A/N: First of all, I want say thank you to all of you who reviewed! And sorry because I took so long to write this :( The chapter was never quite the way I wanted so I kept changing things and I just annoyed myself so much that I didn't feel like writing for the past week. But I hope it is okay now, I tried to really center this on Maddie and her thoughts.
The Canadian's cheeks blushed violently when it dawned her who was speaking. The albino had two bottles of beer in his hands, holding one out for Maddie to take. She shyly reached for it, not quiet daring to meet Gilbert's gaze. Maple, what is happening? Normally even the teachers forget me and now the hottest frat boy flirts with me? If that's what college life is like it's actually not that bad, she mused as she returned his smile with the little confidence she had. Not that it was easy for her, but what else was she supposed to do?
"Kesesese, you have a good taste, Süße! (sweetie) I made sure that we only have the best German beer!", he explained proudly and took a swig. Maddie decided to just do the same. She had no idea what made this beer special but it most certainly wasn't bad. After another sip she found smiling at Gilbert getting easier; a pleasant warmth spread through her body, the effect of the alcohol slowly taking place.
"So, you want to dance?", he asked again, emptying his bottle with another sip.
"Sure", she said before returning her gaze to brown bottle in her hands that was still half full. Don't be a wimp, Maddie! With a deep breath she brought the glass to her lips and downed it as quickly as she could manage. Judging from Gilbert's shocked look he certainly hadn't expected this but his grin returned almost immediately.
"Awesome! Now that you enjoyed the second best thing Germany has to offer so much, you are ready to savor the most awesome thing ever!", he laughed, his pale hand pulling her into the crowd.
"What would the most awesome German thing be?", Maddie questioned uncertainly.
Gilbert suddenly stopped, his arm finding its way around her waist to pull her close. Madeline's violet eyes widened at the sudden proximity. Maple, that smirk again, she wanted to let out a sigh, that guy was just way too hot. He leaned forward, his hand settled down on her hips to eliminate the last distance between their bodies. Just feeling his toned chest against her made her legs weak.
His lips nearly touched her ear as he whispered: "Me", as if it was the most obvious thing ever. Well, it is, she corrected herself. "Now dance with me, Maddie", he placed her arms on his shoulders and she decided that it made sense to put them around his neck. "It's going to be awesome!", he purred with a grin.
Her thoughts were racing as Gilbert decided to move against her, initiating a rhythm.
"Don't think about it", he told her with a smile. "Just enjoy it!" She answered with a small smile on her own, letting her body follow Gilbert's lead. How weird that the last time I danced with a boy was when Mom and Dad made Al and me take dancing lessons. This is not awkward or embarrassing though...
A few minutes later she couldn't help but grin brightly. This felt so natural, even the fact that he was watching her so intensely didn't bother her or made her lose her new-found confidence. Quite the contrary, it was strangely encouraging to see Gilbert's broad smile, his sparkling red eyes. God, he is hot!
"Do you want a drink?", he finally asked after they had danced for a while.
"Sure", Maddie answered, tugging a strand of blond hair behind her ear. He held her hand and lead her inside, heading for the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle and held it up triumphantly. "What is that?", the Canadian asked. None of the words on the bottle were written in English.
"That's Pfeffi! Trust me, it's awesome! You like peppermint, right?", he didn't wait for an answer and filled two shot glasses with the bright green liquid. When one was pressed into her hand she swallowed uncomfortably. That looks so artificial, Alfred would probably love it...
"Prost! (Cheers!)", he clinked her glass with his. Tears came to her eyes when she downed it, her whole mouth was burning. She coughed slightly which caused Gilbert to snicker.
"Sorry, Maddie! But I did choose it for a reason!", he stated and licked his lips deviously.
"Why?" Was that one of his weird questions that are way too obvious again? Apparently, because he is laughing at me... And he is really close again!
The albino had moved closer to Madeline, her violet eyes meeting his ruby ones. Maddie felt her heart beat quicken. Is he really doing what I think he is? Oh dear, I can feel his breath on my mouth! I should probably close my eyes! Is this really happening? This is the best evening in my-
"Yo, Maddie, what're you doin'?!" Gilbert and Madeline startled and looked up. Alfred approached her with his typical, stupid grin, not sensing the mood once again. His arm went around her shoulder, much to Gilbert's disdain.
"And you are?", he asked sourly. Alfred just laughed.
"Dude, I'm Alfred F. Jones! I'm here to get this party started!"
"He's my brother", the blond explained quickly before turning to the American. "Al, you know, I'm sure they still have some burgers left on the grill outside."
"Really?! Great, I'm starving! See you guys!", he called as he ran out. Maple, why does he have to ruin everything?!
"Sorry, he is a little bit... inconsiderate sometimes", she murmured softly.
"How can that", he gestured wildly at the word "be your brother?"
"We are pretty different, but he is a good guy."
"Right... anyway, I believe we were not finished before this Trottel (fool, putz) decided to interrupt", he said with a smirk, once again leaning in.
"Madeline?" Some kind of higher power must really hate me, she thought bitterly as she turned around to face the tall blond that made his way towards her.
"Ludwig! Siehst du nicht, dass wir hier beschäftigt sind?! (Can't you see we are busy here?!)", Gilbert nagged in annoyance.
"Es ist wichtig! (It's important!)", he replied equally annoyed before turning to Maddie. "It's your friend, she is... well... kind of throwing up. Berwald and Feliciana are with her right now."
"Okay, I'm coming! Gilbert? I'm sorry, I should really go...", she whispered apologetically.
"N-no problem at all, you have to be an awesome friend after all...", he said, trying not to sound disappointed. "I guess I will see you around then?"
