AN: Sorry for the late update everybody.

The aged floorboards creaked as the young American ran blindly about the dark halls of an unknown building to him. The floor felt flimsy, as though if he were to step too hard on a certain piece of wood, his leg would go crashing through. He tried to not let the thought distract him too much as he wheezed and rushed down halls that whispered to him as he sprinted recklessly along. His heart was racing wildly in his chest the further he ran down a hall that never seemed to come to an end. He didn't even know how he ended up there to begin with. He just remembered running and always running.

The part of it all was that he didn't even know what he was running from.

Specks of light glittered in the distance from up ahead and the teen followed them like a deranged moth, desperately attracted to the source of light that was unknown to him. The closer he got to the small flames that littered along the walls, the hotter his skin began to feel. He felt sweat start to slid down his face and several times he had to use his sleeve to brush it from his eyes clumsily as he ran. Along the dark walls were several dangling old oil lanterns. Their flames were so small but the heat that radiated off them was almost overwhelming and the boy ducked his head down to keep the scorching waves from burning his face.

When he felt the felt the flames dull from behind his closed eyelids, he opened them again and just in time to keep himself from smacking into a door. The teen gasped and immediately stopped himself just a few feet from colliding with the old door.

Finally he was able to catch his breath from the non-stop running as he bent over and placed his hands on his shaking knees. He felt the heat radiating from behind him through his thin T-shirt. It reminded him of that feeling you got when you stood too close to the fire pit at a bonfire. The light was memorizing but being too close was too painful to withstand for long periods of time.

With his breath still heavy and raspy, the boy turned and gazed down the hall where he just escaped. Beyond that was nothing but darkness filled with whispers that were faint and foreign sounding to his ears. The wood floor beneath his bare feet was murky and worn. The panels were wide and long that stretched outwards like the once tree where it was carved from.

The lighting was dim from where he stood at the end of the hall, but he was able to identity the color of the walls to be a dull green. He leaned closer and discovered that it was old wallpaper with elegant designs of vines creeping up along side the wall that reached the high ceilings.

Next to investigate was the door that was just feet from him. The boy gazed at it, uncertain whether to open it and see where it would take him. He took a few cautioned steps forward but stopped when he felt cold air leak from slim gaps underneath the wooden entry. He wiggled his toes at the weird feeling as the coldness crept up his legs and collided with the heat that was burning his back from behind. The feeling made him shiver and caused goose bumps only to arise on the lower half of his body.

Too curious about the old, large wooden door before him, the blonde took a wary step forward with his right hand reaching for the old golden handle. He paused for a few seconds and listened to the whispers that sang from behind him. Their voices picked up as though something electrifying were about to happen. The boy held his breath and slowly reached for the golden knob as the whispers became louder in his poor ears along with his thudding pulse.

The air grew lukewarm and the sweat from his forehead started spilling down his cheeks as his dampened hand tried to get a solid grasp on the handle to fully turn it without slipping. Finally, after several rushed attempts, the handle turned and then-

Nothing.

It was locked.

The blonde pulled it in case it was just heavy or if the handle was stuck on itself. Still, nothing happened and the boy pulled away from the cold lever and gazed at the large door. It was dark brown and appeared very old from the splitters that struck out in several different places on its face. The golden handle was worn from being turned what seemed like a million times. There were a few spots on the knob that looked rusted over, but the spots that were still gold were shiny enough that he could see his unpleasant reflection in it.

The boy was so curious about the door and what lied behind it that it attracted all of his attention. His ears were fixed on noises that might come from behind the door and not from behind him. His eyes scanned the door for any further information on the its history and not on what was creeping up behind him until it was too late. The boy's eyes gazed into the golden handle and that's when he saw it.

A dark figure stood tall behind him and loomed over him like a shadow. The boy's heart picked up and fear took over his entire being. He was too scared to even react to the situation as a part of him accepted the fact that he had no escape and to surrender. A few seconds was all that he had after seeing the reflection in the handle until finally what he dreaded happened against his inner pleads.

A wintry hand placed itself on the boy's shoulder and he shivered from the touch instantly. Quivers went racing down his spin and his teeth clattered hard enough he thought they might shatter. His entire body flinched and his heart almost went bursting from his chest. The boy's knees shook and buckled a couple of times without him helping it. The only thing keeping him from collapsing was the hand that belonged to the dark figure that was currently resting itself atop his shoulder.

He let out a breath of air and noticed how it came out like fog. He watched it swirl around until it faded out into the cold air around him. Just as he took in another breath of air, he stopped short and watched horridly as fog from another's breaths flowed right past the side of his face and tickle his numb cheeks. The boy stopped breathing altogether with his mouth still agape and watched the blows of breath from the shadow float on past him and fade out.

There was a wet click next to his ear and the hiss eyes shot wider than what they already were. The shadows breath tickled his ear and the blonde fought the urge to lean away from it, scared of the price he'd have to pay for resisting the other while in their domain.

Was this what he was running from?

The hand on his shoulder eased up and the blonde tilted his head down and watched as one of its long dark fingers stretched upwards and point towards the old wooden door. There was the sound of the other inhaling at his ear and the boy waited nervously before he atlas heard the voice he expected to hear. A voice that he'd been hearing inside his head that caroled to him continuously.

With the shadows long figure still pointed at the passage before them, it breathed its command and the blonde closed his blue eyes and obeyed.

"Not now… Not yet…"

The world around him flashed brightly before it turned black and the floor beneath him gave way and the blonde went spilling downwards into the blackness that he'd been trying to escape from since the very beginning.

