Chapter 13
Did he honestly fall asleep? Matthew thought to himself, as he leaned his head on top of his hand and stare at the boy seated beside him.
It was the usual math lesson that day; Ms. Khemet by the board, showing multiple examples and explaining the steps of solving these questions; every single student in the room trying to comprehend and understand what was written before them; Matthew being the obedient one and jotting down all these notes; Gilbert not caring until afterwards so he can get Matthew to help him; being assigned to practice the exercises in the book; etc. Yes, this was just another afternoon math class today.
What am I going to do with you? Matthew thought as he stared at Gilbert, who was completely knocked out cold thanks to the boring instructions they were receiving. Although he did not exactly approve of just ignoring a lesson - especially one that is extremely important-, and he should wake him up, but he couldn't help but let out a small sigh at how he looked. Matthew had to admit, though, Gilbert looked so calm and peaceful -the complete opposite of how he really is- when he's asleep, and when you can actually see his face since his arms are not covering him. He was breathing gently, inhaling and exhaling deeply.
Gilbert's features seemed to be more softened when he's relaxed like that. He kind of looks like a different person to Matthew, actually. He looks much more...younger, Matthew could say. Not to mention he kind of looks...
Cute, Matthew thought, although it took him quite a long time to admit such a thing. If he calls Gilbert cute, it doesn't necessarily means that Matthew likes likes him...right? It just means that he's commenting on his looks, so he felt no attraction to him what so ever...right?
Then why does he feel his heart starting to race all of the sudden as he starts thinking about him more and more?
Must be because of gym. I mean, I did have it moments ago, and we did a lot of running so...that must be the reason, Matthew managed to convince himself such a ridiculous though, breathing in and out slowly in order to calm his beating heart.
He wanted to just get back to the lesson, but he soon found himself being attracted to Gilbert, and instead decided to stare at him...even though that might be the creepiest thing to do.
As Matthew continued to stare more and more, he kind of thought how Gilbert looked a bit innocent like that...which is kind of odd, considering he might be the last person to be innocent. But, no, while he's asleep, he looked like he had such a gentle look to him.
Poor guy, Matthew said to himself, remembering what Gilbert had told him...about his past. Matthew had a bit of pity for him afterwards. It's not a great thing for people to be surrounded by such an environment...especially since their kids and they grew up with it. He kind of understood it, but just a bit. Matthew can't imagine living in the conditions Gilbert was in. He thinks that wouldn't make it through. Or maybe... he would turn out a bit like Gilbert. Not that it's such a terrible thing, it's just the things he got into is. The thought is scary to Matthew.
"I'm pretty sure that everyone completely understands this lesson...right?" Ms. Khemet concluded, receiving a collection of dead mumbles as a response. "Since we've been working on this for a while...we'll be having a test tomorrow!"
"Miss, how many questions will there be?" Lillian asked softly, her hand raised up.
"I don't know," Ms. Khemet simply replied. "But I know that it will be on what we learned so far, which is half of the unit!"
"We learned so much in this unit though! Can't you give us extra time?"
"Better get studying, then," Ms. Khemet said. "Our class is behind schedule with the lessons because I am delaying this test. I'm allowing this period to study more. Do what you wish, but that won't change my decision."
A collection of groans were the response given, and soon Ms. Khemet went back to her desk and busied herself with other work.
Oh maple, Matthew sighed as he leaned back against the chair, tucking some of his locks behind his ear. If tomorrow's the test, then he's sort of worried that Gilbert might not get the newest lesson right away. Matthew knew that he had to take it slow with him. But, they still haven't cover a few things, and they needed extra clarification. Might as well start teaching him now.
"Hey, Gilbert," Matthew gently said, nudging Gilbert's shoulder to wake him up. "Wake up." The boy let out a small groan, before taking an effort to open one of his eyes and raising his head slowly out of his arms. He then inhaled deeply, then let out a small yawn, signifying that he was, indeed, sleeping the whole entire time.
"Good morning," Matthew said, letting out a small chuckle at his blank expression he wore on his face like he was processing his surroundings. "Did you have a nice nap?"
"Yep," Gilbert replied tiredly, stretching out his arms as a lay back against his chair, rubbing his eyes before blinking a few times in order to adjust to the light. His mouth into a small, forced smirk, "It was great, until I was rudely awakened by somebody."
"Well, sorry," Matthew replied with a hint of sarcasm, leaning closer towards him. "Did you hear anything that Ms. K said?"
"No," Gilbert bluntly responded. "Of course not. Why?"
"Oh, she just said we have a test tomorrow. That's all." It took a moment for Gilbert to let that sink in.
"What?"
"Tomorrow's our last test for the unit, and we're going to move on to our new one next week, basically." Another pause stood.
"What! Why?!" Gilbert exclaimed, not believing what he heard. "Birdie, I still don't understand anything about this shit! What am I supposed to do tomorrow! I can't fail a single test or else I'm going to be completely screwed..."
"C-calm down, now," Matthew replied, surprised by his outburst. "You honestly think I'm going to let you fail? Just take out your notebook and we're going to be going through the notes."
"Yeah, okay!" Gilbert said, taking out his book, seemingly prepared for what was to come. It was a bit intriguing to see him seem a bit more...into learning something. But, nevertheless, Matthew did what he would always do- explain, give multiple examples, help him go through the steps for the exercises-.
