Chapter Thirteen

Canada groaned rolling over. He felt exhausted despite how much he'd been sleeping. He sighed sitting up with his head in his hands. He hadn't moved for the past couple of days. He knew he needed to get up every few days to keep his strength and sanity. He grabbed his glasses off the side table and went into the kitchen.

The blond looked in the fridge and bit his lip. He was hungry, but didn't particularly want to eat anything. He knew he should and grabbed a handful of berries. He went and sat on the couch to eat them. He ate two of them and immediately didn't want anymore. He forced himself to eat the rest of the handful. It was a slow process, but he ended up eating them all.

Matthew stood up and paused. He wanted to go back and hide in bed. His feet started to carry him to the ice rink anyways. He sat on the bench and leaned on the boards just enjoying the cold. He missed being outside and feeling the heat or cold. The Canadian missed the wind and sun. He was a nation, he was inside his boarders, but he still felt homesick. He felt tears pricking at the corner of his eyes and shook his head.

Canada bit his lip and grabbed his skates. Flicker had gotten them sharpened for him last week. The blades were fine, but the boots were started to loosen and wear out. He was going to need a new pair soon if he wanted to keep jumping. He sighed as he finished lacing up. He grabbed the ear buds and put both in. He took his glasses off and set them on the boards. He stood up and stepped on to the ice.

"Good afternoon Matthew!" October greeted. Canada smiled. She was always happy no matter what, it was a nice change. "What would you like to listen to today?"

"Just play Woodkid again, please." Matthew said politely. He knew October probably didn't have feelings, but it was an automatic thing to be polite.

"Okay, playing Wasteland by Woodkid." October said as the song started. He skated a few laps listening happily to his music. He turned and launched into a jump. He landed it with a slight wobble and smiled. He always felt much better when he was on the ice. Canada smiled as the next song came on. The Other Side, it was one of his favourites.

'I heard a whisper on my shoulder, Pretending life is worth the fight, O can you hear the song of thunder, When fear strangles a soldier's pride, And on the surface of the waters, Will dance reflections of the fire in the night.'

Matthew closed his eyes and started into the routine he knew. It had been a long time since he had properly skated a routine. He swept low skating on one foot fingers lightly brushing over the ice. He stood and turned stepping over his feet twirling as he went. Canada picked up speed as the song did. He turned back wards and vaulted into a triple toe loop then a double salchow. He smiled landing both almost perfectly. He knew the first was slightly under rotated, but didn't care. He turned again skating close to the boards with his eyes still closed. He did a quick spin before launching into a triple axel. He managed to land it, but had to put his other foot down to stop from falling.

'I'm slowly drifting into slumber, 'Cos I have lost the force to fight, It's like a cold hand on my shoulder, I'll see you on the other side.'

Canada dropped into a sit spin as the song came to an end. His spin slowed as he stood up catching his breath. His eyes flew open as an idea popped into his head.

"October!" The Canadian called. "What time is it?" He asked quickly.

"It is three fifty seven pm." October replied. Matthew quickly skated to the boards and got off the ice. He hurriedly pulled his skates off and grabbed his glasses. He put the ear buds away and put his glasses on. The blond ran down the hall going to the closest bathroom. He skidded to a stop seeing there was no mirror. He needed to find a mirror.

The Canadian ran to the next bathroom, but there wasn't one there either. He moved to the next and next, but none had a mirror. He knew he had saw one around before. He needed to find it. He quickly ran from room to room looking for it. He knew he saw one and was panicking now that he couldn't find it. Matthew skidded to a stop in the last room he needed to check. He gasped happily spotting it. He ran over and pulled the sheet that was covering part of it off. It was very dusty, but he didn't care.

"James!" Canada yelled tapping in the mirror. "James please!" He was about to tap again when his reflection changed.

"Hey, chickadee." James greeted through a yawn. "Long time no see."

"Can I come through?" Matthew asked quickly. The other Canadian looked a bit confused, but heard the desperation in his voice. "Please?"

"Alright." James grumbled reaching his hand through to help him. He took it and the other blond pulled him through the mirror. They ended up in a pile on his bathroom floor. "Sorry." He apologized standing and helping Matthew up.

"Thank you so much." The Canadian said. James just grunted as a response. He could see tears in Matthew's eyes and pulled him into a bear hug. He didn't really know how to deal with upset people.

"What's going on, Matthew?" James asked. He'd never seen his counterpart so shaken before. He wondered if the Prussian had something to do with it.

"Flicker, the guy that tried to mess with my world last year. He got out of jail and caught me. He put this thing on me." Matthew gestured to the collar. "And kept me underground for over three months now." He explained quickly. His tone changed and he looked down at his feet. "He was constantly trying to kiss and touch me. I thought my only way out would be to pretend I was falling for him."

James looked sadly down at him understanding the feeling. "I'm sorry." He mumbled. He was very protective of the other Canadian and wanted to beat the man to the ground with his hockey stick. James was one of the few that was kind to their 1p. Matthew was very comfortable around him.

The other blond very carefully picked up his counterpart and carried him down to his kitchen. He seemed a lot lighter then he remembered. He set him on one of the kitchen chairs. Kuma woke up from where he was sleeping and growled at James. The huge polar bear went over and sniffed Matthew. Canada smiled and let him sniff his hand before petting him. Kuma was always grumpy, but he liked the blond.

"I guess we should get that thing off, eh?" James asked looking at the collar. Matthew quickly nodded. "Think bolt cutters would do it?"

"I don't know. There's a bunch of tiny needles on the inside." The blond said as James inspected the collar. It was a thin metal band around his neck. He could see a seam and beside it was a blank panel. He carefully pulled lightly on the side and Matthew winced. "They might be barbs."

"Better get the first aid kit then." James grumbled and disappeared. Kuma rested his head on Matthew's knee. He smiled and ran a hand through the bear's thick fur. He hummed happily and looked out the window to the forest surrounding the house. He smiled seeing some birds jumping in the branches.

AN: Went with James instead of Matt for 2p Canada cuz it's kinda annoying to have a Matt and Matthew. James understands were Mattie's coming from cuz he's aro while Matthew's ace. Haven't had James in a fic before. At least in this fic. The lyrics are from 'The Other Side' by Woodkid.