A/N: Hey there readers, it's LightBlueFlower here. So I've been slow on posting on because, to be honest, it's really hard for me to hear support from readers unlike in AO3, where I can interact with people easily there. I know writing is mostly for me, but when I write, I also need some form of motivation to keep going - I still am going to write, but be warned, that I'm not as active here as I will be on AO3. If you want to check out my stories there, my penname is the same, and there you can interact with others who read this story too.
Of course, I am happy and grateful that people are still reading this story, so I apologize if this AN sounded needy lol. Anyways onto the chapter~
Somehow, miraculously, no fights were broken out during the volleyball game, save for the one where Arthur tried to argue that the ball did land outside of the line and that it's his team's point, not the other way around, but it was quickly dissolved by Lovino allowing An's team to redo the serve. Also somehow they managed to win the match by a point, with Matthew helping by bumping the volleyball high enough for Alfred to spike it straight past Yong Soo, who attempted to block the ball, but missed jumping by a millisecond.
Gilbert came by to congratulate them, who was also happy with his team's victory. As they all went into the change room, Gilbert went as far ruffling Matthew's hair, despite the fact that Matthew could feel Arthur and Alfred just watching them.
"Awesome job with that bump!" Gilbert said, as he and Matthew casually stayed near the bleachers. Matthew had to also change to go to the Health room, but he was waiting until the change room was mostly empty and not infested with an influx of cologne of various brands.
"I didn't do much..." Matthew lightly replied, and he noticed Feliciano and Yong Soo standing behind Gilbert, facing Matthew. Yong Soo just started to raise his eyebrows suggestively while grinning, whereas Feliciano did a kiss gesture towards Gilbert. Matthew just faced slightly away, towards the court where their ref, Lovino, and Michelle were cleaning up by taking the nets down and putting the volleyball in the bag. Ever since that little conversation they had about Matthew hanging out with Gilbert, they both find joy with teasing Matthew if he said he just hung out with Gilbert.
"Nah Mattie, you did it perfectly, trust me."
"It's only because I had a good teacher," Matthew said with a smile, and he could Gilbert grinning in a weird way. Lovino, at that moment, passerby them with the bag. Matthew could see from the corner of his eyes that Lovino evidently rolled his eyes...weird. Matthew didn't understand why he did this. Did Matthew say something wrong?
"Nice flirting Matthew," Feliciano said afterwards, as he walked down the hallway with Matthew and Yong Soo, all of them trailing behind the others.
"What are you talking about?" Matthew asked quietly, not wanting Alfred to hear what Feliciano was saying, but his brother was preoccupied with chatting with Kiku.
"You're such a good teacher, Gilbert," Yong Soo said while fluttering his eyes, softening his voice. "I didn't know you had it in you Matthew- I thought you would be oblivious like Al, but I guess you know how to flirt."
"I wasn't," Matthew sputtered. "I would never flirt!"
"Even with Gilbert?" Feliciano asked. "You seemed like a natural out there - and I would know a good flirter when I see one. Seemed like you might have a thing for him-"
"No! It's nothing like that!" Matthew said as he shook his head as he sped up his pace, trying to catch up with the others to escape the taunts from Feliciano and Yong Soo.
"Aish," Yong Soo could be heard sighing. "Maybe he is like Alfred."
What does that even mean? Matthew had wanted to ask, but decided against it.
The day went by, and Matthew decided to stay behind with Gilbert to study for the test they had the next day. The entire time, though, Matthew found himself distracted by the boy - he sort of understood why. This feeling he felt was weird swelling, where his heart would be beating fast at every glance and smile Gilbert would throw at him, and he would feel oddly happy when they accidentally brushed hands or knees.