~.~

When Alfred's eyes fluttered open, he instantly squinted at the brightness of the room he had awoken to. He closed them again and laid still while letting out a long drained sigh. There was a voice that was echoing in his head as though it were chanting something to him in a foreign language. In an abnormal way it seemed oddly familiar to him like if he listened hard enough he would be able to remember the words and their meaning. He relaxed himself into the bed and tried to listen to them harder. The longer he searched for their meaning; he remembered hearing something extremely familiar to them in his dream.

The door.

He swallowed heavily and let the memories of his dream come back to him leisurely. The room he was currently in suddenly got very hot and the blonde's legs twitched like he wanted to kick the covers from over him off. It was getting uncomfortable until he saw him dream self reach for the door handle. Everything turned cold and he almost shivered from the sudden temperature change. The voices started to get louder and he listened to them and the soft words that they uttered hastily.

Just when he found a rhyme in their cries, a horrendous scream silenced everything and Alfred went shooting up from his bed and covered his ears. His blue eyes snapped open and his breath picked up, causing his chest to heave up and down rapidly. It sounded so real, as if the scream came from right within his room and the person was standing right at his bedside. Alfred looked to his side and saw that he was indeed all alone in his room. He let his hands fall slowly from the sides of his head and closed his eyes and tried to get his pounding heart rate back under control.

That scream, he thought. It sounded as though it came from a young girl.

He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them before burying his face into them. He thought about the scream, and the more he did, the more he wished he hadn't. It sounded so real but he knew it was just apart of his imagination. But why did it happen in the first place? There hadn't been anything like that from his nightmare, so where did it come from?

"It sounded so tormented…" he sickeningly said the last word, and peeked his eyes up from his arms to gaze at the wall across from him.

It just so happened that right when he looked up, the door across from his opened and Matthew came walking in. The slightly older twin looked over at his brother who was still clothed in his clothes the day prior. The dirt on his face was now smeared and made him look filthy. Matthew just knew that his pillow probably didn't look much different.

Matthew said nothing but walked over to their closet and pulled a few things from the hangers before turning and walking up to the others bedside. He looked down at his brother and saw how exhausted he still looked. He wished for him to have safe dreams that night but by the look in his eyes and how distanced he was, he guessed it he had just the opposite.

Sighing, Matthew tossed down the clothes that he picked out for his brother on the bed. Alfred glanced at them but said nothing.

"We have to get ready for school today, Al." He looked for some sort of reaction from his brother and got one when his face scrunched up before he buried his head back into his crossed arms.

"Al." but he didn't respond.

Matthew watched him for a moment more before sitting himself down next to his depressed twin. He looked to him through the strands of his blonde hair that escaped from behind his ear. He remembered the time when they were younger Alfred would braid it and fill it with flowers and leafs. Sometimes he attempted to put pinecones in it but that always ended with them tackling each other into the dirt. The memory made him smile and he wanted to share it with his brother or even show him some of the pictures that were taken before their scolding.

"Look," he exhaled, his similar blue eyes still fixed on his brother. "I know that you feel like you're walking into this alone, but you're not. Kiku and I will be there for you throughout the day. You also need to remember that we will be in school with hundreds of other people around us all day long. There will never be a moment where he will get you alone."

I've heard that one before, Alfred thought but kept it to himself.

Matthew watched Alfred stir before his head poked up from his barrier to look him. His eyes were half-lidded and looked drained. Matthew frowned and scooted closer to him then placed his arm around his shoulder in attempt to comfort him.

Alfred leaned into him and let out a heavy sigh. "We'll be in a school with other people, Matt. In all honesty, I'm more worried them." He leaned up to look his brother in the face and try to see if he understood what he was trying to express to him. "I saw what he was able to do to Kiku, and I'm afraid that he'll just to that trick again but on other people. I may not practically like everyone at out school, but is it really fair that they might end up in similar situation?"

"If you're blaming yourself for anything that hasn't happened yet, then stop yourself right there before you make any more unpredictable assumptions." Matthew narrowed his eyes down at Alfred who just looked at him sadly like he wasn't really going to take his advice.

"But it was my fault for what happened to Kiku the other day and-"

Matthew suddenly stood up and Alfred quickly closed his mouth and watched as his brother went storming over to the window and aggressively yank open the blinds. Alfred's eyes blurred as they tried to re-adjust to the sudden exposed light in the room. When they finally did, he noticed that Matthew was glowering out the window and he didn't even have to look to know what house he was glaring at.

"That man is in fault for all of this craziness, not you. Anything that may or may not happen will not be your fault, Al." he turned to him and Alfred saw the same burning gaze in his eyes that he had when he attacked the man in the library and yelled at the gardener. And once again it scared him.

Alfred fidgeted in his spot and looking down at his sheets. "I know, Matt. I know." He answered bleakly and the other just eyed him because he didn't believe his words. He knew that he wouldn't agree on anything that was said until they went through a day of school and see how everything went and how it all came to a secure end like they both wished to happen. He ran his hand through his hair like he did when stressed. His twin just wanted to be the one to help people, not the opposite and the effect of that realization was taking a serious toll him. Matthew decided that he better just leave the room and have his brother get ready so they wouldn't be late. As he was about to close the bedroom door behind him, he looked back at his brother worriedly but didn't say anything let him be to his thoughts.

Alfred waited until he heard the soft click of the door before he letting his eyes flutter closed. He deeply regretted it though when he almost immediately heard the echo of the little girl screaming again somewhere in the back of his mind. After everything that his brother had just stated so firmly, he still didn't have full faith in his words. If anything did happen to anyone, it would be his fault. And Alfred didn't know how he was ever going to endure that.