And all in the while that Gilbert did what he had to do, Matthew just stared at him. Watching his every movement. Noticing the smallest quirks that he would do. Matthew never noticed this before, but Gilbert would do this thing with his hand where if he was concentrating hard, his hand will something to some quick, yet small, twitching motion...Yes, Matthew is fully aware that this is completely creepy of him to note of. But, he just couldn't draw his eyes away. And when he did, it was only when Gilbert suddenly looked up at him, causing Matthew to quickly glanced down to the page from the textbook.
It soon came the time for the final bell of day to signify that it was the end of the day. By then, students were already ready to make a run out the door and forget about everything they learnt at school, Matthew and Gilbert were still sitting at their place, taking up the time in order to help them.
"They're quite weird, don't you think?" Matthew heard one of the students say to another. When Matthew glanced around towards the area of the classroom where majority of the class were waiting to be released, he noticed a group of friends who were staring at them. What are they staring at?
"Who?" Asked the only boy of the group towards a girl with red hair.
"Who else?" The girl replied, tilting her head towards Matthew and Gilbert.
"Why'd you call them weird?" Another girl jumped into the conversation.
"It's not that it's weird...okay, maybe it is kind of weird...They are just...kind of...I don't know, an odd pair?" The other girl replied. "You don't expect it, I guess."
"I'll say," The boy said."You don't expect Matthew to be with a guy like...you know...him...Too quiet, you know? Barely even noticeable."
"Yeah, but those two spent a lot of time together, apparently. They kind of cute together, don't ya think?"
Wait, what?
"Yeah, sort of," the other girl responded. "Although, it's still kind of weird."
"Not as much as seeing Lillian and Natalia."
"But, I don't think that either one of them is a delinquent like Gilbert."
Before Matthew could hear anything else, the bell shrilled through the speakers, and the door was swung wide open as the students quickly shot out the door.
The classroom was empty in only 5 seconds, and all those who were left was Matthew, Gilbert, and Ms. Khemet.
"Oh man...it's the end of the day already?" Gilbert commented, as he looked at the bare room.
"Yes...finally too!" Matthew replied, as he started to place his textbook inside his bag. His cell phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket, and he took it out to find a text message from the usual.
Alfred: Hey dude, I think you have to take the bus by yourself today
Matthew frowned at the text, before typing back.
Matthew: Why?
Alfred: I'm just going to the library with Kiku and Feli to get some books for Science. We might be there for a while. You can come too if you want to, but I don't know if you want to come with me to Dad's house or just go to Papa's
Matthew: No can do. I have a test tomorrow. I was also planning on going to Papa's...why don't we both just go to Papa's for once? It's been a while since he saw you...
Alfred: Idk man. Dad's expecting to see me home when he gets back, I don't think he'll be too happy to know I am going to stay at Papa's...I'll come tomorrow, but not today.
Matthew: Well okay. I'll take the bus alone then. Text you later, maybe?
Alfred: Yeah, later Mattie :)
Oh man, Alfred, Matthew thought disappointingly. He really has disliking of going anywhere alone, to be honest. He's fine with doing so, but he just has prefers to go with someone else -more specifically Alfred- because he just find it more...safer and comfortable.
"Alright, boys, please hurry up," Ms. Khemet said as she leant against the doorway. "I have to lock the door." Matthew immediately got up and headed towards the front of the classroom, leaving Gilbert behind.
"Yeah Ms. K," Gilbert replied, as he started to pack some of his work into his bag. "Hey, Birdie! Wait for me!"
"Do I have to?" Matthew said in a dull tone, although he was only teasing when he said that. He stood at the doorway, alongside Ms. Khemet.
"You two seems to be getting along quite well. More than I expected," Ms. Khemet said to Matthew as they both waited for the tenth grader.
"Yeah, that's true." Matthew replied, glancing towards Gilbert as he did what he was doing.
"How is teaching him going for you? He's not any trouble to you, is he?"
"It's going well," Matthew said. "No, not at all."
"I would have been glad to help him out. But he doesn't seem to pay attention to teachers. I though it'd be better if he worked with another student. And by looking at his past work, he's seeming to do so much better than last year. Better marks."
"Yes, but I think that he can do better..." Matthew said in a sort of whisper tone, like he was saying it more to himself than to the teacher.
"That's true," Ms. Khemet said with a small smile. "Everyone has potential to excel. He can too. But, it's a good start."
"...Ms, you had Gilbert in your class last year, right?"
"Yes, I did. Why?"
"Oh...nothing," Matthew quickly said, not wanting to ask her his question. He wanted to ask about how Gilbert was when he was in her class the previous year, but refrained from asking, knowing that it was rude and nosy of him to ask.
"...He isn't a bad student," Ms. Khemet said, filling in the empty silence between them. "Although he does...cause some trouble...it doesn't necessarily make a bad person. He just...doesn't get the motivation needed."
"Yes...I know..."
"Thank you Matthew."
"For what, Miss?" Matthew asked, a bit confused.
"Well, I guess I kind of forced the task of helping Gilbert to you," she said, letting out a small chuckle. "How...troublesome of me to do."
"It wasn't a burden at all! And you didn't force me...I was completely fine with it."
"You know, Matthew, I honestly though that it wouldn't work but...you two are obviously proving me wrong. Things are running well. Your grades aren't staggering, so that's good too. Keep up the excellent work."
"Okay," Gilbert said as he pushed his chair into his desk, and made his way towards the door. "Let's go Birdie. Bye Miss!"
"Bye Ms. Khemet," Matthew also said as both he and Gilbert walked outside the door.
