Thanks to Carina Sicily for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 13

The weekend passed as it normally did, with only a few minor differences. Marcello was no longer trying to get away from Lovino whenever they were near each other, but now the roles have switched. Lovino didn't want to be near Marcello. He didn't want to be asked any more questions. He didn't want to look at the eyes full of pity anymore.

When the bus arrived on Monday morning, the three brothers stepped inside, as usual. Lovino went to the first empty seat he could find at the front, as usual. And he could sense someone sitting down next to him, as usual.

However, it wasn't one of the usual seatmates.

Lovino was confused by the lack of taunting, and turned to face the one sitting next to him. Marcello gave a small smile when he turned to him. Lovino's eyes widened in confusion.

"What the…?" he asked. "Why aren't you with your friends?"

Marcello shrugged.

"I decided to sit with my fratello today," Marcello said. "Is that a crime?"

"You…" Lovino sputtered, too surprised to be angry. "You should go back to them. They're waiting."

Marcello shook his head.

"I'm sitting with you today, fratello," he said firmly.

Lovino knew that Marcello was feeling sorry for him, but would Marcello seriously jeopardise his reputation by hanging out with his unlikeable older brother? Then again, the entire school already knew that they were brothers. But it was clear that everyone thought that Lovino was a bully towards his brothers. He… honestly didn't know whether or not that was true. He just knew that Marcello was risking something by being next to Lovino.

Lovino turned away, determined not to give Marcello any satisfaction. He didn't want to be pitied. He didn't deserve it, and besides, it was too late for any of them to pretend that they were a family, even if they were related by blood.

"Marcello, you shouldn't let Lovi bully you into sitting next to him," a familiar voice said.

Lovino tensed when he heard Francis's voice. He knew that Francis's younger sister was friends with Marcello. Suddenly, he was worried by just how much the Frenchman had corrupted his younger brother.

"And then he's being so rude too," Antonio's voice chimed in.

"Lovino didn't force me to sit next to him," Marcello said. "I wanted to."

"Really?" Gilbert's voice added. "And then he's still rude. Hey, how can you be so unawesome to leave your brother like that? I know that I wouldn't act like that if my awesome little brother came to sit next to me."

Lovino clenched his fist. He knew that they would convince Marcello that he wasn't worth his time, and he would go sit with his friends. And they would take Marcello's place. And he would be tormented. He already knew that the whole bus was looking. They weren't speaking quietly. And everyone saw further proof that Lovino was a bad big brother.

But Marcello remained firm in his decision, and when the driver barked at the trio to take their seats, the crisis was completely averted.

Almost.

"Lovino, why do you allow Francis to call you 'Lovi' but we can't?" Marcello asked.

Lovino gritted his teeth.

"I don't let them," he said. "And they're the reasons why I don't like you calling me it."

Marcello was silent, and Lovino closed his eyes. He said more than he should have again. But could anyone blame him? He wasn't used to anyone being interested in him for a good reason.

…

Marcello was sitting in homeroom, silently mulling over the things that had happened that morning. He had to admit that he didn't like the way those three had spoken to his brother. There was just something about it that made him feel protective of Lovino.

And that statement about Lovino 'forcing' Marcello to sit next to him made him want to raise his hackles. There was just something wrong there.

He'd spoken to Francis a few times – being friends with the elder boy's sister made it inevitable – but he'd never felt dislike towards the blond before. And he couldn't quite understand what the cause of the feeling was.

He also couldn't help but think about the trio and Lovino. Now that he thought about it, almost all of Lovino's fights that he had witnessed seemed to involve those three.

Then there was Lovino's statement about them being the reason why they couldn't call Lovino 'Lovi'.

His instincts were screaming at him, but he couldn't figure out what they were trying to say.

…

Feliks was sitting in class, copying the notes on the blackboard. He was also sharing this class with Lovino, but he wasn't sitting next to the Italian because they hadn't met yet when Feliks first had this class. So, he was sitting next to Elizaveta, with two of her other friends sitting in front of them.

"Hey, Feliks," Elizaveta whispered, prompting Feliks to turn to her. "How's that history project going? Lovino's not dumping everything on you, is he?"

He could hear one of Elizaveta's friends scoff, and decided to ignore her.

"Like, we're almost finished," Feliks said.

"What?" Elizaveta asked, her jaw dropping. "How did you get Lazy Lovino to actually do the work?"

Feliks felt a bit annoyed again.

"Oh, it's simple," he said. "I asked him to be my partner."

The other two girls turned around to face him.

"You're not serious?" the platinum blonde asked. "You actually managed to get him to work?"

"That's amazing," the dark blonde said. "I've been paired up with him too, and let me tell you… It's hell."

Feliks narrowed his eyes.

"Like, you have no idea what you're talking about," he muttered, turning back to his work.

The three girls were silent for a moment, but Feliks could still feel their eyes trained on him.

"Feliks, be honest," Elizaveta said. "Is Lovino bullying you?"