Their mother waved goodbye to them from the front porch while Matthew tried to suppress a laugh when Alfred went running back and gave their mom a quick peck on the cheek. He instantly stopped though when both his mom and Alfred shot him a glare from the porch.

He wondered about telling his brother about everything that their mom had said to their neighbor from that night, but he didn't want to worsen the mood when it appeared that Alfred just came out of it after his shower and changing into fresh clothes. He was surprised how fast he had gotten ready after he left his bedroom and went downstairs for breakfast. Alfred joined them at the table but never asked for a plate and insisted on not being hungry.

"Now don't forget about seeing your schools nurse today, alright? You promised me the other day about meeting with someone and getting their outlook on your condition. I will be making a follow up call to them this afternoon to hear how the check up went and if it went bad-"

"Ugh, I know! You'll email dad and take me to the doctors for some real help." He exaggerated on the 'real' part by mocking it with his fingers and his mom eyed him doubtfully.

"Alright now… I trust that you'll do this for me, but more importantly for yourself." She raised her voice as Alfred started to walk away from her and down the porch steps to join his waiting brother.

"I promise, mom!" he called out over his shoulder and she just crossed her arms over her chest and watched him and her other son walk side by side down the path and onto the sidewalk.

After a moment of standing there, she noticed that Alfred didn't have on his glasses and was able to see fine and even walk down the steps without any difficulty. Was he using Matthew's contacts that he wore when playing hockey? She stood there on the porch and pondered it until distracted when something bright flashed from in front of her. She looked up and saw Mr. Kirkland pulling out from his driveway and onto the road. She grinned happily and removed her arm from around his waist to wave in his direction. The windows on his car were too dark that she wasn't able to see if he waved back but she assumed he did anyways since he was such a gentleman.

~.~

Alfred had his hands in his skinny jean pockets as he strolled along side his twin on the sidewalk that lead to their bus stop. The jeans he currently was wearing were a tad too tight. It was Matthew who picked out his outfit, so he assumed that he just grabbed an older pair of jeans without even realizing it. He did give him props on picking out his favorite dark blue Captain America shirt that had the Captains shield emblem in the middle of it. The red in the shield matched with his favorite red converse high tops, and the fact that he actually matched for once did seem to put a certain pep in his step. At least now Kiku wouldn't say something about his outfit.

Alfred slowed in his steps when he thought about his Japanese friend and how he had one hell of a surprise waiting for him at school. A bit of guilt crept up into him but he just tried to think positively about it like he had the other day.

While walking, Alfred's foot kicked something and the metal object skidded and clanked out in front of him. He stopped and looked down at a miniature shovel that was left along side the sidewalk. He took a step back and looked to his right and saw the small flowerbed that he had fallen into the other day. That man had been a real jerk to him and over some stupid flowers and almost killed him over it. Thank god Matthew was there to stop the man because Alfred was pretty sure that it would have ended badly for him-the man that is.

Alfred was grinning to himself about it and at the poor flowers that were still smashed in their little bed. Even an indent of where he had fallen was still there. Seriously, he could still see the outline of his head and arms in the dirt. It was like something you'd see in a movie when the character smashed though a wall or fell into a pile of deep snow.

As amusing as it was to stare at, Alfred couldn't help but get the feeling that something was wrong with the scene. The purple flowers that the man had said to preciously love were still flattened and dirt was uneven in several places. He remembered seeing the man getting straight back to work right before they left, so why did it look as though no progress were made?

Matthew walked up beside him and stared at the destruction from yesterday. That man seriously looked like he was about to kill, Al. Good thing he had been there to stop him or else he so would have gotten his ass kicked-Al that is.

"Hey, Matt." Alfred said while still staring at the plants. "Don't you think it's kinda weird that Cuban man just left his garden the way it is? I mean, it's a wreck and he just didn't bother on fixing it or nothin'." He kicked the shovel that was next to his right foot and Matthew watched as he did so.

Thinking back on the other day's event, it did seem odd that the man just gave up on trying to fix the mess that Alfred had made. He seemed pretty fixed on working on it too after they apologized and left.

"Maybe he plans on fixing it today possibly? It was getting late when it all happened. He probably turned in for the night."

Alfred looked back at the little metal shovel and also noticed a pair of orange gloves that were lying in the grass alongside a straw hat. "Ok, but then why did he leave out his supplies and belongings? Wouldn't you think he'd bring those inside with him?" he asked peculiarly interested and his brother just shrugged.

"He was probably so upset with you that he just gave up and went marching inside." Matthew let his lack of concern through his bored tone. "Now come on or else we are going to miss the bus." Alfred looked over at his brother and saw that he was grinning, clearly not concerned in the slightest.

They both turned to leave the site but not before Alfred stared at the house and wondered if the man was actually in there. If he really was planning on fixing his garden later on that day, then he and Matthew would have to find another way home in case of running into him again.

~.~

When Alfred and Matthew walked off the bus, the first thing they noticed was the lack the girls in the bus drop off zone. The only time when they did happen to see one, she was running past them and shoved Alfred out of her way. The scene inside the school wasn't much different. The halls were pretty much depleted of any females as well.

Alfred and Matthew interestedly strolled through the hallways through the school until they reached the second floor where their side-by-side lockers were. Having them upstairs was extremely inconvenient because they both had all of their classes downstairs and the short time gap in between classes made it impossible to travel back and forth between floors.

Two girls went running by, hand-in-hand, giggling and one of them bumped into Alfred, causing him to head butt his locker while he was trying to open it. He growled and threw his hands up in the air angrily as he watched the teenage girls dart clumsily down the hall.

