A/N: Hey guys. I've decided I'm going to go back to my previous schedule for the next two weeks because I want to get this story up and finished before I go off the chart for the rest of July. After the 15th I probably won't we able to get internet for about two weeks, so I want to get it out of the way. Anyway, here you are, and enjoy!
School was definitely an interesting experience. There were quite a few international kids attending, and Alfred seemed to know most of them. His best friends were an albino German boy who insisted he was Prussian, a French guy, a Spanish guy, and surprisingly, a quiet Japanese boy. The Prussian, who Arthur found out was the Gilbert Alfred had been talking to the night before and Francis, the French boy, were decidedly the most annoying. Alfred seemed to be closest to Gilbert though, seeing as they played video games together so often.
"So you're the one Alfred's stuck with?" Gilbert asked the moment Alfred had introduced them.
Arthur bristled. "I'm not exactly thrilled to be here either." he snapped back, his grip tightening on his books.
Alfred looked up suddenly at that, seemingly wanting to say something, but after a moment he turned away.
The other two of the self-dubbed group the 'Bad Touch Trio' were no better, and Arthur's morning spiraled downwards from there. The Brit was convinced that Francis had tried to feel him up numerous times, and Antonio, the Spanish guy, simply babbled the whole time about tomatoes and someone named Lovino. Kiku, the Japanese boy, seemed to be the only sane one of the group. Arthur discovered that the raven-haired boy loved reading (especially manga) and video games, which is how he came to be friends with Alfred. The video games, that is, not the reading.
The rest of the school didn't help improve Arthur's mood either. In every class, the teacher insisted that Arthur introduce himself and tell the rest of the students about school and life in England. The whole thing seemed rather ridiculous to him, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Right before lunch, Alfred pulled him into a bathroom. He then stood by the sink, shifting nervously on his feet.
"Yes? Why did you bring me here?" Arthur asked flatly, slowly edging towards the door.
"H-Hey, wait!" Alfred cried out, reaching forward and stopping him. "What you said before...y'know, about not being happy to be here? Is...Is it cuz of me?"
Arthur stared up at him incredulously. "What?"
"I don't want ya to feel unwelcome or anything...and I was kinda being a bad host..." Alfred bit his lip and stepped back, watching him intently.
"N-No, it's not you." Arthur replied. He found he had to avert his eyes from the American's gaze. "To be honest, I didn't really want to participate in the Exchange at all, no matter who my host ended up as."
"O-Oh." Alfred didn't know whether he felt relieved about that, or even worse. On one hand, he was glad he wasn't the cause of Arthur's negative attitude towards America, but the fact that the Brit hadn't even wanted to come well... He shook his head and stepped back. "Well, alright then. C'mon, I bet you're hungry, right?" he said brightly, going out of the bathroom.
Arthur followed him out to the cafeteria. He walked through the doors and immediately winced at the sudden increase in volume. He tapped the taller blond on the shoulder.
"Yeah?" Alfred asked, stopping and turning around.
"Could you take me to the library? It's awfully loud in here."
"Uh...I don't actually know...where the library is?" Alfred replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.
Arthur stared at him. "You don't know- that doesn't really surprise me, actually."
"Heh...but I could totally help ya find it!" Alfred grinned. "Cuz I'm the hero and all."
"That won't be necessary. I'll manage in here." Arthur replied, shaking his head. "Where do you sit?"
Alfred abruptly grabbed onto Arthur's arm and dragged him out of the room. "Nope, we're gonna find that library!" he declared, going down a random hallway.
"A-Alfred, really!" Arthur protested, but there was nothing he could really do to get out of his grip. "There is no need to do this!"
But Alfred had just spotted his English teacher, and he barreled off towards her. "Mrs. Clark!" The woman turned and he stopped abruptly before her, sending Arthur crashing into his back. "Do you know where the library is? My buddy from England wants to know where it is, and I kinda forgot the way."
The amused teacher carefully explained how to get to the school library, which actually wasn't that far from where they were currently standing.
