Chapter 2

Alfred Jones

I walked down the school hallways with a small smile with Natalie by my side.

"Mattie!" I heard and turned around to see Alfred's face laced with sadness. "They hit you..? Again..?" He asked, his fingers ghosting across my now purple bruise. My cheek was swollen and hurting and I just wanted to get the hell out of school. I don't understand how people can even enjoy this hell, it's stupid.

"Yea. They did. So what?" I asked, and I just wanted to go to class.

"They shouldn't hit you like that!" He yelled obviously mad.

"Well, you shouldn't yell at people that you don't even really know, now should you?" I spat. I looked at Al's face then, and saw the hurt spread across his face. "Al, I'm sorry, I—"

"It's fine. I shouldn't have bothered her... I admit that... but please, Mattie, listen to me; you need to stop that. Stop letting them hit you. Stop letting them get away. Take a photo or something; I'll beat their asses for you!"

"NO! I don't need you to fight my battles, Al. I love you for trying, but if, and I mean if, I do choose to fight this battle, I can and I will do it alone. I may be quiet and soft-spoken but that does NOT mean that I cannot fight. Remember, I beat even you in hockey." I stated, my voice steadily raising every sentence.

"Mattie..." Al smiled brightly at me and I was confused. "You... You're finally growing up!" He yelled and pulled me into a tight hug.

"I am." I stated and smiled slightly at Al.

"Can I come over tonight?" He asked and my smile fell. Did he really ask that..?

"Uh... Yea! Of course!" I answered. "Do you want to walk with me or will you come over later?" I asked.

"I will walk with you... There is something that I gotta do so I will walk with you." He smiled and I smiled back at him.

"OH SHIT, YA'LL 'BOUT TA IS LATE!" I heard and then jumped before racing to class.

"Bye, Alfred!" I yelled behind my shoulder and then entered my classroom which wasn't all that far away from where I was originally.

First period was math. Fun.

I walked in just as the late bell rang and thanked god for my timing. I sat in my seat that I had chose yesterday in the front row as I couldn't see well from the back in normal circumstances.

"Matthew, who was that that you were hugging?" Natalie asked from her seat next to me. I looked over to her and her tan skin greeted me.

"That was... Someone that I love dearly." I said with a small smile.

Natalie's curly black hair bounced as her eyes widened and a blush spread across her face. "You're gay!?" She whisper-yelled and I looked the other way, but nodded slightly. "Is it... like that, or like a brotherly love?"

"It's like that... But he thinks it's a brotherly love..." I said, my head hanging low.

"Matthew." I took a breath, ready for the cold rejection and hatred to rain down on me. "Look at me." I kept my head down. "Look at me!" I heard and I looked up, tears clouding my vision. Natalie put her hand on my cheek and smiled. "I still love you like a brother. Nothing is going to change from last year."

Last year, Natalie and I were almost as good as friends as Tasha and I were. You saw how that worked out in the last chapter. Natalie came over almost as often as Alfred did, but never really met Alfred as the person that I love, or even know on a personal level. She always talked about some guy that she always saw outside my house, but I was always too nervous to tell her that that was Alfred, so she never actually met him.

"I'm sorry..." I apologized with my head hanging low as the teacher walked in. It was Ludwig's dad and I knew him well but I don't think that he recognized me. It's okay though, because I still had Natalie and I still had Alfred and as long as I had them, I would be fine. I laughed slightly as Natalie poked my waist while the teacher was yelling at some student for not being in on time.

After math came science as second period and after science came lunch as third period. Finally, gym, then art and then English and the day ended. I pulled out my mobile and thumbed through my fairly short contact list, then selected Alfred and calling him as I walked to the front of the building. I waited with my phone to my ear, in the lobby next to the office.

Riiiiiiiiiing... Riiiiiiiiiing... Riiiiiiiiing... Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing...

"BOO!" I jumped out of my skin almost quite literally and turned around to see a smiling Alfred with his trumpet in hand. "DUDE, I TOTALLY GOT YOU!" He yelled, laughing.

"Alfred! I almost died! Don't do that!" I cried, trying to catch my breath.

