Okey-dokey my lovelies! Here we go again!

I'm so sorry I'm late. My internet totally died on me again.

Many, many thanks to my wonderful reviewers;

Hornet394, I'm glad you like the HongIce. And Liechtenstein is just wonderful, isn't she. So sweet and innocent. Hehehe… Switzerland won't know what hit him.
The awkward moment when you spell Liechtenstein right and Switzerland wrong…
And you'll find out about the Baltics and Russia soon enough.

rubydiaz98, I'm glad you liked Poland's proposal, even if I do feel bad saying that…poor Poland, he got laughed at! Anyway, glad you liked the chappie.

Many thanks also go out to the same rubydiaz98 and to MirrowLight for following and favoriting, you guys rock!

R & R guys, hope you enjoy. As per usual; I own nothing.

Without further delay, I give you chapter 14!

Chapter 14: Their Worries

Anniliese stroked Antonio's hair; the car crash had broken both of his legs and fractured one of his shoulders, he smiled at her through a haze of painkillers.

"I'm okay, really." He told her, the skin around his eyes tight with pain. The door opened and Gilberta and Francis tumbled through.

"Antonio!" They cried together.

He grinned, "hola," he winced and put the hand of his good arm to his side, "they wont let me see Lovi," he complained.

Gilberta smirked, "well I happen to know a certain Italian who threatened to set the mafia on this place if they didn't let her see you right now."

Lovina marched into the room, or tried to; she stumbled and slammed into the doorframe. Hissing, she pressed a hand to her bandaged head "Antonio," she cried, staggering forwards, hands outstretched, with a cry, he reached for her two, gasping in pain as he used his injured arm.

She collapsed against him, falling forwards against the bed. Antonio pulled her close with his good arm and buried his face in her hair. It was the cutest thing Anniliese had ever seen in her life, cuter than husky puppies frolicking in the snow, she decided. But maybe not as cute as Lili.

"I'm okay guys," the Spaniard said to his friends, his voice muffled by the Italian's hair.

Lovina pulled back and Antonio touched the bandage wrapped around her head and the ten stitches it covered. The other car had slammed into Antonio's side so Lovina had walked away with relatively minor injuries. She had to have ten stitches in her head where it had slammed into the car and there was a bandage wrapped around her right forearm but she was otherwise unscathed. Antonio, who had been driving when the drunk driver slammed into them, had not been so lucky.

Then again, Anniliese reflected, he'd been luckier then the other driver whose car had continued on after clipping theirs and smashed into a wall, the guy hadn't been wearing his seatbelt and had gone through the windshield… into the wall.

Anniliese sighed, a lost life was always sad but when it was taken so pointlessly it was…

"Pathetic…" she sighed, Gilberta glanced at her but seemed to understand that she wasn't talking about Antonio and Lovina and let her be.

Dimitri touched her shoulder, she looked up at him, he motioned at Nickolas, seated by the door, fast asleep. They'd accompanied her to the hospital, Dimitri was concerned for his classmates, or his teacher's friends as he saw these two and Nickolas had driven them here.

They'd been here for several hours before they were allowed to see Antonio, Lovina's shrieks of rage as they refused to let her see the Spaniard kept them company he whole time.

"I'm going to take him home," Dimitri said, Anniliese nodded and Dimitri walked over to Nickolas and picked him up bridal style, it was almost comical since Dimitri was the smaller of the two, albeit only slightly, but Anniliese was just impressed he could lift Nickolas so easily. The Bulgarian male stirred slightly but didn't awaken. Anniliese knew what a light sleeper he was, he must feel very comfortable with Dimitri, Anniliese thought with a slight smile.

She felt her own eyelids begin to droop, it had been a long day and now it was very late. Or very early, depending on your point of view.

Anniliese opened her violet eyes as Antonio touched her hand, "sorry I ruined your birthday amor," he rasped, it seemed Lovina had fallen asleep too. Anniliese stood and pulled the blanket on Antonio's bed over both of them.

"No." She whispered, brushing Lovina's hair away from her face and kissing Antonio's brow. "You're alive. This the best birthday I ever could've asked for." Well it went without saying that a birthday where no one got hurt at all would've been even better but you could never have everything in life.

She shook Gilberta and Francis awake, "come on, I'm driving you both home."

Dimitri had taken Nickolas home in his car, Anniliese's was still at her house but she'd ended up with the Bulgarian's keys somewhere along the way.

Pulling them out she and Francis half-dragged, half-carried Gilberta to the Bulgarian's green BMW and the three of them tumbled inside. Francis gave her his address and she took off. While they were in the car, Gilberta stirred.

"Huh?" The albino straightened and rubbed her eyes, "where am I? What are we doing here?" She asked; looking around, true incomprehension in her eyes.

"We're coming back from the hospital, ma cherie; your Anna is driving us home." Francis replied from his seat next to her, he leaned forwards to give Anniliese directions.