"Bye you two," Ms. Khemet replied , locking the door before walking down the hallway whilst holding a packet of work in her arm and a bag slung over her shoulder. Matthew and Gilbert went the opposite way, towards the direction of Matthew's locker.
"The hallways are so empty," Matthew commented at the deserted Business wing they were in, as he unlocked his locker and picked up his Business textbook. "What time is it again?"
"It is," Gilbert started, taking out his phone. "Only 3:30."
"And already people left."
"Well, yeah, no one wants to stay at school Birdie. Got to get out the first second you've got one."
"Mhm. Do you have to go pick something up from your locker or...?"
"No. I literally have nothing in there, Birdie."
"...I always wondered, where is your locker even at? I've never been there."
"I've got German as my first class of the day, so it's on the second floor, where the Language wing is."
"Really? I have French in that wing, but I have never seen you there."
"Well, I go to the change room right when the bell rings. I'm not going to stay behind and wait." There was a slight pause amongst them as Matthew finished taking and placing what he had to take/put inside, before Gilbert continued their conversation by bringing up a different issue.
"Hey, shouldn't you hurry up?" Gilbert asked, with a small teasing smirk. "Wouldn't want to keep your brother waiting and worrying about you, now would we?"
"Ha," Matthew let out a small laugh, before replying, "Yeah, we sure wouldn't want to do that. But, today, I'll be taking the bus alone. So I can take as long as I want."
"Really? What happened to that kid?"
"Alfred went to the library with a few of our friends," Matthew replied, closing his locker as the two started venturing down the silent hall.
"Why don't you join him, then?"
"I don't want to. I just want to go straight home," Matthew said with a shrug. "I have to study for that test too."
"I don't think you need to study at all Birdie," Gilbert retorted. "You'll still be passing whether you do the work or not. That's how smart you are. You need no help at all to understand all this shit at school.
"Aw, thanks," Matthew said to the compliment. "But, even if I am 'smart', I still need to study. And sometimes I need help too."
"Yeah, well, I think the only person who really needs help with it is me."
"What, do you still not understand what we're doing?"
"...I kind of do, but I kind of don't..."Gilbert said reluctantly, as if not wanting to admit this to him.
"...You know," Matthew started, a bit slowly. "I can stay behind and help you with it."
"...what happened to going directly home?"
"Ah, well, I might as well, right?" Matthew said, with a small smile. "Besides, I just can't let you take the test without knowing what's happening and fail, can I? Well, I can, but..."
"But..."
"I'm nice, so I'll help you out," Matthew said jokingly.
"That is completely self-proclaimed," Gilbert replied back in a teasing way. "You? Nice? Please, Birdie. Don't be so full of yourself with such false thoughts of thinking that you're all that."
"You're right...that's your job."
"Ouch!," Gilbert said in a fake hurt tone, holding his hand over his heart. "You're so harsh to me, Birdie! Why do you to be that way only to me?" Matthew just had to laugh at his false pain.
"Not only are you harsh, but you have so much attitude, too," Gilbert continued.
"Like you don't have any," Matthew replied back.
"Naw, I have a different attitude. You just have that sassy attitude."
"I'm barely sassy," Matthew said with an eye-roll.
"Oh, and rolling your eyes isn't sassy at all?" Gilbert said, pointing out hos obvious action. Matthew just shook his head, as the reached the bottom of the staircase.
"Anyway," Matthew started. "Do you want some more help with math, or...?"
"Help will be gladly accepted, Birdie. Especially at this time."
"Great," Matthew said, turning one his heels to face directly at Gilbert. "So...where do you want to go?"
"Huh?"
"Well, we need a nice place to study at. We could always stay in the school and maybe study at the library or in the corridors or on the roof..."
"No," Gilbert replied. "I can't stay in this place any longer today, Birdie...Oh, I know! What about we just go to your place."
"What?" Matthew said, not knowing if Gilbert meant it or was just saying random stuff.
"That might not be a bad idea," Gilbert said to himself. "It'd be cool to see what kind of house you live in..."
"Er, I'm going to stay at my Papa's place tonight...It's pretty far...I don't know if you'd want to take the bus for, like, 30 minutes."
"That's not that far." Gilbert said with a shrug. "I live pretty far too."
"But, my Papa will be there too..."
"So?" Gilbert said. "It'd be cool to meet him...unless, you know, he has an issue with you bringing people home. Then, I'd be fine to not go...or do you just not me to go?"
"It's not like he hates it whenever I bring people over," Matthew said. "I don't mind either. I was just thinking...that he has work tonight, so I'm worried that we might make too much noise and wake him up..."
"What noise can we make while we're studying for something like math?" Gilbert exaggerated.
"Well...okay...since you want to," Matthew said reluctantly. He didn't have any issue at all with Gilbert coming over. It was just that...it was a bit odd for him to have someone from his school coming in. Especially since he doesn't know what his Papa does at home...what if he was drinking like he did? What if he was completely drunk? Matthew doesn't know exactly when he does his antics.
"Great!" Gilbert replied. "Let's go!" Matthew simply nodded as the two made their way out the school grounds into the streets. Matthew saw a few students screwing around on the sidelines, and most of them were just going to the mall to also loiter around.
"So, which bus to we have to take?" Gilbert asked, glancing around the area.
"We have to take..." Matthew pointed across the road. "That one. We're going to go this direction. I live all the way down there."
"No way," Gilbert said a small laugh. "You take this bus too?"