"Is today try to run over Alfred day or something!?" he mockingly barked out and his twin just laughed under his breath and shook his head.

"At least people are acknowledging me for once and not you." Matthew joked and opened his locker after hitting the last correct number. "Don't think I've ever gone this long without someone running into me and saying 'sorry, didn't see you there.' I have to say that I'm liking the change." He grinned and Alfred shot him an annoyed look while still fumbling with his own locker combination.

"Yeah, well, I don't. It's pretty damn annoying. I don't know how you've been able to put up with it for so long, Matt. Oh, wait!" Alfred smiled widely and started laughing. "Remember that time when someone bumped into you and you shoved them back like 10 feet! I swear that guy thought he was given the gift of flight!" Alfred was shaking his at the hilarious memory while Matthew just glared at him from the corner of his eye.

"How many times do I have to tell you it was an instinctive habit I picked up from hockey? It wasn't on purpose and I made sure to apologize to the guy right after." He muttered annoyingly and tried to focus on what textbooks he needed for his classes that day instead of embarrassing memories that his brother never seemed to let him forget.

"Did you apologize before or after you took him to the nurse?" Alfred snorted and wiped his eyes because they had started to tear up from his laughter.

"Oh my god!" Matthew slammed his locker shut and turned on his brother to see that he was biting his lip to keep himself him laughing any harder. His eyes were watery as though he had just been crying.

"W-Will you shut up." After seeing his brothers expression, it was then Matthew who was having a hard time trying to keep a straight face and from laughing along with him. He smiled warmly when Alfred burst out laughing because of the fact that he couldn't resist but to laugh at the memory as well. It was nice seeing Alfred back to his old self and joking around like usual. The morning may have started out rough, as well did the past couple of days, but just spending time with each other and laughing at things they had done in the past seemed to brighten Alfred right up. He missed seeing the goofy smile on his face and hearing that annoying yet loveable laugh he never held back or learned how to control.

Matthew thought about the way his twin acted when he dropped Mr. Kirkland's glass plate down the stairs that weekend. He couldn't believe the toll that it had on him after and how obsessed he had become to fix it. He even went as far to pick up broken shards of glass and harm himself in the process. He couldn't stand seeing his brother in such desperation that made it all absolutely pitiful to watch. That's when something inside Matthew ticked and he wanted to hold his twin and comfort him until he was back to himself. It was also when Matthew first started to feel real hate for their neighbor. He didn't understand or know when the man managed to have such an influence over his brother, but he swore that he would put an end to whatever was happening.

"You know that it was pretty funny, don't you?" Alfred had finished his fit of laughter and was now giggled softly to himself while leaning against his own locker.

Matthew did a sideways grin and rolled his eyes. "I suppose it was… but it was also pretty damn impressive." He couldn't help but to express some of pride he felt for himself because of the event. When his hockey team caught wind of it, lets just say he never bothered to shut anyone up about it or deny that it happened.

Alfred's face lit up at his words while his eyes got all wide like he was truly excited that he actually confessed out loud and to them both for the first time. An overwhelming since of pride built up in Matthew at the sight as he waited for his brother to grasp whatever response that was zooming around in that head of his.

"Dude! Like I said before, he was flying! I couldn't believe it and slightly wished that it were me! Not that I want to be rammed into like him, but to be shooting through the air like a super hero or something! Ah man, wouldn't it be awesome to fly like that? Just hover over everyone in the halls and kick a few heads while you're up there?" Alfred continued to go on about the perks or flying while Matthew continued and listened to his brother ramble on. Usually he would silence him by smacking his hand over his mouth but Matthew missed hearing his brother rant and didn't want Alfred's thoughts to wander off somewhere dark and depressing like they had that morning.

Chatty Alfred means happy Alfred, Mathew thought to himself.

"And then if there's a cat stuck in a tree I could totally just hover up there and grab it. Oh! Or maybe I would just pick up the entire tree and shake it free! Wait, then I would also need super human strength…" Alfred perched his lips and thought about in his head. "I suppose I'd choose super human strength over flying because Captain America has super human strength and isn't able to fly but he still kicks Hydra ass and-"

As Alfred bragged on about his favorite super hero, something over the blondes shoulder caught Matthew's attention. At first it was just a small black dotting coming way down the hall, but then it turned into a tall thin black blurry image. Matthew went rigid as Alfred's chatter morphed into long muffled words and everything else went hush around him.

Soon that tall black being morphed into the figure of a human being and Matthew could clearly see two long legs separate with every stride that advanced towards them. The older twin swallowed and looked back to his brother whose mouth was moving in slow motion.

"He's coming…" Matthew muttered and the muffled sounds of his brother's voice became more understandable.

Alfred looked at his brother oddly for a moment before turning to look over his shoulder. "Who's coming? Is it Kiku?" he was just a blink away from looking down the hall until his twin grabbed his chin and turned his head back in his direction.

Alfred looked back at his brother shocked and completely confused by his sudden actions. The look on his brother's face was fierce and stern and Alfred just stared at him tentatively back, speechless because he didn't know what to say and that Matthew was grasping his face so securely that his lips perched tightly together couldn't move.

Matthew looked back over his brother's shoulder briefly then back to him sternly, his eyes fixed onto his. "Listen very closely, Al. I want you to turn around and keep your head facing your locker, got it? Don't turn around or even glance any other way, you got that?"

"mmhmm." Alfred hummed and shook his head up and down along with his brothers forced hand.

"Turn around, now." He hissed lowly and Alfred did as told nervously. He glanced to the side at his brother who was standing much closer than he had been before and had his arms crossed over his chest. The look on his face was stone cold, something similar to the face he'd show opponents when on the rink.

