A/N: I was just re-inspired for this story guys! I know what direction I'm going to take for sure now! I listened to Numa Numa the English version and it was, well, good for the creative mojo! I really hate that school is starting back. Normally, I'd be excited to get out of my house, but I really want to write this story~! I think I'll just write it all on notebook paper during the day and type it up when I get home. Yupp. Thanks for the people who have reviewed DivineOokami, coolcat101s, Iron Morgan, Pannie and characard! You guys are the best~! You're an inspiration yourselves, you know, just to know that people are liking this story. Thanks again for taking time to review and read this story. Now, on to the story~!
Four
The next day, I woke up early in the morning. It was unusual, but the smell of bacon woke me. There was no way Romano got up early to cook. There was no way. I got up and slid off of my bed, walking downstairs to find Elizabeta making pancakes and bacon.
"Whoa," I said, mouth beginning to water from the sight and smell.
"Good morning, Feliciano," she chirped happily, pouring the mix into a pan, causing a delicious sizzle.
"Ah, good morning, Elizabeta! You didn't have to make breakfast...though we usually don't do it, anyway," I said.
"I know," she smiled, "but since you won't let me pitch in money wise, I plan to pitch in with the other things. You guys take turns cooking, right? I want in."
I stared at the food with my mouth watering, "Um, sure. You can cook anytime you want."
"Cool. You might wanna go get dressed so you'll have time to eat. See if Romano is hungry, too, will you?" she asked.
"Sure!" I said, turning to leave and do as she asked.
"Once again little fratello, no need. I smelt the food from my sleep," Romano said, coming down the stairs already dressed.
"What are you two? Blood hounds?" she asked with a laugh.
"Nope, we're Italian," Romano and I said in unison. All three of us burst into laughter.
I ran up stairs to get dressed. I picked out a red t-shirt with gold writing saying 'Don't Sweat My Swag' and some black jeans. I chose to wear my black sneakers and Romano's leather jacket I had yet to give back. I ran my comb through my hair and smiled at my stubborn little curl. (Any one notice the certain colors? Hehe! Sorry about the 'swag' thing...Didn't know what else to put on the shirt).
I went back downstairs hurriedly before Romano stuffed himself full of all the food. I made my way to the table and piled some food onto a plate and grabbed a fork and a knife. My first bite nearly made me melt.
"Elizabeta," I said once I finished my breakfast.
"Yes?" she asked.
"You must work in my restraunt!" I exclaimed and she laughed.
"I want a ten percent cut," she joked.
"Done!" Romano and I both said, laughing once again.
I packed my lunch since I had forgotten the first two days and had to eat the scary school food. I went ahead and made Romano and Elizabeta one, too, since there was a lot of leftover pizza.
We made our way to school and I was really excited. The first few minutes flew by and then I found myself sitting in Mr. Beilschmidt's class and he had finally been triggered to talk about Prussia.
"Hey, Feliciano, I didn't get to thank you for making lunch today," Elizabeta said, giving me a hug from beside me. I hugged back.
"It's no problem. You made breakfast," I smiled.
"Oi, no PDA in the classroom, lovebirds," Mr. Beilschmidt said with a grin, but I saw something else in his eyes. Jealousy? Hm, I thought, maybe Elizabeta's love isn't unrequited.
"It's not like that, Mr. Beilschmidt. That's my *sorella," I told him, trying to explain the situation before it was misconstrued.
"Sorella? Your sister?" he asked, not sure if he knew the word I was using.
"Ah,si! Elizabeta is my sister in all the ways that really count," I replied.
He cleared his throat a bit, "Yes, well, let's keep the hugging to a minimum, ja?" He was clearly relieved. Was I the only one who was noticing that?
"Yes sir!" I said, giving him a two finger salute to which he chuckled at.
I looked over to Elizabeta who was giving me a 'thank-you' look. I smiled and shook my head to show it was no problem. Class went on as usual as he began to talk about the photoelectric effect.
" In 1839, Alexandre Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect while studying the effect of light on electrolytic cells. Now, we know that electrolytic cellsareelectrochemical cells that have undergone a redox reaction when electrical energy is applied. We know that it is most often used to decompose chemical compounds, in a process called electrolysis...," he said as my mind began to wander.
The bell rang finally and I was happy to leave,one class closer to lunch...
"Ms. Hedervary, please stay a moment after class. I need to speak with you," he said, then noticed me hoovering behind her, "Alone."
I took the hint and left the room, but waited near the door. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear what was being said. I whistled along to a song I heard awhile back and thought about some of the lyrics.
Hello, salute, it's me, your Duke
And I made something that's real to show you how I feel
Hello, hello, it's me, Picasso
I will paint, my words of love, with your name on every wall.
