Hello! I'm so excited to bring y'all an Update of a story in a timely matter. I.e, the day I finish it and upload it on DA as well. Usually takes me a while to get it up on this site. But I fregunetly upload onto my DA. Check me out, I'm MaplePucks there too.

I hope y'all enjoy this update! Things are getting exciting! This is a 6-parter, so yay for half way there!

Please comment and review. You make me happy doing that. 3

That night for some reason and, much to Arthur's frustration, Francis took an unusually long time to fall asleep. How was he supposed to sneak out of the dorm to meet Matthew if Francis wouldn't fall asleep! The Englishman supposed he could he just told his friends he was meeting the quiet boy in the library, but then again, after Alfred's warning, Arthur didn't think that was a good idea. Oh, he was still going to tell Alfred off for lack of compassion but that was going to have to wait. Arthur was too excited to talk with Matthew again tonight, he was very eager to get to know him.

Finally, Francis drifted off to sleep while muttering something in French. Arthur assumed it was something insulting towards him but couldn't care less at this point. He hastily grabbed his satchel and slipped out the door. A few more nights of this and he would be a professional aty sneaking out. The thought brought a satisfied, cocky grin to Arthur's face.

As he was locking his door, he noticed someone else exiting their room down the hallway. That was quite odd, it was too late for anyone—including himself and Mattie—to be out of the dorms. Arthur froze and squinted in the direction. He knew Ludwig visited that end of the hall but he was a stickler for rules. Even if he was out too, he'd turn Arthur into the teachers in a heartbeat. That would wouldn't go over well with the Englishman, who was still rather proud of his reputation as a model student. But after staring for a bit longer, Arthur sighed in relief. It wasn't Ludwig. Curoisty peaked, Arthur walked towards the stranger.

Wait…was that? No, Arthur thought shaking his head, why would Alfred be at this end of the hall? Arthur moved closer…hold on….was that actually…

"Matthew?" Arthur called out, perhaps a tab bit louder then he should have given the late night. The boy jumped while shutting his door and split his belongings to the floor. Arthur gasped and hurried over, he hadn't meant to scare Matthew! At first, the blond didn't stop to pick up his books but instead stared wide eyed at Arthur, breathing hard and clutching his chest.

"Ar-Arthur! I'm sorry, eh. I didn't expect…you to be…here." He said between breaths. Ver worried, Arthur picked up his books and handed them back to Matthew. He raised an eyebrow as he did.

"Why are you sorry, I should be apologizing to you! I sincerely did not mean to scare you at all!" Arthur hastily said. Matthew seemed to calm down and accepted his belongings with a faint smile.

"Don't worry aboot it, I'm just not use to people calling out my name, that's all." He breathed quietly. Turning to finished closing and locking his door, he frowned, "Just please try not to scare me again." Matthew said. Arthur could have sworn he saw a faint grimace of pain cross the boys face as he spoke. That was certainly odd but Arthur then became distracted.

"Alright, I will—Oi! You have a single room! Why must we go to the library? We should just study here! You lucky sod…" He trailed off in astonishment and jealously. It was almost an honor to have a single at this school. Arthur knew he would much prefer one to having to room with Frog-Face. To his surprise however, Matthew shook his head, and pointed across the hall.

"Not a good idea. I live across from the Vargas twins. Noisy and really extra loud when Ludwig comes for a visit." He said. Then he pointed above his room. "Up there are the Nordic students. That one from Denmark is really loud and they also really like to rearrange their furniture at all hours of the night." Matthew said, annoyance definitely in his voice. Arthur gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Yes, I could see why you get more studying done at the library." Arthur mused. As they began to walk out of the hallway, Matthew nodded and pointed to the room next to his as they passed.

