Ch. 1:

"Dude, check this out!"

Matthew Williams sighed quietly as he watched his half-brother, Alfred, run around the hotel room, while he was feeling nothing but sluggish.

Alfred's mother had won an all-expenses paid trip to London, England and since she and Alfred and Matthew's father couldn't come she gave it to them. It was a nice gesture and Matthew was grateful that she had always been so kind to him when he wasn't even her son, but…he couldn't summon any happiness or excitement about this trip, and he knew exactly why.

Their father had been a bit of a womanizer in his life, until he met Alfred's mother and finally settled down and had Matthew's brother. But what he hadn't realized was that he had a Canadian son. Matthew had lived happily with his single mother until he was eleven and she got really sick…not long after that she passed away and Matthew was sent to live with a man he had never met. But he had been lucky, despite the awkwardness at first his father and step-mother quickly accepted him into the family, as did Alfred who wanted them to be the best of friends the second he realized they looked so similar, it was kind of uncanny since they only shared a father. Alfred's mother didn't look anything like Matthew's. But as the years went by Matthew learned something, next to his brother he was all but invisible. Alfred was loud and cast a large shadow and everyone was always either wanting to hang out with him or scold him and Matthew was left in that gigantic shadow. He didn't particularly blame Alfred, he was just being who he was and he never rubbed it in Matthew's face. Matthew doubted Alfred was even aware of his brother's feelings. But Matthew was actually pretty miserable, but he had no idea how to get noticed. He didn't see London being any different than home so he expected anyone they'd meet on this trip to ignore him as well, so Matthew didn't really know why they had to waste that extra ticket.

"Isn't this great, Mattie," Alfred called as he check out the bathroom, "I could swim in this tub."

"That's neat," Matthew replied quietly, placing his suitcases on the floor and sitting down on a leather chair, his stretched and yawned; his eyes rimmed with exhaustion, "Man, that was a long flight," he groaned, running a tired hand over his face, "I could sleep all summer."

"Uh-no," Alfred was suddenly at his brother's side and dragged him to his feet; "We are both going out and having some fun! No brother of mine, especially one who shared my amazing good looks, is gonna spend all summer cooped up in his room. Especially if he's in London, I want to take pictures of the Eiffel Tower!"

Matthew didn't know whether to groan in frustration or laugh, "London isn't Paris; you know that right?"

"Close enough," Alfred replied, running to pick up the sneakers Matthew had just taken off, "Put these on, grab your camera and some snacks! We are going sightseeing!"

"Alfred," Matthew couldn't help the whine that escaped his throat, "We just got off a plane, can't we relax for a bit? We have all summer to see the sights."

"And you have all summer to relax," Alfred shot back, his travel bag (that Matthew knew he stuffed with junk food) slung across his shoulder. "But first my brother and I are gonna spend some casual time together!"

Matthew wanted to argue, he really did…but when he said things like that…Alfred was one of the very few people in the world who wanted to spend time with Matthew, and he couldn't say no.

He sighed and with a nod said, "Alright, alright. One quick look down the block and then we're coming back and I'm sleeping until tomorrow afternoon."

Francis Bonnefoy let out a yelp of pain when something suddenly smacked him in the back of his head. He turned around and glared at his best friend Gilbert while fixing his long, flawless blond hair.

"What was that for," Francis demanded with a scowl, across the room his other friend, Antonio burst out laughing.

"It's for all the sighing and moaning and whining and bitching you've been doing since we got here," Gilbert replied, his red eyes narrowed in annoyance.

This bad friend trio could really not be much different in looks; Francis was a Frenchmen with long, wavy blond hair, deep blue eyes, and slight chin stubble. Gilbert was an albino, his platinum blond hair always in a mess (he never let Francis touch it). Then lastly there was Antonio, in a way the baby of the group, a Spaniard with tan skin and bright green eyes. The three had been traveling the globe for a few years now, surviving on their monthly allowance and their own resourcefulness (but mainly their allowance). These adventures were the best of Francis's life as far as he was concerned, drinking, partying, and hunting for conquests with his best friends. What more could one ask for? However…he did not see why they had to spend their summer in London, England of all places.

"Don't tell me Francypants is scared of running into one of his old victories," Antonio said teasingly, walking over to stand with Gilbert who was smirking as well.

Francis glared at them, yes the last time he was in London he had a fling with an uptight Brit named Arthur Kirkland, however their relationship only lasted a year before Francis got bored like he always did and cut the relationship off. That was years ago and he could still feel the scratches that rejected psycho had given him.

"It's a big city," Francis replied dryly, "I doubt I'll run into him, and even if I did what would he do? No, I just find this place boring and can think of better places to spend the summer." He looked away and breathed a dreamy sigh, "Like my beloved homeland."

"Well there's nothing we can do now," Gilbert replied, "We used up this month's allowance on the plan ride over here."

"How about this, Francis," Antonio spoke up, "You spend the month here without complaining and come July's allowance we'll take a plan to France."

"Well," Francis let out an overdramatic sigh, "I suppose that's better than spending the entire summer here."

"Good, now shut up and come on," Gilbert headed to the door, "All this talk has gotten me thirsty."

Francis couldn't help a smile as he followed his friends out, surely someone as attractive as him could find some source of entertainment for the month.