Arthur woke up to a bright light shining through the window. It was directed in such a way that it shone right on his face. We was tempted to roll over and go back to sleep, but he made himself sit up in his bed. He dangled his feet over the side of the bed and stretched his arms above his head. He was thankful that he actually remembered the night before this time.

He ate supper, which turned out to be corn and a beef brisket. And then he mainly stayed upstairs in his room. He got to meet a mayor of the town. He was tall and slightly fat, and his hair was slightly balding. Arthur couldn't tell what color his hair was, it was either black or brown. His eyes were a pretty, green though. He talked with a hearty voice that belted out loudly, perfect for an authority figure. But, he did seem a bit rude. Okay, really rude. Arthur couldn't help but notice that he never really complimented Mary Lou, but he took any chance he had to degrade her. And all he did was sit around and go into the door that was next to the stairs, the normal one, not the tall, skinny one. Mary Lou said that was his office, where he did all of his work. But Arthur had a feeling that his "work" was just sitting in a chair and dozing off.

Arthur stood up from his bed and walked over to his suitcase. He figured he could very well just put on the shirt he had been wearing underneath his suit when he first got here and then put that vest on over that. He also kept his jeans on. But he still couldn't figure out the damn bolo tie, so he just let that be for now.

Arthur checked outside the window quickly. The entire town seemed to be awake, and that circle of gossip girls were still in front of the house. They looked like they were waiting for something and Arthur was dreading that it was him they were waiting for. Alfred probably wouldn't be around this time to save him from them. Or Mary Lou, she said she had important business to do out of town, so she would be around.

Arthur sighed, putting his (Alfred's) shoes on and heading down stairs. He would have killed for a cup of that special tea this morning. The mayor, Bill was his name, was sleeping on the couch when Arthur got downstairs. Alfred was right, he really did do nothing all day. Arthur quietly walked by him and out the door, silently shutting the door behind himself. The minute he stepped out of the door, he heard the girls start to talk quickly and louder.

Arthur put his hands in his pockets and started going down the stairs of the porch. He had no idea what he was going to do today, to be honest. Maybe he would find someone he hadn't met yet and talk to them? Unlikely anyone would talk to him now…

"Hey, Artie!" Or perhaps he was wrong. It was Sheri who spoke first, running up to him. "How are ya today?"

"Fine," Arthur sighed. "How are you, Sheri?"

"I'm wonderful!" she said happily.

"I'm great, too, Artie," another woman came up to him

"I'm perfect," another one came up.

"Um, that's great," Arthur said nervously. He now noticed that he was surrounded by the rest of the group of girls.

"So, what did you plan on doing today, Artie?" Sheri asked, grabbing onto Arthur's upper arm.

"I…um, don't quite know yet," Arthur explained.

"Ah have an idea for something we could do!" the third woman said excitedly.

"No, ah think he should go with me!" another one behind Arthur said.

"Why should you have 'im?" another one said, and another pair of hands gripped onto Arthur's arm.

"Um, I-" Arthur tried to talk, but the girls around him started arguing.

"You're just bein' greedy!"

"What if he wants ta go with me?"

"What if he doesn't?"

"Shut up! Ah had 'im first!"

"Ah danced with 'im!"

"So did ah!"

"Excuse me, please, ladies," Arthur said loudly enough so that they all stopped arguing. "I think I might just go off on my own for today, sorry." He pulled his arms away from the girls.

"Aw, come on, Artie!"

"I'm sorry," Arthur said, stepping away from the now large group. "But it would be nice to be alone for now. Th-thank you."

Arthur walked away from the crowd quickly before any more of them could complain. What was making them all so interested in him? It didn't make any sense… Hadn't it just been said that he liked men yesterday? But they all seemed far more attracted than ever.

Arthur sighed as he continued walking through town. He still wasn't quite sure what to do now. Normally, he would sit inside and read a book, but he hadn't thought to bring any with him when he came to America and there weren't any inside of Mary Lou's house. There really wasn't anything to do.

"Arthur!" a familiar, male voice said behind him. Arthur turned around and saw that man…Jim was his name. "I thought that was you." Jim started walking towards Arthur. "It's hard to recognize you without the suit."

"Oh, hello," Arthur nodded towards him as Jim came up to him. He stopped walking.

"I heard a lot about what happened yesterday," Jim said. "I wasn't really around, I was busy building another stable. Our current one is a little cramped."

"What all did you hear about yesterday?" Arthur asked.

"A lot," Jim said solemnly. "I thought I told you not to let Chuck bother you."

"I-I'm not," Arthur waved his hands in front of himself. "I honestly don't really care what Chuck does."

Jim sighed. "I'm just saying you shouldn't let him get what he wants."

"I don't really mind it much right now," Arthur said.

"Just watch your back, okay?" Jim said.

"I'll be fine," Arthur assured him.

"Right, then," Jim sighed. "I guess I best be back to buildin' that stable."

"Nice seeing you again, then," Arthur said and then Jim went off.