That night, when Matthew was home, he reflected upon his feelings as of late. He didn't know whether he liked it or not. On one hand, he found it nice. On the other hand, he knew what this feeling was, despite not wanting it to be one - it was probably the start of a crush. He read this before - the descriptions in the books are similar to how he was feeling. He felt it on a lower scale before, but it never developed beyond admiration in middle school. He never dazed that much about that person, and never was around people that helped feed this feelings, such as Yong Soo and Feliciano, who would tease him about him and make him wonder how it would be like to be with Gilbert...
"Was I flirting with him?" Matthew asked out loud. He was currently at his desk, his textbook open and spare papers on the side, trying to solve some review questions. He admits, he didn't pick up much thanks to Gilbert, and although he payed attention to class, he still needed to study - most of his school is being paid for by having good grades, and Matthew wasn't going to risk getting bad grades.
However, he couldn't help but think about what Feliciano say. How Matthew was a natural flirt and that it was very obvious he was flirting with Gilbert. Is that what flirting is? Complementing people?
"I don't see Gilbert like that..."Matthew replied to himself, but he could feel that sentence was wrong in itself.
Do I really though? a voice in Matthew's head respond, making Matthew grit his teeth. He leaned back in his chair with a huff. He needed someone to talk to about this, but who? Alfred and Arthur are definitely out of the question. He didn't want to tell Feliciano, despite the fact that they have grown slightly close - Feliciano is, unfortunately, a chatterbox, and sometimes he slips things out accidentally. He wouldn't mind if these mishaps didn't happen when Alfred was around. Matthew wanted to keep it extremely on the low.
"Why would I like Gilbert though?" Matthew grumbled, as he stared blankly at the wall. He tried to think about Gilbert as a being. Immediately, he felt that giddy feeling in his stomach and his heart beating loudly as he envisioned Gilbert. He understood the physical attractiveness; Gilbert had that unique look, with his silver hair and oddly coloured eyes.
Maybe Matthew only liked the way Gilbert looked. Maybe he liked the way he looks so rugged with his leather jacket and necklace, how he emits confidence (or awesomeness, as he claims), and how fit his body was (which Matthew still finds attractive...he may or may not have taken a glimpse of him as he took off his shirt in the change room). Maybe it was his carefree nature and the dumb jokes he cracks every chance he gets that's a big contrast to Matthew's quiet personality. Maybe it's the way his eyes twinkle when he understands something or came up with a devious plan, how calculated he looks when there's a problem he wants to solve in the quickest way, and how he has this specific grin whenever he talks to Matthew. Maybe it was because the complexities that made up who Gilbert was were admirable; how soft he was, how he could be gentle and kind, and how he was incredibly caring towards those he love.
Now Matthew imagined if they were to be together as lovers. What would that be like? Holding hands, instead of having to brush against his accidentally. Cuddling in his arms. Kissing him...kissing his lips...his lips...
I wonder if they're soft? Matthew found himself thinking, before catching himself and gritting his teeth. The thought of kissing Gilbert made him feel all sorts of things, and he could feel himself blushing.
I mean...I think he'd be a great guy to date and be with, Matthew thought. Maybe I do have a bit of a crush on him. Oh no...
The only reason Matthew would be against dating Gilbert was mostly because of the reaction he would get from Arthur and Alfred. Already they're iffy about him being around him...it wouldn't help if Matthew was dating him. Would it be bad to date someone his Dad didn't like? He's his own person, so he should be able to without Arthur interfering, but Arthur might keep a much closer eye on him than if it was someone other than Gilbert.
On the other hand, his Papa doesn't seem to mind Gilbert at all - if anything, he told Matthew that he likes Gilbert after meeting him the first time. If anything, whenever Matthew was going out, Francis would ask if it was with Gilbert and ask him how he was doing. Then again, it's probably because that was the only friend he has met so far. He usually hangs out with his other friends in school.
Okay...maybe I have a crush on him...but who's to say that Gilbert is into guys? Matthew thought with a slight pout. He's probably the straightest guy I know so far.
