Lunch was a quiet affair. Or as quiet as could be expected for a lunch with two maniacs like Gilbert and Alfred. Alfred managed to spill his lemonade – twice – and Gilbert had a habit of talking with his mouth full, making both Matthew and Arthur wince. Arthur could feel himself growing more and more tired as he tried to coral the two into civilized behavior, only to fail time after time.

"Stop swinging your hands around when you talk, and maybe you wouldn't knock your glass over so much." Arthur said irritably as he mopped up the second batch of lemonade to coat their table.

Alfred pouted at him as he pressed a batch of paper towels to the spill. "It's not my fault! It's Gilbert's!"

The albino snorted as he lifted his plate out of he flow of liquid. "How is this even vaguelymy fault? You're the one practicing your batting at the lunch table." he laughed at his own joke.

Arthur sent a round of glares at the two, then responded, "Just keep your limbs still when you speak and we won't have this problem!" he gathered the sopping paper towels and walked to deposit them in a nearby trash can before returning. "For god's sake, Alfred." he grumbled, sitting down hard and stuffing a bite of chicken patty into his mouth.

Alfred pursed his lips and glared, and, in a rare fit of rage, snapped, "Yeah, fine, since you're so perfect, Arthur."

Their eyes met, and the hurt registered in Arthur's eyes until it flashed away, replaced by a cold stoic look. "Fine." was the chilled response. "If that's what you think." he stood, scooping up his fork, knife, and plate before stalking away to violently scrape his scraps into the trash can. He banged his plate down so hard on the table for dirty dishes that Alfred could hear it from where they sat.

Gilbert winced and gave a sympathetic glance at Alfred. "Dam, man. Good luck surviving on Arthur's shit list. He's fucking scary when he's pissed."

Alfred grimaced, watching as the clearly angry Brit walked back to the table. He thumped down hard in his seat next to Alfred, staring intensely at the scarred wooden table before him.

"Uh... Artie.."

"Don't talk to me."

Alfred drooped noticeably. Matthew opened his mouth to say something to try and break the tension, but he was interrupted by John speaking through the megaphone. "All right, kids, you're dismissed from the mess hall. Please check your afternoon activity before you go back to your cabins. If you aren't going to rest, remember to keep quiet out of respect for those who are!" a surge of boys flooded past him, and he shouted after them, "Stay away from the lake!"

Arthur was in the crowd of boys surging past him, heading deliberately for his cabin. Alfred followed behind him slower, shoulders slouched as he stared pensively at the back of his partner's head. He hadn't meant to snap at Arthur, naturally, but he really had been over reacting a little about spilled lemonade. Seriously, it wasn't that big of a deal, but..

He caught Arthur glancing over his shoulder at him, hurt present in his green eyes before he snapped his head back around. Alfred suddenly realized something. He didn't mean to overreact either. He thought to himself. And now that he did and realizes he did... He wants to apologize. But he doesn't know how, huh? A grin split his face at this thought.

I guess I'll just have to help him out! He determined to himself, quickening his pace to catch up to Arthur.

"Hey Arrthuuurrr." he said, voice lilting as he wrapped one arm around the boy's shoulders.

Gilbert, on the other side of Arthur, and Matthew, on the other side of Gilbert, both gave him curious looks. Arthur tugged out from under his arm, glaring at him. "I said don't talk to me." he snarled, not meeting Alfred's eyes.

Alfred didn't let himself be deterred by this cold rejection. Instead, he pulled a complicated wrestling move he had seen. He stepped behind Arthur, placed his hands on the boy's slim hips, flipped him around to face Alfred, then slung him over his shoulder, securing him there with one arm wrapped firmly around his waste, and the other pressing his knees to his chest.

Arthur didn't have a chance to react as he was shouldered by the much bigger boy, and could only manage a muffled gasp and indignant squeak as he was hauled up. When he was settled firmly on the harsh expanse of shoulder, his butt propped in the air and his front hanging down a long back, he had a chance to protest. And protest he did, loudly, yelping and pounding into the broad back before him.

"Put me down, you big fat fucking lug!" he shouted, trying to kick his feet against the firm grip over his knees. "This is bloody embarrassing! Put me down!"

"Nope!" his captor told him. "Not till you accept my apology!" Arthur's face flushed, and it was hard to tell if it was embarrassment or if it was merely the fact that he was upside down.

Arthur scrabbled to push himself up, his hands slipping on the fabric of Alfred's shirt. Alfred starting walking, a bouncing, trotting gate, and Arthur couldn't balance himself up right well enough. He seemed absolutely unaffected by the insistent pounding on his back.

"Alfred fucking Jones, put me down right now damnit!"

Alfred laughed and turned in a quick circle, leaving Arthur dizzy and clinging to the fabric of his shirt, before trotting onwards. "I told you. Not till you accept my apology."

"You shouldn't even be apologizing to me! I should be apologizing to you!" by the quick intake of breath and the sudden stillness of the boy over his shoulder, Alfred deduced that he hadn't actually meant to say that.

