Chapter 28

"Are you sure?" Ludwig asked, standing over the Italian. Feliciano nodded, hugging the pillow.

"I'll use the pay phone downstairs and call in sick. I'm afraid to just appear, so I'll be laying low here for a while. Maybe for today, or just stay out Friday, too. Then I'll face Edelstien Saturday and get my stuff. Besides, I don't have my school uniform so I kinda can't go." Ludwig nodded.

"Will you be okay here by yourself?" Feliciano nodded and smiled at him while sitting up.

"Don't worry, Luddy. I'll be good," he promised. The German nodded and tightened his grip on his backpack.

"Okay, then..." Feliciano stood up and hugged him.

"Try to have fun for me, okay?" Ludwig nodded and returned the hug. He kissed the top of Feliciano's head, and the Italian looked up and kissed his chin.

"I will," Ludwig promised and they released each other. After leaving, Feliciano looked around. There was literally nothing to do here...

He sat back down on the air mattress, which had lost some air overnight, causing him to sag a bit. Then he decided that it may be a good idea to get dressed for the day. He got up and dug around in the bag Romano had given him the day before and pulled out all the things he would wear, along with the hygiene products. He grabbed a quarter from the small change pouch on the front and put it in his pocket. He prepared himself and looked as presentable he could before stepping out into the hallway. He walked down and counted the doors on his way to the stairwell. There were four on the right side, three on the left, and one on the very end. He trotted down the three flights and walked into the laundry room. There was one person in there that Feli paid no mind to, and he trotted over to the pay phone. Taking the quarter from his pocket, the stuck it into the machine and dialed the school's phone number.

"Hello, you have reached-"

"Yes, Ms. Isabella? I'm calling to report that Feliciano Vargas is sick and will not be at school today," Feliciano said, attempting to imitate Mr. Edelstien's favorite butler.

"Okay, I'll tell Mr. Ferdinand. Is Romano out?"

"I believe so," Feliciano said. He heard a hum over the phone.

"Thank you sir," she said. Feliciano smiled.

"Thank you, Madam. Goodbye," he said and hung up. That was fairly easy...

Then a voice startled him.

"Feli... Sounds familiar. You friends with Alfred?" Feliciano turned around and saw Tim.

"Oh! Yeah- hey, Tim," Feliciano said. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," he said, tugging his always-present scarf over his chin. Feliciano looked at him in awe.

"On this side? But you go to-"

"The wealthy school; I know. I wanted to live on my own so me and my sister moved out. Came here, and our parents send us money regularly. Actually, so much that Bella can't think of any new things she wants and can fit in the place. Together we own two apartments. What are you doing here?" Feliciano was actually relieved to be talking to usually aloof Tim. Especially considering that Tim wasn't questioning his gender identity because of Romano's clothes; as far as Feliciano knew, Tim still thought he was a girl.

"Well, uh... Romano and I sort of had a big fight with Mr. Edelstien and we ran away. We were separated last night when he went with Antonio and I sort of unofficially moved in with Ludwig. I still need to go get my stuff from Mr. Edelstien's house Saturday..." Tim's mouth twitched.

"So how are things with you guys? I heard you haven't been doing so well."

"Things are fine, now- we are together and in less than three weeks, I'll be able to live with him of my own accord, really."

"That's good... So how was staying with Lud?"

"It's nice. We don't have a lot, but I'm happy and comfortable knowing he's here." Tim nodded and Feliciano looked around in the slightly awkward silence that followed. Tim returned to his task, which was folding laundry.

"You know, Bella has been trying out some new stuff in waffles- there's a lot; too much for us to eat. If you like you can come and gorge yourself. Literally- if you want you can take some home. I don't care- there are so many freaking waffles..." Tim complained. He rubbed his scarred eyebrow with a finger before grabbing the basket. "Come on," he said with a nod, and headed out the door. Feliciano followed, humming. While they were going up the second flight of stairs, Tim turned his head to look at Feli through the corner of his eye.

"Please stop humming," he said. Feliciano put his random tune to a halt.

"Oh! Sorry," he said and clasped his hands behind his back, following the rest of the way in silence. It turned out that the room at the end of the hall and the one on the wall next door were Tim and Bella's apartments. After extracting a set of keys from his pocket, Tim unlocked the one next door to the room at the end of the hall. As soon as the door was open, a wonderful smell wafted out, harboring cinnamon, apple, chocolate, and strawberry, along with several other wonderfully delicious aromas.

"Go on in- I'll be back in a minute," Tim said, waving Feliciano on as he headed for the other door. The Italian walked in slowly, enjoying the different scents that made their way through his nose. A blonde girl with green eyes stepped back and saw him.

"Oh, hi!" she said brightly. "What's your name?"

"Feliciano Vargas," he introduced himself. She smiled warmly.

"I know you. We have an English class together," she mentioned. Feliciano recognized her as the girl in the front corner of the room.

"Oh, yeah!" Feliciano nodded. "You're the one with the cute headbands!" She nodded and patted the green spotted one she wore with the heel of her hand, her fingers with pancake batter covering them.

"Thank you," she said sweetly. "You have some cute bandannas yourself- where are they?"

"They're at home... I sort of moved out, and I still need to get my stuff. Why aren't you at school today?" Feliciano inquired.

"Tim and I have to go visit our uncle. He's been sick for a long time and we always go see him this time of year," she said. "He was downstairs cleaning some things to take along." Feliciano walked in farther and noted that Tim wasn't lying- there had to be at least five plates with fifteen waffles apiece scattered across the counter. And the bowl in Bella's hands suggested she was making more.

"Help yourself, and there's some plastic bowls and lids in that cabinet if you want to take any home," she said, nodding to the proper cabinet. Feli nodded and went for the cabinet. He knew he was sure to have enough for a meal now, lunch, dinner, and then some for Ludwig when he got home...

(note: i am soooo sorry about the late update guys. ive been sort of caught up in some stuff and i promise im trying to get these out as soon as i can. finals on the way, social life suddenly appears, and writers block is a pain to work through. again guys, im sorry about this. but its not done yet, i assure you!)