Matthew's sexuality wasn't hard for him to grasp in comparison to Alfred. Matthew was always neutral on who he liked. If anything, and growing finds himself attracted to many people, regardless of gender. With their parents being open about the community and Francis even discussing these things with Matthew if he asked, if he were to categorize himself, he'd probably be under pansexual.
"Why did I do this to myself?" Matthew groaned. Besides the point of whether Arthur would be happy about who Matthew dated, there was the problem of Gilbert being his friend and what team he played for. Unrequited interest was common for Matthew - most of his crushes never noticed him, so it was some weird comforting feeling for Matthew to expect that they won't like him back, regardless of what they were into.
It's just a crush...it'll pass, Matthew attempted to convince himself, before hearing his phone ring. He picked it up quickly, noticing it was Francis who was calling him.
"Allo?"
"Mathieu, j'suis dehors la maison avec des provisions,Matthew, I'm outside of the house with groceries," Francis replied through the phone, and Matthew could hear the engine of the car shutting off. "Tu peut les apporter dedans avec moi, cheri?Can you bring them inside with me, dear?"
"Ouais, reste la, j'arrive,Yeah, stay there, I'm coming," Matthew said as he quickly got up from his chair, and started to make his way to the front door. Francis did not have work that day, so he decided to do a bit of grocery shopping and told Matthew he'd be able to cook some dinner that night.
Even though what Alfred said still made Matthew sick, he was able to think a bit clearly and decided that they weren't sure if that were true, thus Matthew attempted to ignore it. Maybe Matthew can ask Francis about these things he's been feeling and how to handle it...but would that be weird? He hasn't talked to Francis about these things before, and it's been quite a while since he attempted to be close with Francis again, thought, it's getting there slowly.
Matthew helped Francis carry the groceries into the kitchen, and set everything into the fridge and cupboards as Francis took out his apron and set some pans to the side.
"What's for dinner?" Matthew asked in French.
"Probably Hachis Parmentier," Francis replied. "Though, I can make Salmon with lime. I wanted to make creme brulee today, though I feel bad because Alfred isn't here."
"I can always bring him some tomorrow," Matthew replied, the thought of creme brulee making his mouth water.
"I know you just want to have it today," Francis laughed. "But I'll be sure to leave one for him...you better not eat it, alright Mathieu."
"I won't," Matthew said with a sheepish grin, knowing that Francis read through his intentions. "Can I help you?"
"I don't see why not," Francis replied, taking the apron he always wears and rolling up his sleeves. "Although, I thought you had a test tomorrow?"
"I already studied it after school," Matthew replied, retying his hair back and went to the sink to wash his hands.
"With who? Gilbert?" Francis asked, as he took whatever he needed to make hachis parmentier - the elaborate French version of shepard's pie. Matthew knew how to make the easier variant version called pâté chinois, though he doesn't mind the wine that would be added in this dish.
"Yes," Matthew simply replied. Now that he was all prepared to cook, he took a knife and took an onion. "Do I slice them or dice?"
"Dice, but be careful not to cut your fingers," Francis said. There was a slight pause as Francis started to peel the potatoes to puree them. "Are you sure you studied with Gilbert?"
"Yeah...what else would I have done with him?" Matthew asked, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Francis smiling, as if he was trying to laugh. "What's funny?"
"You don't need to hide your interest in the boy- you know that, right cheri?" To this, Matthew frowned.
"I'm not interested in him," Matthew mumbled, and Francis just chuckled. Matthew continued, "Besides, he's straight."
To this, Francis paused what he was doing. He gave Matthew a weird look, and went back to peeling the potatoes. "Sure."
"What do you mean?"
"You can't assume these things about people, Mathieu," Francis replied, putting a pot of water on the stove to boil. "Did he blatantly tell you he's straight?"
"Well no... But he just doesn't seem like it, you know?"
"If that were the case, then I can assume that Alfred's straight too," Francis said with a smile. "And I think we all know that he's not."
