Gilbert sat in his homeroom laying his head on his desk. Homeroom was such a waste of time. They never did anything important. It was just a time for kids to finish homework and cram. He couldn't say too much about them, because he was one of those kids most of the time, but days like this where he had nothing to do, he felt like it was a waste.

He sat up and stretched a little bit. God, how much longer of this. His thoughts were broken by the door opening. He looked up to see a girl with long brown hair talking to the teacher and handing him a tardy slip.

"Late again, I see, Eliza." He smirked at her as she sat on the desk next to him. She smacked him on the back of the head.

"Oh, shut up," she said. He held the back of his head.

Gilbert protested, "that is no way how to treat awesome people." Elizaveta crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Like you know about how people should be treated." The albino turned in his chair to face his friend. He put his elbow on the desk and leaned on his hand nonchalantly. He didn't expect Elizaveta to still be upset about some harmless pranks. He supposed Feliciano was a soft spot for her. She was always like a protective older sister to him.

"Really now? You know its comments like that that make me wonder if you guys really appreciate my awesomeness." Elizaveta just raised her eyebrows at him causing him to smirk.

Gilbert continued, "so I made a friend that could appreciate my awesomeness." He leaned back and crossed his arms with a smile.

"You found someone that could stand your ego other than us?" She smiled a little in a teasing manner.

"Hey, I don't have an ego; I really am awesome." This caused the brunette to laugh.

"Whatever you say, Gilbert."

"But seriously, be nice to him okay?"

Elizabeta looked at Gilbert questioning, "what?" Gilbert sighed and sat up.

"My friend, he is eating lunch with us today. I want you to be nice to him, okay? He's really shy and shit, and I don't want you guys making him feel bad even if it's just some jokes." Elizaveta gave him a look. It was simple and slightly surprised with a small smile on her lips. She was surprised that Gilbert was going out of his way for someone he just met. It seemed out of character for him.

The two had known each other since they were little. They were family friends, and had a brother-sister relationship, thus all the bickering between the two. Out of everyone she probably knew Gilbert the best, except for maybe Ludwig.

She knew Gilbert wasn't the most trusting person. He was very outgoing and ready to talk and say his opinion, but he never really fully trusted people. She could see it hold him back sometimes. He didn't have other close friends out of their group. Yes, he had friends and talked to people, but it wasn't nearly as intimate as the relationships he had with the people he knew longer.

It took a while for him to fully accept and trust people. It wasn't something very noticeable because of his outgoing and loud personality, but it was still there. It had to do with his parents. She didn't know much else about it; his parents were a touchy topic. It was one that was untouchable for most people and hard to come by even for his closer friends. Still, he never went out of his way for people he didn't know well.

What she didn't understand was how he seemed to be close friends with someone he just met. It was odd for him. She knew something had to happen different than when usually making friends, or there was really something special about this kid.

Elizaveta asked, "so who is this guy?"

"His name's Matthew." Gilbert cocked an eyebrow at her. Elizaveta smiled.

"Sooo…" She made a motion with her hands for him to keep going. Gilbert gave her an even more questioning look. He wasn't sure where she was going, but knowing her it wasn't good.

Gilbert, not knowing what to say, asked, "what?"

She gave him a cocky grin. "Do ya like him?" Gilbert eyes widened and his face turned red.

"Wha-!" Elizaveta cut him off with laughter.

"I was thinking since you seemed to really care about-"

"God, Eliza, why do you have such an obsession with that gay romance crap!" Gilbert said exasperated, slightly annoyed. Despite the jab at her interests, she still smiled.

Before anymore could be said between the friends the bell rang signaling the end of homeroom. Elizaveta through her backpack on and turned before she left.

"Whatever you say, Gilbert." Gilbert seethed.

"God dammit! I do not like him, Eliza!" The brunette just laughed as she walked away. Gilbert sighed and put on his light backpack. He had the weirdest friends.

He wasn't too surprised at her actions. He usually didn't care much about people he just met so one would jump to conclusions, and any normal person would not guess the truth. Who would expect him to care because the other person had tried to die? Then there was just the plain fact of her little interest. Gilbert thought of it more of an obsession, especially after the time she tried to hook up him and Roderich. He shook his head and chuckled at the memory. It was actually pretty funny because both parties weren't too keen about it, and she sucked at being discrete.

He really hoped everyone wasn't too weird today. He wanted Matthew to feel like he fit in. The point was for him to make friends and feel like he belonged, not freak him out. He knew Matthew wasn't anywhere near as weird as his group of friends, but he hoped everything would still work out. Besides, they all had their normal days and not all of them were that weird.

He sighed as he sat down in his first period class. He would just have to see how things turned out later. All he could do now was wait.