Alfred looked back to his locker and figured that he might as well try to open it again while he stood there completely clueless to the whole matter. He managed to get his combination right and was just about to pull the handle to open it until something inside him sparked.

His hand flung from the handle when his heart did that jump that'd he feel when his foot would slide down a step by accident and he'd get the short-lived feeling like he were falling. What the hall was that? He was about to turn and face the other way until he remembered what his brother had instructed of him. Instead he let out a shaky breath and tried to get his heartbeat back under control but for some reason it just kept pumping faster and faster and-

"Well if it isn't my two favorite lads from across the pavement."

Alfred's eyes went wide as soon that accented voice flowed into his ears. He gulped and reached for the handle of his locker to grasp tightly onto, keeping him in position.

"What do you want Mr. Kirkland?" Matthew replied coldly, barely attempting to mask the distaste in his voice.

There was a soft chuckle and Alfred felt his heart flutter some more at the sound of it.

"Well aren't you brash at such an early hour in the day? I do hope you're not this impolite to all of your course instructors." He paused and Alfred heard his brother do a short dry laugh. He wished so badly that he could turn around but knew that what Matthew had instructed him was the best thing for him. He just hated the feeling of someone being able to stare at him while he couldn't look back.

"Speaking of behaving impolitely…" Mr. Kirkland turned his eyes onto the back of the young Americans blonde head that was annoyingly facing the other way. "Aren't you going to say hello, Alfred? I am hurt that you didn't come down from your room to see me off like your brother had. I did, however, told your dear twin to give you my greetings." He looked back at the twin who was glaring at him.

"Though something tells me the message never got through." He murmured then let a grin re-appear onto his face as he continued to stare onto the back of the boys head, then letting his eyes drop to the back of his neck that was exposed. He was tempted to run a finger down the boy's neck bone and spine to observe the engrossing sight of goose bumps arise from his tanned skin.

Alfred bit his lip so hard to keep himself from responding that his teeth went through the skin and it started to bleed. So desperately he wanted to turn around and see those pools of green that lingered in his mind constantly and haunted his dreams. He wanted to witness that sly grin the man would bear after saying something hauntingly charismatic.

Fuck. This was harder than he thought it was going to be, trying to distance himself from the engrossing man.

Matthew started to speak again but Alfred couldn't understand what was being said because he was too focused on just about anything else than the man behind him and the sound of his voice spilling from his lips.

To distract himself further, Alfred opened his locker and started to act as though he were getting something from inside. At first he was doing an alright job on keeping himself preoccupied, but then it all fell through when he tore his eyes away from his text books and looked at the inside surface of his locker door. There, was a square mirror that he'd hung up in the beginning of the year. Having it there had always been covenant but now Alfred was really wishing that he took it down a long time ago when his brother made fun of him for it.

Alfred's hand froze on the door as soon the image of neighbor appeared in his locker thanks to that stupid piece of reflection glass. At first the man stood still and Alfred thought for a moment that what he was seeing was just a picture of the man, until those pale lips curled upwards in a way that would make any normal person terrified. But Alfred wasn't like other people and that was all because of this man.

Instead of looking away or slamming the door shut, Alfred actually pushed the door open a little more to see the man better who was standing directly behind him. As hard as he tried to fight it, the corners of his lips were aching to turn upwards and give him a small smile in return.

His heart began to beat so hard in his chest that Alfred was afraid all the pumping blood would turn his face red if it weren't already. He would've checked in the mirror but his blue eyes were too fixed on green that he didn't want to strain them anywhere else.

Just as quick as their connection sparked, it suddenly ended.

The school bell rang, warning that class was soon to start and neither of the boys were anywhere close to their first block room-which was on the bottom level.

It was Mr. Kirkland that tore his gaze away and looked at the thin yet classy watch on his pastel wrist. He frowned and stared at it before letting his arm drop back to his side and looked up at the twin boys who were both intently watching him. Seeing that he had both of their absolute attention gave him a small flicker of stimulation, especially of the younger of the two.

"Best that you both should be leaving." He said naturally and slid one hand into his trouser pocket like the atmosphere was completely causal between them. "As well should I." he continued, "Being late on my first day wouldn't give the students an honorable representation of myself."

"Yeah. It'd be a shame if your students were to think badly of you." Matthew sneered out and looked at the older man for only a moment before something else drew his attention from down hall.

The Englishman gave a small, amused sideways grin at the comment, clearing catching what the boy obviously wanted him to pick up by his words. It amused him in complete honesty, how he gave subtle hints of his dislike most of the time instead of just coming clean with his thoughts. He understood though. Most were scared about giving him their honorable opinion or beliefs. They knew something about him wasn't right. And because of that perturbed aura, people expressed their words in the same way that they displayed their actions and outer appearance.

Frightened.

"Brash indeed…" Mr. Kirkland muttered to himself before turning his gaze on Alfred, who was clutching the door of his locker for dear life. It looked as though he were restraining himself from doing something and that made the man wonder what his true intentions were if he gave in and let go.

And just as ghostly as he arrived, he vanished.

Alfred literally heard his knuckles crack when he un-clamped his hand from his steel locker. He grimaced at little at the awkward feeling in them before the color came back and the feeling of blood circling into his fingers returned. A part of him wanted to turn and watch his neighbor strode elegantly down the hall, but he knew that his brother would grab his face and yank it away before he could even identify him amongst the scurrying crowds.

