Chapter 4: Complicated

"Look at them Mattie, acting so innocent and casual. It sickens me."

"Yeah I know, there scaring me a little..."

Matthew continued beside his brother, following the familiar sidewalk path and staring across the street alongside Alfred. It was the following morning and a rather gorgeous looking Thursday sky was placed over them - with the slightest hint of purple details below the slowly moving sunrise; colliding in the mix of blue and red color. The mood was sadly ruined by the disgusting sight located opposite of them - dark, gloomy buildings with hidden alleyways around each corner; littered garbage scattered across the concrete and mysterious and dangerous looking figures eyeing them rather uncomfortably.

They had moved to the large Canadian city a few years ago with their father, deciding to leave the busy and rapid cities of Canada's southern counterpart to instead settle somewhere in the calm north. Originally they had planned on living somewhere in the country - with endless rolling hills, forests in every direction you looked and the sweet, intoxicating feeling of peace; but, their fathers job decided elsewhere, and they instead ended up having to stay in an apartment, located in the center of all traffic with endless rows of skyscrapers reaching far beyond the clouds beside them. They may have been skeptical at first of the idea, but over time, Matthew and Alfred grew to love the city; with its crowded streets, loud mornings, constant light and amazing views. Though, all good things sadly come with a downside, and the city sure did have them.

They may have moved to one of the safest cities out there, but that didn't meant it hadn't come with its fair share of criminals. They were quite a few groups - gangs, some worse than others. Their crimes ranged anywhere from a simple purse being stolen to a full blown out robbery of a large mall. If you got caught in one of them, you'd just have to pray for the latter of the two.

"I heard there was another break in last night; they stole a ton of jewelry from this small corner store. Feel horrible for them.." Alfred said, turning back towards Matthew as the odd looking strangers disappeared into the distance behind them.

"That's horrible.. there's been a lot lately, eh?" He replied, remembering the disaster vaguely from watching a tad bit about it on the news. He hoped the people were all okay.

"You can say that again.. Feels like there just growing larger each day."

Alfred was right, crime had increased a lot in the past two years. When they first arrived those few years ago, it wasn't bad at all, in fact, there had only been one gang known well throughout the streets, and they had only a few crimes under their belts. However, starting a couple years ago, crime had gone up rapidly: more robberies, beatings, violent acts; it was unexpected, and baffled many people. Some thought it from a new boss, while others believed it was from an increase of members. It was still a mystery in the progress of being solved.

"Apparently someone also was kidnapped that night, I don't know if it actually happened; I think it's just a rumour."
"I hope it didn't happen.. that sounds horrible." Matthew shivered at the thought: being held captive, far from your family, all alone with complete strangers, your life on the edge. Such a horrid reality..

"At this rate," Alfred laughed to his brother. "It's only a matter of time till it happens to you!"

Matthew froze, glaring to his brother in a frightened rage. "How could you say that! Don't scare me!"

"I'm just kidding Mattie!" Alfred flung an arm around his brother's shoulder, pulling him close. "It was only a joke."

"I don't care! Just, don't say those things..." Matthew looked away, holding his arms closer around his body; red sweater keeping him warm beneath a light fall jacket. He turned back to Alfred, still with a frown. "Please, j-just... don't talk like that."

"I'm sorry," Alfred smiled, giving Matthew a light squeeze. "Besides, I'd be there to rescue you if it ever happened!"

Matthew laughed, hugging Alfred back gently. "I'm sure you would be."

The small embrace ended as they finally arrived at the School, the two separating to head their own ways: Alfred instantly finding Arthur by the fountain yet again while Matthew slowly began walking towards the doors. His eyes darted across the lawn, noticing all the familiar teens he saw each and every day, however, he couldn't help but feel something was missing. He didn't understand at first, deciding to continue to look around until he found his answer; finally noticing when he saw a very bland looking spot along the wall.

He didn't see Ivan.

Matthew glanced around the yard again to confirm it, unable to see the silver hair teen anywhere. It wasn't like Ivan blended in very well with everyone else - with his hair and attire, he stuck out like a sore thumb. But even with the search over dozens of heads, he couldn't locate him.

Had he gone inside already? Was something up? Why wasn't he on the wall like yesterday?

Matthew shook his head, bringing a hand up to rest in his hair. He was overreacting over this. Heck, he'd only seen Ivan against the wall once. It wasn't like the teen stood in the same spot each and every day, he probably had better things to do. Maybe it was because he couldn't find Ivan anywhere, it wasn't just the wall where he had seen him yesterday, it was that he couldn't locate him in general. He sighed.