"Hahaha, see? The hero knows where he's going!" Alfred crowed before thanking his teacher and pulling Arthur along again.
The Brit stayed silent the whole way, not really feeling the need to respond to such thoughts. His scowl disappeared and he broke out into a small smile when he saw the size of the library, though. The room was big and even had a second story to it, which was mostly filled with plush chairs and couches for reading, and tables for anyone who wanted to get some work done.
"It's positively massive." he whispered, because he always thought that whispers were the most appropriate form of communication in rooms such as this. "How the hell did you not know where it was?"
"Dunno, didn't really have to come here before." Alfred replied, shrugging. His voice was incredibly loud by comparison, and seemed to echo and bounce throughout the room.
After a few more moments, Arthur snapped out of his daze. "Thank you for showing me the way, I appreciate the gesture. You can let go of me now." He blushed slightly as he said this. "And you can return to your mates."
"Naw, you'd get lost once lunch was over. I'll stay with you today!" Alfred led the way inside, and almost immediately his eyes fell on the comics and graphic novel section. "Whoa, they have Superman and Cap and stuff!" he said excitedly.
Arthur snorted. "Of course they do, this is a library. Now keep your voice down." He went over to the poetry section and took down a collection of Edgar Allan Poe's works.
"Hey, isn't that guy's stuff like, really depressing or something?" Alfred asked. He had followed the other to the poetry shelves after gathering up some comics.
"Perhaps, but it's quality literature, which is surprising given that he's American." Arthur took the book over to one of the tables and settled down.
"Wha- no way! He was awesome cuz he was American!"
"Oh yes, so 'awesome' that he died penniless on the streets. Now stay quiet, I came here for a reason." Arthur shot back, and then promptly ignored him for the rest of lunch.
Alfred tried to get him to talk some more, but after a few minutes of unresponsiveness, he gave up and opened one of the comic books. When the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, he put the books away and stretched.
"Come on, Artie, we gotta go to my next class."
The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and soon they were riding the bus to Alfred's home. Arthur was sitting by the window, watching the Maine scenery pass by. The British boy had to admit this part of America was pretty.
"Arthur, are you gonna stay on 'til the end? My stop's here." Alfred called at one point.
Arthur started and then jumped up, moving quickly to the front of the bus. "Of course not, I'm coming."
"Okay, so my mom probably made us a snack or something, so we're gonna eat and then I've got some homework to do, but after I finish that we can maybe do something together." Alfred explained as they walked. He was determined to spend as much time with Arthur now as he could, seeing as he'd been kind of brusque the day earlier.
Arthur nodded; he was most likely going to end up reading for most of the evening anyway.
Evelyn had some grilled cheese sandwiches for them. Alfred's eyes lit up the moment he saw the plates, but Arthur was a little more hesitant. When he tried it though he found it wasn't that bad.
After their snack Alfred disappeared to his room, and judging from the sounds coming from there, Arthur wasn't sure it was homework that was getting done behind that door. But it wasn't his problem, so he grabbed one of the books he'd brought and went out to the porch. He found that his earlier guess was right, and the couch there was a prime reading spot. It was quiet and on the fresh air, and it offered a nice view to the surrounding forests.
"Whatcha reading?" Alfred suddenly asked.
Arthur started violently, nearly dropping the book. "Bloody- don't do that!"
"Do what?"
"Startle me like that!" Arthur huffed crossly. "Besides, don't you have homework to do?"
"...Dude, I've been done for like an hour now. It's 6:30." Alfred said, raising an eyebrow.
"What?" Arthur blinked. He'd zoned out for over three hours?
Alfred snickered quietly. "So what are ya reading?"
"Return of the King."
"Oh, like from the Lord of the Rings series? Cool! Have you seen the movies?"
Arthur shook his head. "I prefer to read the book before watching the movie." he explained.
Alfred gaped at him for a moment, before suddenly brightening. "Alright, when you finish that, we'll have a Lord of the Rings marathon!"
"That really won't be necessary-"
"Don't worry about it man! I got the DVDs, extended edition! How much do you have left to read?"