Matthew let out a heated sigh like he was releasing all the steam that was boiling up inside of him. Probably explained the red color in his cheeks. He didn't say anything and took a step back and looked in the direction that stole his attention earlier. Alfred leaned to the side and curiously looked past his brother and froze when his eyes meet fixed brown.

The moment that he had been dreading was finally going to happen. At least it wasn't happening the way that Alfred daydreamed it would, which was a good thing.

Kiku's usual slow and respectful pace was all thrown off. He strode down the hall in such a determined manner that a few people who usually didn't acknowledge him moved quickly out of his way. His short legs were carrying him in a way that someone would stride with long legs and Alfred watched them carry his little friend right up to his locker where they were gathered.

Matthew opened his mouth to speak first but Kiku's sharp tone cut him off and made the blonde stand there stricken.

"He is here, Alfred-San. Why is he here?" Kiku was paying the twin he cut off no mind and directed all of his attention at his supposedly best friend. They agreed that they were going to take care of this problem together. Alfred promised that he wouldn't go through the situation alone and would seek help from his best friend. He was there and witnessed with his own eyes the influence that man possessed of people. Like puppets under his hand and all he had to do were move a finger and they would limply dance for him. Together they broke into a library to search for information and attempt to discover at least what it was that they were up against. He knew Alfred wouldn't ever exactly be safe at his home and they were all aware that the man across the street had the will to break in whenever he pleased, but now they weren't safe in school? Why hadn't Alfred told him this sooner so he would've at least been prepared for a day of constant uncertainty and apprehension?

He watched the American nervously look over him and then over at his twin, hoping to get the other to answer instead. Alfred made a slight pout and Kiku took that as the other not wanting to get involved.

Alfred let out a short huff and placed his hand on the side of his tan beck tiredly. He looked as though he were trying to think of something. Good. Kiku was glad that for once he was thinking before speaking but he wished he'd done that the other day and informed him about why that man was going to be loose in their school.

"Listen, Kiku. It's not as elaborate as it may seem. I swear I meant to tell you about this sooner but it honestly escaped me with all the crazy shit happening lately. School wasn't really the first thing on my mind over that long weekend." The way that his dark eyebrows knitted upwards detailed that he was truly upset and he wasn't lying. Kiku dropped his glare to their shoes before looking back up but his stare was elsewhere and on a rectangle box that hung on the wall.

"We will not make it to class if we stay and talk now. Let us go while you walk and collect your thoughts. You will inform me when we arrive and sit in our first class." He looked up at his friend past his dark eyelashes and gave him a little nervous nod in agreement.

"Then let us go now." He turned and took a few steps and paused momentarily until his friend met up with him at his side.

"Hey." Kiku looked back to the other blonde was still in place along side the lockers. He had forgotten that he was still standing there.

Matthew just gave him a look that didn't need any words exchanged to understand what he was thinking. Kiku's brown eyes flickered to Alfred then back to the other twin who did the same. He was asking him to watch over his brother of course. It was obvious with the worried expression hidden under the tough mask he was currently trying to up keep.

The Japanese boy nodded then turned and walked swiftly through the crowds of fellow students to the staircase that would lead them to their first block. Even though Alfred had longer legs and was more athletic, he was the one having the hard time keeping up with his friends pace, not including the many people who kept bumping into him and slowing him down.

~.~

Just like Kiku had instructed of him at the lockers, Alfred confessed and told him everything. He told him that Mr. Kirkland was a new teacher at their school and how he taught the older students and that they'd be safe at least during class time. He also awkwardly confessed how he found out that the older man was going to instruct at their school. He told his friend how the man snuck past him in the doorway that night and made him collapse just by being in his presence. The twisted look of disgust and anger on Kiku's face when he told him about the sexual assault under dinner table made Alfred wish he hadn't told him that part. The confession ended with him eating the apple pie and passing out, but that much Kiku was already aware.

The revelation came out in the library just the other day, yet Alfred still kept him in the dark on some things. Jeez, Alfred seriously felt like a horrible friend. Two days in a row he had to confess to secrets that he didn't truly mean to keep but didn't want to tell when asked.

He had a feeling that Kiku would be questionable with just about everything from now on.

The Japanese boy was sitting slouched over in his chair deep in thought by the looks of it. He rested his elbows on his desk and his hands up to his mouth where his fingers shielded lips. The look in his rich brown eyes were far off, too deep in contemplation to respond to everything that Alfred had told him. After hearing it, he did relax but only subtly. The paranoia was evident by the way his eyebrows pulled together.

Alfred waited patiently next to him at his own desk. They sat together on the side of the room next to the tall glass windows. Alfred had picked them the seats because he enjoyed staring outside and daydreaming about anything and everything other than the subject he was there to learn. But this time it was his friend that drew his complete attention. He had his back to the glass and fully faced his friend that was staring ahead of them and past the bored. His eyes trained on something that was being played in his head. It bothered him that Kiku didn't respond right away like he had thought. He knew the others reaction wasn't going to be a good one, but he at least wanted something from his friend.

Just then their teacher shuffled though the door and slammed it shut behind him brusquely. It made everybody jump except for Kiku.

The aged man strutted behind his desk then placed his brown brief case indolently on top of it like it held nothing important inside and was mainly for show. Alfred assumed it was, since the old man never once opened it in class and pulled anything out of it.

Alfred moved to a more comfortable position in his chair and faced the board like everyone else in the room did as soon as their teacher decided to finally grace them. He watched the man shuffle some papers around his desk and then pat his breast pocket for a pen that he always carried in there. He removed it and set it on top of his desk next to some other pens. It didn't make any since why he even removed the pen from his pocket to begin with. The man already had too many of them placed on his desk and always opted for using just one.

