CHAPTER 7: Kiku and Ludwig's surprise

I walked out of my Anthropology class, feeling a little disappointed. Ludwig and I had spent the whole evening together and we were almost as good as new... or old... whatever. But when he came into Anthropology today, he is simply nodded his head at me before he walked over to his friends. I really hoped that he wasn't going to keep up the 'I don't know Feliciano' act. But as I walked off, I pushed the thought aside. I was probably over reacting. When I go to my locker's hallway, I saw Felix talking with Kiku and I frowned.

"Ve... what's going on?" I asked, as I approached them.

Felix turned to me, "People are saying my party was bad!"

I hesitated, "Why?". As I thought about the party, I got confused because it looked like everyone was having a good time.

"Because Ivan in pissed!"

I raised my eyebrows.

"He didn't like it so everyone didn't like it!"

I gave Felix a smile, "Hey, just cause one person doesn't like your party, doesn't mean everyone doesn't."

Felix crossed his arms, "Do you want to know why that scary Russian boy is mad?"

"No... why?" I frowned.

"Because apparently... you and Ludwig left together!" Felix said.

I hesitated and turned to my locker, looking down at the lock as I turned the knob. "He offered to give me a ride home."

"And now Ivan is mad!" Felix sighed loudly. "Why do you keep pretending you don't even know him when you two seem pretty close?"

I swallowed hard, not really knowing what to say. Suddenly, I felt someone's hand on the small of my back. And because I'm so ticklish, I jumped forward, letting out an awkward yelp as I slammed into my locker. I heard Ludwig laugh as he stepped to the other side of me and leaned against the locker, his shoulder against it, looking at me.

I wonder why he's smiling and laughing since yesterday, what's wrong with him? It's weird. Then, I turned to Felix, whose mouth dropped. Kiku was minding his own business, fixing his locker.

When I looked back at Ludwig, I saw him smiling a little at me.

"I found this in one of my drawers." He said as he handed me a bracelet made of plastic, cheap beads." Remember this?"

I hesitated, "Yeah!" I said, taking a step back. He was standing a little too close to me and I was struggling to breathe. Especially now that my heart was racing at the thought that he had kept that old bracelet safe. But when I looked back at the bracelet, I smiled. I had made matching bracelets when we were younger, one for me and one for Ludwig.

I opened my locker and pulled out a folder, ignoring all the glances and trying to act normal, "I remember when bracelet making was once of the hardest things in the world."

He stopped smiling, "Yeah, you told me that if I break it or lose it you'd never talk to me again because it took you forever to make."

I let out a small laugh, but then remember that I had broken mine years back.

"Where's yours?" Ludwig asked.

I pressed my lips into a thin line. Then, I tried to open my mouth to explain but was interrupted by Czechia.

"Ludwig!" She called as she walked over to us. She looked at me and hesitated, "Is it true that Ivan is pissed at you?"

I looked at Ludwig, who looked surprised, "That's news to me."

Czechia looked at me and smiled, "I heard its cause you gave Feliciano a ride home?"

Now Ludwig rolled his eyes as he stuffed the bracelet back into his pocket. And now I felt worse. Not only was I the reason for why Felix's party was apparently bad.. but I was also the reason for why the Terror King of Hetalia High School was mad at Ludwig.

Czechia asked, "You two are friends? Like, actually?"

"Yeah." Ludwig said as he straightened himself up.

"Close enough for you to run off and give Feliciano a ride home?" Czechia asked again.

I started to feel weird... I didn't want to admit it... but it actually looked like Czechia was jealous. Jealous that Ludwig and I were friends? Why would she be jealous? But suddenly Ludwig gave Czechia a look that made her look away.

Czechia hesitated but then looked back at Ludwig, "Aren't you going to explain yourself to the Terror King Ivan?"

Ludwig snorted, but then he looked at me, "I'll see you later?"

I nodded, "I hope everything's okay."

Ludwig gave me a weird smile again, "Trust me, this happens on a daily basis."

I smiled, I wasn't surprised by that, actually.

"I'll wait for you after school?" Ludwig asked.

"Ve? Why?" I confused.

Ludwig rolled his eyes on me, "The project is due tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah..." I said.

