Matthew was nearly late for his first class, and barely stayed awake until his music class. Mrs. Kerkland had made good on her promise to give Matthew the class before lunch. Even after the bell rang he stayed completely emerged in the song he was playing, with his music could be heard outside the music room as other students headed out to lunch.
Gilbert was more than ready for lunch, so he went to the music room, tapping his foot as he waited for Matthew, before he heard the music. Gilbert peeked into the music room, smiling as he heard the music. Birdie was really good at playing the cello, and he looked as if he was putting all his heart and soul into it. Gilbert felt a pang of sadness as he remembered the hours he'd spend listening to his ex-boyfriend, Roderick play piano. But today was a new day, and Gilbert now got to focus on Birdie... his Birdie making beautiful music with his cello. "Hey, birdie, that was really good," Gilbert said truthfully once the song had ended.
Matthew jumped, upon hearing Gilbert's voice, and made a noise that could NOT have been human, caught somewhere between a mouse squeak, and a Pokemon cry. He held his cello for dear life, trying to keep it balanced on his frail shoulder, and not crushing him under it's weight (a feat in which he was failing, quite spectacularly).
As Matthew struggled under the weight of his cello, he realized that it was Gilbert who had startled him, and remembered his promise of lunch with the albino. He struggled to smile at Gilbert, despite his struggle with the mammoth of an instrument trying to crush him, and said, "t-thank you..."
"You alright there?" Gilbert asked. He didn't mean to startle Birdie, but he just had to tell him how good he was. Gilbert walked over to Matthew and supported the cello so that Matthew could stand up. From this, Gilbert now noticed just how tiny Matthew really was compared to the cello. Gilbert now felt as though he needed to treat Matthew really gently, like he was a fragile newborn bird.
Matthew sighed in relief, as Gilbert took the cello off of him, allowing him to stand up. "Thank you..." He whispered, before pulling the roiling cello case over to them. He carefully took the cello from Gilbert, and placed it in it's case.
Matthew could fit inside his cello case (as a few jocks found out last year by locking him in it), and naturally, had trouble with the roiling behemoth, but still managed to get it safely roiled to his music locker, and secure it wouldn't be stolen. He turned back to Gilbert and mumbled, "sorry about that... I should have been ready..."
Gilbert was surprised at how well Matthew managed the large cello, it was even bigger than him! But somehow, the instrument was fitting to Matthew. "You ready for lunch? I was thinking we could go and sit outside, it's nicer," Gilbert liked the lazy summer breeze that was outside, and knew that it would be quieter though. He held out his hand, waiting for Matthew to come over. Gilbert was basically dating Matthew now, so they could hold hands without it being weird.
Matthew smiled and nodded happily. He blushed, and timidly slipped his hand into Gilbert's. Matthew's smile faded slightly, and his hand began to shake, as he thought about his brother seeing him with Gilbert. Alfred was in the group of idiots who would shove notes in Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio's lockers, with phrases like, "go kill yourself faggot!" Alfred himself was bi-curious, but his friends didn't know that, and nether did their family. Matthew had yet to officially come out of the closet to his own family (though he wasn't trying to hide it, no one noticed), and Alfred's gang were some of the few people Matthew was glad didn't notice.
Gilbert squeezed Matthew's hand reassuringly. He looked scared of something, Gilbert just didn't know what. Whatever it was, Gilbert could surely make sure Matthew was alright, he would protect his little birdie with his awesomeness! Gilbert led Matthew outside to a lush grassy hill where he liked to sit. He sat down, pulling a paper bag out of his backpack. He opened it and grimaced when he saw MORE pasta.
Matthew was grateful no one said anything to him about being with Gilbert, and happily followed the albino outside. He sat on the lush green hillside with Gilbert, smiling at the view. He saw Gilbert pulling a bag out of his backpack, and winced as the smell of pasta assaulted his senses. He had food on him, and he pulled it out, but it was only a meagre three celery sticks. Celery was the only food Matthew voluntarily put into his system, because it had negative calories. He burned three calories trying to digest the little buggers, and he was glad of it.
Gilbert opened his lunch and took a bite of his pasta. "It's good, but I've had too much of it. I swear Luddy's got enough pasta stored in our house to feed the U.S. Army, and all this is because of his stupid boyfriend," Gilbert didn't dislike Ludwig's Italian boyfriend, Feliciano, but the kid could get annoying, and Gilbert was so sick of eating pasta all the time. "You want some?" Gil asked, picking up a meatball with his plastic fork and holding it out to Matthew. "It won't bite," he added as an afterthought.
Matthew shook his head, and looked away. "I'm vegan..." He mumbled. Matthew had been vegan long before he stopped eating, but they were for the same reasons. Matthew switched to pure plant based sustenance in an effort to lose weight, and be less like his brother. He still used it as an excuse to avoid some foods, and restaurants. The doctors in the hospital even told his parents that animal products would cause him to be violently ill at this point, as he wasn't used to it. Matthew munched on one of his celery sticks, and watched a lady bug crawling on a leaf, with wavering intrest.