Matthew was one of the first kids in his homeroom. Most people were still in the halls talking to friends. He looked at the door wishing he was out there doing that. Too bad he was invisible. Maybe if he was more special or talented it wouldn't be this way.

He started tapping his thumb on all his fingers alternating between fingers: index, middle, ring, pinky, ring, pinky, ring, pinky. Repeat. It was a nervous habit in a way. He did it as a distraction when thoughts turned sour. It never worked as a distraction well, but he needed to do something with his hands when the temptation was high. He was not going to hurt himself over something so small.

He ran his other hand through his hair as he started shacking his leg fast. His breathing picked up, but it was still silent. He closed his eyes. I don't need it. I don't need it. He opened them again and scanned the people in the room. No one notices.

He stopped his movements all together and reached for his backpack. He fumbled around inside until he pulled out some pencils and a small sketching pad. It was the size of an average spiral notebook, but with more paper and the curly metal spiral at the top instead of the side. He opened the sketchpad to a random blank page, grabbed a pencil, and started sketching.

It suited its job perfectly. He was decently distracted from all the before mentioned thoughts. He didn't know what he was drawing; he just started making lines hoping it would turn into a decent picture. He wasn't the best artist, but he was decent. He took art class at the school so he knew the basics, and he did it often when he needed to be distracted.

The first time he decided to try to stop injuring, he had a lot of trouble. It was harder than he thought. He never realized how dependent he had become. So for help, he turned to the internet. There were tons of ways to help dealing with it, most of which he didn't really felt like trying. He read one time that just a distraction could help, something to let out your feelings elsewhere. That's when he started drawing, it was one of the examples along with writing, but he never was much of a writer. He wasn't a good artist at first, but overtime he became better.

Soon the classroom became filled and the bell rang. He didn't let it disturb him. He blocked out the voices around him so he wouldn't be reminded on what he was missing out on.

The bell rang again in what felt like no time. The room erupted in noise as all the student gathered their things and rushed to their first class. Matthew took his time, not wanting to get caught in the bustle of the crowd.

He leaned back and looked at his drawing. It wasn't finished, but you could see where it was heading. He had drawn a dark landscape. It seemed bleak and like a fantasy world, slightly depressing. In one spot the darkness faded to pure white where he didn't shade at all. In the white you could see the outline of a person who had yet to be drawn. The picture was actually beautiful in a way, but it was very sad looking.

Matthew put up his pencils, closed the sketchpad, and packed it up as well. He might finish it if he had time… or maybe not. Sometimes it was best not to look back on what he had sketched before; it could get very depressing. Though he did do leisurely art not for a distraction, he never liked dwelling on some things. It seemed best to leave them untouched and let them be.

He walked into the hallway which was still bustling with movement. He kept to the sides so as not to get in most of the crowd. It was a funny feeling watching the people pass. He had gone to the high school, middle school, and, even for some of them, elementary school together, yet none of them recognized him. Even he would admit that he didn't know over half the people he past while walking. It was odd how you could spend so much time in the same building as someone, and never know them. That you could be in the same room for hours throughout the year, but if you saw each other outside of school, you wouldn't recognize each other.

Matthew made a face as someone bumped into him causing him to hit the lockers. It wasn't hard, the person had simply bumped his arm on accident, but he ran into a lock. He sighed as he walked into his first period class. Sometimes he just had the worst luck. Not that he was too surprised; he should have been paying more attention in the halls anyways.

As class started he found himself confused about the lesson. He already knew the basics of what they were going over, but he didn't remember being taught it in class. Then it hit him. He missed this class yesterday. He had been cleaning his room while they were having discussions. He sat back in his chair a little amazed about how he had forgotten.

It was odd thinking about it, all the events that has happened the day before. He had actually tried to kill himself, and yet he was going through life as he always did. It gave him an unsettling feeling in his stomach to know how close he was from not sitting there at the moment.

He put his head in his hands and thought for a moment. So much had changed in a day, but he didn't regret what he almost did. After thinking about it for a bit, he knew deep down he wouldn't mind doing it again, just not now. He didn't feel like he could do it now, even though that feeling was still lingering.

As he said, so much had changed in a day. He thought back and remembered the moment the turn of events started to change – the moment he was tackled. He supposed he was lucky. It was perfect timing on Gilbert's part. Matthew really did owe him, even if Gilbert doesn't understand what he exactly did. He had a fleeting feeling Gilbert had an idea what he dad, but Matthew past it off. There was a chance Gilbert knew. Matthew had been climbing the fence to the edge, but Gilbert wouldn't understand why. He also didn't bring it up.

