Why? Alfred silently proceeded to contemplate his brother's actions, deeming them foolish and unreasonable. Why would he ever respond to such a horrible man's phone calls? How long has this been going on? Why didn't he tell me about all of this? For the same reason I did, when hiding my scars? But that would make Mattie a hypocrite… All in all, his temples were throbbing, his heart was battering off of his ribcage, and he was entirely unsure of how much more stress he could bear. For, really, if Matthew had been resorting to his father's words of motivation- more like a lack thereof- then what other possible turmoil and paranoia had the younger Canadian twin been experiencing? Alfred felt a shudder rack his shoulders at the sickening thought, and hastily stuffed the phone into his pocket. He recognized that such an act would get him nothing but an infuriated brother, but knew that such actions were taken as a last resort.

Now I've resorted to theft? Jeez, what's happening to us? I'm with Mattie on this one- all of the lies and secrecy need to end. Now. Sighing gently, he turned his head ever-so-slightly, eyes making direct contact with his sibling's slumbering face, at peace and serene. If only things could remain as such upon his awakening. If only their dreams, excluding the horrid nightmares, could become the reality, in which there was no death, no disease, no pain. He had suggested this to Matthew over the phone a few years ago, but the Canadian had just scoffed at him and said that it was completely unreasonable. Besides, residing in a world without all of those negative influences- well, it seemed to Matthew like pure chaos. Without crime and punishment, would we not learn the lessons that morph us into who we have become over the years? Without death, would we not learn how precious one's life really is, and to live through every moment with the utmost ecstasy? The younger twin had found the American's ideas to be utterly unrealistic, as well as undesirable.

Would he still answer me in the same way, though? He's already changed so much since then; who's to say that he wouldn't give me a different response? Of course, he was still Matthew Williams, brother of Alfred F. Jones, yet his ideas and priorities seemed to have altered incredulously in the passing years. Well, it did make sense, somewhat, as they had both blossomed into young men since their fourteenth year. All the same, that certainly did not give them the excuse to completely modify their personalities. Perhaps Alfred was overreacting- after all, it was possible that his father had come to terms with his Canadian son, and that they were attempting to patch things up.

Yeah, and Francis can fly, he thought bitterly, frowning as Matthew began to stir. Reassuring himself of his twin's cell phone tucked inside his coat pocket, Alfred cleared his throat and proceeded to fake his lack of knowledge about the homework assigned, just as planned.

********

Exactly eighteen hours had passed since that night.

"Ve~! Ludwig!" Feliciano called from the pantry, fright lacing his panicky voice. "Help! I'm stuck in the cabinet! A-And I'm stepping in something! It's kind of hard, and-"

"That's my hand, you damned idiot!" Lovino snapped, sightless as well in the darkness of the pantry. "Hey, potato-bastard! Open the door! I know you're there!"

The German man sighed, groaning into his palm as he advanced towards the wooden door behind the counter. "And how exactly did you two manage to get yourselves locked in?"

"Hell if I know! Enough questions! Lemme out, damn it!"

"Alright, alright. Enough shouting." Ludwig grimaced, headache escalating in intensity, and dug deeper into his pants pocket for the key. "Which one was it again…?"

"Uwah~!" Feliciano shrieked, banging fervently against the wooden door. "Lovino, Ludwig, Antonio, anyone! Gilbert, Alfred, F-"

"Go ahead and shout out the names of every-" The door creaked open, blinding both Italians by a piercing beam of light, cast upon the wooden flooring by the sun's light through the glass walls. "About time, potato-freak," Lovino grumbled, murmuring under his breath, all the while trudging out of the pantry with tomato sauce staining his left cheek. Feliciano smiled giddily, leaping forward to grab Ludwig in a bear hug.

"Ve, thanks, Ludwig!" Laughing childishly, the younger Italian removed his death-grip on the German and swayed happily out of the closet as well, re-tying his apron around his waist. He ensued, cloth rag in hand, to swipe down each table of their restaurant with a lemon-scented cleaning spray of some sort.

Or, at least, attempted to do so, for a single customer still sat hunched over a newspaper and sipping a cup of freshly-brewed coffee. "Hm? Alfred? What're you doing here? Ooh, is your brother here too?"

"Nope. He's… in his room…" Again. Thankfully, within the past eighteen hours, Matthew hadn't found out about his missing phone, though the American knew it was only a matter of hours before he did come to that little realization. "Hey, Feli? Can I order some food? Spaghetti, if you have it."

"Heh, sure thing! Meatballs?"

"Of course!" Alfred replied cheerily, grinning in return at the bubbly Italian. Even in the dampest of moods, spending time with Feliciano could either cheer you up, like with Alfred, or infuriate you further, Lovino being the perfect example. "Extra burger, too, if you have any!"

"Ah, sorry. We haven't had any burger for the past few weeks…" Ludwig approached behind Feliciano, nodding curtly at the American in a soldier-like fashion. The German had planned on being part of the army, but had decided otherwise at the last minute, after his application was (surprisingly) accepted. "Feliciano, please go help out your brother in the kitchen. He looks about ready to murder Antonio with a tomato and a butter knife."

"Ah~! Okay, sir!" he chirped, smile widening. Casting a sidelong glance at Alfred, the bizarre Italian skipped away, humming a familiar tune under his breath. Ludwig awaited his companion's entire departure before returning his gaze to the American.

"Alfred, mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Well, it's about Francis…"

"Wha? Why would you-"

"Just, please, hear me out! He's been hanging around with Feliciano a lot lately, and he's beginning to get a bit too comfortable, if you catch my drift. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take… Do you think you could, maybe, try and reason with Francis? I myself have tried countless times, but nothing ever seems to work."

