I don't know why I have once again become obsessed with finishing this story that probably nobody will read anymore, but anyway. I've done it (pretty much), so if you're a new reader or an old reader keep reading if you finally want to know who the murderur is.
I would love it if anyone comments who they think the murderer is before they read this chapter.
"I'm sorry- I'm sorry- " Toris weeped, blood tricking down his chin as he spoke. He was on the bathroom floor, in front of him, a puddle of his own blood and two of his teeth. Another, larger figure loomed over him, baseball bat in hand.
"I told you I'd make you sorry." Ivan said calmly. His eerie smile was still on his face despite the situation. "Is this really as much as you can take? My father often brought me in when he was interrogating enemies. I know how to make it hurt much worst than this. Would you like me to show you?"
"N- No- please don't." Toris begged, practically grovelling at the Russian boy's feet.
Ivan took the others chin in hand. Toris winced, pain lancing through his face- he was sure his jaw was broken- but did not turn away. He knew that would make Ivan even angrier.
Ivan regarded Toris with inquisitive eyes. That eternal smile didn't shift once. After what felt like an eternity, he spoke.
"You are very lucky that I like you, Toris." Ivan said finally, before letting go of the other's face. "Those two interfering nuisances Alfred and Francis won't be so lucky…"
The next day, Toris wasn't at the breakfast table, he didn't got to classes either and at night, he didn't return to his dorm. When the students asked the teachers, they where told he had to suddenly transfer schools.
"That sucks- " Alfred said to Arthur, non the wiser to the truth of Toris's departure, and unaware he would soon suffer a much worse fate.
Matthew was sat in the library, a book in hand. His eyes were skimming over the pages, but he wasn't really reading; non of the information was computing into his brain.
Francis had forgotten about him. They where supposed to meet over an hour ago, but his boyfriend hadn't shown up. He'd been like this the past few days, suddenly being distracted and distant.
It was like he didn't have time for Matthew anymore.
"Oh, if it isn't the lovesick loser." A voiced called out from across the library. Matthew's heart sank.
"Please leave me alone, Gilbert." Matthew said weakly. But the other clearly had no intention of following his request, simply walking over and sitting opposite him.
The smirk on Gilbert's face spelled trouble and Matthew felt his heart sink even further.
"Let me guess- waiting for your beloved Franny?" Gilbert simpered in a mocking tone. Matthew scowled
"That's- that's not any of your business." He said. Gilbert just laughed.
"You're right." He said, eyes practically glowing with excitement. "But I've made it my business. Do you want to know what your darling boyfriend has been doing lately? Or rather, who he's been doing."
"I don't want to hear your lies, Gilbert!" Matthew said in a whisper-shout. He could already feel the heat in his face rising and his heart pounding with fear. Why was Gilbert so intent on destroying their relationship?
"They aren't lies. I told you Francis couldn't be trusted. You were just his slut of the week." Gilbert gloated, before pulling an envelope out of his pocket. "I thought you wouldn't believe me, so I've been tailing him the last few days and I've got photographic evidence."
Matthew felt his head spin as Gilbert threw the envelope in front of him. This was a joke, right? It had to be. It just had to be.
He wanted to be sick.
"Well. Go on then. Open it." Gilbert demanded when Matthew didn't make a move. The other continued to sit, frozen. With an annoyed huff, Gilbert ripped the envelope open.
Out poured a pile of pictures.
"Can't say I'm too impressed with his choice of partner." Gilbert was saying. "But I guess Arthur could be cute. If you gagged him, that is."
Matthew could hardly look. Just glancing at the pile photographs made his stomach turn. What exactly had Gilbert captured? If it was any pictures of Francis being intimate with someone else, Matthew didn't know what he would do.
With shaking hands, he picked up the first one; It was Arthur and Francis leaving the second floor bathroom together, and looking a little too close; Francis' arm slung over the other boys shoulders. The picture was clearly taken from a distance, but their positioning was clear.
"You know that bathroom is only for hook-ups, right? Since it's the furthest from any teachers." Gilbert said, gleefully, like a kid on Christmas Day. "Keep looking."
Matthew didn't know why he complied. The first picture had already done enough damage; he was struggling to rationalise why Francis would be leaving that bathroom and walking that close to someone if nothing was going on.
He flipped through the rest of the pictures; they where all in a similar vein.. the two of them being a little too close, or in a secluded area of the school. There was of Arthur asleep in Francis' lap. It made Matthew's blood boil.
So this was how Francis had been spending all his time the past few days? How could he? Why Arthur?
"These pictures don't prove anything. T-They're just leaning on each other in a few of them." Matthew argued, voice quivering. ".. you do that all the time with your friends."
"Hah- you really are naive. Do you think they're suddenly spending all this time together in isolated parts of the school for 'friendship'." Gilbert sneered. "This is Francis we're talking about. He's sleeping with him. The only part to be shocked about is that prudish prick Arthur is letting him."
"…" Matthew didn't have a response to that. He just kept quiet.
"You should be thanking me. It wasn't easy sneaking those photos." Gilbert said, still grinning. "Because of my awesome photography skills you don't have to waste anymore time with that cheating French playboy. Maybe you'll learn to stick with people in your own league from now on."
"…just shut up…" Matthew whispered. Gilbert didn't even hear him, and just continued to talk.
"But man, I can't wait to see Arthur's face when he realises I know. Francis really is trying to bang the whole school. You should be pleased I've shown you his true colours now- "
"Just shut up!" Matthew roared, louder than he ever had before. Tears where streaming down his eyes and his heart felt like it was going to burst.
Gilbert looked up at him, shocked. Before he could say another word, Matthew turned and ran away.
—-
Everything hurt, but that was starting to become Arthur's new normal.
He was currently lying down on one of the changing room benches. At some point he must of collapsed and Coach Ludwig had carried him in here. His chest hurt. He had a vague recollection of the coach stepping on him when he was on the floor and driving his steel capped boot into his clavicle. That was going to leave a bruise.
He wanted to leave but he really didn't have the energy to move.
He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He was used to abusive violent men- his mother had dated enough of them through his childhood- but this was relentless. At least back then, he'd been able to run away and he and his brothers could protect each other. Now he was all alone and trapped in this damn school with this damn sadist.
Well. He did have Francis.
Since Francis had found out what was happening between him and Ludwig, the two of them had been trying to work together to stop it.
Francis suggested telling another teacher. Arthur disagreed; he was pretty sure any teacher at this corrupt school would take Ludwig's side. Arthur had suggested simply catching Ludwig unaware and bashing his brains in.. for some reason Francis had vetoed that.
"- shouldn't be out of your dorm room after hours without a teacher present- "
Arthur's train of thought was disrupted by the sound of Ludwig speaking.
Arthur felt himself tense up and prayed that the Coach would ignore him. It sounded as if he was across the room in his office, but judging by the acoustics the door must be slightly ajar.
"But I'm with you so I'm good, right?"Another familiar voice said. Feliciano? Yep. Definitely Feliciano. What was he doing here?
"I suppose." Ludwig said, sounding uncharacteristically bashful. "And vhat did you want this time?"
"Don't be like that- I just wanted to see you." Feliciano simpered. "You wanted to see me too, right?"
If the German man replied it was unaudiable to Arthur.
Feliciano laughed. "You're funny, Ludwig." He said.
"My intention is not to be amusing." The coach replied. But there was a softness to his voice. "It is already very late- you should go to bed."
"Aww. You're so mean."
If Arthur didn't know better he'd think the two where… flirting?
They carried on talking for a while about nothing, really. Some of it was difficult for Arthur to hear, muffled by the distance. He just wanted the two of them to hurry up and go so he could leave without having to speak to Coach Ludwig again.
It was strange hearing the normally terrifying Ludwig sound so.. tender. Why did he have such a weird soft spot for Feliciano of all people?
"I'll go if you give me a kiss- " Feliciano was saying. That caught Arthur's attention. Even if he was the teacher's pet, surely Ludwig would reprimand him for that comment.
But instead Ludwig said in a hushed voice.
"Not now, Feli… Kirkland is right outside the room."
"You said yourself he's unconscious." Feliciano whined. "Just one kiss- pretty please? You haven't kissed me in over a week."
"Because we need to be careful, Feli."
"Why? My Granpa is the principle and your Grandpa is his best friend. Neither of us will get into trouble for anything."