"S-sure! And thank you, I had a really nice night!", she told him before following Ludwig out onto the front porch. Tina hung her head, her blond locks tousled. Feliciana and Chun-Yan sat on either side of her while Berwald held out a bucket for her. "Tina, how are you feeling?", Maddie asked softly.
"Sick...", she moaned, her hands clutching the bucket tightly.
"Okay, don't worry, I'll bring you home!"
"I'll help", Berwald said determined.
"Thank you, but you really don't have to!"
"It's no problem", he mumbled. "I should probably go home anyway. She threw up over me." Madeline cringed. "Don't worry. It's fine", he added and helped the smaller girl stand up.
"Berwald!", she giggled. "Will you carry me?"
"Tina, you're making a fool of yourself!", Chun-Yan scolded as she helped her stand straight.
"I don' care!" The Chinese girl shock her head and frowned at her. Tina just wrapped her arms around the Swede's torso, snuggling up to him. Chun-Yan and Madeline tried to get her away but the tall boy just waved it off.
"It's fine", he said and lifted the Finn into his arms which caused her to giggle and grin like a maniac. Madeline awkwardly followed the two as they made their way back to the dorm room.
"Just put her on this bed", she said, pointing to Tina's bed with the black H.I.M. bedding.
"I think I have to throw up again...", she whined, clutching her stomach. Berwald immediately maneuvered her into the bathroom. When the awful sounds finally stopped Maddie decided that it was safe enough to take a look into the bathroom where she found Berwald holding up her hair and patting her back. Although her knees seemed to be weak, she stood up and rinsed her mouth at the sink.
"Eh?! Tina, what are you doing?!", Maddie asked as she tried to stop her from pulling off her shirt. Berwald had left the bathroom and turned his back on them.
"I shouldn't sleep in my clothes!", she explained as she fumbled with the button of her jeans.
"Do you think you will be alright on your own?", the boy asked, his eyes still examining the wooden door.
"Sure, you can go home now! But thanks for the help!" After the blond had left Maddie actually managed to get Tina into her pajamas. Not that she is really helping...
Just as they had both settled down in their beds she heard a soft knock on the door.
"Come in!", she called, expecting it to be Sakura or one of the other girls. Instead, Berwald opened, two bottles in his hands. He put the large bottle of water on Tina's bedside table so it was close enough for her to reach, while placing the bottle of orange juice and the pack of aspirin further away.
"Make sure she drinks a lot", he told Madeline, his eyes never leaving the smaller girl. "She will need those tomorrow", he said with a gesture towards the painkillers.
"Thank you so much Berwald!" Wow, that guy is pretty caring!
"No problem", he murmured and opened the door to leave.
"No! Stay with me!", they heard a soft voice call out.
"Tina, he has to sleep as well, you know?"
"He can stay with me!", she suggested, not even caring that it sounded pretty strange.
"I'll pass", he told her quietly. "If you need any help, D475." Madeline nodded and snuggled into her blanket.
"Why did he have to leave?! I really wanted him here!", her roommate complained.
"Tina, you hardly know him, you can't just invite him to share a bed with you!", Maddie stated with a laugh. I didn't even get to kiss Gilbert after all...
"I threw up on him, that makes us friends, right?"
…...
"Oh god, my head is killing me...", Madeline heard her friend groan. According to her alarm it was already 10.30 am and yet she was still feeling terribly tired.
"No surprise after what happened last night?"
"Do I even want to know?", she asked as she sat up in her bed and took a sip of the orange juice Berwald had brought her.
"You don't remember?!"
She shook her head slightly. "Well, I do remember having this nice Russian vodka with Berwald and then I know that Michaela and Lovise came and we had some of the Små blå Michaela brought. It get blurry afterwards..."
"Maybe we should leave it at that, so you don't have to think about the embarrassing details..."
"Oh god, I messed up...", she groaned and buried her head back into the pillow.
"I don't know, do you consider throwing up all over a guy and then insisting to be carried home messing up?", Madeline tried to suppress a laugh when she saw her friend's shocked face. "Then you tried to undress in front of him and asked him to sleep in your bed with you."
"We are talking about Berwald, right?" The Canadian nodded. "Great, now he will never talk to me ever again!"
"Don't worry, he actually didn't seem mad at all. He was pretty sweet about it, he even came back to bring you all that stuff", she explained.
"I still have some apologizing to do though... By the way, where is Sakura? I don't remember seeing her after I started drinking vodka..." Madeline glanced at the empty bed and pulled out her phone.
"I don't have any calls or texts. Maybe we should message the others, she might have stayed at their place. It smells terrible in here after all..." She quickly started typing.
"I'm so so sorry, Maddie! I swear that only happens when I'm with Michaela!"
"Lovi texted me back, she said that they thought Sakura was with us!"
"Well she is not here! I just tried to call her, but it goes straight to her mailbox, so maybe her phone is dead..." The door was pushed open and a disheveled Italian came in, trying to cover her neck that was plastered with hickeys.
"Sakura doesn't answer my texts!"
"I tried calling her", Tina told her "but she doesn't answer me either..."
"How the hell did you manage to lose her?!", she scolded when her sister came in.
"Sorella, Tina was throwing up all over this cute Swedish guy and Maddie was busy dancing with Luddy's fratello!"
"That doesn't make it any better! We still have no idea where Sakura is!"
Another A/N: I just want to explain two things:
One, Pfeffi is a peppermint liquor (pretty much just colored vodka with peppermint aroma) and as far as I know it is really popular in the East of Germany, although people here in the West seem to be getting into it now. I really just chose it because it pretty much tastes like mouthwash that you swallow instead of spitting it out, so it seemed like the ideal thing to drink before a kiss ;)
Two, Små blå (little blues) is a danish liquor that tastes like licorice, if I did my research correctly.
