hand still on my shoulder.
"I'm okay, Germany! I got whacked in the face. I didn't get shot or anything!" I joked as I straightened my leaf crown and lei.
"Be lucky that you didn't get shot." Germany commented.
The comment sent shivers all over my skin as I remembered what America told me about the time that Germany, his country, and his brother – Prussia, if I'm correct – were heavily Nazi back in World War 2.
"Back in World War 2, Hitler rose to power in Germany, so the Nazis mistreated Jews – and many other people they looked down on – by shoving them into concentration camps and working them until death. A third of Jews were killed. This is known as the Holocaust." Alfred's voice echoed in my mind.
"I'm so sorry, Hawaii! I didn't mean to hit you in the face! Please forgive me!" Italy cried, his hands clasped in apology.
"It's all right, Italy. I know you didn't mean it." I replied, feeling my dimples appear as I smiled.
"Yay! Let's celebrate with pasta!" He announced with a bounce in his step.
"Oh, Italy! You and pasta!" I chuckled loudly.
The four of us walked for a couple of more minutes, the only noises being Italy striking conversation with various girls and my humming.
The song I was humming was "Fly Me to the Moon" sung by Frank Sinatra (and other musicians,) a song I remember since my days as a simple territory to America.
I remember that day with vivid detail…
I dashed down the halls, the muffled thumps of swift feet on carpet creating a staccato as I ran toward a set of stairs.
Once I reached the stairs, I stopped.
I stood on my tiptoes, grabbed the banister, and lifted myself to sit on the smooth wood.
I sat there and swung my legs for a moment, and then slid down the railing until I reached the first floor.
Once I had both of my feet on the floor, I ran to the front door of the hotel, but I saw a familiar face, and ran to the person.
"Maddy!" I squealed, running to the blonde Canadian.
Madeleine Williams looked at me and smiled.
"Puanani! How are you?" She asked, hugging me.
"I'm great! You smell like maple syrup again!" I replied, covering my grin with a hand.
"Well, I do have a bottle of maple syrup in my satchel!" Maddy laughed, opening her bag and revealing an unopened bottle of maple syrup.
I laughed with her until my stomach started to ache, and then my high-pitched laughter died out.
Once Maddy's laughs stopped, she asked, "Nani, would you like to meet my friend?"
"I'd love to!" I chirped.
"Puanani, this is the well-known musician Frank Sinatra." She introduced, gesturing to a tall man with black hair and tobacco-induced aging, "Frank, this is Puanani Okalani, the representative for the 50th state, called Hawaii."
"Hello there, little miss." He said, shaking my hand, "You are Hawaii's representative. What does your name mean?"
"My name means 'beautiful flower from heaven,' Mr. Sinatra." I explained, a sweet smile lighting my already bright face.
"Just call me Frank." Frank said, "You are very formal for a girl of your age."
"Alfred takes me to the world meetings often, and he says that it's important to be formal in more serious situations. I'm practicing on being formal, for when a nation representative talks to me at a meeting." I explained, my advanced knowledge in language arts and vocabulary shining through.
"Oh, I see! You have a magnificent vocabulary!" Frank laughed
"Thank you!" I cheered
"Would you like to learn a song?"
"Hawaii!" Germany yelled, which caused me to flinch as the memory tangoed away.
"Did I do something stupid?!" I stammered, my voice coming out as a squeak.
"No. But you were singing, and everyone was looking at you." He explained, his eyes focused on me.
"Oh god, I must've sounded like nails on a chalkboard!" I groaned, starting to cover my face with my hands.
"No, Hawaii! You have an angelic voice! I've never heard you sing!" Italy bursted.
"You should sing more often." Germany added.
"Thanks…" I stuttered.
"You're welcome! What's the song called?" Italy asked, his gravity defying curl bobbing.
"'Fly Me to the Moon' by Frank Sinatra." I replied
"Oh, what a pretty song! Ve!" Italy sang
"How did you learn that song?" Germany asked as he fell into step with me.
"I met Frank Sinatra when I was new in the states, and he offered to teach me one of his songs. Clearly, I accepted his offer." I answered, making eye contact through the whole response, "Is something wrong, Germany?"
"No, no. It's just…" He replied, his voice trailing off for a moment, "never mind…"
"Umm… okay." I said, even though I was still wondering about what he was going to say.
"We're here!" Italy announced, gesturing to an Italian restaurant called Romano's.
"Italy, isn't your brother named Romano?" I asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah! My fratello! Romano! Uh… what about him?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Nothing, Italy." I answered, laughing.
I glanced at Germany, still wondering about what he going to say earlier.
I quietly sighed to myself and followed them into Romano's.
Romano's had an appearance very akin to an Olive Garden or a large portion of other Italian restaurant s in America. But one noticeable difference in this venue and the Italian ones in the States: there were unlit candles on the center of each table at Romano's, which I assumed were used as lighting on dates or lighting at night.
As though he was a mind reader, Italy blurted, "They use the candles as lighting at night, but many dates come here because the atmosphere is romantic due to the candle use."
I nodded my head in response as walked to a table by a window.
"Who's going to sit by who?" I asked, looking at the other nations.
"I'll sit across from you, Hawaii! Everyone, pick a seat!" Italy exclaimed happily.
I picked the seat in the upper left corner, which was a window seat, and Italy sat in the seat across from me.
I looked to my right, and noticed that Germany took the seat next to me.
I opened my mouth to ask him what he was going to say earlier, but I closed it before I looked like a gaping idiot.
