A/N: Hallo minna-san! It's Jess!

This is another short story I wrote for LA class. It took up most of my Sunday... Oh well.

It's a cute little story, I think. Fair warning, America is incredibly OOC in this. It's on purpose, so it shouldn't be too bad, but I thought I should warn you.

The title... well, it's that for now. The inspiration was from Brother Complex (the Hetalia song based on Remote Control), but it really doesn't have much to do with the song. If anyone has any better ideas, please tell me! Well, after you read the story, of course.

I think that's enough for an author's note, so we shall go onto the story!

Matthew trudged through the halls of Hetalia High, dragging his feet behind him. Nothing had gone right for him today… but then again, nothing ever did.

At first glance, Matthew looked like a typical, happy teenage boy. He had light blonde hair dangling above his shoulders and soft violet eyes. Matthew wore glasses, since his eyesight wasn't the best, but he didn't mind. In fact, he thought he looked better with them. Matthew often wore a smile on his face, and was always willing to help anyone.

All this would make you think that Matthew was a relatively popular person, right? Wrong. Matthew was never noticed. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how loud he spoke up, no one ever saw him. Matthew was practically invisible.

This was mostly due to Matthew's twin brother, Alfred. Because they were twins, they looked the same - save for their hair styles, height, and eye colour. But in terms of personality, they were worlds - no, universes - apart. Alfred was loud and obnoxious, while Matthew was quieter and more thoughtful. Alfred was popular and loved by everyone, and Matthew was… well, invisible! But somehow, people still managed to mistake Matthew for Alfred.

Like right now. "Hey, Al!" One of Alfred's "groupies", as Matthew called them, came up to him. "I thought you left already?"

Matthew sighed. "I'm Matthew… you know, Alfred's brother?"

"Huh?" the guy asked, confused. "Alfred has a brother? I need to tell him right now!" And with that, he sprinted off.

Matthew sighed again, before he turned and left the school. His sneakers thudded on the sidewalk as he walked and his backpack straps dug into his shoulder. Matthew groaned and adjusted his heavy backpack, before continuing to walk. It wasn't that he had a lot of homework - well, actually, he did, but one of the perks of being invisible was that teachers kept forgetting he was in the class, so there was really no point in doing homework. But the reason Matthew had his textbooks with was because of his brother. Alfred again. Alfred didn't really care about schoolwork, but after their parents threatened to ground him for life if he didn't bring his grades up, he started trying harder and doing his homework.

But "doing his homework" simply meant forcing Matthew to do it instead. Matthew didn't really mind, since at least this way he was learning things. But Alfred was just so annoying…

Finally, Matthew reached his house. Unlocking the door, he stepped inside to see…

Nothing?

This was odd. Usually Alfred would come bounding down the steps, yelling about how he was so happy to see Matthew. Then, Alfred would drag Matthew to his room, lay out all the homework he had, and then ask Matthew to "help" with it. But the house was relatively quiet, except for the sound of Matthew's father cooking and his mother cleaning. Maybe Alfred wasn't home yet? Matthew decided to go check. He trudged upstairs, dragging his backpack with him. He reached Alfred's room and pushed open the door.

"Oh, you are home," Matthew smiled at his twin, who was lying on his bed. "Why didn't you come downstairs?"

"I didn't want to," Alfred muttered, flipping over.

Matthew was confused. Alfred seemed to be in a bad mood - which never happened. Taking the textbooks out of his backpack, Matthew continued talking. "So, can you pass me your homework?"

"I don't have any," Alfred mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow.

Matthew raised an eyebrow. Now he was really confused. "I know you have homework, Al. We're in the same class, you know?"

"I'll do it myself…" Alfred mumbled.

Matthew's eyes widened. He dropped the textbook he was holding and it fell to the ground with a bang. "What?" Matthew asked.

"You heard me," Alfred suddenly turned around and glared at Matthew. "You can leave now."