"Fine- " Ludwig said. Then suddenly, there was the sound of kissing. And not a peck on the lips either. Real, passionate kissing. Arthur felt a shiver run through him, feeling deeply uncomfortable being forced to listen to this.
Finally, Feli said his goodbyes and Arthur heard footsteps walking past him.
He couldn't believe this.
Ludwig was having an affair with a student. Arthur didn't even have the capacity to care about the morals of the situation, he was finally glad to just have some leverage over this German Bastard.
"So this is where your hiding. I was getting worried about you, Dude." Alfred said. "You haven't been to any classes all day. That's totally not like you."
Matthew didn't look up as his brother approached, simply staying cocooned in his blanket. He was currently crouched in the corner of a store cupboard attached to their shared dorm room. Privacy was a difficult commodity to come by in Globas academy, so he had to carve it out where he could.
"I'm surprised you even noticed." Matthew said sullenly, trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes.
"Hey- don't be like that. I just spent an hour looking for you." Alfred said, sitting on the floor next to Matthew. "Are you sick? Was Gilbert mean to you again?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Matthew sniffled. "Just go away- you'll be late for football practice."
To his surprise, Alfred didn't continue to bombard him with questions or leave for the more exciting option of football practice.
He just sat quietly by him for a moment before speaking.
"You know, I wish I knew what to say to cheer you up, Mattie." He said. "You are my little brother."
"I'm only two weeks younger than you." Matthew replied, voice muffled by his blankets.
"Still counts." Alfred said, with a slightly triumphant smirk, before adding a little more softly. "Y'know. I always wish we got to spend more time together growing up. Maybe then I'd know how to make you feel better."
Matthew knew what he meant. The two of them where half brothers, born to different mothers with the same father. Their father had an affair on Alfred's mother with Matthew's. He ended up staying with Alfred's mother, and Matthew became his extra burden that took attention away from his real family.
But despite their complicated family history, Alfred was always just super happy to have Matthew as a brother. That was something Matthew always loved about him.
"It's stupid I'm this upset." Matthew said, weeping. "It's a stupid reason."
"If it's making you this upset, I promise you it's not stupid."
Matthew took a deep breath before speaking.
"It's Francis. Gilbert said that he's cheated on me.. and I think he might be telling the truth. He has pictures- "
"Wait! You and Francis where dating! Why didn't I know that?" Alfred exclaimed, gobsmacked.
"Wait- you didn't know? But you saw us on a date that time in town?"
"That's was a date- I thought you two where just friends!" Alfred said. "You need to tell me next time."
"I thought you knew!" Matthew blushed. "Anyway. It's over now. I guess he got bored of me. I shouldn't be surprised."
"What- Matthew. Your crazy. Any dude would be lucky to have you." Alfred said. "Especially that slimeball Francis- that bastard is going to pay for making my brother cry."
"Wait- don't do anything crazy." Matthew cried out. "Besides. I can't blame him. I guess Arthur is probably more fun than I am."
Alfred's jaw dropped.
"W- w- wha- Arthur? He cheated on you with Arthur? Our Arthur? English Arthur?" Alfred exclaimed.
"Don't shout." Matthew said- the whole corridor could probably hear this. His brother's shocked expression morphed into one of rage.
"I don't know how that french bastard seduced you and Arthur into being with him, but he's going to pay!"
Matthew sighed, suddenly fearing he'd done far more harm than good confiding in his brother.
—-
"Are you sure you heard them right?"
"Yes. I'm not bloody stupid." Arthur hissed, keeping his voice low so only Francis and not the whole lunch room could hear them. "They where kissing. It sounds like they've been having an affair for a while based off what they where saying."
"Merde." Francis cursed, looking utterly dismayed. "How could he- that beast. I cannot believe that sick pervert seduced Feli. The boy's only 16! We need to tell a teacher right away- "
The french boy went to abruptly stand up.
"-hold on." Arthur said, grabbing him and pulling him back down. That earned him a few looks from fellow students. Maybe the lunch room wasn't the best place to have this conversation. "We don't have any proof. If we rush in and tell the teachers he'll just say I'm a liar and we'll lose this chance- "
"But Feli- " Francis started to argue back, when suddenly, someone slammed a large metal baseball bat into the lunch table in front of him.
Food and cutlery scattered everywhere. All at once, the chatter around them stopped and the hall was deadly silent. Francis looked up to see Alfred glaring down at him.
"What the bloody hell are you up to?" Arthur chided, looking at Alfred, incredulous. "Aren't you too old to be throwing food all over the gaff- "
"Save it, Arthur." Alfred said, his tone icy cold.
Arthur felt his blood run cold. He'd never seen his friend like this before. What on earth had happened?
"Alfred, mon ami, you're being a tad intimidating. Did something happen?" Francis asked, feeling himself start to sweat under the intense pressure of Alfred's glare and the hundred or so other pairs of eyes staring at him intently.
"Save the bullshit, Francis. I know what you've done, you sleazy slimeball." Alfred said harshly, pointing his baseball bat in Francis' face to indicate his point.
"If this is because I'm dating your brother, I can assure you that my feelings for him are real.. I'd never pressure him into doing anything. I just want what's best for him- " Francis rambled. He'd never thought Alfred could be someone he was so afraid of.
"This isn't about you dating my brother. This is about you cheating on him. With Arthur." Alfred shouted. There was an audible gasp from the students watching, most of them turning to whisper to one another.
"Wait- hang on a bloody minute." Arthur shouted back, red-faced. He stood up out of his chair, facing Alfred, also looking fairly intimidating despite the height difference. "Are you trying to say I'm sleeping with the bloody frog- are you mental?"
Francis also looked shocked. "You have lost your mind, Alfred." He looked past the American, searching the crowd for the familiar face he knew he would find there.
Matthew was stood a little while back, at the exit, looking as if he'd just been crying. Francis called out to him.
"Matthew- do you really think, I would cheat on you. And with Arthur of all people, hm?"
Matthew looked as though he wanted to the ground to swallow him up as the whole lunch room turned to look at him. "Uhm- I.. I don't know." He squeaked out. He had begged his brother not to confront Francis like this, but nothing would stop Alfred when he was in a rage.
"Look, Alfred, I honestly don't know if Francis has been loyal to Matthew or not, but I can promise you I've not done anything with him." Arthur said, his tone a little gentler now. It was as if he was talking to a particularly dangerous animal. "I can only just tolerate him in conversation."
Alfred's anger actually seemed to falter at that. Arthur always was good at talking him down.
"It's true. I don't know who has been telling you two these rumours, but I really do care about you, Matthieu. I would never hurt you like this." Francis chimed in, also sounding soft and gentle. Matthew wanted so badly to believe him.
It seemed like they where on the brink of settling the issue in a more civilised way, when suddenly, Gilbert came waltzing over from across the dining hall.
"Oh, come on. You don't actually buy this shit, do you?" He said, shit-eating grin on his face.
Francis, Arthur, Matthew and Alfred all watched him approach warily.
"You can't trust a word these two say; Francis is a cheat and Arthur is a thief." Gilbert declared. "You saw the pictures, right Matthew?"
Once again, the attention of the lunch room shifted to the pale, near-shaking figure of Matthew. He froze under their gaze, staying rooted near the exit.
When he didn't reply, Gilbert sauntered over, and in one swift move, put an arm around him, moving him over until he was in the middle of the hall with Alfred and the others.
"Go on- tell them about the pictures I showed you. The camera doesn't lie, right?" He teased. Gilbert looked as though he was having far too much fun with this. "I can show Alfred too, if he needs proof."
Matthew felt his eyes well up with tears. He'd never felt more humiliated than this moment. All his pain and rejection was being held up for the whole school to see. He wanted to disappear. He wanted to shout at Gilbert and tell him to fuck off, but suddenly, his mouth was dry and words would not escape it.
"You're full of shit, Gilbert. This whole thing is probably something you made up as a way to torture Matthew, right?" Arthur shouted at him, storming over and practically ripping Gilbert away from the Canadian boy. "You're disgusting- "
Rather than looking annoyed or intimidated by the British boy, Gilbert just laughed. "We all know you're just embarrassed because now the whole school knows Mr tough-guy punk is really just another one of Francis' bitches- "
Arthur swung for him, but Gilbert was expecting it. He caught the other's fist with relative ease, before pulling the other's arm behind his back, restricting his movement.
