A/N: Okay, like I said in the last chapter, I'm trying to create WWII in a high school setting. Somethings can be connected to historical references. Other things are just pure fiction related nothing to history, I'm just using it to create plot. So if you're a history buff...don't read too much into every action. Anyways, here we go!
His townhome was in pristine condition, set in downtown Paris. He had all the decorations in place. His parents were off at their winery in the country, leaving it all in his hands. He enjoyed the elegance of a high class party just as he enjoyed the taste of vintage wine. It smoothed his palate in perfect delight. He had invited the majority of the school, except for those he truly disliked. It was a welcome to his country. He had the most delectable appetizers already set and in place and the staff already in position. His own suit sparkled excellence and his long blond hair was brushed to perfection. He adjusted his lapel with a smirk in the mirror. He heard the front door opening, allowing guests in. A few had already arrived, but Francis never showed up on time, even for his own parties.
When he finally felt collected, he eventually moved downstairs to the party. He smiled and winked as men and women came up thanking him for the hospitality. "I enjoy to host, mon amour," he responded, touching arms and small backs. He took a champagne flute as it was handed to him, taking a small sip and grinning.
He caught sight of Chun Yan and smiled softly, moving over to the Chinese woman and placing his hand around her waist. "Hello belle, you are looking quite stunning tonight," he whispered against her ear.
He felt her entire body tense. "Francis, you will take your hand off of me or I will break your little finger and feed it to one of your poodles," she turned with narrowed eyes.
He chuckled nervously and pulled his hand away like it had touched a hot stove. "Ah yes, full of fire as always. I do love spark in a woman," he smirked.
She gave him a dead pan look. "I do not understand western culture," she stated.
"Neither do I," a tall Russian entered their conversation and Francis started to feel on edge. Both parties always gave him nightmares, especially when they became like this.
"I merely part of the culture of love," he winked, trying to decrease the strange tension that seemed to arise.
"Love, yes, that sounds quite nice," Ivan smiled childishly, "Though quite foolish. Such fools in the West."
"It seems more like promiscuity to me," she responded, her arms folding over her white conservative outfit.
The doors slammed opened and a familiar laugh echoed through the building, followed by an English accent, "Don't break anything!"
Thank the lord! He inwardly thought. "Yes..yes..well it seems Amelia has already set herself on a war path. I should go greet her. Please enjoy yourself," he smiled, nodded and quickly left before he became stuck in that terrible conversation.
He shifted through the crowd to the front to see the guests who made such a loud intrusion. "You always do love to make an entrance," he smiled and toasted his glass to them.
"Francis, dude!" Amelia's eyes were wide as she stared over the home, "Your place is amazing!"
He grinned at the compliment, taking in her form. The girl could be quite annoying, but she certainly had a beautiful figure that was only brought out more in the short red dress she wore. "It's merely a place to put my hat. You look beautiful, darling," he answered.
"Pfft. Save your humble pie for someone who might care, frog," Arthur mumbled.
He turned to the sour Englishman. He also had put on his best, especially for him, when his style is naturally tacky. Francis never considered himself particular to men or women. He found both equally beautiful. Each had their elegance that captivated him. Arthur could certainly hold a drawl that he never quite understood himself. There was something with his angry puffy face that always made him find the boy so…cute per say. "Ah, Arthur, how great to see you as well. You look surprisingly dashing yourself. Did you leave your tacky suit in your closet this evening?" he smirked.
Arthur fumed, "All my suits are fine! I just don't feel the need to dress like a woman like you!"
He gaffed, "A woman! Caring for one's sense of fashion hardly makes me feminine, you brute."
Amelia knew better then to stick around and watch Francis and Arthur argue. Their arguments could last for hours and that was not how she was going to spend this awesome party. She grabbed Maddie's wrist, who no one in the party seemed to notice and yanked her through the mass of people until finding a tray of champagne. She grinned and grabbed two, handing one to her cousin. "Drink up, cuz! We're going to party hard tonight!" she said, swinging the glass back and taking all the liquid in one gulp.
"I…I..I think we should take it slow, Amelia. We do have class tomorrow," the soft spoken Canadian girl answered, shifting uncomfortably in her light blue dress.
