He had grown up on these streets. Since he moved here with his mother, father, and twin brother, when the Texan family left the arid south for the bustling city, this had been his home. It was dangerous; it was crowded, but it was his. The New York City air was chilly with fall, but Alfred shed the cold when he stepped into the diner.

Alfred Jones was the stereotype of his high school. Not the brightest, but his tanned skin, toned muscles, energetic blue eyes, and light brown hair that held a tint of honey streaks when it caught the light just perfectly well made up for that. Popular. Athletic. A girl's fantasy and a guy's ambition.

His footsteps squeaked against the yellowing, once sea foam green tile as he approached the table he spotted his friends and brother at. The aroma of sizzling Kobe burgers, baking sesame buns, and fresh cut vegetables filled the family-run establishment. A home away from home for the five teens. Alfred lightly pushed Eric, who had been in the middle of speaking, playfully telling his friend to scoot over. The black haired Senior obliged.

"We ordered without you," Jessie smiled, not really apologetically, "Got your usual."

"Wooh! Just means I get fed faster," Al grinned, pumping his fist into the air and accidentally elbowing his friend in the ribs.

"Yowch! Hey, watch it, wouldja?"

Alfred flashed a toothpaste commercial perfect grin, nose scrunching up with the motion as it did.

"Sorry man," he laughed airily, though his tone indicated that he was not, indeed, apologetic.

His friend paused a moment, then, closing his eyes, shook his head with a small smile. Eric gave a mischievous glance to the two sitting across from him then shoved Alfred as hard as he could, nearly causing the brunette to tumble out of the booth and straight into a startled, young waitress. His only saving grace was his quick reflexes, gripping onto the edge of the table the moment the impact hit him. The server squeaked, stepping back with wide, brown eyes.

"Eh, sorry, Miss," Alfred said weakly, tossing a glare to his friend as he straightened himself and the woman walked off after accepting the teenager's apology.

He pouted playfully and grumbled, "No fair. That could've ended badly."

Eric shrugged, "But it didn't!"

Idle conversation filled the air around the table until a boy in Jessica's class (Lance, was it) walked over with a tray of food, setting the respective food items in front of each student.

"Thanks man!" Alfred smiled before immediately digging into his burger.

Jessica sighed, but with a soft smirk on her lips. Lance nodded and walked away without a word, seemingly disgruntled. Mathew picked up a couple fries in between his thumb and forefinger and placed them in his mouth, but did not eat much more than that, taking to sip on his water whilst observing all of the people in the restaurant, occasionally tuning into the words of his brother and his brother's friends.

"Mattie?"

Mathew looked up, "Yeah, Al?"

"You alright, man? You seem a bit…vacant…"

"Hm?" Mathew smiled weakly and forced an airy laugh, "Yeah, sorry, bro. Just thinking is all."

"About what?" his brother pressed.

"What? Oh, um, nothing. Don't worry about it. So what were you guys saying?"

"Oh yeah!" Alfred perked up, "I'm so excited for the game tomorrow. Last one of the year and we're totally gonna win!"

As the group of friends talked and ate, Mathew stared down at his food, picking at it numbly.

/

"Hey, Mattie?"

The younger twin jumped as the door to his room was opened and his brother's head appeared. He shoved something under his pillow and turned, hoping Alfred didn't notice the pink rims around his eyes.

"Knock next time! You scared me!" Mathew shouted, though it still was much quieter than his sibling's normal 'talking' voice, so truly, it was not much of a shout.

Alfred was taken aback by his brother's fierceness, but laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, pink tinting his cheeks.

"Sorry, bro, just wanted to know if you had the homework assignment for history."

"You didn't write it down?" Mathew asked incredulously, though he realized he really shouldn't have been surprised, "I'm in a higher class. I have a different assignment. Why don't you ask Jessica, or Ryan?"

"Alright, I'll try Ryan. Jessi isn't answering."

The elder twin retracted, but Mathew stopped him, standing and handing his brother his notebook.

"Here are my notes. They should help you. Just give it back tomorrow morning; I need it."

"Thanks, Matt," Alfred grinned, "I promise I'll get them to you before your class."

Mathew sighed. Somehow he didn't believe that, but it was too late to change his mind now. As his brother left, Mathew sighed and sat down heavily on his bed.

In his own room, Alfred texted his fellow football player and awaited a response, flipping through the neatly written columns of history notes his brother loaned him.

/

There was no real warning. No one really expects anything like this do they? Alfred had been walking to English, the last class of the day, giddy and grinning, blue eyes shining with excitement. Footsteps behind him, but was that really all that unusual? It was a school, after all.

A wave of pain burst through the blonde's chest. His eyes went wide, blood dripping down his chin from his lips. He could feel his shirt dampening, a sticky, uncomfortable feeling, but it was barely noticeable over the agony shooting through him.

He gave a gurgled cry before falling forward, his skull bashing against the tiled floor, blood spilling out around him. Muffled voices were foggily speaking over him, shouting, crying. He recognized the voices, he knew them, but he couldn't place them. He knew the words being said, but the meanings were lost on him.

Alfred allowed his eyes to close, despite the female screaming for him to keep them open. They were just so heavy and he was so…tired. He smiled, and tried to whisper something to the effect of "It's alright," to comfort the frantic girl, but all that managed to leave his throat was a soft moan.

When he opened his eyes again, the sun was hot on his face, and long grass tickled his toes and legs. The blonde haired child smiled brightly, running about and giggling, as children do. He stopped abruptly when he saw a young, brown eyed man observing him curiously. Behind the stranger, a taller, broader man approached, giving off an aura that belonged in a horror movie. The little boy cried out and ran off, despite the shouts of the slighter adult for him to wait.

"Scary," the boy whimpered.

A/N When I was writing this, I was listening to "Youth of the Nation" by P.O.D. I kind of feel like the first boy in the song could be Alfred, the girl could be Jessica (a made up character to fill the human world, so don't expect a chapter on her) and the second boy could be Mathew. Anyway, this is a rewrite, and I decided the shooting would be a school one instead of a random drive by, and I would talk about Finland and Sweden finding America, instead of France and England, since Finland saw him first.