"You forget, Arthur, I'm in the same room as you. So are Matthew and Alfred." Gilbert mocked. "We know you disappear all hours of the night. You really expect me to believe that's just detention? Does Francis pay you? Maybe that's how someone like you can afford to go to a school like this."
It was as if Gilbert was a lawyer presenting his case and the audience of their classmates were the jury, listening to every damning bit of evidence he had against Francis and Arthur.
Alfred was looking at him now, with an expression that made Arthur cringe. He could hear people laughing and whispering amongst themselves. Arthur had terrorised a fair few of them; taking their money, beating them in fights. They where probably glad to see him humiliated like this.
Matthew could only watch in horror. Even though he didn't like Arthur. Even though he was still furious at him for potentially sleeping with Francis, he still felt bad for him.
"He's lying- " Arthur said to Alfred, still struggling to get out of Gilbert's hold. He had given up on what the rest of the school thought, but he at least wanted Alfred to believe him.
Gilbert just cackled, he pulled back the sleeve of Arthur's shirt, showing a collection of purplish bruises around the other's wrists that looked a few days old.
"Wow. It looks like Francis' has been pretty rough with you." He said. Ignoring the other's protests and maintaining his grip on Arthur, he took his free hand and I grabbed the top of Arthur's collar. In one swift movement, he ripped the front of the other's shirt open.
"What the bloody hell- "
"You see. Love bites. I knew they'd be there." Gilbert gloated. "You still going to try and act innocent, Artie?"
Sure enough there where small purple circular bruises dotted on Arthur's chest, just below the neck-line.
Gilbert was lying if he said he didn't feel a rush of satisfaction when he saw the look of horror on both Alfred and Matthew's faces. As if both of their fears had been confirmed.
"They're from a fight, you twit- " Arthur growled, finally managing to free himself from Gilbert's grasp, stumbling forward and pulling his shirt closed. The bruises on his chest where indentations from Ludwig's boot. Certainly not love-bites.
Arthur hated the way everyone was looking at him now. Their gazes where no longer mocking, they're eyes where full of pity. He couldn't even look over at Matthew and Alfred. He was afraid of what he'd see.
Gilbert was the only one who still seemed to be having fun with this chaos, cackling wildly as if he didn't have a care in the world. "I told you dating Francis would blow up in your face- " he was gloating to Matthew.
The whole lunch room was buzzing with whispers and muffled conversations, it felt like being in the middle of a wasp's nest. Arthur nor Francis didn't know what to say to prove to people that Gilbert was lying. Everyone had made up their minds.
Suddenly, there was the sound of metal scraping against metal. Alfred had picked the titanium baseball bat back up, and held it tightly in his hands. Once again, that murderous look was glowing from his blue eyes. Matthew had never seen daylight look so violent.
"You're a real sick bastard, Francis." Alfred hissed. "If you do anything to hurt my brother again. Hurt anyone again, I'll kill you."
He took the bat, swinging it inches from Francis' face. The french boy jumped back, stumbling over his feet and landing on the floor, blue eyes wide with shock.
With one last glare, Alfred threw the bat onto the floor and stormed out of the lunch room. Matthew hurried after him, wanting nothing more than to leave this awful situation.
Arthur wasted no time in turning and leaving leaving as well out another exit.
Gilbert watched them all go. He turned to Francis, that ever present smirk on his face.
"Damn. They're all so dramatic, aren't they? Can you believe all my roommates are this lame?" He said, approaching the french boy like they where still best friends. "But wow. Arthur? I still don't know if I'm impressed with you or if I should take you for a head scan. Either way, it was worth it, right, to see that cocky Brit get taken down a peg?"
Francis stared at him, incredulous. Several emotions passed through his face; shock, horror, anger, hatred.
"You think this is a joke, don't you?" Francis hissed. Gilbert blinked. He thought his friend might be irritated he'd exposed his cheating, but not furious.
"Lighten up, Franny. It was funny. Besides, I just fast-tracked your breakup with that Canadian loser." Gilbert said.
Francis looked for a moment as if he was going to hit Gilbert, but instead, he just turned and walked away. Apparently the Prussian wasn't worth his words.
Gilbert was left standing like that, surrounded by people but all alone. Everyone carried on whispering and talking about him, but nobody approached him. Nobody said a word to him.
For the first time, he felt dread claw at his chest. Suddenly, he realised he might of made an awful mistake. At the time, he didn't realise just how awful of a mistake it was.
While Gilbert was lost in thought, he didn't notice the figure walking across the lunch room and taking Alfred's bat from the floor. "A wonderful souvenir from a very entertaining lunch hour…' Ivan thought to himself.
—
"Ve~ lunch was crazy today, everyone was arguing!" Feliciano said, his tone giddy. He swung his legs back and forward as he leaned back on the bed.
"You don't need to regale me with the exploits of your inane teenage classmates." Ludwig said. He was sat on the floor opposite Feli, his boots in one hand and polish in the other. They where both currently in his room. Feli had come by uninvited yet again, and Ludwig couldn't bring himself to kick the other out.
Feliciano wasn't deterred by the other's lack of interest.
"But it really was crazy- first Alfred was going to fight Francis because of Matthew and then Gilbert got involved and started fighting Arthur- "
"Of course Kirkland is involved." Ludwig said, shaking his head. "Will you give me peace if I kiss you?"
Feliciano gave him a smile that practically glowed. "Yes! I promise!" He said cheerily. Ludwig sighed, although he wasn't really annoyed. He stood up, facing the other, kissing him tenderly on the lips.
He could feel Feliciano smiling into the kiss. There was a pause, as Ludwig sat back down on the floor, going back to polishing his shoes trying to ignore the heat creeping up his neck.
"I still don't understand why you chose to spend your time with someone like me." Ludwig said to his student. "I don't know much about art or cooking or anything you're interested in. Surely you could find friends to have better conversations with."
"But I love you, Ludwig- " Feliciano said in a sing-song voice. Ludwig felt his blush deepen. He didn't understand how Feliciano could say that so easily all the time. For whatever reason Feliciano had been infatuated with him the moment he started working at this school. Even more absurdly, Ludwig had found him impossible to resist.
"….."
"Aww. Why do you never say it back?" Feliciano pouted. "You do love me, right?"
Yes.
Ludwig's mind supplied.
"I wasn't raised like you, Feliciano." Ludwig said, looking off to the middle-distance. "My father was a military general. Just like your Grandfather, his hands weren't always clean. Unlike your Grandfather, he kept me involved. I was expected to be a part of the family business. I trained in the military and worked in the criminal underworld. There was no place for soft feelings such as love."
Feliciano nodded, understanding. He may not be part of it, but he knew the type of shady dealings his Grandfather partook in. "You mean the business he does with Ivan's father?" He said. "Sounds scary."
"It was." Ludwig said. "Which is why I chose to leave. I wanted an honest job. I wanted to do something good with my life. I didn't want to be a part of the criminal underworld any longer. Your Grandfather got me a job here as you know."
"Ve- that's amazing Ludwig. Now you get to escape all that and be the good person you always wanted to be!" Feliciano said, in that eternally breezy tone. Ludwig couldn't bring himself to answer. Escaping his past would be a lot easier if he didn't have Ivan always breathing down his neck acting like they where old friends just because their fathers worked for the same mafia. Plus now he was having an affair with a student.
Being a good upstanding citizen was hard.
"You know, I've decided something!" Feli declared, breaking Ludwig's chain of thought. He looked over at the Italian boy. "I've decided I don't mind any more if you can't say 'I love you' yet. I'll just keep telling you until you can, okay?"
Ludwig felt his heart flutter in the way only Feli could make it. "Okay." He replied, a smile growing on his face.
—-
"This is bloody ridiculous." Arthur said, slamming a pile of tattered photographs down on the desk in front of Francis. "If this is what counts as 'evidence' then I pray that Gilbert never decides to work in the justice system."
Francis was sat in front of him looking rather dejected. It was like all the anger had fizzled out of him, leaving just sadness. It was actually rather unnerving.
Francis and Arthur where currently hiding out in the deserted corner of the school's huge library. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to risk being seen together, but neither wanted to return to their dorm this evening and they had things to talk about.
