Chapter one

If anyone waiting in line for their room key cared to hear a long rant in mixed Italian and a couple handfuls of curses, they would have gotten it from Lovino Vargas, who was always in the mood to deliver speeches of that nature. Fortunately for the students of World Academy, no one felt the urge to talk to the new guy scowling at anything and everything, with dark eyebrows resting right above his flashing hazel eyes at an angry angle while his lips moved almost soundlessly, whispering profanities in a different language.

"What the actual fuck is wrong with this place?" He asked himself, crossing his arms tighter in front of his chest. "Seriously, who the fuck gives an exclusive private school a shitty name like World Academy? I mean, that's pretty damn original, isn't it? Idiotic bastards these people are. And Dio! What is the point in having such a fucking large campus? Do they want us to get lost in this hellhole? And then there's my idiot of a brother. Stupid Feliciano. What kind of fucker forces people to attend pathetic academies against their will? Odio quel piccolo bastardo."

Feliciano had always been the better brother, and this was a fact Lovino recognized with extreme spite. It was a fact the entire world noticed and loved to point out without stopping to consider the feelings of the elder Vargas brother. Feliciano had received all the most desirable genes from their grandfather; the bright amber eyes, fair skin, the bubbly personality, he was smart when he actually took the time to sit down and pay attention, he inherited the signature Vargas talent when it came to to the arts, he was graceful, he was cute, he was sweet.

Lovino on the other hand... Nice people would stop talking at that point. Others would toss their hands into the air in exasperation and complain about how obnoxiously rude and unlikable he was, asking why he couldn't be just a little more like Feliciano. Everyone flamboyantly played favorites, even the boys only surviving relative- their grandfather.

Lovino tried hard not to let anyone know just how much it hurt, he had built a stone wall around his heart and carefully guarded it with a heated temper and a mouthful of insults. Every once in awhile, however; the fiery pang of those comparisons got to him. It would have been so much better if he had only stayed in Italy: the few friends he had would rarely see his stupid fratello who was now a freshman, and none of the bastards at this new school would know that Feliciano fucking Vargas had a useless disappointment for an older brother.

But that obviously wasn't how Lovino's shitty life worked. When the representative from World Academy arrived at their house to hand deliver Feli's acceptance letter, the little prick had decided that right then was the perfect time to act as though the two were inseparable. "Ve~? You mean I'll be attending this school alone, without anyone I know?" He had asked nervously.

"Yes dearie, but our program is set up so that you will quickly make new friends- friends that will last you a lifetime. We even have online chatrooms so you can meet other students before you even arrive!"

"A-and my family stays here? My brother can't enroll with me?"

"Not typically. We try to keep our attendance limited to those we really want."

Those we really want… as if Lovino hadn't already known that he was merely extra weight, another mouth to feed, a waste of effort. He had silently sworn at the American woman, balling his fists in his lap.

Feliciano had shaken his head and sent her a polite smile. "Well… grazie signora for coming all this way, but I'm not going to any foreign school without my fratello. It really is too bad that you don't have room for him, but I'm sure you can find someone else to replace me."

The woman had been at a loss. Clearly she hadn't been used to being turned down in such a careless manner. "Oh...well I'm sure we could make an exception," she had said quickly, sending Lovino a look of distaste. "We really do want you at our academy Feliciano, and if you want your brother to tag along then that is absolutely fine!"

Lovino hadn't even wanted to go in the first place. If there was one thing he hated more than those constant comparisons, it was being used to get closer to his stupid baby brother, who was always too oblivious to notice when he was being taken advantage of. Apparently the suckers at World Academy had been so desperate to get a perfect little angel like Feli into their establishment that they were even willing to put up with Lovino. And that fact disgusted him to his very core.

Unfortunately, no one had cared enough to notice his displeasure. Feliciano had been far too busy prancing around the house, throwing up rainbows, and meeting half the school on that ridiculous chatroom to pay attention, and Nonno had merely given his elder grandson a stern look. "Lovino, your brother has just been given the opportunity of a lifetime, and he was considerate enough to share it with you. Now stop complaining and pack your bags!"

He had begrudgingly obeyed, wondering if the other two members of his family were trying to get rid of him: Feli was getting him out of Nonno's hair, and would probably ditch him the second they arrived at their new school.