"What, do you live down there?" Matthew asked, a bit surprised.
"Well, yeah," Gilbert said. "Uh...do you know that big park down there? The one with this big forest and trail that leads to a pond? There's a bridge around there, and the train usually goes underneath that bridge. What's it called...Oh! I think it's called North-West Park or something like that."
"Yeah," Matthew replied. "It's just nearby my house."
"No way Birdie!" Gilbert replied with a laugh. "I live in a neighbourhood nearby that place! It's like, further down the road, but it's the closest park to my house! I usually go there."
"I always go with my brother," Matthew said. "Funny I've never seen you there before."
"Well, I sometimes go there when it's really late and nobody's there," Gilbert said with a grin. "But, I never knew you lived nearby! Maybe we can just meet up there sometimes for the hell of it."
"And do what?" Gilbert shrugged.
"Just hang out."
"Would you really want to hang out with me?"
"Sure. Why the hell not?"
"I'm not the first person to come up to mind if you wanted to hang out with anyone." Which was completely true in Matthew's case. He...never did have any friends to hang out with. He only mostly stuck with Alfred, and only left with him, and only him. He got used to having Alfred's presence with him whenever he went outside. So, it was kind of odd for Matthew that he wasn't here. Not that it mattered now. He had Gilbert, so that fine.
"Don't hang out with people much?" Gilbert asked.
"Not really. I just stick with my brother."
"And when he's not with you? Like, on the weekends or something?"
"Then," Matthew started slowly. "I just stay home."
"And do nothing?"
"Yeah, kind of."
"Hm," Gilbert muttered. "You know, if you have nothing to do at home, we can go somewhere."
"And where exactly?"
"I don't know," Gilbert said. "Anywhere you want to. I don't care. I just want to hang out with you sometimes."
"Why?" Matthew muttered to himself, but Gilbert heard.
"Why? Because I want to~" Gilbert said in an attempt of a cutesy tone, making Matthew giggle to himself.
"Oh hey!" Gilbert exclaimed, pointing down the road. "There's the bus! Let's hurry hope, Birdie!" Gilbert said, while grabbing on to Matthew's arm and pulling him forward.
"A-ah!" Matthew exclaimed at the sudden contact. "H-hold on!"
After making a quick dash across the road to the other side where the bus stop was, the duo were able to catch the bus before it could pass by. During the entire trip down the road, Gilbert and Matthew were talking about the oddest things to keep them occupied, and so that there weren't any odd silence between them.
They finally reached the stop, and they both got off, then walked straight into Matthew's quiet neighbourhood.
"Huh," Gilbert said to himself as he looked at all the house. "So this is where your house is! Quiet area, isn't it? Nice houses, thought"
"It's always quiet here," Matthew said. "Not a lot of kids live around here."
"Complete opposite where I live," Gilbert commented, before there was a buzzing in his pocket. He fished out his cell phone and answered.
"'Ello?" He said, and Matthew heard sound coming over the line, but they were inaudible. After a moment, Gilbert let out a small laugh, before replying in German, "Ja, West, I'm going to come home late today...why? I'm just out...with whom? With Matthew." Matthew stared blankly at him, wondering why he was using his name.
"Tell Oppa that," Gilbert continued, with a bit of a sharp tone. "I'm just chilling with him. I won't be out too late...okay, okay! Bye." Gilbert immediately cut the line on whomever he was talking to.
"That was Ludwig," Gilbert told him, shoving his cell into his pocket.
"What did he say?" Matthew asked, before thinking that that must have been extremely nosy of him. Although, Gilbert didn't seem to care.
"He just wanted to know when I was coming back," Gilbert said with a small annoyed groan. "I'm in a bit of trouble with my grandpa, so I got to get my ass back home before the sun goes down."
"What did you do to get in trouble?" Matthew asked, and saw Gilbert suddenly sounding serious and had a straight face
"I kind of got into a fight with him last night...again." Gilbert said, and you could hear a small hint of disappointment in his voice. Matthew didn't know how to answer to that, so he didn't reply right away, until he spotted his house wedged between the others.
"There it is," Matthew said while pointing in front of him. "I live right there."
They continued to venture down the road till they reached Matthew's front door. Matthew slowly unlocked the door, and silently shut it behind him, not wanting to make any noise.
"Damn, Birdie," Gilbert noted, while taking off his shoes at the front area. "Nice place you've got here!"
"It's not that grand," Matthew said in a more hushed tone as he did the same.
"I don't know, but it has this nice...cozy feeling, you know?" Gilbert said, before venturing down the hallway leading to the living room.
"Well, you may as well make yourself comfortable," Matthew replied, placing his set of keys on the counter top, before following behind Gilbert into the living room, where he found the albino already making use of the sofa by lying right on top of it.
"I already see you have made yourself at home," Matthew commented, dropping his bag right on top of Gilbert, receiving a soft gasping sound from Gilbert at the sudden weight.
"Ugh!" he groaned, pushing his bag off of him. "What the fuck do you carry in here, Matthew?!"
"Just my books," Matthew simply replied, walking into the kitchen. "Do you want anything to drink?"
"Like what?" Gilbert asked, sitting up straight and peering through the entrance of the kitchen.
"Tea?" Matthew started, as he filled a kettle with water and set it on top of the stove. "Coffee?"
"Ehh," Gilbert replied. "Do you have any soda?"
"Yeah," Matthew replied, walking up to the fridge and took out a can of pop out and tossed it towards Gilbert.