Slowly, Francis reached out, taking the pile and slowly flicking through the photographs. Arthur was right; these certainly wouldn't stand up as evidence of a romantic dalliance in a court of law. They where mostly just pictures of he and Arthur sat next to each other or walking side by side.
Maybe they had gotten a little too close, there were a few of Francis with his arm slung tightly around the other, one where the angle makes it look as if they're holding hands.
But Francis was a tactile person, and he'd known Arthur since childhood. It didn't mean anything. The blurry, unfocused look of the pictures only seemed to add to the illusion that these where scandalous photographs of lovers.
Francis still couldn't believe Gilbert, his so-called friend, had taken it this far.
"There's explanations for all of these- you should go to that Canadian fool and tell him he's being hoodwinked." Arthur huffed. Francis sighed.
"I have tried to explain." He said bitterly, thinking back to earlier that day.
/
"Matthieu.. do you really think I'd do this to you?" Francis asked desperately. He had sat waiting outside the Canadians dorm for an hour, waiting for the chance to talk to him without his brute of a brother about.
"I- I'm not angry at you, Francis." Matthew said, those beautiful violet eyes red-rimmed. "I just want to forget this whole thing…"
"That's not fair. Gilbert is lying to you." Francis said. "He's jealous I am happy with you and he's trying to make us both as miserable as he is."
Matthew didn't answer for a moment.
"He said you've cheated in every other relationship you've been in.. is that true?" He asked quietly. Francis faltered.
"I- I- mean… oui.. but that was a long time ago. I stayed single until I knew it was the right person." Francis explained, waving his hands about frantically. Matthew looked down.
"If you weren't cheating, then why where you spending so much time with Arthur these last few weeks?" He asked. "I thought you couldn't stand him, but all of a sudden all your free time goes to Arthur. You forgot all about me for him."
"There is a reason- "
"So tell me the reason!"
Francis froze. Should he do it? He swallowed.
"Coach Ludwig. All these detentions he's giving Arthur, he's going too far. Arthur needs someone to look after him." Francis tried to explain.
"You're spending all this time with Arthur because he needs 'looking after' when he gets detention?" Matthew said incredulous. Francis could see it now, the jealousy in the other's eyes. "Just admit, you got bored of me and moved onto someone more exciting. Gilbert is right; you probably did pay him as well. Well, I hope he was worth every penny."
"Matthew, don't say that- this isn't like you." Francis begged. He hated seeing his gentle (ex) boyfriend speaking like this. "You aren't a horrible person."
"Why not?" Matthew demanded. He was crying now, tears flowing freely from his eyes. "Everyone else gets to be horrible all the time- my brother, Gilbert, Arthur. Even you, Francis. This place has always been horrible and it's gotten even worse since Arthur showed up."
"It's not his fault."
"You're protecting him again, aren't you?" He whispered sadly, his voice thick with tears, before walking back to his dorm. Francis watched him go, wanting with every fibre of his being to pull him back into an embrace. /
"I'm sorry old chap." Arthur was saying, looking rather awkward. "About Matthew, I mean, I know you really liked him. I'm sure you'll work things out."
"Oui." Francis nodded. Despite Arthur's slightly stiff delivery he appreciated the sentiment. "I tried to explain why the two of us where spending so much time together lately, but he didn't understand. Once we expose Ludwig for the monster he is, then he will."
Arthur nodded in agreement. "Yes. Then I can finally prove to everyone that I'm not sleeping with a slimey french frog- "
"Hey- do you really need to kick me when I'm down?" Francis complained. "Besides, that rumours much worse for me. The whole school thinks I slept with some uncouth English ruffian."
"Uncouth my arse." Arthur huffed, crossing his arms. "You should be so lucky - "
"Well. The whole school already thinks we're an item so perhaps we should just make the rumours true." Francis teased. Arthur scowled at him.
"Now is not the time to be making those sorts of jokes- " Arthur spluttered, red-faced. Francis just laughed.
"Oh yes, sorry, I forgot. The only person at this school you'd be interested in sleeping with is Alfred." Francis said breezily. Arthur went even more red, if that was possible.
"Oh sod off go back to moping, frog." Arthur said, burying his face in his arms on the desk. "I don't like him like that." He said, before adding in a quieter more muffled voice. "And even if I did, Gilbert's blew my chances. Alfred thinks I'm some sort of bloody prostitute now…"
Francis did feel bad for him. He knew how big Arthur's pride was, and this was certainly painful for him.
"There is one tiny silver lining to those whole situation." Francis said. Arthur moved his hands slightly, looking up.
"Oh, and what's that?" He asked. Francis grinned and pulled a small camera from his pocket.
"I have an idea on how we can finally prove what kind of a man coach Ludwig is."
"What… still pouting?" Gilbert said when he walked into his dorm room that night and saw and Matthew-shaped lump under the covers. Both Alfred and Arthur where out so it was only the two of them.
Matthew didn't reply. Gilbert could just hear the sound of soft sniffles. Sighing he sat down on the mattress next to the other.
"Come on. It's a high school breakup. It happens to everyone. It's not the end of the world." Gilbert said, rolling his eyes. He couldn't believe how cut up Matthew was over this whole thing. It was kind of pissing him off seeing how obsessed he was with Francis.
When Matthew still didn't reply, Gilbert pulled the covers away, revealing a teary eyed Matthew, crouched over on himself.
"Please leave me alone, Gilbert." He said. Gilbert frowned. He didn't know why it bothered him seeing Matthew look so upset.
The atmosphere of the whole room had been bad since the lunch time incident. His three roommates had all basically just been ignoring each other. Arthur had been out of the room as much as possible, Matthew was always crying and Alfred was uncharacteristically quiet.
Even when he was out of his dorm, Francis was ignoring him and Antonio was following his lead. Gilbert found himself perpetually alone. It wasn't fair. Francis was the one who cheated.. why did Gilbert have to get treated like a pariah?
"Listen. It's freaken' annoying seeing you moping around the room. It's been two days now." Gilbert said. "So just this once, why don't we do something fun? Sneak out to the pub just outside the grounds. Or maybe just go to the cafeteria if the rule break is too intense for a nerd like you- "
"Leave me alone." Matthew repeated, snatching his bed covers out of Gilbert's hands and throwing them over his head again.
Gilbert didn't understand. He thought Matthew was a dork. He didn't even like the kid. So why did it hurt so much every time he rejected him?
(With a sigh of defeat, Gilbert left the room. It hadn't meant to turn out like this. He thought Matthew would be thankful to him for helping him realise the truth. He didn't think Francis would be so mad. It wasn't fair. Francis was the one who cheated, why does Gilbert get treated like the bad guy?
—-
Arthur felt his heart pounding in his chest. It was so loud, he was sure the sound must be reverberating around the metal walls of the cramped locker he was currently jammed into.
The only source of light was from the narrow slits on the door. He kept the camera level with them, praying they would provide enough visibility to allow for his pictures to be discernible.
This was him and Francis' genius plan to expose Ludwig. Arthur was simply hiding in a disused locker in the Coach's office, then hoping that Feliciano would come along so they could photograph some blackmail material.
Easy, right?
Well, it had sounded easy, but Arthur had been in here for over two hours now. His legs where cramping and his needed to pee. Ludwig had stayed at his desk doing paper work like some sort of machine for the whole time, so it wasn't like he could just leave.
Arthur wasn't sure how much longer he had been standing there (the clock was woefully out of sight) before something happened.
Just as Arthur was sure he was going to die of a mixture of boredom and positional asphyxia, Feliciano burst into the room like a ray of sunlight, throwing himself straight into Ludwig's arms.
"Ve- Ludwig! I've missed you so much!" He declared loudly. The German in question returned the embrace, albeit more awkwardly.
"It's only been a few hours, Feli." He chided. Feliciano giggled.
"I know but I still missed you." He said.
Arthur resisted the urge to gag. These two where almost sickeningly sweet. It was so weird seeing coach Ludwig acting affectionately to anyone, it almost didn't compute.
The two where kissing now, and Arthur's sudden urge to gag intensified. But he resisted. He had a job to do, after all. He felt like a an pervert hiding in lockers and taking pictures of people making love. Why couldn't Francis had this job?
After what felt like far too long, the two of them had finally finished and were cuddling together. Arthur had seen things he could never unsee. The only silver lining of this whole experience was that Arthur was sure he'd managed to snap more than enough pictures to blackmail Ludwig.