"Why do I give two damns anyway," He breathed, retracting his hand from his curls to pull his knapsack tighter around his shoulder. "I could honestly care less about him.."

He continued towards the steps; he wanted to put his books away and head to class quickly. He had a test the next day, and he didn't want to get a bad grade anytime soon. Mrs. Mary wasn't the nicest when it came to giving -

"Birdie!"

Matthew only had a few seconds to turn around, before he found himself suddenly in a tight hug: two large arms wrapping themselves around his upper torso, trapping him. His first reaction was to struggle, but he felt himself warm at the sight of the stranger.

"Gilbert! It's so great to see you again!" The pale streaked male laughed, placing down his friend to give him a proper hug; one that Matthew returned with a smile. When they pulled away, grins remained on each of their faces. "How have you been doing Gil, it seems like it's been forever!"

Gilbert was one of Matthew's few friends, and one he had known for a majority of his life. He had met the German in elementary school, all those years ago and after getting over the fact he held a rather large ego, they had become instant friends. Gilbert had to leave a few months ago, for reasons involving his young brother Ludwig and sports teams. They had bid farewell, and hadn't seen each other since. Even after all those months, Matthew was glad to see that Gil hadn't changed much at all. He still had the same shaggy grey hair, always looking uncombed and untouched in its mess; those pale red eyes that were such a mystery, with their hues of magenta and violet mixing as one; and you couldn't forget about his unique outfit choices: today he was wearing a large checkered scarf that folded over a dark red hoodie, that was covering a black tee. A pair of ripped jeans finished the outfit off well, and Mathew gleamed to his friend.

"I know right!" Gilbert smiled, wrapping an arm around Matthew. "How long has it been, a year?"

"No, silly. You left in spring, so it's only been a little while."

"Oh you're right! You're still the same, smart Ol' birdie!" Gilbert ruffled Matthew's hair, fluffing up the curls. Matthew laughed in protest, pushing away his hands.

"Hey! Stop that Gil!" He pushed his friend back with a giggle, as he brought a hand up to fix his hair.

"Kesesese~" Gilbert grinned, putting his hands into his pockets. "So, has anything new sprung up?"

"Not really, everything is pretty much the same." Matthew replied, beginning to walk back towards the steps and motioning for his friend to follow. "So, are you and Ludwig coming back to the school?"

"Nah. Just came back to do a few games, were going to be heading back to the States in a couple weeks actually."

"Oh," Matthew frowned, he had been hoping Gil would be staying. He missed having someone who acknowledged him at the school. "That sucks."

"Hey, don't worry! We can still hang out after school, and on the weekends before I have to go; like old times!"

"Really?"

Matthew had so many memories that included the silver haired teen; they were some of the best he had. He could remember endless days of them walking to their favorite park: where they would take turns on the swings, run around amongst the endless grass and Gil's personal favorite, feeds the many birds that would approach them. Alfred would join them from time to time, and they all would enjoy a day of exploring, discovering, and laughter. One of Matthew's favorite past times was simply heading to the old ice cream shop located down the street from their apartment complex; where they would each get a new flavor every day and spend the remainder of their time eating the treats outside and watching the traffic past by. Such great times..

"You bet! How about this weekend? We could do whatever you want!"

"That sounds great Gil." The pair stopped when they finally reached Matthew's locker. "I'll call you on Saturday, okay?"

"Sounds okay to me." Gilbert looked across the hall, noticing his old friends Francis and Antonio talking against the wall, noticing him and waving for him to join them. "I'll see you around, okay?"

"Okay, nice talking again Gil."

"You bet birdie~" Matthew watched Gilbert walk over to his friends, signalling a small goodbye before turning back to his locker to grab his books.

He was surprised when he felt a small tap on his shoulder, looking around to see Katyusha standing behind him.

"Hey Matthew! It's nice to see you again!" She gleamed with a bright smile.

"Oh, hey Kat." Matthew smiled, closing the locker to see her better. "Is there something you need?"

"Actually, I wanted to apologize again for mistaking you for Alfred yesterday. I just feel horrible about doing that.." She frowned, hiding her face.

"Kat it's fine!" Matthew reached a hand forward, resting on her arm and giving her a slight grin. "It doesn't matter."

"You're sure?" Kat brought a hand up to her eyes, wiping away a few small tears. Oh no, she was crying.

"I promise you." He didn't want her to be upset over such a small matter. She only mistake him for his brother, everyone did that.

"Okay, as long as you aren't mad." He returned a weak smile, he wasn't angry or anything, but still a little upset that he had been forgotten again; he didn't want Katyusha to know this though, it honestly wasn't a big deal.

