"Al, eat your breakfast."

It was morning, the sun was through the window, and the clock read nearly half past eight-thirty. Alfred had to be at the school by nine. But he didn't care. He didn't care about what the clock said, he didn't care what his parents said. He was tired and cranky, and everything hurt. Matt ate next to him. If there was anything their dad could do decently when it came to cooking, it was pancakes. Matt had a stack, and Alfred was given one without syrup, and a glass of milk.

"M'not hungry." Alfred pushed the plate away and laid his head against the table.

Arthur huffed as he pulled the teapot off the stove. The water steamed as it poured into the thermos. A tea bag could be heard being ripped open and dunked into the cup. "I didn't ask you to eat. I told you to."

He got up on the wrong side of the bed today. That was obvious. But it wasn't like Arthur was going to stop him from going to school, that much was true. However, his dad's tone wasn't the best, and there was definitely a threat hidden in there. Alfred brushed a strand of hair behind his ear, picked up the fork, and started to cut it into small, tiny pieces. He moved it around directionless on his plate. Alfred wished they had a dog, then he could feed it under the table like they would in the movies.

"Alfred, I am not telling you again."

Arthur was staring at him.

"Fine."

He chewed the first bite. Slow, meticulous. The more he chewed on the single piece, the more full he'd feel. But Alfred wasn't hungry. It was notorious growing up that he was some kind of vacuum for food, but he grew out of it. He wasn't hungry all the time, and he wished his family understood that.

Even through the silence of the morning that was more tense than it usually was. Alfred thought back to last night with Ivan. He wanted to remember it all. The strain of walking to the park, the cold that bit at his skin whenever the wind would blow. Alfred wanted to remember the sound of his voice when they were alone. And he definitely wanted to even remember the smell of his car, how warm and inviting it was. It was a shame that people were afraid of him, other than the stigma there was no reason to be. The fact that they only had one period together hurt a little bit. Alfred felt a good deal of comfort. He wanted that again.

A hopeful idea came into Alfred's head at that moment.

Ivan said he missed him during lunch in the library.

"So," Alfred started, a cut piece of pancake was stabbed by the fork and twirled on his plate."I was wondering if I can eat in the lunchroom today."

He knew the response to the question. Honestly, there was no point in asking it anyways. But it couldn't hurt trying.

"No."

Alfred dropped his fork, and leaned back in his seat with a groan. " Why ?!"

"Because Alfred, you haven't earned it." It was stern and final. "Hurry up or you'll be late."

Alfred left it at that.

"In Chapter two-" Michelle's voice was rough and even calloused. "After Prometheus' beating, what does Circe offer him?"

Alfred didn't raise his hand, barely even comprehended the chapter. Not because it was bad, but because he wasn't into reading, he found it pointless and it was slow. Fortunately a lot of other people did.

Michelle was what most people called her, she was friendly to everyone, and wanted them to be comfortable and offered them a first name basis to show a sense of respect and responsibility to them. However, Michelle was a long time friend of his papa's from college. It put a deep sense of discipline into him. She could go to him whenever she please, if Alfred acted up, and it was a little bit scary.

"Kiku-"

"It was nectar."

"That is correct. Good job!"

Alfred could feel the hair on his arms stand up. He hated it. Hated everything, the sound of the room, the squeak on the floor from chairs that moved. Alfred hated the sound of Kiku's voice too. He hated Kiku. Despised him. Missed him most of all.

"Alfred," His head shot up, and anxiety was fueled in his chest. "What is the main focus of chapter three?"

Spit was caught in his throat, and he suddenly found it hard to speak. Slightly dazed and confused.

"It's her um," He stopped, "Her brother and the relationship with him."

"Good."

Alfred didn't need to worry about other people staring at him. It was too early for them to care. When the teacher walked by, a tiny note was slipped onto his notebook- ' Come see me after class.'

Dammit. Was it that bad?

He was on the edge of his seat throughout the rest of the period. He didn't understand if he was in trouble or not. He did the homework and read the stupid chapters and filled out the dumb worksheet. As much as he hated English, he did the work the best he could, so there shouldn't be a reason that he was being called to stay afterwards. It made no sense. He bit his nails to the bed, and they ached. Alfred was nearly tempted to pull at the stitches, but didn't even if he needed to feel something other than anxiety and uncertainty. If his hair was long enough, he'd pull it over his face and hide in it.

Suddenly, he heard the bell ring.

"Tonight, you should read through chapter four and seven please! No worksheet tonight, but we will be discussing the whole period so be prepared!"

If he packed up quick enough, he'd be out the door before she would even notice.

But he could only dream.

Alfred was just near the door. Almost pushed past the cluster of other people before his name was called.

"You can't run this time Alfred, get over here."

He slumped where he stood but reluctantly walked to the desk. Anxiety had started to rise with each step, it felt like a mile just to get potentially scolded over something small. He didn't even know what the reason was. It hurt actually. But the voice was not malicious. Alfred had been told off by him plenty of times before, and it was never spoken like that. It was playful and even curious. It made Alfred relax, even if it was only a little bit. He pushed past a few other students before he was at the teacher's desk.

Michelle didn't say anything for a long moment, and Alfred was offered a seat. She was waiting for the other kids to leave the room. That was concerning. As soon as they left though, her voice picked up.

"How are you faring today Al?" It was nice. There was no sense of anger, only concern.

"I'm… Okay I guess. Did I do something wrong?"

Michelle laughed and waved her hand to dismiss the comment. "No, no. I am not. You looked distracted, and I wanted to make sure you were doing okay with everything going on."

' Oh… '

"Francis told me what was going on. And if you need to talk or anything. I'm here."