"Huh? Why were we at the hospital?" Gilberta asked, Anniliese mentally rolled her eyes, she knew Gilberta was always bad when she woke up in the mornings but she didn't know she was this bad.

"We were visiting Toni and my dear cousin Lovina, don't you remember?" Francis said, his small smirk said he was probably thinking something similar to what Anniliese was thinking.

"WHAT! Why were Toni and Lovi at the hospital?!" Gilberta cried, Francis began explaining everything to her again patiently, Anniliese tuned them out, Gilberta must've been more tired and stressed then they'd thought.

"Oh yeah, I remember now," Gilberta said unconvincingly.

Anniliese actually did roll her eyes this time, "ponder it a while honey, it'll come back to you," she sighed.

Gilberta giggled, "yeah, my bad."

The pulled up at Francis's house and the blond thanked Anniliese and bade them both goodbye. He got out of the couch and was halfway up the long driveway when the light flickered on and the front door opened.

Arthurine stood there, wearing a pale cream nightgown, her long hair loose and flowing around her. She and Francis exchanged a few words when he reached the door and then Arthurine turned to wave tiredly at the two of them before Francis raised a hand in farewell and ushered her inside, the light flicked off, Anniliese sighed.

Her slender hands tightened on the steering wheel, "let's get you home," she told her friend.

Gilberta nodded, "bruder is waiting for me. And he's got Felici too."

When they reached Gilberta's house Ludwig ran out with a hysterical Feliciana, Kiku on their heels.

Anniliese got out of the car too and Feliciana threw herself into her arms. Anniliese stroked her caramel hair, shushing her gently, "it's alright, they're alright."

Feliciana's shoulders shook and her chest heaved with her sobs, Anniliese turned her away into Ludwig's arms and he wrapped them comfortingly, if awkwardly, around her.

Anniliese said her goodbyes to them to and returned to Nickolas's car. She would have to take return it to him. Tomorrow. Or later today, whatever. She shook her head and drove off, she was almost at her house when she remembered, there was no way Dimitri could know where Nickolas lived, so how could he have taken Nickolas home?

Well, he could've. Just not to Nickolas's home. Anniliese pulled up in her own driveway and fished her phone out of the pocket of her dress and dialled, she didn't have Dimitri's number, but she did have Nickolas's.

"Hello Professor Edelstein," Dimitri greeted.

"Did you kidnap my best friend?" She accused.

He chuckled, "oh professor, you wound me, kidnap is such a strong word. I prefer to think that I simply took him without attaining permission."

"Where is he?"

"He's at my house; he's fine, if that's what you're asking." Dimitri replied.

"Define 'fine'," said Anniliese, Dimitri chuckled again.

"Where do you live? I'm coming to get him," Anniliese sighed and made to start the car again.

"That's unnecessary, my dear, he can stay with me, I have plenty of room. And it would be such a shame to move him again. He's exhausted."

'Well…" Anniliese hesitated; Nickolas won't like this when he wakes up.

Dimitri chuckled again, "Nickolas is a big boy, he can take care of himself. Unless you doubt my honourable intentions?"

Well when he said it like that. "Alright. I'll trust you this time Dimitri." She let her voice take on a warning tone at the end of her sentence, Nickolas was he friend.

"Understood. I'll see you tomorrow."

"So you're coming. I see. I knew you'd see things my way." She hung up without giving Dimitri a chance to reply to that. Serves him right. She thought. He'd caused her more trouble than the rest of her class combined.

Far away at his humble two-bedroom home, Dimitri Drakulya sank deeper into a beige armchair, pulling his knees up and resting his chin on them, and staring at the figure lying on his guest bed.

"This is not how I imagined spending my Saturday afternoon," he muttered, setting Nickolas's phone on his bedside table. He stood and turned off the lamp, slipping out of the room silently.

Anniliese set her glasses on her bedside table when her phone went off, "who's texting me now?" She wondered aloud.

She checked the message.

I heard what happened from a friend. Are you alright?

-V

Anniliese raised an eyebrow. Unless she was much mistaken, Vash had just texted her. At roughly four in the morning.

How on Earth did he-? Anniliese shook her head, I'm not even surprised.

I'm fine. And Antonio and Lovina will be too. Thank you Vash.

Anniliese seriously hoped this was Vash now.

She waited for a few minutes and there was no reply, definitely Vash, she switched her lamp off and lay down. If she wasn't asleep before her head hit the pillow, it was a pretty close run thing.

Luka Bondervik tapped her fingernail against the tabletop, she was worried. It wasn't worry for Lovina and Antonio that kept her up until this time of the morning, she didn't know what had happened to them and wouldn't find out until Monday's lesson. No, it was a different worry that kept her awake.

It was Emil.

Her beloved younger brother had spent the afternoon and most of the evening at their next door neighbour's house with one of their neighbours, his classmate Leon Wang.

It wasn't this in particular that bothered Luka. She was happy Emil was socializing and was glad it was with one of the kids from next door. She seriously didn't understand how they could have a group of six young adults living next door to them and not be friends with any of them.