"Op!" He said, quickly catching it. "Danke."
"De rien," Matthew replied back in French in turn of Gilbert replying in German.
"What?" Gilbert said, not understanding this simple gesture in French.
"No problem," Matthew said, as he walked out of the kitchen to the living room, seating himself on the couch beside Gilbert. "Or, you're welcome."
"Is it...French?" Gilbert asked, raising an eyebrow inquiringly.
"Yep," Matthew replied, pulling his knees to his chest. Gilbert then turned around to face across the sofa where Matthew sat, and crossed his legs a bit.
"You have that accent that they have, Birdie...I'm guessing you're fluent in the language."
"Yeah. I've been speaking the language since I was little. My Papa is from France, and he speaks the language a lot with us, so I started to talk to him with it."
"...How do you say it again?"
"De rien," Matthew repeated, using a thick accent.
"De rien?" Gilbert said, having a bit of an odd accent when he said it, having a more sharper edge. "Does that sound right?"
"Yeah," Matthew said, smiling at how he said the word. "You sound okay."
"Hmm," Gilbert hummed, looking like he was thinking. "How do you say...Thank you? In French."
"Merci."
"Merci," Gilbert repeated, again having a bit of an accent. He glanced down his can of soda and looked back up to Matthew while pointing to the can. "Merci for the soda, Birdie."
"You would say, 'Merci pour le soda'." Matthew said.
"Merci pouur le soda," Gilbert repeated, opening the can, before he could he a creaking sound coming from the staircase, then slow footsteps walking down the hallway. From where Matthew was sitting, he could see his Papa slowly walked up towards the living room, peering through the entrance to see who it was.
"Mathieu?" Francis asked, glancing up to Matthew, then down do Gilbert, with a questionable look. Upon hearing his voice, Gilbert quickly turned around, and they both made eye contact with one another.
"U-uh," Matthew started, breaking that odd silence amongst them. "Papa...this is, um, my friend...Gilbert."
"Hello, sir," Gilbert said, and Matthew couldn't help but found that awkward.
"A-ah," Francis started, before recognising the name. He then had a knowing smile on his face while continuing, "Nice to meet you Gilbert." Francis then glanced down at what he was wearing, before looking at Matthew.
"Uh, je vais aller changer a quelque chose... d'autre. J'ai du travaille ce soir et...je vais vous laisser seule maintenant...Je m'excuse d'interrompre toi et ton...'amie'... (Uh, I'm going to go change into something...else. I have work tonight and...I'm just going to leave you guys alone now...Sorry for interrupting you and your...'friend'...)" The way Francis was looking at the two of them and the way he said those words made it feel like he was getting some sort of wrong idea in his head.
Upon realising what that idea might have been, Matthew felt heat starting to rise to his face, and he was going to say something in protest, but Francis decided to turn around and go back upstairs to change.
"That's your other dad?" Gilbert asked, a bit hesitantly.
"Yes...why?" Matthew asked, intrigued by the confused look on his face.
"No way! He looks... I thought that he was an older brother at first," Gilbert said, with a small chuckle. "If you didn't call him dad, then I wouldn't have known. "
"Really?" Matthew asked, tucking some strands of his hair behind his ear.
"Yeah. He looks young. You guys look so much alike, too. "
"A lot of people say that."
"Yeah. I guess it's because you both have wavy hair...and maybe eyes, but yours are purple. But...you two aren't blood-related though...right?"
"N-No, Matthew said, feeling a bit awkward about the question. It's not one you would be asked everyday. "Not a bit. It's just coincidence that I look similar to him."
"Yeah. But, that's pretty cool, Birdie," Gilbert said, flashing his signature grin. "What did he say just now?"
"Oh, uh, he just said that he had work tonight so he'll get ready upstairs..." Matthew said, not mentioning how he said he'd leave those two...alone...and saying sorry for interrupting them...like he was getting the impression that those two had a...thing going on between them. Which is a completely ridiculous idea in Matthew's opinion.
Matthew? Have a thing for Gilbert? Ha! Yeah right. What a hilarious joke!
"Ohh," Gilbert said, nodding. "Right...he works at that bar place..."
"Yeah," Matthew replied, before leaning down to his bag and took out his notebook. "Yes, so, uh, what did you need help with in Math?"
"What, are we just going to jump into it already?" Gilbert asked, taking a sip from the can he held in his hand.
"Well, yeah. The test is tomorrow, and, if I remember correctly, you're supposed to get home before sunset," Matthew said, raising an eyebrow in question.
"Yeah, Birdie," Gilbert said in a bit of a whine. "But we can have a bit of time just to chill. Then we can get to studying."
"Or, how about we just get through all your doubts first, then we can just hang around for a bit. Might as well do what you have to do first then keeping it for later."
"...Geez, Birdie," Gilbert huffed. "You're just like Ludwig. So...responsible and orderly and organised. It's so annoying."
"It's more like it's a good habit to be like that. It is useful if you are responsible and orderly and organised," Matthew replied back, trying not to sound mad from that comment about how it was annoying. He let out a small, frustrated sigh. "Now, what do you not understand in this unit."
Now it was Gilbert's turn to let out a frustrated sigh, knowing that what Matthew had just said was set and done. There was no point in arguing. He leaned down to get the textbook from Matthew's bag (he barely brings any of his textbooks around with him), and started to flip through the pages.
