The Day Before the Things Occur

I cupped my hands over my ears. The music from my earphones was enriched by the makeshift dome. I nodded my head to "Remote Control" as I leaned back in my chair to read a current event article for extra credit in history.

"Are you even listening to us, Nana?!"

I propped my legs up onto my desk and skimmed through the block of text.

"Nana~, please give us five minutes of your time~!"

I lip synched to the song. Just as I was going to start writing my review and analysis for the article, my chair got tipped back and I hit the back of my head onto the carpet.

"Oops…" Yong Soo had his hands up in the air as he stepped back. "Too much, daze."

I rolled over and sat up. I rubbed the back of my head and took off the earbuds I borrowed from Alfred. "You think..?" I heard them but I didn't want to break my concentration for something petty.

"Sorry…" Feliciano put my chair upright and helped me up. "But we really need to know what you want for your birthday!"

I sunk back into my seat. My birthday was coming up in two days now and the guys have been irritating the living soul out of me over what I want. With all modesty aside, because we all know they were not going to be satisfied with that, I told each of them different stuff- a new pen, notebook, socks, whatever. The common thing was that they were something useful.

I crossed my arms and faced the Korean and Italian. "I'm happy with anything that I can use on a daily or weekly basis."

Yong Soo pouted. "That's not helpful, daze."

Feliciano mirrored the expression. "You can use a lot of different things on a daily basis."

I shrugged. "I feel better about receiving a gift that I can appreciate and use rather than something that just sits in the corner and collects dust."

"You do have a point but we want to know something specific!" Yong Soo flapped his usual oversized sleeves. Did he stretch that sweater's sleeves out before hand?

"Why did you two wait at the very last minute to ask anyway?" I crossed my legs. "Everyone else asked earlier in the week." They cast guilty glances at each other and then at the ground. I sighed. "In any case… I guess I could use a new alarm clock because the sound on the other one is broken."

The Korean unit raised his hand. "I call that one!" He hurried out of the room.

Feliciano giggled and started to make his way out of the room too. I tilted my head. Was he getting me a clock too?

He turned to me before completely exiting. "I didn't really need to ask," he whispered, as if he read my mind. "Yong Soo just wanted me to tag along." He smiled and gently closed my door.

"Sneaky Feli is sneaky…" I shook my head and returned to the article.

The next morning was very much like the day before.

I ducked behind the math textbook I propped up on my desk as Sydney and the twins came up to me. I went into my math class since it was exceptionally cold outside and it was always warm in here.

Ly peeked over the book. "You know what day's comin' up?" I saw Irene smiling behind her.

I glanced to the side. "I… don't know, what?"

Sydney knocked the thick book down with her finger. "Nothing to be embarrassed about, ja?" She grinned. "A birthday is always something to celebrate about."

I laughed softly. "You're right— How did you know my birthday was coming up?" I stared at the three of them.

Irene held up her notebook. "The nurse mentioned it while I was in the infirmary."

I tilted my head. "Why were you there? Are you feeling alright?" Still sick, huh? It must suck not being able to talk for so long…

She turned the page. "I'm okay. I just got hit in the head by a basketball."

Ouch. "Well, I'm glad you're fine." She smiled in response.

"Anyway!" Ly sat in the seat in front of me. "What are ya gonna do for your birthday? You're gonna be sixteen, right?"

I nodded. I haven't really thought about it but who knows what the guys had planned back at home. I rested my chin on my hand. "Probably have a small party at home."

"With your family?" Sydney asked. She sat down beside Ly.

"Uh…" I leaned back in my chair. "Yes, with my fam—"

"Can we come celebrate with you?" Ly suddenly blurted out. Sydney and Irene covered her mouth soon after.

I put my hand on the back wall behind me to keep myself from falling over. Th-them coming to my house..? I noticed that Ly was wearing her beloved Hetalia t-shirt today. I swallowed. More chaos was to ensue… I leaned forward. "I-I don't know about that, sorry."

Sydney suddenly made a face of disgust and wiped the hand that was covering Ly's mouth on her sleeve. "Strict parents?"

I stared at the random pencil markings on the desk. "Yep, strict parents. I mean we did just move so they're still unsure about the area and all, you know?"

"But it's your sixteenth birthday!" Ly slammed on the desk. "You know us well enough, right?"

I looked up at her. Why was she being so persistent..? I froze. Does she already know that I was practically hoarding anime characters at my house?

Sydney patted Ly's head. "Calm down now. You can't just invite yourself to an occasion."

The bell for first period rang.

Irene beckoned Ly to hurry since their class was at the other side of the campus. The twins quickly left while Sydney waited for me to pack my things. I shouldered my bag and headed out.

The German girl caught up with me. "I apologize for Ly's behavior."

"Don't worry about it…" I zipped up my jacket. "But why does she want to come over so badly?"

"The twins turned sixteen last month. Despite the little money they had, they had the time of their lives." Sydney shoved her hands in her coat pockets. "But the next day they found out that a kid in their class also had a 'Sweet Sixteen' but nothing really went right for them."

