Title: Tutor Me, Mathew Williams!
Author: SYNdicate 930
Summary: Who cares about if they have history together? It's all about chemistry, right?
NOTE: And so, we finally get to see Matthew! Thanks to those who reviewed, favorite'd, put this fic on alert and ever bothered reading up to this point! Also, thank you to imOodifferent, I'll be sure to put those pairings into consideration! I love SpaMano! And, hopefully it isn't too much of a spoiler, but ding ding ding! We have a winner, zero434! Though it isn't going to happen right off the bat, it'll get there ^^~
Chapter 3: Celsius
—-—
Walking towards Gilbert and Antonio, Francis ran a hand through his thick head of silky blonde hair then proceeded to greet them with a smile. Gilbert and Antonio said their hellos, and Francis motioned to the two boys a few steps behind him.
Gilbert's eyes followed and he immediately recognized the one on the left as Alfred, the boy who had been in his Math class just moments ago. Another boy who bore a striking resemblance to Alfred stood shyly on the other side of Francis, holding his books to his chest. His blonde hair was a little lighter and longer than Alfred's, and possessed a strange protruding curl similar to Alfred's cowlick. Unlike the confident blue eyes Alfred had, this boy had large violet eyes that stared timidly at his feet seated behind a pair of glasses.
He gave the boy a once over. The boy was very, very cute. He stood at about 5'7", noticeably shorter and more timid than Alfred who was about the same height as Gilbert. Dressed in a baggy white hoodie with the name 'CANADA' written in big red letters on the front, dark gray skinny jeans, and black Van sneakers, his modest appearance suited the equally modest aura the boy exuded.
"Hello, mon amis. These are my family friends who I helped move in and show around town for the past week. This is Alfred Jones," Said Francis, before turning to point to the boy on his right. "and this Matthew Williams. As you can see, these two are brothers. And they're in their third year of high school, too."
He took a moment to eye Matthew a little longer, finding something about his shy demeanor alluring, before Alfred cleared his throat, making it obvious to Gilbert that the boy had caught his wandering crimson eyes. But it wasn't like Gilbert was checking Matthew out. He was just intrigued by the boy's introverted appearance that contrasted Alfred's incredibly extroverted one. Many people at East Riverstone didn't come off as shy around Gilbert. In fact, when he was around, people usually acted out in an attempt to gain his attention or to start conversations with him. Never did people shy away the way Matthew did as Gilbert smiled at him.
Alfred cleared his throat a second time, this time holding Gilbert's gaze. He smiled at Gilbert, his voice sounding a little pushy as he spoke. "Hey, you were in my math class just now, right?"
Gilbert nodded. "Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you, dude."
Alfred held out a hand politely to give Gilbert a friendly handshake. Gilbert looked at it reluctantly, but took the boy's hand anyway. He didn't want to come off as rude, even though he had his moments. He was instantly met with a vice grip and intimidating ice in Alfred's blue eyes despite the cheerful smile that graced his features. Gilbert responded immediately by tightening his hold on Alfred's hand, and he felt tension grow between him and the other boy.
Tension as a result of what? Now, that he wasn't all too sure of. He had just met the boy, so what could he have possibly done wrong? It usually took a day or two before people decided they hated him. He never fucked up first impressions. Ever.
Not realizing the mood taking a turn for the worse, Antonio intervened in his usual clueless manner. "Wait, if you guys are brothers, why do you both have different last names?"
Both boys stopped shaking hands, and retracted them. Gilbert stuffed his hands into his pockets. Alfred looked to Matthew, and Matthew looked to Alfred. For a moment, the brothers stood silently, staring at one another behind Francis' back before Matthew nodded.
Violet eyes found their way to Antonio, and, in a gentle tone that floated melodically through the air and into Gilbert's ears, he replied. "Well, you see, when our mother got married, she insisted on keeping her maiden name, Williams, and she was pregnant with us, they decided to give whoever was born first our father's surname, Jones, and the younger one our mother's, Williams."
"Oh, I see."
"And in the end, that's why our last names aren't the same!" Added Alfred. He walked over to stand beside Matthew, and throw a protective arm around the other boy's shoulders. "We're twins, you see, so whoever was out of the womb first was got our dad's last name and the one that came out second got our lovely mother's!"
"I know, I wondered about that too when I first met them, Antonio." Said Francis.
"Wait, but if you two are twins, why are your eyes different colors and how come you're taller?" Antonio asked.
"We're f-fraternal twins," This time it was Matthew who answered. "Meaning we aren't identical t-twins."