Matthew was still extremely disoriented from Alfred's sudden outburst, but he decided to leave Alfred be. It was good that Alfred wanted to do his work by himself, right?

But as Matthew exited Alfred's room and strided down the hall to his own, his mind felt weighed down by many, many doubts.

"ALFRED! WHERE IS YOUR HOMEWORK?!"

"Shoot…" Alfred muttered under his breath, before facing their teacher. "I left it home, I think."

"That is NOT acceptable! Alfred, you've raised your grades by a lot this year. I don't want them falling back down. You have until tomorrow to get the assignment to me," the teacher stated, glaring at Alfred. "Is that clear?!"

"Yes, ma'am," Alfred replied, rolling his eyes.

At that moment, Matthew walked into the class. Another benefit of being practically invisible - he could skip class and walk in late without getting invisible. Matthew appeared in the doorway just in time to hear their teacher yelling at Alfred. What? he thought. Alfred didn't do his homework?

When the bell rang, Matthew rushed up towards Alfred, meaning to ask him why he lied. For a second, Matthew forgot about his invisibility. "Al!" Matthew called, trying to get his twin's attention. Did you-"

Suddenly, Matthew was run over by Alfred's groupies. Matthew picked himself off the ground, wincing in pain, as he listened to their exclamations.

"You didn't do your homework? That's awesome, dude!" one shouted, excited.

"Welcome to the dark side! Glad you finally decided to join us!" another grinned, clapping Alfred on the back.

Alfred ignored them. He saw Matthew watching, and locked eyes with him briefly, before looking away. "I never said anything about not doing it. What if I did forget it?"

One of Alfred's female admirers smiled cutely at him, obviously flirting. "Oh, how funny, Alfred! You shouldn't joke around so much!" She batted her eyelashes at him, hoping for a reaction.

"Sure," Alfred deadpanned, not even looking at her. "Let's go." And with that, the large ensemble walked off, leaving Matthew alone in the large hallway. Matthew sighed. Maybe Alfred actually did forget his homework. Hopefully that was the case…

Matthew wanted to trust his brother. He wanted to be happy that Alfred was doing his own schoolwork and not relying on him. But as the days went by, Matthew's mind was getting more and more clouded by doubts.

Alfred's grades continued to drop, no doubt caused by him not doing his homework. This led to yelling matches between Alfred and their mother, which was when Matthew would run and hide in his room, or leave the house at once. Alfred's personality seemed to be changing as well. In a matter of days, he'd changed from the happy, oblivious, self-proclaimed 'hero' that Matthew always knew to a grumpy teenager that didn't listen to anything anyone said. Matthew, as well as their parents, thought it was terrible, but for some reason, Alfred's friends ate it right up.

But worst of all, Alfred would mysteriously vanish at times. He'd get up early, before anyone in the house was awake, leave some note saying "I went to school, don't worry about me" or something like that, and just be gone for the whole day. He wouldn't even be at school, despite what his notes said. In the evening, once Alfred and Matthew's parents realized Alfred was gone, they'd start panicking at once, fearing the worst. Then, just when they were ready to call the police, Alfred would walk through the door, acting like everything was perfectly normal.

Today had been no different. Matthew had woken up at 7:00 am as usual, dragged himself to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and then walked over to Alfred's room, only to find him missing.

Matthew had gone to school, just in case Alfred did show up, but, as expected, Alfred wasn't there. By "stealthily" listening to what Alfred's "friends" were saying, they didn't know where he was either. That meant Alfred had skipped again…

Now, six hours later, Matthew was aimlessly wandering around the city. If I keep walking, maybe I'll be able to find Alfred? Matthew asked himself. Then he sighed. What was the point? Why was he worrying about Alfred so much? Had Alfred ever done anything for him? No. So why was he still bothering to look for him? Because he's your brother, a little voice in Matthew's head sang. He's family. Matthew sighed. It was true, but… Matthew was contemplating having an argument with the voice, when suddenly, a flash of blonde hair caught his eye. Matthew gasped and whipped around, his glasses nearly flying off his face.