"Okay," Gilbert started, shuffling himself closer to Matthew to show him the pages. "I understand all of the basic shit, but I don't know what to apply when they ask you questions like these." Matthew took the textbook and turned it over so he can actually read the words on the page, while laying it on his lap.
"Which ones?" Matthew asked, glancing over at Gilbert to point them out.
When he asked this questions, Gilbert immediately moved closer to the blonde, to the point that they were sitting right next to each other and there was literally no distance between their legs. This may be the closest they ever gotten to each other -distance wise-. Gilbert leg lightly brushed against Matthew's, causing Matthew to feel this odd sensation in his stomach, and his heart started to slowly pick up it's pace. He couldn't but suddenly feel awkward all of the sudden. And it didn't help that Gilbert was leaning up against him to point out the questions.
"I get this shit," Gilbert said, pointing out one section, before going to the next. "I don't all of these, though."
"U-uh-huh," Matthew managed to say, before gulping. Gilbert was still sitting up against him. He was expecting him to move away a bit, but the older one didn't move.
Matthew wanted him to move a bit, but something else is telling him to let him be, that this is an extremely enjoyable thing and should be taken advantage of and not brushed away. Matthew decided to ignore the foreign sensation that lingered, and instead try concentrating on the question. But, Matthew found himself not being able to concentrate at all.
"Uh," Matthew started, clearing his throat a bit. "Do you want to move to the table in the kitchen? It'd be better there than sitting here..." If they did that, they can just sit across from each other, and there will have no contact between them.
"Naw," Gilbert said. "It's all right. I prefer sitting here."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive Birdie."
Maple, Matthew thought as he forced a small smile and returned his attention to the page. He managed to actually process the information on the page, and he proceeded to explain to Gilbert what to do, all in the while of trying to make as much minimal eye contact as he can, since he noticed that Gilbert was staring at him more than the paper where he wrote down the step-by-step procedure.
"Do you get it?" Matthew asked Gilbert, tapping the tip of the pencil he held onto the paper. Gilbert loomed at the page for a minute before replying.
"Wait...that's literally all you have to do for all of these types of questions?"
"Yep," Matthew replied, before flipping the page to the exercises. "Here...do these. They're literally the same one I just showed you." Gilbert read the question once. Then he blinked twice.
"Uhh," he mumbled, taking the textbook so it can also be on his lap and he took a page from the notebook. "Can I use your pencil?"
"I don't know," Matthew said teasingly. "Can you?"
"Honestly Birdie?" Gilbert said with a small laugh. "May I use your pencil, Matthew?"
"Here," Matthew said as he showed it to him to take. Gilbert took it, and their hands slightly brushed off each other in a gentle manner. Matthew sort of froze, but Gilbert proceeded to do what he was supposed to do.
Matthew gulped a bit, once again feeling a sensation run through him. He couldn't help but gaze at Gilbert from the corner of his eyes. They were so close to each other. What was that scent Matthew smelled? It smells like cologne...Matthew realised it must have been Gilbert's cologne...Damn...he didn't smell this kind before...It was completely new but... Matthew found himself wanting more of it. He smells so nice~ Matthew thought, wanting to lean in to him, but he was able to catch himself before he moved.
No, Matthew! Stop thinking this way! Matthew thought to himself, and continued to scold himself. He narrowly glanced at Gilbert to see what step he was at, but instead found himself more attracted to Hilbert than the work he was doing.
The look in his eyes. The way that his eyebrows were furrowed in sheer concentration. The way his finger did that small twitching. The small foot-tapping he was doing. The way his cologne smells. The way he slightly bit his bottom lips.
The sound of the kettle whistling suddenly interrupted Matthew's daze, and he realised that he had left the water to boil to make himself some tea. Grateful (or, as much as he would like to deny it, disappointed) that the kettle was calling him away from the couch, he got off the couch and into the kitchen.
"Gilbert," Matthew called in the middle of making his cup of tea. "Do you want anything or..."
"Hmm?" Gilbert hummed, sounding like he wasn't paying much attention to him. "No, it's fine."
Just as Matthew replied with an okay, he heard footsteps making their way towards the kitchen. Francis glanced over at Gilbert, who was still writing down his work, then peered through the kitchen's entrance to look at Matthew.
"Qu'est-ce qu'il fait? (What is he doing?)" Francis asked as he walked in, taking an apple and went to the sink to run it under the tap.
"Math," Matthew replied, noticing his Papa was in his uniform. "Pourquoi as-tu deja t'habille, Papa? (Why are you already dressed, Papa?)"
"Une des travailleurs vennais pas aujourd'hui. Ils m'ont donne son quart du travaille ce soir, (One of the workers isn't coming today. They gave me her shift tonight.)" Francis replied, before taking a bite out of the apple.
"Ohh, Matthew mumbled. "...Do you want some tea?"
Francis smiled at Matthew. "Yes, please. That would be lovely."
As Matthew proceeded to make his father a cup of tea, Francis made his way to the living room. He sat on a small couch that laid against the wall on the side of where Gilbert was. There was a small silence that befell them for a moment.
"So," Francis started off by saying, drawing Gilbert's attention. "You're Gilbert...right?"
"Yes..." Gilbert said a bit slowly, as if unsure of how this will end up as. "Yes...sir..."
"You don't need to call me 'sir'," Francis said with a amused expression on his face. "Just call me by my name...Francis."
"Oh, okay, uh...Francis..." Francis laughed a bit at how unsure Gilbert sounded.
"You sound like you are afraid of me," Francis commented. "Do I look scary to you?"