"Yeah it's okay, please don't get too upset over it."

"Thanks Matthew," She wiped her eyes again, her cheeks a tad puffy. "If you don't mind, I wanted to ask you something else.."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, I saw you yesterday at the detention but I never saw Alfred and he wasn't in the room when I got Ivan. I asked him if Alfred had already left, but he said he hadn't gone there in the first place and Ivan wouldn't tell me anymore than that.. I'm just a little curious."

Oh boy, Matthew pondered for a second, thinking on how he would go about explaining this all to her to where it would make sense. Ivan had been yet again been a jerk and left this on Matthew's shoulders; he probably was hoping Matthew would tell Kat, so he wouldn't have too. He's a little childish..

"Well," He gave a sigh. "Me and Alfred actually-"

A loud ringing noise echoed through the halls, stopping Matthew mid-sentence. A rush of students began in each and every direction beside Kat and him.

"How about I tell you at lunch Kat, so we're not late for class?"

"Yeah, that's a better plan. Catch you around Matthew!" She waved a goodbye, before disappearing within a crowd of teenagers heading upstairs.

Matthew followed suit, heading quickly down the hall to get to his Math class.

He gave a breathe of relief, glad he wasn't the last to arrive. He glanced around, seeing Alfred leaning against the wall and chatting it up with a girl. He took his seat at the front, placing down his notes on the double desk and turning to the clear board.

"Everyone take your seats please!" The teacher called, grabbing a piece of chalk and beginning to write the day's equations.

"Bro! You don't mind if I sit beside you right!" Alfred quickly sat alongside Matthew, giving his brother no time to even answer the question.

"I guess not.." He joked, opening up the textbook for Alfred. He peered backwards, looking to the far corner of the room where an empty desk was placed.

Ivan still wasn't here.

Matthew may have only recently been paying more attention to the Russian, but he knew his normal seat. Actually, everyone knew it was his. He sat there each and every day, and if someone different was caught in it, he'd be sure to give them a quick talking too - that resulted with them almost always face first on the ground.

He wonder if he was sick, or just simply absent. Maybe something was wrong..

"Mattie, could you help me with this question here?"

"Huh?"

"Number two bro! You know, with the arrow things." Matthew shook himself out of his small trance, looking back to Alfred, who was pointing to the book with a large pout.

"Yeah, sure.."

He let the thought leave his mind, turning towards Alfred to begin explaining the equation, the class continuing on as usual.

However, he couldn't stop his eyes from glaring occasionally to the lonesome chair in the back, no matter how hard he tried to look away.

..oO0(|)0Oo..

"Wait, so you went to the detention pretending to be Alfred?"

"Yeah, I know it may sound confusing but it's the truth."

"No, I understand but.. why did you do that?"

Matthew was sitting with Katyusha at a table in the cafeteria, it was now lunch and many other students surrounded them from all sides. They had met up soon after second period, and immediately had head to the room to eat. He had began to explain the detention situation to Kat the moment they sat down, she seemed to be comprehending everything but, like Ivan, she couldn't completely understand his way of actions.

"Well, Alfred does get into these situations often and I just hate to see him in trouble. I'd rather take the blame for him then to see him like that.." He sighed a tad, awkwardly taking a bite of the poutine he was eating. He must sound like such a sap..

"That's actually very sweet of you Matthew.. I see you must really care about your brother." Kat reassured, taking a small bite of her own meal - a small salad.

"You think so?" He was actually glad that Kat seemed to understand, even it was only by a little.

"I can see it. If you'd go through that much just for Alfred.. you must be a great brother."

"Oh," His face flushed a tad at the compliment. "Thanks Kat.."

"You're welcome. If I could help Ivan like that," She smiled weakly. "I'd be really happy too."

At the mention of the Russian's name, Matthew looked properly up to Kat; remembering that he still hadn't seen him all day." If you don't mind me asking Katyusha.. where is your brother?"

"Ivan? He stayed home today to look after Natalia, she caught a terrible cold." She gave a laugh. "She begged for Ivan to stay with her, hope he doesn't catch it too."

"O-oh," Matthew couldn't believe how much he had overreacted. He should have known Ivan was just looking after his sister, he hadn't noticed her either that day. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"She's a strong little girl, Natalia, a cold is nothing." Kat smiled. "Also, don't worry, Ivan will be coming for the detention like yesterday."

"How did you-" Matthew blushed a tad, how could Kat know he was thinking about Ivan? Was it that obvious? He cleared his throat. "That's good, it be pretty lonesome in there otherwise.."

"How has Ivan been?" Kat asked. "Is he being rude to you?"

