"So, I have very little information on who this man—or woman—could be. I know that they don't live too far away because Gilbert was able to get to them on a bike."
Matthew had called Lovino into Starbucks an hour before they usually met, which was somewhere around five in the morning. Lovino almost strangled Matthew for waking him up so early.
"Well what if he rode the bike—which, by the way, was my bike—to somewhere he could get a ride. Like to a bus stop that was far enough away so that you wouldn't notice him," Lovino replied.
"Good point. So that means we have zero information. Great."
"Maybe if you ask him, he'll tell you."
"I doubt it. And there's no way I'm going to ever talk to that sleazeball again if I can help it."
"Well I'm pretty sure I could get some information out of him," Lovino said while maliciously cracking his knuckles.
Matthew put his head on the table and groaned. "I feel so stupid."
Lovino looked at Matthew and awkwardly patted him on the shoulder. "You're not stupid. Gilbert is just an asshole."
Matthew immediately shot up, startling Lovino. "I just remembered something!"
"What? What is it?"
He pulled out his phone and started typing something. "If I could just…" he started. "AHA!"
"What," Lovino nearly yelled. "Did you find something?"
"Oh I found something."
"Well are you gonna tell me or not?"
"Okay so… just a second." Matthew tapped something on his phone and showed it to Lovino. He noticed that it was some social media account.
"What's this?"
"This is who we need to find."
"Wait. This is them?" Lovino looked closer at the small screen. The profile picture appeared to be a young woman, in her early twenties. She had long blondish hair and was smiling widely, a hand on her shoulder. Her relationship status said 'In a relationship with'… Gilbert Beilschmitd! "How did you find this?"
"I remember that Gilbert was always talking about this stupid website and I figured he would brag about his hot girlfriend on here so I went to his profile, looked at his relationship status, and there it was." Matthew smiled triumphantly, proud of his accomplishment.
"Okay so let's go find this girl…" Lovino looked at the phone again. "Elizaveta."
"Uhh, there's a bit of a problem though."
"What?"
"I don't know where she lives," Matthew said.
"Well does it say on her profile?"
"Uhh one sec." Matthew looked at the phone scrolling down and then back up. "No. It doesn't." He seemed disappointed, but not too discouraged. "That's okay. We can find out some other way."
"Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard." Lovino stood up. "Anyway, I should get going, my brother is throwing a moving in party at his and his boyfriend's new house and he would probably kill me if I didn't show up for at least a few minutes."
"Oh okay. Bye."
"See you later." Lovino waved and started walking towards the exit.
"Wait," Matthew called.
Lovino turned around. "Hmm?"
"Uh… could I… come with you?"
Lovino froze for a moment, confused as to why anyone would want to go anywhere with him. "Don't you have to work?"
"Actually, today is also my day off."
"Well then, why not?" Lovino shrugged. He doubted that Feliciano would mind one more, especially considering how much he wanted Lovino to make friends. "Come on."
Matthew smiled and followed Lovino out the door. "Thanks."
"You know what? I think I'm going to have fun for once in my life." Lovino smiled as he walked down the sidewalk, Matthew by his side.
"Lovi," Feliciano cheered when he opened the front door and saw Lovino standing there. He looked up and noticed that there was someone else with him. "And friend!"
"Feli, this is Matthew. He's someone I met at work. Kind of."
"Nice to meet you," he said as he shot his hand out. Matthew took it and shook it lightly while Feliciano had more of a death grip on the other's hand.
"Yeah. Great to meet you too." He laughed nervously until Feliciano dropped his hand and grabbed Lovino's instead.
"This way, fratello. There's food and drinks and it's going to be so fun. But there aren't a lot of people here yet. Just me and Ludwig."
"Good. I'm leaving as soon as everyone else arrives," Lovino mumbled.
"You're no fun," Feliciano pouted as he pulled him into the living room, Matthew following. They sat down on a new sofa pushed to the side of the room. There were boxes scattered about, not yet unpacked, and bubble wrap covered almost everything.
"Feli, why is that chair covered in plastic?"
"Because it's brand new and we don't want to ruin it. Duh." He skipped into the kitchen and left the two in the living room, alone.
Lovino shrugged and started chatting with Matthew again.
"So, uh," he started, not exactly sure how to keep a conversation going. He had never been good with social situations like this. "Um. Do you have any siblings?" Although they had spoken to each other every day for a while, they had never got to this topic.
"Yeah. I have one brother. You have any other siblings? You know, besides that one."
"Not really. Well, I have a step brother that I haven't seen in three years."
"Oh really? I haven't talked to Alfred in a while either."
"Alfred?"
"My brother."
"Oh, yeah."
The two jumped when the doorbell rang unexpectedly.
"I'll get it," Feliciano called as he hurried out of the kitchen with a bowl of chips in his hand. He had some difficulty opening the door with his free hand, but eventually he pulled it open and greeted whoever was standing there.