He hadn't been wrong, not exactly.

"Lovino, can you please hold my space in line?" Feliciano had asked ten minutes previously, bouncing around in excitement. "I have to use the restroom!"

At first, Lovino had thought the younger was lying, but then he had started crossing his legs and scrunching up his face in discomfort. "Fine," he had muttered, watching as the younger bolted out of sight.

I wonder if he got himself lost already, he thought now. I bet the idiota couldn't get himself out of the damn bathroom and started crying. He probably called Nonno, who rushed out of the administration office and is now frantically searching the entire campus. And then once he finds my brother he'll start blaming me for letting him out of my sight.

Lovino rolled his eyes in annoyance and took another half-step toward the slowly moving line. "What the fuck is taking so long?" He demanded, tapping his foot impatiently. "At this point we'll be here until school starts next year." He huffed and peaked around the guy in front of him, training his eyes to the front of the line: some five people down.

The person handing out keys was a chatty girl who seemed to be spending more time talking than looking up dorm rooms. Ah, that explains it, Lovino thought as he carefully inspected the girl. She was young enough to be a student, a junior maybe, and a pretty one at that, with waves of golden hair and a cute smile. It was true that humans in general annoyed the shit out of him, but he had always had a soft spot for beautiful woman. If he played his Italian looks right, he'd have his room key in a minute.

He sent frequent glances her way until the girl glanced up and made eye contact with him. Lovino flashed her a charming smile and looked away, watching from the corner of his eye as she giggled and smiled in his direction, shoving a key into the face of the student at her table.

"Hullo!" She greeted cheerfully when it was finally his turn. Damn, she was even cuter closer up, her blonde hair was adorned with a red, black, and yellow hair ribbon, her large green eyes blinked up at him from behind thick lashes, she had an adorable button nose and her lips were full and smiling.

Lovino's own lips curved upwards. "Ciao signorina."

The girl gasped. "Oh, you must be one of the new Italian students, right?" She asked. "I know I haven't seen you around."

"Sí, I am. Are all the women in Belgium as beautiful as you?"

"How did you know I'm Belgian?" She asked, a cute blush dusting her face.

Lovino gestured to her hair ribbon. "Those you the colors of your flag."

"You noticed! That makes me so happy, you would not believe how many people asked if I was German. I mean, do I even sound German?"

"Not at all," Lovino shook his head honestly. "Your accent it much more attractive."

"Aw! Thanks!" She said, giggling into her sleeve. "I'm Emma, by the way. And you are..?"

"Lovino Vargas."

"Lovino...such a lovely sounding name..." Emma murmured as she typed a few things into her laptop. "Okay, you're here with your brother, Feliciano right? Are you two rooming together or separately?"

He was taken aback by the question. They had never really discussed the dorm situation, and Lovino had just assumed. "Togeth-"

"FRATELLO!"

Feli suddenly materialized out of nowhere, crashing his small body into his brother's with so much force he almost fell over. Which would not have impressed Emma. "Hey! Watch it!" He hissed, steadying himself and sending a sheepish smile in the girl's direction.

She was already giggling again. "This must be him! You two are so cute!"

"Feli, this is Emma…"

"Ciao!" The younger greeted, pressing a gentle kiss to her hand and ignorant to his fuming brother behind him. "Didn't I tell you there'd be pretty girls here?"

"Feliciano…." Lovino shot him a dark look, silently telling him to shut the fuck up. Feli gulped nervously and stepped back. "Sorry...Did we get assigned to a room yet?"

Emma shook her head. "We were just getting to that. I think Lovino was saying you two are sharing a room, right?"

Lovino was about to agree, but his stupid brother spoke up. "Actually, I think we've found other arrangements."

"What?" The older Italian frowned, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "Since when? With who? Why didn't you tell me anything?"

Feliciano turned to him and smiled at someone over his shoulder. "Since five minutes ago," he chirped. "With Ludwig."

Who the hell is Ludwig? Lovino thought, slowly turning around to see a fucking giant potato staring back at them, huge arms crossed over an even bigger chest. "Hello," he said simply, in the ugliest German accent known to mankind.