Now, all he had to do was stand perfectly still until the two of them left. Expect they didn't look like they where leaving any time soon; Ludwig was sat back in his chair, and Feliciano was draped over him, sat in his lap like some sort of overgrown cat. Absurdly, Ludwig was still doing paper work on the desk in front of him.
Just fucking leave already Arthur begged in his mind. His body and his mind couldn't take much more of this.
Without even thinking about it, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The locker must of been far too old, because despite the minimal movement, and audible creak echoed from the metal.
Arthur froze. He prayed the two lovers would ignore it, but of course, nothing is ever that easy.
Ludwig suddenly sat bolt upright at attention.
Feliciano rubbed his eyes sleepily. "What's wrong?" He asked. Ludwig frowned.
"Stand up Feli." He said, gently pulling the other off him and standing up himself.
"Aw. Why? I was so comfortable." Feliciano whined.
If Arthur's heart was pounding before, it felt like it was about to explode now. Icy cold dread rushed through his body as Ludwig got up, eyes narrowed and searching for the source of the noise. With quick and efficient speed, Ludwig prowled around the office, opening each of the many lockers and cupboards in turn. With every step he got closer and closer to Arthur's hiding place.
Fear coursing through his veins like a potent drug, Arthur decided it was now or never.
Before Ludwig had a chance to discover him himself, Arthur burst free of the locker, jumping out into the office. He hardly registered Ludwig and Feliciano's shocked faces before he broke out into a sprint.
Terror is a powerful motivator. Despite his previous leg cramps and aches, Arthur suddenly felt as if he was running faster than he ever had before, speeding down the dark corridors of the school.
Ludwig was still faster though. He could hear the German's thundering footsteps getting closer and closer.
"Get back here, Kirkland!" He shouted after him.
Arthur glanced at the camera in his hand. If Ludwig found it this was all for nothing. And he'd never get another chance like this again.
Turning the corner, he stuffed the camera down the back of an old radiator, then carried on running.
He made it a few more corridors before Ludwig caught up, the larger man rugby tackling him harshly to the floor.
Both of them where breathing heavily from exertion. They laid on the floor for a moment, both too exhausted to fight.
It was almost a relief to stop running, Arthur thought. But that feeling of relief disappeared when Ludwig hauled him to his feet, his face like thunder.
Before Arthur had a chance to say anything, Ludwig whacked him across the face hard enough to send him hurtling back down the the floor.
"How. DARE you spy on me." The man roared, his eyes where wide and bulging, spittle was flying from his mouth. Arthur had never seen him this angry before.
It was at this point that Feliciano tottered around the corner, looking just as exhausted from running as Arthur and Ludwig.
"Ludwig, why was Arthur there.. what's going on?" He asked, a confused expression on his face.
Arthur felt himself being dragged up again. He didn't even resist it.
"This little snake was trying to spy on us." Ludwig said, as he dragged Arthur into an empty classroom. Feliciano followed.
As soon as they were inside, Ludwig pushed Arthur harshly against the wall with one hand, his other rooting through the student's pockets.
"Get the fuck off me- " Arthur protested.
"Vhere is it?" Ludwig demanded, his voice tight, as if he were straining very hard not to shout.
"Where's what?" Arthur asked testily.
"The camera, or the voice recorder or something." Ludwig demanded. "I know you're trying to get blackmail against me."
"He was recording us?" Feliciano asked, worriedly.
"I don't have anything like that." Arthur argued. Ludwig scoffed.
"You're a dirty little liar." He growled, pulling Arthur away from the wall when he didn't find anything in his pockets, and shoving him down into one of the classroom chairs.
"I don't want to be called dirty by you, you student-shagging pervert- " Arthur started.
Ludwig raised his fist and Arthur flinched.
"Kirkland. I'll give you one chance." Ludwig said. "Tell me where you put the recoding device."
"I didn't record anything." Arthur lied. Ludwig smacked him again and Arthur tasted blood. Wincing, he glanced over the Feliciano; he looked terrified. Perhaps this was his first time seeing Ludwig's true colours.
"I don't know why you always insist on doing things the hard way." Ludwig said, cracking his knuckles. Arthur felt a strange sense of calm. He could take one last beating of the Coach if it meant being free of him permanently.
Arthur stood up from the chair, facing the much taller man.
"You're the one wasting your time." He said defiantly. "I didn't record anything. I don't know why anyone would want to record the disgusting thing happening between you two. I'm traumatised just watching it." He snarled.
"It is not disgusting- " Surprisingly, Feliciano was the one shouting. It was the fiercest Arthur had ever seen him. "I love Ludwig, and if you try and get to in our way, Ludwig won't let you. Right, Ludwig?"
So much for Feliciano being terrified of Ludwig. He was just terrified of being caught.
"You're delusional." Arthur snapped at him. "You think the sick thing you two have is real love? He's just using you."
"He is not!" Feliciano argued tearfully.
"He's a teacher." Arthur growled. "Probably has a thing for adolescent boys. He'll be bored of you by the time you're eighteen."
Arthur wasn't sure why he was suddenly arguing with Feliciano like this. It was like all the frustration and anger of the past few weeks was coming tumbling out. Ludwig was going to beat him either way, so he might as well say what he thought.
"Do NOT speak to Feliciano that way!" Ludwig shouted, grabbing Arthur by the front of the shirt tightly.
Without even thinking, Arthur bawled up his fist, and punched Ludwig in the face as hard as he could.
There was a connection and a dull thudding sound, and suddenly, Arthur was free from the other's grip.
Arthur took his opportunity. Shoving past Feliciano, who was rather ineffectually guarding the door, Arthur ran out into the corridor.
It was night time, so the corridors where empty- but if he could just get to someone-
He was stopped in his tracks when Ludwig grabbed his arm, pulling him back.
"You impertinent little Maggot- " the German man hissed.
Suddenly, both Arthur's arms where being gripped far too tightly, pain lancing down them.
"Get- of- " He struggled, the grip around his arms only tightening, pulling them back into a position they weren't meant to be in.
Crack.
The both heard it. They both felt it. Ludwig let go of Arthur, a horrified expression on his face. Arthur dropped to the floor in pain.
"I didn't- " Ludwig started to say, trailing off.
"Fuck- " Arthur cursed to himself. He could feel tears pricking his eyes, but it hurt too much to be embarrassed.
Feliciano came out of the classroom also.
"What's happening?" He asked.
Arthur stood up, looking down at his arms that where quickly turning a motley reddish/purple colour.
He started walking away, and to his surprise, Ludwig did not try to stop him.
"Why are you letting him go? Did Arthur give you the blackmail?" Feliciano was asking. Ludwig did not reply.
It seemed that even a man like Ludwig had limits for how far he would go, Arthur realised, and breaking both of his student's arms must be too far even for him.
—
A few hours later, Ivan, who had been sleeping soundly in bed, woke up to Ludwig standing over him.
Despite the coach's imposing figure and intense look, Ivan wasn't frightened at all.
He just smiled at him.
"You need something, Ludwig?" He asked.
"We might have a situation on our hands." Ludwig replied.
—-
"And this happened from a soccer accident?" Alfred asked.
"It's called football, but essentially, yes." Arthur replied.
They were currently sat in one of the A+E side rooms in the local hospital near the school. Alfred had woken up in the middle of the night to find Arthur sat on the floor, clearly in pain with purple/blue bruises growing on his arms. He'd alerted a teacher and the two of them had been escorted here.
"Right, so remind me again of why you where playing soccer- I'm sorry, football - in the middle of the night." Alfred said, raising an eyebrow. "And isn't it meant to be a team sport? Who were you even playing with, dude?"
"I was practising myself. You know team try-outs are after Christmas. Anyway, I'm too bloody tired for all these questions." He huffed, leaning back on the bed. "The pain meds they gave me where fairly powerful, you know."
"Right." Alfred said, skeptically. He knew by now you could only push Arthur so much before he shut down completely. The guy was always so prickly and defensive.
Still.
"Anyway. Thanks." Arthur said, turning the other way. "For getting a teacher and bringing me here, I mean. The doctor said if I left it much longer I might of needed surgery. So. Yeah. Thanks."
It was moments like this that reminded Alfred how much he actually liked Arthur, even if they hadn't really been speaking recently after the whole Francis/Matthew debacle.
