Arthur rushed into one of the boys' bathrooms halfway between the canteen and the main entrance. Letting the door swing shut, he briefly noted that there was no-one there and promptly hurried into a cubicle and slammed the door shut. Once he'd fumbled with the bolt a few times until it finally locked, Arthur slapped the toilet lid down and collapsed onto it, letting his bag fall to the floor with a thump.
Just what was he supposed to do? The thought of losing any one of them as friends tore at his heart – not that he'd admit that to some of them. He curled up, hugging his knees to his chest as he held back his tears.
After all, it wasn't just the multiple interested parties – or suitors, as Arthur supposed you could call them. There was also his own feelings. Should he ignore them or should he stand fast against his arguing friends? Arthur realised he was being poetic and knew he was in trouble if he was trying to rationalise things that way.
A thought occurred to him as he raised one of his hands and watched it tremble. Normally, in situations where he felt cornered and unsure of how to act – such as when he decided to tell his parents he was bisexual – he would ask his friends for advice. He couldn't do so now, of course, but he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to imagine what would they say if they weren't at the heart of this situation.
"Well, cher," Francis would say, "You may hurt your friends but you'll only hurt yourself more if you don't follow your heart."
And Alfred would say something like, "Dude, no matter what, even if they all hate you, I'll keep being your friend. So tell 'em the truth. If they find out you lied later..." Alfred would grimace than and shake his head. "It would be horrible."
Kiku would add, "But let them down gently. You do not need to be harsh about it."
"But I don't want to hurt any of them," Arthur whispered to himself. "They'll all be hurt if I reject them. They won't want to talk to me..."
"And what about Elizaveta and Roderich and Angelo," Matthew would point out, chuckling a little. "None of them have confessed. Nor has Ludwig or Feliciano or Gilbert or Lukas or Mathias. You have other friends. You won't be alone. And I'm sure everyone that confessed will be friends with you again later once they've recovered from the rejection."
Arthur inhaled sharply. "Idiot," he mumbled to himself. He had been so panicked that he had forgotten about his other friends.
Then again, the way things were going, they might actually all confess to him before the day was out.
He almost laughed loudly when he thought that. Apparently, he wasn't as clever as he thought he was. Elizaveta and Roderich were maybe going out already – not that anybody ever knew what was going on with them. Angelo only ever flirted with girls and his support today basically announced that he had no intention of confessing to Arthur. He was sure Feliciano liked Ludwig and Gilbert had had that thing for Elizaveta when they'd first met and he suspected he still did. And Lukas and Mathias had been together for as long as he'd known them and were likely to be together forever.
Taking a deep breath, he felt his worries diminish as he exhaled. He was still not looking forward to telling any of them that he didn't want them as a romantic partner. But he could bear it. He would have to.
Having pulled himself together, he decided to actually go eat lunch before the rest of his classes. He was just unlocking the cubicle door when the door to the room swung open. Surprised, he exited and chanced a glance at whoever it was, hoping it wasn't Alfred or someone convinced they needed to cheer him up. So he was very relieved to see Ivan towering over him instead.
Giving Ivan a grateful smile, Arthur said, "Hello, Ivan. Had a good lunch?"
"Yes," Ivan replied, moving towards the urinal.
Arthur passed him by to head to the sinks, intent on washing his itching eyes. He may not have actually cried but they were bothering him, letting him know that his body would rather he had wept. When he looked into the mirror, he realised that he was also red in the face, embarrassed by what had happened in the canteen and from his own panic. Quickly, he splashed cold water into his face, hoping Ivan hadn't noticed.
"It was very interesting," Ivan added, still at the urinal. "I heard the argument."
Cringing, Arthur shook the drops of water from his hair and headed to the dryer. "You did?"
"I did," he replied.
"Hm," said Arthur and started the dryer, ducking his head under it for a few moments. He turned his head to watch Ivan move towards the sink as well. Ivan had only started at their school the year before and Arthur had been in his first class. As far as Arthur was aware, he was the first one to speak to him in the entire school. The boy was probably the most intimidating person Arthur had ever met but his love of flowers and hidden sweet side had endeared him to Arthur. They didn't hang out much, unfortunately, but Arthur still considered him as some sort of friend.
Suitably dried, Arthur stepped away to let Ivan use it. He made his way past Ivan to grab his bag which he'd left at the sink. After slinging it over his shoulder, he paused, wondering if he should have a longer chat with Ivan or flee from any questioning.
"I have something for you," Ivan told him, gesturing to his own bag which sat by the sink.
"Oh?" Arthur said, his heart and stomach doing funny things.
"Mm," Ivan said and shook the water from his hands. Then he made his way to the dryer. Arthur shifted awkwardly, wishing he had left before Ivan had snagged his attention.
Finally, Ivan was finished and he went to his bag, unzipping a side pocket of his satchel. He rooted around for a moment before pulling out a little white package. As he handed it over, Arthur realised that it was a handkerchief, wrapped around something. Curiously, he lifted the edge and revealed what was hidden there.
A collection of small wild flowers: mostly snowdrops but also with primroses and some flowers from the celandine family, all tied together with blades of grass woven together. Though petals had detached from them and spread across the handkerchief, they seemed to be freshly picked. In fact, he was sure they were very freshly picked. He frowned at them, wondering if Ivan had just jumped on the bandwagon.
"I know that I am a bit late," Ivan admitted, "but I wanted to give you fresh flowers. I decided to pick them at lunchtime. So... Will you be my Valentine?"
"Wha-? Ivan..." Arthur began, unsure what to say.
"Haha." Ivan happily grinned at him. "I know I have competition but I wanted to confess to you today. After all, I've liked you since I met you. I'll see you on the roof." And, with no other explanation, he picked up his bag and left.
Arthur stared after him, noticing the light blush on his cheeks and his elated expression. Apparently, he had just gained another love interest...
The flowers mentioned all bloom around this time of the year in the UK. This isn't really set there, though? It's in America. Or Japan? I don't really have a set place in mind, so... =/