A waitress walked to our table and said her name was Donna, then set menus down, and Italy – of course – started to flirt with her.
I browsed through the menu until I found the beverage section, and then looked through that and selected iced water as my drink.
After I picked my liquid refreshment, I closed my menu with the fancy of spaghetti and garlic bread on my train of thought.
I looked out of the window and smiled when I saw children playing on the sidewalk, and then I focused my gaze at Germany.
The sunlight cast a halo on his hair, causing it to look lighter, and I noticed a small smile on his face.
Suddenly, he looked at me, and his eyes became this fascinating bluish-turquoise type of color.
I sucked in a breath and felt an alien feeling in my stomach that only got more potent as we looked into each other's eyes.
Something in my heart tightened as I tore my gaze back out the window.
I prayed to God (or whatever ethereal entity up there) that I wasn't blushing, even though I felt heat on my face that wasn't from the sun.
Ugh why was I acting like a teenage girl all of a sudden?!
"Hawaii! Donna wants to know what you'd like to drink!" Italy exclaimed, worry on his face.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, ma'am! I'd prefer some iced water."
"It's alright. Well then, I'll go get your beverages." She replied, smiling as she walked away.
"Hawaii, are you okay?" Italy asked, "Are we boring you?"
"No, Italy, you guys aren't boring me! I'm thinking, and you know how I get. I'm never bored around you guys!" I explained, smiling at Italy
"Yay!" He cheered.
I nervously laughed and looked at Germany again.
He was making small talk with Japan, and I felt a small smile make its way onto my face.
I looked away before he could catch me gazing again, and started to talk about movies.
"Did you see 'Frozen'?" Italy inquired.
"Yeah! It was fantastic, but it'll never beat-"
"The 'Lilo and Stitch' movies?" He finished.;
"What are you two talking about?" Germany questioned, switching his gaze between Italy and I.
"You haven't heard of 'Lilo and Stitch?!'" I gasped, looking at the tall country.
"I haven't. What is it?"
I was dead silent for a moment, and then I declared, "Okay! That's it! We're having a movie night! Tonight!"
"Yay! A movie night! It'll be fun, Germany!" Italy cheered.
"I'm not go-"
"Yes, you are, Germany! No excuses!" I interrupted, pointing at him.
"Fine." He sighed, "But my dogs are going to be tended to before I leave!"
"Or you can let them run around in my backyard."
"Really?"
"Yeah! I used to have a dog, but she'd always attack my visitors, which led to me giving her away. I kept the doghouse and replaced everything else for when people brought their dogs to visit. In fact, I used to dog-sit." I clarified, "So your dogs can come over as well, Germany."
"And if it gets cold?"
"If they come inside, they can't be disorderly. Other than that, I'm fine with them in my house. But it's up to them. If they'd prefer to sleep in the doghouse, that's okay too." I responded.
"Okay. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Germany." I replied in a hushed voice, looking into his eyes as I said it.
For the second time, I was utterly captivated by those eyes and how the sunlight made them a whole other shade of blue. Heck – Germany had amazing eyes, even without the sun to change the way they looked.
"Oh! Umm… yeah! The movie night will begin at 5:30 p.m., and this is my address." I stammered, tearing my napkin into thirds and writing on two of the tree pieces. "You'll know my house when you see it."
"Hey… this isn't too far away from our house." Germany said
"Great! Not only will my place be easier to reach, but I can visit you guys!" I chirped.
"Umm… yeah. Great." Germany agreed, glancing at me.
That peculiar sensation that was in my stomach returned and my heart started to race.
I must be getting sick or something, because I was feeling so outlandish with my stomach and my racing heart and my face getting all hot and –possibly- red.
"Hawaii, are you okay? Are you sick?" Italy asked.
"I'm fine-"
"I should check to see if you have a fever." Germany cut in.
He put his hand on his forehead for a second or two, and then did the same to mine.
My heart was beating miles a minute and skipped beats and all sorts of things as my forehead began to tingle from his touch.
"Your temperature is a little high, but you don't have a fever." Germany concluded after what felt like eternity.
He drew his hand back, but I wanted his hand to linger on my forehead…
"Thank you." I murmured, keeping the shakiness out of my speech.
"You're welcome."
He faced Japan again, and I slowly turned to face Italy
"Hooray! You're not sick!" He quietly cheered, beaming.
"Yeah." I laughed, smiling weakly.
My forehead still had that tingling sensation from when Germany checked my temperature.
And I sat there, laughing and eating brunch, and I thought about all of the interactions between Germany and I.
I glanced at Germany again and sighed.
Why do I feel so odd?
Okay, my first Hetalia fanfic, and it took EIGHT PAGES AND 2,451 WORDS ON MS WORD TO WRITE THIS PROLOGUE.
I feel really proud because I recently got into Hetalia, and aghhhh Germany notice me...
I got the idea for the restaurant to be called Romano's cuz a.) Romano m'fing Vargas, so I had to and b.) There is an actual restaurant in northwest Indiana called Romano's, and yes... it is Italian food in an Italian venue.
BUT! You should tell me if something in this isn't canonically sound, because i'm trying to be very canon with this so characters aren't OOC, yet still have something with an interesting plot to it.
Also, I have two other ideas for Hetalia fics, and one WILL be made into a real fanfic! I pinkie promise!
I hope ya liked the prologue, and I hope you'll stay tuned, cuz I'm writing the "rough draft" of chapter 1 right now!
Bye! :)