I caught a glimpse of the twins hurrying across the hall. "So… they want to make sure that I have a good one too..?"

She nodded. "Ja, but if your parents are really against visitors then we understand." She grinned. "Make sure you have fun."

I smiled back. "Okay, I will."

The one minute warning bell rang. I hastened my pace but Sydney grabbed my arm. I looked back at her.

She seemed hesitant about something but recovered herself. "Could we at least drop off some gifts? It is Saturday tomorrow."

A quick drop off should be fine, right..? I nodded. "I'll tell you my address later at lunch." She seemed relieved and we both parted ways.

I decided to hurry home after school to celebrate the fact that it was Friday and I finished my homework in class, by napping.

"Nana!"

I peered across the street to find Alfred waving at me. He was sitting on the bench for a bus stop that was there. I quickly, and carefully, crossed the street and noticed that Elizabeta was with him.

"Hello!" The Hungarian smiled cheerfully at me. "Thank you again for the other day."

I smiled back. "No problem." I turned my attention back to Alfred. One of the lenses of his glasses was broken and his forehead was bruised. I took the spectacles and examined it. "How in the world did his happen?"

The American chuckled and pointed at a nearby light post. "I slipped on ice and slammed my face against it…"

Elizabeta nodded. "I saw everything."

"Looks like you'll need to get new glasses later…" I placed it back on his face. It wasn't on correctly but he fixed it himself.

"I can't replace my Texas!" He cried out.

"You named your glasses?" Elizabeta stared at him in half-disbelief.

I shook my head. "You can cry about it later. We should get home. I'm wiped out from this week."

"Okay, princess." He smirked and got up. "Thanks for the quick treatment, Eliza!"

"You're very welcome." She smiled.

I waved at her as we made our way down the street. I wish she could stay with us… I avoided a frozen puddle and made sure the American did too. I glanced up at him. "What were you doing out anyway? I thought you didn't have work today."

He grinned. "I went to go buy your present." He stretched up into the air. "I can't believe you're turning sixteen already. It's only been like six months since I knew you but it still felt like forever."

Six months already? It feels short and long at the same time… "Yeah…"

He laughed. "To be honest, I thought you were going to be seventeen or eighteen instead."

I stuck my tongue out. "Is it the height?"

"Probably." He shrugged. "But don't worry about it." He took my bag and turned to face me while walking backwards. "That means you got more time to live out loud and have fun, you know?"

His eyes had a spirited gleam in them. I let out a little laugh. "Yeah, that's true." I reached for my bag.

He smiled widely in response. "So, about your cake! What flavor did you like again? I want to make su—"

He lost his footing and while I had my grasp on my bag, I fell over with him. I tapped my foot on the ground. Yep, another ice puddle…

He locked me in a tight embrace. "I freaking hate ice puddles now!" He cried in agitation.

"Y-you're crushing me!" I shouted in his chest. He only held on tighter. His body was warm though. I could smell a hint of coffee from when he spilled it on his shirt. What was I saying?! I struggled to show that he was cutting off my oxygen supply. He got up and easily lifted me back on my feet.

I crossed my arms close to me and marched off ahead of him. "Let's just go. And be careful."

"Yes ma'am~." He followed close behind.

I sighed. My birthday is tomorrow… What in the world do the guys have planned? I hope Sydney and the twins don't see what I've been hiding from them… I shuddered at the thought. I had enough things to worry about. Though, one was finally put to relief. I hope. I glimpsed at the road for any black cars. I hope they're busy tracking down the phone…

I should fulfill Ly's wish of having a good birthday. I shouldn't stress over things. It's my day tomorrow. All eyes on me. All eyes on me… I hung my head. I didn't like the attention to start with.

I turned around to face the American. "What were you saying about the ca—Alfred!"

He waved at me from the McDonalds window. I facepalmed.

"I'm going home…"


Short chapter is short… but longer than the Prologue!

I had to update with something and here it is! (Spoiler alert but this will be the pre-climax chapter for this arc. I couldn't hold off anymore OTL) I apologize that it was simple but that's the result of two spare hours I had for a night.

It feels really weird to say her birthday is coming up. The story is still in January. It was somewhat supposed to correspond with my birthday (which was Jan 31st) but stuff happened… Oh welp!

I hope you guys enjoyed the small update, to some degree. More exciting stuff should happen in the next few chapters :D I don't know when the next update will be but I hope it's not going to be two months again. No promises though.

Thank you so much for your patience! And thank you for the continuous support! Love you all~

Ps. Keep up to date with me on my Tumblr. That's way more accessible than me having to sit and write so… if you're free then come check out my blog? (kisekinochoucho) You can leave suggestions (and plot holes…) for me to consider~.

YES SHAMELESS SELF-ADVERTISEMENT

(I don't even know what to categorize it as. Mostly Hetalia reblogs but then colorful assortments of other stuff. . .)