There, standing in the middle of the street, was Alfred. Matthew immediately took off at a sprint to reach him.

"Alfred!" Matthew yelled, as loud as he could.

"Ma… Mattie?!" Alfred exclaimed, a look of shock on his face. "What are you doing here?!"

"I was looking for you," Matthew explained. "I was… worried."

Suddenly, the shocked expression was taken over by a dark glare. "I don't need you worrying about me!" Alfred snapped. "I'm not a baby! I can take care of myself!"

"Al...fred?" Matthew's voice trembled as the words left his mouth. As far as he could remember, Alfred had never yelled at him before… What was going on?

"You heard me!" Alfred shouted. "I don't need my little brother bugging me! Go home and suck up to dad or something like that!" With that, Alfred spin around and stomped off.

Matthew gasped. Alfred's words cut into him like a sharp, cold blade. His head was spinning, and he felt dizzy. There was something wrong with Alfred. There was no doubt about that. But what?

"Alfred… I promise… I'll find out what's bothering you," Matthew murmured to himself. "I swear."

Matthew did keep his promise. Or at least, he tried. Matthew began following Alfred around, to see if he could find anything out. He'd thought it was a great idea at the time, since he was invisible and all, but it didn't work. For some reason, Alfred could actually see him now. Matthew remembered the first time he'd attempted to shadow Alfred…

Matthew had woken up early. Really early. As in, 3 am in the morning.

"Ahhhh… I'm so tired…" Matthew groaned, yawning. "The things I do…" Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Matthew had gotten dressed and brushed his teeth as quietly as he could. At first, it seemed like he'd succeeded, as he didn't notice anything unusual going on. But after a while, Matthew noticed that nothing had happened. As the clock in his room ticked, Matthew's eyelids began to feel heavy. No… Matthew thought. I need to stay awake… But Matthew's thoughts all but disappeared as he gave himself up to the darkness.

BANG! Matthew's eyes snapped open and he immediately sat up. What time was it? Alfred hadn't left already, had he? Glancing at the clock revealed that it was about 5:00 am in the morning. Matthew had been sleeping for about an hour.

"Ugh…" Matthew mentally slapped himself for falling asleep. How could he have been so dumb? He rushed over to his bedroom door, and opened it slightly. Peeking through the crack, he saw that the light in the bathroom was on. Could it be Alfred? Matthew asked himself. He decided to watch for a while longer.

Several minutes later, Matthew was beginning to fall asleep again. Suddenly, Alfred appeared from the doorway. He glanced at Matthew's slightly ajar door for a moment, and Matthew felt his heart skip a beat. Matthew didn't even dare to breathe until Alfred looked away. Alfred turned and jogged down the stairs. Matthew could hear his feet thudding against the floor as he left. Matthew waited a moment, then opened his door and silently followed his brother. Before this whole ordeal, Alfred usually didn't notice him in the morning, so why should today be any different? Right?

Wrong. Matthew was immediately noticed by Alfred, who then proceeded to interrogate Matthew about why he was up so early.

"Mattie! What the heck are you doing?" Alfred asked suspiciously. "You're never up this early."

"Uh…" Matthew stuttered, racking his brain for an excuse. "I, um, have something to do. How about you? I thought you liked sleeping in?" Matthew asked, feigning ignorance.

Alfred just glared at Matthew. "As if you don't know," he scoffed. "Well, whatever. I'm leaving. Don't follow me." And with that, Alfred marched out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Matthew thought it was a miracle that their parents didn't wake up.

"Sorry, Al… I'm going to have to lie to you," Matthew whispered, more to himself than anything. He waited a few minutes, then left the house, shutting the door quietly behind him. "This is for your own good."

Matthew managed to follow Alfred for a good five minutes before he got caught. He had been hiding behind a building to avoid Alfred, when a man suddenly ran into him, sending him flying. Right where Alfred had been looking.