"No problem dude, what are Hero's for?" Alfred said cheerily, patting the other on the back. He looked at Arthur. The other really needed a hero now, Alfred though; Arthur was sat there, one arm in a cast, the other in a brace. He looked pretty helpless. Alfred would have to make sure nobody hurt him.
"The hero thing again." Arthur said, rolling his eyes. But there was a warmness to his voice. "When are you going to grow out of that?"
"Um. Never." Alfred said, proudly. Although he hadn't felt like much of a Hero at all lately. There were rumours that Toris had dropped out of school after a beating off Ivan, he hadn't even known his brother was being used until it was too late, and now, Arthur was badly injured and he didn't know why.
Usually at this point in their conversations, Alfred would find himself listing off different superhero's and why they where cool, and which was the strongest, but instead, a heavy silence dipped in.
It felt like there were so many things being left unsaid, it was difficult to talk about anything.
"Hey, Arthur." Alfred said. The other boy looked up from the 'Health starts at home' information pamphlet he'd picked up and started reading like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
"Yes, Alfred?"
"Did Francis do this to you?" Alfred asked. Arthur gawked at him.
"You think… Francis broke my arms?" He said, mystified. "You think Francis could break my arms even if he wanted to? Don't be absurd."
"Everyone saw the bruises on your chest and wrists- I saw them too. And you've been acting so strange lately, like you're upset all the time. The more I think about it, the more I can't imagine you sleeping with Francis willingly." Alfred started, his voice getting faster and louder the more he spoke. "He's forcing you to do things you don't want to do. That's what everyone's saying."
"What?" Arthur shouted, before sighing and leaning back into the bed. "The Globas academy rumour mill is something else. Bloody hell, Alfred, please stop believing every stupid thing they make up."
"It's not stupid if my friends being hurt!" Alfred argued. He could feel tears stinging his eyes now, but he blinked them back. Hero's don't cry. "It wasn't a soccer accident, someone broke your arms, Artie, and you're not letting me help you."
"I'm dealing with it!" Arthur snapped back, a little more aggressively than intended. "I mean, I've sorted everything out now. I just need to iron out a few things and then I can explain everything/ to you."
"Man, what does that even mean?"
"It means everything is going to be fine." Arthur said, smiling up at Alfred. His eyes where starting to look hazy. Must be the morphine.
Alfred took the other's casted hand in his, gently. "I really don't know what's going on with you Arthur, but you're my friend so I'll always protect you no matter what." He said. "Even if you lie to me."
To Alfred's surprise, the other leaned into him, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like 'I don't deserve a friend like you.'
Definitely must be the pain meds.
Arthur really did look fragile right now, his arms lying uselessly by his side. If Alfred found out that Francis had hurt him the way people said he did, Alfred would kill him himself.
—
It was like all the stupid people at this stupid school had forgotten how awesome he was, Gilbert thought, as he hauled crates of whisky across the school field under the cover of night.
Even though he'd been the awesome hero of the story, nobody was really speaking to him. He got why that pompous bastard Franny was upset, he supposed, but then if he didn't want the notoriety, then he should of cheated.
Arthur had been downright boring lately, simply ignoring Gilbert's barbs and insults that would of sent him into a rage a few weeks ago. Then the idiot had to go and ~mysteriously~ break his arms, so Gilbert couldn't even fight with him anymore (come on, he wasn't that much of a monster.)
But Matthew was the worst. Even though Gilbert had tried to make an effort to actually be almost nice to the sad-sack and spend some time with him, all his attempts where ignored. He still thought Matthew should be thanking him.
As for the rest of the school, even though they all seemed to enjoy the gossip he'd given them, it was like they'd all collectively decided that Gilbert was too much. Even though they'd condemned Francis for cheating, they also condemned Gilbert for spying on a friend; even though it was a totally funny and light-hearted prank that Franny took waay too seriously!
Well, he'd show them. The annual Halloween party was coming up, and Gilbert wanted to make it actually fun this time! He was in he process of sneaking in as much alcohol as he could. It was going to be the best night ever, and then, everyone would finally remember how awesome he was. He was sure after they had a few drinks down them, he Arthur, Alfred, Matthew and Francis would all be laughing about the events of the last week together.
"It is as I feared." Ludwig said, holding a white envelope tightly in his hand. "Kirkland had photographs. Blackmail."
Ivan, who was sitting opposite hummed in response, smile staying in place.
"Well. This could be a conundrum." He said, softly. "And what are his terms?"
"The letter says he's giving me three days to leave or he'll spread them around the whole school." Ludwig said, putting his face in his hand. He suddenly looked very tired, as if he hadn't slept in weeks. "He says he has hidden copies of the picture everywhere. More than I could ever find."
"Three days? How generous of him." Ivan said, unconcerned. "I'm still a little confused by your story. You said you caught him spying, so how did you let him get away with blackmail material?"
"He must of hid it. I knew he must of hidden it somewhere."
"You could of made him talk." Ivan said, violet eyes practically glowing. "I know you could of. I've seen your work. Broken arms are nothing compared to what I've seen you do, Ludwig."
"The reason I came here is to get away from that life. I didn't want to break his arms in the first place." Ludwig said, his voice tight. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."
"But, alas, it is." Ivan grinned, looking like he was enjoying this situation far too much. "Well. On the bright side, out of every student in the school, he's probably one of the easiest to make disappear. He has no parents, no wealth- "
"-No." Ludwig said, cutting him off. "That isn't why I called you here. I don't want you to make him disappear."
"Oh. Look who suddenly grew a conscience." Ivan teased. "You've spent the last few months practically torturing the him, why do you suddenly care what happens to him."
"I was not torturing him. I was teaching him discipline." Ludwig said, although he didn't seem entirely convinced of that himself. "Arthur Kirkland may be an insolent punk but he's still my student. We aren't killing him."
"Then simply give into his demands." Ivan suggested. "Working at this school as a coach is beneath a man of your status anyway, Ludwig. With your connections you can go anywhere you want."
"That is not an option either." Ludwig said after a pause. His eyes travelled to the white envelope in his hand. Ivan followed it.
"Feliciano Vargas?"
"I suggested leaving to him. He fell apart. He said he couldn't live without me." Ludwig said, red creeping onto his face. "I can't just… break his heart like that."
Ivan nodded, clearly finding this whole situation rather amusing.
"Well. You certainly have made things complicated." The Russian said. "Luckily for you, I like a challenge. Oh. And just one more thing- "
"Yes?"
"Has Kirkland told anyone else about the photographs?"
".. Just Francis Bonnefoy, I think." Ludwig said after a pause. "The letter filled with demands wasn't Kirkland's handwriting. I compared it to some school work and it's Bonnefoy's."
"Oh, I see." Ivan said. "Well. This certainly will be fun."
Ludwig suddenly felt a stab of regret.. was involving one of his most dangerous mafia connections really such a good idea?
—-
Matthew was reading alone in his dormitory, trying to drown out the booming music from downstairs.
It was the annual Halloween party. Of course, it was a school-run event so it was normally pretty lame anyway. Matthew couldn't believe how many people went to these things.
Suddenly, someone burst through the door.
"Hey Mattie- where've you been? It's party time!" Alfred said happily, cape flowing freely behind him as part of his superman Halloween costume. "Come down and have some fun my dude."
"Uhm. Not really my scene." Matthew said,
"Oh come on! Get out the dorm room and have some fun already. You're starting to grow mushrooms!" Alfred whined, his voice slightly slurred.
"I am not- wait, Alfred.. are you drunk?" Matthew asked, noticing the way his brother was swaying from side to side.
"Me? Drunk? Nahh… just had a couple of beers s'all." Alfred laughed. .
"Beers? Why is there beers at a school party?" Matthew asked.
"Dunno. Gilbert snuck 'em in, and people are going wild." Alfred boasted. "Ravis has already puked in one of the antique vases and Lovino punched Antonio in the face because he tried to make out with Feliciano thinking it was him."
"Of course Gilbert's behind it." Matthew muttered. He felt sorry for the teachers having to deal with all that chaos. Without warning, Alfred had strode over to him, and suddenly picked him up out of the bed.
"Alfred- hey- wait- " Matthew protested as he was hauled over his brother's shoulder.
"No complaints." Alfred said, as he carried him out the room "You are gonna have fun tonight, little bro."