"Well," He didn't know how to exactly put it without sounding mean. "He's been talking to me.. a little. He's still pretty quiet though."

"That's actually not that bad.. I'm sorry about any comments he makes. He can't control his anger very well." She said, taking another bite of her snack.

"He hasn't really said anything that rude to me, he kept to himself a lot yesterday." Matthew admitted, Ivan had only spoken a couple times to him during the previous night. If he wasn't being rude, he was just being confusing.

"Yeah, he enjoys his solitude." Her face dropped a tad. "I wish he would be a little kinder."

Matthew's eyes opened slightly to the comment. He wanted to continue, but he was worried about how Ivan would feel about all this. Katyusha was practically spilling out information left and right about him; would Ivan really approve of his personal life being talked about like this?

"D-don't be sad Kat, I'm sure he'll grow kinder one day." Matthew knew his words were as cheesy as they went, but he was glad to see that Katyusha lightened at the comment.

"I hope so, Matthew." He grinned back nervously, deciding to change the subject before Kat spilled anything else.

"So, what classes do you have this semester?"

"I'm taking vocal music, math, english and drama."

"Oh, that's cool. I've never seen you in any of my classes though.. you're in grade 12 right?" He had actually been wondering why he had never encountered her before in any of his classes. They were taking a lot of the same subjects.

"I'm actually taking an extra year, like grade 13 as some put it." Kat replied.

"Oh! That explains a lot. Is there any reason you're staying here longer than normal?" He had heard of a few people doing the same, but he had never really knew why. He always thought it was just for extra credits.

"I want to watch over Ivan and Natalia a little more. Just to ensure myself that they're going to be okay."

"Wow.." Matthew hadn't expected such a meaningful response. "That's really kind of you."

"I just want to protect them for as long as I can." She laughed. "I know it sounds kind of ridiculous, but I just want to make sure they're always okay."

"No! I understand, that's how I feel about my brother." He joined in her small fit of laughter. "I want to do just the same."

The pair ended their laugh with a smile. Matthew continued to eat his poutine, tilting his head to look to Katyusha. "Siblings, eh?"

Kat looked to him, a small shine tinting in her eyes at the comment as she returned the gesture to him.

"You have no idea Matthew..."

..oO0(|)0Oo..

"Did you make sure to get all the notes during class?"

"Yes."

"Did you remember to write down all the homework this time?"

"..yes."

"Did you grab all you textbooks - "

"Mattie! I promise you I'm fine!"

Matthew laughed, peering to his brother with a smile. "I know. Just checking."

The end of the day had rolled in rather quickly, and Matthew was at his locker alongside Alfred, grabbing his notebooks and ensuring Alfred had done the same. He normally helped his brother study each night for their tests, but because of the whole detention scenario, it wasn't exactly fully possible anymore. So, Alfred would need to make do on his own for a bit.

"I hope you are. I'm not that dumb." Alfred proceeded to puff out his lip in frustration.

"Your marks seem to say otherwise."

"Hey!"

"I'm just kidding! Don't get so frustrated." He handed a notebook to Alfred, holding up a hand when his brother wanted to question him. "This has a few extra things in it. For math, history etc. Only use it if you absolutely have to, okay?"

"Alright bro!" Alfred gave a small salute. "I'll make sure to do so after my practice tonight."

Oh yeah.. sports. The only reason Matthew had to go to these punishments posing as his brother. If he recalled, Alfred had soccer starting in a bit.

"I'll come watch you after it's over, got it? As long as you promise to make dinner when we get home." Matthew snickered a bit. He may be stuck in school for an extra hour each day, but at least he was getting some food out of it.

"Sounds good to me! Now, what would you like to have for -"

Alfred was interrupted as the front doors opened behind him rather loudly, echoing in the quiet hallway. Both turned to see who the intruder was; Alfred's face frowning in disgust while Matthew stared with curiosity.

It was Ivan.

The tall teen had on his regular attire: thick jacket, shaggy jeans and large scarf. His hair was messy, and covering more of his face than usual. He eyed Alfred and Matthew, keeping his attention held on the Canadian a tad longer before continuing down the hallway pass them, and disappearing around a corner.

Matthew had got a tad shaken by the stare, while Alfred hadn't taken his eyes off Ivan's scarf. He turned back to Matthew, looking as though he wanted to say something, but quickly dismissing the thought.

"I'll see you in a bit, Alfred." Matthew smiled, closing his locker and giving his brother a light hug.

"Yeah, see you Mattie." The two separated, each heading in opposite ways; Matthew following after Ivan and Alfred pushing through the front doors, eyeing Matthew once more in question before leaving.