Amelia took another glass and another large gulp before answering. "I say work hard, play harder, Maddie!" she then took one more glass and started wandering around the party. She wondered who else Francis invited. It looked like everyone from school. As she came across a few friendly faces, she would high five them and move to the next group. This reminded her of one her father's parties. Prime and proper. Not enough drinking games.
She knew how to change that!
"Hey ya'll! Who wants to play beer pong!?" she shouted loudly and the room seemed to go silent around her. Everyone in the room looking at her like she was crazy either for not knowing what beer pong was or for thinking it was crazy to suggest such a game.
"You enjoy making a fool of yourself? There is no cups, balls, or table. You need those, yes?" Ivan spoke up to her annoyance. Stupid Russian was always trying to put her down. No matter.
"Obviously DUH!" she said and pulled out two pong balls from her purse, "Which is why I brought them." She grinned, "We got a table there," she pointed to the nice dining room table, "And I'm sure we could get cups somewhere around here."
Francis likely would have protest, but Iggy and him had their hands around their throats, yelling at each other still in the entrance, which to Amelia meant he was giving her the okay. She tilted her head at Ivan. "Unless you think you're going to lose, bucko," she smirked, enjoying taunting him.
He frowned for the briefest of moments, likely she only caught sight of it. Sometimes, she swore she was the only one who saw that expression, then it changed to his same fake smile. "I happily accept your challenge. Unfortunately for you, I do not lose," he stated.
She chuckled evilly. Bring it on, she thought to herself.
A few moments later, the beer pong table was set up. Quite a few people stood around it curious what the game was about. Amelia and Maddie had one side of the table while Ivan and Chun Yan had the other.
"Since you're so confident, big boy, why don't you start? I need to go easy on you, anyways," she smirked and rolled the balls to their side of the table.
"This is quite silly, Ivan. I can't believe you convinced me to do this," Chun Yan said, her arms over her chest upset.
Ivan smiled at her, "You will enjoy it when we win." He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Chun Yan's head, causing the small woman to blush immediately the cough as if hiding it.
For some reason, the simple action made Amelia purse her lips. She definitely would kick their butts now. Public display like that! Gross! Were they dating? Stop it, it doesn't matter! Ivan threw the ball and it landed in the middle. Amelia laughed, "You got the bitch cup, congrats!" She pulled it out, taking it and drinking the full cup. Chun Yan threw a little too short missing the cups altogether. Amelia smirked and handed Maddie a ball.
Maddie looked like she was about to through up from the pressure. "I don't know if I can do this," she said nervously, the ball shaking in her hand.
"It's just a game, Maddie, no pressure," Amelia said to her with a sweet smile. She knew how her cousin could get overwhelm in public settings like this, but she knew she would come through.
Maddie took a deep breath then threw the ball, getting it in the top cup.
"WOO!" Amelia shouted, "Wait to go, Maddie!" She jumped.
Ivan grunted and pulled out the cup, throwing the beer back in his throat before putting it down, as Amelia danced in her spot. "Any day, American," Ivan stated.
Oh right! She still had to go! She turned and focused her ball. Her tongue stuck out her lip as she aimed. She finally threw the ball in a perfect arch getting on of the back cup. "Take that! Roll those ball back, bitches!" she shouted and gloated.
Both Ivan and Chun Yan rolled their eyes before rolling the balls back. The game went on, each taking down another's cups, as people started to either cheer for Amelia or Ivan. Everyone became so focus on the game that no one noticed a silver hair German moving to the punch bowl or the grounded up drug he sprinkled inside of it.
It was one cup vs one cup, and Amelia held the ball in her hand. It felt like the world was relying on her, even though Francis was mopping in the corner about how his party had been ruined and surprisingly Arthur was trying to talk him up. Her brain felt foggy, but she would not fail the world. She would win and defeat the communists! She threw the ball, and it landed in the cup. She shrieked in joy, grabbing Maddie who was actually grinning too. "We won! We won!" she shouted in joy, "Suck it!"
A dark aura seemed to be radiating off of Ivan, but the same smile stayed in place. "Congratulation on winning a child's game," he stated and stepped away from the table.