Alfred grinned in triumph and carefully slung the Brit down, setting his feet on the ground and smiling. "Oh really?" he asked.

Arthur nervously fixed his shirt, tugging it down while he stared at the ground, his face flushing red. "S-sure." he grumbled, refusing to meet Alfred's eyes.

Alfred waited. A long moment of silence passed.

"I'm sorry."

Alfred nearly tackled his partner, scooping him up in a walloping hug, crushing the smaller boy to his chest as he spun in a fast circle before releasing him. Arthur stumbled, confusion on his face. He fell against Matthew, standing a few paces away, who easily caught him and steadied him.

Alfred was grinning wildly, looking incredibly pleased with himself. "I'm sorry, too!" he exclaimed, but Arthur got the feeling he wasn't really very sorry. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

Arthur scowled at the ground. How incredibly embarrassing, being picked up like a child. "... Can I go sleep now?" he asked, trying to will the heat in his cheeks to go away.

"Yep!" Alfred chirped, trotting ahead. "Absolutely!"

Arthur didn't say another word as the four made their way back to the cabin, and gladly collapsed into his bed. He was asleep almost immediately, leaving only Alfred, Gilbert, and Matthew awake in their otherwise empty cabin.

"I'm impressed with you, Alfred." Gilbert told him from the doorway to their half of the cabin. "I don't think I've ever heard that prick apologize." He said the word 'prick' with fondness in his voice. "Though, I have to admit, your methods are a little..." he grinned mischievously, leaving the sentence hanging in the air.

Alfred stuck his tongue out at the albino. "Well, obviously I just know Arthur better than you know him."

Gilbert shook his head. "I doubt that." he said, then turned away, waving over his shoulder. "I'm off. Gonna see if I can catch Toni and that Italian in the middle of a fuck." he grinned and left, the screen door of the cabin slamming behind him.

That left only Alfred and Matthew awake. It was obvious by the way that Matthew was curling on his bed that he intended to stay and rest. Alfred scowled at his twin, but the other just raised a slim eyebrow. "Go find Gilbert. I'm sure he'll entertain you in some way." with this, the blond flopped back onto his bunk and closed his eyes.

With a pout and a scowl at his partner and then at his brother, Alfred left the cabin, slumping his way back down the trail. He saw a lot of people were in their cabins; most of them talking and laughing, not sleeping. "Such lame partners..." he grumbled to himself as he walked down the path towards the mess hall. He had no idea where Gilbert would be, despite Matthew's suggestion.

The path he walked on was completely empty. It seemed as though everyone had chosen to go back to the cabins. He didn't see another person until he reached the mess hall, where he found three boys crouching in the dirt under a tree off to the side. He wandered over, recognizing one of his football companions. He crouched down next to him, and had to search his mind for his name before he said, "Hey, Jake."

Jake was Australian, and still had a pronounced accent despite the fact that he had lived in America for several years. He gave Alfred a short glance and replied, "'Owdie, mate."

The two other boys in the circle were people that Alfred only vaguely recognized. He assumed they had been to camp before, but hadn't played a huge role in Alfred's experience. One was a broad, light haired, purple eyed boy. He studied Alfred quietly, and it sent cold shivers up his spine. He was kind of just a little creepy. He had a light purple scarf wrapped around his neck, even though it was too hot for it.

The last boy didn't even send Alfred a second glance, and he was glad for it. He was small, lithe, with dark hair, dark eyes and dark skin.

"This is Ivan, and that is Ray." Jake told him, pointing respectively. Ivan was still staring at him bluntly, eyes running over his face, trying to catch his eye.

You're creeping me out. Alfred thought mentally, not bothering to look the other in the eye. Something chilled and heavy settled at the base of his spine, and his guard went up.

"You are paired with Arthur Kirkland, are you not?"

Alfred felt himself tense. "That's right." he replied, watching as Ray drew delicate designs in the dust.

Ivan hummed quietly, and Alfred couldn't help but compare it to the hums that left Arthur's throat so often. There was something so incredibly different between those two similar noises.

"He is new, is he not?" Ivan asked, glancing at Jake before returning his stare to Alfred. "To camp. Is there no such thing as initiation anymore?"

Jake shrugged. "Eh. More and more newbies are coming, and less and less old ones to initiate them." he muttered in response, pulling his wide brimmed cowboy hat lower over his eyes.

"We should restart that tradition." Ivan said, and Alfred finally looked up to meet his eyes. Cold purple met warm blue, and Alfred shivered. He suddenly had a bad feeling gnawing at the pit of his stomach, but he ignored it. Instead, he chose to accept the challenge that was put forth by those eyes.

"How would we do that?" he asked, never breaking eye contact. He felt his utter competitiveness well up in him, and he knew he had to win.

Ivan smiled. "We should initiate some of the new ones that we have been blessed with, of course."

"How do you propose we do that?" Ray was interested in the conversation now, light flickering in his eyes at the sound of possible mischief.

"We should start with Arthur..."

Alfred ignored the uncomfortable itch in the back of his mind.