"Feliciano, let the person behind us go next," Lovino muttered, delivering his best death glare at the newcomer, who didn't even flinch. What? Did he actually think that being tall and buff would save his sorry ass- the ass he probably received from completing fifty squats a day as a part of his shitty warm up? "Who the fuck are you?" He hissed, planting his hands on his hips- hips that were probably around the size of the German's thigh muscles. Damn this fast metabolism.

The blonde glanced down at him awkwardly. "I'm Ludwig."

"Very funny, bastard! How do you know my brother and what possessed you to think you'd get him in your room?"

That was when Feliciano intervened, stepping in between them before Lovino could start getting physical. "Fratello calm down please! This is Ludwig Beilschmidt. I met him online before we got here, but Nonno knows his family. He thinks it would work out better if we were split up, he said we'd fight less. Plus, Ludwig is really smart and he agreed to help me with German homework. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Lovino glanced toward his brother, his lips twitching in annoyance. Seriously, he'd rather room with some weird potato-sucking bastard than with his own brother? His flesh and blood?

"Pleeeeeease Lovino?" Feli blinked up at him with large puppy eyes, knowing full and well that it was the other's ultimate weakness.

"Ugh...whatever. I don't care."

Of course he cared, but if his brother would be more happy living with a total stranger, then whatever. Who could blame the kid for not wanting to spend more time than he had to with his ever cranky brother? And even if he didn't like this Ludwig character, he wanted Feli to be happy.

"Yay! Grazie!" The little prick said, wrapping his arms around his waist in a hug before he skipped off to get a key from Emma. Lovino gave the German one last glare. "Hurt my brother and I will fucking kill you."

Ludwig nodded slowly, giving him a long awkward look as he ran his large hand over his perfectly gelled hair. "Uh… nice meeting you Lovino…"

"Please," Lovino scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Don't act like you enjoyed my presence. I already let you know that I absolutely hate you."

Feliciano was humming cheerfully as he skipped back to his new friend's side. "Call me after you settle in, fratello. Maybe we can all get dinner later before Nonno goes back home?"

"Maybe." No. No fucking way.

After the two of them left(Feli chatting about pasta and other useless shit), Lovino slowly turned back to Emma, who already had a room key picked out for him and a soft smile on her face. "Black Sea Hall, floor two, room twenty-four. I hooked you up with another sophomore named Matthew Williams," she said as she gently dropped the key into his hand.

"Thanks."

She blinked at him, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I'm sorry things didn't work out with your brother. You two seem close."

Lovino shrugged, trying hard to look less dejected than he felt. "Not really. We fight more than anything, so it doesn't really matter."

Emma bit her bottom lip and reached for a map of the too large campus, scrawling something into the corner and circling a building toward the center. "You're in a good location, see? You're close to the cafeteria," she pointed to the spot she had circled and pushed the paper toward him.

"Thanks. I hope I'll see you around."

Emma smiled. "Don't worry: you will."

Lovino shuffled away from the line and glanced down at the map, trying to figure out where Nonno should park the rental car stuffed with his and his brother's shit.

"Che?"

He stopped so short some random person almost bumped into his back, muttering apologies as they sped away. There, on the bottom right corner of the map, was a small note written in Emma's purple pen's ink, a note with a number attached to it.

Call me~! Ps. Don't be so sad Lovino. You have such a cute smile.

~Emma Maes

Matthew Williams jumped when his door was suddenly kicked open, and he nearly tumbled backwards over the side of the bed. If it hadn't been for a last second grab for the mattress he would have been a dead man. Heart pounding against his chest, he slowly pulled himself back into an upright position, staring as the person stumbled inside.

He seemed to have a smaller build, but Matthew couldn't tell much; he was carrying so many boxes all he could see were long legs and an interesting curl somewhat like his own sticking out over the top of the stack. He was muttering something to himself in a language that wasn't English or French...it sounded distinctly Italian.

Matthew honestly hadn't thought he would even get a roommate. Of course, he had been told he would share with someone, but he had shrugged it off, sure that the administration would totally forget that Room 24 of Black Sea Hall even existed. He had thought he'd be stuck alone in a boring, empty, quiet room all year long.