Amelia didn't care. She had kicked ass! It was time to celebrate. She saw Arthur and hurried to him in the crowd while the next two groups took the table. She wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head on shoulder. "I won, Iggy! I won!" she giggled. As she leaned over his shoulder she caught sight of Francis, tearing up into his hands and looking at her upset. "What's up?"
"You are terrible, Amelia!" Francis said hurt, "You've turned my classy welcome party into one of those dreadful American Frat Parties!"
Arthur felt a little tense in her arms, and she felt him shift slightly before he commented. "Francis is a little upset," he answered.
"Ah buddy! I just made it fun! Everyone's having a great time!" she said with a grin. She let go of Arthur of moved around him to grab Francis's hand, "Come on, smile. You throw the best party, and the food has been great! Way better then Arthur's cooking!"
"Yes, Francis, everyone does seem to be enjoying themselves. Wait..hey! There is nothing wrong with my cooking!" he snapped.
Francis rubbed his sleeve against his tear soaked eyes. He looked around. "I suppose so.." he responded numbly.
"I'll go get you something to drink! That will make the pervy man I care about so much feel better!" Amelia grinned and left, leaving Francis with a twitching eye and Arthur muttering something into his hands. She had such amazing friends here.
As she went through the party, she caught sight of Kiku again, but he was with his new friends again. They looked to be in a deep conversation and she knew better then to get involved in that, but even in her slight tipsy state, she knew something was going on with them. A mystery she would need to solve! She grabbed two cups of punch and went back to Francis, handing it to him with a smile. "Thanks," he said simply and took a sip. "You are correct. It does seem like everyone is enjoying themselves."
"There you go, pouty pants!" she grinned and took a gulp herself, glancing again at Kiku. "I'm kind of worried about Kiku," she said seriously, looking back at both Arthur and Francis.
Both of them took a quick look at where she had been staring. The group of four were strangely serious for a party, and she could feel their eyes on them as if they might be discussing them as well. Arthur rolled the liquid in his cup with his hand as he thought to himself. "I don't like it either," he responded, "They all have been acting out of character."
Francis tilted his head and smirked, "You both read too much into simple actions. Odd because neither one of you are great social occasions." He chuckled to himself. "It's fairly simple. Ludwig is debating about running for Class President. I'm surprised neither of you have heard. It's been the gossip for the past month."
"WHAT?!" Arthur shouted, nearly dropping his drink to the ground.
Amelia smiled, "That's it?" She laughed and here she thought it was something bigger. She took another gulp.
"This has to be a joke! I'm the bloody Class President! And as my Vice President, Francis, you should have told me as soon as you heard this terrible rumor!" Arthur hissed at the Frenchman, pointing his finger at him.
"I wouldn't worry so, Arthur. For him to unseat you, he would have to convince quite a few people that are currently stuck in either your or my pocket. I am hardly concerned," he flipped his hair as if it's wasn't a big deal.
Amelia had to agree. The chances of Arthur losing his race were slim. She felt a bid giddy as she looked at the too, swaying slightly. She patted Arthur on the back. "Everyone knows the stick up your ass makes you a great Class President!" she giggled.
"I do not have a stick up my ass! You should be more worried yourself, lady! You are the Class Representative. I'm certain they will likely try to unseat all of us!" he took his own drink and chugged it back, "You both are far too careless to see the threat in front of you!" Arthur turned away from them and stormed off into the crowd.
"Iggy! Don't be dramatic!" she shouted at him, feeling a little guilty as his back disappeared.
"He will come to his senses, dear. I would let him be," Francis answered.
She pouted her bottom lip. She wished Arthur wouldn't run away. A pounding bass started as someone turned on the music completely distracting her from her previous thought. She loved this music! Her body felt an ache to dance, as the lights seemed to dim. She took Francis' hand who seemed a bit confused by the change of atmosphere of his party. His eyes appeared a bit daze as well, so he didn't seem as upset. He actually looked like he had a dopy smile on. "Let's dance," she grinned and pulled him out to the make shift dance floor where others hand already begun to dance.
She grabbed his hands and started moving and shaking with the beat, pulling him close and far away with each pounding bass. It almost felt like they were in a club back in the United States. The way the music pounded and voices mixed together in the background. She had barely left, and she already felt back at home. It was awesome. Not to mention, Francis wasn't such a terrible dancer. Wait, where is hand going!