Matthew sighed in defeat. "Fine." He said. "I'll have one drink."
—-
"You hovering around me really isn't helping those rumours, you know." Arthur said, dipping his head down to the table to take a sip of his drink. It was easier than picking them up with his casted arms. He frowned at the salty taste of it.. how cheap was the booze Gilbert had pilfered?
"I'm not a monster, Rosbif, I am not going to leave you by yourself in such a sorry state." Francis said, before adding teasingly. "Are you sure you don't need me to feed you?"
"No." Arthur hissed, face turning red. "Now that really won't help with the rumours!"
Francis laughed.
"I think everyone else might be a tad too squiggly to pay any attention to us- " the French boy said, indicating around the room. All the other students had gone wild after only a little bit of liquor. People where dancing, shouting, fighting, climbing the walls. Their voices carried louder than the music.
"You may be right about that."
"But seriously, mon ami. You really shouldn't be by yourself. That German batard still hasn't left the school." He said warily. "He might try something."
"He's still got another day." Arthur said dismissively. But internally, he felt terrified. He just prayed Ludwig would leave quietly, because Arthur wasn't sure he could survive another encounter with him.
"Just don't let your guard down." Francis said. "I won't either. I'll be right here besides you until he leaves."
"Oh. Joy." Arthur said, however, secretly, he found the idea rather comforting.
"Wassup bitches. Enjoying my awesome party?" It was Gilbert, striding over to the two of them as if they where old friends. "Why aren't you two on the dance floor? Come on Arthur, I know your arms are broke, but you could at least do like, the robot."
Both of them just stared at him, coldly.
"Oh come on. You two come here and drink my booze and you can't even say 'Hi' to me?" Gilbert laughed, his smile looking more forced by the second. "I know you're a sourpuss, Arthur, but Francis, you're usually more fun than this!"
"Gilbert, I will say this only once." Francis said, his tone icey. "Fuck. Off."
Gilbert blinked, that false smile dropping. He actually looked upset for a moment.
"Look. I'm sorry, okay?" Gilbert said. "I didn't know you would be so torn up about the whole thing. I'm sorry I exposed you for cheating- "
"I did not cheat!" Francis growled, stepping up out of his chair. People where actually taking notice now. It wasn't often the laid back French boy got angry. "That is just something you made up!"
"Hey, I know what I saw!"
"You were supposed to be my friend, Gilbert." Francis hissed. "Now because of you, the whole school thinks I'm an adulterer. Or worse. Some kind of sick rapist! All because of you."
"Listen, I never meant it to come across that way. I know anything that happened between you and Arthur would be consensual- "
"That isn't even the worst part!" Francis roared, his long blonde hair flying around his face like Medusa's tendrils. "Ultimately, I don't care what the rest of the school thinks. But I do care what Matthew thinks. And you made him hate me over a lie."
. "He's just a whiny little crybaby. Why do you care so much about what he thinks anyway? I thought he was just a fling."
"Why did you have to destroy our relationship just because I could have Matthew and you couldn't!" Francis shouted back. Although the music kept playing and people kept singing, it felt for a moment as if the room had gone silent. Certainly, Gilbert was lost for words.
"What? What did you say?"
"You heard me." Francis said, pointing a finger in his face. "I've seen the way you look at him. You're practically obsessed with Matthew, and if you couldn't be happy with him, then nobody could."
"W- what?" Gilbert spluttered, face red and eyes angry. "What kind of bullshit is this? You take that back right now!"
"Oh, mon ami. You're truly lost." Francis gloated. "Maybe if you weren't so insufferable, Matthew would love you back. But instead, you try to make everyone around you as miserable as you are."
"You're an idiot! A delusional idiot!" Gilbert shouted, already backing away. "I can't believe you would say something so stupid to me. If you tell anyone about what you just said to me, I'll fucking kill you!"
With that, the Prussian turned and ran off.
Francis swivelled back to we're Arthur had been sitting, satisfied grin on his face. He was glad he'd pissed off Gilbert after the hell the other had put him through.
"Overreaction much?" He said, before blinking when he realised the seat was now empty.
"Arthur?"
Arthur was fairly certain he'd been drugged, because he'd drank plenty of times before and he'd never felt like this before.
But when?
His drink had tasted weird. Definitely something in his drink.
His body felt so heavy and uncoordinated but his mind- his mind felt like it was floating somewhere outside of his body, detached somehow. He felt like it was watching himself through some sort of mist, everything was hazy and muffled.
He was somewhere dark. Inside he thinks. How did he get here again?
He had a vague memory of being dragged somewhere while his mind was drifting away. Or was that a dream?
Someone had been trying to talk to him for a while, but he only really registered it when they grabbed his shoulder and shook him.
Why was the person so big?
Oh. It was because they were standing up and Arthur was on the ground. There were two other people standing next to them. Arthur knew who they were and knew he didn't like them, but couldn't conjure their names at this exact moment.
Words.
They where saying words. Arthur felt like he could only comprehend them a few moments after they had been spoken.
"How much rohypnol did you give him?" Ludwig huffed. A larger figure shrugged.
"The usual amount." Ivan. It was definitely Ivan. "But I forgot to account for alcohol and any pain medication he might be on. My mistake."
"This is more than a little mistake. He's useless like this!" Ludwig growled. "He's not going to tell us where he hid the pictures- he doesn't even know his own name."
Suddenly Ivan was clicking in Arthur's face. Arthur tried to tell him to fuck off, but all that came out was an unintelligible gargle.
"Are you sure you don't want me to just get rid of him?" Ivan asked. "There's a good chance he's going to choke on his own vomit by the end of the night anyway."
"And whose fault is that!" Ludwig snapped. "I already told you no. And I don't want you talking like that in front of Feli."
Arthur's gaze shifted to the figure stood behind Ludwig. Ah. Feliciano. That's who it was. The Italian boy had been unusually quiet.
"Well. We need to do something." Ivan said, patting Arthur's cheek. "Maybe wait for him to sober up a bit. Then he'll be ready for.. discussion."
"Ve- it's all going to be okay, right?" Feliciano asked. "Ivan gave him truth serum so Arthur will tell us where the photographs are and then nothing will tear us apart, right?"
"Rohypnol is not truth serum, Feliciano. Although it can make people more open to talking." Ivan said, taping the metal bat in his hand against the floor. "Especially with a little persuasion."
"Ivan! I do not want to hear this talk in front of Feli." Ludwig repeated angrily. He turned to Feliciano. "I didn't want you here in the first place. You must promise me, that when Ivan starts his work, you will go."
"I don't care- I just want us to be able to be together." Feliciano said, throwing himself at Ludwig. "And if Arthur is trying to get in the way of that, I don't care what happens to him!"
Although he didn't feel it, because his emotions felt strangely distant at the moment, Arthur knew he should be scared right now. Ivan was talking about extracting information from him? He meant by torture, right? Right?
"Arthur?"
A familiar voice shouted out, just as a new person burst into the room. Blonde hair and a crisp white shirt.
Francis.
It was Francis.
Arthur had never been so happy to see him. Francis was suddenly kneeling down right next to him.
"Arthur?" He prompted. Arthur tried to reply, but once again, only noises came out. "Mon Dieu. What have you done to him?"
"Feliciano. You where last in here. You told me you had already locked the door." Ivan said. He sounded genuinely pissed. "Now things have become more complicated."
"S- sorry!" Feliciano whimpered.
"You two sick monsters!" Francis was shouting. "I can't believe you've even dragged Feliciano into this as well! I'm going right now and telling the headmaster."
Arthur felt himself being dragged to his feet, and next thing Francis was walking him to the exit, pulling Feliciano along with them too.
Ludwig moved faster than Arthur could keep up with, blocking the door.
"What do you think you're doing?" Francis shouted. "You know you're only making it worse for yourself. You can't trap us in here forever. And even if you try it, I'll just shout for help- HELP!"
Francis bellowed
"HEL- "
His shouts where muffled by Ludwig's gloved hand, suddenly pressed tightly against his mouth.
Arthur desperately wanted to help him, to fight Ludwig off. But it was taking all of his energy to just carry his own body weight and not collapse onto the floor.
"Mmmf- fine, fine- I will stop shouting!" Francis huffed, pulling Ludwig's hand away from his face. "Let's just have a reasonable discussion. Okay?"