"Oh..." Gilbert looked down at his lunch and ate his pasta in silence. He didn't think lunch with Matthew would be this awkward, they just didn't have much to talk about. Gil looked over at Matthew, who was watching a lady bug. Gilbert put his hand next to the leaf and the ladybug wandered onto his finger. He held his hand out to Matthew, smiling. "Look who came for a visit," he murmured as he turned over his hand, watching the ladybug spiral across his arm.
Matthew giggled at Gilbert, and the ladybug. He hadn't giggled in a long time, and he was a little shocked to hear it come out of his mouth. Matthew hadn't been this happy in a long time. Just sitting with someone who actually cared, and enjoying each other's company, was better then anything he could remember.
Gilbert didn't know very much about Matthew, but he did know one thing for sure: he had an adorable laugh, and Gilbert wanted to hear him laugh more. "Do you want to hold it?" Gilbert asked. Matthew didn't seem like the type of person to be scared of bugs, but he didn't just want to let the ladybug onto Matthew.
Matthew smiled, and took the lady bug from Gilbert. He watched the little bug, before his phone vibrated. He passed the bug off to Gilbert, and checked his phone. He scowled and texted back, furious with his brother.
"You okay?" Gilbert asked, seeing Matthew's expression. He hoped that someone hadn't been rude to him or anything, since he seemed like the type of person who was easy to push around. Gilbert held out his hand, and the ladybug flew off into the air.
Matthew nodded, a stray tear slipping down his face. "My brother... He's a jerk, a-and..." He typed a quick response to his idiot brother.
Alfie: Mattie, what are you doing with that Faggot!? He's in the Bad Touch Trio! They're all a bunch of Rapists, Perverts, and Pedophiles!
Mattie: Shut up, Alfred! You don't even know him!
Alfie: People are going to think you're a queer...
Mattie: you don't know me either! You're one to talk about being queer! Didn't you bang that guy Francis has been crushing on, just last week!?
Alfie: First off, his name is Arthur. Second, he's an experiment! It's for the pursuit of knowledge!
"H-hey, don't cry!" Gilbert stammered. He wrapped his arms around Matthew, gently rubbing circles onto his back. Gilbert hated when people cried, he just never knew what to do. The last time he'd cried was when he'd found out that Roderick was cheating on him.
Matthew wrapped his arms around Gilberts arm, before handing over his phone so Gilbert wouldn't be in the dark. Sometimes Matthew hated his brother. "H-here... read for yourself... My idiot brother..."
Gilbert glared at Matthew's phone. He couldn't believe just how mean Matthew's brother was, and it hurt Gilbert to know that anyone would act like this to such a sweet person. Gilbert was a bit of a bully to his younger brother, but never like that. Their mom had died right after Ludwig was born, and their father lived in Germany for work. Gilbert and Ludwig depended on each other, and both of them were fine with whatever happened to the other.
"I'm sorry, about him... He's a hypocrite, and a jerk..." Matthew said, sadly, "I hate being compared to him... I'm more open minded..." Matthew turned to hug Gilbert, and berried his face in Gilbert's shoulder.
Gilbert stroked Matthew's soft hair, trying to make him feel better. He was so beautiful, to see him like this just broke Gilbert's heart. Matthew was like a little bird, fragile and perfect. All Gilbert wanted was to make it better. "It's alright, Birdie. I'm awesome, so I'll protect you from anyone who's mean to you," Gilbert said proudly, but something in him died when he wondered why anyone would ever pick on someone as sweet as Matthew.
Matthew laughed, but his laughs quickly turned to sobs. He held to Gilbert as tightly as he could, which wasn't very tight at all. His emaciated frame shook in Gilbert's arms, and his tears were soaking through Gilbert's shirt. All the pain he had felt for so many years of living in Alfred's shadow, began to poor out of him, if only for the moment. Matthew had never had anyone who he thought was strong enough to take his pain.
"Don't cry! You'll be okay, please just don't cry," Gilbert stammered, hugging Matthew. It hurt him to see Matthew crying like this, and each sob looked as if it would crush Matthew with it's weight. Gilbert rubbed Matthew's back soothingly, trying to calm him down. "You're okay. I won't let anyone be mean to you, okay?" Gilbert promised. He knew that he'd do whatever it took to make Matthew smile again.
Matthew smiled through the tears, and choked, "Thank you..." The small boy pulled away from Gilbert, wiping tears from his eyes. He began to worry about Gilbert feeling his (nonexistent) fat. As far as Matthew was concerned, he was as big as his brother.
"Hey, anytime someone's pushing you around or being mean, just come to me. Okay? I'll use my awesomeness to defeat them," Gilbert smiled at Matthew, gently wiping away the smaller teen's tears with his thumb. Gilbert had been in his fair share of fights, and could easily beat anyone. After all, he was going into the army after he was done with high school, so he needed to be good at hand to hand combat.
