Howdy, partner! I've finally decided to start a multi chapter story with these two and I'm really excited about it! some characters might seem oc (out of character) but that's kinda international, just so you know.

Pairing is: UsUk,

Trope: Enemies to friends to lovers

anyway, hope you enjoy!

(Bold text between these [ ] are thoughts)

Arthur Kirkland was pissed. Angry. Furious. Even that was an understatement!

[Stupid twat, running around without a care, as if he owns the bloody campus.]

He grumbled under his breath as he stomped through the crowd hugging his left arm closer to his body as more pain shot through it.

Flashback

Arthur sighed as he walked out of the lecture hall, already tired even though it was still ten in the morning. He pulled out his phone from the backpack slung over his right shoulder and leaned against a wall as he started checking his messages. He noticed his best friend, Françis had sent him over 40 messages in a minute and the Brit decided to ignore it for now, not in the mood to deal with his French friend. He then noticed he had another message from his other friend, Elizeveta, complaining about how much her job sucks and how much she wanted to punch her coworkers and just quit already. Arthur merely chuckled and sent her a consoling message.

[Although she complains a lot about her job, I also know how much she loves it deep down and would not quit as she claims often.]

He thought fondly. Arthur was now about to put his phone away and go grab something to eat (and possibly some tea) when he received a new message and his heart fluttered when he realized it was from his crush. The Brit was about to open it right away but paused momentarily.

[Wait, if I answer immediately, wouldn't that make me seem desperate? Or that I'm not doing anything useful and just lazing around?]

He bit his lip as he thought about it for a moment, finally deciding to wait a little before answering to seem busy as he put his phone away with a sigh and resumed heading outside.

As Arthur finally broke away from the crowd of students and reached his favourite cafe, he noted he wouldn't have time to sit in so in the end he decided to just order and leave. Fortunately for him, it wasn't too crowded in the cafe today, so he didn't have to wait too long.

He quickly ordered his usual Earl Grey tea and a blueberry muffin, and before he knew it, he was already heading out. Carefully adjusting the cup and the small muffin box in his hand, he wondered if he should head to the next lecture right away or relax on a bench quickly to properly enjoy his tea. Remembering that the professor of this particular lecture usually arrives late anyway, he decided there would be no harm to relax on the campus grounds for a little bit.

Arthur started humming a random song quietly to himself as he looked around for the perfect location to relax, preferably shaded from the unforgiving, hot, sun rays that threatened to scorch his skin if he dared stay too long in its' presence (he is sunburnt easily after all).

Locating a bench shaded under a tree, Arthur decided to seize it quickly before anyone else did, failing to hear the rapid footsteps approaching him from his left.

"Out of the way!", was the only warning he got before someone collided with him so hard and sent them both flat to the hard concrete ground. Arthur was fairly certain he was run over by a train from the sheer intensity of the impact and could have sworn his left arm was broken or something from the way it was throbbing. He cursed as he realized his entire chest was burning due to the hot tea that spilt on him and his muffin squashed underneath him. The impact left him so disoriented and in so much physical pain that he had to take a moment to rearrange himself properly. He glared next to himself to see the utter moron who ran into him and his glare immediately hardened once he realized who it was.

"Bloody hell is wrong with you, arsehole!", he sneered and attempted to straighten himself up only to slump again on the ground as a wave of dizziness hit him. The other guy glanced at him once he was finally able to make sense of what just happened and immediately his eyes widened for a moment before he wore an angry/confused expression.

"I told you to get out of the way!", the other guy, Alfred, yelled back and Arthur wanted to punch his face in. Alfred Jones, the quarterback star of high school and the golden boy of the campus was Arthur's bane of existence. Arthur was never able to stand the other blonde since day one and still resented him to this day. They went to the same high school and somehow ended up in the same university as well. What are the odds, Arthur would think bitterly. Alfred made sure Arthur's life was hell during high school and made sure to make him as miserable and hated as he could. There was always rivalry between them back then, and although it has significantly decreased since they enrolled into university, they still despised each other.

"Well, maybe look where the hell you are going, you bastard!", Arthur snapped back finally able to sit up properly. He noticed how Alfred had tensed a little at the insult but quickly covered it up.

