AN: Hello! Thanks for all the support! Here's the second chapter.
Interactive: If you can guess a major twist later in the story which is hinted at in this chapter, you can request a scene and I'll try to include it if I'm comfortable with it and if it doesn't conflict with my planned plot.
PM or review, you pick. I want to see if my story is predictable :)
Other note: This is going to be focused on Arthur's second chance at life, with romance following a very close second. There will be stuff with his family, i.e. problems about his younger siblings, etc.
Jennifer - Britannia/Ancient Britain (Traits: kind, strong-willed)
Alistair - Scotland (teasing, jerk with a heart of gold)
Rhys - Wales (haraguro, smiles all the time but might be plotting for your downfall)
Ellie & Patrick - Ireland & N. Ireland respectively. (outspoken and a bit childish for Ellie. Scarily silent and calm for Patrick.)
Also, I hope Arthur's reactions/thoughts etc. are realistic. I haven't experienced what he did(duh...), so...
Don't own anything except for the idea.
アーサー·カークランドの憂鬱
The Melancholy of Arthur Kirkland
Chapter 2:
The Hesitance of Arthur Kirkland
"Arthur! Arthur!"
...What...What's going on...
Arthur Kirkland wakes up to a young girl's voice persistently calling his name, and he slowly opens his eyes, blinking at the sudden brightness that attacks them.
What...? Didn't he push Alfred away and was hit instead?
If so, why would he be here, waking up, to light?
"Where...am I?" And...why's his voice so different? It's completely changed from how he used to sound like. It's high-pitched and...younger. Way younger than it should be.
"The hospital, of course! Mum's coming already, so don't you dare faint on me again! Big bro and Reese cups are coming too. Patrick's outside. I'm going to tell him you're awake." Arthur immediately recognizes the girl as his younger sister Ellie, with reddish brown hair and the same green eyes, but he stares at her in shock, uncomprehending.
Ellie should be an adult currently! And she hasn't been so talkative since ages ago, before she distanced herself from them and had her delinquent years. And...
Reese cups? She stopped calling Rhys that when she started high school. Which she evidently isn't in currently, judging by her nine or ten-years-old appearance.
What in the world is happening? Is this...What is this?
"Ellie, could you tell me what happened?" Arthur should be dead and buried, but everything is obviously contradicting that currently. Not to mention...why is his hands so much smaller?
That small scar he received from an accident during his university days isn't there also...
"September fourth. You were with that Alfred bloke when you weren't paying attention and walked into the road. You're such an idiot, Arthur!" Ellie soon loses her previous reprimanding and disapproving attitude, looking about to cry, the tears welling up at her eyes.
"Don't cry! I'm sorry..." Weren't paying attention? Walked into the road? That sounds different from how Arthur just died.
But that happened once before, (it was quite idiotic of him) during Arthur's tenth grade year, when he was on the way home and...Wait. Back then, Arthur was...fifteen...!
"Ellie, how old am I?" Arthur snaps out the question, evidently shocking Ellie, who gives him a frown before answering.
"Fifteen. I can't believe that you're older than me." Ellie sniffs with indignation before going on to say something else, but Arthur's mind is already overloading with revelations and disbelief.
Fifteen? Fifteen?!
That's not possible! But...how else would one explain his current situation?
"Can you ask for a mirror please?" He doesn't wait for Ellie's reply, only sitting in disbelief until she runs off and comes back with a small hand mirror. And Patrick, who Arthur absentmindedly greets.
The mirror's pink with floral patterns, but it would have to do.
Arthur only stares at his own wide green eyes in the mirror, pinching his young, surprisingly soft face, unmarred by dark circles under his eyes or the natural tired look he always had ever since he began failing to sleep regularly. The contacts he took to wearing don't exist either, and a wild look to his left and right shows a pair of glasses on the side.
The black framed one Arthur wore during the entirety of high school.
It was and still is very ugly, come to think of it. Arthur inwardly thinks that he would switch to contacts as soon as he leaves this place.
But...it isn't the appropriate time to be thinking about that! The focus should be on how Arthur's fifteen again, despite the fact that he is supposed to be dead.
Deceased. Passed away. Hit by a car.
No way...No way…
But it's true…
Arthur always dreamed of turning back time to fix his regrets during his teenage years, whether it be grades, competitions, an embarrassing situation, or that fateful night at the graduation party.
But he never thought that it would come true. After his death, no less...
Does that mean that things could change? Arthur doesn't have to lead a miserable life anymore? If this is real, then the answer is an obvious "yes".
His family...Ellie could be detracted from distancing them in the future. And his mother...If Arthur watches out for her constantly, she wouldn't be that sick. Not to mention his brothers, who he never contacted since a while ago.