Her eyes widened as he grabbed her ass and squeezed it tightly. She pushed him away immediately and gave a you-know-better-than-to-do-that-to-me look. "No touching the prize, pervert!" she scolded him.
He shrugged, giving her an innocent smile. Oh, he's out of his mind if he thinks he can shrug his way out of this. She stepped forward and ran into a large body. She grunted and looked up, her hand's landing on its chest. Of course…him.
"You shouldn't be so cruel to the host, Amelia," Ivan giggled. Was he drunk? She had never seen Ivan drunk before. The giggle was higher pitched then his normal fake laugh. "It's not his fault you are naive and innocent."
Her curiosity went to the wane side at that comment. She smirked. He knew nothing of her "innocence." Her hand ran up his chest and along the edge of his suit jacket, while her other unbutton the jacket and slipped underneath to his side. "Innocent. Quite sweet of you to say," she met his eyes, those strangely intense violet eyes.
"What are you doing?" his voice went deeper and it almost made her body shutter.
She started to press her body closer to his form as she rocked her hips to the music. Her hands trailed all over his shirt and underneath his jacket. Logically, she knew she shouldn't be doing this, especially with…the Russian. The boy constantly tried to degrade her in public. But who could deny his muscles...and god, he just radiated power. The animalistic side of her wanted to attach to him like an alien parasite. "Dancing," she smirked.
"Nyet, this is not dancing," he stated, yet he wasn't moving away from her. Part of him must feel this tension. She can't be the only one. She wasn't good at reading an area, but hell sometimes the tension near him made her suffocate.
She ran her hands lower to the edge of his pants and started to rock his hips with the music. "Just because you don't know how to dance, doesn't mean it's not dancing, bucko," she continued to sway, until out of nowhere, he grabbed her hips and pulled her tighter to his body. She could feel his hand moving to the small of her back and a shiver did travel up her spine. She felt like she might be consumed by him as he took control of the rhythm, leading her body one direction and another. Her hands traveled up to the base of his neck, her head arching to look him in the eyes as they moved together. They looked intense even through the clouds in her own. She felt hot. Did someone turn on the heater? Was that it? He had such a strong jawline. He could probably crack nuts with such a jaw line. God, she had never felt such need.
"Come with me," he stated darkly and took her wrist before she could even respond. She felt dizzy and slightly out of control. She didn't remember drinking that much. Okay, she had a decent amount, but normally, she was a heavy weight. It didn't matter. This hot Russian man was taking her somewhere, and she had no problem going somewhere with him.
They got into the entrance hallway, a few people were talking closely, mostly couples, whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. The man leading her judged the area before quickly moving through until turning into a different hallway. Francis had a large townhome, probably the largest she had ever seen, filled with beautiful priceless artwork. She couldn't remember what his parent's did, but they obviously made bank.
When they reached an empty area, the next thing she felt was being pushed up against the wall. She grunted and opened her mouth to speak, only to be greeted by his rough lips that attacked her mouth with determination. She melted into the passion, pushing into the kiss and his tongue that invaded her mouth. Her fingers slipped into his hairs and gripped it tightly. He responded by grabbing her thighs and lifting her further up on the wall, her feet leaving the ground and wrapping around him. The intensity overwhelmed her and she moaned into the kiss bringing her other hand down his neck and pulling at the buttons of his shirt, touching his bare skin as it became available. God, how long had she secretly wanted this? Since last year? This boy infuriated her.
"You are so frustrating," she growled against his lips.
"You are obnoxious," he bit back, running his one hand up her side and along her smooth dress.
They were both so entranced that neither one of them noticed when Kiku snapped a picture of the incident on his phone. Kiku left the hallway quickly as if he had never been there. He didn't enjoy the scene he had just witnessed. Amelia was far too kind for that man. He didn't deserve her. When they had planned this night, they knew random occurrence such as what he had just witness might come to fruition. It was there job to capitalize on it. He merely would have preferred if it hadn't been Amelia. He had expected more from her. Kiku sighed and went back to the group.
"Did you find anything?" Ludwig stated as if discussing a job. His mind seemed focused on the long term goal. Ludwig deep down had the best interest of the campus at heart. Kiku knew this. It was the reason he was willing to go such extent to help him. Sometimes, however, he saw revenge leaking through his eyes for what had occurred last year.
