I woke up one morning to the sun shining in through my window. I sat up, wearing sleeping shorts and a tank top. I rubbed my eyes and stretched. I slowly got up and put my short bathrobe on and went downstairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning, little one." I seriously jumped out of my skin. There was Ivan leaning up against the counter top.

"Ivan…what the hell? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I asked, nearly falling over.

"Of course not," Ivan replied with a smile.

"Jesus Christ! What are you doing in my house? How long have you been here?" I asked.

"I came here to be with you, little one, da?" he replied. He completely ignored my second question.

"How did you get in here anyway?" I asked. I went to the front door. It was slightly open and the doorknob and lock had been broken.

"Goddamn it, Ivan, you're buying me a new door!" I said, walking back into the kitchen. Ivan only smiled at me and began making me breakfast. I stared at the Russian as if he was an insane person, because he actually kinda was.

"Never mind. I'll buy my own door. Well, you're gonna have to leave in a minute anyway. I've got work to do," I said.

"You can skip work today, da?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," I replied bluntly. Ivan looked over at me, pouting like a little kid. I hated it when he did that.

"I-Ivan! Damn it, Ivan! T-that's not fair! Stop it!" I said. I could feel my cheeks getting hot which made Ivan pout even more. I groaned.

"Fine," was all I could say. His childish smile came back to his face. I sat down at the kitchen table. I light bulb suddenly went off in my head and I sprinted up the stairs back up to my room. I slammed it shut and locked it twice. I quickly got dressed and put a few things inside my backpack. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. When I was finally ready, I opened my window and looked down. It was only a two-story house. I would be fine. I closed my eyes and jumped. I landed hard on the ground. I had forgotten that I had planted rose bushes near the side of the house and I basically landed on some. I pressed my hand over my mouth to stop my screams. I took in a couple breaths and sucked it up. I stood up and began running like hell.

As soon as she bolted upstairs, Ivan could feel that something wasn't quiet right.

"Little one, what are you doing up there?" he asked. Ivan walked up the stairs and tried opening her door, but it wouldn't budge. He slammed the doorknob with his pipe and forced the door down.

"Little one, are you in here?" he asked. The room was utterly empty. He looked around and caught sight of the window and went over to it.

"Ah, so this is where you went," he said in and utterly, furious tone. Uh-oh…

I ran over to the park. I didn't stop running, but I was quickly running out of breath and I could feel that burning sensation in my lungs. Finally, I stopped to catch my breath, resting my hands on my knees.

"I see how it is little one." I froze, my heart stopping in its tracks. I looked up and saw Alfred walking his little bulldog. I sighed in relief.

"Al!" I called. Alfred looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Monica! Long time no see, girl!" he said happily. I didn't say anything. I was still catching my breath.

"Dude, are you alright? You look like you're going to pass out," Alfred said.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine… I'm just a little spooked," I said. Alfred smiled wider.

"Spooked by what exactly?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Ivan…"

"Oh yeah, I know what you mean," Alfred interrupted.

"Al, he's in my house! He broke down my door this morning!" I said breathlessly. Alfred's grin was swiped off his face.

"He didn't take advantage of you did he?" he asked in a low hiss, gritting his teeth.

"No, I'm fine Al," I replied. Alfred smiled again.

"Oh good. Cause' if he did, I would totally go all mad-superhero-ninja on him!" I smiled, but only because he was smiling so much. My smile faded.

"Yeah but I only have a little while to get away from him!" I said. I hugged him around his waist. "HELP ME AL!"

"Alright, Monica! Calm down! You can come to my place. There, I can at least keep an eye on you," Alfred said with a wink. I had to smile. I felt this overwhelming surge of love for this American boy.

"I love you, Al," I heard myself say. Alfred wrapped me in his arms.

"I love you too, Monica," he replied. He walked with his arm around me to his car.

All through the drive, I was quiet. Alfred turned on some music but turned it off again.

"You ok?" he asked. I sighed and looked at him. His expression was still very carefree but was also serious

"I just wonder if I made a mistake," I replied.

"Doing what? Escaping?" Alfred asked. I nodded.

"Monica, the dude broke into your house and did shit while you were sleeping! That, plus all the other stuff he's done to make you uncomfortable!" Alfred said.

"I know, but Al, this is Ivan we're talking about. He's the creepiest dude on the whole fucking planet. I don't know how he broke my doorknob and I didn't hear him," I replied.

"Wait, rewind a second. He broke your doorknob?" Alfred asked with disbelief in his voice.

"Yeah, it's all wobbly and actually fell out," I replied.

"Monica, that's like total vandalism! This can't keep going on like this!"

"You don't think I want this to end? I want this to end more than anyone else! I can't even sleep let alone go into the bathroom or something without feeling like he's there! He's taking over my life and I can't even think about you sometimes because of him!" I said, raising my voice. Alfred was silent for the rest of the way to his house. When we finally arrived at his house, I plopped onto the sofa. Alfred went into the kitchen and came back with an armload of junk food and two bottles of soda.

