A/N: 'Ragi is on fire! Woot! I'd like to thank everyone for following, favoriting, and reviewing. It really means so much to me, more than you'll probably ever think. BTW… I still own nothing. I don't own the rights to anything. If I did, then I'd be rich and making people write fics for me… haha... probably not.

Human names: Lithuania – Toris Laurinaitis. China – Yao Wang. America – Alfred F. Jones. Canada – Matthew Williams. Poland – Feliks Lukasiewicz.

"Oi, hurry up, Feliciano! If we don't leave now, we'll be late!" Lovino steps into his black Maserati, slipping on a pair of shades against the harsh morning sun. Said redhead bursts out of the house, tugging his bag over his shoulder in haste. His eyes suddenly brighten when the brisk morning air bites his face. The grand smile that breaks across his face is almost amazing enough to distract one's eyesight away from the hideous bruise on his left cheek. He hurries to the passenger side with a bounce in his step and plops down on the leather seat, seemingly without a care in the world.

Lovino starts up the car and pulls out of the driveway. Feliciano quietly watches the houses pass by through the window but becomes bored soon after. He turns the radio to a station where a Justin Timberlake song is blaring. Feliciano joins in wholeheartedly. "Dirty babe! You see these shackles baby, I'm your slave! I'll let you work me if I misbehave! It's just that no one makes me feel this way!"

All the while he's singing, Lovino's face deepens to a dark red. To hear his little brother sing such words is embarrassing. In an instant, he changes it to an alternative station, mumbling something about hating pop music. From the corner of his eyes, he sees Feliciano's face fall. It's not that he intends to upset Feliciano. No. In fact, he wants just the opposite. He doesn't want someone to happen to look inside to see his brother singing his heart out to a risqué song would only add fuel to the fire. He only wants to protect his Feliciano.

They pull into a carpool lot just a short walk from the high school. Ever since Feliciano came out of the closet, Lovino has had to park his baby off campus in order to avoid it getting sabotaged. The first time something happened, someone spray painted the word "fag" on the hood. It upset Lovino almost as much as how much it upset Feliciano. After that, people slashed his tires and poured water into the interior of the car. Lovino had finally had enough and moved his parking location to the place they are at now.

Is he upset that his brother's little truth has caused his gorgeous car to get tortured? Well, in a way, yes. Ever since he was little, Lovino collected money by working odd jobs, saving up allowances, selling old toys, and when he was ten, he put his entire savings into a fund with a very large interest rate. His parents even donated to it every so often. It was only a month or so before Feliciano's confession that he was able to buy the car of his dreams. Still, it really isn't through any fault of Feliciano. His little brother was just tired of pretending to be someone who he wasn't.

The two begin the walk the rest of the way to school. Lovino watches his brother walking ahead of him. He's back to his normal self. He can't stop smiling and there is a bounce in each step he takes. Not even the morning sun can compare to the brightness belonging to the small teen. The bruise on his face is clearly visible but it does not seem to affect Feliciano. Sometimes Lovino wonders how strong his brother actually is. What is it that can make him so confident after receiving hours of beatings and insults? He seems to have infinite optimism. And that, Lovino decides, is the major difference between him and his brother.

As soon as they arrive on school grounds, eyes draw towards the redhead. Whispers spread like wildfire but Feliciano doesn't seem to notice the harsh hissing. To Lovino, all the gossiping students are no more than hyenas. They take sight of their prey and keep a good eye on it until someone is able to take it down. Then they will jump at their defenseless prey without a single regret in their insignificant little minds. Lovino has no greater wish than to see them all suffer for their actions.

It isn't as if Feliciano doesn't notice people staring at him. He can see their conspicuous glances and he can hear the whispers of hate spilling out of their mouths like water. Their heated glances burn his skin. The whispers sting his ears and pierce his heart. Still, it isn't nearly as bad as the beatings he's received. This is mere child's play compared to the fists swung by the albino student as he spits out venomous words and curses that assault his hearing. So long as it is not physical pain, he is willing to put up with whatever they throw at him.

"'Sup Lovi?" Feliciano and Lovino stop to watch as Lovino's friend, Alfred, runs up to them, his almost identical half-brother following after. The blond with the bomber jacket takes one look at Feliciano's face and his blue eyes light up. "Dude! What happened to your bro's face? It's, like, all bruised on one side!"

Feliciano's face turns almost as red as his hair. Unconsciously, he reaches up to hide the obvious mark. He stutters an apology as he begins to hurry away.

"Bastard, keep your mouth shut," Lovino hisses at Alfred.

Seeing this, Alfred's brother hurries to catch up with Feliciano. He rests a small hand on the other's shoulder. "I'm sorry about that. He didn't mean anything by that. He has no censor, whatsoever."