"You have the DVDs, if anything. Not 'got'." Arthur said, sniffing. "I have about a hundred and fifty pages left."
"Think you'll be able to finish before the weekend? Then we can watch Saturday and sleep in Sunday~!"
"Of course I can. I read about," Arthur quickly flipped through the book. "A hundred pages in the last three hours."
"Whoa, nice. So it's set, out weekend's full. What do you wanna do now?"
"How about dinner?" Matthew asked, joining them on the porch. "Mom's almost done cooking, and it's your turn to set the table, Alfred."
"Wanna help me with that, Artie?" Alfred asked, shooting Arthur a kicked-puppy look.
"No he doesn't, he's your guest and it's your chore, Al." Matthew said, cutting Arthur off before he could say anything.
Pouting, Alfred went off. A few minutes later, Matthew and Arthur were called in. Dinner was homemade hamburgers, made by Evelyn. Arthur was initially skeptical about them, but once again found that when he took a bite, they were actually very good.
"Do you make them yourself, or are they store-bought?" he asked Evelyn.
"The beef is from the store, but I added the seasoning and such myself." Evelyn replied. "Do you like them?"
"Yes, they're good." Arthur replied honestly.
An impossibly short amount of time later, Alfred was finished and there were no hamburgers left. He'd eaten three, and still looked as if he could eat some more. The rest of them had only had one each.
"How are you done already?" Arthur asked, staring at the empty platter in the middle of the table.
Alfred chuckled. "I'm a fast eater."
"Humph. If you eat so bloody quickly, you won't have time to appreciate the taste."
"I don't needa taste it, I know my mom's cooking rocks." Alfred shot back, a triumphant smile on his face.
Arthur rolled his eyes and stood up with his plate.
"Just set it in the sink, dear. It's Alfred's turn to wash up again." Evelyn called to him.
Arthur nodded and moved off to the kitchen with the plate. A few loud clatters behind him told him that Alfred was following behind with more dishes. The American had taken the load- which seemed like most of the remaining dishes from the table; Arthur marveled at how he managed to balance everything- to the sink. The water soon began flowing. Arthur made a trip to the dining room to collect the last platter from the table, and when he came back he picked up one of the wet plates off the drying rack and rubbed at it with a paper towel.
"You don't have to do that again, Arthur. It'll dry on its own." Alfred said, pausing in his motions.
"Well I want to do something." Arthur muttered. "Hate being a freeloader." he added even more quietly.
Alfred appeared to have heard him, because he sighed softly and nodded. "Okay then. It'll be faster like this anyway."
Their system worked well, and the sink cleared fairly quickly. Alfred's hand accidentally knocked into Arthur's at one point, and the Brit felt a jolt go down his spine. He hurriedly took a step to the side, his cheeks heating up a bit. He didn't even know why he was blushing, but he ducked his head to hide it. He did glance up at Alfred briefly, and wasn't sure what to think when he saw the other boy was flustered as well.
"Alrighty then, so what do you wanna do now?" Alfred asked once the last dish was dried.
"I was under the slight impression that you already had an idea what you wanted to do." Arthur set down the paper towel and crossed his arms.
"Well..." Alfred shifted on his feet.
"You would like to play your video games." Arthur guessed dryly.
"...Kinda..." Alfred gave him a small, sheepish smile. "But we can do whatever you want if you don't want to do that."
Arthur sighed. "I guess you could play while I read. I want to finish the book."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. I would like to finish before our marathon." Arthur said, his lips curling upwards slightly.
Alfred grinned broadly in response. "Awesome. But reading's boring, so I'm gonna teach you how to play!"
"Oh dear God, please no." Arthur groaned.
"Yes! C'mon, it'll be fun! Way more fun than reading~!" Alfred grabbed his arm and pulled him up the stairs, Arthur barely having enough time to grab his book along the way.
"I have no intention of learning to play video games!"
"Just try it! You gotta try new stuff! Tell ya what; if you don't like it after half an hour, you can go back to your boring shit." Alfred reasoned.
"My 'boring shit'? For that, the time is fifteen minutes."