Matthew watched as Ivan walked into the classroom, he frowned a tad in disappointment when he didn't hold the door open for him; even with Matthew being a short distance away.

When he finally arrived at the door for himself, he opened it with caution, peering inside to see that Ivan was seated in the same spot as yesterday with feet casually settled a top a desk. He walked inside slowly, closing the door gently and sitting down in the same spot he had chosen yesterday, looking to Ivan wearily.

"H-hey.. Ivan." Matthew said weakly in his quiet tone. The Russian nodded his head, not turning but replying with a small 'hmm' in response.

He frowned, leaning back in his seat. He wanted to attempt a conversation, but Ivan made things very difficult.

"So, where were you today?"

"None of your business."

"Were you sick?"

"No."

"Injured?"

"No."

"Did something happen -"

"I said it was none of your business!" Ivan yelled, glaring to Matthew with distaste. "Stop bothering me!"

Matthew shrunk down at the tone, looking away sadly. "Geez.. sorry."

He wondered why he even bothered...

It was another awkward twenty minutes of silence before Ivan spoke again. Surprising Matthew with his question, as the Canadian looked up from his notes on the World War to stare.

"What did you say?" Ivan sighed in annoyance before looking back, repeating his question.

"Do you want something?"

"Excuse me?"

"I said 'Do you want something?'" Ivan repeating himself didn't really help Matthew much.

"Ivan, I don't understand..."

"Err," He groaned. "Remember when you got my scarf back for me?"

"Yeah," Matthew was wondering where he was heading with this..

"Well, you did a favor for me, and normally when people do favors they want something back in return, right?"

Matthew nodded, slowly beginning to understand what he meant, but, why would Ivan tell him this?

"I thought you would have asked for something by now, but you made no indication of doing so."

"What are you exactly trying to tell me here Ivan?"

"Do you wanting something?" Matthew was taken slightly back by this. Was Ivan in debt to him now? When had that happened? And why would Ivan even care if he was?

"Why would you care?" He asked, his voice coming out harsher then he had originally meant. Ivan's eyes opened slightly at the tone as he turned to hide his face.

"I honestly couldn't, but it's the right thing to do."

Matthew still couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only had Ivan spoken to him for a reason beyond arguing and insults, but he also was acting different. He would go far enough and say he was being nice to him; Ivan was speaking with morals, something Matthew thought the Russian wouldn't care about.

He dismissed his thoughts to get back to the conversation at hand. Ivan owed him. He had one of the scariest teens in high school in the palm of his hand. Was this an opportunity? There was a list of endless things he could ask for: help, money, friendship etc. Matthew had a chance. Could he use it to gain advantage?

"Thanks Ivan, but I'm fine." Matthew wasn't surprised when Ivan stared at him as if he had just given up a winning lottery ticket.

"No?"

"Yeah."

"You seriously don't want anything?" Matthew bit his lip, there were tons of things he did want to ask for, but he didn't feel right about taking advantage of Ivan like that. He hadn't done Ivan the favor because he wanted something back in the first place anyways.

"Yeah, I don't."

"Then why'd you help me?" The Russian was 100% confused; staring to the Canadian with his eyes opened and an eyebrow raised. Matthew looked back much the same, Ivan didn't know the answer, really? Had he ever heard of someone ever just being nice?

"I was just being kind. I didn't do it for any other reason."

Matthew waited for Ivan, the Russian in midst of thought; staring to him in shock and awe.

It was a few seconds before a sarcastic smirk broke out across Ivan's face. A small laugh.

"You really are a pansy."

Silence.

Why did Ivan have to be so confusing? He went from showing kindness, to turning into an ass. Matthew squinted his eyes, gritting his teeth.

"You're just a jerk!" He looked away, turning to his paper and trying to hide the tears as they began to form along his eyes; Ivan's laughter ceasing in the background.

And to think, he had actually lied to his brother over this jerk. Matthew sighed. He really needed to get his priorities straightened soon...

..oO0(|)0Oo..

.-~Thank you for reading~-.

This was supposed to be out last night, but life hates me.

Again I shall thank you guys for the faves, reviews and follows. I hope this chapter is good enough for you guys~

Also, been thinking on how long this may be. Thinking maybe 30+. I have a lot of ideas in mind.

Hmm.. would it be okay if i set a review goal? I'm not gonna do anything over complicated, but could we say .. 18? There's 14 right now, and I'd love to know how you feel about the story thus far, along with any ideas you have in mind. You guys have been so nice, I'm sure you could easily reach 18.

Well, I'll try to get the next chapter up soon~ Until then.

-Radi0

I sadly do not own Hetalia.