Gilbert was probably just being nice and not talking about it. Matthew frowned. He hoped the albino wasn't befriending him out of pity. Usually he would take the pity if it meant being noticed for a little while, but he didn't want to be lied to about something like that. He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. Gilbert wouldn't do something like that; it didn't seem like him. Besides, it wasn't that weird that somebody actually wanted to hang out with him.

He smiled thinking about it. He just had to wait until lunch and everything would be fine. He wouldn't have to worry about if he was going to be remembered or not. He would find out then.

He tried to pay attention the rest of class to catch up on what they were learning, though his thoughts kept going distant on what was to come and what almost was. Before long the bell rang and the teacher was dismissing them.

This time he paid more attention to where he was going in the hallway. He waited a little longer before leaving so the halls would be a little less crowded. He stepped in the classroom just as the bell rang with a sigh of relief. He wasn't going to be late to this class two days in a row.

As he scanned the classroom for empty seats his indigo eyes locked with familiar red ones. Gilbert is in this class?

Gilbert was shocked at first when he saw the familiar blond walk into the classroom. Then he mentally slapped himself. How could he forget? He saw Matthew in this class yesterday when he walked in late.

He remembered the way the other walked in the day before. He didn't think too much of it at first, but no one else noticed he was late or even there for that matter. He had looked so depressed that class; the mere thought of how he looked was saddening. Gilbert was going to ask if he was okay the other day in that class, but Matthew had left before he could do anything.

He kind of felt stupid for it now, though. Back then he really wouldn't have been asking because he really cared. Not now, though. Now he actually cared. It was sad knowing someone as awesome as Matthew wasn't noticed. It was weird in a way. How come people didn't notice someone as cool as him?

He locked eyes with Matthew and smirked. Matthew just stood there shocked for a moment before moving to one of the only empty seats left next to Gilbert in the back of the class. He sat down quietly taking out his five subject notebook for note taking.

Gilbert looked at him curiously. Surely, he knows I'm here. He looked right at me. At first he figured Matthew just liked to follow rules and was always quiet in class. Then, he realized most of the students were still talking among themselves, and that the teacher hadn't officially started the class. He supposed Matthew just went back into his shy shell.

"Hey Mattie. What's up?" Gilbert said in his usually happy voice with a hint of cockiness. Matthew looked up at him for a moment before breaking into a small smile, one that despite being small still showed in his eyes. The sight caused Gilbert to grin back.

"N-Nothing." Matthew was quiet for a moment before adding, "what a-about you?" Gilbert shrugged.

"Not much. The usual, school." He made a face when he said school that caused the Canadian to chuckle.

"Hey don't laugh. I bet you hate it too."

Matthew looked down and murmured, "yeah."

Gilbert looked at the blond next to him with scrunched eyebrows. Matthew saw his face and decided it meant he should say something more about it. He thought for a moment not sure of all that he should mention.

"I, uh, hate the crowds…"

"Really?"

"Yeah, like in the halls and stuff."

"Why? You claustrophobic or something?"

"N-no… I just, uh, get bumped into a lot and stuff… It's, umm… annoying?" Gilbert observed the other with a serious expression. Matthew looked up at the other when nothing was said. He hoped he hadn't say anything wrong. He just made a friend; he didn't want to say anything wrong.

"Yeah, that's a reason to hate it." Gilbert rubbed his neck not knowing what else to say about it. He started racking his mind for a topic change that wouldn't seem weird.

When a topic hit him, Gilbert exclaimed, "Oh yeah! I never told you."

Matthew looked at him confused. "What?"

Gilbert blushed a little knowing he just randomly spoke really loudly and probably looked stupid. Usually he didn't care about stuff like that, but right now he did for some reason.

Gilbert explained, "I never told you where we sit at lunch. It completely slipped my mind." Matthew smiled again. He really was remembered. He was so stupid earlier for thinking otherwise.

"Oh, yeah, I didn't even think about it."

"We sit at a table in the back corner. It shouldn't be too hard to find us, but I'll try to meet up with you beforehand to show you. Sound good?"

Matthew just smiled. "Yeah."

Before Gilbert could say anything else the teacher started talking and going about the lesson. Matthew was paying close attention to catch up since he missed most of the class yesterday.

Gilbert watched Matthew out of the corner of his eye. The other seemed to be in a better mood than earlier. He smiled a little. The other looked so different when he smiled and was happy.

Class went by fast for them, and soon they were packing up their things. Gilbert questioned Matthew where his next class was and found out that it was near his own.

"Alright, let's go," Gilbert stated while shouldering his backpack.

"I-I usually wait a few minutes for the halls to clear."

"You're gonna be late if you do that all the time. Let's go." Gilbert almost grabbed Matthew's arm to drag him along but stopped. He didn't want to hurt him. Luckily, Matthew followed him out and into the crowded hallway. The two talked about random things as they walked.