Alfred smiled. "Haha, yepp! Since I'm the older twin, I was born on the fourth of July, while Mattie over here was born early in the morning on the fifth of July."
"Wait, but how?" Antonio asked in growing confusion. His wondering mind never ceased to amaze Gilbert. It was just like him to shoot question after question. Then again, Gilbert was curious to see how they were twins born on two different days.
"I was born right before midnight on June. 30th while Mattie was born a few minutes past midnight on July 1st." Said Alfred. "So that makes the awesome older brother!"
"Oh." Antonio nodded in half-understanding, smiling happily at Alfred as Gilbert continued to stare at the shy boy under Alfred's arm. "Awh, that's cute. I know what it's like being an older brother. I'm always so protective over my little sister. She's only 5, but still."
Alfred beamed at Antonio.
"I know what you mean! I always worry about this little guy." Alfred said as he pulled his brother in for a noogie with the arm he had around him. Matthew groaned, and tried to move away.
"I, Alfred F. Jones, am Mattie's hero who'll always be here for him, and protect him from danger and bad guys." He stopped giving Matthew a noogie, and his sentence finished with a cold undertone, despite his lighthearted smile. Icy cerulean eyes locked with Gilbert's fiery crimson ones, and Gilbert couldn't help but scowl slightly. What was the guy's deal? For added emphasis, Alfred pulled Matthew closer, and gave his younger brother a kiss on the top of his head. "If anyone tries to mess with my little brother, I'll beat that bastard up."
Matthew looked up at his brother, and Alfred looked down at him in response, shooting him a brotherly smile as ruffled the boy's soft blonde hair lovingly. Francis, who had been watching Alfred and Gilbert's interactions, rubbed his neck uncomfortably while Antonio and Matthew stood aloof to the rising tension between them. "There Alfred goes again…" Francis thought.
"A-Anyway, what do you three have planned for lunch? What do you usually do?" Matthew asked, turning to look at Francis, Antonio, and then settling on Gilbert.
"Yeah, I'm starving!" Exclaimed Alfred, his arm still secured around Matthew as if afraid he would be taken away.
Matthew's eyes lingered on Gilbert a little longer, and the latter's words caught in his throat. Gilbert looked over to Francis for an answer. The French boy noticed this, and answered in Gilbert's place. "Well, we usually go to the cafeteria for lunch. Come on, why don't you two join us?"
—-—
As Francis, Antonio, and Alfred went to stand in line to go get food, Gilbert was left to go find a table with Matthew. Though Alfred seemed reluctant at the prospect of his little brother being left alone with Gilbert, Francis left him with no chance to disagree as he pulled the older brother into the line with him and Antonio. Gilbert felt a little offended at the way Alfred was treating him, but brushed it off. He was just being a little dick. Once things got unbearable, that's when he'd have to do something about it, but until then, he was just being incredibly annoying. Truthfully, there was just something about that Alfred boy that rubbed him the wrong way, and Gilbert knew that something about him rubbed Alfred the wrong way as well.
He had a feeling it had to do with his ogling of Matthew earlier in the hall in front of his locker. But, in Gilbert's defense, it was innocent and purely rated G. As they settled down at an empty table near the back corner of the cafeteria, Gilbert hopped onto the bench and watched as Matthew sat across from him. The Canadian boy placed his heavy looking books on the table in front of him, and sat patiently as he waited for the others to return. Gentle fingers folded themselves atop his lap innocently. The only reason Gilbert stared was because he found something interesting in his shyness.
Gilbert dumped his backpack onto the seat beside him, and stopped to quickly glance over at the cafeteria clock behind Matthew. For a few minutes, the two sat in silence as Gilbert drummed his fingers on the table surface while Matthew sat wordlessly, apparently engrossed in his thoughts. The albino wasn't used to being quiet around other people outside of class.
Silence made him nervous. It always did.
With his grandparents being the loud old folk they always were, and the constant talking and never ending conversations he had with Francis and Antonio, silence was something he had yet to become accustomed to in social situations. But until then, he continued to sit in quiet anxiety. He tried to amuse himself with imaginations of everything and anything to keep himself busy, but they quickly lead him to curious thoughts about the boy in front of him. Gilbert quickly glanced at Matthew while the boy wasn't looking.
Though he found something intriguing about the boy, when Gilbert looked at him, there really wasn't special about Matthew. Sure, he might have a brilliant mind and a kind heart, but Gilbert couldn't find anything about him that made Matthew stand out; there wasn't anything extraordinary that stood out about him.
However, a feeling in the pit of his stomach swelled with desire and his eyes couldn't help but fall onto Matthew. He thought that maybe it was because he was new and Gilbert wasn't used to seeing him around. It only made sense.