"How about you start paying attention to your surroundings more!", Alfred snapped back, now frowning more. Arthur glared back and attempted to stand up but as he leaned on his left arm, he immediately buckled with a hiss as pain shot through his arm which drew a surprised expression from the American as his gaze immediately turned to the arm the Brit was clenching in pain.

"Fucking great.", Arthur grumbled under his breath but was caught off guard when he saw Alfred suddenly reach out to him.

"Are you, um, are you alright?", Alfred asked suddenly but Arthur only glared at him with a hint of confusion in his eyes as he leaned away from the American.

"Alright? Do I look alright to you, Jones?! You ran into me, spilt my tea on me and possibly broke my arm, you absolute arse!", the Brit snarled at the other blonde. Alfred looked momentarily offended and opened his mouth to say something but before he could even utter a single word his phone started buzzing and the American suddenly seemed to remember something important, he immediately stood up, pulled out his phone and answered.

"Hey, man! Yeah, sorry, I'll be a little late but I'm on the way.", he replied hurriedly as he stepped over the Brit but before he continued running wherever the heck he was going, he stopped, glanced back at Arthur, who was still on the ground, and hesitated a bit before he reached down his hand to help him up.

Arthur just glared at it and refused to take it, proceeding to try getting up on his own without using his left arm. The American sighed with annoyance but another buzz from his phone signalled he had to go, so he just left the shorter blonde to struggle with his stubbornness and resumed running off, Arthur glaring at his back as he left the campus and the Brit was finally able to push himself up.

End of flashback

The Brit sighed with frustration as he entered his dorm room, kicking the door shut behind him.

Putting his backpack down, he sat down on his bed and carefully took a proper look at his left arm, now in a cast. Thankfully, it wasn't broken as he initially thought but dislocated which still was a problem since he is left-handed. Suddenly, Arthur's phone rang and with a sight he got up and pulled his phone out, rolling his eyes when he saw it was Françis.

"What is it?", Arthur asked and he heard some shuffling on the other end before Françis replied.

"Finally, I got a hold of you. Where on earth were you?", Françis replied and Arthur shrugged but then remembered the other can't see him.

"I'm at my dorm room at the moment.", The Brit replied as he balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could rummage through the mini-fridge for something to eat then just decided to settle with a cup of ramen.

"What? I thought you were in the lecture hall? Well, never mind, should I come to pick you up from there or should we meet at the fountain?", His friend asked and Arthur put down the cup for a moment.

"What?", was the only thing he said.

"Remember? It's the end of the week, we were going out with some friends today.", His friend reminded and Arthur was a little torn if he should just brush them off for now considering his broken arm or just go.

"Danielle will be there.", Françis added and Arthur jolted at the mention of his crush's name.

"Ok.", he said and heard his friend chuckle on the other end.

"Shut up.", he said as he rolled his eyes. "And pick me up, I don't feel like walking.", he finally added.

"Alright, I'll be there in thirty, wait for me at the usual spot.", was the last thing said before his excited friend hung up and Arthur sighed as he put away the ramen cup.

Arthur looked at himself in the mirror and decided he needed a shower but then remembered the cast and wasn't sure how he'd be able to do it. After struggling with his clothes he decided to just run a wet towel on his body and wash his hair in the sink with just some water. Finally, after more struggle and frustration, he was looking a little like a miss but he was at least clean. Adjusting his clothes properly and trying to tame his messy hair but giving up, he now looked a little more decent. His phone suddenly rang again and he cursed as he realized he was late. He grabbed his bag, phone and keys before stumbling out of the door. Making sure he properly locked it, he stumbled down the stairs and quickly made his way out.

Leaving the dorms he saw Françis waiting around the corner and he half ran half walked over to him.

"Françis!", he called out and he realized how breathless he was, his physique really was bad.

Françis turned around and smiled immediately as Arthur reached him but his smile was quickly replaced with a frown once he noticed Arthur's arm.

"What happened to your arm?", he asked with concern lacing his voice and features and Arthur was momentarily reminded of how worried Françis could get over him. Although he would never admit it out loud, Arthur did consider Françis as an older brother. He merely shook his head and shrugged as a response.