"No, no, not at...all," Gilbert said. "Barely."
"Hm," Francis mumbled. "I overheard you said you thought I was Matthew's brother." Gilbert let out a small, nervous laugh.
"Haha, yeah..." Gilbert replied. "That's what I thought at first."
"Mh-hm," Francis said with a smile. "I'll take your comment as a compliment."
There was a slight pause.
"So, tell me Gilbert," Francis said. "How did you come to meet my Matthew?"
"He's from my Math class," Matthew barged into the conversation as he brought his cup of tea.
"Ohh," Francis said, as if he had just heard about this. "Really?"
"Ja," Gilbert added in. "We sit beside each other in class."
"That's...interesting," Francis said as he took a sip of his tea, giving Matthew this look.
"Papa-" Matthew wanted to tell his father right then and there that he was not his boyfriend (in French of course...he doesn't want Gilbert right there), but Francis interrupted him.
"Cheri?" Francis interrupted. "I couldn't seem to find my set of keys anywhere...do you might know where it is?"
"U-uh, no, but I can give you mine if you want," Matthew said. "Hold on one second." Matthew exited the living room, leaving Francis and Gilbert alone.
"How did you get to know Matthew, Gilbert?" Francis asked Gilbert curiously.
"Uh, I wasn't doing so good in Math, so he ended up being sort of like my tutor for Math. But, we started hanging out a bit and... that's really how it happened."
"Gilbert, what grade are you in?"
"U-uh," Gilbert stammered, flustered by the question. "10." He was ready to see a look of disapproval on Francis' face, but, much to Gilbert's surprise, he seemed indifferent to this.
"Ah. So you're about 15 yes?" Francis said. "It is just out of curiosity. You look quite old to be hanging out with Matthew so I assumed older. How is Matthew at school?"
"What do you mean by that, sir-"
"Nope," Francis said. "It's Francis, remember?"
"Francis..." Gilbert repeated.
"Right," Francis said cheerfully. "Well, what I mean by that is, well...Matthew isn't exactly the social type. It's rough for someone like him to be surrounded by a lot of people. He didn't talk to anyone when he was younger...didn't attempt to make any friends either."
"Well, he does have other people that he hangs out with."
"Yes, but, you're the only one he ever mentioned to me." A light pink blush started to form on Gilbert's face, and he seemingly didn't know how to respond at first.
"A-ah, well..." Gilbert started, before stopping.
"You two aren't dating, right?"
"W-what!? No-"
"You know," Francis interrupted, before drinking some more tea. "I don't mind at all. You have my permission to if you want to."
"Ah, but I don't go that way-"
"Well, that's an obvious lie," Francis said, raising an eyebrow.
"...how can you even tell?"
"Intuition," he replied simply. "Nothing wrong with being that...is there?"
"No...just..." Gilbert stopped his sentence, seeming like he had something on his mind.
"You're quite an interesting young boy," Francis commented. "A nice one, too."
"Me? Nice?"
"Why do you sound surprised?"
"Uh, not everyone says that about me. Especially people who just met me."
"Really? You seem like a nice one. That's good, especially for Matthew. He needs someone kind."
"Papa?" They heard Matthew said as he walked into the living room. He held up a set of keys. "Here. I found yours."
"Ah, thank you Matthew," Francis said, setting his tea on the coffee table, then getting off the couch to take the keys. "It's going to take me a while to get there, so I'll be leaving now. You'll be fine, right?"
"Of course," Matthew replied, with a small smile.
"Then I'll be back by 3." Francis leaned over to plant a quick kiss on Matthew's cheek, before turning to Gilbert. "It was nice meeting you Gilbert."
"Same here...Francis." Francis did a slight nod, before making his way to the front. They both heard the door open, then closed. A small silence ensued, before Matthew sat on the couch, keeping a small distance away from him.
"Were you two talking?" Matthew asked, glancing over at Gilbert's work.
"Yeah," Gilbert said.
"About what?"
"...Nothing, really. He just asked what grade I was in and other small talk." Gilbert said. There was a slight pause, before he said, "I think he's a cool guy."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Gilbert said with a grin. "Kind of hard to believe that he...you know..."
"Is an alcoholic?"
"...yeah...but, he's a nice person."
"I know," Matthew said. "He's a really nice person. Especially when he's...not drunk, like he would be."
They didn't speak for a moment, and an eerie silence crept in.
"Are you finished?" Matthew asked, pointing out to his notebook.
"Yes," Gilbert said, tossing the notebook gently to his lap. "Here. Check it over for me...please."
"Okay," Matthew said, looking through his work and comparing the answers.
"Well," Matthew mumbled to himself.
"What?" Gilbert asked as he leaned in towards him.
"You got them all right," Matthew said, passing back the notebook.
"Seriously?" Gilbert said. "I thought that I did some of them wrong."
"And why'd you think that? You knew the steps and stuff."
"Yeah, but I'm not the smartest person there is... I'm not capable of doing things either."
"No," Matthew said, sounding a bit serious. "I'm pretty sure we both know that you're smart. You just need practice and getting into better studying habits. But, you're capable of doing things. Maybe more than you think."
"Whoah, Birdie," Gilbert said with a laugh. "No need to be all serious over my small comment. But I guess that's a good motivation."
"Well, people do need a bit of motivation in their life." Gilbert didn't say anything, but just had this smile on his face...an honest one. Not like those smirks he would make. He went back to work for the next hour. Matthew was also doing a bit of studying in order to freshen up his memory.
