A/N: Any translations will be at the bottom. And the random 'USUK' signals a time skip.
(Arthur's POV)
"Wait, if you've lived here for two months, then why'd you come to school a week after it started?" Alfred asked me yet another question as we walked down the hallway of Taliaville High School. We were probably about finished with my tour of the school and there wasn't much discussion between us. It was mostly just Alfred asking questions about England, which I obviously didn't mind at all.
"I guess my mum wanted me to make some kind of entrance to show that I was different or something along those lines. I honestly haven't any idea." I answered as I followed him around a corner.
"Ah, I see." He came to a stop in front of a set of large doors. "And here is where you'll have debate with me at the very end of the day." He pointed to the doors. "It's a pretty big class and is actually pretty fun too. I bet you'll like it." He smiled and turned towards me. What was that supposed to mean?
"Oh, and I've been meaning to ask you something all morning but I thought that it might seems a little rude? Or, I don't know, probably stupid?" I raised an eyebrow which I noticed him look at.
"Is this about my eyebrows?" I narrowed my eyes. "Because, yes, they are real. And, no, I won't get them waxed or trimmed." I stated rather harshly with a stern look as I crossed my arms.
"No, no, no." He rapidly shook his head with his hands matching the gesture. "I actually like your eyebrows…" Pink returned to his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head. "They're unique." My eyes widened. Nobody, other than my mum, had ever said anything remotely positive about the twin bushes on my face before. Now this weird and random American bloke was complimenting them? This country definitely had some surprises in store that I never accounted for.
"O-oh, uh, thank you." Is what I had finally managed to say after my initial shock dissipated. "Sorry, its just that nobody has ever complimented me on my eyebrows before…" I told him, putting emphasis on the ever. He was now looking at me straight in the eyes.
"Well. I guess that makes me the first then." He smiled the sweetest smile that I had ever seen then took a step closer to me. I could feel my cheeks getting hot then -
BEEEEEEEEP
-the bell rang signalling the end of 3rd period.
"Damn it." I could hear Alfred say under his breath as he pulled us to the side to get out of everybody's way. Wow, that was strange. What was I even thinking just then? He was a boy, I reminded myself. I couldn't possibly think thoughts like that about a boy. I shook those thoughts out of my head and looked over at him, people passing us by. He looked as if he was thinking the same thing that I was: we're awfully close right now. He took a slight step back, giving me a bit of room. The people around had already started greeting him left and right, following up with a fist bump, highfive, or wave. He must have been a rather popular bloke, considering that nearly every person who walked by knew him by name. And he knew all of theirs as well. One of said people had stopped in front of him now.
"Hey Al." The boy said rather quietly. He was shorter with longish blonde hair, violet eyes, and oval-shaped glasses. He had a wild strand of hair that stuck out from his head that I was tempted to reach out and fix. But I managed to hold myself back.
"Hey Mattie!" Alfred returned the greeting excitedly. "I haven't seen you all day!"
"Yeah, I know… I was left to fend for myself in French! And he was was worse than usual today too…" He shivered. He sounded almost Canadian, if you listened hard enough.
"He didn't violate you, did he? That perv. He's gonna get it!" Alfred shook his fist in the air and the boy laughed at him
"No, he kept it PG this time."
"Okay, good." Alfred let out a sigh of relief. "But he's still gonna get it!" The boy laughed again.
"So you coming to fourth period, eh? Or am I stuck with Gilbert alone?" He asked.
"Well, I'm almost done giving Arthur here the tour." He gestured towards me. "So we'll probably be there sometime into the period."
"Okay, cool. You'll have to introduce us later. I've gotta run. See ya Alfred." And with that, he rushed off.
"Heh, sorry about all that." Alfred turned towards me. "That was-"
BEEEEEEEEP
He paused for the bell. "-Matthew." He smiled. "He's been my best friend since 2nd grade. I'll have to officially introduce you guys at lunch." He added.
"Ah." Well obviously. What was I thinking? "He seems like a nice kid."
"Yeah, he really is. I just feel so bad for him sometimes though…" He sighed.
"Why's that?" I questioned.
"Uh, here let's walk so it doesn't seem like we're doing nothing. Ya know, since we're technically finished with this tour." He grinned and motioned for me to follow him. I did.
"Okay, so first of all, Matt isn't a very confident or strong guy, as you could probably tell. So he doesn't really sick up for himself." He started. I nodded. "And he gets made fun of alot. I mean, I always stand up for him when I'm there. But I'm not always there, ya know? It's just gotta be hard for him…" He trailed off, sounding genuinely concerned.
"Yes, that sounds like quite the predicament. But what could he possibly get made fun of for?" I asked.
"Well, He's gay." He admitted. "And I really hope that you don't look at him any different and can accept who he is because if-" He started to raise his voice.