"Mattie!" Alfred had shouted angrily. "What are you doing here?! Were you following me?"

"N-no…" Matthew had replied. "I was just going this way."

"So why were you hiding behind a wall?" Alfred asked again.

"Uh… you said not to follow you… I thought you'd think I was and be mad, so I hid…" It was a terrible excuse, but for some reason, Alfred believed it.

"Well… That's okay, I guess…" Alfred replied. "But seriously, don't follow me. Understood?" Matthew had nodded. Alfred, pleased with the response, had then walked away, glancing behind him every few steps to make sure Matthew wasn't actually following him.

Matthew smiled and waved, pretending to be happy. As soon as Alfred had left, he dropped his hand and sighed. He had been sure this would work! How had it gone so badly?

Matthew sighed. Every time he'd tried to follow Alfred, Alfred would notice him within 15 minutes. Alfred had never been able to notice Matthew unless it was just the two of them - even if Matthew walked right past him on the streets, Alfred still wouldn't see him. But for some reason, now, Alfred could see Matthew each and every single time. And thus, Matthew's plans always ended up in a bust.

But Matthew refused to give up. He didn't follow Alfred around every day, because as thick-headed as Alfred was, he'd definitely notice something, but he did get up at three in the morning about three times a week, just in case he did find something out. Other times, he'd attempt to locate Alfred after school had ended, or sometime in the afternoon if there was no school. Neither of those things had ever worked, but Matthew was determined to help his brother.

"Well… let's try this again, shall we?" Matthew asked himself. He dashed downstairs, grabbing his favourite red hoodie as he sprinted out the door.

Matthew headed for the school first. Usually he wouldn't bother checking around the school, but he'd skipped today, so he didn't know if Alfred was there or not. There was a very, very slim chance of Alfred being there, but as long as there was at least a one percent chance, it couldn't be ruled out.

As Matthew approached the school, he heard sounds of yelling. Huh? he asked himself. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon, so school was long over. So why were people still here? Matthew decided to go check it out. He walked towards the direction where the yelling was coming from. Suddenly, a voice cut through the air. It sounded familiar, but Matthew couldn't place it. Matthew gritted his teeth and began to run.

After what seemed like an eternity, Matthew finally reached the place where all the voices were coming from.

There, surrounded by a bunch of his "friends", was Alfred.

Matthew froze in his tracks. Alfred was beat up and bruised, with several cuts on his face. His so-called friends, were standing over him, a mad, yet smug look on every single one of their faces.

"So? Have you learned your lesson yet?" a tall, dark-haired one sneered. He picked up Alfred by his shirt. "I thought we were friends, Alfred. But you just had to diss us. Well, this is what you get!"

"Oh, Ally!" a blonde-haired girl cooed, her smile dripping with venom. "You don't need to get hurt like this! Why don't we just be friends again?"

Alfred turned his head to glare at her. "Hell no! You're all so freaking fake, damn it! Like you were even my "friends" in the first place! You should just-" he was suddenly cut off with a punch to the face.

"Hmph. You talk big, but you sure can't back it up. If I'd known you were this pathetic, I would've never decided to talk to you," the dark-haired teen smirked at Alfred, drawing his arm back for a punch…

Matthew snapped. He dashed forwards (Alfred would later claim he was "running at the speed of light"), shoving people out of the way. His violet eyes blazed with fury as he rushed towards his brother. Nothing else mattered.

BAM! The dark-haired boy went flying, smacking into another teen as he flew by. Alfred dropped to the ground, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Ma… Mattie?!" Alfred exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"

Before Matthew could reply, another person stepped in front of the two. "What the hell do you think you're doing to George?!" he yelled furiously. "Do you wanna die?!"

Matthew glared at him. "I could ask you the same thing!"

"Grrrr…" the teen growled, his eyes burning with hate. "Come at me! I'll kill you!"

Matthew was ready to give the other boy a thorough beating-up. He was about to charge at him when there was a tap on his shoulder.