No, it definitely won't be quiet, Matthew thought with an amused smile on his face, watching as his new roommate suddenly stubbed his toe on a desk and let out a loud curse- in English this time. "Fucking dammit!"

The Canadian slowly stood up and crept over to the other, grabbing the top boxes away. "Hello. Can you see better now?"

An almost inhuman screech came from the shorter, causing him to drop the bottom box on his foot. "Ow! What the fuck is wrong with you?" He demanded, dumping the rest of his stuff on his bed so he could nurse his injured foot, grumbling curses under his breath. "Stupid Feli. Clothes aren't heavy, my ass."

Matthew blinked and set down the boxes. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Yeah yeah. Whatever," was the cold response he received.

Before another word could be exchanged between the two there came a loud thud from the other side of the door, followed by an equally loud voice. "Hellooo? Lovino, is this your room? I have the rest of your stuff."

Matthew's roommate- who he assumed must be Lovino- groaned and flopped onto his back lazily. "Open the door, would you?" He asked. "It's my Nonno."

Matthew had no idea what a Nonno was, but he shrugged the detail off and walked over to the door, twisting the knob open. He immediately had to jump backwards to avoid getting trampled by a man carrying even more boxes.

"Lovino my boy, where am I supposed to put these? Dio, they're heavy!" Without waiting for an answer the man simply sat them down on Matthew's desk, brushing back thick brown hair from his forehead. "I thought you told me you had a roommate."

Lovino sat up and frowned. "Who the hell do you think opened the door for you? He's literally standing right there and you jumped all my shit on his stuff."

Lovino's Nonno slowly turned back towards Matthew, gasping loudly. "Oh! I'm sorry! Didn't even see you there! What's your name?"

"M-Matthew Williams," he stuttered, not used to being asked questions, especially not so directly.

"Nice to meet you Max. The name's Romulus Vargas!" The man shook his hand with a grip so tight Matthew thought his fingers were about to break, noticing how quickly he had forgotten his name.

New record, he thought.

Lovino apparently caught the mistake as well, for he shot his Nonno a glare. "Seriously?! He just said his name is Matthew. Are you deaf or something?"

"Errore mio! Sorry about that. And good luck rooming with my grandson. Too bad really, you seem to be a nice kid." Romulus- Lovino's grandfather- waved his hand dramatically, as if the person he was talking about wasn't sitting five feet away.

Matthew rubbed the back of his head nervously. "You're his grandfather?" He had guessed father, or maybe his youngest uncle or something. The man didn't look a day over forty- in fact, he looked to be in his late thirties. Lovino also had a bit of a youngish look thanks to his tiny build and pouting lips. Maybe the absence of aging ran in their family or something.

"Haha, that's right! It doesn't seem that way, no? We don't look very much alike..."

"Nonno!" Lovino suddenly stood up, pushing his grandfather towards the door. "I think Feli needs your help. Bye." Before he slammed the door in his face, Romulus waved to Matthew with a, "it was nice meeting you Marcos!"

"I fucking hate him," Lovino muttered, roughly grabbing the boxes from Matthew's desk so he could throw them onto the bed. "My family is a bunch of overbearing assholes, but they won't be around often."

The blonde shrugged, sitting back down on the squeaky mattress of his own bed. "I don't think he was that bad..." He offered quietly.

The Italian rolled his eyes. "He fucked up your name," he pointed out. "Twice."

"He's not the first one. It happens a lot."

"Huh. That's weird. Matthew isn't even hard to remember. It's a popular name- much more common than Lovino."

Matthew shrugged. "People don't really take the time to remember me, I guess," he whispered, wrapping his arms around his legs.

Lovino was staring at him with a look that most likely meant "what the fuck does that mean?" Instead of saying that, however; he leaned back on his elbows and stared up at the dirty ceiling- some idiot who had lived there in previous years had somehow managed to get dusty shoe prints all over it.

"Well, Nonno was right. I'm a pain in the ass to live with. So here's what we'll do; I'll give you a list of shit I pull, and you give me yours. Then we know what the fuck to look out for."

Matthew smiled slightly. "That sounds like Holmes and Watson before they moved in together," he noted.