Someone ran into Matthew causing him to stumble. Gilbert shot a glare at the person as they walked away. He thought that that wouldn't happen if Matthew had someone walking with him. He guessed it happened to people sometimes no matter what.

Matthew smiled to himself when he saw Gilbert glare. It made someone running into you completely different when there was someone there to care. Soon they reached the turn where they would need to separate.

"See ya around, Mattie." Gilbert patted Matthew on the shoulder while the other said his goodbyes before taking off down another hallway to his next class.

Matthew continued down the hall in high spirits. All his worries earlier were gone. He was remembered, he had somewhere to sit at lunch, and he actually had a friend. He sat down in his next class and started digging through his backpack for the supplies he would need.

Alfred walked in the classroom in search of someone. He saw his brother's red hoodie and smiled. Good, he is already here.

Alfred planned on seeing how his brother was doing. He seemed better in the morning, but he could never be sure with Matthew. He wanted to make sure his good mood in the morning wasn't just an act. Alfred leaned on his brother's desk.

"Hey Mattie!" The Canadian jumped in surprise at his brother's voice. He sat up from going through his backpack and smiled at his brother.

"Hi, Al."

Alfred looked at his brother's eyes intently. "What's up, bro?"

Matthew just shrugged. "Nothing much, you?"

Alfred observed everything about his brother from his stance to the way he was talking trying to decipher if anything was up. The only thing he could conclude was that his little brother was in a very good mood, better than when he usually was happy. Whatever was wrong yesterday obviously wasn't wrong now. He still wondered what it was.

Alfred answered, "not much. Having a good day?" He gave his brother a grin. His twin smiled back.

Matthew responded, "yeah, today's been pretty good."

"Well I'm gonna go to my seat before class starts." Alfred hit the table twice with the hand he was using to lean on it before standing up straight. "See ya later, bro," Alfred said as he turned to walk away.

Matthew just smiled at him. "Okay, Al."

The shy blond sat through his class with Alfred and his next class in good spirits. He was in a good mood that only made lunch come faster. Before he knew it the lunch bell was ringing and he was quickly gathering his things to go.

He didn't stay behind like he usually did, but went straight to the halls like most everyone else. He wanted to get to lunch and didn't particularly care about the crowds. He walked in the middle of the hall with the majority of the crowd towards the cafeteria. He didn't see Gilbert at first when he got there, but after a few minutes saw him walking towards him.

Gilbert was surprised to see Matthew already waiting outside the cafeteria when he got there. He took his time because he thought the other would be later since he said he liked waiting for the crowds to disperse. He supposed the other was trying to be polite and not have him wait. Gilbert walked up to Matthew and grinned.

Matthew smiled back and greeted the other, "hi."

"Hey, you buying your lunch?" Gilbert nodded his head towards Matthew's empty hands.

"Yeah, I forgot to pack one last night." He had been so tired the night before it completely slipped his mind. The day before was so weird lunch had never crossed his mind. He was glad he always carried his wallet in his backpack so he could buy it.

"That's good; I have to buy mine too." The two teens walked in the cafeteria and got at the end of the long lunch line.

"Despite what people say, the lunch here isn't that bad. It doesn't move and isn't funny colors or anything," Gilbert said in an attempt to start a conversation. Matthew chuckled a little and gave him a funny look. He heard the lunches were horrible so he usually bought his lunch. He supposed it was one of the downfalls of having a chef for a parent. You get too used to delicious food.

"Let's just hope they are serving something edible today," Matthew joked.

Gilbert scoffed, "hey, I just said the food wasn't that bad." Matthew laughed.

"Francis cooks for a living," shrugged Matthew. Gilbert gave him a look and muttered, "lucky," causing Matthew to laugh again. The two chatted about little things jokingly as they waited in line for their food.

After they had their food, Gilbert started to lead Matthew to the table in the corner he mentioned earlier. Matthew started getting nervous when they got closer to the table. What if Gilbert's friends didn't like him? Would Gilbert still want to hang out with him if his friends thought he was weird? Oh, mon Dieu! Those can't all be his friends.

Matthew's palms started sweating a little when he caught site of the table. He was expecting maybe one or two people, but there was more than that. He was exceedingly nervous and actually scared about sitting there.

Gilbert noticed Matthew tense next to him as they neared the table. He took a look at the other and noticed and seemed a little pale and was noticeably stressed.

Gilbert whispered, "hey, don't worry. They're nice, a little weird, but you shouldn't worry." He gave Matthew a reassuring smile. Matthew gave a shaky smile back.

"Y-yeah," he nodded.

As they neared the table, they could hear everyone chatting loudly. Matthew couldn't tell what anyone was saying over the sound of his heartbeat and the fact that they were all talking at once. He took a deep breath as they walked up to the table trying to calm his nerves.