"Woah, woah settle down there Alfred." I cut in. "My outlook on him won't change in the slightest. I may be straight, but I'm a huge supporter of equality." I stated proudly.
"Oh, heh, sorry about that." He gave me an apologetic look and scratched the back of his head. "I Just get really passionate about that stuff. Not that I'm gay or anything…"
"Yeah, I understand. I do aswell. It's incredibly stupid that kids make fun of him for his preferences. That is one of the prime reasons that I hate people." I shook my head in shame of the human race.
"Aww," He hung his head down. "So you hate me then Artie? Just when I thought we were becoming pretty good friends…" He said in a sort of mock sadness but I could detect a hint of real disappointment.
"No Alfred. Of course I don't hate you." I rolled my eyes and patted his shoulder. "And don't call me Artie." I scolded him. Only my mum has ever called me that.
"Yay!" He excitedly jumped up. "Totes BFFs for life!" He said in a girly high-pitched voice. Then, he threw his arms around me into a surprise hug. I gasped at the sudden hands on my back and chest on mine. I quietly chuckled and lifted my arms to his back. Friends, eh? Well, I guess I didn't have to lie to mum when she asked me if I had made any friends after all. Because I did. I had Alfred. And for some odd reason that thought made me smile.
"OH YEAH!" He yelled, pulling out of the hug, breaking the silence and the moment. "I almost forgot that thing I was going to ask you!" He sounded awfully excited.
"Oh yeah, that rude thing you were going to say earlier." I remembered. "If it wasn't about my eyebrows then what was it exactly?" I narrowed my eyes, curious as to what he had to ask.
"Well, uh, please don't get all offended or anything… Are you a hipster?" He flung his arms out in questioning. Alfred was one those people who talked with their hands I noticed.
"What are you going on about? Why would you ask me such a thing?" I asked rather annoyed.
"Well, for starters, just look at what you're wearing!" He paused, assumedly awaiting on me to check myself out. I already knew what I was wearing, but I decided to humour him anyway. I looked down to see grey skinny jeans, a plain red shirt covered by a scaf depicting the flag of my country, and a pair of Toms.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing? This is my favourite scarf." I argued as I adjusted my large-framed-non-prescription glasses.
"My point exactly." He snickered and nodded proudly. I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever you say, Alfred." I sighed and shook my head with a smile still on my face. "Shouldn't we be getting to class about now?"
"Uh, yeah, probably. The classroom is right there." He pointed to a door to the left of us. "Do you wanna head in?"
"Might as well. I think you've showed me every inch of this school." I joked.
"Probably." He laughed. "I just…" He trailed off as if deciding on whether or not he should say what he was thinking or not. "I just, uh… Didn't want to go back to class!" He quickly threw in and awkwardly laughed. I gave him a look of concern and confusion. I wonder when he was really going to say. Maybe I'd ask him someday, but for now I'd just leave it as was.
He then proceeded to open the door and let me in. He quickly followed, shutting the door behind him. The teacher stopped speaking and the entire class stared at us. I noticed the boy from earlier sitting next to a platinum haired, red eyed bloke that looked like a complete arsehole. Maybe this was the Gilbert that he spoke of "having to deal with" earlier. That was definitely a possibility.
"Oooh, Alf is this your new boyfriend?" The platinum haired bloke obnoxiously shouted. "Oh no, Matthew will be jealous!" He looked over at Matthew. "How does this make you feel?" He asked him while pointing at Alfred and I. I could feel my cheeks getting hot and noticed that Alfred's were turning pink. Matthew had the worst of it though, his entire face was now red.
"I-I-" He stuttered but was interrupted by another boy in class with short, messy, brown hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin.
"Gil, càllate!" He playfully scolded the obnoxious arse. "Matthew is single." He added in a seductive voice and winked at Matthew.
"Yes, he is. But you are not!" The boy beside him jumped in, sounding pissed off. "You dumbass." He quietly added as he whacked him in the back of the head with his book. Well, the students here were definitely far from normal. I could tell this was going to be an interesting few years…
"Does this mean you're finally admitting that we're a couple Lovi?" He sounded very hopeful.
"Of course not! You -"
"Alright, I think that's enough for now." The teacher finally jumped in and ended their interesting exchange. "I have a feeling it's going to be like this all year. Just a warning." She leant over and said to me. "I'm assuming that you're Arthur, right?" I nodded. "Okay class, this is our new transfer student from England. His name is Arthur. Make him feel welcomed." She addressed the class then leant towards me again. "Now, you will be partners with Alfred since we had an odd number of students. Unless Alfred has a problem with that." She looked over at Alfred and smirked.
"What? No!" He, a little too quickly, shouted. "Come on Artie, we're sitting here!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to an empty table. The entire class had their eyes on us and I could see Gilbert snickering with his Spanish-speaking friend. My cheeks were still fiery but I noticed that the hint of pink had left Alfred's. "What did I say about calling me that?" I scolded him again. I had a feeling that he would continue with that awful nickname for a long time.