"It's just dislocated.", he decided to not go into the details knowing already how his friend would react if he mentioned Jones's name but Françis still wouldn't let him go as he was now carefully holding the Brit's arm and eyeing it and then directed a worried and serious look back to Arthur.

"How did it happen then?", he demanded and Arthur wasn't sure if he wanted to deal with this today and he rolled his eyes but when he tried to just move away Françis still wasn't letting him go.

"Arthur!", he exclaimed with more concern and the shorter blonde did feel kinda bad.

"The twat Jones accidentally ran into me this morning and the impact dislocated it, alright?!", Arthur finally yelled and then felt embarrassed as he noticed people were looking at them now. Françis looked a little shocked and then irritated.

"That connard.", he mumbled under his breath and then proceeded to look Arthur over again. "You're not hurt anywhere else, are you?", he asked after a moment and the Brit just shook his head which made Françis sigh with relief.

"Good, ready to go then?", he finally smiled again as he jingled his car keys and Arthur merely nodded.

Françis put his arm around the shorter blonde's shoulders and guided them to his car.

"You are awfully quiet today, are you sure you're alright?", he asked suddenly once they reached the car and Arthur nodded again.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just tired. Don't worry about it.", the Brit replied as he shrugged his arm off to get into the car but Françis was quicker and opened the door for him and Arthur glared at him.

"I'm fully capable of opening doors, Françis.", he narrowed his eyes at him but the Frenchman just shushed him with a kind smile as he gestured for him to get in. He sighed but got in anyway and Françis shut the door behind him. Françis then walked to the other side and quickly got in himself and started up the car. Arthur immediately started fiddling with the radio until he found his favourite station and Françis just shook his head but said nothing. The drive was rather quiet and Arthur rested his head on the window as he watched the buildings passing by and then he was able to see the ocean and the way it blended with the orange sky as the sun was setting and he couldn't help but smile at the view. As they came to a stop to a red light, Françis turned to look at Arthur and smiled a little.

"We need to come down here sometime.", he finally said after a moment and Arthur straightened in his seat a bit as he nodded.

"Yeah. Say, where are we going exactly?", he asked as he turned to his friend.

"Oh, we decided since it's still early we'll eat at the usual diner and then head to that new club when the sun has set.", Françis replied as he started driving again once the light turned green and the Brit noded.

"Who will be there?", Arthur asked as he pulled out his phone when he remembered he hadn't checked the messages yet.

"The usual group. Felix, Toris, Michelle, Emma, and Danielle. Lizzy, unfortunately, won't be able to join us today, her work is holding her hostage.", his friend replied and Arthur just nodded as he swiftly went through his messages. He then jolted as he remembered he still hadn't replied to Danielle, so he quickly pulled up his message.

Danielle: Hey, are you joining us today?

Danielle: We could go together if you'd like

Danielle: We could also leave early and stroll around a little?

Arthur just sat there rereading the message with his mouth agape and suddenly headbutted the window which immediately startled his friend.

"Are you alright?", he asked as he glanced over with a confused expression, trying not to take his eyes off the road for too long. Arthur just nodded but he just wanted to scream, but whether out of excitement or frustration, he wasn't sure.

[Stupid, stupid, Arthur Kirkland you're an absolute moron, you just had to delay this, you fucking idiot!]

He continued cursing himself as he lightly smacked the phone screen against his forehead while Françis eyed him with concern but didn't say anything. After a bit, he decided to message back, even if it was too late already.

Arthur: Hey, Dan.

Arthur: Sorry, I couldn't get to you earlier, something happened and I just checked my phone now.

Before he could even put his phone away, his phone buzzed immediately with a new message.

Danielle: Hey, there you are!

Danielle: I thought you were ignoring me but it's cool

Arthur's cheeks flushed as he silently cursed himself some more.

Danielle: Well, never mind that

Danielle: Are you coming or?

Arthur: Yeah, Françis and I are on the way.

Arthur: Are you guys already there?

Danielle: Yeah, we're still missing Emma thought but she's on the way

Danielle: Say

Arthur: Yes?