"Hey, less awesome people, the awesome me is here, and I bought a friend!" Gilbert exclaimed. Everyone at the table stopped their loud chatter to look at their new acquaintance. Matthew shifted his weight nervously when six pairs of eye were fixed on him. He wasn't used to being the center of attention, and everyone looking at him at once was making him more uncomfortable.

"H-hi." Matthew gave a shaky smile as he spoke in a quiet wavering voice.

"Dammit, Potato Bastard, did you really bring another bastard here?" A brown haired boy spoke with a scowl. Matthew visually paled at the other's words, and froze not knowing what to do.

"Ah, Lovi, don't be mean." Another boy with tanned skin spoke up. The first one started yelling at the later next to him who had started to hug him. Gilbert turned to Matthew who was starting to look more scared than nervous.

"Don't take anything Lovino says to heart. He is like that to everyone, even his brother." Matthew just nodded silently to Gilbert's whispered words. Gilbert turned to the table and clapped his hands.

"Okay, let me introduce you lot. First off, this is Matthew." He gestured to Matthew next to him who moved his food to one hand so he could wave awkwardly. A few people at the table muttered greetings while the tan teen who had been talking to Lovino said, "Hi Matthew," in a way to mock alcoholics anonymous.

Gilbert proceeded to introduce the rest of the table gesturing Matthew to put down his food first. Gilbert stood behind Lovino.

"Okay, so this feisty little Italian is Lovino." He put his hands on the sitting boy's shoulders and jostled him.

Lovino sneered, "fuck off, bastard!" Gilbert laughed when the other slapped his arms off. He gestured to the boy on the Italian's left who had spoken up earlier.

Gilbert said fondly, "and this is Antonio." Antonio smiled at the Canadian and waved. "Hola, Matthew."

Gilbert then gestured to a boy with glasses and dark brown hair. Matthew took note of his good posture and that he seemed to be a little bored at the antics of the others at the table.

"This here is Roderich." The teen being spoken of looked up and responded with a pleasure. Matthew nodded back to him in return. Gilbert moved on to the next person.

"This is Eliz-"

"I'm Elizaveta," the girl spoke up kindly. Gilbert scowled at being interrupted. The brown haired girl stood offering her hand to Matthew and giving him a soft smile. Matthew gave her a shy smile back and shook her hand.

"You can sit down you know, Matthew. You don't have to stand there while Gilbert introduces us," Elizaveta suggested. Matthew blushed and sat down in the empty seat next to her. Gilbert took this moment to move on the next person.

Gilbert tackled a large muscular blond almost knocking him out of his seat and causing him to scowl at the albino.

"And this is my little bruder, Ludwig," Gilbert exclaimed in a baby voice. Ludwig's blue eyes glared at Gilbert.

"Get off me," Ludwig started trying to fight Gilbert off of him while Matthew looked a little surprised.

He had heard most of the names of the people he was meeting yesterday when Gilbert was telling stories about random things; Ludwig's name was mentioned a lot. He knew Gilbert said they didn't look anything alike, but he was a least expecting the blond to look younger than Gilbert. Instead he seemed to be taller from what Matthew could tell. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and a much more muscular build than his older brother. His seemed to carry himself in a similar way to Roderich, very much unlike the albino.

Gilbert laughed as Ludwig huffed when he finally got the albino off of him. Matthew couldn't help but chuckle a little at the brothers' antics. It vaguely reminded him of him and Alfred when they were younger. Except Alfred was the touchy feely one, and he would have been on the floor from the tackle, fighting it a little less. Gilbert's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Last but not least, this here is Feliciano." He pointed to a brown haired boy sitting between Ludwig and Lovino. He looked very similar to Lovino except his hair and eyes were a shade lighter. He had a curl protruding from one side of his head while Lovino had a similar one on the other side. He quickly concluded that the two were brothers.

Hearing his voice Feliciano looked at Matthew with a smile and started talking fast.

"Hello Matthew! You can call me Feli; that's what a lot of people call me, since my name is long. Can I call you Mateo?" He looked at the Canadian who had started fiddling with the bottom of his hoodie expectantly.

Matthew stuttered, "s-sure." Feliciano just smiled wider and started talking about things he liked to let Matthew know him better. Matthew listened intently, nodding his head every so often as he tried to keep up with what the bubbly brunette was saying.

Gilbert sat in the empty seat between Ludwig and Matthew smirking. He knew Matthew would fit in just fine. He watched as Feliciano chatted enthusiastically about different kinds of pasta, and Matthew listened to him looking a little uneasy at all the words and questions being thrown at him by the other.