Arthur looked up at the sky where he was to look at the clouds overhead. There weren't very many right above him and they were right next to the sun, so he didn't get much of a chance to look at them. However, far over to the right, just barely covering the horizon, there was a dark layer of ominous looking clouds. It looked like it might rain soon. But the clouds were very far away. It would probably take about a day for the clouds to reach them.

Arthur was about to start walking again when he heard a scream come from behind him. Arthur turned around quickly. It sounded like it was coming from the store. Curious, Arthur ran over to the store to see what was going on. There was another scream as Arthur neared the store. In front of it, though, Arthur did not expect what was there.

It was a man he had never seen before. He had on a cowboy hat that was so wide brimmed, it hid his face. He had long black hair that stuck out underneath it. He was wearing a long, brown trench coat, a white shirt, jeans, and a pair of black boots. In his hand, he held a six-shot pistol. He was pointing it at anyone in his line of sight. Behind him, there was a large bag and to his right, was a black horse.

Arthur saw that his pistol was aimed right at Sheri's head.

"God, no," Arthur muttered to himself. Without thinking, Arthur found himself running again and, before he knew it, he was between Sheri and that gun. He could see the man smirk from underneath his hat.

"Got us a hero now, eh?" the man had a deep, cocky voice. The man stepped forward and Arthur felt a strong hand grip onto his wrist and pull him towards the man. In a quick motion Arthur couldn't see, the man had both of his arms pinned behind his back painfully. Arthur couldn't move and he felt something cold and made of metal press against his temple.

"Better not move there, pretty boy," the man whispered into Arthur's ear. Then he turned his attention to the rest around the store. "Make one move and he's dead."

Arthur didn't dare move. He stayed there, frozen, for a while. And then the man started walking backwards, making Arthur follow him. The man seemed like he was about to reach behind him, but Arthur heard the sound of horses galloping towards them. The man froze, but he pressed the pistol harder into the side of Arthur's skull.

Thankfully, as the sound of galloping got louder, Arthur could see people on horses coming closer. The first one to come into the scene was Alfred, riding on Freedom. He brought her to a stop just a couple yards away from Arthur and that man.

"Woah, woah, woah, now," Alfred said, Arthur noticed that he was holding his lasso in his hand, like it was his weapon. He was wearing the cowboy hat. "What's goin' on here?"

The man scoffed. "Come any closer and he's gone," he warned.

"Do ah look like ah need to get any closer?" Alfred grinned cockily. He brought his lasso up, over his head and twirled it around for a bit before he threw it over Arthur and that man's heads. To Arthur, it was obvious Alfred missed. It hit the side of the store. But the man freaked out, he let go of Arthur, moving his gun away from Arthur's temple. Arthur reacted quickly, making sure to dodge away from the man. He got a good distance when he looked back to the man and Alfred.

Alfred had jumped down off of Freedom and used one hand to grip onto the man's shirt, pulling him close. "Gotcha," Alfred winked before he slammed his other hand, pulled into a fist, right into the man's face. The man fell back slightly from the impact, but he eventually fell limp, only being held up by Alfred, who soon dropped him.

"Y'see, Alfie?" Chuck said, coming up to them. Arthur looked behind him and saw several horses lined up, all of them empty with cowboys walking towards them. "If ya would've just taken mah gun, ya woulda solved that faster."

"Ah prefer to solve mah fights with mah fists, not guns," Alfred stated, turning towards Chuck. "Ah got the job done, didn't ah?"

"Barely," Chuck scoffed.

"Mah Lord, Alfie," a woman said as a crowd rushed around Alfred.

"Ya really are a hero!" one of them swooned.

All of a sudden, Arthur's legs seemed to turn to water and they couldn't support him. He fell hard onto the ground, his hands catching him before his back fell onto the ground. He could feel himself shaking. He wasn't that scared, was he? He let out a shaky breath to see if that could steady his nerves.

Alfred appeared in front of him, crouching down to be face-to-face with him.

"Ya alright there, Arthur?" he asked, tipping the hat up so Arthur could see his sky blue eyes.

"Fine," Arthur lied. He had never really experienced anything like that and his head was starting to hurt from the pressure that was just on his head.

"Don't worry!" Alfred said happily. "Ah would never let anythin' happen to ya! Yer safe with meh!"

"Unless his fancy lasso trick don't work," Chuck inputted, he was right behind Arthur, standing.

"Don' get mad at meh just 'cause ah don' like killin' people!" Alfred snapped, standing up. "Ah think this turned out better! At least this way he can go to jail, pay for his crime."

"Death is a perfect punishment, in mah opinion," Chuck stated.

"Well, no one asked for it," Jim's voice said. Arthur looked up and he saw that Jim was on a white horse with brown dots on it. "Alfie, do me a favor and let me borrow your rope?"

"Sure, Jim," Alfred nodded, walking over to where he dropped the man. Alfred, from what Arthur saw, was tying up the man tightly with his lasso. And then he handed the other end to Jim, who seemed to be tying it to his saddle.

"Best I wait for him to wake up so I can have him walk," Jim said. "Don't wanna wear out Betsy by draggin' him."

Chuck walked over to the two, on his way, stepping on Arthur's left hand. He didn't just step, he stomped on it, digging his foot into it for a second before continuing his walk. It hurt like hell and Arthur pulled the hand close, glaring at Chuck.