"Here ya go," he said, tossing me one. I caught it with one hand and laughed.

"You're just so old school," I said. Alfred laughed. He sat down and put his arm around me.

"Yeah, but I'm heroically old school," he said laughing.

He watched from the window, unnoticed by both of them. Waves of rage washed over him as the capitalistic pig put his arms around his little one. She was supposed to be with him! He sat down against the wall and bit his lip to try and stop his tears of anger. It wasn't fair! It was just plain unfair! Ivan could feel his angry tears dripping off his cheeks. She was his little one! His beautiful sunflower! His beautiful, precious sunflower! Ivan gripped the pipe in his hand harder. He looked through the window again just as the American kissed his sunflower on the forehead. Jealousy and rage overtook him. Finally, he stood and just completely, yet silently, lost it.

"Hey, Monica, I don't mean to freak you out, but I kinda feel like someone's watching us," Alfred said after a minute.

"Yeah, I feel it too," I said. My heart began pounding out of my chest.

"Really?" Alfred asked.

"Yeah, I almost feel like I'm in a horror film," I replied. Alfred shuddered a little at my comment, then, smiled at me. Suddenly, the door swung open.

"Da, but only America will die in this one," Ivan announced.

"Holy mother of fucking pearl!" I exclaimed, standing up. Alfred stood up too, his eyes widened but then narrowed, protective and angry. He took a protective stance in front of me.

"What do YOU want?" he asked.

"Monica," Ivan replied.

"Well, she's not going anywhere, so why don't you just leave?" Alfred asked in a lethal tone. Ivan lifted his pipe into the air, ready to strike. Alfred pulling the gun I didn't know he had out of his back pocket. He aimed it at Ivan's head and was ready to pull the trigger.

"NO! STOP IT YOU TWO!" I yelled. Alfred turned his attention to me just as Ivan brought his pipe down on his head. I began screaming at the top of my lungs as Ivan brought down his pipe on me too. I was out before I hit the floor.

She lay on her stomach, her forehead bleeding a little bit. He knelt down next to her. With two fingers, he took some of her blood and licked it. He shuddered in excitement.

"Your blood is the best kind, little one," he said, picking her up. Before he left, Ivan turned to the unconscious American.

"It's too bad you couldn't say goodbye, da? You'll never see her again," he said in a taunting voice. He turned and left, not even bothering to close the door. As he looked at her lying in his arms, he shuddered again. Finally, she was his.

I woke up with a nasty headache. I tried to move my hand to rub my eyes but my right wrist was chained to the wall. I couldn't see much, but I could see Ivan sitting across the room, smiling.

"Hello, my little sunflower." I just glared at him. He must have drugged me with something because I could barely move.

"Where am I, Ivan?" I asked him.

"You're home, little one," Ivan replied. I looked around at the room I was in. I narrowed my eyes even more.

"This is NOT my home," I said in a lethal tone.

"It is now," he replied. He smirked at me. That really pissed me off but also made me feel small. So small in fact, that I could feel my tears tugging at the corners of my eyes.

"Why are you doing this, Ivan? What do you have against me?" I asked, a tear beginning to roll down my cheek. Ivan's smirk faded. He stood and slowly made his way over to me. He put a finger under my chin and raised my eyes to his.

"I have nothing against you, little one. But, I had to do this. If I didn't, you would leave me and never come back," he said, his eyes full of sadness and pain. Normally, I would feel at least a little bit sorry for him, but I had no feelings of pity towards him. I looked at him straight in the eye.

"I hate you, Ivan," I said in a low hiss. Ivan slapped me hard across the face. Blood splattered on the wall behind me. My nose was gushing out blood like a leaky pipe.

"You shouldn't say things like that, little sunflower," Ivan said. He glared down at me and grabbed me by my ponytail and held me parallel to his face. I winced in pain. I couldn't move so I couldn't try and get free. I could suddenly feel sharp pains in my lungs, feelings I've had more often then I would like. Ivan suddenly brought me into a rough kiss, harshly biting on my lower lip and forcing his tongue into my mouth. I had no energy to protest but tears began falling from my eyes. I could hear my own breaths as if from a distance. Finally, Ivan stopped and pulled out of the kiss. I hated him even more when I saw he had a look of evil pleasure on his face. This wasn't my Ivan. This wasn't the Ivan I had always had a crush on. This was an insane madman. He tossed me back on the ground and turned his back on me.

"You'll never get away from me this time, little sunflower…. All I asked from you was your love and yet you denied me. Now you'll have no choice to love me," he said coldly. He left the room, leaving my limp, cold body on the ground, crying my very hardest.

He closed the door behind him and listened to her cries for a moment. Deep down, they were breaking his icy heart. He began walking down the hall, away from the sweet sound of her cries.

"Ah, of all the pains, the greatest pain is loving and loving in vain…" A single tear rolled down his cheek, though his expression remained cold and angry….