Chapter 2
Alexis POV
I gaze into the mirror mounted on the wall next to my bed. My chocolate brown curls hang down past my shoulders, still damp from the recent shower I took. I have on a black tee with the heads of my favorite band, Green Day, printed on it and a pair of old worn out blue jeans. Glancing down at the ground, I stare intensely at my black and white converse. My hands are shaking uncontrollably and I clasp them together in front of me. This is the first I've ever felt this nervous about something like this in my life! I mean I've gone on some dates with guys before, but for some strange reason this one feels different. I plop down on the sky blue colored covers, the exact color of Alfred's eyes, on my bed, crossing my legs up on it, and rest my head in my hands
"Are you doing okay?" I peek through my fingers to see my big sister leaning against the doorframe.
I chuckle nervously. "Yeah I'm alright, just really nervous! I mean look at my hands!" I hold up my hands for her to see. My sister smiles and sits down on the bed next to me. She looks amazing with her black with a white rose t-shirt and a white jacket over that. Alex also has her really cute pair of shorts on, which are also black. Her hair's up in a loose ponytail with strands of dirty blond hair sticking out at random areas.
"You're not the only one!" She giggles and after a moment I join in. This is the first time we've gone on a double date together.
"What time will the boys be picking us up?" I ask after the two of us stop giggling.
"Arthur told me four thirty in the text he sent me a while ago."
"You two have exchanged numbers already! I didn't think to get Alfred's." I sigh sadly. Well that's kind of stupid of me. Why didn't I ask him for it? I'm pretty sure he would have given it to me.
"Well we kind of had to. How else would we be able to communicate with them?" I uncross my legs and move them so they're hanging off the bed and stare at my shoes again.
"What time is it now?"
Alex pulls her jacket sleeve up so I could see her silver watch. "It's 4:21, about time we're supposed to be picked up. Or they-"
Ding Dong.
"-could be early. . . Well, well, well. It appears they ARE early. Alexis you have to make a choice now," Alex says, getting her serious face on. "You can either, be adventurous and brave and go out on this date or you can be a coward and hide up here for the rest of the night. Of course if you did that you'd be missing out on a whole lot fun, and really cute guy that may have a crush on you."
I stare at her in complete shock. "Alex? How could you possibly think I would miss a chance like this to go out with a guy who likes iron man just as much as me?" Alex starts laughing again and I grin at her. The doorbell rings again, a bit impatiently, so Alex and I slide off my bed and gather our things we need in a rush. We hurry out the door of Alex's condo, locking it behind us, before going down the stairs and opening the entrance door fast. There, about to ring the doorbell a third time stands Arthur, but no Alfred.
"Hello Arthur." Alex chirps from behind me. I feel a pang of pure and utter disappointment in my chest. My eyes just start to water when I glance into Arthur's car and see Alfred waving frantically at me from the back seat. I squeal like a five year old girl and run out the door, around the car, and slide into the seat next to him.
"Hi!" I say excitedly. Alfred grins at me.
"H-Hi, Alexis." He stutters, glancing downwards and avoiding eye contact. His smile wavers a little; his nerves getting the best of him. He must be just as nervous as I am.
"You're nervous too huh?" I poke his arm lightly and smirk.
"What? Me?" He yelps loudly. "I-is it that noticeable?"
I chuckle and nod. "Yeah, but I'm nervous too so you don't need worry about it." He lets out a breath that he was holding and slouches in his seat, seemingly more relaxed now. "Hey, can you see what Arthur and Alex are doing? Their taking such a long time to get out here it's making me curious. Besides I can't see them through my window." Alfred turns his head towards the window, peering out to the front entrance.
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe this! Artie's face is redder then a cherry!" He laughs loudly, doubling over. I scoot closer to his side of the car to peek out the window with him, just to see Alex's equally red face.
"Wow. I haven't seen Alex smile like that since, well . . . since I was in the fourth grade!" I giggle into my hand. "Oh crap they're coming!" I quickly slide back to my side and buckle up. Arthur opens the passenger door for Alex, very gentlemanly like, before walking around the car to the driver's seat. I have to say that Arthur's car is so cool! It's one of those old cars that look like it must have been made in the nineteen forties. He puts the key in the ignition and starts up the engine and we're off out of the condos parking lot and down the street.
