A/N: Written while listening to Follow Me Down by 3OH!3 ft. Neon Hitch on repeat. Annoying as heck, but catchy…~ Agh, been purposely avoiding this chapter. Darkish plot starts to come through. But only just. You'll catch my drift, though…

As a sidenote, I just love the fact that Allie and Mattie live in a "whitehouse" LOL BECAUSE IN 1812 TH-shot-

I am a n00b, so I don't know how to respond to reviews (-failshot-) but don't think I don't read them! I read every review and they make me smile, squeal, and occasionally flail. I also get story alert, fave, and fave author alerts, and love every one of those too. Just a really huge thank you. ))

Also, don't say Gilbert is a douche in this chapter. Well, I mean, he is, but he has reasons that will be revealed in the not-too distant future.

--

Alfred Jones was pouting. Really, here it was, the first day of his senior year, and he had no one to hang out with? God. That was pathetic… even his brother Matthew had plans.

Sighing, the American turned wearily over on his futon and stood up, rubbing his eyes sleepily (though it was only seven) and picking up his dark blue backpack. Might as well do homework… The teen shivered at the thought, but went and sat down at his oak desk diligently anyway. God, it would kill his reputation if his teammates found out he actually did his work.

Uneasily, Alfred put down his pencil and considered it, finally deciding that it wasn't worth it. Why waste time learning about quadratic functions when he could be having fun? Anything was more fun than that.

From out of the blonde's pocket emerged an iPhone, which he used to dial the number of one of his best friends in the entire school. Nimble thumbs scrolled through the contacts list until, sure enough, the name Kirkland, Arthur (my bitch haha :p) popped onto the sleek screen. Smiling, he hit the green 'call' button and flopped onto his couch.

A groggy voice picked up on the third ring, mumbling a slow, "H'lo?" Alfred cracked a smile. "Hey, Artie!" "Oh God, it's you. Prat."

He laughed easily, the noise seeming to bubble out of his throat. "You know ya love me, man." "Perhaps I do… Y'know who I saw here a little while ago?" From the loud music, sounds of people laughing, and bartenders calling out finished orders, the American assumed that 'here' (since Arthur was so wonderfully coherent at the moment) was The Point, a club on the far west side of town.

"Hmm, who?" Alfred wasn't terribly interested in the answer, grabbing a remote from on top of his pillow and turning on Comedy Central on mute. Though the sound was off, Arthur was quick to snap, "Turn that off."

Alfred said with a sigh, "There, it's off." "No it isn't." Damn.

The teen lifted the black device and pressed 'Off,' effectively killing the television. "Thank you." Freaky psychic Briton. "As I was saying, I was just minding my own business here-" "Drinking plenty, I'll bet." "Sod off."

It was no secret that his friend loved to drink, despite his age. The smaller blonde had gotten into his father's expensive liquor stash at the age of 15, and, well, things had gone downhill from there. Though he acted indifferent about Arthur's 'hobby,' Alfred was sometimes worried for his friend.

"And I see your little brother, drunk as daylights, giggling in the lap of Gilbert Beilschmidt." The American shot straight up at this, saying loudly, "He was drinking? Matthew was?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." Alfred's fists balled up so tightly that his knuckles blanched white. "Yeah, can I call you tomorrow?" The blonde's teeth were clenched. Not bothering to wait for a response, he hit 'End Call,' throwing the phone at his wall so hard he heard a small cracking sound. He didn't even care.

Matthew Williams didn't drink. He would never… Alfred vaguely remembered an umpteenth pedantic lecture his younger brother had given him not a month ago on the dangers of drinking, how it was a terrible thing to get into and how it destroyed your willpower. He hadn't been listening.

But if the Canadian was drinking… Did that mean he had been pressured to? And, God forbid, that something else had happened? No, no, he had to calm down. He trusted Gilbert, or, at least, he once had. Nothing could happen…

"Right?" Alfred asked this last part aloud, voice echoing eerily in the empty bedroom. No one answered.

--

The convertible slowly pulled to a dead halt in front of the two-story white house that belonged to Matthew's parents. The Canadian himself had stayed silent the entire ride. Sobering up marginally, he could feel himself beginning to lose the haze he had been in an hour ago.

He chanced another glance at the driver's seat, where Gilbert sat quietly, still wearing the same expression of controlled anger, hands still gripping the steering wheel. The blonde took a risk and decided to speak, voice cracking a bit as he faltered, "W-Well, thanks for a good time. I really enj-"

Cold lips met his again with no pretense, the other teen grabbing Matthew's collar roughly to pull him across the seat. The Canadian gave a muffled sound of protest and pulled away, only to be grabbed again, this time with more force behind the grasp. His arms actually hurt.