Alfred then searched the room for something else more interesting to observe than his old teacher and his obsession with writing objects. He glanced at his friend and noticed how his puzzled stare was still present and not ready to speak his mind just yet, so the blonde continued his scan of the room until he caught sight of two girls a couple of rows up giggling amongst each other.

They were whispering to each other and smiling giddily after one would finish whatever they were saying. The longer he stared, the more recognizable one of the girls began to become. The brunette girl was one of the many rude students that shoved him in the hall when he had first arrived. He remembered the goofy smile on her face then and how it matched the one now, if not goofier.

Whatever caused the majority of the schools female population to got into a frenzy that morning was most likely the subject of what they were discussing. Alfred, being the social butterfly that he was, grew more interested about whatever they were gossiping about over there. He could hear their voices but not their exact words as they mingled with other voices around the classroom.

Walking over there would immediately earn him a strict yelling and a watchful eye through out the rest of the class, so Alfred opted for lip-reading instead. Was he any good at it? Hell no. But was he going to try? Yep.

He leaned forward on his desk and squinted his eyes in his two classmates direction, not even aware with how noticeable it appeared to be that he was indeed staring them down. The strange act wasn't enough to arouse some sort of question from his friend, so Alfred focused completely on the girl's lips and tried his best to mute everything else around him except for them.

"Right? I can't believeeee it." he managed to get that from the blonde who sat with her body turned in his direction.

The brunette giggled and clapped her hands together. "Can't…class…be over!"

"Sooo…hot…love… that accent."

Alfred's eyes opened a little wider what he thought he heard-or saw, one of the girls say.

"Where…from?"

"Uhh…Britian? Yeah." She nodded and her short blonde hair bounced on her shoulders after her believed assumption.

The brunette acted like he was swooning with a hand placed over her heart then smiled. "What's..name?"

And the blonde girl paused and placed a finger up to her chin as if trying to recall it. Both the brunette and Alfred impatiently sat and waited for her to tell.

"Come on! Spill!" the other playfully shook her friends shoulders and she just laughed.

"Yeah spill already!" Alfred muttered to himself and wished that he were over there. The temptation to stand up and walk over there and ask was almost out weighing the price of getting in trouble.

Kiku's eyes flickered to him but Alfred was too engrossed in the conversation that he wasn't even part of to take notice.

"Fine!" she laughed and removed her friend's hands off from her shoulders and placed ontop her lap and leaned closer to her ear for the reveal of the secret.

"It's-" but then the girl's blonde hair spilled over from behind her ear and covered part of her face, including her lips.

The two of them burst into a fit of giggles while Alfred just sat there bewildered. He slumped back in his chair and threw his hands up as he did so. He felt as though he just watched a soap opera and the murderer in the end turned out to be the mailman instead of the maid. It was always the maid! Always! And not that he watched soap operas or anything with his mom on weekends. That would just be weird.

"Jones!"

Alfred turned to where his named was being called in a tone that was all too cranky. His teacher was staring up at him over his glasses with a snark look on his face; a look that Alfred was all too familiar with on most days.

"Yeah teach?" he asked and the man's thick white mustache twitched from under his nose.

"I hope you don't think I'll be walking over to you, young man." He replied lowly and Alfred resisted a smile. "Get up here." He ordered.

The blonde sighed and raised himself from his chair and started walking over to the old cranky man's desk. As he walked, he tried to come up with an excuse for whatever he was about to be yelled about. He didn't do anything wrong, so he was having a pretty hard time coming up with something from nothing.

Alfred stopped on the other side of the dark wooden desk and gazed down at the old man who looked awfully itchy in his own gray sweater. He wondered if he was forced into wearing it because his wife stitched it for him.

"What's up Mr. Hoover?" he asked and his teacher gave him a glare that told him not to address him so causally.

Mr. Hoover looked at the mess of paper on top of his desk and started shuffling them around until he found what he'd been looking for. He pulled up a small piece of paper between his two wrinkled fingers and held it up. "Found this on my desk just now." He paused and eyed the boy before him up and down briefly. "You sick or something, Mr. Jones?"

Alfred shook his head and stared at his teacher in complete confusion. "If I were then I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be here." He responded and his teacher grunted a laugh.

"I know. You'd skip a day just from allergies."

Alfred opened his mouth to respond but closed it when he remembered that he did in fact skip a day just because the seasons changed. Or was it a week?

"Anyways, you've been called down to the infirmary. Here" he handed the small slip of paper to the blonde then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his budging belly.

It pieced together in Alfred's mind once he read the request slip aloud softly to himself. It looked like his mom called after all and had them request him instead of him just willing going like they agreed. Did she not believe him when he said he was going to take care of it and for her not to worry? There were enough things that she worried about and he didn't want his health added to that list.

"I don't know how long it's been sitting on my desk, so I'd advise that you start walking. Don't want to keep the doc waiting any longer and have him call and yell at me for your slow feet." He grumbled and Alfred looked back up at him to see that the man was eying the phone on the wall to his left. Just waiting for it to ring and prove his point.

"Would I get in trouble if I ran?" Alfred asked and started walking backwards from the desk and towards the door that he hoped was open.

Mr. Hoover gave him a weird look but just shook his head. "The hall is not in my jurisdiction." He groused and Alfred grinned and spun around just in time to stop himself from smacking the door.

He heard a few laughs from the class but he didn't take it as them being mean, so he laughed lightly at himself and turned to face the class. He immediately looked in the direction where him and Kiku sat and saw his friend staring at him alarmed. He looked perplexed and slightly agitated that he were leaving, especially all on his own.