Resting his head in his hand, Gilbert wondered silently how a boy as innocent and demure his Matthew ever became friends with someone like Francis. It wasn't that Matthew was too good or not deserving of Francis' friendship, but that the boys were just so different that it made Gilbert's head hurt trying to think of how their friendship worked when it was just those two, Francis without he and Antonio, and Matthew without Alfred.
What did they do together? How did they act around one another? What did they bond over? What did they talk about? What was there to talk about when it came to those two?
"Maybe I should try to talk to him." The thought crossed his mind, and it wasn't all that displeasing. If anything, he actually kind of liked the idea. If he was friends with Francis, then he thought he might as well become friend with the boy as well. Plus, it would alleviate the panicky feeling in Gilbert's chest. He really did not like the lack of conversation going on around him. He took a deep breath, but he didn't know why.
"So… You're name's Matthew, right?" He asked, feeling uncharacteristically nervous for once in his life.
Matthew looked up from the table to Gilbert, and nodded. "I-I'm sorry, but I don't think I caught your name…"
Offering the boy a charming smile, his nervousness disappeared as his usual cocky attitude rose to the surface, he jumped onto his feet and reached his hand out. Matthew seemed taken aback, but took Gilbert's hand to shake it. Out of habit, Gilbert leaned forward and brought the frail hand to his lips as he replied proudly. "Gilbert Beilschmidt, captain of the football team and the most awesome guy you'll ever meet, at your service!"
"I-It's nice to meet y-you." Deep red tinted Matthews's soft cheeks, and he sputtered on his words as Gilbert released his hand. The albino sat back down, and noted the cute appearance the boy took on when he was caught off guard and the endearing way his cheeks turned pink.
Returning his head to rest in his hand, he asked in a casual tone, "So, how do you like it at East Riverstone? Finding all your classes easily?"
"What do you mean? As in easy to understand, or easy to locate?"
"Locate, I guess."
"S-Sort of. Francis walked Alfred and I to all our classes this morning." Frowning slightly, Matthew continued. "I feel a little guilty, though, he's been late for some of his morning classes today because of that…"
"Well, say no more! I'm here, and I'll be your awesome guide until you get to know your way around the school!" Gilbert offered, and watched as a surprised look washed over the Canadian boy's gentle features.
"R-Really?"
"Yeah, for sure! Francis can show Alfred around, and I can show you around. That way no one's late!" Gilbert grinned. "Let me see your schedule."
The boy reached into the front pocket of his hoodie, and pulled out a folded white piece of paper. Unfolding it and straightening it out a little, he passed it to the other boy who took it with a curious expression.
First Period: AP English, Goldenberg— 8:00 – 9:00
Second Period: AP Math, Hughes— 9:10 – 10:10
Third Period: AP History, Quang — 10:20 – 11:30
LUNCH BREAK: 11:30 – 12:20
Fourth Period: Band, Zimmerman — 12:25 – 1:25
Fifth Period: AP French, Clarke — 1:30 – 2:30
Sixth Period: Chemistry, Riley — 2:40 – 3:40
Gilbert's brows shot up at the AP classes. He had already expected Matthew to be intelligent just by looking at him, but he couldn't help but wonder just how a smart he really was. The AP courses at East Riverstone were notorious for being real ball busters. Students who usually received 90-100% would receive 65-75%, bumping their +A's to either a B or C. Or at least that's how Ludwig made them sound whenever he complained to Gilbert about the homework he received in his own AP classes.
Looking over each class and trying to remember where each room was located, he stared at his last period class. Chemistry with Riley. That was what Gilbert had last period as well, and he grinned over at the other boy as he handed him his time table.
"Do you know where all these classes are?" Matthew asked him.
Gilbert nodded. "Yepp. You won't have to worry about getting lost, or anyone being late. And guess what? You've got Chemistry with lil' old awesome me last period!"
"Really? That's a relief; at least I won't be alone in all my classes, t-thanks to you and Francis."
"Oh? You and Francis have class together?"
"Uh-huh. We have History together." Matthew replied. "He's actually very g-good at it."
"I know. He had to tutor me last year when I did badly." The conversation quickly dried out and an uncomfortable silence settled upon the duo as Matthew returned to sitting quietly. Gilbert began to think as to what else they could talk about, but, fortunately for him, Matthew had beaten him to it.
In an uncertain voice, he asked Gilbert, "S-So, you're the Gilbert Francis grew up with, right?"
He grinned widely. "The one and only! Why?"
"I-It's nothing. I've just heard so much about you."
