A/N Oh, hey. Didn't see you there.
Did I mention that we passed 100 reviews? 'Cause we did. And I'm super-duper unbelievably happy about it!
Also, I'm feeling a whole crap-ton better than before. It was all you people that did it! I love you all~~~
Disclaimer: Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Hiramuya. Come What May belongs to Baz Luhrman and Moulin Rouge. I own naught but my own ideas.
On with the show~!
Chapter 10 – Suddenly It Moves With Such a Perfect Grace
Feliks sighed, and flopped down on the couch. "Ugh. Liet, chem is so stupid without you."
Toris stifled a yawn, his eyes filling with tears. He wiped them tiredly, and attempted to make sense of his homework. "I'm still there, we just aren't partners anymore."
"Yeah, but I never get to talk to you because of stupid Mr Flehmehmeh!"
"Mr Flehmehmeh?" Toris raised his eyebrows at this new and interesting name for their teacher.
"Yeah!" Feliks rolled off the couch, and fell on the ground. "And my stupid new partner isn't helping me at all. He's totally making me do all the work!"
Toris could completely empathize with Feliks about that. It seemed their teacher had it in for them, pairing Feliks with a football jock that had a brain the size of a peanut; and pairing Toris with a cruel, popular girl who bullied him into doing everything.
This, of course, was the reason both of them were up at 3 am on a Saturday night, doing the labs neither of their partners agreed to help with.
"Do you even get this?" Feliks waved the paper in front of Toris' eyes. He shook his head in reply. Feliks groaned.
It had been a whole week since their night at the amusement park, and things had been going surprisingly well at school. Sure, there were the few occasional snide remarks, but things hadn't been nearly as bad as Toris had suspected it to be.
And every single day they spent together, Toris was finding himself falling more and more in love with the blond.
"Hey, Feliks?"
"Yeah~?"
"Wanna do to the mall tomorrow?"
"Sure!" Feliks stretched. "And I'm so not finishing this lab." He tossed it aside. "Wanna play chess?"
"No." Toris had learned long ago the consequences of playing chess with Feliks. "And you really should be finishing it off."
Feliks' face twisted. "Well, are you gonna finish it?"
He thought for a moment, looking at the paper, then up at Feliks, then back at the paper. "Hell no," he decided.
Feliks squealed happily and pounced on him.
xXx
"Liet, I so don't know what to wear," Feliks complained, staring at himself in his full-length mirror. "Everything I wear looks, like, so manly!"
Toris wanted to point out that Feliks couldn't look manly even if he wanted to, but decided to keep his mouth shut. "Maybe you should wear girls clothing," he suggested from the bed, where he was currently trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep before they left.
"No!" Feliks cried. "If we're at the mall, there's a danger of seeing people we know there, and I can't let anyone but you see it!"
"Okay, okay," Toris raised his hands in surrender. "Just wear something pink, then."
Feliks' face brightened immediately. "Of course!" he shouted, diving into his dresser drawer. Toris smiled. Pink is always the best way to go with you, he thought.
"Okay," said Feliks, clambering out of a pile of clothes, "What do you think?"
Toris blinked. "Where did you get a neon pink concert t-shirt for Three Days Grace?"
"Um, from a concert?" Feliks said. "Like, duh, Liet!"
He couldn't even begin to comprehend all the things that were wrong with Feliks in a concert t-shirt, black skinny jeans with holes in the knees, and ratty Converse that had marker drawn all over them. He looked so boyish, and un-Feliks-like!
... and yet, oddly, so appealing...
Toris pushed that certain thought away. "Um, y-you look great. B-but you always do! So-uh-um..."
The whole time Toris was stuttering, Feliks just stood there, grinning. Finally, he seemed to have enough of torturing Liet, and pulled at his arm. "C'mon! Let's get moving!"
The bus ride was excruciatingly painful, because Toris was still blushing like crazy, and Feliks was cuddling up right next to him. The bus driver was a really nice lady, and always seemed to be on their side, but he couldn't say the same for the other passenger of the bus. Particularly the ones who kept shooting dirty glances in their direction.
Finally it was over, and they stood in front of the biggest mall their city had to offer. Feliks practically had tears of appreciation in his eyes. "I love the mall," he sighed, mind already racing with the things he wanted to buy.
And he grabbed Toris' arm and raced forward.
xXx
"I still fail to comprehend how you've managed to buy all that stuff in just two hours," Toris said, eyeing the several large shopping bags full of clothes Feliks' arms were laden with. Apparently most stores bought the story he was buying things for his girlfriend.
"Yeah, well," said Feliks airily. "What am I supposed to do at a mall?"
"How about window shopping?" Toris muttered under his breath, but Feliks didn't hear, because he was focused on another person walking towards them.
"Feli?"
The auburn-haired boy turned his head, and caught sight Feliks. "Ve? Is that you, Feliks?"
In a second, they had grabbed each other's hands and were jumping up and down like little girls. Toris raised his eyebrows.
"Oh!" Feliks cried, after they were done. "Feli, come meet my boyfriend! Toris, this is Feliciano, one of my bestest pals!"
"Um, hi," said Toris shyly, but Feliciano just grabbed his hand and pumped it up and down. "Really? Feli's boyfriend? Wow, it's so good to meet you!"