He turned around and started to walk away with Czechia, who gave me a smile before she turned. But then Ludwig stopped and turned around, "Oh, Felix?" He called.

Felix was staring at us the whole time, and his voice squeaked when he responded, "Yes?"

"Sorry I had to leave your party early." Ludwig said, "But it was an awesome party."

Felix swallowed hard and looked around. He looked pleased that a lot of students were listening, "Thanks!"

When Ludwig disappeared past the doors, Felix grabbed my arm tightly, "Feliciano!"

"Ouch!" I winced as I pulled my arm away, "What?"

"He touched you!" Felix placed a hand over his mouth, "He touched you here!" He reached out to touch me but I stepped away, knowing that it would tickle me.

"Okay?" I said, confused.

"You really think you two aren't close?" Felix asked.

I shrugged as I closed my locker and looked at Kiku for help but he was still busy fixing the locker.

"Feliciano, in all the years that I've been watching Ludwig... he's never touched anyone!"

I shrugged again and walked around him to Kiku, "Ve... his hand must have slipped."

"Yeah right! What are you hiding from me?" Felix groaned.

Kiku looked up at me as I approached him, "Please, leave him alone, Felix-san."

But Felix just groaned, "Fine!" He said. He marched off, looking annoyed and angry but at the same time a little flustered. Probably because of Ludwig's comment.

I sat next to Kiku.

"You feel the pressure?" He asked me.

I hesitated and looked at him, "Hmm, what?"

"The pressure of being best friends with the King of Hetalia High School?"

That made me laugh, "Ve... now that you mention it... yeah..."

Kiku smiled, "Well, let me ease the pressure by giving you some good news."

"I love good news!" I nodded.

He smiled and then looked down at his hands. I examined his face, noticing that he suddenly looked a little shy.

"Kiku? Are you okay?" I asked.

"Feliciano-kun, there's this Taiwanese girl that I haven't told you about..." Kiku said.

I placed my hands over my mouth, "No..."

Kiku nodded as he looked at me, "Hai."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, getting excited and turning my body to him. "Who is she? Where did you meet her? How could you not tell me?"

"But it is?"

"Sort of."

I wanted to scream in joy. You see, Kiku was not the type to get close with people.

"I met her at work." He said. "I walked over to her table to take her order and she was one of those spoiled brat flirt's... ohhh... sorry for my words... and was like 'can I have you with a side of love?'"

I laughed. "No way!" At first glance, this girl was definitely not his type."

"Obviously, I ignored in her face and turned her down. But after her and her friends were done eating, they left. But she came back later and walked over to the counter and asked me for my number." Kiku added.

"And you said no." I raised my left eyebrow.

Kiku nodded. "I said no. But then she begged me."

"And you still said no."

Kiku nodded again. "And then she jumped over the counter and told me to give her a chance."

My eyes widened.

"She was like, 'give me a chance, you'll never regret it. I promise.'"

I hesitated. "And you still said no." This happened frequently with Kiku.

"Obviously." He said.

"But what made you say yes?" I asked.

Kiku smiled and his cheeks turned a little red, shocking the daylight out of me. This girl must have done something crazy.

"She grabbed my arm and... pulled me out from behind the counter…"

"And?!" I asked.

"And then, in front of everyone, she got down onto one knee and begged me for my number."

I burst into laughter. "No way!"

"And so I was like fine."

"And you gave her your number?" I asked again.

"Yup..." He said. "She called me that night and asked me out on a date. She took me out to dinner at some Chinese restaurant… but it was fun… you know?"

I nodded.

"And I saw her again after that… and it's been two weeks now since we started hanging."

I clapped my hands together. "Woah~ Kiku! I'm so excited for you… how could you have not told me!"

"I'm telling you now, aren't I?" Kiku said.

"I guess… but… do I get to meet her?"

He nodded. "She's coming to pick me up after school. It's weird right? She's a girl... but I told her I'd only come with her if you approved of her."

I laughed. "I love you." I said, giving him a tight hug. "And I'm so happy you found someone special~."

Kiku smiled. "I hope you like her."

"I'm sure I will." I grinned. "Where does she go? Not here right?"

"She's 17, older than me." Kiku said. "At a college in Venezia University."

"Okay. I'm so excited to meet her." I said and Kiku smiled.