~.~

Arthur only managed to sleep for half an hour before he awoke with a start. Gilbert had entered the cabin, being loud and obnoxious, with Francis, Antonio, and Lovino at his side. He was telling a joke as he entered, tromping over to their side of the cabin. Through bleary eyes, he watched as the albino flopped onto Matthew's bed, waking the smaller boy as the sudden increase in weight bounced him upwards.

"Gilbert, you asshole.." Matthew groaned as he tried to burrow into his pillow. "I'm tryin' to sleep, damnit."

Gilbert just laughed and said, "Common! Francis and Toni came to see us and everything! The least you could do is wake up and be sociable.

"For Pete's sake, Gil, I was freaking sleeping." Matthew grumbled, flipping over and making a rude hand gesture at the other three in the room.

Francis just laughed, and came over to plop down next to Arthur. "Get off my bed, frog." Arthur growled, scooting away and sitting up. He pushed at Francis with the heel of his foot.

Francis pouted at him, shaking his head. "Don't be rude, Angleterre." he turned his attention to Antonio, who was force snuggling Romano on the floor, his back pressed to one of the dressers. "Now back to the original question that I posed, Toni. How did you find someone so..." he grinned at Romano, mischief dancing in his eyes. "Charming."

"You're a fucking asshole, frenchie, so why don't you shut the fuck up, you freaking...!" a hand clapped over the Italian's mouth and Antonio grinned at Francis.

"Oi, you know me, Francis." he winked.

Francis opened his mouth to respond when Alfred entered. They all greeted him with varying states of enthusiasm. Arthur didn't greet him at all. He was face down in his pillow, willing the annoyances that had invaded his rest time to go away. Of course, they didn't, and the noise just escalated with a certain American in the room. Even pressing a pillow over his ears didn't dim the silence.

Finally, annoyed that he wouldn't be getting any more sleep, he sat up tiredly, and joined in on the conversation. It was only for a short amount of time, because the others had to disperse to change into swim suits, but it was still rather interesting. Arthur couldn't be annoyed, not really, when he was surrounded by such... odd, for lack of a better word, characters.

Matthew and Gilbert, who were both eager to get to the lake, had stripped, dressed and practically sprinting out the door. Matthew had caught the hyper-bug from the others, and couldn't stop giggling. Arthur was incredibly thankful for the silence that followed as the other vacated.

Alfred was already pulling on his swim trunks, his back to Arthur. The Brit grinned, amused by the floral pink, orange and blue pattern. It was very Alfred.

He forced the grin off his face when the other turned around. "You aren't even naked yet!" Alfred yelped. "Aren't ya gonna swim?"

Arthur shook his head. "No." he replied. "I plan to read a book in the shade."

"Common." Alfred said, waving his hand dismissively. "You don't come to camp to read a freaking book, man. That's just jank!"

"'Jank' is hardly a word." Arthur retorted. "And I can do as I please. No where does it say that I absolutely have to swim."

Alfred shook his head, a pout forming on his face. "You're not any fun at all!"

"Thank you."

He deflated, brow furrowing together as he had a mild glaring contest with his partner. Finally, he surrendered, shrugging and saying, "All right, all right. Whatever floats your boat and mellows your yellow and all that."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "'Mellows my yellow'?" he asked.

"Yeah! You haven't heard the saying before?"

Arthur shook his head. "It's something only Americans would come up with."

Alfred was not the least bit offended by this. He pulled out sunscreen from his still unpacked bag and began slathering it on himself in enormous heaps. "So, Artie."

Arthur winced at the name.

"I really am sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have snapped at you or anything. And then for embarrassing you in front of everyone by picking you up." he grinned. "Though I really can't say I'm one hundred percent sorry for that one."

Arthur shook his head, trying to will his cheeks not to get hot (they did anyways), and said, "I already told you, you're not the one who needed to apologize."

Alfred grinned. "Yeah, yeah. Despite that, Arthur, can we be friends?"

Arthur was surprised, and he knew it showed on his face. "Aren't we already friends?" he asked.

Alfred shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. But, I dunno, I wanted to make it official and stuff." he held out a hand, grinning broadly at his companion. "So. Friends?"

Arthur met the other blond's eyes for a moment, then stood, shaking his head and murmuring. "You're the strangest person I have ever met." he took Alfred's hand, noting that it was slimy with sun screen, and shook it.

He couldn't help but return the warm smile that was given to him.

~.~

Ivan's gonna be the bag guy for this story. Sorry guys. I can't help it. Love Russia, love Ivan, but I love him so much cuz he's so flippin creepy. Common, even you Ivan fanchildren cannot deny the fact that he's creepy. So yeah.

Also, Arthur's is gonna have a rough back ground, which will be revealed in... Two, maybe three chapters. Also, we're gonna hit some angsty crap soon [LOL want that explanation, flip to my profile].

It's almost midnight here. Waaaaaayyyy past my bedtime. Forgive me, I'm going to be lazy and sleep and not edit this.

It's shorter than normal.

I don't think I'm talking in complete sentences anymore. Night yall. Leave a shiny new review for me please?