' Anything I told you, you'd probably shove it in my face and tell him everything. '

Alfred smiled as he typically does, "I'm fine. There's no reason to worry about me. Promise!"

It was a lie, the biggest lie ever told. It was such a lie that things that were actual truth were then suddenly turned into a lie. That was how bad the lie was. And he knew it, God knew it. His biological parents were currently rolling in their graves, that's how bad it was. He cleared his throat as he started to take his bag again.

He pulled away from her, and just then, she grabbed his bad arm.

"I'm serious, Al." her voice was stern and motherly.

"I know."

Alfred pulled himself away, and he didn't look back.

The rest of the day wasn't any better.

It was slow, tedious. As tepid as anything came, honestly. The moment he would walk into a period it was like his brain stopped working and he tapped out for the entirety of the class. He nearly fell asleep at one point. It was embarrassing because after every period he was pulled aside and asked so many questions at once. Many offered him an ear to vent to, a shoulder to cry on. It felt loose and dim. Even the teachers he had told off the last few days showed pity towards him. But that was the worse part. The pity. It never felt genuine, and perhaps nothing does after you hear it a dozen times it felt like. It all made him want to crawl into a shell and hide away with a warm blanket because at the very least he would be safe, even from himself.

However, the sixth period was a saving grace.

It was the only time Alfred felt a sense of joy.

A sense of belonging.

Science was his source of happiness.

Ivan was the first person there. It made Alfred's face heat up.

Other than him, Ivan was the only person who seemed to love science just as much as he did. Ivan was always there with an answer or a comment. His accent was deep and rich with a serene undertone that he couldn't quite put his finger on. It made his day even more exciting somehow to know Ivan was there, he was a comfort somehow. And since they really started talking, (and since Alfred felt he had a friend again), he was wrapped with joy that he never could quite match when he was home alone with his terrible thoughts. Ivan, and college, made the extra school work worth every single moment.

Alfred knew that nothing spectacular would come from it in the long run. Soon they would go their separate ways to college or wherever. And it would be the end of everything they had.

But Alfred wanted it to last regardless. No matter how tacky it sounded, no matter how abysmal his home life seemed to be, and no matter what his father or any therapist said.

Alfred was going to have this.

He took the free spot open next to Ivan.

"Hello Alfred."

"Hey…" He was nervous.

"I saw that you did not wear your scarf today."

'Shit, I forgot!'

"Yeah, I'm trying to come up with a good excuse as to how it got in my wardrobe first."

Ivan laughed at that. "Ah, I see. I had forgotten that you live with your parents."

"Yeah," He scratched the back of his head. "I promise though. I'll wear it as soon as I can dude. It's rough cause my dad is like… super skeptical and shit ya know?"

"Oh, he's one of those types of parent's then?"

Alfred had to think about it for a moment, but he nodded his head and laughed.

"Definitely."

The period started, kids sweltered into their seats, and the lecture began as usual. Today though, there were no lab partners, and no worksheets. In fact, there was a substitute today, and it made Alfred happy. Everyone spoke softly, and Ivan offered Alfred a book, which he did not take.

But as soon as class ended, Ivan waved to him.

"Perhaps we can eat at lunch today."

"Sorry dude. Can't I have to eat in the art room for a while. Because um," He had no excuse, didn't even think to mention it to Ivan in the first place. Alfred definitely wasn't going to mention the disorder he supposedly had. "You know how Feli get's. Ever had art with him before? He goes mad sometimes and just… ya know? I'm just tryna keep him company for a few weeks"

"Oh, then can I join you?"

"No!" He yelped, but soon realized the mistake he made, "-uh sorry. He'd probably lose it even more and stuff. Uh, I'll ask. So many tomorrow then?"

Ivan raised an eyebrow as he looked over Alfred's form.

"Da, alright then…" It was laced with suspicion and it put Alfred on edge.

"I promise I'll eat lunch with you one of these days. But my dad's are family friends with him and know what he's like personally. Trust me. Sometimes you don't want to be around him." Alfred let out a nervous laugh, and Ivan shrugged.

There was no ire hidden in his eyes. Just a curiosity. It made Alfred calm down slightly.

"It is okay Alfred. I understand. Call me tonight?"

"Definitely!"
-

Hey guys! This is back again!

I'm so sorry to keep you all waiting like this. Every comment, every email I got warms my heart especially knowing that there are genuine people that read this, and enjoyed it. I know I said I would never update this again because I'm no longer in the fandom. But for this fic, I decided to crawl out of my little Legend of Zelda cove, and update this. I wrote this fic during a time like this in my life, and I used this to vent a little bit about my home life. And me ending it the way I did was probably the worst thing I could have done. So to all my supporters, and everyone who has been kept waiting. Welcome back. And thank you. Honestly, I have no idea how often this is going to be updated, so don't hold your hopes too high, I work on a lot of projects, and I work full time. So please bear with me.

Now, some random bits!

I'm going to be completely honest. I have no idea where to take this fic. I remember I used to have an idea, bit dumbass me never wrote an outline. And every Google Doc that referenced this fic has been wiped from all my Drive's somehow. Believe me, I have searched endlessly. I feel like this chapter specifically is out of place. Maybe my writing style changed. But I feel like its a bit too melodramatic for me. Yeah, I know I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things, but I'm a little bit embarrassed, haha. Anyways. I redoing their characters a little bit by tweaking their personalities as I go on, and attempt to make it as natural as I can because even though I hate the chapters I posted before this one, I don't feel like rewriting them. But regardless of that, I hope you enjoyed this as best as you could. I hope you're excited like I am. And I'll see you in the next one.

Tell me what you thought! What would you like to see personally? Do you have an critiques of this chapter?

I love hearing feedback, and again. Thank you for your patience!