"Plus, I have a connecting bathroom with Gilbert and Antonio. They have parties just aboot every weekend. And Francis comes over too. All three of them like to get really drunk, I usually end up taking care of them. Mostly Francis, who is worse at holding his alcohol then I think he wants to admit." Matthew rambled off. It was surprising to hear the boy talk so much. Even more surprising to see the faint twinge of red come to his cheeks at the mention of Francis' name. Arthur gave him a coy smile.

"Do you now? Interesting, Francis must be quite the handful. How exactly do you 'take care' of him?" Arthur asked playfully. To his amusement, Matthew turned a deeper shade of red and sputtered an answer. It almost sounded like, "not that way!" but Arthur couldn't be sure. All the same, he elbowed Matthew lightly and smiled, "You like the Frog, don't you?" He asked the shy boy. Matthew sighed and gave a small nod.

"Yes, I admit, I have a small little crush on the notorious school flirt, Francis Bonnefoy." Matthew conceded but with a small frown he added, "It would never work out between us though." Arthur was shocked that Matthew had admitted to having a crush on Francis so readily but was not shocked by the attitude Matthew had towards a possible relationship. He reached over and patted Matthew's shoulder sympathetically as they walked.

"Hey now, you never know, don't sell yourself short. I'm sure you'd make great pair." Arthur said. Of course, if the man would actually acknowledge the boy existed, then maybe they could get together. Arthur was definitely going to have words with the man for pretending Matthew was imaginary. Especially if Matthew took care of him while drunk and had a crush on the Frenchman. Matthew suddenly let out a little quiet laugh.

"It's not that at all! When he is drunk, he insists on calling me his 'Mon Petit' and he makes me call him 'Papa'. It would be just weird to date him after that." Matthew said, opening the door to the library to let Arthur in. He followed and then passed him. "Besides, no offense, but Francis is a pain in the ass." He said, moving towards his section ahead of Arthur. For a brief moment, Arthur stood their grinning broadly like an idiot.

Oh yes, Matthew and him would be getting along wonderfully.

The two settled themselves into the book section, on the floor as per usual and took out their notes. Arthur decided to work on his math work first but was soon pulling out his hair. The subject was impractical at best! Beyond basic adding, subtraction, multiplication and division, he couldn't see a point to learning it! While he angrily punched digits into a worthless calculator, he heard Matthew laugh softly.

"Having problems?" He asked in his quiet voice but Arthur definitely heard a hint of sarcasm. The Englishman very much wanted to chuck his pencil at the boy's head but only having just met him, he refrained. Instead, he rolled his eyes and sneered.

"Oh no, of course not. I'm having a jolly old time figuring out these equations!" Arthur shot back, offering his own dose of sarcasm in return. Matthew smiled and patted the empty space beside him.

"Come here, I'll help you. I'm actually very good with math, unlike my brother." Matthew said happily. The prospect of getting help from someone other the drill sergeant Ludwig made Arthur happy. He promptly scooted over without hesitation and handed his math homework to Matthew for revision.

It only took just a few moments for Arthur to realize that not only was Matthew better at math then Alfred, he was much nicer about helping him too. Where Alfred would help but laugh at him the entire time, Matthew was kind and very patient. He explained the problems in a logical way, a way Arthur could understand. He was even better tutor then then Ludwig! If this was going to be the case, Arthur foresaw many late night rendezvous in the library with Matthew, he thought smiling as the Canadian praised him for figuring out one on his own.

As they moved on to science, the other subject that caused Arthur grief, the Brit noticed something. The noises were gone. Those strange noises that had attracted Arthur to Matthew's presence in the first place. If Arthur remembered correctly, they had sounded almost like video game beeps and sound effects. Did Matthew like to play games in between subjects? Was Arthur disturbing his usual routine? He immediately felt bad. He pulled his science notebook back from Matthew and then coughed into his fist.

"You know, if you want to play your video games, don't let me stop you. Just keep the volume turned down." Arthur said nonchalantly. In return, he received a quizzical look from Matthew.