"All the girls or guys here are going to be so jealous when they see you drive off with another person."

Kiku chuckled and he got up. When he got up though, I noticed he looked a little blooming then usual. Kiku was so attractive and cute. He had that natural handsome and confidence that radiated. And none of the rich Asian guys or girls could be a match for him. I could only imagine what this girl of his was going through.

"Oh-la-la. Trying to impress her some more with your cuteness?" I winked at him. Failing at it of course, since I didn't know how to wink properly.

Kiku smiled, "No, Feliciano-kun. By the way her name is Xiao Mei."

I jumped up. "Can't wait to meet the bella~!"

I stood outside with Kiku after school and waited for Mei. And when a girl pulled up on a motorcycle, I was actually a little surprised that I hadn't expected that. She's a girl but acted like a boy.

Kiku walked over to her and I followed as Mei got off her Hello Kitty pink bike and pulled off her helmet. This girl is so pretty and cute like Kiku. She smiled at me and walked over to me. "Feliciano?"

I swallowed hard. She had dark brown, long hair with a curly strand sticking out on the right side of her head. She wears also a pink flowers in her hair and had nice brown eyes. She's wearing a red mini skirt, bluish blazer and pink scarf.

She held out her hand, smiling. "Mei."

"Ciao! Mei!" I smiled.

"You're as cute as Kiku said you'd be." She winked at me.

Kiku patted Mei's shoulder, making her turn to him. "Don't try and flatter Feliciano-kun. He doesn't fall for that kind of stuff."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from your friend." Mei said as she looked back at me. "Do you know how difficult it was for me to get Kiku's number? Let alone a first date?"

I laughed.

"He's handsome, cute and smart but he's so strict." Mei joked.

I laughed harder. Wow. A person that isn't afraid of Kiku? She's definitely the one.

Kiku clear his throat and Mei chuckled. "It's getting cold out, how are you wearing that?" Kiku asked her.

"Cold?" Mei snorted. "I laugh in the face of weather."

"You'd stand out in the snow like that?" Kiku asked, giving him a weird look.

"Yeah." Mei giggled, returning the look. "You wouldn't?"

"Alright, I approve." I said.

"Yes!" Mei jumped.

Kiku smiled at me. "You sure?"

I nodded. "Yes."

Kiku laughed and then shrugged. "Alright then. Let's go."

Mei walked over to me and gave me a quick hug. "Can't wait to see you again Feliciano, you're a little cutie."

I smiled, liking this girl more and more. "Take care of my Kiku."

She saluted me as she walked back to her Hello Kitty bike and put on her helmet. She handed Kiku the second that was hanging on the handle. Mei was acting like a boy while Kiku is... a girl.

Kiku waved at me. "See you tomorrow." He said before he put on the helmet and they drove off into the sunset. Kay, fine. There was no sunset. But whatever. I sighed, feeling super happy.

"Hey, Felipe." I heard someone call.

When they called again and again, I turned around and looked at the boys who were a part of Ludwig's crew.

I then realized Alfred was calling me.

"My name's Felicano." I frowned.

He didn't seem to care about what I had just said. "Was that Kiku's girlfriend, dude?"

"Pretty much." I said.

I saw the disappointment on his face and laughed. "Hehe~" I shook my head. ""You are crazy if you think he'd date you." I said, rather bravely.

"Excuse me?" Said Alfred, confused.

I shrugged. "Ve... Kiku doesn't date guy who get my name wrong."

He didn't respond to that. Because if they knew anything about Kiku, they knew that he loved me.

"Hey! There you are."

I turned my head and was startled by Ludwig.

He looked past me and nodded his head at his friends and Alfred and then looked back at me. "I was looking everywhere for you."

"Ve! I'm so sorry." I had completely forgotten. "Kiku wanted to introduce me to someone… I-"

Ludwig nodded. "It's fine. My car's out in the back. C'mon."

I followed him back and we were soon at his house again. He parked the way he always does. When we got into his house, I was pleased to see Aster and Berlitz. But for some reason, they looked so much less jumpy then before.

"Has they gotten used to me already?" I asked as I bent down to pet them.

Ludwig said. "Nah, they're just has days where they are energetic and high and other days when they're both tired and low. But no matter what, they always comes running when we get home."