"How do you know that..." Matthew asked, glancing up at Francis. There was no way Alfred would tell Francis these things, regardless of the fact that Alfred didn't admit it. He always kept things between Matthew and him. Matthew doesn't remember slipping it out to Francis either.
"Oh, Mathieu, you two are my sons - I can tell who you guys are infatuated with. It's just obvious with Alfred because whoever he tends to talk about a lot is the person he likes, regardless if it's a guy or girl. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if he would struggle with it," Francis said.
"I don't get why he's struggling so much with it," Matthew replied. "I know you and... Dad would be fine with him liking both."
"...I doubt Arthur would be," Francis said in a bit of a mumble. Matthew was going to ask why, but Francis said in an even tone, "Yes, we tried to raise you two to be open minded and comfortable about your sexuality and gender identity. But, keep in mind that Alfred is also those sporty guys too. He's always been surrounded by this friend group that are mostly hyper masculine guys. I think it's only lately that he was exposed to those boys in your Gym class -they seem like a diverse set of friends when it comes to personality type."
"Yeah, they're into different things, and don't stick to one thing," Matthew said with a small smile. "Maybe you should talk to him about it and help him."
"I'll only mention this if he comes to me," Francis said. "And I doubt he would anytime soon. But make sure you're there for him as support, no matter what. Alfred has a complex relationship with these types of things, and he would need you there to console him, about anything. You two were always dependant on each other. Maybe you should tell Alfred about your little crush and he can help you out."
"No way," Matthew said. "Alfred already hates Gil's guts-"
"So you do like Gilbert?" Francis said, amused, and Matthew froze slightly. He hadn't realized what he said until Francis said that, and he fell for the trap - Francis always did have a way with words and making people say what they feel. He had the ability to make you get caught up in the moment while breaking down your walls slowly, before saying something that would make you slip out something. It was more of a sense of trust that he gave to the person he spoke to that makes it easy to say what you wanted.
"If you want to know if he's straight, ask him about his partners," Francis advised, taking the potatoes out of the pot and started to beat it into mashed potato. "Or ask him if he's into anyone at the moment. And if this turns out to be more than a crush, well...I hope you'd come to me and tell me."
"He wouldn't like someone like me," Matthew mumbled, not wanting to neither deny or confirm.
"You'd be surprised," Francis said, and he placed a pan on the stove. If there was one thing that Francis knew was whether someone had a crush. Matthew's curiosity got the best of him.
"What makes you say that?"
"You have to figure that out yourself, cheri," Francis replied with a soft smile. "Mathieu, can you cook the beef? I'll start preparing the creme brûlée."
"Oui," Matthew replied, and the rest of the night was spent without mentioning Matthew's probable crush on Gilbert.
Friday was the unit test, and Matthew felt that he did fairly well on it, but Matthew couldn't afford to relax over the weekend. He had a conjugation test on Monday for French, along with a presentation he had to do with Alfred on one of the many drugs that were listed on the paper Mr. Janssen a few days prior.
Friday night Matthew stayed over at the apartment. Saturday was spent mostly indoors, first attempting to finish much of the presentation for Gym, and then studying for French. Matthew watched the baseball game with Alfred later on, who was content that there were no more football practice on the weekend, and had slept in most of the day. That night, however, took a weird turn after Arthur left to go hang out with his coworkers at the bar. The only reason they know this was because An exposed their bet during the volleyball game and now that his boyfriend was out of the picture, he'd probably only hang out with Katyusha and them. Alfred and Matthew were hanging around late at night, switching out watching the game to playing Super Mario Bros. It was well passed midnight, when Alfred asked this question after joking around.
"Do you think Dad would ever get back with Papa?"
Alfred said this nonchalantly, as he kept staring at the TV screen.
"What?" Matthew replied, wanting to make sure he heard what he said correctly. Matthew accidentally got hit by a fireball and died.
"You think that Dad would ever want to get back with Papa?" Alfred repeated, quickly fixing his glasses.
"Why? Do you want them to?"
