SAME WARNINGS AS PERVIOUS CHAPTERS~!

America x Canada

Saving you

Chapter 3

It was well past 9 o'clock going on 10. Alfred's father, Arthur, was getting rather irritated about how much work was in store for him the next morning. Arthur looked even more irritated as he looked at the clock and realized Alfred still wasn't home. He had to leave early in the morning to catch his flight for London but as any good father would do, he waited patiently for Alfred to return so he could scold him before going to bed. He didn't want to leave Alfred for so long on his own but he was almost 18 years old. Arthur figured that Alfred should live on his own for a few days, just to get the feel of what living on his own is like. He just hoped Alfred didn't do anything stupid while he was gone.

A few more minutes past. 10 minutes. 15 minutes. Arthur sighed, he wanted to go to bed but he was worried. Alfred had been late for his curfew before but something didn't feel right. He picked up his phone from the kitchen table and started to call Alfred.

When he was about to hit the last number he heard the sound of the front door open and close. Arthur was pissed. He stepped into the living room and was about to confront Alfred for being late when he saw a boy laying down on the couch, shaking and breathing unevenly. He turned to Alfred, concerned.

"What happened? Is he alright?" Arthur asked. Alfred led him away from the shaking, sleeping form to the other side of the room.

"He's sick. So I told him that he could stay here a while." Alfred's voice was low. Arthur understood and gave Alfred a nod.

"Are his parents okay with it?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, his dad said it was fine." Alfred lied. Arthur knew he was lying but let it pass this time. He was too tired to argue with him.

"Okay, but make sure he gets plenty of rest and fluids. I am going to bed and we probably won't see each other in the morning so you are on your own." Arthur left the room and headed upstairs.

Alfred stared after him, lost in thought. Matthew stirred in his sleep. He was still shaking but now as violently as before. He had fallen asleep in Alfred's car on the way home. Alfred had to carry him in and lay him on the couch. Matthew opened his eyes weakly, still dazed. Alfred walked over to him. He noticed Matthew was sweating a lot.

"Here, let's go upstairs and get you cleaned up." Alfred smiled as he lifted Matthew up bridal style. Matthew yelped and struggled weakly. He didn't liked being touched, let alone picked up like he weighed nothing. The truth was, he really did feel like he weighed little to nothing. He hadn't eaten a decent meal in a while and had lost a lot of weight because of it.

Alfred walked up the stairs carefully, not wanting to drop Matthew or make too much noise so not to disturb Arthur. He walked into the bathroom with Matthew in his arms and put him on his feet in the doorway. Alfred turned the light on as Matthew held onto the door frame to keep himself steady. He was still dizzy as hell from the fever and the sudden bright light nearly blinded him.

Alfred went over to the shower and turned the faucet. The water from the shower head began to steam. He then turned to Matthew. "Okay, um…do you need any more help?" He wasn't sure if he should stay and help him or just leave him to it. He was worried that Matthew would pass out and hit his head or something.

"Oh… uh…umm I-I don't think so but…" Matthew closed his eyes shut, trying to keep the dizziness at bay but failed as he felt himself start to lean to the side. Alfred saw him struggling to keep his balance and came to his aid.

"Yeah, I don't think you can even stand up on your own. So maybe I s-should help you." Alfred was getting nervous but he tried his best not to show it. He had to get Matthew clean and comfortable.

"N-No that's okay. I-I am perfectly fi-"Matthew stopped as Alfred began unzipping his hoodie.

"A-Alfred! What are you doing?" Matthew was freaking out. Alfred couldn't find out… not now. Alfred had just slipped Matthew's hoodie off of his shoulders when he saw something that looked like a bruise on his right collar bone... He doubted it was anything other than a bruise because it was the size of a baseball…or a fist.

Alfred's eyes widened as he slipped the hoodie down further past Matthew's elbows. Matthew was wearing a short sleeved T-shirt and as Alfred moved the hoodie down he saw even more bruises. Some looked fresh, like they had only appeared yesterday. Others were a yellowish tint, fading away slowly. Matthew quickly tried to put his hoodie back over his shoulders but Alfred stopped him. To Matthew's horror Alfred took the rest of his hoodie off past his wrists.

Matthew looked up into Alfred's eyes and immediately looked away, ashamed. There were bandages around both of his wrists. His arms covered in bruises. Alfred took Matthew's arm and turned it over; looking at the bandages, scared to see what was hidden beneath them. Matthew tried to take his hand away and cover up the shame but Alfred held firm.