It didn't feel broken…just sore.

"So, ya gonna take all the credit this time, Alfie?" Chuck asked.

"Well, ah did get here first," Alfred stated.

"Only 'cause ya heard yer queer boyfriend was in trouble." Chuck crossed his arms.

"He's not mah boyfriend," Alfred said defensively, but his eyes were sad. Arthur stood up, still protecting his left hand.

"What was he tryin' to steal, anyway?" a woman asked them. Alfred looked down at the bag that the man had behind him. He knelt down and opened it up.

"Figures," Alfred chuckled. "Moonshine."

"What's moonshine?" Arthur asked.

"Illegal whisky, dude," Alfred laughed. "We get a few people tryin' to steal it ev'ry couple months."

"You're all lucky I don't sent your asses to jail," Jim chuckled. "I don't know why you all keep making that stuff."

"'Cause it's damn amazin'," Chuck laughed. A man who loved liquor and was rude off his ass. Seemed to Arthur that Chuck would get along great with his oldest brother.

The man tied up started to groan, signaling that he was waking up.

"I guess I better be off then," Jim sighed and kicked his horse lightly, getting her to move.

"See ya 'round," Chuck called after him once Jim got a little bit away. Chuck then walked over to Arthur's side and hugged his shoulders tightly. So tight, it hurt. A lot. "Hey, boys, how's about we show Artie home?"

"Uh," Arthur was about to talk, but Chuck squeezed tighter, earning a wince from Arthur. He stopped talking.

"Don' worry, buddy! We'll make sure ya get home safe!" Chuck said, turning himself and Arthur around. They started walking, but past Mary Lou's house. Past a lot of houses, in fact. Eventually, though, Chuck led him behind one of the houses. Arthur glanced behind them, and the whole gang that came on their horses were there, even Alfred.

"So, what exactly are you planning?" Arthur asked. "Not taking me home, obviously."

Before Arthur could say anymore to taunt Chuck, Arthur felt an immense amount of pain in his stomach. It felt like a fist, Arthur noticed, and he doubled over, groaning and coughing in pain.

"Ya damn, fucking queer," Chuck growled, grabbing onto both of Arthur's shoulders, making him stand up straight, and shoved him against the side of the house.

"God, wh-why are you-" Arthur was cut off by another punch right in his stomach. He wanted to double over again, but the hands on his shoulders wouldn't allow that.

"Do ah need a reason to beat your sorry ass up?" Chuck said darkly. "Besides, right 'bout now's the only time ah can do it. With both Mary Lou and Jim all gone."

Arthur glanced behind Chuck for a quick second. Most of the people around looked perfectly fine with what was happening. But Alfred looked horrified. Horrified and confused, like he didn't know what to do.

Arthur felt a sharp punch in his right shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Yer gonna look at meh when ah talk," Chuck warned.

"I'm sorry," Arthur retorted as best he could while trying to overcome pain. "I couldn't hear you talking over that garbling you were doing before. Perhaps you should try speaking intelligently and then I will know when you're talking."

Arthur could have kept going, but Chuck got angry. Both of his hands went to Arthur's right shoulder and they worked together to slam Arthur down onto the ground. His entire left side exploded in pain as he felt his head bang hard into the ground.

"Next time, don't be a smart ass, kid," Chuck said irritably. Arthur could see him back up slightly before running up to him, and then Arthur felt a kick right into his stomach. Arthur cried out in pain and coughed. He could have sworn he felt something like liquid come out of his mouth, and he couldn't stop coughing.

"See ya later then," Chuck's voice was close, Arthur couldn't tell how close, his eyes were closed. But, soon, Arthur felt a rough hand on his chin and Arthur forced himself to open his eyes to see Chuck's face right there. "Artie boy."

With that, Arthur was left alone to wallow in pain for a while, alone.

Eventually, Arthur forced himself to sit up, then stand. Looking down at the ground, Arthur saw a pool of blood where he was pretty sure his mouth was. Arthur straightened himself out the best he could and walked out from behind the house. He did his best not to limp or topple over in pain as he made his way slowly to the porch of Mary Lou's hosue, up the stairs, inside the sitting room, up the stairs, into his room.

Arthur tumbled onto the hard wood floor the second he closed the door to his room. God, he felt like shit. He curled up into a ball, right in front of the door to the room.

Now he knew why Mary Lou said she wanted to protect him.

Now he knew why Jim told him to watch his back.

Now he knew why Alfred hadn't told anyone.

Now…

He actually wanted to go home for once in his life.

Four in a row! I actually wrote this yesterday, to be honest, that's the only reason this thing got updated today. He...he...he...

Yeah, so, the part with the theif, it's not totally pointless, even though I think some might think it is. He's there basically to show that Alfred still does care for Arthur, even though he says otherwise. Yeah, that's it...

Um, I'd like to draw attention back to my poll again, I really need to figure out what I'm going to do next after this one is done... Thanks to anyone who does so!

And please review. You can even tell me how horrible my thief is!

I do not own anything, I swear!