When you leave my colors fade to gray
Ooh a Ooh ah ay, Ooh ah Ooh a Ooh ah ay
Every word of love I used to say.
Now I paint them everyday.
When you leave my colors fade to gray
Hey little lover stay, or all my colors fade away
Every word of love I use to say.
Now I paint them everyday.
(Don't own these lyrics,unfortunately).
Elizabeta came out a few moments into me whistling the song. She looked distressed, but happy at the same time.
"Elizabeta?" I asked, stopping whistling.
"I'm...I'm not really doing too well in science, it seems," she said.
"Oh? What else did he say?" I asked, knowing there was something more to it than that.
"He wants to start tutoring me after school," she said, blushing.
"Oh! This is great!" I exclaimed as we made our way to Literature. The quickly added, "Not that you're not doing well, but that he's wanting to see you outside of school."
"I know what you meant, Feliciano. I guess you're right! This could be good, right?" she asked, smiling.
"It could!" I agreed.
"Now," she smirked devilishly as we entered Literature, "we just have to get you and Ludwig to spend some alone tome together~! The faster you start, the better off it will be!"
"Actually, I have to tell you something. Mr. Beilschmidt thought I was having a hard time here and offered to let me eat lunch with him...every day."
"You have to go!" she squealed.
"Huh? What about you?" I asked.
"I have your bro- our brother, Honda and Heracles. I'll be fine! You have to go~!" she cried, earning a hard look from Mr. Kirkland. "Sorry," she told him meekly.
"If your sure," I said.
"I am. So, if you show up at lunch,I swear I'll drag you to that class myself," she warned.
"Okay, okay!" I laughed, catching a glare from Mr. Kirkland.
Besides all of the glaring through class, he was definitely in a good mood. A lot better than . Kirkland made us work after that and soon the bell rang for third period. Mr. Jones was absent today and Mr. Williams was standing in for him since he didn't have a class this period. The mousy man seemed pretty uncomfortable with a new group of children than he was used to and I felt bad for him considering Mr. Jones didn't leave us any work (what an awesome teacher!) to do in his absence.
The rest of the class had taken it upon themselves to gather in circles of friends and chatted away happily in hushed tones. Mr. Williams stood at the front and looked as if he didn't know what to do. I felt bad for him,considering he was quite nice and was my teacher. I decided to call him over.
"Mr. Williams?" I asked, catching his attention. He walked over to where Elizabeta and I were in the back of the room rather gratefully. I smiled inwardly.
"Yes, Feliciano?" he asked. See? He had taken it upon himself to know my name though he and I had never had an official conversation. He was a really nice guy from what I saw and heard.
"I know it's not common practice, but you could sit back here and talk with us if you're bored."
"Yeah!" Elizabeta smiled, jumping in.
Mr. Williams gave us a shy smile and sat in a desk by us. He was young enough that if it were not for his suit, I'd think he was a student himself.
"How are you liking Mondiale so far?"he asked lightly,trying to find a topic to discuss with us.
"Oh, it's alright. I haven't met any mean people, so, I'd say I'm doing well! Plus, I have Elizabeta! She is super sweet!" I said to the man.
"Oh? That's good. I'm glad you're getting along well," Mr. Williams smiled.
"Is your brother alright? It's not like Mr. Jones to..miss days without telling us," Elizabeta asked, concern coloring her features.
Mr. Williams blushed slightly, "I, um, yes, he is fine. It seems he is just a bit tired."
Elizabeta wiggled her eyebrows at me suggestively and I blushed, but Mr. Williams didn't seem to catch it. But, she was probably right. Mr. Kirkland was in a suspiciously good mood...
"Are you two excited?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Excited?"
"Christmas Break is coming up...and the big winter formal," he replied, eying us.
"Really? I forgot all about Christmas! I have to go shopping for Grandpa and Romano! You, too, Elizabeta!" I fretted.
"Feliciano, it's alright, there is still three weeks until Christmas," Elizabeta soothed.
"I didn't mean to cause you distress. I'm terribly sorry," Mr. Williams said quickly.
"Oh no, it's not your fault. It's just that I forgot. Thank you for reminding me," I told him, smiling.
"Ah, sure thing, Feliciano."
We chatted about useless things after that like the weather, school, politics. It was a very enjoyable conversation, in all truthfulness. As the bell rang, Elizabeta and I gathered our things and stood.
"It was really nice talking to you both. We should do it again. See you after your lunch," Mr. Williams said, waving to us as we left. We waved back after agreeing with him.
We stopped by our lockers and I put away my things except the ones I'd need for my last few classes and my lunch. I began to follow Elizabeta to the cafeteria when she turned a glare to me.