Alfred tried to bring the time back up, but Arthur refused to budge. So the taller boy had to agree to the short time span of fifteen minutes. He led the other up to his room where he plopped down in front of the TV.
"Okay, so we've got a few options. I just got the newest Assassin's Creed, the third one, we could-"
"No." Arthur cut him off, his eyes hard. "Absolutely not."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Because no. It is the most idiotic game ever created, and I refuse to have any association with it."
Realization dawned in Alfred's eyes, and he averted his gaze. "Oh. Right. Sorry. We can play a different game."
Some of Arthur's anger disappeared when he took in Alfred's face. He took a deep breath and briefly closed his eyes. "What other games do you have?" he asked gently, coming over to kneel beside the American.
Alfred stared at him, almost surprised that he was so close, but then he brightened up. He listed a whole bunch of video games, most of which had 'Recon' or 'Revenge' or 'Vengeance' in the title.
Arthur picked a random one- not surprisingly it turned out to be a shooting game- and they began. Alfred walked him through the basics of the controller, system, and game. Arthur tuned most of it out, but kept his face attentive. Fifteen minutes passed quickly, but the Brit let him keep talking.
"Oh, look at the time." Alfred started when he noticed the clock. "Got distracted by my amazingly heroic explaining? So what do you think?"
"I still prefer reading." Ignoring the first part of the statement, Arthur ran his fingertips down the spine of the book.
Alfred shrugged slightly. He had tried, at least. "Could you stay in here and read though?"
Arthur hesitated, and then went over to sit on the bed. "I guess I could..."
"Awesome!" Alfred grinned and turned back to the game.
There was mostly silence in the room (apart from the sounds of the video game, of course), the quiet only broken by the creaking of the bedsprings as Arthur shifted to get to a more comfortably position, and his voice when he told Alfred to turn the volume down. He was so absorbed in the book that he didn't notice any of the occasional glances the taller blond threw his way. But this silence, like all other silences, was meant to be totally and utterly shattered.
"Hey Alfred, I thought you could use some awesome company!" Gilbert's loud voice came over the TV, startling the both of them.
"What's up, Gil? How did you know what game I was playing?" Alfred asked once he'd recovered. He shot Arthur an apologetic glance, who merely shrugged and turned back to his pages.
"Birdie told me. I called him, and he could hear the sounds from outside your door." Gilbert replied, and his character proceeded to kill Alfred's.
"Hey dude! Not cool!" Alfred protested. "Birdie, hmm? Oh, you mean Mattie?"
"Kesesese, that was totally awesome!" Gilbert snickered. "But anyways, how's the Brit?"
Arthur's head shot up at that, but he quickly masked the motion by ducking down again and pretending to still be engrossed in the words.
Alfred glanced at him, having seen the movement. He put his headphones on before answering. "He's pretty cool, actually."
In the silence that must have been Gilbert answering, Arthur stood and quietly left the room. He didn't want to hear anymore of what were most likely lies. He knew he was dull and boring. Alfred didn't even notice he was gone, which was good. A few minutes later, though, curiosity overtook him and he crept back to the door.
"...I'm serious, Gil, hey, don't laugh! Yeah, he's reading now." A pause. "Return of the King. It's one of the Lord of the Rings books. We're gonna have a marathon for the movies this weekend! It's gonna be totally awesome!" Silence again. "No, you can't come." Another, longer pause. "Just cuz you're not there doesn't make it unawesome." There was the sound of prolonged rapid gunfire. "Take that! Wha- he's not a dork! I think it's kinda cute- Oh, he's not here, good. Shaddup, I don't mean it that way-"
Arthur pulled away from the door. "Curiosity killed the cat, eh?" he muttered to himself as he padded to his room and opened his laptop.
After getting the internet password from Evelyn, he logged on and pulled up Skype. His mother had insisted tht he call as soon as he could, no matter the time. Right now it was about two in the morning there, but his brother Scott would most likely be up. If he wasn't, well, he soon would be. He clicked on his brother's name and jumped at the loud call volume.