"Don't you?"
To this Matthew paused. He didn't know how to feel anymore about this. It's like he's slowly starting to accept the fact that there was no way they were ever going to even talk to each other again, much less get back together.
"I would like that, but I doubt it," Matthew said. "I don't know why you're asking this suddenly."
"It's those videos man," Alfred sighed. "And I was looking through photo albums...And seeing how they were...I don't know...it's hard to believe that Dad would just leave like that, you know? They were around each other their entire lives and to suddenly leave is just weird. Especially with the whole thing about Papa cheating - I don't think that happened. Don't you ever think about that night?"
"No, because it was a bad time for everyone," Matthew mumbled. "Look...if you're going to attempt to Parent Trap our parents, it's not going to work."
"Why not? We've never done it -"
"It's none of our business, Al." Matthew could see that Alfred twitched slightly, and his face puffing up in a frown. Matthew sighed, "I want things to go back to how it was too but...The more I think about it, there's probably more to it than just the potential cheating..."
"You don't actually believe that, right bro?" Alfred asked.
"I don't want to...I want to assume not," Matthew replied softly. "They probably had problems before that whole thing too."
"No they didn't," Alfred said. "They've never fought before."
"They have...don't you remember?" Matthew asked, finding it odd that Alfred didn't notice when their parents fought. Then he remembered how oblivious Alfred was about reading the atmosphere. Matthew remembers a tense moment a few months before that night where Arthur refused to talk to Francis. Matthew never understood why, but he does remember having to be Arthur's messenger Francis when it came to the little things. They reconciled after a week, of course, however, that doesn't mean what they fought about wasn't serious.
"They didn't fight in front of us, but they did have fights...they didn't last very long, but it was still there," Matthew explained. "Whatever...we can't do anything that would make them talk to each other anyways-"
"You don't know that," Alfred mumbled still looking down.
"...Look. I know it's hard to process all these things," Matthew sighed, pausing the game quickly, his older brother instincts kicking in. "It doesn't sit well with me either. But right now, all we have to worry about is school. If...if Dad wants to see Papa again, then he would have. We know how Dad is like - if he wants to do something, he'd do it. And it's been 2 years, without him talking to Papa. So I just think that the probability of them getting together is small..."
"I guess..."
"Besides, we should be happy right now - Dad broke up with Perez Jackson."
"Yeah...I knew something was wrong with that guy since the moment Dad mentioned him," Alfred said with a grin, but Matthew could see he was forcing it. "But if I ever see that guy at the museum, I'm going to beat him up."
"Violence is never the answer," Matthew replied. "But, we can cover his car in wet toilet paper."
"That's not environmentally friendly," Alfred said, crossing his arms, thinking. "How 'bout we slash his tires?"
"Every suggestion you made could lead us to jail," Matthew laughed. Just then, they could hear some loud talking, and someone else shushing the other person. Matthew threw a glance at the oven clock, and realized it was almost 1 in the morning. The front door opened with a slow creak, and through appeared a very drunk Arthur tipping around, and a sober Joao trying to hold him up.
"-I'm telling you, Joao, don't go after him," Arthur slurred, his face flushed red, his eyes hazed over, and a wide grin on his face. His thin, navy blue coat hung loosely on his body, and the shirt he was wearing were noticeably unevenly buttoned. "You're better than thiiiisssss...He just wants to mess around-"
"Alright, Arthur, thank you for your advice," Joao grumbled with an eye roll, letting go of the door knob. He glanced up to see Alfred and Matthew, and said with a soft smile, "I got a gift for you kids."
"Merryyyyy Christmasss," Arthur mumbled, as he started to take off his shoes.
"Oh god," Matthew whispered, while Alfred tried hard not to laugh at the mess that was their father.
"Sorry kiddos, me and Kat didn't keep a close eye on him, and he somehow finished an entire bottle of whiskey," Joao sighed. "And probably had some shots."