"I guess," Lovino muttered, curiously drawing his hazel eyes to Matthew for a brief second. The Italian's gaze was then back on the ceiling. "Shit: In case you haven't noticed, I swear a lot. Constantly. It's a habit that I sure as hell am unwilling to give up because I'm fucking good at cussing people out. On top of that I'm rude, and so loud I annoy myself, I fucking hate people- they're all assholes and I can't stand them. I complain all the time, I'm lazy, I'm untalented, pathetic, whatever. My mother used to say I'm appassionato, passionate, but I think overbearing and crude are better words."

His voice trailed off hesitantly, he sighed, kicked up his legs and sat back up. "I'll probably think of more later," he said. "Your turn."

Matthew wasn't exactly sure what to say; he wasn't around people enough to know what they really thought about him- scratch that, he knew. People didn't think about him long enough to make an opinion. "I'm insignificant," he said softly. "A nobody. A shadow with no lasting impression. You'll probably forget I'm here half the time. You'll probably step on me or bump into me simply because you don't see me. It's fine, I'm used to it. And don't worry about being loud, I like loud people. They know how to let people know they're there."

Lovino scoffed. "You like loud people? No one likes loud people. They're fucking obnoxious."

"People listen to them."

"They don't have a choice."

"That's better than never being heard at all."

The Italian stared at him long and hard, furrowing his dark eyebrows in thought. It was somewhat intimidating, Matthew realized. Lovino was way smaller than the average sophomore, but there was something about the way he carried himself, the power behind his glare, that made him seem so much bigger.

Finally, as if he had given up on trying to understand, he shrugged and flopped onto his back again. "Whatever you say. Now I'm going to sleep. I'm suffering from one hell of a jet lag."

Much to Matthew's surprise, the other was fast asleep in less than five minutes, regardless of the multiple boxes littering the bed around him.

The Canadian shook his head in bemusement and stood up to finish unpacking his own belongings. Well, I got a roommate, he thought to himself. And an interesting one at that.

Even so, he didn't consider interesting as a bad thing. Being quiet is a gift in its own way, his father had once told him. When you're not so consumed in hearing your own voice you see much and you hear all. Being observant isn't something everyone can do. See much and hear all, Matthew was good at that. He realized he could also observe people's characters and personalities with ease. He liked loud people: his brother Alfred was by far the loudest person he had ever met. Loud people could be a bit much at times, but they said what they wanted to say, which was something Matthew couldn't do. Lovino was rough around the edges, he cursed like a sailor, but he didn't seem to be a bad person.

I wonder if we'll end up getting along, Matthew wondered as he hung up some clothes. I hope we do, I think it would be hard to live with someone you hate.

Arthur Kirkland wasn't sure what he was to think about his roommate, for he still hadn't even met him. Thanks to the academy's lame chatroom, he had at least gotten in contact with the person he was to live with for a year, but it really hadn't been much help. All he had learned was that Antonio Fernández Carriedo had way too many names for humanity, and had some kind of unnatural obsession for tomatoes.

Arthur honestly didn't give a damn about the ten thousand varieties of the fruit; what he wanted to know was whether or not this Antonio character had a criminal record, if he was a secret psycho, if he'd be safe sleeping five feet away from the guy. Unfortunately, he never received that reassurance, which both stressed him out and annoyed him to no end.

Not even the girl who had given him his key had been much help. "Oh! You're rooming with Toni!" She had said, recognition lighting her green eyes. She had looked like she could pass as a Kirkland if only she had the eyebrows for it.

Arthur had sighed in relief. "You know him then? That's good, for I have no idea what I'm getting into."

"Ja, you'll be fine. He's-"

"An idiot," a deep voice had interrupted as a man with gravity-defying hair seemed to appear out of thin air. Arthur had had to crane his neck slightly to look at his face, but the girl hadn't seem intimidated in the slightest, in fact she had pouted and smacked his arm playfully. "Don't be so mean, Abel! Antonio is a really nice guy."

"Mmm, too nice. I don't trust him, and you know the people he hangs out with. Niet goed."

At that, the girl's normally teasing eyes had hardened. "Stop it," she'd warned. "You'll freak him out just because you have a grudge."

Then, turning back to the Brit, she had smiled again. "Don't worry about my brother, he doesn't think highly of a lot of people. I've known Antonio for three years, and like I said, he's super nice."