Alfred blinked once, twice, before smiling gently. "Of course! What kind of hero would I be to leave a damsel-in-distress… well, in distress?"

"A… what…?"

And that's the exact moment when the phone in his pocket- Matthew's cell phone, to be precise- began to vibrate vigorously. "A-Ah! Excuse me for a moment, please?" Without awaiting a response from the German, Alfred bounded forward, sliding awkwardly out of the seat, and raced out the doors, nearly knocking over a customer in the process. "S-Sorry!" he apologized, stopping to rest beside the fountain.

The phone began to vibrate again, perhaps more intensely than before, and the American reluctantly reached into the pocket to withdraw the trembling device. Here it was, the moment of truth. The moment in which it would all come spewing out of his father's cold lips; their secrets, their plans, their-

"Hello?" Alfred voiced into the telephone, trying to mask his voice under a softly-toned veil.

"Alfred!" snapped a voice from the other end. "Mind telling me what the hell you're doing with my phone?"

Oh, crap.

********

"M-Mattie?" Alfred stammered, clutching the cell phone with clammy fingers. The sheer severity of his brother's furious voice disturbed the American greatly- Matthew very rarely ever swore, or even made reference to Hell itself, so to hear such seething language pass his brother's lips worried him more so than seeing his sibling in person. "What…? You mean… this is your phone? Eh heh…" Not at all as convincing as planned…

"Don't try and mess around with me, Alfred!" The Canadian's voice sounded almost pained, and Alfred himself had to strain excessively just to make out the words of his brother. "I know good and well that you've been invading my private life. Can't you just… let me live my life on my own?"

"Mattie, you've been alone for the past two or three years! Don't act like I've-"

"I've never been alone, Alfred. I may have been living by myself, but I have always been able to take care of myself! That alone should prove that- Oh, forget it! I don't know why I even bother trying to explain things to you anymore!"

"Matthew, don't lie to me- I need to ask you something. Please don't think badly of me, I was doing this for your own good." His voice hitched for the briefest of moments, the words heavy on his tongue. "What has Father been saying to you over the phone?"

A pregnant silence hung in the atmosphere, carrying out unto the other end of the phone line. "You…" Matthew choked out, voice lowered to a mere whisper before hollering out in a panic. "You! You went through my phone history? Alfred, I just-! Argh! I can't believe you!"

"C-Calm down, Mat-"

"Calm down? Calm do-?!"

"Ah, wait Matthew, someone's beeping in. I'll talk to you later, I suppose."

"Alfred, wait! Don't-" But the American had already hung up.

Alfred gulped, breathing soon proving to be a most difficult task, as his sapphire gaze caught a glimpse of the caller ID on the screen. It's Father… he thought fearfully, heat rate escalating by the second. Reluctantly, his thumb brushed over the button and pressed it, accepting the phone call and placing the cell phone back up to his ear. "Hello?" he said gently, trying desperately to imitate his brother's voice.

"Alfred?" That most certainly wasn't his father's voice, and judging by the soft tone, he could fairly assume it to be the vocals of an employee. "What are you doing with Matthew's phone?"

"Um, he's… In the bathroom. Can I take this call for him?"

"Can it wait? I don't think your father would want me to…"

"Ah, sorry. He's out buying… pancake mix right now. He won't be home for a while."

"You said he was in the bathroom."

"He's in the bathroom at the grocery store." Okay, this was getting blown way out of proportion, but regardless…

"R-Right… Er, anyway. Alfred, please tell Matthew that he needs to reply to your father's requests by tomorrow night. He should understand what we mean by that. So… how are things over in-"

Click. Alfred clamped the phone shut, ending the call instantaneously with trembling fingers. More secrets? Now, more than ever before, the mingling sensation of guilt and curiosity was eating away at the inner lining of Alfred's stomach, churning his acidic unease incessantly. So… His father had been requesting things from his brother? The mere idea of that alone disturbed the American intensely. For what reasons would his sire be creating demands from poor Matthew, whose Institutional residency he wasn't even supposed to know about.

All in all, Alfred's head hurt. It was going to be a long year.

In the end, after weighing the two options back and forth in his mind, Alfred came to the assured conclusion to what exactly his plan of action would become. As winter neared and the weather warmed inconsistently, he would give Matthew the cell phone back and pretend as though nothing had really happened, although both knew all too well who was trying to get through to them. Matthew would probably scold his twin before forgiving him begrudgingly and continuing on with his daily life. And, all the while, Alfred would slowly try and convince Mattie to spill the information- about what was really going on in his life. Yes, the plan was foolproof. Surely nothing could ruin his little scheme?

But, of course, as Alfred proceeded back towards the restaurant for his plate of spaghetti, he managed to lose his firm grip on the phone and drop it down the gutter.

Perhaps the plan wasn't so infallible after all…

A/N: *exhale* Finally done with this part. Alright, everyone, this basically marks the end of the first half of the story. I know, this is going to be very long, and probably drag out much too far, but please try to stick with me on this. More will be revealed within time, as well as a deeper suspense… and more foolproof friendships and enemies shall be made…

Sorry if too much of this has been in Alfred's point of view. The next half will likely start off with Matthew's POV, so keep watch for that. This chapter was a bit too short, really, but still needed to get jammed in there somehow. It's not exactly a filler, but nothing really happened, I suppose. I'm sorry~!

Also note that I will most likely not have internet connection for the next six days or so due to visiting family. Therefore, this will probably be the last thing I update until Sunday or Monday of next week, depending on whether or not I finish the next chapter of LMIW by later tonight.

Quello che mio fratello non lo sa- Italian for "What my brother doesn't know"

R&R! Part two could be coming your way~!