Out of every story I've ever written, this is by far one of my favorites... in some sick, twisted way. Anyways, thanks for reading this, and we have the normal warnings of: Anorexia/Bulimia, cursing, and... inaccurate stuff? I've probably got something wrong here (Also, please ignore any grammar mistakes, I am not the best spellchecker...)
New England ate his sandwich in silence, mentally noting the concerned and worried looks that Britain, France, and Canada all wore. The bread felt dry and the ham was uncomfortably large in his throat, and he forced himself to swallow the food so he didn't appear sick. A few other nations entered the room, and New England made a small list in his mind of who they were, if his memory was correct (Which it usually was). China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea He thought, watching the Asian siblings all sit together and talk quietly (Except for South Korea, who was pretty loud). Britain followed his gaze, and narrowed his eyes slightly at the sight of the Asians," You aren't going to tell them before us, are you?" He asked, and New England blinked in surprise, before shaking his head rapidly," No, of course not! I was just watching dem, honest!" Britain nodded hesitantly, and New England almost sighed in relief. He finished his meal quietly, taking a sip from a cup of tea he had ordered. He waited for the nations to finish eating, as he didn't want them to loose their appetites. Britain was the last to finish, unsurprisingly, and he wiped his mouth with a napkin before speaking. "So, lad, are you going to tell us where Alfred is?" He asked, and New England swallowed slightly out of nervousness.
"W-well, you see, food is a very sensitive subject for him" He began, trying to think of how to word this. He wanted to tell them everything, but he didn't want to come off as blunt and insensitive," He loves, er, loved McDonalds, Burger King, White Castle, Wendy's, any burger chain you know, he probably adored it. A few years ago, he was formally diagnosed wit Binge Eatin' Disorder" Britain tried to stop a small grin from creeping onto his face, but he couldn't. "T-terribly sorry Timothy, but, imaging Alfred's reaction to having such a common disorder must have been hilarious" New England nodded, smiling slightly," Yeah, it was. Dat's not what I'm talkin' about, unfortunately. About a year ago, Alfred went on a diet, to loose weight. Tree or four monts after dat, he was formally diagnosed with Anorexia" New England explained, and Britain's grin fell from his face. France had stopped picking at his nails, and Canada had a sick look on his face. New England felt pressured to continue speaking, so he lapsed into a stutter, not noticing the watchful eye of a certain Korean a few tables away from him.
"And that marks month two of my diet!" America cheered, his siblings around him whooping and hollering in encouragement. "And not a single cheat-day, I sure am proud o' you, 'Merica" Louisiana Territory said, slapping Alfred on the back. "Me too, dude, trust me. I've lost like sixteen pounds! The flab from my stomach should be gone now!" Florida nodded happily," Oh estoy moy contenta! You have no idea how long I've wanted to tell you about the terrible muffin top you've had for so long, but now you've figured it out for yourself!" That comment earned her a few pointed looks, but America let out a loud laugh," Yeah dude, I'm just happy that it's gone! Now the others can't make fun of me, I look like a real hero again, and I've proved myself to have a will of steel to get through that diet!" "I second that statement!" Oregon joked, and the family let out a loud laugh. "Hey, bro, don't you have a meetin' tomorrow?" New England asked, interrupting the celebration. "Oh yeah, I do. Thanks for reminding me dude! I still got to get to Brussels, don't I?" America said, keeping a smile on his face. "I'll miss you guys, but this is one is only for two days, don't worry! Maybe I'll get Belgium or Ned to show me around to a few shops so I can bring back souvenirs!" The territories all had excited looks on their faces (Except for New England and Santa Fe, both of whom looked pretty neutral). "I'll be back before you know it, don't worry!" America laughed as Red River and Oregon wrapped his arms around his now thin waist.