"Whoops." He mischievously smiled. I sighed and shook my head. The teacher then directed the classes attention back to herself as we sat down.
USUK
"So here, let me break it down for you." Alfred said as he leaned in closer to me from across the table. We were now at lunch with Matthew, who was sitting next to Alfred on the other side of the table. I had been introduced to Matt a few minutes previous and they were now trying to explain the social statuses of all the students here. Starting with the Spanish-speaking boy and the one who was yelling at him. I honestly didn't care that much about their personal lives, but it was interesting to listen to.
"So the Mexican in that class is Antonio." He stated and looked at me like he was expecting a response from me.
"Alright." I gestured for him to go on.
"Just nod every once in awhile so I know that you're following what I'm saying, okay?" He half asked, half told me. I nodded. "Good." He smiled and gave me a thumbs up. "Anyway," He continued. "That's Antonio. The one who whacked him in the back of the head is Lovino. They are basically dating."
"Basically?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Nobody knows for sure what their relationship is." Matt chimed in quietly. "Probably not even them honestly."
"They act like they are, as you saw. Toni says they are. Lovino says they aren't. But, ya know, he is pretty damn stubborn. It's almost like some weird unspoken thing. Like they both just know what's going on. And I don't really understand why Toni loves him so much, he's kind of an asshole…"
"You can't help who you fall in love with Alfred." The quieter blonde stated. Alfred looked over at me then quickly looked down.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He admitted.
"And the really obnoxious one that was talking to Al when you guys came in, was Gilbert." Matt continued
"Those two over there," Alfred pointed to the backs of two boys sitting next to eachother. One looked tall and blonde, the other was shorter, brunette and had a more happy demeanor. "Are Gilbert and Lovino's brothers. The one that looks basically identical to Lovino is his brother, Feliciano. But they aren't twins. Gilbert, Antonio, Lovino, and Francis are all a year above us." I opened my mouth to speak but Alfred held out his finger to silence me. "We'll get to Francis soon." I nodded. "But anyway, Ludwig and Feliciano are basically THE gay couple of the school." He put unnecessary emphasis on the. "Unlike Toni and Vino, those two are actually an official couple. People either make fun of them, or completely respect them."
"It's truly nice that they can express their feelings without caring about what everybody else has to say about it." I came in, the two across from me nodding in agreement.
"Yes, I really look up to them. You know, with me being gay and all…" Matt added in nervously, looking down.
"So now, onto the trio." Alfred stated seriously, Matthew shivered. "The trio consists of Antonio, Gilbert, and Francis. They're all best friends, have been forever, and they are, what's the word…" He trailed off in thought.
"Insane." Matthew took the liberty of providing a word almost instantly.
"To put it simply, yes, they are insane. Insane perverts." He proclaimed. "You've had a sample of the first two, but Francis… Is worse." He slowly shook his head and sighed, my eyes widened.
"Worse than that obnoxious Gilbert? Is that possible?" I asked, not believing it.
"Yes, it's very possible." Matthew said rather defensively.
"Well firstly, he's French." Alfred pointed out.
"Oh, well that explains everything then." I half jokingly realised. They laughed.
"He's pansexual and hits on pretty much everybody. Matt here seems to get the worst of it. I'm pretty sure that his favourite victims are non-American boys. Which is way Mattie gets it so ba- OH MY GOD I JUST REALISED."
"Oh no." Matthew said as they looked at each other with wide eyes. "He has always said that he loves Brits..." There wide-eyed gazes moved to me.
"I'm so sorry." Alfred apologised sounding seriously worried.
"Oh don't worry about me. I've had my share of creepy French blokes hitting on me." I assured them. They both gave me an uncertain look and an equally as uncertain simultaneous 'okay'. "So Matthew, you are Canadian then?" I asked him, wanting to get far away from the subject of having previous French blokes hit on me.
"Oh! Yes! I take it Alfred didn't tell you, eh?" He sounded quite excited about the topic.
"He did not."
"Yep! I've lived here since 2nd grade though. Alfred and I have been friends ever since! And…" Matthew continued to talk about Canada for who knows how long (I had zoned out after awhile). It was in that moment that I realised, living in America might not be too terribly bad after all. I had actually made friends that I actually liked and wanted to talk to. I was really glad that it went well with Alfred and I didn't absolutely hate him, because now I wouldn't have to be alone. It was strange, but I seemed to enjoy being around him. Maybe I could even have him show me around this strange little town. Hmm, maybe.
Càllate! = Shut up!
A/N: Chapter 2! Let me know what you think of it! I'm going to start making the chapters longer and start updating it once every month or two. Hope you're enjoying it so far :)