I know I should probably be posting more parts of my other story, but this thought came into my mind. I also just returned from Spain quite recently, so that's why my updates have been delayed.

Now, I know that you're probably thinking that this is weird- the characters and pairing- but there's a lot of symbolism in it. I got this idea because I've been going through this same experience and I just need to write it down. I chose these characters because I think Taiwan really resembles me, and I feel that Prussia represents the one that Taiwan likes, and the rest of the people mentioned resemble real people that I know. I tried to make some small adjustments to Taiwan's character to sort of fit mine, but still keep her as herself in the long-run. I also may have made Prussia a bit out of character, too. I hope this isn't too bad, as this plot has probably been used many times, but it was more of a personal thing for me.

Well, I hope you enjoy!

Characters:

Taiwan- Mei Xiao

Vietnam- Cai Nguyen

Prussia- Gilbert Beildshmidt

Hungary- Elizabeta Hénderváry/ Lizzie

United States of America- Al/Alfred

Spain-Antonio

South Korea- Yongsoo

I fiddled with a stand of my hair. The soft lock of dark brown or black hair twirling around my pointer finger. It was a habit that I grew out of when I was younger, but now I find myself doing it more and more. Besides, it was easier to see that than looking up and facing the reality that surrounded. Reality. No matter how much I tried, reality always shoved the truth in my face. It was the truth that I did not want to see- them. Sometimes, when I hear or see them, my feelings of usual bliss plummet to the ground so that I am only left brooding. Them; otherwise known as Gilbert Beilshmidt and Elizabeta Héderváry.

I groan at the thought of the two. Gilbert and I have known each other since I first started at this school. We used to be very close, almost to the point where I called him my best friend because I was never close with anybody else. Gilbert was, and still is, the social butterfly that everyone loved, and always knew the latest gossip stories. In fact, he was so carefree with his sharp remarks and jokes that made everyone laugh. On the other hand, I was never quite as much of a crowd-pleaser and, instead, preferred to stick my face in a manga rather than talk about the latest trend that was starting to spread like a wild fire. I suppose it was what made us different- me being the quieter one and him being the center of attention within the groups of the popular cliques- but we were still close, nonetheless. However, as time progressed, we started drift apart. Since I had high grades, I was moved to the upper classes while he stayed with everyone else. Actually, it was in my upper classes where I met my best friend, Cai Nguyen. Nevertheless, with the disparity in our classes and social levels, it was no wonder why we started to lose touch. Despite this, it was always quite obvious that he had a high opinion of me, which wasn't quite like the rest of the girls in our classes, that made our bond close, even if it didn't seem like it on the outside. When I was sad, I would go to him for comfort and he would help console me. I would tell him how much I messed up on something and all the things that could go wrong, while he just told me that it would not be that harmful. I still remember going to him when Cai and I had a fight, asking him for help. Others consisted of small argument that we would get into that ended with me crying and him feeling guilty. I would tell him my dark secrets and insecurities that I faced and still face today. I admitted that when I was younger, I wasn't nearly as bright as I am now, yet, I still feel the same way back then even after all the clawing it took to reach the peak of where I am today. He said he understood; which surprised me. Unlike most people, Gilbert had some kind of deformity that made his eyes a ruby color and his hair silver; it was something that made him different from everyone else. He explained to me that he also had to work hard to overcome people's judgements and criticisms about his deformity. Whatever the reason, we were pretty close, but that was only the problem.

It happened just this year- when all hell froze over. I was speaking with him and his other friend, Al, about the latest gossip spreading around the school. Well, more like him informing me since no one ever bothers to tell me nor Cai about it; though Cai doesn't want anything to do with it about seventy-five percent of the time. We were starting to talk about some of the latest crushes floating around the classrooms. Al admitted to liking a girl in one of my classes named Genevieve- which made both Gilbert and I laugh. Then, Gilbert started to admit that he liked Lizzie; otherwise known as Elizabeta Héderváry. Before I realized it, I felt a mixture of disgust and anger shoot through my veins.

Next thing I knew, I had already blurted out exactly what first came into my mind. "Lizzie's a bitch." Both Al and Gilbert held shocked expressions on their faces.

"What?" Gil questioned. "No, she isn't." He obviously didn't like my opinion of his new crush.

I glowered at the tone he used. "Yeah, she is. Have you seen all the makeup she wears and those tight pants that show off her butt?" Believe me, I have known Elizabeta for nearly four years, and I don't think she would be the type of girl Gilbert would like. In short, Lizzie was one of your stereotypical pretty girls. With her big doe-eyes that were covered in eyeliner and eyeshadow, to the tight leggings that she wore where you could easily make out the outlining of her panties.