"Yes, Amelia and Ivan…are close at the moment," he said in the most polite way he could think of describing what he had seen.
"This is awesomeness guys!" Gilbert shouted in joy, the only one out of their group who decided to still go ahead and drink the punch even though he had spiked it himself.
Ludwig face planted and shook his head.
Felicia smiled softly, clapping her hands together. "It's so nice spreading love. We are like cupid!"
"Speaking of love…" Gilbert had a lustful look in his eyes and Kiku followed them to a girl in a blue dress who looked similar to Amelia. "Time for my awesome self to get some!" he grinned and left the group.
Kiku sighed. If Gilbert wasn't Ludwig's brother, he highly doubted they would have ever included him on their plans. He looked around the party with a watchful eye. Francis had his arms around two girls. Beer pong had gotten intense between some Mexican guy and Cuban. People were still dancing and grinding. Then his eyes landed on his main focus of the night, his cousin, Chun Yan. He frowned. They had not gotten along for some time now. She always seemed to copy his work and yet still held a higher grade. She also constantly belittled him in front of his father. He reminded himself, he was not taking such actions out of revenge, rather to make things right in the world. She had no business being in this school. He was correcting the error. It was actually quite kind of him to take such risk on all by himself. Yes, he nodded.
He left his group and grabbed a glass of the punch and walked towards Chun Yan. She was dancing and getting very involved in the music. He pretended to trip, his cup moving forward and drenching her white outfit all in red. He gasped. "Cousin! I'm so sorry!" he said.
"Aru!" she jolted and looked down at herself. "My clothes! They're ruined! Kiku! Why would you do this?!"
"It was an accident. I greatly apologize! I am quite sorry!" he said rush.
She started wiping her hand over the stain, but it was certainly not going to come out. "This was from a family heirloom," she said in panic.
"You should take it off," he said, "I am quite good at handling stains." He bowed and smiled.
Of course, in a room of drugged drunk teenagers those three words should never be said.
"Take it off!" Gilbert shouted from the corner of the room. He had his arm around the shy girl. "Take it off!" he repeated.
Others heard the words and started to shout them as well causing all of the attention to land on Chun Yan who was blushing horribly. She seemed slightly scared and embarrassed something Kiku had never seen on the invasive cold girl before.
"Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!" people cheered.
She looked like she was panting and she eventually shook her head, tears starting to peek out from her eyes. "If I don't want to take it off, I won't!" she snapped and ran outside the room.
Everyone went silent.
Im Yong who had been at the beer pong table waiting patiently for his turn, sighed loudly. "No one? No one going after her? FINE!" he huffed, "I will then. Remember my place!" he said to the table then went to find the Chinese woman.
Francis coughed and slipped from the women around him. "Alright, while that entertainment has left there is still plenty more happening around us. Like these beautiful young ladies," he winked at the girls behind him, "I'm going to enjoy my night. I hope everyone else will too." People started to laugh at Francis' meaning before going back to their conversations and games.
Kiku smirked before turning away and going back to Ludwig. "You captured, correct?"
Ludwig looked down at him with wide eyes. "I never expected that to go so well. You are quite impressive, Kiku," he stated as he turned his phone to show him the paused video recording of the scene.
"A well thought out plan is always the key to success," he bowed his head in appreciation.
Ludwig gave him a soft smile and nodded in return. Kiku was a quiet guy, but most certainly a genius. He was certain with his help they could direct this school in a proper direction. The German looked over at his brother playing with a girl's hair and Felicia running off to match more couples up. Neither of them would be much help, but he had to respect them for taking this challenge with him. It would not be easy. Felicia…she was so kind…he hoped it would not corrupt her.
"It might be best to leave now, sir," Kiku stated.
"Yes, you're right. Felicia, Gilbert, we are leaving," he ordered them.
Felicia whined but followed him. Gilbert groaned. "Bro, don't boss the awesome me around! If I'm going anywhere, I'm taking this cutie with me," he smirked and poked Maddie's check, causing her to blush.
"Fine, she is welcome to come," Ludwig stated before going towards the door. Gilbert grinned and said something in her ear, causing her to giggle and nod. They all followed him out. Mission Completed in their book.