"Soooo . . . what's the plan?" I ask the others, mainly the two guys. We just arrived at the marvelous wonderground and gotten our tickets. "Honestly I want to go on the bigger rides, but I know exactly how Alex gets when she goes on them." A huge smile starts spreading across Alfred's face, making him look like a fool. "What's with that face Alfred?"
"No freaking way!" He bellows.
"No freaking way what?" I reply, slightly confused.
"I like big rides too!" He says enthusiastically. Arthur rolls his eyes at Alfred before looking at Alex.
"What does your sister mean when she says she knows how you get on big rides?" He asks her. I snigger and glance over at my dear sister, watching her face redden the same shade as a tomato.
"She gets extremely sick right after stepping off the ride." I reply while trying to suppress my laughter and failing. Alex gives me the most unpleasant face imaginable.
"Well then why don't we split up?" Arthur suggests. "I know Alfred loves rather large rides while I prefer to keep my feet planted on the ground. Just to this as simple as possible for you Alfred; Alex and I will enjoy the circuses or something much calmer while you and Alexis can go on those horrendous rides." Immediately after Arthur finishes speaking, Alfred grabs my hand and starts dragging me to the closest attraction, which happens to be bumper cars. "Bloody hell Alfred, act like a gentleman!"
The line for the bumper cars was surprisingly short and we get in practically when we just step in line. "Do you wanna do two seats with both of us in one car or separate?"Alfred asks me, handing over our tickets to the ticket master.
"I want to do separate so I can kick your butt!" I tease him. Before he can retort back, I jump into a blue car and, after shaking off his surprise, Alfred slides into a nearby red one. The moment the green light goes off he rams into me without any hesitation. I glare at him wickedly, turn around and crash into him just as fast as he did to me. I then retreat as fast as these cars could go but end up getting cornered by Alfred as he hits me again.
"Hey! Alexis!" He yells at me.
"What, you twit?" I holler back at him, using a name I heard Alex call to drivers who cut her off on the road.
"I'm requesting that you go on the London Eye with me!"
"That gigantic Ferris wheel we saw when walking into the fair? Why?"
"It's a large ride; we're planning on riding large rides, so we have to ride it!"
"It's not even in this park! Plus it costs money that I don't have on me!"
I run into him, skimming against his sides, trying to escape the trap he has set me up in. "What makes you think I'd let you pay?"
"I just kind of assumed!" I shout back loudly enough so he could hear.
"So will you?"
"Okay, but only cause you asked me so nice-Woah!" Before I could finish my sentence, someone crashes into me, hard. My neck snaps back, knocking into the cushioned head rest which really isn't that cushiony. Right after that impact, all the cars stop indicating that our time on the ride is over. I close my eyes, tears forming the corner of my eyes from the shock and pain in the back of my head.
"Dude, what the hell was that for?" Alfred yells.
"Sorry mate; couldn't help but hit a pretty lady." I open my eyes to see Alfred standing threateningly in front of some British dude, looking like he's about to punch his lights out.
"Well, leave her alone! Or I won't hesitate to seriously mess up that face of yours!" The British dude backs up slowly then sprints out of the attraction exit. Alfred rushes over to my side of the bumper car. "You okay?" He asks me, his blue eyes look at me with worry.
"Yeah . . . I'm fine Alfred. Its bumper cars, this is how their supposed to work, we bump into each other. Could you, maybe, help me out of this thing?" I unbuckle the belt keeping me strapped in the bumper car. But, instead of helping me out how normal people would, Alfred picks me up bridal style. "Hey! Why are you carrying me like this! You know I can walk just fine!"
"I feel like picking you up like this. Besides a Hero wouldn't let a young lady who is injured work to hard." He replies with a smirk. Once we exit the bumper cars attraction he gently sets me down on the pavement. "TO THE LONDON EYE WE GO!"
"Wait, Alfred!" I holler after him, stopping him in his tracks.
"What?"