"You don't know her like I do. You have no clue," he shot back. I felt a pang of guilt by the way he snapped at me; no, actually it was irritation. I have no reason to feel guilty. So, instead, I hung my head and looked at the ground. Al, somewhat oblivious as to what was going on, darted his head between Gilbert and I.

Gilbert and Al started to talk endlessly, while I stayed out of the conversation because I was still a bit taken aback. At that point, I didn't really want to be with either of them. I would rather wait until I got home to contemplate and sulk over this. I'd rather not be apart of this conversation; since it was already starting to make me feel bad.

"I wish I was with Cai," I muttered.

"What? You just want to criticize Lizze more?" he asked- I'm not sure if he meant it sarcastically or truthfully, but it still hurt.

"She's superficial. But, still, you wouldn't understand."

"Yes, because you think you know everything about how she is when you haven't even talked to her," Gil rolled his eyes. Now, let me just say this: that comment really hurt. It's because, no matter how much I try to say otherwise, he makes me sound like the superficial bitch. That is what really made me turn. My close friend, in an instant, took her defense when we've known each other far longer. The words were like shards of glass that penetrated the thin wall of defense that still held the façade that I was unaffected by his comment. Had it been anybody else that said this, I wouldn't have bat a single eyelash in their direction. But, because it was him, everything mattered. Before I knew it, small streams of tears started to make their way down my burning cheeks from my eyes. I quickly put my head down covered my face as to hide my embarrassment- even though it was futile. Once Gilbert saw this, his hard features softened and it was obvious that he felt bad.

"Hey, Mei," his voice was filled with guilt, replacing the stern tone he held just seconds ago. I covered my face more and turned the other way when he said my name.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. It's just that you-" he tried to apologize.

In an instant, my head shot up to meet his gaze with my furious one. "No, you don't understand! You don't know her like I do! You didn't have her threaten to sue you. You just don't . . ." My voice trailed off because it wouldn't matter anyway.

"Okay, okay, Mei. I don't know her," he tried to mend my already hurt feelings. I continued to sniffle. I don't know what came over me. I mean, I know I kind of deserved it for ragging on his crush, but he's my friend and he should at least try to partially stay on my side: it's what I would do. Yet, why was I so angry? Yes, Lizzie is a bitch, but what enabled me to get so frustrated?

That thought circled throughout my mind for the majority of the next day. What made me act so out of the ordinary? Usually, I tend to be more laid-back, but why did I get so worked up? I don't get it. It was probably because I knew Lizzie was a bitch and I never saw what Gil could see in her, right? He was being stupid? Yet, there was still an obvious answer that stared me right in the face that I refused to admit: Maybe, I liked Gilbert. No, there was no possible way I would ever do that. It was impossible. I could never like someone like him.

Nevertheless, the more this thought continued to haunt me, the more irritable I eventually became. Apparently, Cai noticed this and confronted me about it after school.

"Mei, what's wrong with you," Cai questioned while we sat under our favorite tree in our local park.

"W-what?" I stuttered- as I hadn't been paying much attention and was staring off into space.

"See, you weren't even listening! What's wrong?" Cai repeated.

I shook my head. "It's nothing important."

"Really? Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes. It's stupid and I really don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, okay. If it isn't anything important, then stop pouting," Cai lectured.

"I might try. Maybe," I put my head on my arms and started staring at the small blades of grass, instead.

"Oh, Xiao Mei, just spill," Cai's tone turned into one that was more comforting. "It'll be better to talk about it."

I raised my eyebrow at her and lifted my head. "You asked for it. Gil told me he liked Lizzie." I grumbled at the last part.

"And?" it was Cai's turn to raise her eyebrow.

"You wouldn't understand," I shook my head.

"Yeah. Maybe if you were a but more descriptive," Cai protested.

"Fine, he likes her. She's a bitch. Need I say more?"

"C'mon, Mei." So, I explained to her the whole story about how Al, Gilbert, and I had our discussion.

"So, you're angry that he likes her?"

"Yeah."

"Why? Is it because you're afraid she will tell him bad things about you so that he won't like you?"

". . . No."

"Then, why?"

"Because, she's perfect. She has the perfect body, hair, skin, she's athletic, she knows show to get people to like her, she's funny, you get the whole idea."

