A/N: I'm sorry for missing what, like three update days but I did warn you guys about how terrible I am at being consistent. I have some French stuff in here, so imma just put the translations next to them so ya'll don't have to go all the way to the bottom because I know firsthand how annoying that is. Anywayssss...review, follow, and enjoy!

Day 3: 168 Hours to Departure

When Matthew woke up, he found two topaz blue eyes staring at him. Alfred sat on the bed opposite him and looked at him as if he was trying to dissect him with his eyes. Noticing that the Canadian was awake, he turned away, trying to play it off as watching television. Matthew inhaled deeply, still not used to the strange smell of the hotel room. The air always carried a twinge of furniture polish and new wood. He sat up in the bed and grabbed his glasses off of the nightstand, gathering his bearings. The clock read 8:07 and Matthew wondered if the ever-hungry American had eaten yet.

Alfred was fully dressed already, perched on the edge of the bed. "Morning, Mattie." Matthew flinched at the sound of the nickname originally given to him by Gilbert. Oh, right. Gilbert. The thought of the boy brought Matthew to life. The memories of last night came flooding back in. The trip through the forest, the tree, the kissing. It had been the most amazing afternoon of his life, until it was interrupted by Alfred. He had hardly spoken after coming down from the tree and walking back to the hotel with Alfred. They had eaten at the little restaurant that sat next door and Mathew tried to ignore the American's accusing glances.

Now that the boy once again sat before him, Matthew was lost. He couldn't stay silent forever. "Good morning." He responded weakly. He finally realized the absence of another boy's presence. "Hey, where's Mariano?"

Alfred shrugged, turning towards him. "He was up before I was, texting someone. Around seven he just got up and left, so he could be anywhere really. Do you know what we're supposed to do today?"

Matthew nodded and stood up, walking over to where he had placed the schedule. "It says that today is mostly lectures from different leaders." Alfred groaned, flopping back onto the bed.

"I don't remember it being this BORING the past few years." He rubbed his hands across his face and took off his glasses. Matthew shrugged and tried to fold up Mariano's roll away bed without moving any of his stuff. With his path cleared, he pulled out a white t-shirt and jeans from his bag and headed to get changed.

When he emerged from the bathroom, Alfred was already gone. Matthew looked at his watch and decided that he'd have to skip breakfast this morning if he was going to make it on time. He threw on some shoes and raced out the door.

The second lecture Matthew sat through was extremely boring. Other teens throughout the room were actively taking notes and hanging on the speaker's every last word, but Matthew just couldn't get into the deep and complicated rules of Belgium's foreign policy.

His mind drifted off and found it's way to the boy that wouldn't leave his mind. The boy with the porcelain skin and fiery eyes. Gilbert was everything Matthew never had. Everything Matthew always needed. The unstoppable spirit that ran through him drew in Matthew and swallowed him up. It was amazing, to say the least. He hadn't spent more than a day with the boy, though. Who was to say that his feelings were really genuine? How was Matthew supposed to know what love is? For all he knew, Gilbert was going to be one little, forgettable fling that disappeared into the ocean of his existence.

The thought of losing Gilbert scared Matthew. He suddenly realized that whatever happened here was going to end in only a few days. There was always a chance he could be chosen to go to the conference again next year, but who knows if Gilbert would be? Any in-person interaction they would have would last a couple of weeks, at the most. And Matthew knew that long-distance relationships rarely worked out. But they could make it work, couldn't they? Couldn't they?

Matthew nearly jumped out of his chair when he felt a tap on his shoulder. A girl with dark hair and tan skin stood next to him with a concerned look on her face. Matthew realized that his face showed a perfect reflection of the thoughts running through his head. His brows were tilted upwards and his eyes screamed with worry. Matthew tried to compose himself and looked back at the girl.

"Um," She said. "The lecture's over." While Matthew was wrapped up in his thoughts, everyone had gotten up and left.

Matthew stood up and ran his hands through his hair. "Thank you so much. I'm not sure what happened. I must've just gotten wrapped up in my thoughts."

"That's okay." The girl said with a smile. She stuck out her hand. "My name's Victoria."

Matthew shook her hand and smiled. "I'm Matthew. I guess we'd better get off to the next conference, eh? I'm heading to room 203 next."

Victoria smiled brightly. "That's great! I'm going there too." The girl set off towards the conference room and motioned for Matthew to come with her. He was quick to follow along and match strides with her as they walked down the carpeted hallways. "Oh, and by the way, are you alright? Whatever you were thinking about seemed to have you really worried there."