"Haha sorry, Mattie. You ready?" He asked, pointing towards the front door.

"Yea... I will call papa on the way to let him know that you are coming, okay?" We started walking out of the building and into the parking lot, across the parking lot and onto the sidewalk that lined the school. Isaiah Renѐ-Simon High stood proud, facing the sky.

" Oui, papa?... Est-il acceptable pour Alfred de venir?... Oui ... je sais ... je suis très conscient de cela, papa, vous ne disposez pas de me dire… Bon ... Papa, arrête... NO QUI EST BRUT!... Papa, pourquoi?... Bon, eh bien, nous y serons bientôt. Oui… J'taime." I ended the call with a sigh. "Papa is okay with you coming over. " I told Alfred.

"That is good... Mattie?" I turned to look at Alfred and was met with a kiss. A warm one that I could tell was full of warmth and love and I nearly cried. His lips moved against mine in perfect sync, and his hands moved to my cheeks, pulling me further into the kiss. I didn't know what to do with my hands, so I rested them on his. He pulled back with flushed cheeks and a smile and I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Al?" I questioned. "What?"

"Mattie." He sighed and leaned in to kiss me but hovered over my lips. I could feel his breath lingering with mine. I moved slightly and his lips brushed mine after my eyes closed. "Mattie, I—"

"I love you." I blurted out, my eyes squeezing as tight as possible. I opened my eyes slowly and blinked. "I have since we were children and I'm sorry." Alfred held out his hand and I took it meekly. He ran all the way to my house and then opened the door.

"Bonjour, papa. Au revoir, papa!" I called as Alfred and I ran up to my room. He slammed the door and pinned me to it before kissing me again. I kissed back and after a second, his tongue ran over my bottom lip. I gasped and his tongue slipped in and it felt so nice, but I knew that it had to stop. "Alfred, Alfred, Alfred..." I whispered between chaste kisses. "W-we need to stop."

Alfred backed off and sat on my bed before huffing and lying down.

"Alfred?"

"Matthew?"

"Aaahhh-uhhm... What does this... uh..." I was blushing profusely and my voice got quieter and quieter until, "make us?" which was barely audible, and I doubt that he heard me but I am sure that he got the point.

Alfred smiled and looked up at me with a smile. "This makes us together." I smiled widely and went to my drawer and handed him a bar of chocolate.

"I could tell you were hungry." I stated. Alfred laughed and opened up the chocolate bar, taking large bites of it.

"Thanff fuu." He said with his mouth full.

"Any time." I said, smiling. I heard a knock at my door and went to open it to be greeted with my papa's smiling face. "Oui papa?"

"Mon amour, guess what?" HE asked, with a large smile.

"Hm?"

"We found your mother!" he yelled and I froze. I closed the door and slid down to the ground against my door.

"Mattie?" Alfred walked over to me, his candy bar forgotten. "Are you okay?" He asked, putting his hand on my back comfortingly.

Papa knocked on my door trying to make me come out but I sat there with thick and hot tears streaming down my face. "They... They found my mom... I thought that... that she was dead! They—I—"I buried my face in my hands and cried.

"It will be okay..." Alfred said, rubbing my small circles on my back where his hand landed. I moved and looked up at him before standing up. He pulled me into a tight hug, burying his face in my neck and I cried some more until papa came in.

Mathieu..." We stood in silence for awhile until papa's phone rang. "Damn... Mathieu, J'taime." He told me before walking out of my blue-walled room and answering his call, yelling at the poor soul at the end of the line.

Why is this happening now..?

Translation to larger French text ~ Yes, dad?... Is it okay for Alfred to come over?... Yes... I know... I am very aware of this, dad; you do not have to tell me... Alright... Dad, stop... NO THAT IS GROSS!... Dad, why?... Alright, well, we will be there soon... Yes... I love you.

Anyway... How was that? It took me FOREVER to finish this chapter because I wanted to add so much, but I didn't know how to word it and that frustrated me beyond belief and I kind of rage quitted yesterday because this was so challenging... anyway, So, I decided to upload a bit early, but the next update will come on Sunday of next week. Love you all!

Ciao!~~~~~~~~SpainDeBoss