In Which Alfred Does Something Stupid Again And Suffers The Consequences


In the future days Alfred quickly found there was no peace either at school or at home. Arthur, apparently too awkward to attempt comforting Alfred again after Alfred snapped at him that night, had recruited his friend Francis for the job, and though Alfred usually liked Francis, he was beginning to feel more like punching him. To make matters worse, Alfred's only ally, Gilbert, seemed to have realized that Alfred situation was hilarious, so instead of helping him avoid situations, Gilbert usually just sat in the background trying to muffle his snickers as Alfred floundered to escape Francis's well meaning advice.

Maybe it was because fo Arthur's long glances towards him with a knitted brow whenever they were home, the viscous glare Mathew insisted on directing towards Ivan, of Francis's Non-stop love advice on how he could either win Ivan's heart back, or get over him, or maybe it was an accumation of all of those, paired with Gilbert's shaking form heaving with barely withheld laugh that made Alfred snap at his friend Toris when he tried to comfort Alfred during lunch.

"Enough!" Alfred broke out Arthur's signature command, snapping his plastic fork in half with his frustration, "Stop talking to me about Ivan! I don't want to hear about him anymore!"

It was an uncharacteristic move from Alfred, and Immediately after he felt guilty, seeing Toris recoil, looking hurt, and hurriedly apologized.

"I'm sorry, it's just everyone keeps talking about him and I... I just want it to stop. Please."

Of course, Alfred hadn't meant it to mean anything more than what he said, but his schoolmates took his exhausted and pleading tone differently, and by the end of the day, there wasn't a single person who would say Ivan's name around Alfred. Somehow that didn't make it any better. Finally, losing his mind from all the pitying looks, trying to control his protective twin brother, and mostly, Gilbert never ending snickering everytime Alfred d said anything about the situation, Alfred searched out the only other person in the school -no, his life- who was even slightly sane.

"I must be crazy."

Alfred muttered to himself as he knocked on the familiar door of a house he'd egged barely a week before. It took a moment, but then there was a noise from inside and the door cracked open, revealing Ivan's curious face, and his confused look only grew when he saw Alfred there.

"Alfred? Why are you here?"

There was both curiosity and a line of caution in Ivan's tone, that Alfred really should have paid more attention too, but Alfred wasn't the type to do that, and he responded in a rush.

"Ivan, I've got to talk to you! I'm losing my mind, I just can't do this anymore!"

Ivan's face went blank, then he looked behind him as a voice spoke softly, but still clearly enough for Alfred to hear from the door.

"Big Brother?"