Matthew stared at his footsteps. "Um, well, it's just boy trouble I guess."

Victoria looked a little put-off at first before smiling and nodding. "I get it. Hey, I have a friend that might be able to help you. He's really good at all of that sort of romance-y stuff. I can show you to him at lunch today, if you want." Matthew brought his head up and nodded, smiling.

"That'd be great. Thank you, Victoria."

The next few lectures flew by and Matthew found himself in the busy cafe next to the convention center. Victoria stood next to him, her amber eyes flicking back and forth between her phone and the door. Curiosity getting the best of him, he tried to read the French texts off of the screen she was holding, but all he was able to see was the contact name which was confusingly labeled "Papa". Victoria suddenly shut her phone off and Matthew backpedaled, wondering if she had discovered him snooping when the little bells on the front door chimed and a blonde man waltzed into the cafe. Victoria walked over to the man who took her hand and kissed it lightly. Matthew followed along but felt like he was intruding on something.

"Bonjour, Victoria," he said in thickly accented French. "Bon de vous voir enfin à nouveau." (Good to finally see you again.)

"Bonjour, Francis. Vous avez pas changé un peu."(You haven't changed a bit.) When he heard Victoria address the man, Matthew finally realized where he had seen him before. Francis was one of Gilbert's friends that he had been introduced to yesterday. When he saw the Canadian, Francis's face showed the same amount of recognition. He looked the Canadian over, as if trying to solve a complex math problem before bursting into a warm smile once again.

"Ah yes! Matthew, no? It's good to see you again." Francis shook Matthew's hand before leading the two over to an empty table. The cafe itself was in pretty good condition, the walls painted a cheerful blue and the floor tiled like a checkerboard. The legs on the metal chair made a loud screeching as Matthew pulled it from beneath the table and took a seat.

"Can I ask you a question?" Matthew asked. Francis nodded and the Canadian looked over to Victoria. "Why is your contact name 'Papa' on her phone?" Francis's cheeks took on a bit of a blush at the question, but he just laughed it off.

"It's a bit of an inside joke between Toria and I." He replied.

"Yeah," Victoria giggled. "Because Francis is the dad and Arthur is the mom-"

"Yes, yes, HAHAHA. We don't talk about that, do we?" Francis shot Victoria a nervous glance before coughing awkwardly and turning back to Matthew. Whoever Arthur was, he seemed to be such a force that he could actually make Francis blush. "So what is it that you need help with?"

Matthew did his best not to turn beet red when he thought about what was troubling him. He came to the sudden realization that even though Victoria recommended him, Francis may not have been the best choice of a person to talk to when the subject was one of his closest friends. But it was too late to turn back now. He took a deep breath. "It's Gilbert." Francis's face immediately shifted from warm and welcoming to something much more serious. It was unsettling, but he continued on. "So the other day, this thing happened-in a tree and..." Matthew looked up to see both Victoria's and Francis's eyes glued to him. This was way harder than it was supposed to be. "We kinda kissed."

His friend's faces exploded into smiles and giggling. "Ohmygosh really?" Victoria asked. Matthew nodded and scratched at the back of his neck.

Francis smiled approvingly but something else flickered in his eyes. What was it? Fear? It was gone before Matthew could pin it down and it made him more nervous than before, if that was even possible. Francis opened his mouth to say something at the exact same moment that a waitress came by and politely asked for their orders. Victoria and Francis both got some type of pastry, so Matthew decided on tea. Once the waitress left, Francis began again.

"So he kissed you in a tree?" The Frenchman asked. When someone else said it, it sounded absolutely ridiculous. "That's great! What's the problem?"

"Well, I was just thinking that whatever happens here isn't going to last longer than a week, right? Gil seems really great, but I'm worried that what we have won't last." Matthew picked at his fingernails, doing his best not to look at the other two.

Francis's eyebrows tilted upwards and he frowned. He reached across the table and put his hand on Matthew's shoulder, making him look up. "Hey, none of that matters. If I were you, I would just ride it out and enjoy whatever happens. This is one of the greatest opportunities you'll ever have in your life." From his tone of voice, Francis seemed like he was talking about Gilbert more than the conference. "Make sure you don't waste it."

Matthew's mind was so awash with emotions that he completely missed the shared nervous look between Victoria and Francis. But he was right. Matthew had six days to have the best summer romance possible.

A/N: I had a hard time writing this chapter so let me know if it sucks or if you want longer chapters. Review and follow for more!