I probably didn't mope for long.

I heard the 5 minute call and just suppressed a long cloudy sigh.

"Come back later..." I thought. "I'm wallowing in my self pity."

Eventually someone gripped my shoulders like a bird of prey and I whipped around to see who it was and came face to face with Brittain again. His candy green eyes stared me down and I shrunk back a bit. Normally I wouldn't do that but I tried to look at him with some courage.

"What are you doing Canada? Stop lolly gagging and get on-stange!" he snapped, prying me from the chair and pushing me towards the curtain. I wasn't ready for this.

"No no no stop I! I!" I began to protest but the shadows seeped away and the light blinded me like a deer in headlights. I squeezed my eyes shut and wandered out into the light pressing against my lids. At that point I knew it was seriously time to MAN up.

Even though all I felt like I would do is THROW up.

Slowly, I opened my eyes, squinting in the light and saw a full house. The second thing I noticed was no-one was looking at me, but I picked out some familiar faces in the crowd, like Italy, Germany, Japan, Lithunia, Poland, Prussia and so many other countries. They all came here to see me. I probably smiled a bit wider then I realised I was already smiling when I looked over and saw Francis. He was always supporting me more than the other countries in my familly, morally of course. I opened my eyes all the way and walked up to the microphone. Nothing but instinct from now on. My hands met the stands thin neck and I pulled the microphone off, watching the over head lights spark a shining star on the metal surface before I pulled back, wet my lips and checked for a water bottle beside me. Check.

I cleared my throat and spread my posture out a bit so I wouldn't seem so closed in. Comedy instinct.

"Good Morning everyone!" I called out into the mic.

I swear, everybody in the entire room jumped out of their seat. Some more than others. I bit my lip, realizing that they probably didn't see me as I walked in, hence the lack of eye contact. Now they all faced me, looking shocked and confused.

This was something I had worried about for the longest time, ever since that pen met the paper and I signed up for this thing, thinking I could show what I was really made of. How could I show what I was made of if everyone in the room couldn't SEE what I had to show?

"Hello. Hello. Welcome to Canada. I bet you noticed all the uh, maple trees on your way up, eh?" I began nervously, standing strong.

The crowd was silent. That was a horrible starter.

I cleared my throat again and took a step to the right, away from the microphone stand.

"Now, despite what a lot of people think, Canada isn't just all beavers and bears and trees and rocks. Most other countries have those things. And Canada is actually simaler to most other countries in other respects." I smiled sheepishly at everyone in the audiance, my mind drawing a blank as to what my orriginal script was.

It was it.

It was over.

I'm done.

All I could think about was what happened in the past 24 hours...my brother, the doppleganger, the hell I went through getting her with the deer and the lake...

And then it hit me.

"Just like everyone else, Canadians have problems. No, we aren't perfect, despite what a lot of people say, who are for the most part Canadian, we just have a smaller ego than most countries. America, your ego is BIGGER than your country. Its bigger than the world! But yeah, in Canada, we have problems too, but not normal problems. Just the other day, I'm sitting alone at home, drinking my beer when guess who. Guess who bursts in. None other than the country of an enourous ego and appetite, my brother America. I usually keep a fully stocked fridge, it has my common Canadian maple syrup, beer and beaver tails. That is our sole appetite. You can survive on that diet for years. It doesn't perish. So anyways, he just walks in with his muddy boots dripping, romps on in devours my whole fridge. I swear, that is what it looks like. If my fridge was a damzel in distress, he's the dragon." I go over every detail of the past few days. The ghostly Quebec, the deer, everything. The crowd is eating this up. Every once and I while I hear a small wave of laughter before it dissipates again.

The time passes, my confidence swells. I'm telling every single detail, hoping for their laughter when I want it. The time just flies by.

"So I'm standing here, with a bloody nose, a bloody face and hair that is 50% sticks to tell you all a valuable lesson." I stare at everyone in the crowd in turn, knowing that I have their full attention.

"Even if you are constantly troubled day by day in this life with things that make you want to rip your hair out. Your realatives, deer, lakes, bread, yes bread. Bread is not innocent. Bread gets no pardon. Right, even if you are troubled, you can always find a way out of that lake, out of that forest, out of your own nuttiness and into the spotlight where everyone learns who you are and then the rest of the day just...doesn't seem so bad. Thank you." I concluded, nodding to the crowd. The applause washed up around me and drowned me there on the stage. My heart swelled and I smiled at everyone there, placing the mic back in place. I hoped they had actually enjoyed my tale and weren't just clapping to be polite. At that moment I feel really ill so I turned and left the stage with an air of awkwardness, trying hard to breathe when it felt like I had inhaled rocks.

I stumbled into a dressing room chair, breathing hard, laughing to myself. I felt my face tremble. I was filled with fright that twisted in my mind like a great snake and also this overwhelming joy that made me float out of my chair. I felt like a broken and gutted toy that still had the wind-up key.

I felt like a lot of things.

A few minutes later I heard my brother take the stage. He practically ran onto stage and grabbed the mic.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" He yelled loud enough for people to hear him outside.

"Who is ready for one heck of a show?"

He did a fist pump and the crowd just stared back at him. This did not discourage America however, and he just went on. "What about those Chinese people, huh?"

I didn't look over but I imagined china going red in the face with embarrassment right about now, ready to protest.

"This is no time to be racist, brother!" I muttered weakly, actually looking over through the open curtain to him him standing in the light. Surprisingly, what he just said was the only thing. Brittan burst out laughing, now sitting in the crowd.