Toris inwardly decided not to mention that they called each other, "Feli."
"Feli graduated last year," Feliks said proudly. "He was my longest running friend, besides you of course, Liet." He turned to his friend. "So, how's your love life going these days?"
Feliciano's face clouded. "Oh, um..." he bit his lip. "I have to get going, it was nice seeing you, bye!" he said in a rush, and was off before Feliks could even say anything.
"Hmm," Feliks chewed on hi lip. "That was really kinda wacky, huh?"
Who says wacky anymore? "Were you really good friends with him?"
"We were both gay, which was why we were such good friends. We kept each other's secrets." He sighed. "Like, but I never told him about... the other thing. I was too afraid..."
"He wouldn't accept it?" Toris smiled softly. "Ah, I'm sure he would have, Feliks."
The leaned close. Toris was about to close his eyes... but Feliks' snapped open. "Oh my God! Liet, look, look, look!"
Across the way was one of those photo booths. Feliks was practically bouncing up and down in excitement. "I've like, never been in one of those! Oh, can we go, Liet, please?"
Toris sighed, and stood up. Kissing would just have to wait, apparently. "Alright, come on."
As they crammed inside the booth, Feliks murmured something inaudible. "Hmm, what was that?"
"Nothing." And the first picture snapped.
xXx
They sat outside on the bench, the warm spring air breezy around them. Both of them were gazing at the photo reel in their hands.
The first picture had Feliks taking up the entire frame. The second, Toris pushing a blurry Feliks out of the way; the third, they were both smiling like crazy. The fourth, they were kissing.
A crunch a few meters away caught Toris' attention he snapped his head up just in time to see a light brown blur dashing behind a tree. "Stay here," he told Feliks, and was off, running wildly after the blur.
It only took him a few long strides before he caught a shoulder. A girl whirled around, with long, light brown hair and green eyes. Toris realized with a start that it was the same one he saw at the amusement park. And in her hands, she was clutching a camera.
"It was you," he said, in sudden realization. "You were the one making the clicking noise." He gasped. "You were taking pictures?"
She blushed heavily. "I-I haven't shown them to anyone!" She cried. "I just – well..."
"Well, what?" Toris demanded.
"I... you guys look really cute together," she admitted. "And I think what you're doing is absolutely wonderful." She smiled a little. "I wish the whole world could be more open about it..."
Her words were kind, and Toris felt his anger dissipating. He looked at the camera. "Did you get any good ones?"
A smile worked its way on her face, seemingly unintentional. "Yeah, some. But most of them turned out blurry." She fingered the camera softly. "I'd love just one good one."
Toris looked down at the roll of photos. He hesitated for a second, then ripped off the bottom one, and handed it to her. She stared at it in awe. "What... do you mean, I can..."
"Take it, yes." Toris smiled at her. For some reason, he liked this girl, and wanted to help her. "Thank you for believing in us."
She sniffed. "Thank you." She hugged him suddenly. "And I'm Elisabeta Hedervary."
He smiled. "Toris Laurinaitis."
xXx
"So she was taking pictures of us the whole time?" Feliks mused. Toris nodded. "That's like, so weird..." His face was furrowed in thinking. "Hedervary... you know, I think I might know her."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, she's a sophomore; I think she was in my photo class last semester."
"Cool."
They sat for another few minutes, just enjoying each other's company. Then something poked at Toris' memory. "What were you going to say earlier? In the photo booth?"
"Oh, that..." Feliks' voice was a lot quieter. "Um... I was wondering... if you wanted to know the reason I don't tell anyone... about me..."
Toris gently turned Feliks' face towards himself. "Tell me," he said firmly, softly.
Feliks drew a deep breath, and began to tell his story.
"We used to live with my dad, my mom and I, and he wasn't... the nicest of people. But it was alright, we were fine. Mom has a good job, so did Dad, we had good money. Everything was going the way it should.
"But neither my mom nor I could ignore the fact that I was extremely girly, more like a daughter than a son. I used to go try on her wedding dress, and steal her makeup, all that kind of stuff. I think she was like, really worried in the beginning, but as I got older, she just sort of accepted it. And I accepted it.
"But like, Dad came from a really strict background, and that kind of thing was totally looked down upon. The day he found out about it... was the day my life totally ended."
And now there were tears rolling down his cheeks. Toris, horrified, wrapped him tightly in his arms. But Feliks wasn't done.
"He blamed Mom for the way I was, and started to beat us both. L-luckily, Mom was the kind of woman who didn't take anyone's shit, so she immediately went to the law. It was all over quickly, but..." He was gasping as he cried. "I'll like never forget the way he reacted to it, and I'm always just so afraid that's how everyone else will take it!"
Toris was on the verge of tears as well, now. He held Feliks so tight, bones might have been broken. "I'll never let that happen to you again," he whispered fiercely. "I promise."
Needless to say, Toris spent Sunday night with Feliks as well.
A/N *sniffle* Why does everyone's father have to be such an asshole?
Okay. Well, there's a snow blitz at my house, and I'm gonna play. See you next week, guys! And remember – reviews make Feliks stop crying! *smiles~*