New England fiddled with his thumbs, trying to calm himself down. He hadn't stuttered in years, but then again, he hadn't been so stressed and pressured in years, and Britain's accent was bringing back some pretty bad memories that he'd rather forget. "Are you ok, Timothy?" Canada asked quietly, and New England nodded slightly," Y-yeah I j-just need to-just need to c-ca-ca-calm down" He reassured them, but they didn't look the least bit convinced. After a few minutes, New England took a deep breath through his nose, and continued to speak. "The Anorexia by itself was a challenge to recover from, and we could never figure out what had driven him to starve himself. We took him to terapy an' everyting, but it din't work. One mont ago I found him making himself sick in da batroom, trowing up a bit of food I forced him ta eat da day before" Britain nodded, a solemn expression replacing his concern, and France twirled his hair nervously while Canada waited nervously for New England to finish explaining. "He was never officially diagnosed wit Bulimia, but we knew da signs and had a... knowledgeable person wit us to tell us all about it" He continued, wondering if he should tell them which hospital America was in. "Lad, er, Timothy, can you tell us where Alfred is staying?" Britain asked, hands folded neatly on the table. New England hesitated to respond, but Britain spoke again. "Please, Timothy, I'm begging you. I haven't been there for him and I want to be there for him now" The Englishman pleaded, and New England wanted to snap at him. Britain had never been there America, he just said it himself! Why should he tell Britain where America was? It sounded like he was just going to criticize him on how poorly he failed to recognize the signs of his eating disorder. But, upon seeing the desperation in the elder's eyes, New England swallowed the hateful words," O-of course... He's at Lenox, please, be gentle wit him" New England said, his voice pleading and sorrowful, but his eyes held a threatening aura to them, as if he was demanding they be gentle and kind. Britain had tears welling up in his eyes, and he nodded stiffly before leaving, followed by France, and Canada.
Korea listened closely to America's replacement while eating a lunch he had packed for himself, trying to look as if he were paying attention to China's story. "He was never officially diagnosed wit Bulimia, but we knew da signs and had a... knowledgeable person wit us to tell us all about it" New England continued, looking a bit stressed out. "And then I- Yong Soo, are you listening!?" China snapped, and the Korean jumped slightly," Hm, oh, of course, aniki! Why wouldn't I? Your stories are always so interesting!" He lied smoothly, keeping a bright smile on his face. China rolled his eyes, but continued with the story," Then Macedonia had the nerve to walk up to me and say..." Korea tuned out his brother to listen to New England, but realized he had fallen silent. Britain stood and pushed his chair into the table, then turned to leave. Korea could see a guilty look on his face, as well as a few tears in his eyes. France left soon after Britain, grief-stricken and remorseful. Canada lingered for a moment, but left as well, his head bowed. Where is America, though? Korea thought to himself, wondering if he could get the location out of the replacement, or one of America's siblings. Bulimia is an eating disorder... a bad eating disorder... Though, I don't think any eating disorders can be considered good. The other Asian's noticed Korea's dazed and thoughtful look, and began to watch him curiously. He blinked out of his trance, and noticed his siblings staring at him," Hey guys, what's up? Do I have kimchi on my face? Oh well, messy eating is easy to clean!" Korea laughed, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
America sighed in contentment as he lay on the hotel bed, glad he was sharing a room with someone he got along with. Korea had pulled out a 3-DS and began to play Pokemon, muttering to himself that he created the game and not Japan, and America snickered slightly. "What do you have against Japan, dude?" America asked, and Korea groaned. "He's.. well, Japan! He's emotionless, and dull, and heartless, and cold, and completely undeserving of Aniki's attention!" Korea pouted, upset that he lost a battle. America rolled his eyes, sitting up," Are you still obsessing over China?" "it isn't an obsession! I just want him to pay attention to me." Korea replied simply. America shrugged, going to the mini-fridge and grabbing a can of Coke. Korea looked over to his younger friend, and eyed him through his bomber jacket, t-shirt and jeans. "Did you loose weight, jjingjjing-i?" America nodded happily," Of course I did, I'm glad you noticed! Also, I thought jjingjjing-i* was referring to a girl who whines" America pouted, making Korea snicker "Would you rather I call you Migug?" Korea asked jokingly, and America shrugged his shoulders," Might be better than 'girl who whines', dude" Korea laughed loudly, making America smile and laugh with him. "And of course I noticed, my best friend looks thinner and happier, it only means one thing!" Korea commented, and America grinned widely," Ah, thanks bud! You know, I feel like giving you a nickname too. I'll call you Kimchi*!" Korea laughed, accepting the nickname. "We better get going dude, before China and Iggy rip both of us apart"