Ludwig interrupted, "Feliciano, if you keep talking to him like that neither of you are going to be able to eat." Feliciano stopped midsentence and look at Ludwig who had spoken up.

Feliciano beamed at Ludwig. "You're right!" He then turned to eat his lunch. Matthew let out a breath and gave a thankful look to Ludwig. Gilbert just chuckled and shook his head taking a bite out of his food. Matthew looked at him still a little tense, and Gilbert gave him a reassuring smile.

Elizaveta spoke up, "so, Matthew, tell us a little about yourself." Matthew looked at Elizaveta and bit his lip.

"Uh… I'm Canadian." Gilbert looked down smiling, and trying not to laugh. It seemed that that was what Matthew said every time he had to talk about himself. Matthew looked at Gilbert causing him to blush knowing what Gilbert was thinking. Elizaveta just gave Gilbert a questioning look, and turned back to talk to Matthew.

Matthew started to tell her basically what he had told Gilbert the day before about living in Canada. The others at the table would occasionally add something to the conversation and listen, but after a few minutes broke into different conversations. At one point he mentioned having a brother, and Feliciano spoke up.

"You have a brother, Mateo?" Matthew looked at him much more relaxed then when he first sat down.

"Yeah, Alfred, he is in the same grade as me and Gilbert." Gilbert glanced at Matthew wondering how much about his family he was going to talk about.

"Do you mean Alfred Jones?" Elizaveta spoke up from Matthew's right.

"Yeah, we're twins," affirmed Matthew. Feliciano looked elated.

"I have a twin brother, too! His name is Lovino!" Lovino smacked his brother on the arm.

"He could've guessed that, idiot." He then turned to Matthew. "So you're telling me that annoying hamburger bastard is your twin brother." Matthew nodded. Lovino looked at him a moment before adding, "You seem nothing like him."

Matthew decided he liked Lovino a lot more. Matthew didn't hate his brother, but it was nice to have someone like him better than his brother for once. It was usually the other way around, since Alfred was pretty popular. It was a good feeling to have it the other way around for once.

Matthew spent most of the lunch talking to Gilbert and Elizaveta. He spent a little time talking to everyone at the table, but spent the most of it chatting and joking with them since they were both next to him. Matthew laughed at how Gilbert and Elizaveta bickered with eat other. They vaguely reminded him of a married couple. It made him wonder if they liked each other. They didn't seem to be dating, but you never know what could happen in high school when it came to things like that.

After ending an argument with Gilbert, Elzaveta turned to her other side to talk to Roderich, leaving Matthew and Gilbert to talk to each other.

"So how are you doing, Mattie?" Gilbert looked at Matthew curiously slightly more serious than before. Matthew met the other's red eyes questioning his reasoning behind the question with his own indigo pair.

"I've been good. Why do you ask?" Gilbert broke eye contact and shrugged.

"You seemed a little upset yesterday. I just wanted to make sure." Matthew looked at the other for a moment before looking at his hands.

"Oh… yeah, yesterday was… I…" Matthew wasn't sure what to say about the day before so he ended up saying the first thing that came to mind. "Thanks for yesterday."

Gilbert turned to look at the other not sure what to say. He wasn't really expecting that. Matthew ducked his head hiding the blush on his face realizing how stupid he sounded.

Gilbert replied, "like I said yesterday, any time." Matthew looked up at the other slightly surprised at his response. The other was giving him a small smile that he quickly returned.

Elizaveta saw the exchange from where she was sitting not knowing what they were talking about. She met Gilbert's glance smirking at him. He shot her a glare and turned back to talk to Matthew.

Lunch passed by much faster than usual for the glasses wearing blond. Usually the hour seemed to drag on for him, but today it flew by in what felt like no time at all. He supposed it went fast because he was constantly in conversation with everyone at the table. He decided it was the most social interaction he had in a while; it left him a little tired, but in a very good mood. The table in the corner of the cafeteria would be his new favorite spot in the school.

Soon they were cleaning up their trash and saying goodbyes, promising to see each other later. A few of his knew friends must have had class together because they were promising to see each other then.

Gilbert walked up to Matthew and threw an arm around his shoulder.

"They aren't too bad, right?" Matthew gave a shy smile.

"They're nice… but Lovino kind of scares me still." Gilbert laughed.

"You get used to it after a while," Gilbert shrugged. Matthew just nodded his head with his shy smile still on his face.

"Well, I'll see you later, Mattie. Don't want to be late for class." Matthew waved to the other before they parted making their way to their classes after lunch.

When he sat down in his next class he replayed the events of lunch in his head. It was nice, a lot to take in, but nice. He talked to more people he had in a while. It was funny how they could all be best friends, but were all so different.

