Characters do not belong to me.
Arthur gave up on trying to get Alfred to put him down at this point. Every single time he came to Carthoson's to spend some time with the American, the boy would pick him up off of his feet in a large bear hug. The Brit remotely wondered where the boy got all of his strength from.
It was his third day here, which meant he had three more to go; the Academy wasn't open on Sundays for visitors. Although he wouldn't ever admit it to the American, this week wasn't the worst thing in the world. Alfred was much nicer than his classmates, anyways.
The American released the other boy, his mouth pulled into a grin as he ruffled Arthur's hair. Arthur ignored him, his ever-present glare gazing at the boy.
Alfred grabbed Arthur's hand, pulling him down the hallway to the dorms instead of outside. He ran to his room with the Brit in tow, opening the door and dragging the other boy in before shutting it with a loud bang. Arthur watched as the boy jumped over to his bookshelf, running his hands across tons of comic books before grabbing one.
The American turned around dramatically, shoving the comic book in the Brit's face. Arthur looked over it, staring at the cover. In big, red letters it read "The Amazing Spiderman". He could tell that Alfred was very proud of it, but he couldn't tell why.
"It's a comic book; what's so special about it?" Arthur asked. Alfred rolled his eyes, pointing at a small number in the corner: 129.
"So it's issue 129. Does that mean something?" Arthur continued, trying to pretend he was interested in the book. Alfred slapped his forehead with one hand, gently setting the comic book on his bed before grabbing the whiteboard he kept next to him. He scribbled quickly on the board before flipping it to Arthur.
So? So? This is one of the rarest comic books!
The Brit just shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't one for comic books, so it didn't mean much to him.
"Alfred, I don't read comic books," he grumbled. Alfred rolled his eyes, going to write on the board but the Brit stopped him, wrapping his hand around the taller boy's arm.
"That's great, Alfred. Listen, I have a question for you," Arthur said. Alfred stopped trying to write on the board, looking up at the Brit through his glasses.
"Are you and Matthew related?" he asked, and the American bit his lip. The shorter boy released Alfred's hand, who immediately started writing on the board.
Kinda.
"What do you mean, 'kinda'? How can you be kind of related to somebody?" he asked. Alfred tapped his chin in thought before tossing the board onto the bed and grabbing the Brit's wrist, pulling the door open and running into the dorm hallway again; he didn't bother to close his bedroom door along the way.
Alfred dragged the boy to the end of the hallway where another door waited for him. The American knocked on the door, and moments after a boy's voice came through the wooden door.
"Come in!"
Alfred opened the door, pushing the Brit in and walking in himself before he shut the door. The room was the same, small layout of Alfred's; on the bed a boy with dark brown hair laid on top of the covers.
Arthur watched as Alfred went up to the boy, grabbing his hand; the American pressed the hand to his face, and the boy on the bed smiled.
"Hey, Alfred," he grinned. Arthur's eyes widened as he realized the boy was blind, but had been able to tell who Alfred was just by touching the American's face.
Alfred dropped the hand turning to Arthur and staring at the Brit. He gestured towards the dark-haired boy, then put his hand in front of his mouth and tapped his lips.
It took Arthur a moment to understand, but he got it after a moment: ask your question. Arthur nodded his head.
"Uh… hello; my name's Arthur. I'm Alfred's buddy for the week," the Brit introduced himself, reaching his hand out but pulling it back as soon as he realized the boy wouldn't be able to see it.
"My name's Tobias. Any particular reason Alfred dragged you here?" Tobias asked. Arthur watched as the boy slowly sat up, turning and dangling his feet off the side of the bed.
"Yes, I think he wants you to explain his relationship with Matthew," Arthur said, unsure if that really was what Alfred wanted.
"Oh, Mattie? They're half-brothers. Mattie doesn't really like to talk to people, though," he said while Alfred gave the Brit a thumbs up.
"Wait, I thought Matthew was mute; how can he dislike talking if he's never done it?" Arthur asked while the American sat on the edge of the bed next to Tobias.
"He's not mute," Tobias answered, and Arthur stood, dumbfounded. That didn't make any sense! He was obviously not deaf, and Arthur was sure that Matthew wasn't blind from his meeting with the boy yesterday.
"How does he go to the academy, then?" Arthur questioned, his large eyebrows knitting together.
"He's not technically deaf, blind, or mute. But the academy made an exception for him. Plus, he never talks anyways. I mean, he can, but he's been here for a year and I haven't heard him say a word," Tobias said, but it only confused the Brit more.
"If he's not handicapped why does he not go to a normal school?" Arthur murmured, and Tobias smirked sadly.
"What, you haven't noticed yet? This school has dorms for a reason. Kids stay here the whole time. Carthoson's Academy is a dump for parents that don't want to deal with their handicapped kids," the dark-haired boy said dryly.
Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The Brit glanced at Alfred, and for the first time, the American wasn't smiling. His blue eyes were filled with pain, and Arthur frowned as he realized Tobias had spoken the truth.
The Brit hadn't noticed it, but what Tobias said was true. Most schools – besides colleges – didn't have rooms for the kids to stay in. Most the time, a kid would go to school and come home every night.
"Their parents just didn't want to deal with a kid who wouldn't talk. Nobody still really gets why Mattie won't talk, but he still doesn't," Tobias continued.
Alfred reached over, lifting up Tobias' hand and pressing his own into them in signs – he was signing into the boy's hand. Tobias nodded, and Alfred stood up, motioning for the Brit to follow before opening the door and walking back to his own room.
Arthur felt like he should say something, but what could he say? Obviously the Brit had hit a soft subject, and he could tell by the American's actions. He followed behind the taller boy as Alfred walked back to his room, walking past the already-opened door.
Arthur walked in, turning around and shutting the door. He turned back around, his emotions shocked as he realized Alfred was crying.
"Al… I'm sorry," he murmured, walking over to the boy sitting on the bed. Gently he picked up Alfred's rare comic book, setting it on the desk before sitting next to the American. He wrapped his arms around Alfred, trying to comfort the American; Alfred responded by pressing his head onto Arthur's shoulder.
Alfred wrapped his arms around Arthur's waist, pulling the Brit closer and crushing him against his body with his strength. Arthur sighed, but didn't say any more, letting the boy cry.
He didn't mind when Alfred's tears soaked into his shirt, he didn't mind when his foot fell asleep from its awkward position. He didn't realize how much he was starting to care for Alfred; how much he was willing to do to stop the mute boy from crying.
So... feels. Sorry about the OC in this chapter; if you really hate OC's, don't worry because I don't think Tobias will appear again.
I appreciate the reviews from the last chapter! I really love you all and encourage you to review again and tell me what you thought of this chapter :3 Constructive criticism is great, too!