I smiled at the two dogs. "What a sweet dogs!"

Ludwig walked up his staircase and I followed, but only after I knew the two dogs was going to come with us. But as I walked up the stairs, I realized something.

In the past two weeks, I had been at his house quite frequently. The though felt weird and made me sigh. But quite frankly, it didn't seem to bother Ludwig at all.

When Ludwig walked into his room, I pushed the thought aside and hesitated. "I though we were working on the project?"

Ludwig gave me a weird look. "It's early. We've got lots of time to do that... how about we take a break for now." He said.

I smiled at him, but followed him into his room. This time though, he opened the door to where his bed was and walked in. I stood outside awkwardly until he turned and looked at me. "You can come in." He said.

I hesitated, noticing that he was holding that bracelet in his hands, but walked in. Walking over to the wing chair, I sat down and looked at him. But wow, was that wing chair comfy. He dropped the bracelet into one of his drawers and then sat onto the side of his bed. Berlitz and Aster jumped on after him.

"Are we really going to take a break?" I asked.

Ludwig gave me a look. "I think I need to rest for a while... I'm a little tired."

"Okay." I said.

I noticed a picture on his side table. It wasn't framed or anything. It was just a picture. It was a picture of him with all his new friends.

"Ve... Ludwig?" I called.

He looked at me. "What?"

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

He nodded. "Why?"

"I heard Ivan was mad at the party." After I said it, I suddenly felt strange.

Ludwig shrugged his shoulders, "He's like that. But trust me, you'll get used to it."

That made me snort. "He doesn't seem quite fond of me. He's so scary." I said. "I don't think Ivan will ever give me a chance."

"Again." Ludwig said. "He's like that."

I smiled but looked down at my hands. It was quite clear that Ivan the Terror King of the school wasn't just not fond of me… he hated me. But oh well, it's not like I wanted to be his friend or anything.

I sighed.

"Did you hear about the Solar System Exhibition that's going on at the Heinrich Science Center?" Ludwig asked, looking down at his phone.

I shook my head. "Nope."

"It's opening on Friday. You should check it out, since you're a freak for space."

I chuckled. "But aren't the tickets to the Heinrich Science Center so expensive?" Well, compared to the other Science Center at least."

"Forty bucks. Not that bad." Ludwig said.

"Ve!? Are you crazy?" I scoffed. "It's only twelve dollars for adults to get into other Science Center!"

Ludwig looked surprised by my sudden outburst. But I wasn't wrong, right? Forty dollars is a lot for a ticket into a Science Center. It was pretty much just a plain old Museum… except for science.

I shook my head. "I would remember if I paid forty dollars for a ticket into a Science Center."

"Well, it's great. Lot's of interactive things to do… they even have a telescope." Ludwig said, watching me carefully. "It's super huge and you can see a load of things."

The idea of going suddenly sounded tempting.

Ludwig got up. "Check it out" He said. "It's worth the money."

I let out a small laugh. "I would if I could afford it."

Ludwig smiled. "Let's work on that project."

Obviously, I went home and did the research on the Heinrich Science Center and from my research, the exhibition seemed to be absolutely amazing! But, I was right about the price. Well, it was actually forty-four dollars and ninety-five cents to get into the exhibition. Another ten dollars to get a chance to look into the telescope they've got. There was absolutely no way I was going to spend that kind of money on that. So I tried to forget about it.

I pushed the thought aside and went to school the next day. After all, I had a presentation to do and I wasn't as good at doing presentations as I was at doing essays. And how could I ever forget… I was also excited to hear some big, important news from Kiku. But as I closed my locker and threw my bag over my shoulder, walking to my first class, I felt someone grab my arm.

I turned around and smiled at Ludwig. "Ve? What?"

He handed me a piece of paper. "Friday, after school."

I hesitated before I took the paper from him. When I looked down on it, my heart jumped.

It was a ticket to Heinrich Science Center with unlimited access to the telescope.

"Luddy!" It almost came out as a scream.

Ludwig smiled as he turned around and walked off. "Don't blow me off on this!" I heard him say. "You know how much I spent on that!"

I swallowed hard, frozen, as I stared at the ticket. My heart was racing and I couldn't figure out why.