Roderich was actually pretty quiet. Not as quiet as Matthew usually was, but he didn't tend to lead any conversations. He only spoke up when he had something to say. He didn't idly chat like Feliciano. He did seem more like a 'follow the rules' guy which just made it funnier that he was friends with someone like Gilbert.

Ludwig had a similar personality to Roderich. He spoke more than when he had something important to say, but he still seemed quite because he was not as outgoing and loud as the others at the table. He seemed pretty organized to Matthew, and as if he'd rather like everything to be calm and in his control than crazy and unexpected. This only made it seem odd that he could be such good friends with Feliciano.

Feliciano was bubbly, loud, very outgoing, energetic, and the list could go on and on. Even though he didn't spend too much time talking to the Italian, Matthew could easily say that Feliciano spoke the most words to him that lunch. He was very unpredictable and seemed to always have something say about anything and everything. He was just a happy teen that loved the world he lived in and everything about it. He seemed like the optimistic type to always look on the Brightside. It was very much unlike Matthew's philosophy on life. He wasn't yet comfortable around Feliciano yet, but he supposed that would change with time. It just seemed as if you couldn't not like the little Italian.

Another person it would take time to get used to was Lovino. Even though his bouts of anger were targeted at everyone, Matthew couldn't help feel as if some of them were personally meant for him and that the other meant it. He knew it was stupid. The other was actually nice and, right now, found nothing to hate about the Canadian, something that was rare for the brunette, but Matthew just couldn't help but feel that way. He knew that overtime he would get used to it; he just hadn't been around someone with a personality like that before.

Someone who was very used to Lovino's personality was Antonio. Antonio seemed completely unfazed by any of the Italian's words; he actually welcomed them with opened arms. Matthew remembered him saying how it had to do with Lovino showing his love. A comment that earned him a smack to the head by said Italian. It was a little odd in Matthew's opinion, but he supposed that was kind of like his own parents, even though he didn't think Lovino and Antonio were actually together.

Antonio had a personality like Feliciano's but on a much lower scale. He was enthusiastic and optimistic, but Matthew could tell he had a serious and calmer side. Matthew could see how he was one of Gilbert's best friends, because they did have a lot in common personality wise. He found both of the teens a little silly, but that was a good thing.

Then there was Elizaveta. She was a complex person. She was kind and patient when it some to people like Feliciano and Matthew, but had an anger when it came to others like Gilbert. She had a very outgoing personality and seemed like an understanding person. He couldn't think of much else to think about her. He spent most of the lunch talking with her and Gilbert, and out of everyone he had just met felt most comfortable around her. Though, that could be just because he spent so much time talking to her.

He still felt most comfortable around Gilbert. Not just because he was the reason he was still here, but because Gilbert was his first real friend in a long time. He was nice and treated Matthew like an actual friend even though they hadn't known each other long. It was something Matthew respected, and that just put him in a happy mood.

Matthew walked to his next class in a good mood. Not only was he having a great day, but this was his favorite class. He missed it the day before when he had ditched with Gilbert so he was excited to be back in his art class.

It was a small class made up with people from different grades since it was an elective. He had taken drawing one his freshman year, so now he was in drawing two where you had more creative liberties with your work.

He walked into the familiar art room and sat down in his usual seat by the window. He let out a happy sigh and just sat there relax for a moment before moving. He reached for his backpack to take out his sketchpad he had drawn in earlier that morning. He had already finished their recent project in class so he could work on whatever he wanted art-wise until the next assignment.

He opened to a page in the middle that contained the drawing his had been working on in homeroom. He stared at it for a moment just looking at the picture. Was this really how I felt? It was odd seeing something so dark that had come from him just that morning when feeling like he did now. He ran his fingers over the page lightly just thinking. It had much more meaning for him since it was his emotions.

A voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Ve, did you draw that?" Matthew jumped surprised by the voice and met Feliciano's eyes while fighting to urge to cover up his work.

"Y-yeah, I dr-drew it." Feliciano peered at the picture closely over Matthew's shoulder.

"It's very good. It's sad, but beautiful… The darkness kind of scares me." Matthew tuned to look at Feliciano who was staring at the drawing intently.

Feliciano said happily, "you are a good artist!" He sat in the seat next to Matthew with a smile. Matthew looked around confused and a little nervous.

"I d-didn't know you were in this class…" Feliciano just looked up at him grinning widely.

"I didn't know you were here either! Now we can be art buddies!" He turned to an almost blank paper and started sketching on it. Matthew looked back at his own paper deciding to finish it.

It was an odd art class for Matthew. He usually sat by the window quietly and blocked out the rest of the world while he drew. Today he had someone next to him that kept a steady and slow conversation going. The topics were random and unimportant, just little things that really had no meaning. Feliciano was much calmer during this time; he was a very focused artist.