"Feliciano," she said in a warning tone. I sighed, turning to go down the opposite hall.
"Fine, fine. I'm going," I said and she waved happily to me, wishing me to have a good lunch.
I walked down towards Mr. Beilschmidt's classroom. My heart began to do a funny leaping thing and my stomach was turning. I couldn't decide if it was a bad feeling or a good feeling. I was nervous beyond belief at this point and I could hear my heart beat in my ears.
With a shaky hand, I grabbed the handle and twisted it down, taking a deep breath. The classroom was completely void of any students. At his desk in the far corner of the room sat Mr. Beilschmidt. His suit today was black, but he had his tie loosened and his blazer off. His white button's sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his glasses were perched on his nose, slipping slightly. He seemed to be grading papers and I didn't want to interrupt, so I went to back out slowly before he noticed me.
As my hand touched the handle behind me, his voice startled me. "Don't leave, Feliciano. Come sit." He hadn't once looked up from his papers. I went to sit at the desk I usually sat in, but he looked up and motioned for the chair to the side of his desk. I blushed and sat, setting my things beside me on the floor besides my lunch.
"Are you sure I should be in here, Mr. Beilschmidt? You seem kind of busy," I said, still not wanting to bother the busy-looking man.
"You're fine. I told you that you could, right?" he said, looking up once again with a tiny smile.
"Um, yes," I said, unable to form any other coherent words at that moment.
After a few moments, I opened one of my Coke's and sipped it for a moment.
"Please, eat. Don't let my boring presence stop you," he told me, looking pointedly at my lunch.
"Ah, but it would be rude to eat before you, right?" I said,confused.
"That's kind of you, Feliciano, but I did not bring a lunch today, I'm afraid. I was in a bit of a rush this morning," he told me.
Doesn't like like it to me, I thought,my eyes trailing over his seemingly perfect features. I then looked down at my lunch and got an idea.
"Say, I have enough for two, if you want some...Not that you have to take it or anything. I made some homemade pizza yesterday and there was extra so I brought two pieces with me and I have another Coke if you want them," I stammered out in a rush.
"Really? Thank you. I'll take you up on that," he replied, setting his papers to the side.
I gave him a slice of pizza and the other Coke and he thanked me again. I told him it was no problem.
"Wow, this is really good. And you made this from scratch?" he asked, impressed.
"Uh, yeah,"I blushed.
"You're good. I've never really been a fan of pizza, but this is delicious," he told me.
"You've just never had true Italian pizza,"I said, smiling. "But, um, Mr Beilschmidt? What made you get into teaching? If you don't mind me asking."
"Well, you see I love history. Just learning about the world and how it's worked in the past intrigues me. It always has. So, I wanted a career where I could teach what I love to others,"he shrugged.
"That's really nice. You don't get to see a lot of people doing what they love, you know? All people care about is money. How fast they can get it and how much of it they can get. It's refreshing to know people still follow their dreams," I mused, smiling to myself.
"I noticed you were a bit of a history buff, based off your records. What is your dream?" he asked, looking interested. Not like when the counselors at schools come in and help you plan out your career plans,pretending to be interested in what you're going to do. No, he was genuinely asking.
"I want to open an Italian restraunt. Not the kind they have here that claim to be Italian, but true Italian and serves the best dishes Italy has."
"Hm, well, if this pizza is any sign of your skills, I'd say you have a really nice shot of achieving that dream. You just have to work hard and everything will eventually fall into place." I looked up and stared into his eyes. Everything stopped for a moment. There was nothing else. Nothing else mattered in that moment except he and I in that room.
"Thank you," I breathed, trying to focus,but it was quite hard.
"I said nothing but the truth. There is no need to thank me, but you're welcome, anyway. So, how is school? Any teachers or students giving you a hard time?" he said gently.
Coach Bonnefoy creeps the living daylights out of me. "No, I'm doing alright. I mean, it's only the third day, right?"
"A lot can happen in three days, Feliciano," he pointed out.
Yeah, I thought, I could start to fall for my teacher. Who's a guy.
"It sure can," I agreed,shaking my head with a small laugh.
"Is anything bothering you, Feliciano? You can talk to me," he asked, giving me a weird look.
"No, not really. I mean, there have been a lot of changes these last few days. Like you said, a lot can happen. And it has. Plus, I was reminded I had quite a bit of Christmas shopping to do. And that there is a dance coming up," I sighed, caving in and telling him. I felt like I could tell him anything- I wanted to tell him everything. But I knew if I did, I could mess it all up.
"Are you planning on asking someone? Like Ms. Hedervary?" he asked, clearly amused.
I shook my head, "No, to both. Our relationship isn't like that."
"It could be," he replied.
