Hey guys, despite promising Romano's chapter, I felt that I should focus on Arthur this chapter and give you Romano later

Chapter 12

Arthur watched as Gilbert glared at him and stood up, turning away from the brit. The German gracefully left the room after scowling at his brother, and made his way down the hall.

"What?" the Englishman asked, disbelief painted on his face. "I would never…" the brit started before glancing towards the Russian, tears stinging his eyes. "Why would he think that?!" the brit yelled, suddenly angry. If all eyes weren't on him before, they were now. The Russian stood up, ready to go after the albino when one of the agents stopped him.

"Gilbert can wait, Mr. Beilschmidt. We need as many people as possible in the room right now, okay?" agent Durant said, smile and all. Ivan shot him a hard glare, but the southern charmer wasn't even fazed by it. Arthur had a feeling that Ivan wouldn't be able to leave the room even if he had tried. The smile that the agent was offering seemed too perfect to be real.

"Arthur?" a soft voice called out to him. It was Romano, obviously, and he didn't seem as angry as he was before. "Arthur, what was that all about? What just happened?" the Italian said as he approached the brit. The brit reflexively stepped back abruptly, causing his best friend to stop also. Arthur watched as a flash of emotions passed through Romano's face, causing the brit to grimace. I don't want you to get involved in my problems anymore, you don't deserve it.

"I'm sorry, I … I just need to" the brit said as he walked out of the room, towards the stairs. He was glad that there wasn't any protest to him leaving, and he was especially glad that the American hadn't tried to stop him. Or worse, ask him what was wrong. Arthur had a feeling that if Alfred had asked him, he would have poured his heart out and vent until he lost breath. I don't want him to see me so vulnerable.

'He had already seen you at your most vulnerable, you know.'

Yeah, I know.

The brit entered the room and closed the door, neglecting to lock it. If anyone wants me, they can find me. He took out his phone and started texting Romano, not liking how he left the Italian.

Arthur: Romano, I'm sorry

Tomato fiend: Why are you texting me? COME DOWN STAIRS!

Arthur: No, I'm not ready

After a few moments of no reply, the brit sighed. Why am I so difficult, couldn't I just shrug it off? I'm not remotely attracted to Ivan in any way, and I definitely don't act like it! All I manage to do is worry everyone! Suddenly his phone vibrated, and the brit saw that it was from Romano again.

Tomato fiend: Arthur, it is completely alright if you can't come down stairs. Do you want me to come to you?

Arthur sighed at the message, and his heart swelled a little. Despite the Italian being a menace to everyone including the brit, Romano always knows the right time to act like a friend.

Arthur: Yes

The brit closed his eyes and counted to ten. Five, six, seven, eight, nine- knock, knock, knock!

"Who is it?" the brit asked, knowing who it was, just wanting to hear the response.

"If you opened the door, you'd know who it is!" a familiar voice called back, opening the door and entering the room. The brit watched as the Italian locked it, snickering as he made his way to the bed. "I told everyone I was going to the guest bathroom" he chuckled with a sly smile. The brit rolled his eyes.

"Oh" Arthur said as he made room for Romano on the bed. Romano gave him a quizzical look before smiling.

"What? Never been in a locked room with a boy before?"

"Shut up Romano" the brit grumbled, a smile pulling his lip. I like this. 'Me too'. The Italian cleared his throat before he sat down, taking the brit's hands into his own, suddenly serious.

"Why are you upset? What did Gilbert say?"

Arthur looked down and his eyes began to water again. Why does he make me so angry?! Arthur felt his composure crumble as he began to cry softly. He felt Romano hug him apologetically.

"No it's fine" the brit chuckled through his tears, "It's just been a stressful day, you know" he laughed. The Italian by his side didn't think it was as funny, and so the brit received a particularly hard pinch.

"It's not funny," the Italian spat, "everyone is here to protect you, and the last thing we need in the group is more tension." The brit looked up at the tanned teen and cleared his throat.