So it wasn't the fact that he was spending time with a friend that was bothering her so much. It was how he had been acting when he had come home.

He had been happy. Not 'I'm-singing-in-the-rain-as-stupid-as-Mathais-happ y with sunshine, lollypops and rainbows everywhere. Just happy. He had even smiled when he told Luka where he'd been. That was something she hadn't seen in a while. He was genuinely smiling.

Again, this, while rare, was not cause to keep her up to ungodly hours of the morning. But something about it was bugging her. Why was she so upset at the thought of a friend making Emil happy? Was she really that bad a sister? But it wasn't that she didn't want him to be happy. She did. But now that he was something about it was making her unhappy.

And that just made no sense at all.

"Luka?" Luka jumped about a foot in the air and whirled around. Even if she didn't know that voice, she'd know who it was. Only one person was able to sneak up on her like that in her own house.

"Tina? What are you doing up, you should go back to bed, you need sleep." Luka said, the big sister in her taking over.

Tina half-shrugged one of her slender shoulders, "no, it's fine. I just came down here to make sure you were alright but I don't really want to-"

She broke off; Luka knew what she was going to say. Tina didn't want to go back to bed because her room was right next to Berwald's, Tina felt guilty going to sleep in her own house because she knew that fiancée's usually slept together when they lived in the same house but she couldn't stand to be around her fiancé when she was awake, forget trying to sleep next to him.

It wasn't that Tina didn't like Berwald. She did like him.

She just didn't love him.

She felt too guilty, too awkward to fall asleep in her own house because she didn't love her own fiancé. She wasn't truly happy here.

The truth hit Luka like a thunderbolt. That was why she was so upset seeing Emil smile because of Leon. Because he never smiled in his own house. He wasn't happy here either.

At the beginning, before their parents really put their feet down, Emil, Luka and Tina had lived on their own in this house. Emil still hadn't been an outgoing and overly cheerful teen but he had been happy. Then Mathias and Berwald had been forced to move in with them or get all five of them (yes, even Emil) disowned.

That's when things had changed.

Tina, sensing Luka wanted to be alone to think, crept back upstairs. Luka put her face in her hands. Now Emil would smile for his neighbours, be happy in their presence but not with her. Not with them.

Now happy, lively, brave little Tina was reduced to a stuttering, shaking mess when her fiancé was in the same room as her. Her fear was so obviously irrational that it would almost be funny if it wasn't so genuine.

Poor Berwald loved his little fiancé but she'd break off the engagement with him in a heartbeat, if she could. Living with the knowledge that the woman you loved didn't want you had to be even worse than living with the knowledge that you were stuck with a man you didn't want. Luka didn't envy either of them.

And Mathias…

Mathias… Luka squeezed her eyes shut to keep back the truth. She saw herself in a similar situation to Berwald. She loved Mathias but knew she was doomed.

He said he loved her and acted like he did but his words were just words and his actions just proved to Luka that he was too stupid to even consider disliking the woman he had been told he had to marry. Even when she treated him like crap, trying to push him away.

Idiot!

God help her, she loved that idiot. And not in spite of his loving, stupid nature. But because of it.

Luka tapped her nail on the table in time to the tune in her head. The chorus of one of her favourite songs.

I'm in love with a fairytale

Even though it hurts

Cuz I don't care if I lose my mind

I'm already cursed…

She stopped tapping when she heard a familiar pair of footsteps approach the dining room. Think of the Devil and the Devil shall appear.

"Luka?" Mathias set his hands on her shoulders but she gave no sign she had noticed his presence anyway. "I saw Tina's light on and that you weren't in your room. Is everything okay?" He hugged her closer.

No Mathias, everything's not okay. She put one of her hands on her chest and gently pushed him away. "Go away Mathais." She said quietly.

Mathias didn't even dare breathe. He might be an idiot but he could sure as Hell tell when his future wife was being her usual bratty self and when she was being serious.

She was being serious.

Luka had never seriously told him to go away before.

"W-what's wrong? Did I do something? Luka? Honey?" Mathias tried to keep his voice light and jovial but he failed and he knew it.

"Just go away Mathias," Luka whispered, utterly defeated.

Mathias hugged her tightly and left. He fought down rising panic. At any given moment Luka was always within earshot, always close. They lived together for God's sake.

So why did he feel as though he had just hugged her for the last time?

In his room across from his brother's, Berwald lay awake, listening to first his fiancée and then his brother and finally, his future sister-in-law go back to bed and wondered what on Earth he had to do to make his own fiancée love him.

You can't make someone love anyone. A voice in his head reminded him. Berwald didn't have an answer for that.

None of them did.

And there we have it. That was kind of a breather chapter. A break from all the excitement. I have to warn you though; there were a couple of little details in that chapter that is some serious foreshadowing. Oh dear, I've said too much!

And the song Norway was thinking of is Fairytale by Alexander Rybak but I assume all you DeNor fans knew that already.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed guys, see you next week!