"Jo, where are we?" Arthur asked in a daze. He noticed Matthew and Alfred, squinting his eyes, "What are the kids doing here? You're too young to be in a bar."
"Artie, we're in your apartment."
"Mhmm, you mean me flat."
"Same difference," Joao replied. "Alfred, help me take him to his bed please?"
"It's okay, Joao, me and Mattie got him," Alfred said was he let Arthur hook his arm around his shoulder, as Matthew immediately came to the other side, as Joao gently let go of Arthur.
"You kids sure you can handle him?" Joao asked as he fixed his jacket. "I can stay behind a bit, if you two want, just in case he tries acting up again."
"Don't worry, we've dealt with this before," Matthew replied, as Arthur kept singing a random tune.
"Yeah, the moment he's in bed, he sleeps, so all we gotta do is take him there," Alfred replied.
"Alright, then I'll leave you two to it," Joao replied, opening the front door again. "Have a goodnight."
Just before Joao could leave, Arthur yelled. "Joao nooo! Don't go back! Trust me, he's using you! He's dated girls before - who's to say he would leave you for one!"
Matthew noticed Alfred's slight frown and how his smile faded, while Joao shaking his head, and Matthew said quickly, "C'mon Dad, let's get you to bed."
"I don't want to," Arthur moaned, as they started to trudge their father down the hallways after saying a goodnight to Joao. "I'm still sober, I want to drink mooore."
"No you don't," Matthew replied, as he opened the door to Arthur's room. "You have papers to correct tomorrow, remember?"
"Fuck that," Arthur grumbled, and they gently placed him on the bed. "I don't wanna work anymore..."
"That's nice," Matthew said softly, tucking him into the blanket, as Alfred stood by silently. "Good night."
"..." Arthur didn't respond, as he started to softly snore, and Matthew knew he had already fallen asleep. The two silently exited the room, shutting the door softly, and decided that they should sleep too. Alfred was suddenly silent, which was weird - he'd usually crack a joke or two to their Dad during his drunken faze, but he didn't say anything.
"What's wrong?" Matthew asked as he was going to go to his room. Alfred just shrugged.
"Nothing. Just tired," Alfred said. He turned around and entered his room. "'Night dude."
"Good night," Matthew replied unsurely, knowing right away that something was off, but did not want to ask. He opened the door to his room, and retired to his bed.
The days passed by, and after taking a test, finishing and presenting a project that made Alfred stay up the night before, constantly tweaking the Business project with Ravis, along with studying and "flirting" (as Feliciano still calls it) with Gilbert, Matthew found himself to be a bit burnt out by Thursday morning of that week. That week was supposed to be when teachers would wrap up whatever they learned so that they had something for their mid term report next week, so the influx of assignments from the previous week made sense.
For the first time, Matthew experienced the taste of coffee in the morning just to keep him going all through the morning and the volleyball intramural game. Unfortunately, the team lost this round against a group that was not Gilbert's team, but Arthur took it well - Matthew assumed that his Dad decided not to make another bet this time.
Matthew was grateful that third period was taken up by sitting in a classroom and listening to Mr. Janssen talking and watching educational videos from the 90s, and although there were plenty of group discussions, it was mostly the outgoing people who bothered to contribute, hence Matthew was able to space out and actually fell asleep, hiding behind Carlos and Alfred, who both blocked Mr. Janssen's view. Gilbert was not kidding when he said it was the best class to nap in - Mr. Janssen's voice was low and soothing, and besides the laughter from the students making stupid and dirty jokes here and there, the atmosphere weird affect that made sleeping very comfortable.
Unfortunately he had to wake up when the shrill sound of the bell rang, and begrudgingly made his way to his Math class. There was something boring about this routine that made Matthew feel dull. He wanted to do something other than sit through a class and take notes and pay attention. Why can't he be carefree like Gilbert sometimes?
"You wanna skip class?" Gilbert asked laying against the lockers.