"What do you mean 'more tension'?" the brit asked, honestly confused. The Italian gave him a hard stare before laughing uncontrollably. "WHAT?!" the brit asked, even more confused.

"The tension between you and Alfred, of course." The snickering teen said, smile fading. Arthur thought back to their last argument, and had a feeling that the American was over that. The Presidential elections are hardly any of my concern.

"He isn't angry at me at all, in fact he saved me." The brit said while looking out the window, into the distance.

The Italian gave the brit an incredulous look before sighing dramatically. "Are you meaning to tell me, that you, have no idea what kind of tension is going on between you and Alfred?" Arthur was confused again, until he saw the perverted expression Romano had on when he was talking about sex.

'SEX?'

Sex

"ROMANO!" the brit was utterly mortified of this. Sexual tension? Me? Alfred? Me and Alfred? No! The Italian was currently holding his sides and laughing until he was red. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! YOU PERVERT!"

"Oh please, the whole house could feel it" Romano said as he rolled his eyes.

"Not Gilbert" the brit huffed as he thought back to the argument that took place several minutes before.

"What does Gilbert believe?" the Italian had sobered up a bit from his laughter, and was now looking the brit in the eye. Arthur cleared his throat before speaking.

"He thinks I'm trying to steal Ivan away from him"

"What!?"

"I Know!"

"That's ridiculous, Ivan isn't even your type." The Italian smiled.

"I saw that. What's my type then?" the brit smiled, liking the cozy feeling of the conversation. I really like this.

"Well," the Italian said while rolling his eyes "I'll tell you if you promise not to interrupt me" his eyes were shining with mischief. Oh boy. Despite his common sense, he still nodded. The Italian smiled.

"Your type is a strong, smart, and quirky kind of guy. He has a picturesque beauty and a soul just as beautiful. You like'em big, with soft eyes and a cute smile. You want them wild and carefree, to balance out your negativity, and in return, you balance out his optimism. You want someone who is capable of taking care of you, and someone who is protective, and sometimes occasionally jealous. You want someone who will love you until the end of the world, and not have any doubts. You want…"

'Alfred'

Arthur's face heated up and he felt his heartache at the accusation. I don't want Alfred! He isn't into me like that! Romano noticed the deep blush and smiled knowingly.

"The name of your crush just popped up, huh?

"how did you know?" the brit asked timidly. I can't believe I got sucked into this.

"My uncle used to say the exact same thing to me whenever I told him I didn't have a crush. When he'd seen me blush, he had known that the name of my crush appeared. Apparently, people's subconscious is much more honest than they are." He said blankly, looking off into the distance. He shook his head to regain his focus and smiled. "You thought about Alfred didn't you?"

Arthur felt his eyes sting as he took a deep breath. His throat was constricting, and he had no choice but to nod. "I did" he said hopelessly, "I think I like him a lot" his lips were trembling now. "But there's no choice, I can't have him, he isn't into guys!"

Romano gave him another incredulous look before he sighed. "Do you know why I was angry at you earlier, when we were going down the stairs?" he asked, taking the brits hands. Arthur shook his head and looked up expectantly. "I was angry because you were letting that agent worm his way into you comfort zone. You flirted and you were all casual."

"Why did that upset you?"

"Because you were only doing that because you were trying to push the feelings you have for Alfred away. You think your clever, but I could see right through it. You should've seen the look on Alfred's face when he saw you laughing. He was happy. He was happy because you were happy." The Italian huffed with a blush on his cheeks.

"He Isn't in to me, what should I do then, huh? Should I wait around for an entire lifetime? I have a life to live, I don't deserve to be put through all of this emotional pain!" the Englishman yelled, not happy anymore.

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" the Italian yelled, losing his composure. "HE IS COMPLETELY GAY FOR YOU! HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU BE SO DENSE?" Romano cleared his throat and quieted down. "He worries about you, and he wants to leave the zone"

The brit rolled his eyes, and sighed. "What zone?"

"The FRIEND zone, you old tart"

Arthur ignored the nickname and thought for a bit. He decided he better talk to himself about it.

Hey

'What?'