Danielle: After eating, we're heading to that new club downtown

Arthur: Yeah, I was told.

Danielle: Yeah, but do you want us to slip out early? Maybe after a drink or two?

Danielle: I know of a pretty cool place we could go

Arthur froze.

[What does that mean? What is he trying to imply? What should I do?]

Although he was nervous, Arthur felt a bit giddy about the idea of going somewhere with Danielle on their own

Arthur: Well, I'm curious so why not?

Danielle: Cool, and don't worry, we'll head back to campus together afterwards

Danielle: Catch you later then

Arthur couldn't help but smile, even if he felt like a giddy high school girl in love, he didn't care, he was excited. He has always fantasized about going on a walk with him or having a romantic dinner with his crush, maybe hold hands or cuddle and he might get the chance to do that eventually which made him feel warm inside.

"Is it Danielle?", His friend suddenly asked and when Arthur turned to him, he was wearing an amused expression. He just nodded.

"Yeah, he was asking whether we're coming or not.", he replied as he relaxed in his seat and Françis just hummed.

They didn't say anymore after that and Arthur started pulling on a loose thread in his shirt before he suddenly announced, "You don't have to drive me back to campus tonight."

"What?", His friend looked well startled and confused as he turned to him before quickly turning his eyes back to the road to take a turn, "Why?"

"I'll be leaving with Danielle early after the club for a walk and we'll head back to campus together.", he said, trying to sound nonchalant about it as much as he could.

"Oh.", was the only reply he got. Curious, Arthur glanced over at his friend. Françis was staring ahead with an unreadable expression, which made him feel a little unsettled.

"What? And here I thought you were going to mercilessly tease me about it.", Arthur couldn't help but ask and again, Françis didn't say much just grunted and kept his eyes on the road.

Feeling uneasy by his friend's unusual reaction, he starter pulling on his shirt and fiddling with it. The silence seemed to stretch on and for the first time, Arthur wasn't finding comfort in it.

"Françis-"

"We're here.", he suddenly announced and looking out, Arthur saw the restaurant. Turning back to his friend, he still had the unreadable expression while searching for a parking spot. He continued staring at him quietly, expecting him to say something but he just kept searching quietly.

Finally finding a spot and parking, they both exited and walked in together, easily finding their friends at the usual spot, Felix noticed them immediately.

"There you are!", they exclaimed as they waved them over.

"Gee, we, like, thought you weren't coming after all or something.", Felix continued but immediately paused as they noticed Arthur's arm.

"Oh my god, like, what happened to your arm?", they asked and the rest of their friends turned to them and eyed Arthur with concern once they noticed the cast as well. Arthur rolled his eyes as he took a seat next to Françis. "Don't worry about it, it's not that big of a deal.", he waved them off, not wanting to get into any further details.

"Are you alright though?", Danielle asked and Arthur relished at his concern but nodded with a soft smile.

"Yeah, I'm alright.", He said and Danielle smiled back.

"So, now everybody is here, what are we ordering?", Michelle asked and everyone picked up their menus to scan it but Arthur already knew they were just going to get the usual. Pizza.

As he predicted, in the end, they ordered a pizza with sausage as the topping. Once they placed their order, Arthur turned to his friend, Françis, but paused momentarily when he saw his expression and determined something was definitely bothering him.

"Hey.", he nudged him gently as he whispered.

"What is it? You've been quiet for a while now.", he continued once he got his attention. Françis, however, didn't move, still not saying anything and it was starting to irritate Arthur.

Before Arthur could say anything more, Françis suddenly sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he straightened in his seat.

"Where are you going?", Françis suddenly asked after a moment and Arthur was a little confused.

"Where?", he repeated, not sure what his friend was asking and Françis sighed with irritation which confused him even more.

"You and Danielle.", he calmly supplies, still sporting his unreadable expression.

"Oh... Well, he said he knows a cool place, so...", he replied, still confused and not sure where Françis was going with this.

"Where exactly? And how late will you be?", his friend pressed on and Arthur huffed with frustration.

"What is this, an interrogation?", he snorted as he rolled his eyes but the unusual glare his friend pinned him with made him flatter.