Francis sounded scared now. Arthur couldn't blame him. He'd probably be terrified too, if his emotions hadn't been chemically altered. It was like he knew he should be horrified, but his brain didn't have the capacity to experience it right now.
Ludwig stayed stood by the door like a statue, blocking off Francis's escape. Feliciano, still in Francis' grasp was dithering between the two, while Ivan was stood a little further back into the storeroom, half-hidden by shadow.
Francis was totally outnumbered.
"Coach Ludwig." Francis started. "I can't say I have very warm feelings for you- " he paused. "But you have been a good teacher, at least.. while you're in class and not in your sadistic detentions. Everyone respects you."
"And how is that relevant?" Ludwig asked. He was listening though, because although he was the one guarding the door, he likely felt as trapped in this unfavourable situation as Francis did.
"Something tells me you didn't come here just to brutalise you students. And well- " he glanced at Feli. "Have inappropriate relationships with them. I think you were serious." Francis said tentatively. "You know, Arthur told me that after you broke his arms you looked horrified. So I don't think you want to hurt us. At least not in a permanent sense."
Ludwig frowned, but didn't have an answer, after all, everything Francis had said was accurate.
"But like it or not, you've crossed to many boundaries and burnt to many bridges to be a 'good teacher' here." Francis said. "I don't think what me and Arthur are asking of you is so unreasonable. We don't want your money or to ruin your life, we just want you to leave. Then we can forget all this ever happened."
Francis must have a silver tongue, because Ludwig actually faltered, the tension fading from his body.
"What about tonight?" He asked. "About what you've seen here?"
"Me and Arthur won't breath a word of it." Francis said, before glancing back at Ivan. "I promise. All we want is a peaceful school life."
Ludwig looked down at the floor. "I did not want- I did not intend for things to end up this way." He admitted. He looked right at Arthur, the boys eyes hazy and vacant, his useless arms restricted by casts.
"Maybe, somewhere else, I can learn from these mistakes and do things the right way."
Ludwig stepped out of the way of the door. Francis smiled, and despite how drugged his mind was, Arthur felt a sudden rush of relief.
They where free. Finally free. Totally free.
Francis pulled Arthur's arm around his shoulder, putting a hand on the door, going to turn it.
What happened next would haunt Arthur for the rest of his life.
It seemed to happen both in slow motion and hyper speed.
Feliciano darted towards Ivan, snatching the metal baseball bat out of his hand.
"Ludwig isn't leaving me! You're not making him leave me!" He bellowed, with a rage Arthur never thought possible to come from him.
He swung the bat with all his might. It missed Arthur by a few inches and whacked into Francis' head.
There was a sickening crunch sound, and suddenly, Francis crumbled to the ground clutching his head. Blood escaped from between his fingers.
But Feliciano wasn't done. As if possessed by some vengeful spirit, his eyes wild and manic, his jaw tightly knotted he hit Francis again and again, throwing his full strength into every blow.
"Nobody. Will. Tear. Us. Apart!" Feliciano shouted, punctuating each word with another devastating blow. Arthur could hear the horrible sounds of Francis groaning in pain, until suddenly he couldn't, and that was much worse.
Reactions slowed by shock and rohypnol, Arthur finally took some sort of action, throwing himself forward between Francis and the crazed Italian.
Feliciano didn't even hesitate. Once again, the bat came inches from caving his skull in, but instead, the expectated pain did not come.
"Feliciano, Feliciano, stop!" Ludwig was shouting, wrestling the bat from his hand.
Feliciano was crying.
"They where trying to make you leave me." He sobbed. "They where trying to make you leave me and YOU WERE GOING TO LET THEM!"
Arthur went to look down, praying Francis was still breathing.
His breath hitched in his throat and he felt a silent scream trying to escape.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Francis was dead. Certainly dead. His hair was matted with blood, his eyes glass and dull. His head. Oh. His head. He could she the misshapen form of the French boys skull. Something pink and thicker than blood was leaking out of it.
"Francis?" Arthur said, the first words he'd been able to form in what felt like hours. Tears blurred his vision. This was a bad dream, right? Or maybe a bad trip off the drugs he'd been slipped? Francis couldn't be dead. Francis had been in his life as long as he could remember.
Francis who always used to tease him but was there for him every time he needed it.
Arthur could still hear Feliciano shouting and crying in the background, and the dull tones of Ludwig trying to calm him down. How could he?
He killed Francis.
"As amusing as this all is- " Ivan said suddenly, his voice cut above the noise despite him hardly raising it. "We should probably clean up this mess, no? I doubt headmaster Romulous would appreciate us getting his grandson involved in a murder investigation."
Feliciano sniffled, before nodding in agreement. Ludwig, who looked white as a sheet nodded also.
"Feliciano. Go to you dorm room and have a shower. Now." Ivan commanded. "Be sure to wash even under your fingernails. Do NOT let anyone see you- " he threw Feliciano his coat. "And if they do see you, ensure the blood is hidden. Got it."
Feliciano, still crying, nodded and rushed out of the room. Ivan watched him go, before picking up the now-bloodied metal baseball bat that had been left discarded on the floor.
He approached Arthur.
"At least there is only one witness." He said, cheerily. "Don't worry, Arthur, your death won't be as brutal as your friend's. I can end your life with one blow."
Arthur felt a rush of fear, trying to back away clumsily on hands and knees. He couldn't die like this!
"-Wait!" Ludwig said, stepping in front of Ivan. "Don't."
Ivan glowered at him.
"I could tolerate leaving him alive when all he knew about was your illicit affair. I can't let him live after he's witnessed a murder." Ivan said. "He's not even a useful pawn to pin the murder on. Not with those broken arms and so sedated he can hardly walk. Nobody would believe that."
"We don't have to kill him."
"Move out the way, Ludwig."
Before their standoff could continue, there was the sudden sound of the door fattening. On instinct, the two of them jumped back.
They only just made it in time, both of them diving behind various gym equipment out of sight, just as unknown person walked in.
Light filled the room, streaming in from the doorway, silhouetting the figure walking in.
Alfred. It was Alfred.
He leaned down, picking up the bat Ivan had just dropped, inspecting it.
"Hello? I heard voices- " He called out, his eyes adjusting to the dark, senses dulled by alcohol. "Hello- Artie!?"
Finally, he noticed his friend, crouching in the darkness.
"Artie, what are you doing in here?" He asked, taking another step forward.
That's when his feet came into contact with the person lying on the floor, not noticing at first the blood seeping into his shoes.
"Did you drink too much- " Alfred cut himself off, as he realised what, or rather who, he had bumped into.
He squinted down, suddenly seeing the blood, and then the state of Francis body.
"This- This is a prank right? Right?" He said desperately, almost hyperventilating. He leaned down, shaking Arthur, hardly noticing the blood staining his shirt as did so. "Artie! Artie tell me this is a prank right now." He begged. Arthur did not reply.
Alfred let out a bloodcurdling yell. He backed out of the room, almost stumbling over his feet as he did so.
"Help! Help! I need a teacher! Somebody!"
Ludwig, who had been watching the scene unfold in abject horror felt Ivan nudge him.
"Hurry. We may not get another chance." He said, indicating to the window. With surprising grace for men of their size, the two of them climbed out of the window into the bitterly cold outside.
Ludwig's heart was racing so fast he felt he might die. A million thoughts went through his head. He was always the man with a plan for a hundred different contingencies, but he was drawing a complete blank now. He couldn't believe Feli, his sweet little Feli had…
"Now what?" Ludwig asked desperately. Ivan shrugged, looking far more perturbed than Ludwig had seen him before.
"We pray that Arthur remains too incoherent to tell anyone what happened until we get to him." Ivan said bitterly. "I suggest you pack a bag, Ludwig, because if this next plan does not work, we really will be on the run."
So.
Did anyone guess it would be Feliciano who landed the killing blow?
It was kind of difficult balancing creating enough groundwork showing Feli's obsessiveness without revealing how psycho he is in this story.
I changed a few little things compared to my original idea, but overall, this was meant to be the story of how Francis was killed. If I get the motivation, I may do one more chapter to show how Alfred ended up getting framed for the murder, then one more after that based in the future to see if Mattie solves the case.
I'm not sure if anyone will read this chapter, but if you did I'd love it if you could leave me a review