"Eh? What are you on aboot?" Matthew asked. Arthur blinked at him a few times. It was a fairly straight forward statement he had just made. Maybe he had become a tab bit oblvious living with Alfred for so long. Or maybe he just didn't want Arthur to know he played video games like his brother. Arthur smiled at that thought.

"It's perfectly fine, those noises you were making the other night, video games correct? I don't mind you playing them whilst we study, just with no volume." Arthur said. At that, Matthew strangely paled but then quickly smiled, waving his hands in front of him.

"Oh! Video games, yea! Um, I didn't bring them tonight because I knew you'd be here. I didn't want to be rude or something." He quickly responded, letting out a nervous laugh. Arthur cocked his head to the side, that was certainly an odd but in a way cute response. He smiled at the Canadian then went back to scribbling notes.

"Well, I don't mind a bit. I am good friends with your brother after all, the video game king, so don't fell as if you have to hide the fact that you like them too." Arthur replied. He saw Matthew turn a shade of red and then bury his head into his note book.

"O-Okay, I will keep that in mind." Matthew stuttered completely absorbing himself into studying after that.

Then they moved on to English work and Arthur discovered that it was Matthew's weakest subject. This made him strangely happy. Now he had a chance to help Matthew! How could someone be weak in English though, Arthur hadn't a clue. It was his favorite subject. Even Alfred was better at it then Matthew was. Arthur didn't mind though, he was actually glad he could help the boy after all the help he had just given him.

After Arthur worked Matthew through a particularly intricate section of Shakespeare's "A Mid Summers Night Dream", the time came to move on to history. This probably made Arthur the most excited of the evening. He had been dying to probe Matthew since class about his paper topic. Being British, he had a sort of pride when people focused on the effects of the American Revolution on the British Empire.

As the night progressed, Arthur learned that Matthew was Canadian—though he had guessed as much from his accent. That was why he leaned towards the British side of the Revolution. They sat there chatting about history for a while but soon the conversation drifted to more generalized interests. Arthur was in heaven learning so much about his new friend.

He learned that Matthew loved to play hockey, but hadn't in years and this brought a pained look to the boy's eyes. Arthur was going to ask about it but Matthew quickly moved on. He went on to tell him about his love of maple syrup and polar bears. The fact that he dreamed of going over Niagara Falls in a barrel and that something called poutine was the best thing in the world. That Matthew loved tea, thought American "football" was boring and thought mythological creatures were interesting.

By the time they were packing up their belongings and getting ready to go, Arthur was in a very good mood. He was laughing at a joke Matthew had made at Francis' expense (though the shy boy was red about it afterwards) and then he sighed happily shouldering his satchel. The two began to walk out of the library.

"You know, I can't for the life of my figure you why Alfred doesn't like you that much." Arthur wondered out loud. He stopped dead in his tracks as he realized Matthew had frozen to the spot. There were very small tears in the corner of his eyes and Arthur could clearly see the hurt expression.

"Wha—What would make you think he doesn't like me? Does he talk aboot me or something?" Matthew asked, his voice cracking. Oh no, Arthur and his big mouth. At this moment he would rather kiss Snail-Breath then tell Matthew the truth. But the hole was already too deep. Arthur bit his lip.

"Actually, it's the opposite. He, well, he forgot you existed and doesn't mention you at all." Arthur said quietly. To his great surprise, Matthew relaxed and even smiled, resuming his walk down the hall. Arthur jogged in order to catch up with him.

"Yea, he's pretending to ignore me for years now. He is actually a very good little brother, he comes and checks on me every night. That's why I live on the same hall as you guys and why I have a single." Mathew rambled off, the small smile still on his lips. Arthur really wanted to know why Alfred felt the need to check on his older brother every night but there was a more pressing issue at hand.

"But Mattie, you don't understand. He specifically asked me not to be friends with you. He's not a good brother at all!" Arthur almost yelled but as they didn't need to be caught wandering the halls, he just whispered heatedly. Annoyingly, however, Matthew continued to smile.