"Blast-" He quickly turned the volume down and waited. He didn't have to sit there long.
"Do ye know what bleedin' time it is?" Scott's scowling face appeared on the screen.
Arthur smirked. "It's only 8:15 here."
"Don't be such a smartass, poof. Why are you calling?" Scott asked, his scowl deepening.
"Mum asked me to. When I got here."
"You landed yesterday. Shoulda called then."
"I didn't have time to. There's a bloody time difference, and I was tired."
Scott didn't look impressed. "You got Mum worried."
"Well tell her not to worry. I am perfectly fine." Arthur paused. "I see you're not drunk. What a surprise."
It was Scott's turn to smirk. "Oh, I drank. I can just hold my alcohol better than some people." The redhead held up a nearly empty bottle as proof.
Arthur went slightly red. Even though he was underage, he'd gotten drunk numerous times. "I can hold my liquor perfectly well, thank you very much,"
"In your dreams, maybe."
"Sh-Shut up, I can!" Arthur hissed.
Scott raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. "Mmhmm. But tell me, have you found any poofter friends?"
"No, I didn't come here for that."
"You haven't told them yet, have you?" Scott took a long drink. "That you're queer."
Arthur shifted uncomfortably. "It's none of their business. And what I tell them is none of yours!"
Scott smirked again. "'Course it is, you're my dear wee brother."
"Don't use sarcasm with me, I can detect it. I have nothing more to say to you. Good night." He ended the call just as his brother started protesting.
Arthur leaned back in his chair with a sigh, closing his eyes. He suddenly shot back up, though, when he heard quiet footsteps receding from his door. He rushed to the doorway and flung it open.
Alfred, who was by his own door, froze. "Oh...hey Arthur." he said, a small, guilty smile on his face.
Arthur's stomach turned. He'd heard about the level of tolerance for homosexuals in America- rather, how low it was, no matter how many times people said the situation was getting better. So yes, he was slightly nervous of Alfred's reaction.
"How much did you hear?" he asked, his voice coming out a bit hoarse.
"I uhh...well..." Alfred scratched the back of his neck ruefully. "I heard the call tone and realized you'd left, so I went to check..."
Arthur stood stiffly, his back utterly rigid. Damn. That meant Alfred had heard most, if not all, of the conversation.
"So...you're gay?" Alfred asked after a moment.
"What?" The question startled Arthur from his thoughts. "Do you have anything against that?" he asked sharply, his defenses going up.
"Huh? No, I don't." Alfred suddenly chuckled. "I mean, I'm pretty sure Mattie's got something going on with Gilbert, so I'm kinda used to it." He saw the look on Arthur's face, and his body posture, and stepped closer to the Brit, placing his hands on the other's shoulders. "Hey, it's okay. I know there's a whole bunch of shit going on in the rest of the country, but you're okay here."
Arthur shied away from the contact, but his barriers ever so slowly started to go down. "Really?" He still wasn't completely convinced.
"Yeah. No one here's gonna drive a stake through your heart for sinning or anything."
"I thought they only did that to vampires in the movies." Arthur said, the faintest trace of a smile on his lips.
"Oh, them too."
Arthur recoiled a bit at the 'too' part, but Alfred didn't notice. "Oh, would you look at the time. It's getting late, so I think I'll be off to bed." He backed farther away from the other boy, towards his door. "Eavesdropping isn't a very honorable practice, Alfred."
Alfred suddenly had a strange grin on his face. "Then what were you doing outside my door, Arthur?" He tossed something to the bewildered Brit. He was faintly embarrassed that Arthur had heard however much he had, but he didn't let it show. Besides, he might have heard it all anyways, since Alfred hadn't known he'd left. But the look on his face now was priceless.
Arthur had caught the object and opened his hand to reveal his bookmark. His cheeks heated up; he hadn't even realized it was gone. "I- I-...Good night." He turned on his heel and retreated to his room.
"Night~!" Alfred called after him, grinning broadly as he turned to his own room.
A/N: poof= An effeminate or homosexual man. (a.k.a. an insult)