"Yes, what about him?" he crowed. I wondered if he was drinking.

Insulted, I heard China protest.

"You can't use me as a comedy act! Thats un-effical!" he cried, standing in his chair.

"Un-effical, smeffical!" my brother called out. "I mean, what about your sleeves? How can you do anything with such long sleeves? Chinesse people go out to do everyday stuff like mechanics and stuff and when you get your chinese goods shipped to America, you can never really guarantee whether or not your free Chineese person is stuck with their sleeves in the shipping box!"

I riot of laughter rose up from the crowd.

I never really understood why, but apparently insulting others could be considered hillairious if you secretly really dislike them. Or even if you don't dislike them.

"Not all of us wear long sleeves! This is a traditional outfit!" China cried out above the laughter. "I bet we too would get Americans shipped back to us, but they wouldn't even have to get stuck! Just be so lazy that they don't move off the boat!"

Before I knew it, everyone was in an absolute up-roar, rising like a wave over the room. Somehow France and Brittan had managed to get into an argument. As usual. And I just felt worse and worse. As this rate, everyone would forget about my act. My 10 minutes of fame were up.

In retrospect, the reason why I should have signed up to the show should have been because I wanted to have some fun and get out there a little more. But I was being selfish. I was here for myself...

I reflected on it, but in the end...

But what's wrong with that?

I pushed in the chair and went back onto the stage. I don't know what possessed me to do so, but I did. I swallowed hard and kept going forward.

I deserved so much better. I deserved to be seen. To be heard. To be admired by the other countries by such a good man I was. It made me feel...hungry. It was a strong desire that I couldn't shake.

At last I made it to the middle of the stage, feeling as though I had walked for an eternity. Through space and time...

Or something.

My hand reached out and I grabbed away the mic from my brother. I opened my mouth, held the microphone up, turned and..

Saw everyone in the audience.

Everyone.

It felt like all my insides had dropped down into my feet.

"Uh...uh...h-hello everyone..." I began, without knowing, adjusting the collar of my shirt. Everybody continued in the uproar. I forced myself to speak louder.

"Guys...I'm...its me...Canada." I did speak louder. As I cleared my throat I swung my arm back to my side.

"Guys!" I cried out, but it just sounded like a yelp. I shrunk back, worried about bothering anyone.

But who was I kidding? Nobody was listening. Nobody was listening as usual. At that point, I just about lost it there on stage.

"Everybody in this room be quiet, or...or...I will speak louder so all of you can hear me!" I yelled into the mic, but I imagine it came out much quieter than I thought.

I was about to turn and leave right then and there. Just drop the mic and forget about all of them.

Suddenly, I saw Quebec's face in the crowd. He looked up at me, frowning. Nobody noticed him at all. Maybe he was in my head. But by that logic, I was a figment of someone in this room's imagination if anyone cared to see me. Maybe I didn't exist.

Shock swallowed me when Quebec, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking shock his head and frowned deeper. He reached up and lifted the shades away from his eyes and made a straight face before going angry again. His lips moved.

He mouthed; "Get angry."

I thought about that word for a moment. I looked down at the stage and back up again. Was I even angry? Well, everyone had forgotten me. Was that okay? Was it okay to be pushed around by my brother, or anyone else? No! It didn't happen to anybody but me. Again, I felt selfish, but at this point I was figuring I had a right to be!

"I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH YOUR CRAP TOO LONG!"

Utter and complete silence followed.

Everyone stopped, and stared at me in horror.

I actually shouted this time, my own personal thoughts bursting out of me, for the first time in who knows how long.

Everyone continued staring. Their eyes were burning on my skin. Every face with the same expressions, re-drawn all across the room.

I dropped the microphone. I didn't hear is shriek.

I stopped, I turned and I walked off the stage.

I walked home.

Everything was numb. My comfort zone was shattered and nothing felt real.

It was like I had broken a universal rule.

The roads were silent down that old dirt trail. The birds were still chirping away in the trees. It was still morning. The world was a beautiful place. The clouds rolled by in the sky and a gentle breeze tugged at my hair. Sweet smelling wild-flowers filled the sides of the road. Their delicate faces faced the sun and reflected some of the light. It was so serene I could just forget. So silent that the silence rubbed off on my mind.

I found my way back home. I had strayed too far this time. It was really no matter. I could just go home. Get some much needed sleep and clean up.

This day had never happened. I didn't care if it meant forgetting my moment of success. In the end, it didn't matter.

You know what? I was happy. I had a smile plastered on my face that no-one could take away.

Nobody would come and apologize to me at my door.

All you need to do is forget about all the bad things in life and then you will just feel...

It is good to be alive.

Hey everyone! It's the writer here,

So…is this the end? Yeah, I know it's probably a bit of a letdown so I will make one more concluding chapter that you may or may not read. We could just end this short story right here and nobody would mind. I was just trying to be realistic, but it ended up sort of being a slice of life type of story…heh…

But I'll be honest, it was even out of my comfort zone to make Canada yell into the microphone, as I was trying to be as canon as possible, but it could be accepted at one point. You can only push a guy so far until he snaps. And it's a good thing that I didn't give in to write a snapped Canada fic! I'll admit, I was tempted.

If you guys want an alternate ending, or for me to write any further, you may ask. It depends on how many people want it. Even if it's one person.

This story is dedicated to anyone who has never felt heard by others or has gone through some pretty unlucky and horrible days. We all have them.

This is probably not the only fic I will write and I consider it to have been great practise!

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing everyone. It makes me really happy to make people laugh and enjoy themselves.

-Pylime ○