"I don't know, alright? He didn't tell me.", he finally replied and Françis frowned uncharacteristically. Arthur was now feeling uneasy again and not sure what to say.

"And you didn't ask? You were just going wherever without question?", his friend was now sounding more irritated and concerned at the same time. Arthur lowered his gaze and was starting to feel like a child being scolded by his parent.

Now thinking about it, Arthur finally recalled seeing that same unreadable expression back during childhood and teenage years. The first time Françis had that expression was when he was 12 and Arthur's friends talked him into stealing his father's whisky and bring it to school. Of course, Arthur told Françis about it and was met with said expression and was scolded about how reckless that was and he was quite mad at him for the next couple of days. Arthur tried to brush him off by saying, "he was being a boring adult" even if Françis was only three years older but he knew he couldn't stand the idea of making Françis mad at him. The second time was when he was 15 and he had a different group of friends that Françis also didn't approve of but didn't say anything about it. Until they tried to get Arthur into drugs and Françis was seething when he found out. He, again, received the unreadable expression but was scolded and yelled at like there was no tomorrow and although it was embarrassing to remember, he recalled he was so surprised by his friend's reaction he actually started crying and Françis ended up calming him down even if he was still mad at him. The third time was when he was 16 and almost got a nipple piercing because of a date and so on.

When Arthur thought about it, he realized Françis has only given him said expression and questioned or scolded him when he thought Arthur was doing or did something reckless or dangerous. In other words, he only had the expression when he was genuinely looking out for him. But Arthur couldn't understand why he was pulling the expression now. He wasn't doing something reckless or dangerous.

"It's just Danielle...", he replied without looking his friend in the eye.

"You said he was going to drop you at the campus. Is it just that?", Françis pressed further, now concern was becoming more noticeable in both his voice and expression and Arthur felt his lips quiver a bit, not sure why his friend was mad at him this time.

"What do you mean?", he asked not sure what answer his friend was expecting and Françis shifted closer but Arthur still refused to meet his gaze.

"You're not heading to the dorm room together? You're not gonna do anything, right?", finally understanding what Françis was implying, Arthur flushed and shook his head fervently at him, finally meeting his gaze.

"No! I told you I'm not ready for this kind of thing yet!", he exclaimed in a whisper as to not attract the attention of their friends. Françis gave a hard look.

"Then don't go, and let me drive you back.", he stated rather than suggested and Arthur was more confused.

"What's with you? Weren't you the one who used Danielle as an excuse to make me come? Why don't you want me to go out with him then?", he was now glaring at his friend still trying to be as quiet as he could and Françis sighed with irritation.

"I don't trust him!", he finally exclaimed (in a whisper) and Arthur was taken back by the "outburst". Françis also seemed surprised but huffed and looked away while Arthur just sat there, gaping at him.

"What-", before Arthur could finish a big pizza was placed on the table with Emma exclaiming, "Pizza is here!"

As everyone dug in, Arthur couldn't help but eye Françis every now and then.

strong[What does he mean he doesn't trust him? Aren't we all friends?/strong

He pondered as he took a small slice of pizza. Glancing over at Danielle, he saw him chatting away with Michelle but once their eyes met, he sent him a smile with a wink and Arthur couldn't help but smile back. He really didn't get why Françis didn't trust him, everyone like him!

Glancing back at Françis, he was relieved to see him finally chatting with everyone else but now his mind was plagued by his friend's last proclamation.

Two slices later, Arthur sat back, already full. He sighed with content as he watched Emma trying to stuff Michelle with more slices and making a mess, Felix eating Toris's and Françis' ears out, and Danielle going throw his phone. His gaze stopped there, observing his crush. He was handsome and everyone acknowledge that. He was tall and lean, with messy black hair and honey brown eyes. His skin was pale and he had a scar on his right cheek, although when asked about it, he always came up with a different story to mess with people a little but Arthur found it mysterious and he liked that.

Feeling someone staring at him, Danielle looked up and smiled that usual smile whenever their gazes locked. It was always somewhat crocked, making it look a little like a smirk, which did throw some people off but Arthur didn't really mind it.