Arthur can also study something other than "reading", as Alfred calls it. Perhaps law, or history...Or maybe even something science and maths-oriented.
Arthur has another chance to actually become valedictorian this time...Or student council president...or join a band instead of just playing the violin. Anything he wants, he can try now.
All the sudden thoughts make Arthur feel more and more excited, and he begins to smile, ignoring Ellie's confused expression. Patrick is reading his book, which isn't very surprising.
There's no need to question it anymore. Any denial would be just a futile struggle, in the end.
Arthur's fifteen again, and that is obviously an undeniable truth. He still can't really believe it, but there's no other possible explanation. Unless one drifts into the sci-fi territories, of experiments and mad scientists.
He's fifteen again.
So many possibilities, so many opportunities...
"Artie! Are you okay?" That (younger, just as obnoxious, oh wait...) voice interrupts his thoughts again, and Arthur turns almost violently, watching the door open—
And Alfred rushes in, looking just like he always does in Arthur's memories. The shiny blond hair and stray wisp he calls Nantucket, sun-kissed skin, those blue eyes and glasses...
Arthur shakes his head to himself, quickly looking away at the floor instead. He can't afford to fall under the spell called Alfred anymore.
Alfred became Arthur's friend all those years ago, Arthur saved Alfred's life. They're even now, and it's not too late yet to keep his distance.
"I'm fine, idiot." Good Lord, he sounds ridiculous, sounding like...like...he's in denial or something.
Which he isn't in.
"You're not seriously injured?" Alfred still looks as clueless as ever, which makes Arthur wonder about his obliviousness. Has he always been like this? He doesn't really believe that.
Alfred has to have some social bonuses with that highly developed brain of his, which does show in all the friends he has. Except he acts just as clueless.
"Arthur broke a lot of bones thanks to you!" Ellie exaggerates Arthur's state, about to say even more, but is silenced by Arthur's reprimanding look. She only pouts for a second before turning to pester Patrick.
Arthur secretly approves though. Alfred the idiot caused him to die, so he should at least be able to feel a little unhappy, despite him not disliking or hating Alfred.
Alfred also was the beginning to this new chance...
"Really?! I'm so sorry..." Alfred seems about to rush closer, but thankfully the nurse doesn't let him go further, giving him a lecture about recovering patients and not startling them.
Excellent job, Arthur tells the woman inwardly. He knew that she didn't look so stern for nothing.
"Could you all leave me alone for a while? I'd like to rest," Arthur says, because he truly wants some time to himself. Now that Alfred's back in the picture, as his "best friend", no less, things will most likely not be turning out how Arthur wants them to.
Ellie looks hesitant, but she leaves with Patrick in tow. Then there's only Alfred remaining, standing there with a miserable look on his face.
"I'll talk to you later, Arthur..." And there's that change of address again. Alfred seems to call him Arthur instead of Artie whenever he's particularly serious about something. Then Arthur wishes he's serious all the time, since he dislikes the nickname.
(In truth, his heart always skipped a beat whenever Alfred calls him by his name.)
"Fine. But I'm really tired." Arthur feels a little guilty at being so forceful, but he really feels uncomfortable being around Alfred right now. His arrival dampened Arthur's good mood, and he really needs to think about what he wants to do next.
Which includes what to do with a certain outgoing boy.
But even when everything is mostly quiet and everyone is gone, other than the muffled talking voices from outside, Arthur doesn't know what to do.
There's so many things he wants to change, but now that Alfred is a factor in the equation, he can't quite solve for that key variable immediately.
Well, maybe eliminating that wild card would be a good choice.
As in avoiding Alfred altogether.
It would be a little cruel towards him, since they're still friends currently, but Arthur doesn't want to gamble his life just to see what will happen with Alfred, who left a shadow in his youth anyway.
Alright...that's one decision down. Temporarily. Arthur's conscience just isn't letting him dismiss the issue, whispering to him that this is the Alfred years ago. Not the one who rejected him, and not the one who was chasing after him on that rainy night.
"Arthur?" The voice who interrupts Arthur's worrying isn't Alfred, or his siblings, but…
"...Mum?" Arthur has to keep himself from staring wide-eyed for a while. Because Jennifer Kirkland looks completely different from when he'd last saw her, which...was in the hospital, and she could barely say anything.
She's forty-eight currently, but still very different, younger, from her bedridden self in the future. The sudden knowledge that she's healthy again, only has Arthur feeling miserable from relief. A strange feeling.
"Oh...there's no need to cry, darling. We're all here. You'll get better." It's only until his mother comes over to wipe at his face when Arthur realizes that he's crying, the tears already rolling down his face and onto the bed.