Why did I feel we weren't talking about Elizabeta anymore? I shook the feeling off. Of course we were. There was no way we weren't.
"Not a chance. She's a sister in my eyes. Besides, she has her heart set out for one guy and one guy only. But, even if none of that were true, she isn't exactly my type," I explained.
"Why not? She is a very pretty girl. And smart," he said,curious to my reasoning.
Bingo, I thought dryly. There's the two main problems. She's a girl. She's not you. But I couldn't exactly tell him that.
"We're just not the type to be compatible in that way," I replied, trying to find words to explain without actually having to tell him.
"Oh, I see," was his response. Do you? I thought with humor.
"You know, your brother thought the same thing you did,"I told him.
"Really? And what is that?"
"That Elizabeta and I were and item. Of course, I told him that we weren't. Honesty is the best policy, no?" I smiled.
"It is," he agreed, "But it looks like our conversation is going to be cut short. Your lunch break is almost over."
"Ah, it is. I guess I better start heading to Study Hall," I said, sighing.
"Do you not like that class?" he questioned, standing to take our trash and throw it away.
"It's not that. I'm just always bored in there. Don't get me wrong, Mr. Williams is an awesome guy, but the class...isn't, I don't know. I just don't like being idle for too long." (Italy...Is this really you? 0.o)
"Hm, I think I have a solution. I need help grading these papers. I've fallen behind in grading since my older brother insists that I drive him all over town until the late hours of the evening. Why don't you stay in here and grade while I teach? I'll call you teacher and let him know where you'll be until you want to start going back to his class again."
"Really? You're so kind! Veh~!" I exclaimed.
He chuckled slightly, "Give me one moment."
He picked up his room telephone and dialed a three digit number.
"Ah, Matthew? It's Ludwig. I'm going to be keeping Feliciano Vargas during this period for awhile. Hm? Yes, yes, that's fine. Goodbye."
"Well, you're cleared to stay," he told me, hanging up the phone.
"Really, thank you, Mr. Beilschmidt."
"No need. I need the help. It's a win-win, right?" he said, shrugging again.
"You're right," I nodded, smiling.
The bell rang and I watched as Mr. Beilschmidt went to his board and began to draw out a map. It looked familiar. I wracked my brain to remember where I had seen it before, but nothing was coming up. Until he labeled it the Holy Roman Empire. Oh, I thought. Now I see it.
As the students piled in, I saw my brother pause by what I assumed to be his desk and stare at me.
"What are you doing here, fratello?" he questioned, clearly confused.
"Oh, you know, this and that."
He raised an eyebrow at me then looked to Mr. Beilschmidt. He mouthed over to me, "Did you tell him?'
I shook my head violently and a mad blush broke out across my cheeks. He laughed and sat down. I sat in the chair Mr. Beilschmidt had been in and immediately felt like melting. It smelled like him...Like rain and mint. It was a very pleasant smell.
Mr. Beilschmidt came over tome and showed me his rubric on how to grade a few tests. Then, he told me to read through the essays on ancient Rome and check for accuracy, not grammatical efficiency. I nodded and got to work.
I was so immersed that I nearly fell out of the chair when the bell rang. I had finished grading all of the work he had on his desk, though, so I felt happy I could help him.
"You finished all of it?" he asked, surprise written all over his handsome face.
"Um, yes. They were all actually well written and the tests were all passing," I beamed. "You're a great teacher."
This time he blushed, "I, uh, thank you. I'll see you sixth period, Feliciano."
"You're welcome! I'll see you then!" I said, gathering my things and leaving.
I practically skipped the whole way to P.E., excitement coming out of me in waves. I had so much to tell Elizabeta about! My excitement died, though, when I heard a familiar female voice sounding distressed. I broke out into a run, no one in the halls to stop me. I turned the corner and the scene I found caused rage to flood though my veins.
"You best let go of her, before I rip you to shreds!" I hissed darkly.
A pair of violet eyes flashed angrily in my direction. I glared back even more angrily at the dark haired boy. Elizabeta, from her position against the lockers and struggling to get his hands off of her, look at me in surprise and relief.
"F-Feliciano," she stuttered, let out a breath.
I threw off my borrowed leather jacket and it landed against the lockers, sliding to the floor to my right. The boy released Elizabeta, causing her to slide to the floor, her knees seeming to give out. He stomped closer to me, as if to threaten me off. I gave him a
"You just messed with the wrong girl," I growled.
A/N: Phew! I got this done before my own homework! Oh well, ha ha. Anyway, hope you like it! I thought about this story all day!I'm going to try to update as often as possible. To me, I hope daily. That'd be nice, so let's all hope my teacher decided to be merciful! Off to do homework~!