Matthew looked at him with a blank expression, not comprehending what he just said. He was leaning over the water fountain that was down the hall from their class. Matthew bumped into Gilbert and Elizabetha (who he's seeing and talking to more and more as the days went by), and wanted to drink some water before class started, so Gilbert decided to stick around. The hallways were already emptied by the time they walked to the fountain. They didn't see Ms. Khemet enter the class, but they kept an eye on the door so they wouldn't be marked late for class.
"What?"
"I said, you wanna skip class?"
"Why would I do something like that?" Matthew asked with a frown. Unbelievable. Why would Gilbert suggest that of all things?
"'Cause, you look like you're not having a good day," Gilbert leaning against the wall. "And I don't think sitting through a math lecture is gonna help."
"I'm just tired, that's all," Matthew replied, going back to take a drink from the fountain.
"Yeah, so why not skip this class and chill?"
"And risk losing my scholarship from not attending class?" Matthew asked crossing his arms.
"Scholarship is only for grades, right?" Gilbert said with a shrug. "We finished our math test last week, and the next one isn't gonna be till next Friday. We got nothing going on Friday, and I checked today's lesson; it's whatever we learned yesterday, but more examples. Why not take a small break for two hours? I know when you get home you're gonna do homework. Besides, it's only for today."
"Okay, but what about my Dad?" Matthew continued. "What do I say to him?"
"Just say you weren't feeling well and went home," Gilbert replied like it was the most obvious thing to say. "Look, Birdie, I was just suggesting something. I'm not forcing you to."
"If you want to skip, then do it."
"Nah, I'm only skipping if you do."
"So you missing class hangs on me, huh?" Matthew said with an eyebrow raised, while Gilbert just smirked.
"Hey, I did say I'd teach you to break a few rules," Gilbert joked. "But if Kirkland asks, don't say I told you to - if you want to, you do it. I'll just join you. You look like you want to anyway."
"I feel like you do want to," Matthew sighed, while Gilbert just nodded.
"Yeah, kind of. I'm tired from volleyball, and I just had a History test last period," Gilbert agreed with a small laugh. Matthew stood up straight, and thought for a moment.
The idea of skipping a class sounded both scary and intriguing. Intriguing, because he's never skipped school willingly, and he wouldn't dare be rebellious like that. That was Alfred's job, who would do juvenile things in middle school like go missing for a class, only to be found in the McDonald's near his school because 'I was in the mood for a hamburger'. The idea sounded accelerating and exciting, even though that sounded really dumb to call something like skipping class to be exciting.
Matthew was scared of the idea, however, due to what he mentioned to Gilbert - mostly from his fear of getting in trouble with Arthur. He's never been in trouble. No, Matthew was the ideal child - quiet, considerate, responsible. So to miss a class because he 'felt like it' conflicted with his entire being thus so far.
And he liked that. Skipping class for the hell of it is probably the most irresponsible thing he could do (other than going to the student - banned rooftop). Maybe he wanted to break from the little stereotypical shell that his parents often classified him. Maybe he wanted to be a little bit carefree and immature and...
"Stupid," Matthew mumbled. "It'll be a stupid choice." He glanced up to Gilbert, picking up his backpack from the floor. "Let's do it."
"Seriously," Gilbert said in disbelief, both his eyebrows raised.
"Yeah," Matthew said, as he walked the opposite direction of their math class. "Let's do it."
"Ya sure, Birdie?" Gilbert asked, as he fixed the sleeves of his backpack, and pushed himself off the locker.
"Yes, now let's go before I change my mind," Matthew replied with a grin, twisting on his heels to face Gilbert and walked backyards.
"Alright," Gilbert said, catching up with Matthew. "To hell with class!"
"I wouldn't say that, but okay," Matthew laughed at Gilbert's triumphant gesture.
He glanced back towards the end of the hall to see Ms. Khemet walked into the classroom, before him and Gilbert ran through the door to the stairs that would lead them outside.