Should I confess to Alfred?

'He probably doesn't like you'

Earlier you told me-

'I know what I said!'

So should I?

'I don't want to get hurt'

I'm the only one who has something to lose

'We share this body, nimrod'

But we're the same person, so it's not 'we' it's 'me'

'Anyway, go for it. I doubt your worthy enough'

Yeah

Arthur smiled at his decision, and looked up at Romano. He reached for the Italian's hand and smiled. "I think I'm ready, to you know, tell him how I feel"

Romano looked shocked and gasped. "This soon? Please don't feel the need to rush, love is a very intricate subject and it can't be decided in a matter of minutes. Give it a day"

"but I'm ready now"

Suddenly a knock on the door interrupted their little conversation, leaving Romano to scramble loudly towards the closet door. The brit threw the covers over his head and made a sniffling sound to make it seem like he was crying. "Who is it?" he called out with a broken voice.

"It's me"

Great, exactly who I wanted to see. The brit rolled his eyes and remained in the bed. Before he could ask what he wanted, a second voice called through.

"And me!" oh god. The brit felt his cheeks heat up and his heart begin to race. 'Jesus Christ Arthur, get a hold of yourself!' Arthur tried to calm down enough for him to answer again, but his throat wouldn't stop constricting. After a minute or two, he spoke again.

"Alright, give me a second" he lurched out of the bed and made his way to the door. Before he could unlock it, Romano tip toed out of the closet and started throwing his arms around. Arthur assumed the Italian wanted him to stop. Arthur dragged the other teen into the closet before whispering harshly to him. "Do you want to get caught by Alfred and Gilbert? Just lay low for a second!" Romano looked pissed now, and he sighed heavily before he responded.

"Don't do anything stupid, and by that a mean don't tell Alfred about how you feel right now. He'll just think you're saying it because of everything that happened today, and he'll just assume you're trying to use him as a coping mechanism. Don't ruin your chances." The Italian warned as he walked out of the closet. Before the brit could protest, Romano spoke again. "I don't care if they see me, they probably knew I was here anyway." The tanned teen then opened the door and greeted the American and the albino with a frown. Arthur took a seat on his bed and waited for Romano to let the two of them in.

"What do you want?" the Englishman heard his friend say. Arthur could just imagine the goofy smile on Alfred's face, the one he always made when someone weaker than him tried to pick a fight. He always made that face at Romano, and the two would argue for days. Arthur giggled a little before he saw Alfred tug Gilbert in by the collar, as if he were a dog.

"Hey!" said the sun kissed American with the goofy smile Arthur was just thinking about. Ah, I know him so well. "Can we sit?" he continued, motioning towards the bed. The brit nodded, but he pulled his knees up to his chest as some form of protection. The two took their seats, or rather, the American took his seat and simultaneously dragged the albino down next to him. Gilbert's hair was disheveled, a bit unrulier than earlier. He must have put up a fight before coming up here to apologize. Alfred elbowed the German roughly, and the pale teen flinched.

What the hell happened down there?

Gilbert's face was still stoic, but his eyes were burning with betrayal, guilt, pain and regret. He took a reluctant glance at Arthur and mumbled something out. Alfred nudged him again, not as forceful as last time but still harsh. "I said…" he started as his eyes watered. Arthur noticed and instantly cut the albino off.

"Gilbert, don't. There's no need, I got over it the second you left" he lied. Apologizing, apparently, wasn't the albino's strong suit, and making him do it didn't seem right. Gilbert looked absolutely uncomfortable, and Arthur regretted leaving the room. I must have missed something really important in the plot development. There was a moment of silence before the German spoke again, eye staring at the floor.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, it was wrong of me." He stood up and walked towards the bathroom in the brit's room and turned on the sink.

"It's alright" the brit said with a smile, knowing full well that Gilbert was trying to hide his blush.

HEY guys, I know, this took forever to put up, but my mock trial team made it to states and I've been celebrating for a while. I have another story up too; it's called "A wounded knight" you should check it out. I'm trying really hard, please don't hate me.