Matthew nodded happily. He wiped away some stray tears, with his hoodie sleeve, and took a shaky breath. "I wonder where they get the rumors that you're a jerk from?" He said, absentmindedly, "Alfred always talks about how much of a jerk you are, but you're not at all... You're really nice... You're very sweet when someone gets to know you..."
Gilbert playfully ruffled Matthew's long hair. He looked a lot like Francis, but Matthew was cute and sweet, not rowdy and perverted. "Well, I think anyone who calls me a jerk is just jealous of my awesomeness," Gilbert replied, but he knew the truth. People called him a jerk for being gay. People thought he was creepy because he wore black and liked to smoke cigarettes. People especially thought badly of him because of who he hung around.
Matthew smiled at Gilbert, and said, "You know something... I think you're pretty accurate with that description... You really are awesome..." Mathew took his phone back from Gilbert, as it vibrated, and checked it. He chuckled and texted back.
Frying Pan Feminist: Hey Maple! Isn't that Roderik's ex?
Maple: Yeah, the one he was still seeing when he asked you out... I still don't know what you see in that pompous jerk, he already two timed you.
Frying Pan Feminist: What are you, the state prosecutor!? I asked a simple yes or no question! I wasn't trying to have my boyfriend's morals put on trial!
Gilbert beamed when Matthew called him awesome. His little birdie was just so cute, and he obviously had a good idea of who is awesome. Seeing Matthew laugh made Gilbert smile even more. When he thought back on it, Francis really did know who Gilbert would like, he couldn't wait to go on a date with Matthew!
Matthew put his phone away, and said, "Sorry... Elizavetha saw us, and was confirming your identity..." He tucked some of his blond hair out of his face, and pulled his knees up to hug them to his chest. Matthew put his chin on his knees, and sighed. "Did you have any place in mind?" He asked, "For coffee, after school, I mean..."
"Well, there's a little coffee place downtown. Let me look it up. I've been there a few times and it was pretty awesome," Gilbert pulled up his phone and looked up the coffee shop. He pulled a notebook and a pencil from his backpack, copying down the address and handing the folded up paper to Matthew. "Keep that safe, it's got my awesomeness sealed up in it for when I'm not around and you need a dose of the awesome Gil!"
Matthew smiled, and took the piece of paper from Gilbert. He chuckled at the albino, and said, "I'll guard it with my life." He folded the paper, and put it in his hoodie pocket. Matthew looked at Gilbert, and pushed his glasses up. "Gilbert..." He whispered, nervously, "What are we? Are we... A couple, or... Friends, or... well... I mean... Am I... Am I your boyfriend?"
"Of course! You are my awesome boyfriend, and we are an awesome couple," Gilbert replied. It felt nice being able to say those words again, he missed having someone to call his boyfriend and being able to be part of a couple.
Matthew's face brightened, and he smiled at Gilbert. On an impulse he glomped Gilbert in a hug. He had never felt so wanted. He felt like he finally existed. Finally someone saw him, and didn't compare him to Alfred. He finally felt like someone cared. He began to mumble rapid French, that roughly translated to a very accurate description of his thoughts and feelings at that moment.
Both he and Alfred were fluent in four languages each. Alfred spoke English, Spainsh, Cree, and American Sign Language. Matthew spoke English, French, Cree, and American Sign Language.
Gilbert hugged Matthew back, smiling until his face hurt. Everything was alright! He had an adorable little boyfriend, and he was going on a date! Everything was just so perfect. The pair were interrupted by the bell ringing, signaling the end of lunch. "Here, I'll walk you to your next class," Gilbert offered, squeezing Matthew's hand. He wanted to make sure that nobody harassed his little Birdie for hanging around him, and he wanted to spend time with Matthew before he had to go to AP calculus, which seemed to be the most boring class on his schedule.
Matthew sighed, as the bell rang, and said, "Might not be a good idea... I have AP Calculus... The room's in the west wing... Not even in the math department..."
"Hey, I got that too!" Gilbert grinned, pulling his schedule from his bag and showing it to Matthew. Right after the space for lunch was AP Calculus in big black letters on the crumpled cream colored paper. Gilbert hoisted his bag over his shoulder and stood up, holding out his hands to help Matthew up.
Matthew grinned, and let Gilbert help him up. As he stood he lost his footing, and ended up throwing all of his weight into Gilbert's arms. All of his 76.3lbs into Gilbert's arms, and he panicked, thinking that Gilbert would feel how fat he was.
Gilbert was surprised at how light Matthew was. Gilbert was strong enough to lift his own brother, who was as muscular and heavy as a linebacker, but Matthew was like a feather. All that occurred to Gilbert was that Matthew was naturally small; he already saw how hard it was for Matthew to deal with a cello. "Here ya go," Prussia giggled, helping Matthew regain his footing.
Matthew breathed a sigh of relief, when Gilbert didn't show any signs of disgust, or struggle. He smiled as Gilbert gently set him on his feet. "Thank you..." He whispered, signing it subconsciously. Alfred had trouble hearing Matthew some times, and it was why they took sign language courses. Matthew often signed things as he said them, out of pure habit.