"Oh? And what does he say about me? I bet it's about how freakin' awesome I am, am I right?"
Matthew looked like he was at a loss of words, obviously not used to Gilbert's personality. The boy remained silent, only looking at the German boy with big violet orbs. Gilbert felt sympathetic. Though he never felt as shy as he assumed Matthew did at that moment, he felt a little bad for the boy. Red irises glanced over at Matthew and remained there.
Being new at school and incredibly shy—"It must be tough on a quiet little guy like him."
Suddenly, a tray of food was dropped on the table between him and Matthew. Matthew's shoulders jumped and Gilbert flinched, his eyes shooting immediately to the figure looming over Matthew. Patting his brother's head affectionately, Alfred grinned widely as he hopped onto the bench beside Matthew with a small laugh. "Haha! I totally scared ya there, Mattie!"
"Stop picking on him." Francis said as he shook his head in amusement. He and Antonio sat on the bench across from the brothers with Gilbert; Gilbert on the end against the wall, Francis in the middle, and Antonio on the other end. Turning to look at him, Francis pushed his tray closer to Gilbert and motioned towards the burger and French fries beside a piece of pizza. "Gilbert, I got you something to eat."
"Oh! And they were also selling these pudding cups we know you like." Antonio added. He picked up a chocolate pudding cup and spoon on his tray and placed it on Francis' tray beside Gilbert's food.
Gilbert smiled at his friends' thoughtfulness and said his thanks before digging into his burger and fries as Alfred and Matthew shared two slices of pizza together across the table.
As the boys finished their food, Matthew passed on the plan Gilbert had come up with to Alfred; that Francis would help show Alfred around and take him to all his classes until he could do it himself, and that Gilbert would help Matthew do the same to prevent Francis from being late from class. Alfred seemed to object immediately, saying he was worried about bad things and people that would try to pull something on him.
Gilbert caught the quick shift in Alfred's eyes as the darted into his peripheral to glance at the albino instantly. Gilbert averted his stare to meet Alfred's, who looked back to Matthew with concern. "Are you sure about that?" He asked the boy worriedly as they got out of their seats.
Alfred picked up Matthew's books for him as the other boy replied. "I'm sure. Besides, I don't think we should keep Francis late after he missed a whole week because of us."
"Huh. I guess you're right…" Alfred trailed off as Matthew grabbed his books from him. The smaller boy struggled slightly as he tried to balance them in his frail arms.
"Don't worry, Alfred. Gilbert has been one of my best friends since I was a little boy and he knows his way around the school." Francis interrupted. "Besides, Matthew's next class is right next to Gilbert's, so there's nothing to worry about."
—-—
Walking out of the exit opposite to the one Francis, Antonio, and Alfred left through, Matthew watched apologetically as Alfred looked back at him as he pushed open the large cafeteria door with a frown, and blue puppy dog eyes. He looked like a mixture of an over-protective parent watching their child move out and into the real world on their own, and a young puppy missing their loving owner. It pulled on the young boy's heart strings more than he thought it would.
From a young age, Matthew and Alfred were inseparable and preferred not to do much in the absence of the other. Where Matthew went, Alfred would often follow acting like a bodyguard of sorts that Matthew didn't need. As a result of being born weaker and with minor breathing problems, Alfred always felt the need to 'protect' Matthew from anything he deemed dangerous or harmful. When Matthew was subject to bullying in his kindergarten years, Alfred, who had been born with a stronger and taller build, always played the hero; jumping in and beating the living daylights out of anyone who even considered harming a soft little strand of blonde hair on his beloved brother's head.
Since then, Alfred never seemed to have out grown his little habit of guarding Matthew. Sometimes he didn't mind it because if it were they were born the other way around, with Alfred born weaker and Matthew born stronger, he surely would have done the same.
The doors closed behind Alfred as Francis lead him towards his first afternoon class, who looked excruciatingly reluctant. Matthew couldn't tell if he was just seeing things or if Alfred had glared at someone near Matthew before he disappeared from his sight down the long hallway.
Turning away, he felt rather guilty. Alfred was always worrying about him, though he gave Matthew time to himself at school to spend time with his other friends. The thing was that they were in a completely different school now, at least twice the size of their old school back in Canada. The hallways were twice the size in comparison to the hallways of Matthew's old school, with a third floor with tons of classrooms on each floor that added to the boy's confusion surrounding his way around.
He hoped none of his classes would be on the third floor. He imagined how big of a pain it would be to climb three flights of stairs every day and the trouble he'd face carrying such heavy books. Subconsciously, Matthew adjusted the binder and textbooks in his arms into a more comfortable position as Gilbert opened the door for him.