Korea and America arrived at the meeting together, America on time once again, and Korea showing up with a friend for once. The meeting ran smooth enough for the first half, everyone had managed to get through everyone's speeches up to Belgium before lunch break (With a record low of three fights between Britain and France, and five fights between Turkey and Greece. Denmark and Sweden had managed to keep peace for the meeting). Lunch break is when everything went into a downward spiral for America, right after Korea went to go bother China and insult Japan. "Ohonhon, Amerique, 'as your diet been doing well for you?" France asked, hurrying to walk beside the American. "Mmhmm, it's been great dude! The pudge isn't even there anymore, I feel like I could take on the universe with one hand tied behind my back and both legs amputated while intoxicated!" America cheered, fist-pumping. "That's wonderful, Al" Canada said, Britain humming in agreement. "Why don't we go out to eat, I'm sure it's been a while for you, and I've heard Belgium has wonderful chips" Britain suggested, and America nodded. "Of course dude, I'll get us all some fries" He put emphasis on the last word," And meet you guys back here!" Before getting approval, America dashed out of the building and into his car, heading for the nearest McDonalds.
He stopped the car and walked in, looking around. The American saw Cuba and the Philippines talking in line, and Cuba looked back to see America. He whispered into Philippines ear, then turned his back to America. America ordered a Big Mac, and three orders of large fries, and four large drinks. While America was filling a cup up with Sprite (At the request of Canada via text), Cuba took the opportunity to insult him. "Jeeze Alfred, have you gained weight? I don't think I've ever seen someone with so many chins on one neck!" He laughed, and Philippines smiled slightly, holding back a small giggle. America ignored them for the most part, but allowed Cuba to hurl insult after insult at him. Once America had all four cups filled and put into the cup-tray, he turned around to leave. "Damn, look at that muffin top!" Cuba jeered, and America swallowed back a retort, choosing instead to hurry out of the establishment. He didn't care to listen to Philippine's scolding tone to the Cuban man as she saw how upset America was, nor did he stick around to allow the heavy-set man apologize. He simply pulled out of the parking lot and drove back to the meeting building, setting his burger to the side. He really only felt like eating fries that day.
Korea was intent on listening to Britain, hoping he'd slip a bit of information. However, his efforts were in vain as Britain had not spoken once, and had passed on giving a speech, preferring to take notes in a notebook with a unicorn on it. That didn't stop Korea though, he wasn't one of the smartest nations for nothing, after all. He stayed after the meeting, pretending that he had dropped a DS cartridge under the table and that he needed to find it. He waited a few minutes, before hearing the hushed voices of Britain and France, Canada somewhere in the mix. "Should we go visit him today?" Britain asked quietly, and Korea heard shuffling from a few feet away. "I don't know, Angleterre. From zhe sound of New England's voice, America does not wish to see visitors at zhe moment" "But he's my- our brother! We have the right to see him!" Canada whined in an audible voice. "I'm sorry, lad" Britain sighed, probably forgetting Canada's name. jerk Korea thought silently. "Lenox is just too far of a drive at the moment. We'll see America after tomorrow's meeting, alright? Our bosses won't mind the extended visit" Korea took great interest upon hearing the location name, mentally storing it for later. Canada whined in defeat, but the trio shared a few hushed words, before leaving Korea alone. He crept out from under the table, and grabbed his phone from his pocket. Lenox Lenox Hospital The URL Bar auto-filled, making Korea smile. That had been easy; What would be hard is explaining to people why he wanted to stay for a bit longer. Maybe he could lie about playing games with America. Yeah, that would probably convince them. For now, Korea was focusing on getting directions to Lenox Hospital.
Jjingjjing-i: A cute term for a girl who whines (A Korean term for a girlfriend, however, America does not know that)
Kimchi: It's common for people in the United States to nickname a close friend/intimate partner after a food
That was a fast update, huh? Oh well, see you guys next time, bye!
