"Alfred… you're not really doing this are you?" Matthew had grabbed his big brother's attention as he left the room. Matthew knew exactly what the paper he had given Arthur was. A declaration of independence. His brother was leaving the house and leaving him all alone. He was going to go to war with England, their- no, his- older brother.

"Mattie, I have to. I can't be treated like a child anymore! My people hate the taxing and every time I try to talk to him he ignores me! If this is how I get his attention, then I have to. Take care of yourself Matt." He tried to hug his brother but Matthew pushed him away.

"No! You can't just leave me here! You can't leave me alone!" He was close to tears.

"Come on Mattie don't be like that-"He was cut off.

"You don't get to call me that! Only my brother gets to call me that! If you do this, I'll never speak to you again! I hate you so much America! I hope you're happy!" the smaller blonde was in full-blown tears at this point.

"I hope you're happy too!" Alfred screamed in retaliation. "I hope you're happy rolling over and doing whatever he tells you! It's not like he cares anyway!" Canada's words were starting to get to him. He'd make Arthur so upset. A few tears of his own started to fall.

Matthew noticed them and whispered, "You don't have to do this you know. Just apologize to him. We can fix this and we can go to the yard and play like we did when we were little and forget this ever happened."

"Matt, I can't. My people need this, I have to. You don't understand. They want me to change, I can't just be a colony anymore. I'm not going to just go along with whatever he says anymore! I have to take a chance. Try… defying gravity maybe. And Arthur can't just control me anymore."

"Al, you're being ridiculous!" Matthew told him.

"I'm through accepting whatever he tells me just because he says so. I know I can't change everything, but unless, I try, I'll never know what I can or can't. I've held this back for too long, just because he says he cares. If this is what caring means, then I don't want him to care anymore. I'd rather buy my freedom than his love and acceptance!" he grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I'm leaving now, so just be safe ok?" He saw the sadness in his baby brother's eyes, which hit him deep, causing him to say something spur of the moment. "You know Mattie, if you revolt too, there's no way he can stop us, and you'll be free too. We'll be big countries just like we always dreamed about."

"As long as we work together, he can't stop us." He said, thinking about it for a moment.

"So do you want to?" Alfred was trembling slightly.

"Here," Matthew took off the coat he had slipped on and put it around his brother's shoulders. "I hope you're happy, now that you're choosing this."

"You too. I hope he doesn't push you too hard. Just be careful, k?" two pairs of blue eyes locked, both with a few tears falling.

They both heard Arthur's study door opening. "What's the meaning of this America? Canada, you better not be helping him!" Arthur screamed down the hallway.

"No, leave Mattie alone, he didn't do anything, it's me you should be upset with! And if you want to fight me, look west across the sea. I've been told to stand up for what I want the most. If I'm fighting alone, at least I'm gonna be free. If you come after me, think of me no longer as your brother. I will be a country and you can't stop me!" he was crying as he screamed this, running from England, France and Prussia coming to help him get away.

After he was gone and Arthur had locked himself away, Matthew sat alone in his own bedroom looking at the portrait painted of the two of them together. "I hope you're happy…"