The kiss, or rather make-out, lasted until they were both out of breath and completely red from the tip of the ears to their pale chests. They pulled apart, gasping for air. Ivan touched his rosy lips with his delicate fingertips gingerly, with a dreamy expression on his face, almost lost in the sea of pleasure that was that kiss with Alfred, who, in turn, looked like he wanted to be anywhere else rather than there.

"Oh, Alfred..."

Ivan sighed. Francis looked pleased. His plan had gone even better than he had expected, but Alfred didn't seemed as pleased as he thought he would be after kissing such a beauty as Ivan, even if he didn't think himself as such. Ivan started to worry when Alfred looked like a runaway groom in his wedding day.

"... Is everything okay?"

Ivan asked. Alfred didn't know what he was feeling on the inside. It was the same strange feeling he had experienced when he saw Arthur Kirkland time several years ago. It was true, most of his pass through elementary school, he was in love with the grumpy British boy and he had been heartbroken to know that he didn't love him back. That boy was certainly a hard nut to crack when it came to love. He had rejected both Alfred in elementary school, even though they had vowed to remain as friends, partly because Alfred was the first and only friend Arthur had made upon coming to America with his family, and Francis in high school. Alfred had vowed to never fall in love with any other boy again, and for some time he had believed his heart had learned his lesson, but that kiss seemed to prove him wrong and that scared him so he did the first thing he could think of: run away.

He pushed Ivan aside, making him fall next to Francis on the floor and ran to the door, which he left open in his flight. He ran and ran until his legs gave out and he was forced to sit on the pavement. Under the dim street lights, Alfred began to cry. He couldn't believe someone was playing with his heart again.

Back at Gilbert's house, the three boys of the Bad Touch Trio were trying to get Ivan to open the bathroom door, as he had locked himself in when Alfred had ran away, partly because he felt so embarrassed that he had even allowed himself to think that Alfred would want anything with him after that passionate kiss; but even if Alfred was straight, that didn't explain why he had kissed Ivan that way, he had been so... romantic, like no one else had. Suddenly, cruel laughter echoed inside Ivan's poor mind.

"Very well, fat boy, you got what you wanted. You kissed Alfred and he ran away because he couldn't' stand being with your fat self. Admit it, you two will never be together, it's time you realise it"

"Shut up, please"

"He ran away because you are the worst thing that has ever happened to him and to this world. You are fat, ugly and a disgusting fag, above all"

"Shut up!"

He began to cry as he had never cried before, sinking his head between his knees, flush against his chest. On the other side of the door, the boys could hear Ivan's screams and crying and Gilbert ran upstairs to his mother's study and returned with a clip. He straightened it and successfully picked the lock of the bathroom door, opening it and slightly pushing Ivan, who was resting against the closed door. Francis kneeled down and hugged him. Ivan hugged Francis tightly as he continued to cry. Antonio didn't know what to do, so he handed Ivan a handkerchief. Ivan looked up at him with grateful teary eyes.

"Thank you, Antonio"

"D-Don't thank me, Ivan"


Days went by in a daze for both Alfred and Ivan, the later being devastated and tormented by the voices, and the former tormented by the faint shadow of love in his battered heart. On Monday morning, Ivan got up and like a zombie showered and brushed his teeth. He didn't want to school, he didn't want to face Alfred and neither did he. Alfred had already made up his mind. If he kept Ivan away from him, he would stay afloat and not sink in a sea of lovesickness. The farther away he kept Ivan, the better his heart would be, and he would do it the only way he knew how to do it, with his only weapon: bullying.

A couple seconds before the bus arrived, Ekaterina knocked on the door of Ivan's bedroom and opened it, finding her little brother sitting on the bed, looking depressed. She sat down in the bed next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. It was sure he had been crying due to his puffy red eyes and his quivering shoulders.

"Oh, brother, what is wrong?"

He sighed weakly. He didn't even have forces for that.

"If you promise not to tell mother, I'll tell you"

He said in a whisper, which gave Ekaterina the necessary confirmation that her little brother was suffering.

"I promise, now tell me... is it about a boy?"

He looked at her shocked. How could his sister know about it? In fact, both Ekaterina and their mother had known that Ivan liked that boy Alfred who lived on their neighbourhood, as he always talks about him and about any other boy, so he must like him too much. Natasha had denied the truth that laid in her face.

"It's Alfred... but apparently everyone else knows I'm in love with him, so it wouldn't shock me if you just said that you already knew"

Ivan said sarcastically, still looking down at his shuffling feet on the carpet of his bedroom floor. Katyusha hugged him closer to her and decided to do something to cheer him up a little.

"Oh, brother... at times like this, why don't you try using a spell?"

Ivan looked up, his red puffy eyes now more noticeable in the sunlight. Katyusha cringed a little, but not too obviously, she didn't want her brother to feel bad about it.

"What kind of spell?"

His voice was broken due to all the crying and she felt even sorrier for him, if that's even possible.

"On that I use all the time. It's good for telling people how you feel"

Ivan looked a little more interested in what his sister was saying now. She stood up and made a pose with her hand on her hip.

"All you have to do is show them your boobs!"

Ivan was about to say something when sadness struck him once again and looked down at the floor, shuffling his feet. He spoke in a whisper.

"I don't think he would be interested in my boobs"

Then he began to cry and Katyusha's heart clenched. She hated seeing someone she loved looking so hurt and depressed because of someone. In between sobs, Ivan managed to tell his big sister the story about the kiss in the game of Truth or Dare. She fumed in anger. How could that brat do something like that to her beloved little brother? She wanted to kill him.

"I'm going to chop his head off with mom's knife"

"Please, sis, don't do anything that can put me in evidence in front of anyone"

Ivan said sadly, getting up from the bed and straightening his uniform in front of the full-length mirror. Katyusha sighed and got up, hugging her little brother from behind and resting her head on his shoulder.

"You are beautiful, Vanya, and one day you'll find someone who will love you as much as we do"

"I hope so"

He said before walking out of the room, leaving his sister in front of the mirror.


When they got in the bus, Alfred was sitting in the front, something weird given that he always sat at the back with his brother, who was sitting at their usual spot, looking down at his cell phone. Katyusha and Natasha – Ivan never realised how much the two nicknames for his sisters sounded alike – walked in front of him and when he was about to pass Alfred's seat and head to the back, he collided with the floor loudly, causing everyone to laugh at him.

He looked back to see if his shoelaces were untied, which would explain why he had fallen so hard, but what he saw made him freeze: Alfred was looking down at him with a smirk on his face and his leg extended, which had caused his fall. Everyone had stopped laughing and went back to their businesses. Ivan's eyes watered and he ran to the back of the bus, crying and hiding his face in his hands. Natasha was about to stand up and kill Alfred, but Ekaterina stopped her and consoled her brother when he sat down between the two of them.

"Don't worry, brother, you have me. You'll always have me"

Natasha said creepily, hugging her brother, who shivered a little with his sister's choice of words. Katyusha pushed her away a little and allowed her brother to cry on his shoulder. Alfred, from his seat at the front row, turned around and took in the scene in the back: Ivan crying on his sister's shoulder and Matthew apologising for his brother's behaviour. He turned back to look down at his lap. He couldn't believe what he had done and felt horrible for it, but that was the only way to keep Ivan away from him and keep his heart safe from another heartbreak.

When the bus arrived at the school, Alfred made eye-contact with Ivan, who was and looked heartbroken. Their stares mixed and lingered for a while until the bell rung signalling the start of classes and they both entered the building.