For a minute, Feliciano stares at the ground, lost in his own world. This is not a good way to meet your brother's friends. Lovino has always kept his friends away from Feliciano, especially now. They are all a bit on the "too honest" side. Lovino knows Feliciano is on the sensitive side and the slightest remake could end up hurtful. Lovino punches Alfred in the arm.

"What was that for, dude?"

"I don't want you to say anything in front of Feliciano. Got it?" Lovino's eyes seem to stare right into Alfred's soul. It's as if he is trying to take control of his thoughts and actions like a puppeteer and his puppet.

Unperturbed by the deadly aura emitting from Lovino, Alfred begins to pull him away. "Anyways, what I wanted to say before was that there is someone I want you to meet. I happened across him yesterday. He's hilarious. His name's Antonio and I think you'll like him a lot!"

Lovino has no choice but to go with his obnoxious friend. When Alfred is enthusiastic about something, he's unstoppable. "Hey Matthew, look after Feli for me!" he calls back as Alfred's grip on his shirt gets tighter.

Matthew gives a curt nod to the elder brother and returns his attention to the younger. "I don't think I have formally introduced myself," Matthew whispers when it's clear Feliciano doesn't want to say anything. "I'm Matthew Williams." He extends his hand to Feliciano and gives a soft smile. Feliciano returns the gesture after a second of contemplating.

"Feliciano Vargas," he replies with half a smile.

Matthew's violet eyes glace to the bruise on Feliciano's cheek and his smile fades. "You know, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm a good listener."

The redhead stares at the blond. He has seen him in the halls but he never really took note of him. He doesn't seem like a bad person though. Quiet and understanding… maybe Feliciano can trust Matthew with his secrets. Not yet though. Not even close.

"I'll keep that in mind… Say. Do you want to hang out before class starts?"

Feliciano has friends. He always talks to Yao and Toris. They are both individual in their own ways but neither can be trusted with his experiences. He appreciates how they stayed with him, even after he confessed his sexual orientation. The two of them, though weird, are supportive. Yao is a bit abrasive and always speaks his mind but he's no more dangerous than a teddy bear. Actually, it'd be more accurate to say no more dangerous than a stuffed panda. He happens to have a strange addiction with pandas and girly things. Toris, however, is a lot like Matthew. He's quiet and reserved. No one really seems to notice him but he's good of heart. However, he tells everything to his friend Feliks and Feliks has a thing for gossip and revealing secrets. Maybe it'd be nice to be able to get everything off of his chest.

The two head towards the school when a door is heard slamming to their left. Instinctively, they both halt. The air suddenly feels like stone in Feliciano's lungs. Blood begins to pound through his ears at his eyes capture the scariest picture imaginable. His real-life nightmare, his whole reason for his terror, is standing not five feet away from him.

Caramel and red eyes lock as the same images flash through their heads but in different viewpoints. Feliciano can only see the pure enjoyment scrawled upon the albino's face as he lands a kick on his chest. He can almost feel the heavy air being forced from his chest as tears prick at the corners of his eyes. Gilbert, however, can only imagine Feliciano's face scrunched as he holds back cries of pain. He would only open his eyes when the attacks pause. Those gold eyes plead for a reprieve. They show that he is absolutely hopeless against Gilbert's attacks. Somehow, that thought is a pleasing one.

A smirk crosses Gilbert's face and Feliciano is suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to run. It is unavoidable. His left leg pushes hard against the parking lot pavement and he's launched into a full out sprint towards the jail known as high school. Left behind in a fit of confusion is Matthew, he looks towards Gilbert as if the albino would say why Feliciano acted how he did. Instead, he sees a guy with slicked back blond hair jump out of the passenger's seat to land a string of curses at the white haired student.

Not wanting to get involved, Matthew takes off. Ludwig takes a break from his ranting to watch the other one dart away. "Gilbert," he continues in a low voice. "I want you to stop this right now. There's no way that kid would ever fight back. I feel sorry for you. You may think you are all tough for beating up on him but it only makes you look weaker. I'm sick of this," he hisses and walks away.

Gilbert pays no heed to this and pulls out his phone. He dials a number and the person answers on the first ring. "Gilbert where are you?"

"Well, hi to you too Francis," Gilbert sighs. "I was just about to ask you the same thing. I got to school a bit late because my stupid brother overslept. I'm at my usual parking spot so come find me."

"Sure thing. Be there in a minute." Francis hangs up.

Gilbert rests against the hood of his car, bathing in the bright yellow rays of the rising sun. "I get the feeling today is going to be awesome!"

A/N: So if any of you were wondering, the title to the chapters are the names of the songs I'm listening to while typing. Last chapter was "Let it Go" by Fossil Collective. This one is "Everlong" (acoustic version) by Foo Fighters. Just a little bit of info for you guys. Anyways, thanks for taking time out of you schedule to read "Safe & Sound". It means a lot.