It was Alfred. "Hey, Matt! This isn't right! The hero should be the one saving you!" Alfred grinned, all animosity towards Matthew forgotten. "I'm fighting, too!"

Matthew stared at Alfred for a second, before grinning. "All right, Al! Let's go!"

"What the hell? They're too strong!" someone yelled, breathing heavily.

"Argh…" the dark-haired boy, the one called George, growled. "Let's go! We don't have time to deal with this!" He took off, and the others all followed, some even sprinting away in fear. The only ones left were Matthew and Alfred.

"Ah… it's over…" Alfred sighed, falling back onto the grass.

Matthew looked at his twin brother for a second, before lying down next to him. "So… Al?"

"Yeah? What's up, dude?" Alfred asked casually, as if the past few weeks had never happened.

"Er… so, what was up with that? You… I mean…" Matthew stuttered, trying to word his question properly.

Alfred got it, though. "I…" Alfred paused, before turning to Matthew. "Mattie? Promise not to laugh, okay?" When Matthew nodded, he continued. "I… was having problems. I was tired of of being so popular and having such fake people around me. And…"

"And?" Matthew questioned.

Alfred sighed, letting his hair fall in front of his face. "I… I was jealous of… you…" Alfred whispered in a voice so quiet Matthew almost missed it.

"What?" Matthew asked, shocked. "You were jealous of… me?"

"Yeah…" Alfred murmured. "You… you've got a better life than me. I mean, you've got such a good relationship with dad, for one thing… Mom just yells at me and stuff, and dad doesn't care about me that much… well, not as much as you. And you don't have anyone yelling at you over your grades. You can basically do whatever you want… I guess I'm jealous of that."

Matthew gaped at Alfred. "Are you kidding me?! You're jealous of ME?" he asked in shock. "I mean, Al… I'm invisible! What's so good about that? People don't ever see me, unless they're looking for you. And then, they never remember me. No matter how hard I try… It just doesn't work. And also, isn't having people fuss over your grades better than being forgotten? There's no reward for doing my best work when doing homework, because no one ever sees it! Isn't it nice to have people say "good job" and smile at you? Well, I don't get that! Al, I was jealous of you. You're the hero of the school, practically. For all the popularity, you weren't mean, you had good grades… even if that was because of me… anyways, you're good at sports, and you're so enthusiastic about things that you can make anyone smile. You've clearly got the better life…"

Alfred and Matthew stared at each other in silence for a moment, contemplating what the other said. Then, suddenly, Alfred laughed.

"Man… we're idiots, aren't we?" Alfred sighed, turning to face the sky. "I mean, we're brothers… we're right next to each other… and yet there's all these misunderstandings…"

Matthew was silent for another moment, before also turning towards the sky. "Well… I guess we should talk, eh? We won't know what's going on if we don't…"

Alfred smiled. "Yeah. Let's do that."

The next day, Matthew and Alfred were back at school. But things weren't exactly the same…

"Hey! It's Alfred and… that guy," someone whispered. "You know, the guys who…" his voice trailed off as Alfred and Matthew got closer, but they both heard him nonetheless.

"Tch…" Alfred scoffed.

"Al, ignore him," Matthew told his brother. "That's what I do."

"Yeah, yeah," Alfred stuck his tongue out. "Whatever you say, Mattie."

Matthew smiled at his brother, and the two continued down the hallway. They were walking through the halls of Hetalia High again… but this time, things were different.

Because everything had gone right this time.

A/N: Well? How was it? Not too cliche? Well, it is kinda cliche... you know what? Nvm.

Yeah, France is the dad and England is the mom. Haven't decided if it should be fem!England or just normal England... it didn't really matter, so I just left it as "mom".

Anyways, about Chara Song Recording: I hope to have Ich Liebe up tomorrow, but I don't guarantee it. I am very sorry, btw.

Well.. I have nothing else to say so...

Hasta la pasta~ see you around!