"Can we go on some other rides too? Before we head to the Eye?"
"Of course we can! TO THE OTHER RIDES WE GO!" He shouts really loud, attracting the attention of those walking past us. Alfred takes my hand and drags me to other rides, just like how he dragged me to the bumper car ride.
Alex's POV
I watch Alfred drag Alexis off into the crowd before turning back to my own date, Arthur. He notices me staring at him and gives me a gentle angelic smile, which I can't help but blush at. "Should we be going as well?" I nod, unable to work my mouth properly. "Do you have any preference on where we should go?" Now that is a very good question.
There are multiple rides that we could go on, but I'm not in much of a mood to be going on them. Then there are shows and concerts showcasing all over the grounds, all sorts of circus and musical type of events. While I was debating on what we should do, my stomach grumbles really loudly. Arthur looks at me with wide eyes, surprised, before bursting out with laughter. I glance down at my feet sheepishly, my face ablaze. This is so embarrassing.
Arthur manages to calm himself down, his laughing turning into coughs. "Well then, since you seem so hungry, why don't we start at a cafe for a bite to eat?"At the mention of food my stomach growls again, which gets Arthur laughing all over again.
I cross my arms, turn my head to the side, and pout. "That isn't very gentlemanly you know." But this time he can't stop himself, so I turn on my heels and start walking in the opposite direction. "If you want to continue on laughing then go right ahead, you'll just be doing that alone." I huff and slip past a few couples, making my way towards the exit. All of a sudden someone grabs my wrist and spins me around, bringing me face to face with Arthur. He's no longer laughing and instead has an apologetic expression on.
"I'm sorry Alex; I don't know what came over me. It's just; your embarrassed expression was so adorable I couldn't help but find it amusing. Please don't leave." His eyes look at me with such sincerity and sadness that my bad mood melts away.
"Alright, I won't leave, but promise me that you won't go laughing at me like that another time."
"I swear on my life that such a thing won't happen ever again."
"Thank you, now we were talking about getting something to eat right?" Arthur smiles brightly and nods. "Then let's go. I haven't eaten since this morning."
Arthur glances at me in surprise all over again. "Then we shouldn't daddle, we can't have you going hungry now can we." He holds out his arm towards me and I place my hands in the crook of his elbow. "I saw a small cafe when we were going through the entrance, would that be good enough?"
"It'll have to do. I don't know how good their tea is but I'm hoping its good enough." I giggle softly, hiding my smile behind one of my hands as we head to the cafe.
Arthur takes my hand and tugs it away from my face. "You shouldn't hide your smile, love. Your smiles are the most radiant smiles I have ever seen." I blush furiously at the sweetness of his comment but refrain from hiding the smile that appears on my face. He leads me down the path that we had taken when entering the grounds, but turns to the left before the entrance, going through the glass doors of a quaint little cafe.
"It doesn't look too bad, though you can never trust these kinds of stores." I glance around the interior of the store till my eyes land on Arthur, who is staring straight at me. "What? Is there something on my face?" He chuckles when I start to pat my cheeks softly, shaking his head.
"It's nothing. I've been to this shop a few times and the tea and scones are decent. Not like what I make at home but it'll have to do." We walk to the counter where a blond haired brown eyed girl stands behind the cashier, flipping through a pink covered fashion magazine.
She glances up, sees the two of us, and quickly shoves the magazine to the side, replacing her bored expression with a big fake smile. "Welcome!" As she sets her eyes on Arthur, I can tell right then that she's checking him out. And it seems that she likes what she sees. "Well hello there handsome." I grimace at the flirtatious smile spreading across her face, oh how I hate these kinds of girls, and tighten my grip on Arthur's elbow. The cashier notices me and sneers. "Are you paying for her too? Cause if you are that is so totally hot. I love a man who helps the less fortunate."
I stare at her in disgust, glance up at Arthur, who seems to be rather uncomfortable in this situation, and then glare back at the cashier. "Could you please just do your job and take our order?" This ticks her off but she hides it with an over the top innocent smile.
"Hey calm down, it was just a joke, even though I'm sure he would agree with me. And you know; no guy likes a clingy girl." I gasp slightly in shock. Before I could snap back, Arthur steps in.
