Alice nearly tripped over her own feet as her friend Amelia dragged her down the hallway at break-neck pace, and out into the back courtyard of the old highschool building.

"Ok girl, this whole thing has been just drivin me crazy! Spill." She said as they came to a stop.

"What on Earth are you talking about?" The young woman said as she gasped for air. She had never been quite fond of being dragged around. "Spill what?"

"Oh don't give me that, I saw the way you were eying that French hottie earlier~"

Alice blinked "I beg your pardon?"

"Francis you dummy. You've got the hots for him."

"I most certainly do not!" Alice stuttered out in reply. "How could you even think that? Me like that...that...frog? You're delusional!"

"Oh, am I?" Amelia smirked. "I saw the way you blushed when he gave you that flower on Valentine's day. In fact, you blush a lot around him, I think you've liked him for a while."

"I'm not going to stand here and listen to you insult me." The British girl mumbled, turning to walk away only to have her arm snatched up by her American counterpart.

"Ease up would you? I'm only tryin to help out here. It's obvious Francis likes you too."

"No, he doesn't"

"Come on, he flirts with you all the time."

"He flirts with everyone."

Amelia huffed. "Don't you notice that it's different with you?"

Alice was losing her patience, something which seemed to happen at a much quicker pace when it came to Amelia. "It only seems that way because I'm the only girl that hasn't fallen head over heals for him!"

"But you have! Why wont you admit it?" The girl waited for a reply from her moody friend, but when one didn't come right away...

"Hey...hey Alice, you in there?"

"You want to know why huh?" She all but seethed out, here head hung as if speaking to the ground. "You really want to know, fine. It's because I'm selfish."

Amelia tilted her head, clearly struck and confused. "What?"

"It's because I'm selfish alright! If Francis found out that I really do like him then...then he would win."

"Ali...you're not makin any sense. What would he win?"

"His game, his little personal competition. Don't you get it?" She looked up to her friend now. "The only reason he cares one sniff about me is because he doesn't have me wrapped around his finger."

"So he likes you cause you make it look like you hate him?"

"Exactly. And...and if he wins then..."

"Then you get tossed to the curb, am I followin this right?"

"Yeah..." Alice lowered her head again, almost ashamed of such a confession "I'd just be one more girl. God, how terrible am I for wanting to think that I'm special to him right now? I don't want to tell him because I don't want be nothing again. There, I bled my heart out to you, are you happy now, Amelia?"

"Yeah, I uh...I gotta run, see you later Alice!"

"What?!" The Brit watched in horror as her friend all of a sudden dashed around the side of the building. "What the hell! Get back here dammit! I just told you everything!" She feared horribly that her friend was off to start to run her mouth, but that thought was erased when she felt a tap on her shoulder and she froze where she stood.

"Bonjour, Alice my dear." Her heart rate sped up as she turned slightly. Francis smiled at her.

"How...how much of that did you hear?" She managed to mumble out. His smile never wavered.

"Just about all of it."

And then, just like that, her heart broke. It hit with a deadening thud at the bottom of her ribcage, winding her, breaking her. The young woman's whole world seemed to crumble right before her eyes as she gazed upon that smug, smiling face and those dazzling blue eyes. Everything was over. She was nothing again, just like before Francis had started at her school. He had won.

Alice nodded curtly and turned to leave. She wasn't going to give him anymore satisfaction on his little victory, wasn't going to pain herself to stick around in awkwardness and despair.

"Where are you going ma cheri?" He grabbed her by the hand, which she immediately ripped away, turning back with a glare.

"Don't do that, frog,"

"Well my apologies, I'm just use to people being more affectionate after a love confession."

Her eyes widened.

"That, that was not a-"

"Stop. Stop right now Alice, it was. Don't deny it."

"I will deny it all I want!"

"Only because you are afraid to lose moi~"

Her breath hitched. "H-how dare you...how dare you say that and try to use it against me!"

"But it is true, non?"

"It shouldn't be, I shouldn't care a wink for an arse like you."

"Oh, but you do. You do and you know what Alice? Je t'aime aussi~"

She couldn't help the blush at such a statement. "Don't lie to me dammit."

"I don't!"

"You do! You just want to mess with me."

"Oh please, if I didn't like, non, love you, would I be skipping class right now? Like you are I might add, little miss tardy."

A glare of irritation.

"If I don't care about you, then why do I shower you with insults, laced lovingly with compliments, or bring you, only you, flowers, or ask you out constantly? Which you always deny I might add."

"Because you just want to win."

"Non! This is not a game cheri, it is because I am in love!" He moved swiftly, pulling the pigtailed girl into a tight embrace. "And you love me as well, so let us pretend no longer!"

"Oh shut up would you? You're a drama queen." Alice retorted, hoping her red face was hidden in the soft fabric of the Frenchman's shirt. Her crumbled walls slowly seeming to rebuild.

"You shut me up then~" Francis chuckled out.

"Are you implying I should kiss you?"

"Non. I am implying that you should kiss me, and then I should snog, as you Brits would say, the living daylights out of you since we we're already skipping class~."

"I thought you were suppose to be nothing but utterly romantic?"

"Is that not? Well, I thought you were suppose to utterly hate me, so there."

"Fair enough, I suppose" She said with a smile.

Neither were seen at school until the following day.

/OOO/

Omg I wrote my first hetero FrUK! I feel accomplished :) Let me know how it was!