Hello, and welcome to the 70's. (Or shall we say, Gimme some skin, man!)

First off, let's just get it out there that this is not a pairing fanfiction. USUK is there if you squint, but we are NOT going to make this yaoi. There will be history and friendship and feels, and it is going to be awesome! (I mean, far out!) There will also be drug use, but WE ARE IN NO WAY ENDORSING THE USE OF DRUGS. All of the drugs referred to in this story are bad for you. Don't use them. Ever.

This story is a collaboration, meaning that I (Slovenskych) will write the first few chapters, and Nymphy-Ryuu-chan will write the rest. Hippie slang "translations" and history notes are found at the bottom. We hope you enjoy!

Ryuu-chan's note: Hello, everyone! Nice to meet y'all! As Slo said, she'll be writing the first chapters (with a few suggestions every now and then from me), then I'll take over the world. Er, the story, the story of course (With a few suggestions every now and then from her). Also, don't mind her, I'm not confident my part is going to be that awesome, but hey, I'll do my best!

Prologue: Never Trust the Man

Four people including two women were shot and killed on Kent State University today during renewed demonstrations involving hundreds of students. Six people were reported shot in addition to those killed. The four were killed during a clash between the students and members of the Ohio National Guard near University Commons. Brigadier General Robert Canterbury, assistant General of Ohio, said the fatal shootings occurred as a group of guardsmen were moving back to the commons, after dispersing several hundred students with tear gas. "The order was given to return to the Commons," General Canterbury said, "and as the troops moved out, a crowd estimated at several hundred closed in and assaulted the guardsmen with rocks and pieces of concrete. A single shot was fired," the officer added, "Closely followed by several other shots, these by guardsmen." Officers with the guard immediately ceased fire and continued to move to the commons where ambulances were dispatched to move the casualties. This is John Preston Smith reporting from Kent State University for WKSU News.

Alfred bolted up the hill to where the shiny black helmets of the National Guard stood poised. He could see their rifles, black, sick, guilty of treason. His breath burned down his throat, heart roaring against his ribcage, eyesight blurred with the hot tears that seared down his cheeks.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" He screamed. It was stupid, he knew it. Throwing a tantrum would do nothing to fix what had just happened, but he was so angry and lost and scared he didn't know what else to do. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THIS COUNTRY! IT WAS YOUR JO-OB!" Alfred's voice cracked and he fell to his knees. He curled his fingers around the grass, trying to control the hysteria that was making him choke on his own breath.

Oh God, please tell me this is a dream...

"Alfred!" a woman's voice screamed. "Alfred, we have to leave!"

He shook his head, eyes still locked onto the Guard. "No… no…"

A hand grabbed his shoulder and he looked up to see a hippie girl, her forest green eyes wild with panic. "Come on!" She grabbed his wrist and forced him to his feet, dragging him away. He stumbled after her, his legs like jelly, words tumbling out of his mouth in a helpless mantra.

"No, no, no, no…Oh my god… oh my go-od…"

He kept turning back and staring at the motionless bodies on the ground, willing them to stand up and dust off their pants. He wanted them to laugh and say, "It was totally a joke, dudes! All part of the demonstration, dig it?"

But nobody got up from the dead. Not Kennedy. Not King. Not the soldiers in Nam. And yet still Alfred was foolish enough to stare at their faces in the in the coffins, on the jungle floor, and wait for them to open their eyes and smile at him one more time.

Hey, America. Mind watching the kids for me this afternoon?

No problem, John.

It was all a blur. The screams, the sirens, the streaks of people running in all directions. Alfred watched the scene as if he were a spirit inside of someone else's body. A familiar weight of guilt crushed him, telling him that he should have been able to stop this. But the question screamed in his head, uselessly trying to justify himself: How could I have known… How could I have known...

Somehow he ended up in the back of the Volkswagen van, squished between his fellow hippies. Their faces were ghostly white with shock, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

Frank shook his head. "Now the fuzz are shooting white people, too. This isn't about race anymore, dudes. This is might as well be the fuckin' Soviet Union."

Alfred's throat tightened. He turned to the girl sitting next to him, the one who had dragged him away. He had to struggle to find his voice before he managed to croak,

"Jen?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what the First Amendment of the Constitution says?"

She shook her head. "Alfred, just look outside. There ain't no Constitution no more."

At those words, it felt like someone had reached into his throat and turned his stomach inside-out. Alfred staggered across the van and opened the door to wretch into the parking lot. He stared at the splatter of blood in horror.

No Constitution… Jesus Christ, I'm dying.

After climbing back into his seat, Alfred covered his face with his hands and started crying. He cried and he cried, and he couldn't make himself stop.

Hippie Slang:

The Man - anyone in authority, usually the government.

Nam - Vietnam

dig it? - get it?

the fuzz - the police

History Notes:

The Kent State Shootings occurred on May 4th, 1970. Hundreds of students were protesting an announcement made in April by President Nixon that the Vietnam war would be expanded into Cambodia. They backed the National Guard into a corner and started throwing rocks. The Guard felt threatened, and in their panic and confusion, fired into the crowd. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis. (I copied the news report from a 1970 recording, so it's only natural that some of the information was incorrect)

The Shooting caused the only nationwide student strike in U.S. history. Over 4 million students protested and over 900 American colleges and universities closed during the student strikes. Protests in D.C. were so violent that President Nixon had to be kept in Camp David for his own protection.

John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, an event that shattered America, and in my headcanon, would have deeply hurt Alfred even years later. Martin Luther King Jr. was also assassinated in 1968.

The First Amendment of the Constitution gives the right to peaceful protest and freedom of speech.

AN: So as you can see, 1970's America was not a fun place to be. We'll see more of how messed up Alfred is in future chapters... and hopefully Arthur will come to the rescue! Thank you for reading, and reviews are much loved!