"So he's still doing that too, eh? I figured as much. He's been doing that for years too, Mom as asked him to stop but he doesn't listen. He is only looking out for others that's all. You're…" He paused as they reached Arthur's door. The Canadian looked at him seriously in the eye, "You're going to be different, thought, right? You're not going to listen to him, are you?" Matthew asked. There was concern in his voice. Arthur immediately shook his head.

"No, of course not!" He responded forcefully. The produced a sigh of relief from Matthew.

"Thank goodness, see you in class, Arthur!" and with that promptly walked down the hall and disappeared into his room.

As Arthur entered his room, the smell of fresh cigarette smoke filling his nose, he began to worry about his new friend. Why was he so ok with his brother forgetting him and telling people to stay away? Arthur quickly changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. Lying there staring at the celling, listening to Francis snore, he let out a soft sigh.

Why was Matthew so different?

The next day, Arthur was struggling to stay awake in his morning class. It was on he shared with Alfred and Francis. Neither of them bothered to nudge him awake when the professor was trying to address him. That was rather embarrassing and left Arthur feeling even more aggravated towards his friends. When the professor allowed them the time to quietly talk amongst themselves, Arthur took the opportunity to round on the two. He was not going to let them get away with this, especially after getting to know Matthew so well last night.

Arthur's first target, Alfred.

"Oi, git!" He called, hastily crumpling up a piece of paper and chucking at the said American's head. "Why did you lie to me? You know exactly who your brother is and you have definitely never forgotten he goes to this school!" Arthur barked in a hush tone. Alfred shrugged with indifference, flicking the wad of paper back over with his pen.

"So he told you I check on him, huh? No big deal, I only do it cause Mom wants me too. Make sure he's having a good time here I guess. The kid is so shy though, it's hard for him to meet people." Alfred mused, head in one hand as if bored. The irony of his statement made Arthur angrier.

"Well, perhaps if you would quit telling people to stay away from him, you loon, he would have an easier go at making new friends!" Arthur hissed. "Why do you do that anyway? That's not at all like you, Alfred." Arthur asked in a quieter tone. It did worry him quite a bit that Alfred acted so odd about his brother. The man was usually friendly towards just about everyone and fiercely protective of people he felt close to. Did that mean he wasn't close to Matthew at all? Despite them being step brothers, Arthur expected a little more from the self-proclaimed hero.

In response, Arthur received another indifferent shrug and reciprocated with another paper ball to the head. The two were about to go at each other until Francis chimed in.

"Mon Dieu, are you still going on about your imaginary friend, Brows? Why will you not listen to moi when I tell you zhat makes you sound as crazy as people zhink you are, mon ami?" Francis quipped, not even bothering to look up from the doddle he was working on steadily in his notebook. At this point, Arthur was so irritated, flicked the Frenchman's ear, making him look up.

"Don't even, you twat, you know full well Mattie exists!" Arthur said, ignoring the groan that left Alfred when he heard Arthur use the affectionate nickname. Seriously, were both of his friends really this heartless? He refused to believe Francis of all people was choosing to willingly ignore someone. "He told me himself that he takes care of you when you are hopelessly intoxicated whilst in Gil's room! You've met him several times, wanker." Arthur nearly yelled. It was very hard to keep his voice down when he was so frustrated. The frustration grew with Francis' reply, or lack thereof in this case.

Looking up from his drawing, Francis smiled. "Zhe one who takes care of me is not zhis Mathieu person. Non…" He said, turning his attention over to Alfred. The two smiled at each other. "Zhe one who cares for moi is ma cher Alfred." He said lovingly. Alfred purred at him and the two leaned into each other. Presumably for a kiss, or another groping session, Arthur never could tell which was more likely with Francis involved. Either way, Arthur was now more than just a bit pissed off at the two for ignoring Matthew.