" . . . Oh."

With that, we stayed silent. I laid my head on my arms as I started to flick the small blades of grass. Cai, on the other hand, looked at her lap and would start doing something with her hands every once in a while. The silence was finally interrupted by Cai's single question.

"Mei . . . do you like Gil?"

That question. That one, single question, composed of only five words, had my head spinning and my breath shorten. It was what I had been trying to avoid for so long. Did I like Gil? No, that was impossible. I could never like someone as much of an idiot as him. Besides, he was too, as most people would say, out-of-my-league. Either way, I stayed silent, because my hands in my lap suddenly turned more interesting than the conversation we were currently having. Cai continued to stare at me while I took some time to contemplate my response.

"I'm not sure . . ." I muttered. "I don't like to think that way."

Cai nodded in understanding. "You know, it's okay if you do."

My had shot in her direction. "No, it's not! He's my friend. We've known each other for years. . ." my voice trailed off.

"It's normal for that to happen," Cai added.

I groaned. Why? Why? This is not the case? However, what is it then? It couldn't possibly be anything else. "Crap, I think I like him . . ."

I lied on my back and stared at the ceiling of my room. The white surface was smooth, and the light from my lamp on my night stand illuminated it to make it appear an almost tannish color. I had my earphones on, while humming the catchy tune to a song that my cousin from Korea, Yongsoo, introduced me to. I was hoping that the catchy beat of the music would distract me from my irritating thoughts, but it only came out as a very faint background noise. I groaned and rolled over so that I was staring out my window. I really hate myself right now. Why did this have to happen to me? I thought stuff like this only happens in those cheesy K-dramas where the girl is trapped in a love triangle with a boy and his girlfriend. This is not supposed to happen to me! And, out of all people, it's him! Why can't it be someone that's normal like Antonio, but no, because fate just loves me so much. I mean, I've liked other guys, but compared to this, I guess they were more just slight infatuations because I've never been this jealous towards someone. Although, I would be lying if I had I've never been jealous of Lizzie. It's just that she's tall, pretty, petite, outgoing, and almost everything that I'm not.

Besides, I would be a fool to think that Gil would ever see anything in my almond-shaped eyes and dark hair, rather than Lizzie's emerald-colored doe-eyes and long, golden-brown locks. Sometimes, I wonder if I may not be pretty to other people because of my different features. Yes, I know that every race has its own beauty, but when you look in designer magazines and attend the school that I do, where people from European decent make up a large amount of the school's population, then it's not very common where people explore the beauty of other races. I suppose this is common for many immigrants. Still, sometimes, I wonder can't help but wonder what I would look like if I were from Western decent. At times, I wish there was a mirror where I could view myself, or the equivalent to myself, as Western; just to see what I would look like in Western terms of beauty. It sounds terrible, not to like yourself or your race, but I feel as though I'm sometimes discriminated against because of my Asian decent.

Despite looks, even our personalities contrast. Lizzie is used to being the one that everyone pays attention to and the one that nobody forgets. On the other hand, I've always been told I'm more of a dreamer who would space out during discussions and the one that people tend to sometimes forget about. So, as you can see, we really aren't that much alike.

I was practically falling asleep while the chorus to 2NE1's Go Away started blasting through my ear drums. I always thought those girls moping about their unrequited love in the movies was so cheesy, but now . . . well, I'm not moping, I'm contemplating. Still, I wish Gil would at least take some notice of me. I wish that he would just turn around one day and see Lizzie and what she really is behind her angel-like exterior. Sure, she's pretty, but what about all the stuff we've been through? Sure, I may be more inclined to stick my nose in a manga than dress in clothing that looks like it had been spray-painted on my body, but I still have a lot to offer. I mean, we still talk and stuff, but all that he thinks of me as is a friend. Luckily, he knows that I hate talking about Lizzie, so he leaves that topic untouched. Even so, there are times where I wish that I could tell him how I feel. I wish I could tell him that I really like him and how he's too much of dumb-struck dork to see it, but I can't. I can't because I know both he and Lizzie like each other, and I really don't need Lizzie all over my ass, again. Sometimes, I wonder what would happen if I did. However, that will never happen. Gil will only see me as a friend, and never anything else. My eyes were starting to droop when the song What Is Love by EXO-M started to play. Its steady rhythm lulled me to sleep so that I fell asleep with a small smile on my face that replaced the grimace that I was wearing just seconds ago.

I'm contemplating on whether or not to keep this a one-shot.

What do you think?