It's extremely embarrassing, but he doesn't feel too abashed. He's always been close to his mother, so it's easier to overlook embarrassing things when it's between just the two of them.
"I, uh, sorry. I don't know what's come over me," Arthur mutters, feeling like a child all over again. But he technically is a child, if compared to his previous age.
"Artie, yer cryin'?" Alistair's sudden voice makes Arthur jump in surprise, but he's even more shocked to see that his older brother looks more serious than teasing, which seemed to be what he aimed for. He's surprisingly...concerned-looking for once.
"Shut up, Alistair," Arthur mutters, feeling ridiculous as to why he's reacting and responding to everything so extremely. And weakly.
"I'd be more surprised that Alistair's actually worried," Rhys says, managing the same old pondering, innocent look on his face as he smiles softly. He's obviously doing it on purpose to irk Alistair, which he always succeeds in.
"Shut up, Rhys," Alistair snaps, and Arthur wonders why he never really noticed the similarities between all of them. Maybe it was because he didn't really pay attention to his brothers the first time around (sounds weird saying that, but it's true).
"Boys, don't fight." Their mother's words bear a sense of finality, and they all become silent, Alistair giving Rhys a final scowl, with the latter only smiling back.
Somehow, Arthur likes it. He hasn't been around his family for a long time. His mother was in the hospital, Alistair was busy being a diplomat and flying everywhere, Rhys was an architect, happily married with the whole picket fence, and the twins were actually finding success in a singing career.
He'd ignored them all in favor for himself, really, and by the time he finished school, they all had a strange distance between them. Not hostility, but just unfamiliarity. Which felt horrible to Arthur, except that he didn't make any attempt to ease the situation.
Which Arthur definitely won't let happen again.
"Mum! Jones is still there!" Ellie runs in, pulling the ever-so-silent Patrick by the hand, and that completes their six-person family once more.
"Call him Alfred, Ellie. Or at least something more polite. He's your friend, right?" Arthur's mother looks towards him, and Arthur immediately freezes before trying to relax so it wouldn't seem bizarre of him.
"Could you tell him that I'm fine, and I'll see him some time later?" Arthur knows that he can't hide forever, but he doesn't think he's perfectly ready to meet someone who broke his teenaged heart and who he saved and died for.
"Sure." She looks towards him with an odd look on her face, but doesn't question any further. Alistair and Rhys look similar too, and Arthur swallows hard, trying to maintain an oblivious look.
He can't continue to act too strange. They're bound to realize some day.
Or maybe he could tell them, but obviously not now.
Suddenly, he feels that this new life doesn't seem any less stressful than Arthur's last.
When Arthur wakes up for the...third or fourth time ever since the incident, he's finally convinced that everything which happened isn't a dream.
Because it's six in the morning, and it's his first day returning to school. Which means, reliving high school over again.
If Arthur remembers currently, he hasn't really done anything yet except for being a class representative last year, joining the debate club, and playing as concertmaster in the orchestra. Most of the really important things haven't happened yet.
There's still plenty of room to work with. Maybe Arthur would have to review most of the classwork, but he can't think of anything that's wrong or an important problem.
He would keep up his grades, join a few clubs...Yes, that sounds fine. It's basic, but it's a start.
Arthur quickly dresses in the standard uniform—there wouldn't be a need to find the summer set until at least months later, and Arthur gives his still much different (from his twenty-nine-year-old face) appearance in the mirror a good look.
It's the same as he saw the day when he first woke up. He doesn't tend to be arrogant, but Arthur would say that he's quite good-looking right now.
Other than the eyebrows, of course.
His whole person looks much more spirited and healthy though, even with an innocent air about him. Arthur gives the mirror one last glance before leaving his room.
Everything really has changed.
This is his new beginning.
Arthur didn't expect this though when he opens the door, about to walk to school.
"Hey Artie!" Alfred is standing right on his doorstep, bright smile on his face, and Arthur's almost shocked into slamming the door. Almost. He has more self-control than that.
"Alfred, what are you doing here?" Arthur truly feels confused. Why is Alfred right in front of his house when he should be heading to school also...
"Don't we always walk together?" Alfred laughs, and Arthur stands uncomprehending before he nods stupidly, trying to appear normal.
Arthur does remember something of the sort, which later ended for some reason. So he must've forgotten because their walks never lasted for long...right.
The thing with Alfred though...Arthur will decide what to do later. He still doesn't know whether to avoid Alfred or not. That felt like the best course of action, but...
(Arthur's so immersed in his thoughts, he doesn't notice the curious look Alfred gives him.)
AN 2: Thanks for reading! follow/fav/review if you like and see you next chapter!