Matthew stuttered through a 'thank you' to the tall boy, and let himself be lead to East Riverstone's band room down the empty halls. Luckily for Matthew, the band room was on the main floor. Picking up his pace, he speed walked in order to keep up with Gilbert's long strides.
Whenever Francis flew over, he would always bring with him not only small trinkets and pricey gifts for he and Alfred, but stories of all the shenanigans he and the Bad Touch Trio pulled off. The tales he would tell and the pictures he would present them with were amusing to say the least. Even someone as timid and innocent as Matthew saw the hilarity in the things they said and did.
While Francis described Antonio to be the clueless and innocent one, Gilbert was portrayed as the sort of stereotypical popular boy who was the life of the party with an exceedingly flirtatious attitude that rivalled Francis', and big, loud mouth. But, as he walked beside Gilbert, whose mouth was zipped shut, Matthew didn't see the boy he had heard all about for the past few years. Sometimes he would wonder if Francis ever spoke about him and Alfred to Gilbert and Antonio and, if so, what kind of things he would tell them.
The once lifeless halls quickly came to life as students left the cafeteria behind them and walked in through the main doors at the front of the school near the office. For a moment, Matthew worried about being lost in the crowd due to their differing strides and walking speeds. So, moving his books and binder into his stronger arm, he used his other to reach forward and hold onto the back of Gilbert's sleeve the way he held onto Alfred's sleeve when they were younger.
This seemed to have caught Gilbert's attention, for he turned his head to look down at Matthew. Matthew looked up from his hand to meet Gilbert's stare and was greeted with deep red eyes. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. The color reminded him of blood. But he tried to push that thought away, and was successful as Gilbert's voice cleared all unwanted thoughts.
"You want me to carry your stuff for you?" Gilbert offered, noticing the way he struggled to keep up with him and hold his books and binder at the same time. Matthew shook his head in protest. Gilbert ignored him, and stopped walking to pry them from his slender arms. He held them effortlessly. "Don't worry about it, I got you, okay?"
Gilbert shot him a wide smile, showing off his perfect pearly whites. Matthew smiled back.
"So," The boy began as he held Matthew's books in one arm. "Do you know where your locker is? If you have Band now, lugging all this crap with you wouldn't make much sense if you're sittin' there playing, like, the trombone or something, now would it?"
"Y-You're right." Matthew realized putting his things away would have been a smarter idea than bringing them with him. While Gilbert pulled them aside to prevent holding up the people walking behind them in the hallway, Matthew rummaged around though his pockets for his time table again. After pulling it out of his hoodie pocket, held the paper out for Gilbert to read the locker number printed in fine black ink at the top right corner.
"Locker 701." Gilbert read aloud in a thoughtful expression. "This means your locker should be on the second floor."
Gilbert began walking towards the staircase past the gym. Matthew walked speedily by the other boy's side and wondered how Alfred was doing and if he had already made it to his class. Pulling out his phone and looking at the unscratched screen, he read 1:22 PM; eight more minutes until the start of the class he had been looking forward to the most. Unlike his brother, whose brilliant athletic skill and talent in every sport he played outshined Matthew's, his musical ability and knack for playing a multitude of instruments left Alfred's drumming in the dust. When he had signed up for the Band, he was asked to state his preferred instrument. Instead, he left it blank and left it to his teacher to decide. Walking up the stairs beside Gilbert, he hoped to make new friends that shared his interest in music.
Suddenly clearing his throat, Gilbert said casually, "So, tell me about yourself."
"I-I beg your pardon?"
His violet eyes shifted to Gilbert, whose lax faced produced a charming smile that effectively held Matthew's attention until they reached the second floor. "I said 'tell me about yourself.' You know, like, anything you're interested in?"
Matthew pursed his lips into a thin line as he thought. "I like winter?" He said in an unsure tone, not knowing if that was the answer Gilbert was looking. To his surprise, the boy seemed pleased with his response.
"Really? I hear winter in Canada is brutal."
"N-Not really… It depends on where you live. In s-some places, winter can get as cold as minus fifty degrees Celsius, while other places are only minus 10 degrees Celsius." Said Matthew as Gilbert came to a stop in front of a locker. Matthew, whose eyes had been fixated on his locker and the fact he had a full locker instead of a half locker he had in his old school, looked up and squirmed under the confused expression on Gilbert's face.
They stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment before Matthew asked, worried he had offended the other boy, "I-Is something the matter?"
Gilbert waited a couple before answering. "The fuck's 'Celsius'?"