"That's enough. I won't be having you insult my date anymore." He gives the cashier the deadliest look I've ever seen and she flinches. "Now if you don't take our orders then we'll gladly go somewhere else." She nods stiffly. "Good." Arthur looks at me. "What would you like to have?"
I glance at the menu then at Arthur then back at the menu. "Well I normally get an earl grey with a little milk and a pinch of sugar, that's the best kind of tea ever." Arthur stares at me in surprise before melting away to a warm smile. "What is it this time?"
"It's just . . . that's the exact type of tea that I enjoy. It's amazing how our favorite type of teas is the same." I blush and look anywhere except into his green eyes. Arthur puts two fingers under my chin and lifts it up. "What did I say about hiding your face?" My face heats up even more and I'm sure if this continues I'll faint.
Someone clears their throat and we look up to see the cashier with an annoyed expression. "Can you hurry I really don't have all day to deal with you. Unless of course; it's you handsome that wants to spend some time together." She winks at Arthur and I snap. Within seconds I grab the collar of her shirt and yank her forwards so our noses our nearly touching.
"Listen here you, stay away from him because he is mine. If I see you even glancing at him in any flirtatious way I will scratch your eyes out and feed them to the birds. Do I make myself clear?" Both the cashier and Arthur look at me in complete and utter shock. But then Arthur bursts out laughing, making me release my grip on the cashiers t-shirt and lightly glare at him. "Now what's so funny! I'm being completely serious here!"
Arthur stops laughing long enough for him to reply. "I admire you for standing up for yourself, that was brilliant . . . simply brilliant." He looks at the cashier and smiles innocently. "We'll have two earl grays with milk and sugar and add a couple of scones to go." She nods quickly and then scurries away to gather everything from our order. Arthur turns back to me, only his once kind and laughing expression now serious. "Alex, I know that what she said angered you, and like I said before I admire your bravery, but please be a little more careful. What if instead of that girl it was someone that was more dangerous. Doing something like that could get you hurt." I pout at him, ashamed that I got reprimanded by Arthur. I notice from the corner of my eye him lifting his hand to brush a strand of my blond hair behind my ear. "So please, think a little bit before you act alright?" His fingers trail down my jaw line, across my cheeks, and linger on my lips causing a shiver to run down my spine. He lowers his hand to grab mine clenched around my bag strap. "Alright?"
"A-a-alright."
"Good." Right at that moment the cashier returns with our drinks and food. She sets it down on the counter in front of us with only a 'here you are'. Arthur takes out his wallet, which has the union jack printed on it I might add, and pulls out enough money to pay for the both of us and hands it to her. "Keep the change." He grabs one of the teas and hands it to me before getting his own drink and our scones. "Let's go."
I grin widely at him. "Okay!" We then walk out of the store with our teas in hand and a bag of scones, this day couldn't possibly get any better.
Alexis POV
"Tickets please." Asks the man letting people into the biggest Ferris wheel I have ever seen, and probably the biggest one in the world. The cars for the Ferris wheel are also gigantic, looking to be able to fit at least 15 people in them. When we arrived at the back of the line for the London Eye the sun was starting to sink into the horizon, now at the front, it's dark with the stars shining in the sky. Alfred hands the Ticketmaster our tickets and also a semi-large wad of cash, whispering something in his ear that I couldn't hear. The man then proceeds to lead us in the car and, to my surprise, closes the door behind us.
"Alfred, why are we the only ones in here?" I question him.
"I gave that guy a little extra cash so we wouldn't be crowded with a lot of people in this small glass box." He replies with a smile. I gawk at him, completely surprised.
"But wouldn't he get in trouble for doing that?"
"Nah not really, I know his boss so it's cool."
"Oh; alright then, if you say so." I slowly respond, still a little unsure. Moving past the bench, I stare out the window of side closest to the water. "Wow, this is beautiful!" The moon is out right above the water, casting its glow and creating a reflection. As we slowly rise in a circular motion, the lights of London create a picture perfect moment.
"What is?" Alfred asks, walking over to stand next to me.