Suddenly, Danielle started doing something on his phone, again, and a moment later Arthur's phone buzzed with a text.

Danielle: Is there something on my face or something?

The text read, and Arthur flushed with embarrassment.

Arthur: No, sorry, I just dozed off.

Danielle: It's alright

Danielle: It's kinda boring, isn't it? We still won't leave until an hour from now, wanna go stretch your legs a little?

Arthur reread the last message and then glanced up to find Danielle staring at him with his crooked smile. Turning to look at his friend, he noticed he was still absorbed in his conversation with Felix, which Emma and Michelle have also now joined.

[It's just a stretch, it's alright.]

He told himself as he turned back to Danielle, who was still staring at him. Slowly, Arthur nodded and Danielle's smile/smirk widened as he got up.

"We're stretching our legs a little. Ring us if you plan to head to the club early.", he announced as he started leaving and they just nodded at them, except for Françis, who sent Arthur a concerned look, again. Arthur just gave him a reassuring smile as he followed after Danielle.

Finally, outside, they walked a little bit away and leaned against Danielle's parked car. He immediately fished out his cigarettes and offered Arthur one but he shook his head. Danielle merely shrugged and lit himself one. They stood in silence as he smocked and Arthur was swinging his right foot back and forth.

"Does it hurt?", Danielle suddenly asked and pointed at Arthur's cast when he sent him a confused look.

"No. Not much, anyway.", Arthur just shook his head and was trying to sound nonchalant about it. He heard him grunt in reply and they went back to the silence.

After what felt like an eternity, Arthur suddenly felt Danielle's right arm sneak around his shoulder as he pulled him closer and Arthur could feel his heart thumping loudly in his ears.

"So, are we still leaving after the club or?", he asked casually as he looked down at Arthur with his smile and Arthur tried to return a smile back, but it came out a little restrained for some reason.

"You didn't mention, Where are we going?", he asked and tried to relax in Danielle's hold but for some reason couldn't. Danielle suddenly chuckled as he leaned in.

"Wherever you want, we could have a nice walk along the beach or head straight back to my dorm.", he whispered into Arthur's ears and he felt a shiver run down his spine. Not the good kind, though. Arthur gulped as he now tried to subtly inch away from the other's hold.

"O-Oh? Why back to your dorm?", he asked somewhat curious, somewhat worried and Danielle chuckled as he gave him a playful squeeze and Arthur wasn't sure what he was feeling anymore.

"You know, to have a little fun.", Danielle whispered as he leaned in further and kissed his jaw and Arthur could feel something twisting in his stomach, but whether it was butterflies or fear, he couldn't tell.

"Um, actually, I remembered I needed to finish that essay, so I'm afraid I'll have to leave early today.", Arthur said as he now tried to push Danielle away but the other's grip only tightened on him and Arthur was now panicking a little.

"Aw, come on, pumpkin. You always study hard, it won't hurt to unwind a little!", Danielle insisted, his hand now sliding down to hold onto Arthur's waist.

Arthur was about to object again but was quickly interrupted.

"Hey! There you are!", Danielle immediately stepped away from Arthur once they heard Emma's voice and they saw the group exiting the restaurant and head their way.

"Are we leaving to the club already?", Danielle asked casually but Arthur could still feel his heartbeat loudly in his ears as he quickly passed them to go stand by Françis who eyed him with more concern. Arthur unconsciously held onto Françis's arm and leaned into him as he felt oddly shaken.

[Why did I feel like that? I've always fantasized about holding his hand and cuddling, so why would I feel uncomfortable?]

Arthur pondered as he glanced at Daniel who was chatting with the rest of the group as they walked off. Remembering the way Daniel whispered into his ear and his chapped lips pressing to his jaw sent shivers down Arthur's spine and made butterflies emerge in his stomach and he tightened his hold on Françis's arm, who immediately held him closer with no question.

[Why am I not liking it?]

Not really proud with the last bit but I have rewritten it too many times and was tired already.

Also Daniel isn't supposed to represent any country or even an oc, he's just a character I made up on the spot and may or may not disappear over time.

Anyway, what do you think so far? let me know!