In the midst of this small study 'session', they were doing a bit of small talk here and there, until they ended up just stopping with the studying and started to have a conversation until Matthew noted the time.
"It's going to get dark soon," Matthew commented, glancing out the window. "Shouldn't you be going home?"
"Yeah," Gilbert said as he was in the middle of going through Matthew's phone. Matthew was completely reluctant at letting Gilbert use his phone at first, but he soon gave in. "I'll leave in 5 minutes, maybe...Oh?"
"What is it?"
"I'm looking through your music," Gilbert said. "Do you listen to any bands?"
"Uh, I listen to bands like Mariana's Trench and Hedley," Matthew replied.
"They're alright," Gilbert said. "You have a bunch of different genres here Birdie. LIGHTS? Avril Lavigne? Tegan and Sarah? The Weeknd? And...oh, you have French songs too? Coeur de Pirate?"
"I'm not choosy with the type of music," Matthew responded, as Gilbert started playing random songs from his playlist.
"Hm-hm~" Gilbert hummed along to the various songs, before there was a ding sound that came from the phone. "Ooh! You have a text, Birdie!"
"From who?" Matthew asked, leaning over to look at the screen.
"Your lovely brother, of course," Gilbert said, pressing on the message button.
"Don't go snooping through my messages," Matthew said, taking the phone out of his hand. Matthew merely glanced at the screen, and decided that it would be best if he messaged him back later. He didn't want Gilbert to try texting him like last time.
"Well, since we're finished with our studying, you can go home now," Matthew said as he got off the sofa.
"What, do you not want me here?" Gilbert asked.
"Yeah," Matthew simply responded. "I'm tired of having you here."
"Mmm...I can't get up Birdie," Gilbert said as he lay on the couch, and his body sunk further in the cushions. Matthew sighed at his attitude, and he held out both his hands.
"Here," Matthew said, grabbing hold of Gilbert's hand. He was planning on just yanking him off his couch- he wasn't as weak as others may perceive him as.
"Are you going to try pulling me up?" Gilbert asked, although he already knew.
In an instead, Matthew used as much force as possible and he was able to pull Gilbert off the couch- much to the other's surprise. However, maybe Matthew pulled too hard, because Gilbert ended up almost tripping and topple on top of Matthew.
"Whoa!" Matthew exclaimed, as he was able to hold on to Gilbert so that neither of them lost balance. Unfortunately, that ended up with them being face to face with one another. Literally. As in, their noses were almost touching to one another.
To add it, Matthew was holding to Gilbert's shoulders so he didn't topple him over. They were like that for a moment; their eyes were staring into one another, processing what was going on. Matthew was completely captured by his pair of crimson eyes. The way that Gilbert was staring at him with made it seem like he was seeing through him...it was enchanting. He could have continued to stay, as he was if he hadn't realised the distance amongst them, and the awkward position they were in.
"Ah," Matthew muttered to himself, slightly pushing Gilbert away, and he could feel his face start heating up again. Stop it, Matthew, he thought. Don't you dare blush! Matthew glanced over towards Gilbert, who was looking away from hi, and he was cover his mouth, also realising their position. Was he...blushing? No way. Not Gilbert.
"Um," Gilbert started, clearing his throat. "Uhh, I guess I'll be leaving now, then. Ah...where..."
"The front door," Matthew said pointing down the hallway.
"Right," Gilbert said, as he took his bag and started making his way down the hallway. Matthew was behind him.
"I-I'll walk you to the bus stop, if you like," Matthew said, although he really didn't want to after that odd moment.
"Nah, it's alright. I know where it is."
"What if you get lost?" Matthew said teasingly.
"Me? Lost? Yeah, right," Gilbert said with a smirk. He then paused, before playfully ruffled Matthew's hair, like he would do just to tease Matthew by treating him like a kid. "I'll see you tomorrow Birdie."
Matthew sort of did a huff when Gilbert did that, but he had to smile, and let out a small laugh, "Yeah I'll see you tomorrow."
Gilbert nodded, and he walked out the door. Matthew watched as he walked down the stairs that led to the porch, and did a small wave, before closing the door. Then he covered his face with his hands, as he took a deep breath.
Calm down, Matthew said, wanting his heart to stop beating so fast. Why are you doing this around him? It's just Gilbert. That's the problem. It's Gilbert that it happened around. He had that feeling before around him.
Why is it that whenever they make the slightest body contact, Matthew feels like his heart is going to explode? Why does his stomach feel so weird? Why does he feel this sort of...attraction to the boy?
It's not possible to have a crush on someone whom you've only known for a month...right? There has to be some sort of universal rule about it...it should be impossible...right?
Maybe if he stopped thinking about it so much, then he wouldn't be catching all these feelings. Yeah...that might be the best thing to do. Especially at the moment.
Oh, right! Matthew thought. Alfred texted me...maybe I should just chat with him. And with that, Matthew shoved all those thoughts in the back of his head as he tried to enjoy the rest of his evening.
Although, he was sure he can't ignore those feelings for long.
A/N: Yes, so, I really felt the need to update for this story, and I decided that maybe this should be good...for now. Haha, I feel like Matthew is so stubborn in this...And I'm not too sure about the French...
Thank you readers so much for reading, favouriting, following, and reviewing on this story! I hope you enjoyed this chapter (although it wasn't spectacular but...I'll see if I can write something more interesting)! Until the next update, this is Light-Blue Flower signing off :)