Luckily, there seemed to be some justice in the world. As the two moved closer to each other (in definite kiss mode as their lips had just brushed), the teacher loomed. They received a scolding about keeping their hands to themselves and a threat of detention if the behavior continued. Arthur couldn't help but to stifle a laugh behind his hand. Served them the inconsiderate jerks right. After that, Arthur left them alone, content to let them wallow in the embarrassment they brought on themselves.

Finally, they were released from class and Arthur gathered his belongings with a smug grin. Oh he was still mad at them but he was more pleased now. That was until he felt a tap on his shoulder as he left the room. He turned to find a very stern but sad looking Alfred.

"Artie, I'm begging ya. Leave my brother alone. Don't get too close to him." He said again. This enraged Arthur and he snarled at his friend.

"You are not his mother! I can see him if I choose to! Why are you being this way towards that poor boy? What could he possibly have done to you to make you hate him?" Arthur yelled, not bothering to keep his voice down. Several people turned to stare but he didn't care. Alfred, however, didn't back down but did lower his voice.

"Matthew is only going to end up breaking your heart, I know how you are. I don't want you to go through that. Please, just forget about him." Alfred said quietly. He turned and walked away like he had before.

This was crazy! Alfred was like a totally different person towards his brother! Was he resentful that he had come into the family and stolen attention away from him? Alfred seemed like the type that would get upset over that. But still, to want to keep people away from his brother and tell lies about him? Something was definitely wrong with Alfred.

Arthur slipped into his history class. He scanned the room for just about a half a second before he spotted the familiar blond hair with one unruly curl sitting in the back.. Matthew looked up at that moment and saw Arthur. Those kind purple eyes lite up and he smiled, happily waving at him. Arthur beamed back at his new friend and made his way over to sit with him again.

Seriously, how on earth could this sweet boy break anyone's heart?

Over the next few weeks, despite his increasingly bad sleeping habits (and Alfred's warning), Arthur faithfully showed up to study with Matthew. He began receiving tutoring from him instead of Ludwig and Kiku, likewise Arthur continued to give Matthew pointers in English. The nights were fun and Arthur came to like Matthew more and more.

Much more.

It was only a matter of time, Arthur knew it had been likely. He was rather lonely since his split with Gil and since Matthew had admitted to having a crush on Francis, the Brit had felt free to allow himself to develop a crush of his own. Trouble was, every time the shy Gentleman went to act on his feelings, the equally shy Canadian inadvertently blocked him. It wasn't his fault really, in a way, Arthur found it cute.

But frustrating. Until one night.

Poor Matthew was irritated. His English paper was proving too difficult for him. Arthur tired to help but Matthew shoed him away. Politely of course, Arthur had to smile at the apologetic look he was given. As he sat there, trying to work through his math homework on his own—just as irritated—he tried not to laugh at Matthew. He was very cute when flustered.

At the same moment, both of them slammed their writing utensils down and leaned their heads against the bookshelf. When their hands fell to their sides, the fingers brushed each other. Both boys jumped and pulled away, laughing nervously. But then Arthur realized this was his chance. Slowly, he inched his hand back over and wrapped it around Matthew's. The boy gasped but didn't pull away. They sat there like that for a few moments before to Arthur's complete surprise, Matthew slumped over to lean on his shoulder. Arthur's heart began to pound hard, this was more then he bargained for and he was nervous and excited. Matthew banged his head against Arthur's shoulder lightly.

"I. Hate. English. I can't do it at all, eh. I'll never be able to pass! Why bother?" Matthew whispered. The Brit's heart was about to beat out of his chest. Now. Make the move now, his heart urged his brain.

Cupping Matthew's face in his free hand and gently making the boy look up, Arthur smiled kindly.

"It's alright, you have me. I won't let you fail, love."

With that, Arthur leaned down and placed a small kiss on his cheek. Matthew once again gasped and blinked up at the Englishman. For a second he didn't move, just stared. Oh no. Arthur had made a mistake! He almost pulled away but then…

Matthew threw his arms around Arthur's neck and pulled him into a kiss on the lips.