"W-Wait…" Alfred started to take the bandages off of his left wrist. Matthew started to panic. He tried yanking his hand away but Alfred still held his arm firm.

"No p-please…I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Alfred stopped.

Why was he apologizing? What was he apologizing for? Matthew was almost crying again. He didn't want Alfred to know, not yet at least. This was all happening so fast and his feverish mind couldn't adjust very well. The room was now heated with steam form the shower, which made it harder to think and breath. If Alfred hadn't spoken Matthew thought he would have passed out again.

"It's okay. I'm not mad. I just want to know what the hell happened to you." It was sort of a lie. He was pissed, no more than pissed, he was utterly furious. Not at Matthew of course. He was mad at the person who would do this to another human being. Though he kept himself calm for Matthew's sake, he didn't want to scare him anymore.

Matthew just looked away from him, not wanting to know just how pathetic he must look to him. Alfred continued un-wrapping the bandages from his thin pale arms. He saw more and more specks of dried blood as he un-wrapped each layer. Then he got to the end, un-wrapping the last of the bandages, he stared in shock at how many cuts he saw on Matthew's left wrist. There were so many, a lot of them healing well but some looked red with infection. Alfred couldn't believe how much his chest hurt right now. He felt so many emotions wash over him as he realized how broken Matthew really was. He felt angry, sad, afraid and…guilty? Why was he feeling guilty?

Matthew looked up at him, fear in his lavender eyes as he thought of how to explain This. He had never told anyone about This. He had to think of some excuse but he could think of none. Alfred decided to ask Matthew about this later when they had clear heads.

Alfred began to un-bandage Matthew's other wrist, which thankfully had less cuts. He lifted Matthew's T-shirt over his head, only to find even more bruises tainting the flesh of his upper torso. He felt anger flare to life again but kept calm. Matthew looked at Alfred nervously as he began to unbutton his jeans. Matthew already had a light blush on his cheeks form this fever but now his face was bright red as Alfred pulled his jeans down to his knees, revealing his red boxers.

"Um…uh Alfred I-I don't feel that dizzy anymore, s-so I can handle this myself." Matthew spoke up. Alfred was too lost in his thoughts to register what he was doing. He looked at Matthew for a confused second before realization hit him. His face flushed red.

"Oh uh…Oh! S-sorry! I-I was…uh sorry." Alfred apologized and went on. "Sorry I wasn't thinking straight." Indeed, he wasn't. The steam from the shower was starting to get to him as well.

"Um if you need anything at all just yell and I will be right there." Alfred said and gave Matthew a nervous smile as he opened the bathroom door.

"Okay…um wait." Matthew said suddenly, grabbing Alfred's arm. He had to know something first. Alfred looked back at him.

"What's wrong?" Alfred asked.

"Uh can you tell me why you're being so nice to me? Why your…doing all of this just for me?" Matthew's tone was low and serious. It should have been obvious to him why Alfred would give a shit about him but in his mind he didn't get it. He had been pretty much invisible all of his life. The only person who had ever cared for him left him with nothing but pain, misery and an abusive father.

Alfred gave him his trademark 'hero' smile. "Because Mattie, I like you." And with that he left Matthew in the bathroom, even more confused but happy…wait happy? That thought puzzled him even more. He smiled to himself anyway and got fully undressed. He had to hold onto the sink to keep his balance most of the time though. He entered to shower, letting to warm water wash over his battered body. He gently began to wash his bruised and cut flesh, thinking about all that had accrued today.

To be Continued…

OOOOKAAAAY~! Here is chapter 3! I really enjoyed this chapter...even though it wasn't exactly planned out like chapter 1 and 2. I just kinda improvised on this one a little, So I am sooo sorry if it sucks! ;u; Remember I am new to writting fanfiction so please be nice to me. I don't like mean people and I will most likely ignore your comments if they are offensive. But anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ AND/OR REVIEWED! You guys decerve a cookie if you guys actually like the crap that I write. Chapter 4 might be late due to school...I haven't really been paying much attention to school cause I have been wanting to write! But thank you guys so much for all of the nice reviews and suggestions! You know who you are~!

I LOVE YOU ALL~! ENJOY~~!

-Jessecat23-