"This scenery . . ." I whisper softly, as if speaking loudly would break this spell.
"You're more beautiful, Alexis." I look over at him and raise an eyebrow.
"What are you? The cheesiest guy in the world?"
"I could be, but I'm 75% sure I'm not. Plus if I were the cheesiest guy in the world there would be fireworks going off right about now." As soon as he says that, the sky lights up with red, white and blue fireworks. I stare at him dumbstruck. "That has nothing to do with me! I swear!" His face turns a bright shade of red.
"Suuuuurrrrreee!" I laugh. We're getting closer to the peak of the Ferris wheel. "Remember in the car, when I told you I was really nervous?"
"Yeah; why? He replies, a smile still on his face.
"I'm not so nervous anymore."
"Really?" He mumbles, sliding closer to me.
"Really." Now he's only inches from my face. I breathe in his scent, the scent of . . . Hamburgers.
"Well what if I did this?" Alfred then closes the little space left between our lips and kisses me. My eyes widen then flutter shut, my heart skipping a couple of beats. After a few seconds of kissing, he pulls away quickly. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what just came over me." He stutters.
I look up at him in surprise, then smile slyly. "Shut up and kiss me you fool."
Alex's POV
The sun sets beyond the horizon, coloring the sky in hues of pinks and oranges. I glance to the right and watch Arthur admire the picture worthy sight. His emerald eyes appear to glitter from the rays of light that shoot out towards us. I can't help but stare at him in wonder, how on earth did I manage to get a date with this wondrous man? We sit on a bench, much like the one that was in front of the comic store, side by side next to a couple of trees in the Jubilee Gardens close to the London Eye. Most people were still in the Wonderground, so the gardens are mostly empty.
". . .-x . . . -lex! . . . ALEX!" I snap to attention, not even realizing that I had been zoning out, and glance over at Arthur. "What's wrong? You weren't responding to anything I was saying and you had this far off look to your eyes." His eyes are filled with worry and concern, which gives me sort of a warm fuzzy feeling inside. He reaches out his and gently touches my cheek.
I blush from his touch and quickly slide back out of his reach, he frowns at this. "I'm sorry if I worried you. I was a little too deep in my thoughts. What were you saying before?" Arthur stares at me, a frown still etched on his face.
"Nothing important, I was just pointing out how lovely this sunset is. Are you sure you're alright? If you aren't feeling well I could take you home if that's what you want."
"No, I'm fine. Really. Just a little overwhelmed. This day has been amazing, and unbelievable. I . . . I guess I just . . . don't know how I ended up going on a date with someone as . . ." I struggle to find the word that would best describe him. "phenomenal as you. You're handsome, romantic, funny, and downright adorable. I know you could have any girl you wished for, and yet you picked me." I take a deep breath, keeping me eyes downcast. "Why chose me?"
I feel hands on both sides of my face, lifting it up so I'm gazing into Arthur's eyes. His facial expression is serious, but I could see his cheeks tinting pink. "Alex . . . you are amazing. I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be you. You're beautiful, charming, brave, and I couldn't help but fall in love with you the moment I saw you leaning against your car in front of the comic book store." He leans in, his face inching closer to mine. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." Just before our lips touch Arthur hesitates and I close the gap between us.
The kiss is short but sweet and we separate after a few seconds, keeping our foreheads touching. I peek up to see him gazing at me with a loving gaze and blush deep red. He brushes back some of my hair away from my eyes, with a small smile. "Do you understand now?" I look at him and smile back.
"I guess I do." Then, without another word, we kiss once again. The sun giving one last burst of sunshine before falling behind the horizon completely. This day has just became the best day of my entire life.
A/N: I apologize for the lateness! Lots of things started happening; sickness, school, just plain being lazy. But here's the second chapter! I do not own Hetalia (though I would love too). The 3rd chapter is done being written and only needs to be edited, but do to other writing assignments elsewhere it might take some time for it to get done being edited. On another note, like I said before the London Wonderground exists! But the rides and shops in this chapter are completely made up (except for the London eye, that's real). So thank you for reading and I would love it if you could review!