When art was over they packed up their belongings to head to their final class. Feliciano had drawn a few sketches using mostly brightly colored pastels. Matthew thought it matched the bubbly Italian perfectly. He was almost finished with his own drawing. It just needed some more detail in the shading, but you could really see the drawing now.

Feliciano gave an enthusiastic goodbye as they parted in the hallway. Matthew smiled to the other saying his own goodbye before going to his own class.


Matthew let out a sigh of relief when the final bell rang. Today just seemed to drag on and on. It wasn't completely a bad day, but it was making him a little tired.

He walked into the hallway quickly in hopes of reaching his locker fast to make it to the bus in time. He wasn't in the mood to walk all the way home.

He was packing books up in his locker when a person leaned on the locker next to him. He didn't notice the other boy there until he spoke up.

"Hey." Matthew jumped surprised and met the others red eyes. Gilbert smirked at how he scared the other.

"Oh, hey, Gilbert." Gilbert cocked an eyebrow at the blond.

"Oh hey? You should sound more happy to be graced in my awesome presence." Matthew just laughed in waved him off with a smile.

"Whatever you say." Gilbert pretended to pout until he saw a familiar person walking by.

"Toni! What's up?" Antonio turned to them with a smile.

"Nothing much. What about you guys?"

Soon the three were in conversation by Matthew's locker. Matthew laughed at Gilbert and Antonio's antics unaware at the emptiness of the hallway. Antonio glanced at his watched.

"I gotta go, guys, or I'll be late." They said their goodbyes and started heading out themselves. When they got to the front Matthew realized the buses had already left. He had a feeling he had been forgetting something; he had forgotten that his bus usually leaves pretty early after school ends.

Gilbert noticed Matthew staring at where the buses usually were.

"Were you planning to ride one?" He nodded towards where the buses usually were after school.

"Yeah, but I lost track of time, so I'll walk." Gilbert smirked at the other.

"Or," He dragged out the word earing a questioning look from the other. "We could give you a ride!"

"Y-you don't h-have too. I'm fine with walking." Matthew's words were a little rushed. He didn't want to other to go out of the way for him. Gilbert put his arm around Matthew steering him the other way watching his reaction intently.

"We're friends. Friends give other friends rides when they need them, and Ludwig will be cool about it too so come on." Matthew sighed let himself be steered into the parking lot.

There were still quite a few cars left from student with afterschool activities that drove. Ludwig was standing by an older car waiting for his brother.

"Hey Luddy. Miss me?"

"I was about to leave without you," Ludwig stated. Gilbert just chuckled even though he knew it was true.

"Hey, we need to give Mattie here a ride." He shook his arm that was still around Matthew's shoulder.

Ludwig looked at the shorter blond, not noticing him until now. Matthew waved awkwardly not knowing what to do. Everything going on was a new experience for him.

"Oh, Matthew. Yeah, we can give you a ride." Gilbert smiled and dragged Matthew to the car. He was soon sitting in the backseat with the Beilschmidt brothers in front. It was quiet for a few moments before Matthew spoke up.

"Uh, not to be rude, but why are you driving, Ludwig?" He saw the blond in the driver's seat raise an eyebrow. Matthew continued, "w-well, aren't you too young?"

Gilbert let out a jittery laugh. "It's one of those cool laws. You can get your driver's license early if there are special circumstances." Ludwig make a quick glance at his older brother before looking back at the street.

Matthew looked out the window wondering if he shouldn't have spoken. He looked at the houses passing by. They would be at his soon.

The car was filled with meaningless chatter while the radio playing quietly in the background. Gilbert talked the most. Matthew smiled at some of his stories from class. He understood why the teachers didn't like the albino.

Soon they were at his house, and he was getting out of the car.

"Thanks for the ride guys." Before Ludwig could respond Gilbert spoke up.

"No problem. See you tomorrow, Mattie."

"Yeah, see you guys tomorrow." He waved as their car drove away the way it came.

He stared walking to his house thinking. Around this time yesterday, he was walking the same steps very confused about what was going on. He was still a little confused, but this time it was a good thing. Things seemed to be looking up for once, even if the feeling from before were still lingering and causing confusion.


A/N: I thought I was taking too long for time to pass in the story, so I made a long chapter to fix it! ^.^ I just didn't want to take multiple chapter for just this to happen.

I don't know if this law is the same other place, but where I live you can get your license early under special circumstances. I don't know the entire list of reasons, but I went to middle school with a girl who could legally drive because the people she was living with couldn't.

Also, the self-injury topic will come up a lot as it is a reoccurring theme, so if you ever have any questions about it feel free to ask.

Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing; it means a lot. And a special thanks to everyone who has ever corrected any of the times I used a foreign language.