"Thanks for inviting me," the person said as he stepped through the door. "Hey. Where's Ludwig?"
"Oh. He's in the kitchen."
"Okay."
Back in the living room, Matthew and Lovino had finally gotten a legitimate conversation about food going.
"Wait a minute," Matthew interrupted, head perking up. "I know that voice," he said, referring to the new guest.
"Who is it," Lovino asked, right before someone stepped in the living room.
"Gilbert," Matthew growled.
"Matthew," Gilbert started, standing dumbfounded at the threshold. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
"I… Uh," he stammered, looking at Lovino. "I'm here with Lovino."
"Oh. Okay," Gilbert replied awkwardly before he quickly made his way to the kitchen.
"Why the heck is he here," Matthew asked to Lovino.
"I actually have no idea." He looked around for a moment before shouting. "Feli!"
"Yes," he replied from the kitchen.
"Would you come here for a minute, please?"
"Sure." Feliciano almost immediately popped into the living room, this time holding a pizza. "What?"
"Why is he here?"
"Why is who here?"
"Gilbert."
Feliciano looked confused for a moment before answering. "He's Ludwig's brother, silly."
"What," Matthew shouted, immediately covering his mouth. "Sorry for yelling," he whispered.
"There's no need to apologize," Lovino said before turning to Feliciano again. "I think we should go." He stood up from the sofa.
"No." Matthew pulled Lovino back to the couch. "I'll be fine."
"Are you sure."
Matthew just nodded.
"Suit yourself." Lovino shrugged and leant back on the couch. "How many people did you invite," he asked.
"Just a few friends."
"Okay. I guess I'll stay for a while," Lovino sighed, to which Feliciano cheered and went back in the kitchen.
Apparently, to Feliciano, a few meant fifty.
"I don't like this," Lovino complained as he scooted away from someone on the couch who had probably never heard of personal space.
"I don't either," Matthew replied, trying to make room for Lovino on the couch next to him..
"If you want, we can leave. I don't think Feli would really care."
"It's fine," Matthew answered, slightly distracted, while glancing around the room.
"Are you sure?"
"Hmm?" He looked at Lovino like he just realized he was there.
"Are you that worried about Gilbert?"
"Ha. No. Why would I care about Gilbert?"
"Yeah, why would you care about me?"
Matthew jumped and turned around. He glared at Gilbert, standing above him and smirking. "I don't."
"Obviously not," he teased.
"Go away, Gilbert."
"Or what?" He sat in between Matthew and Lovino, completely ignoring the angry Italian.
"I- Just go away."
"Nah. I'm comfortable here."
Matthew's face was red, and the expression on his face was not something one would want to run into in a dark alley.
"Very scary," Gilbert scoffed, rolling his eyes. He turned just now noticing that Lovino was, in fact, still there. "How you doing," he asked casually, putting his arm over his shoulder.
Lovino just glared at him and stood up, abandoning his arm on the couch. "I have to go to the bathroom," he spat, then looked at Matthew.
"Me too." Matthew stood as well and they both walked away together, not to the bathroom, but to the front door, and out into the front lawn.
"That fucking bastard," Matthew shouted when they were finally outside.
Lovino was slightly taken aback by the sudden outburst, but he went along with it.
"What is wrong with him?"
"A lot apparently," Lovino replied. They were silent for a moment before Lovino spoke. "Well, I should probably get home. It's late, and I have work tomorrow."
"Yeah me too. Wait a minute. Do buses run this late?"
Lovino looked at his watch then groaned. "Shit, they don't." He glanced around. It was dark and this wasn't the nicest neighborhood in town. "How are we supposed to get home?"
"Well," Matthew started, also looking at the neighboring houses. "I don't live far from here."
"That's great news for you, but I live on the other side of town. I can't walk."
"Well... uh... why don't you walk home with me and stay the night, and in the morning the buses will be running again."
"Really?" Lovino was shocked by Matthew's offer.
"Yeah," Matthew answered. "Only if you want, though," he added immediately.
"Actually, Yeah. That would be great."
"Alright. Come on." Matthew started down the sidewalk, Lovino following.
It only took Matthew and Lovino about twenty minutes to get to Matthew's house, but the trip there was probably the worst experience of Lovino's life. Not two minutes into their walk were they offered drugs, and five minutes in later were nearly mugged.
Despite these inconveniences, neither of them had died, which Lovino was thankful for, and when they finally got to Matthew's house, he couldn't have been more relieved.
"The guest room is down the hall, first door on your left," Matthew said as he shut and locked the front door. "The bathroom is right across from it, and if you need anything, don't be afraid to ask."
"Oh. Thank you." Lovino smiled gratefully and started towards the spare bedroom. "Goodnight, I guess."
"Yeah. Goodnight."
