A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for this super late update! Life has been wild since I moved to the city! I started working at a daycare, and the 13-hour shifts there are exhausting! I mean, it's fun, but my writings haven't exactly been able to happen. I have finally discovered a writing time, which is in the afternoons while my roommate is in classes. I sneak into his room to use his computer, haha! Anyway, enjoy this update!

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Four Years Previous

Alfred Jones grasped at the strap of his messenger bag tightly as he walked into his new high school. He gulped as he quickly stepped out of the way of a group of upperclassmen who were running past him. This would definitely take some getting used to, that was for sure. His body heaved a heavy sigh as he thought of his best friend. Was Arthur having as rough of a time as he was? More than anything, he just wanted Arthur there with him on their first day of high school, but unfortunately, Arthur lived three time zones away. With another heavy sigh, he trudged off to find his locker.

Once he found his locker, he leaned against it heavily and looked down the long row of identical metal doors. If Arthur was there, would his be on that same row? Alfred shook his head vigorously before starting his first attempt to open the metal storage space. He couldn't be thinking about Arthur, not when there were still so many things to figure out before classes started that morning.

"Good morning!" a cheery voice greeted. A boy with shoulder-length brown hair stood at a nearby locker. His green eyes smiled at Alfred along with his lips. "I don't believe we've met before. I'm Toris Laurinaitis, and you are?"

"Alfred Jones," the other boy replied, grateful for a distraction. He smiled sheepishly. "I've been going to a private school up until now, so I don't exactly know anyone. It's my first time ever attending public school."

"Is that so?" Toris asked, cocking his head to the side with interest, smile never wavering. "Well, welcome to public school. I assure you it's not as great as anyone may say it is." He chuckled to himself as Alfred left out a small pfft. "Do you have your schedule? Would you mind if I took a look at it?"

"Go ahead," Alfred encouraged, handing over the piece of paper he had printed off before going to school that morning. "I came for the orientation, so I know where everything is. I guess my only issue now is getting to classes on time. In my middle school, we all stayed in the same room all day, and our teachers would come to us."

"Right on," the brunet stated, looking over his companion's school schedule. "Your first hour is right next to mine, Alfred, so I can walk there with you if you'd like. Next is gym class, and I assume you know where that is." He looked up for a moment to see Alfred giving him a thumbs-up. A smile graced his features as he gaze returned to the sheet of paper in his hands. "Woah, you're already in trigonometry as freshman?!" His expression was one of absolute awe and disbelief. "Shit," he muttered to himself. "We have fourth hour home economics together, and also the same lunch period." He blinked in disbelief once more. "You're in advanced chemistry, too?! What kind of school did you even go to?!"

Alfred flushed from embarrassment. "I, uh, don't know how to respond to that," he sheepishly admitted, scraping at the linoleum floor with the toe of his sneaker.

The other boy, realizing the effect of his words smiled comfortingly at his blond companion. "I'm sorry, Alfred. I didn't mean to embarrass you. But it looks like we have our last two classes together after your civics class."

"Awesome!" the blond replied. "At least I have a few classes with someone that I somewhat know. Just wait until I tell Arthur about how I made a friend on my first day!" The relieved smile he had been wearing was instantly gone at the mention of his best friend. "So where are our first-hour classes?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

Toris chose to ignore the change in Alfred's demeanor. "They're right this way," he said, pointing down the hallway. "I'll show you." As much as he wanted to ask his new friend about that Arthur person, he knew it was best to let things be.

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Alfred found himself an empty seat in his first hour classroom, hopefully in an area where he wouldn't attract much attention. He set his backpack down next to his chair and scanned the room, quietly observing the people he would have to share the beginnings of his mornings with on weekdays. What a headache. Though they were all the same age as him, they seemed much younger and more immature than he was. Toris was nothing like the two guys sitting to his right that were making sexual innuendos about the girl who had just entered the classroom. Alfred felt bad for her, especially since she was actually really pretty, even if her scowl seemed engraved into her facial features.

The girl weaved her way through the classroom until she stood before the guys who had been making comments. "I heard what you said," she flatly stated. She leaned over the boys, an air of intimidation surrounding her. "Say that shit again and I will cut your balls off," she growled. Her thin hands grabbed the two boys' hair before she unceremoniously knocked their heads together like a pair of cymbals. She then focused her glare on Alfred, who had been unable to look away throughout the whole ordeal. "What the hell are you looking at?" With a huff, she stormed off to a desk in the back corner of the room.

Alfred gulped as she stormed past him. What had just happened? Who was that girl? And why was he suddenly so fascinated by her? Was it because she single-handedly struck fear into the hearts of two random guys, or was it her intimidation factor? Whatever it was, he was in awe and wanted to know more about her.

As luck would have it, the teacher divided them into groups of two and assigned them to the tables into the room, putting him and that girl at the same table. Being too nervous to talk to the girl, Alfred squirmed uncomfortably in his chair, casting awkward glances in her direction, yet she never looked up from the book she was reading.

"What?" she finally asked, snapping the book shut and fixing an icy blue gaze on him. "Can't a girl read in peace? Is that suddenly not allowed? You keep looking at me, and I have no idea what the hell you want."

"I was just wondering what your name was," he blurted out. "Mine's Alfred. I just transferred over here from Saint Francis's School For Boys, and I don't really know anyone. The way you handled those jerks earlier was pretty awesome, and I just really want to get to know you." It was like word vomit! He could see her expression becoming more and more confused, but he just couldn't stop talking! "I'm really bad at making conversation, as you can see, so I'm pretty hopeless at all of this."

"Natalia," she stated. The girl rolled her eyes when Alfred just stared at her in confusion. "My name is Natalia. It's nice to meet you, Alfred. It's good to see you're not like the other guys in this classroom." She then opened her book and began reading once more.

Alfred was dumbstruck with awe. He couldn't help but find her cool. Everything about her seemed so mature! Feeling his cheeks growing hot, he fumbled around his backpack for his book as well. His heart was pounding in his chest, yet he couldn't understand why. He had never felt this way before!

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Present Day

Arthur nodded as Natalia finished telling him about how she became acquainted with Alfred. "That sounds like him," he state with a chuckle. "He always was rather awkward when it came to meeting new people, but it was almost charming as well." He shook his head, smiling and reminiscing how he had met their mutual friend. "I met him through my mum. Our mothers were friends, so we were encouraged to play together since preschool. He ran up to me on my first day and shouted in my face that he was Alfred F. Jones and that he was told to be my friend."

A small smile graced Natalia's features as she pictured it in her head. "He was always about as subtle as a brick to the face, wasn't he?" she admirably asked. "Typical Alfred." She felt a small pull in her heart as she thought more about Alfred's smiling face. "Though subtlety was never his strong point, he made up for it with heart. He loved his friends with every ounce of his being." Her gaze lifted to the man on her couch. "I was always jealous of you, Arthur. You were the one he loved the most."