Even so, the way Abel had muttered something into his scarf had Arthur worry even more.

Now, here he was, outside his dorm room with his suitcases in hand, trying to keep himself from shaking as he pulled his key out of his pocket. Alright, he reasoned with himself. I doubt the school would allow any mercenaries to enroll here, every single person is hand-picked by the administration. But that doesn't mean he won't be a crackhead with a tattoo on his arse!

Willing himself to breathe, he shoved the key into the lock and turned, pushing the door open with his hip as he dragged his belongings inside. "Hello?" He called out. "Is anyone in here?"

No one answered, and the room appeared empty. Arthur cautiously peeked his head around the corner and inside the closet just in case there was an insane axe-murderer waiting for him, but after he scanned the entire room he realized that he was completely alone. And that set him off just a little bit. Antonio was a third-year student, shouldn't he remember how unnerving it was to meet a roommate for the first time, shouldn't he have made an effort to make him feel a little more comfortable?

But no, the only thing the idiot had done for him was leave a quickly scribbled note on Arthur's empty bed:

Hola amigo! I am so sorry I wasn't here when you came in, but I'm going into town with some friends of mine. I'll be back….sometime later, and then we can meet each other!

-Antonio

"Hmph. How irresponsible," Arthur muttered irritably. "What the bloody hell does 'later' mean anyway?" The unspecific time seemed to indicate that his flighty roommate would be out for a long time.

Sighing, the Brit crumbled up the paper and tossed it, squinting at the window in disagreement. Antonio had claimed the bed by the window, and apparently felt the urge to open the blinds and let in as much light as possible. Arthur didn't like it: London was usually cloudy or foggy or raining, and he had come to accept it. Light was a discomfort, for it was blinding.

It was while he was closing the shades that he found yet another bothersome fact about the man he was to live with; the guitar case half poking out from underneath the bed. So he played? Not that Arthur had anything in particular against the instrument- although he had never been fond of it- but did he play well? How often would he take it out? Would it be a giant distraction? Would it keep Arthur from his studies? Would he have to seek out the library for the slightest hope of getting things done? He would have asked Antonio, but of course, he was nowhere to be found.

With nothing else he could do, Arthur decided to unpack his belongings. Clothes went neatly on his side of the closet, organized by style. Books were organized alphabetically on the desk. Toiletries were placed in the small bathroom, and Arthur was beyond thankful that the dorm room had its own. The last thing he wanted to do was wait in line whenever he needed to relieve himself, or huddle in the farthest shower, hoping some creep wouldn't yank open the curtain while he was naked.

Once he was finished, he pushed the empty suitcases under the bed and unwrapped a chocolate granola bar, cuddling up onto his newly made bed with a book in hand. He nibbled on his snack as he ran his fingers over the cover of Jane Eyre fondly, he had always enjoyed that book.

Though, he would much rather go to sleep- a day of traveling and settling in was exhausting, and his eyes were already beginning to grow heavy. No, he told himself stubbornly. I am not going to sleep until I meet this Antonio. I need to make sure I won't get molested or raped if he comes in.

With that in mind, he opened the book to the first chapter. "There was no possibility of taking a walk that day…."

The sudden sound of keys jangling against the door caused him to wake up with a jolt, silently cursing the stiffness of his neck, and for giving in to sleep. He could hear muffled laughter outside as he rubbed at his eyes and glared at his clock, which blinked 12:30 am back at him.

He's been out that long? He thought angrily. Stupid, just because he's been to this bloody school before he thinks he owns the place? He thinks he can gallivant throughout the entire world and come back whenever he pleases?

The door finally opened, and not just one, but three guys stumbled in, one of them deciding to flop down on the first bed in sight- and on top of Arthur's leg as well. "Ow! Get off me, you bloody Wanker!" he shouted, vainly attempting to shove the heavier body off of him.

Instead of moving away and apologizing, the person lifted his slightly messy blond head and blinked at him, a creepy grin forming on his face. "Oh, you've got a cute roomie!" He slurred. "Très mignon. I am sorry for sitting on you without warning, mon cher. We can make this more comfortable if you wish."