Alfred shot him a smile and hoped that it was enough to assure him that he was fine and that he'd be back. But his friend just continued to stare at him like he was making a wrong decision.

"Be right back" he mouthed at him then opened the door and stepped into the empty and quiet hall.

He looked both ways as though he were about to cross a road before stepping forward and away from the door that he shut behind him. He wasn't even several steps away from the door when out of nowhere got a sudden tingling chill that told him to stop. The weird sensation was so uncomfortable that he wanted to turn back around and walk back into his classroom. He wouldn't even care what kind of strange looks he'd receive and would just end up lying to his teacher and tell him that the note slip was a mistake.

Alfred closed his eyes and tried to find just where in his body the sudden chills arouse. It seemly came out of nowhere with no specific cause.

A thought came to him and Alfred opened his eyes and glanced the halls several times up and down, scanning the corners for any strange shape peeking from around it. But he was alone.

Odd.

More cautiously, he started walking again. The halls were completely silent but for the muffled noise of teachers' preaching to their class as he steadily walked past their classrooms. Each time he would curiously glance in to see if everything was all right and nothing at a miss, and each room appeared completely fine.

He turned the corner with his eyes still peering into some language class when something hit his chest and bounced off. Still not in sync with all his senses, it took him a second to realize that the surprised girl who was sitting on the ground in front of him was what he felt make contact with his chest.

"Ah shit," he muttered and knelt down to her level and offered a hand. "I didn't even see you there. Sorry about that." He grinned sheepishly and watched the girl nervously place her hand in his.

"Its fine. I wasn't paying much attention either." She responded and Alfred caught the hitch in her throat when he helped lift her back on her feet. As soon as she was balanced on her own without his support, the girl whimpered and put all her weight onto her left leg. He looked down and saw that her right ankle looked swollen with a light shade of purple blended under her fair skin tone.

"Ah man, please tell me I didn't do that. It looks really bad." He started to get really concerned for her and put his arms out like is she was going to fall and he was going to catch her is she suddenly did. "Hey, I'm on my way to the infirmary, so I can help you there and have your ankle looked at since right now it ain't lookin' too shabby." He darted his eyes at the swollen part of her foot again.

Instead she just weakly smiled and shook her head the blonde student. "Oh, actually I sprained it at my field hockey game last night, so don't worry about it." She watched the blonde literally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank go I didn't cause someone else to get hurt for once..." He muttered out loud when meant to keep that statement in his head but his mouth never seemed to listen to him anymore. When he looked back at her she was putting on an awkward smile, not able to tell if he had meant it as a joke or that he actually hurt people around him often. It made standing so close to him slightly more uncomfortable.

He coughed in his fist then motioned downwards at her injured ankle again. "Why don't you go to the nurse with me anyways?" he tried insisting her. "I don't mind waiting while he takes care of you first. Pretty sure that's a whole lot more serious than anything with me at the moment."

That was a lie. Just the sound of the words leaving his mouth made a part of him laugh at himself for saying something so pitiful when he indeed was in hell of a situation.

"Oh.." she made a weird face and looked down the hall over her shoulder then back to him. "Actually I just came form there and there was nobody inside when I arrived. I waited for almost 20 minutes before just deciding to come back later."

What? How could that be? Alfred looked at her oddly then over her shoulder where she had looked off too. Even though the door was not in view it was just around the corner at the very end.

"Are you sure nobody is there?" he asked, not believing her despite not really having a reason not to.

She just nodded and folded her hands together in front of herself. "Be my guest and have a look for yourself, but if someone does happen to be there, come and find." She smiled amusingly and moved around Alfred and started limping away from him, backwards. "I won't get too far." Then she turned around and started her long limp back to her class. Alfred hoped it wasn't on the second level because if it were then he would force her to let him help. Of course he wanted to help her down the hall at that moment, but his curiosity to inspect the so supposedly empty infirmary was eating him away.

He removed the note from his pocket and read it over again. It was indeed for him and not any other Alfred-if there were any others-because it had his first name, middle initial, and then his last name. The only thing missing was the time that it was written or when it expected him. He'd never been called to the infirmary before, so he didn't have a clue what was standard that the nurse used when requesting students, but it had to be more than just a name. Right?

Slipping the thin paper back into his pocket, Alfred marched on down the hall until her reached the very end and turned. The first thing he was met with was the wooden door of the little nursing room, then it was the cool breeze that blew past him and hollered down the hall in a very spooky manner. He froze, listening to the invisible escaping moans that the small breeze.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" he muttered and started walking towards the wide door, feeling his heart pound nervously with every step that took him closer.

When he reached the door, he let his finger wrap around the handle shivered at how cold it were. Goose bumps shot all the way up his arm and made his teeth chatter. Without waiting any longer and waiting to discover for himself just what was behind the door, Alfred twisted the handle down and pushed it forward, shivering when the air from the inside greeted him starkly.

For a brief moment Alfred thought to have accidently walked into the wrong office, like he had many times throughout the school year. What assured him that he was in the right room was the drowsy smell of rubbing alcohol and the white walls that clashed with the bland pale tiles. The room would have been silent if it weren't for the ticking of the old wooden clock on the wall that had been there for years before anyone else. Its faint, soft ticks helped remind Alfred that time hadn't froze and his senses were working just perfectly despite the allusion his eyes were increasingly starting to believe.

The American teen was positive that he walked into the schools infirmary, but the man in the green vest standing on the other side of the room made Alfred feel like he checked himself straight into an insane asylum.

AN: If you're a UkUs fan then I suggest you stick around for the next update because its about to heat up.