Matthew's smile was the last thing Lovino saw before closing the bedroom door. He glanced around the small room. The only things in it were a bed, some empty shelves, and a door that led to a closet. Lovino decided it would be best to get as comfortable as possible, so he took his shoes off and sat on the bed, cringing at the loud creaking sound it made. He fell back onto it and stared at the ceiling, wondering what the hell he was doing here.
I could be at home right now, he thought.
It was true that Lovino didn't have to go to Feliciano's party, and he didn't have to bring Matthew with him. To be honest, Lovino only wanted Matthew to go so he wouldn't be alone. It's not like he cared about what people thought of him, he just liked having someone to talk to other than his younger brother. However, the night hadn't gone at all like he had expected. A few hours ago, Lovino had no idea that he'd end up at Matthew's house, in a weird room, on a creaky bed, but he was thankful that he hadn't had to stay the night at Feliciano's, with Ludwig and possibly—no definitely—Gilbert. Lovino didn't doubt that the obnoxious German had gotten black-out drunk and couldn't drive himself home, and no one would be willing—or sober—enough to drive him.
Lovino didn't think he would be able to stop thinking about the previous few hours, which certainly wouldn't help him sleep, so he got up to go the bathroom across the hall.
For some reason, knocking on the bathroom door before opening it didn't even cross Lovino's mind. He hadn't had to share with anyone in such a long time, and he completely forgot that Matthew was also in this house. Big mistake.
"Ah!"
Lovino jumped and looked up at Matthew brushing his teeth, a startled look on his face.
"Oh. Scusi!" He immediately shut the door and quickly stepped back into the bedroom, face red. Good thing Matthew was only brushing his teeth and Lovino didn't walk in on anything too bad. He still felt stupid though. Why didn't I knock? He threw himself down on the bed, closing his eyes, willing sleep to come quickly so it would be morning and he could leave and forget all about this.
But, of course, that never happened for Lovino. He must've been laying there with his eyes closed for a good hour, but he just couldn't fall asleep. The harder he tried to get the party, Matthew, the bathroom, everything out of his head, the worse it got. Again, he stood up and left the bedroom, planning to splash some water on his face, but as soon as he stepped into the hallway, his mind went somewhere else. He didn't know why, but he thought it'd be a good idea to go to the kitchen and get a glass of water to drink instead, not even acknowledging that he didn't know where exactly the kitchen was. Despite this, he still made his way down the hall and to the living room, where he looked around.
Lovino must've been more tired than he thought he was, because he immediately registered the light shining through the cracks of Matthew's bedroom door as the kitchen for some reason. He would've walked right in if he didn't hear quiet talking on the other side. He pressed his ear to the door, careful not to accidentally push it open. He knew it was wrong to be eavesdropping, but he couldn't walk away after hearing what Matthew had to say.
"I don't care if she broke up with you. I'm too good for you," Matthew spat into his cell phone. He regretted ever giving Gilbert his phone number. That was how they met. Matthew had been sitting alone at some stupid club his brother had drug him to. Matthew didn't know that Alfred had been friends with Gilbert at the time, but he could've avoided this whole thing if his stupid brother had left him alone.
Matthew knew he didn't have to give Gilbert his phone number, but he seemed funny, and nice, at the time. God, I'm an idiot.
The next day, Gilbert texted him, asking to hang out, and Matthew didn't have anything better to do, so he agreed, and things went downhill from there.
In his entire relationship with Gilbert—the whole month and a half—Matthew had every opportunity to leave, to end it, but he never did, and he regretted that decision.
Of course, if Matthew hadn't been dating Gilbert, he wouldn't have accidentally "broke" into Lovino's house, and he wouldn't have become friends with Lovino. Matthew didn't want to think about that. Lovino was the best thing to happen to Matthew since… he couldn't remember the last time something legitimately good happened to him.
The only happy moment in his life he could think of was when he and Alfred were finally taken away from the terrible orphanage, but that was another story.
Matthew was so lost in thought that he hadn't listened to anything Gilbert had been saying for the past few minutes. He didn't care though. Gilbert's voice was even more annoying over the phone.
"I'm sorry, Matthew," Gilbert tried to apologize.
"I don't care. You could say you're sorry a million times and actually mean it, but I still never want to see you again. And stay away from Lovino too."
"That loser? Why would I want anything with him? And why do you care so much about him anyway?"
"None of your business, that's why. Goodbye."
"wai—"
Matthew hung up before Gilbert could finish.
A/N: Ahhh sorry it's been so long since I've updated, please don't hate me. I just started school and I've been busy and I've had 0 time or motivation to write so it took me a while to finish this chapter. Anyway, as I said, school has started, so I probably won't be updating all that often and again, I'm very sorry. Also, I hate to say this, but for those of you who have been reading Cacophony, my other story (I doubt any of you have), I might not update it for a while because I can only work on one story at the moment and I chose this one because I have more of it planned out. So, please, be patient, and if you really want a new chapter quickly, reviews always help. As always, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and may the next one be even better!