Arthur's face flushed at the insinuation, and he kicked blindly with the foot that was not being squished. "Hell no, you-you pervert!"

The other two were giggling stupidly, making no effort to even help the poor Brit. Great, he was alone in his room with three drunken, illegal imbeciles, wasn't that a lovely way to go.

"He's feisty too!" The guy with...was it natural to have hair that white… made some weird laugh that literally terrified him. It seemed to sound like, "Kesesese!" Antonio- assuming the third guy was in fact his roommate from hell- did absolutely nothing to help his dilemma.

That is it, Arthur decided. I draw the line here.

"I said sod off!" He demanded, kicking the stupid Frenchman in the ribs, which caused him to fall heavily onto the floor. Scrambling out of bed before he could be jumped on again, the furious Brit stomped toward the other two and sized them up- discovering much to his dismay that he was shorter than both of them.

"Do you mind telling me what the hell is going on?" He asked, jabbing a finger at Antonio's chest in accusation. "It's past bloody midnight and I get the honor of meeting my roommate with his drunken, perverted friends. How stupid are you?"

Antonio's smile faltered slightly as he blinked in confusion. "Oh, lo siento... I didn't realize-"

"Well that much is obvious!" Arthur sputtered. "I'm putting an end to this right now. From now on you will be in this room at a reasonable hour, or just don't come back at all. I don't want you out for god knows how long."

The weird albino guy rolled his eyes in apparent annoyance as he grumbled a, "Yes Dad," under his breath.

And they think I'm done... Arthur spun around and shot a glare at the blonde- who had finally picked himself off the floor. "And another thing. I don't want your stupid friends here. Ever. They're creepy and weird and I doubt my safety when they're around."

"Wait a minute, mi amigo." Antonio's words were friendly enough, but they were laced with a sharp edge as he stepped in front of the Brit. His arms were crossed, and the low light reflected darkly in his eyes. Green clashed against green- and Arthur was too damn stubborn to back down. "I live here too. Who gave you the authority to order me around?"

Before Arthur could reply, the Frenchman interrupted softly. "Antonio, it's fine. He's tired, you're a bit drunk. We can talk this out in the morning when everyone's heads are clearer."

The albino in the corner didn't want things to go that smoothly. "No way Francis. This unawesome brat needs to be fucking knocked down a few notches. If Toni wants to punch the shit out of him, I'm all for it. In fact, I'll probably help."

Arthur knew he should quit while he still could, while the stupidly helpful(not that he was about to admit that) Francis still had a bit of say in his friends' actions, but then again, why were they getting mad at him? He was the one who had been treated poorly the whole day, he hadn't even been able to greet his roommate civilly. How was that his fault?

Squaring his shoulders, he looked defiantly into Antonio's eyes and finally answered. "Well, I suppose you yourself gave me the authority when you decided to act like a bloody child. As a human being I have been so disrespected today, and it gives me every right to kick out your friends. I'm wondering if I should kick your sorry arse out as well!"

"That's not a bad idea actually!" Francis suddenly popped up between the two. That was most likely a good thing, for the Spaniard now seemed to have a dangerously dark aura surrounding him, which was terrifying considering the man had been laughing no more than three minutes previously. "I think we'll just keep Antoine in our room tonight. Gilbert!"

The albino growled softly and pushed himself away from the wall as he grabbed Antonio by the arm and led him towards the door, muttering to him in a raspy undertone. Arthur was certain they were planning how to murder him in the middle of the night.

"He should be better by morning," Francis was saying, smiling sheepishly. He had beautiful eyes, such a melancholy blue… Oh, gag him now, he was not sitting there ogling over the one who had just tried to get into his pants!

"Je suis désolé, I know he gets moody when he drinks. I should have kept a better eye on him but I got…distracted. He'll be back to his cheerful, oblivious self soon, I promise."

"Uh- huh…."

Arthur wasn't as convinced as the Frenchman seemed to be, in fact, if he didn't know any better, he would say his roommate absolutely hated him. The feeling was quite mutual, actually.

There you have it guys! It has truly begun, and thankfully it seems as though you all like it so far. That makes me happy! Thursdays are my magical update day, so expect chapter two in a week. Thanks everyone, you are awesome!

altera vita mea