Finally, the silverette relented, breaking the kiss with a wet sound. He glared at the smaller boy, who shakily said, "I r-really don't want to anymore. It's late; I should be getting inside…"

The German said in an accusatory tone, "I thought you liked me." "W-Well, I do, but I just… I have to do homework." Gilbert snorted loudly, and for a second Matthew caught a fleeting glance of the sweet, funny Gilbert who had invited him that very morning. Was it really that long ago?

"That's a bullshit excuse, and you know it, birdie." The Canadian could smell the alcohol on his friend's breath. He hadn't just had one drink, had he? A hand reached out to take him by the wrist, and again Matthew fell victim to his muscular grip. He felt his arm begin to bruise vividly. Mustering up all his courage, he said, "Gilbert. Let me g-"

He was cut off as Gilbert's other hand formed a fist and collided, hard, with his jaw. Matthew gasped as his head flew back to roughly smack the window.

At first, there was just silence, save for the blonde's ragged breaths. Then, he whispered, "Oh my God."

Gilbert's red eyes flashed dangerously. "Don't you ever fucking order me around. Understand?" Matthew was mute, blinking furiously in an attempt to not cry. 'Don't cry don't cry don't cry he'll hit you again-' His thoughts were stopped as the German next to him yelled, "UNDERSTAND?"

He nodded, blonde hair bobbing up and down. "Good." There was another tense moment between the two, this one considerably more hesitant. Minutes passed in a dense quiet. Finally, Gilbert leaned over and pressed apologetic butterfly kisses to the pale neck in front of him, whispering throatily, "I'm so sorry, birdie, I didn't mean to, you know I would never…"

Matthew closed his eyes and let himself believe it.

--

The small blonde traversed the stairs up to his porch quickly, eager just to get in his bed and sleep before the hangover hit tomorrow. He groaned at the thought, fumbling in the pocket of his repossessed hoodie for his keys. Fingers brushed over cool, sharp metal, and he knew he had found them.

Turning the house key in the lock, the Canadian entered swiftly and noiselessly, wanting to avoid inquiries about where he'd been and what happened to his cheek from his parents. Slipping off his shoes and leaving them by the door, he walked up the flight of stairs to his bedroom, opening the door carefully. After all, it would be bad news if it creaked.

As soon as the door softly clicked shut, Matthew pressed his forehead to the cool wood, inhaling deeply. He reached over and fumbled, searching for a light switch, finally finding one and flipping it up. The teen turned around, and had barely begun to take off the red sweatshirt when he saw that a very pissed-off Alfred Jones was sitting on his bed.

Matthew nearly screamed, lavender eyes widening and hand flying to cover his mouth. His brother got to his feet, whispering through clenched teeth, "So, you were drinking? And what the fuck happened to your face?" In the blue eyes, Matthew only saw anger, not concern.

The smaller brother was quick to explain, "Well, um, I th-thought it would be f-fun… And I fell… outside near the steps, there's some ice…" The Canadian thanked whoever was listening that he was observant enough to make sure that was true.

Alfred's face softened. "W-Well, I guess you do need to know the experience… And you were with Gilbert… But you're not going back there anytime soon, got it?" Matthew nodded gratefully. "And I'll tell Mom and Dad there's ice, they can salt it or something. In the meantime, you get yourself to bed, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Al." "But what I really want to know…" Here the American wore a little smirk, and the blonde was instantly set on edge, "Is if Gilbert gave you that."

Alfred gestured in a vague manner to Matthew's neck, and the Canadian unconsciously brought his hand up to feel around, stopping when his fingers passed over a raised, tender oval. He groaned as the older of the two laughed jubilantly. "So you like guys, huh?" Matthew blushed furiously as he made futile attempts to cover the love mark he was sure was bright red.

But he couldn't help but wonder why his brother didn't seem more… freaked out. Instead, he just gave a little smile. His question was soon answered as Alfred made an announcement that left his mouth hanging open. "I'm bi, myself." "What? Seriously, Al?" "Yup! You didn't know…?"

He shook his head mutely as he considered the possibility of that. Alfred interrupted his thoughts with a whisper of, "So, is he okay to you? Does he treat you right?" Purple eyes locked with concerned teal ones as he whispered a lie that made his stomach churn.

"Yeah. He's a really good guy."

--

Oh gawsh. Abusive relationship fic. … I hope I can do the stages right. This is kind of dedicated to my friend Jess, who was in an abusive relationship for nearly a year. It's all better now though, and she does love Hetalia, so… Here's to you.

Anyway, funfunfun writing brotherly!Al. But lying!Mattie makes me sad :C

Review desu?~