"Like, no," he hissed. "He's also the only one not trying to manipulate me, so why don't you leave me alone now?"

He wondered if it was too late to request a different seat. Because honestly, the number of people trying to discourage him from pursuing a friendship with Lovino was getting higher and higher.

…

Marcello stepped out of class, looking around. He gave a small smile when he saw Lovino stepping out from a classroom, and he started following after his brother. He'd told his friends that he was worried about his brother, so they wouldn't be bothering him. He just neglected to tell them which brother he was concerned about.

He could see that new boy – Feliks – hanging around Lovino, which he felt was a good thing. Lovino needed a friend, and he was confused why none of Lovino's previous friendships lasted. Didn't he used to be friends with Antonio? Or Francis?

Marcello moved closer, in the hopes of listening to their conversation. He breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally able to hear them.

"So, like, my mom asked me to invite you for dinner this Friday," Feliks said. "Like, do you think your dad would mind?"

Of course their father wouldn't, but Lovino didn't say anything. At all. Feliks frowned in confusion.

"Like, what's wrong?" Feliks asked.

Lovino was silent for a moment, or he spoke so low that Marcello couldn't hear him. He moved a little bit closer, almost being right behind his brother.

"…The project is almost finished," Lovino said. "And you've only been here for a week. If you want to save any reputation you might build, I suggest you do it now, before it's too late."

Marcello's eyes widened, and Feliks's narrowed.

"Like, I do not care about reputation," he hissed. "Like, I want to be your friend. And no matter what you say, you are worth it."

Marcello felt as though he was slapped in the face, and the words weren't even directed at him. Lovino felt he wasn't worth friendship? How could Lovino even think that? Was it because his previous friendships failed?

The two older boys had to separate after a while, and Marcello figured that they had different classes. He continued to follow his brother, but then something else occurred.

Francis, Antonio and Gilbert approached Lovino.

He remembered the encounter on the bus, and his instincts screamed at him that something bad was about to happen. He subconsciously started to tense when he saw Gilbert overtake Lovino, before turning around. Lovino came to a sudden stop, and Francis and Antonio grabbed his arms.

"Hey there, Lovi," Gilbert sneered. "You know, you're seriously pathetic. You keep getting innocent kids involved in your shit."

"You're a coward," Antonio spat. "Hiding behind poor Feliks and Marcello."

Marcello waited for the biting remark that was a trademark of Lovino's, but it never came. His brother was tensed, but he didn't say anything. Gilbert clicked his tongue in disgust.

Before punching Lovino in the face.

Marcello gasped, and he looked around. There were a few kids that stopped to look, but others were more focused on getting to class. No one was making an effort to stop any of this.

"You think you're so awesome, don't you?" Gilbert sneered. "Say something!"

Lovino did nothing. He didn't shake his head, and he didn't nod. This wasn't the first fight that Marcello had seen that Lovino was involved in, but… Well, this one was completely different. He'd seen Lovino argue back. He'd seen him…

He'd seen him defending himself.

Marcello shuddered. This was entirely unprovoked, and…

"That's enough!"

Marcello jumped when he heard that voice. He turned to see Mr Kohler, one of the science teachers, approaching them. He turned a glare on everyone.

"Get to class, now," he shouted.

Almost all of the spectators scrambled away. Marcello remained, however, and he saw as Francis and Antonio released his brother and started to move away.

"You four," Mr Kohler said, "I expect to see all of you this afternoon for detention."

"What?" Antonio asked. "But sir, we didn't…"

"I don't want to hear anything from you! All four of you will be sitting for detention, and that's final."

He turned away, indicating that it was final. He started walking, and Francis shoved Lovino against the wall.

"Look what you did," Francis said. "Thanks to you, we have detention."

"It's fine," Antonio said, smiling coldly. "We'll continue this discussion this afternoon. Until later, Lovi."

They smirked nastily, before heading to class. Almost everyone was gone now. Lovino remained standing there for a while longer, his fists clenched.

"Fratello…" Marcello called out.

Lovino's head snapped in his direction, and Marcello could see that the older was trying to blink back tears. The angry expression on his face did little to hide his pain.

"How long have you been here?" Lovino asked. "How much did you see?"

Marcello didn't immediately answer, too focused on Lovino's cheek. He could see it turning red, with a hint of purple. It was going to bruise. And Lovino wouldn't be able to hide it from anyone.

"I saw everything," Marcello whispered. "I could… I could go to Mr Kohler and…"

Lovino shook his head.

"It's not going to do anything," he said. "Get to class, before you get into trouble."

"But… Lovino, you did nothing wrong!" Marcello pleaded.

"I did something wrong. Maybe not in this life, but I did something wrong."

Lovino started to walk away, and that was when Marcello noticed that his brother was walking with a limp. He wanted to ask him about it, but he couldn't find the words.

Marcello noticed that Lovino wasn't on his way to class.

He bit his lip, before rushing off to find Mr Kohler. He had to explain. Lovino was the victim here! He was…

He was bullied.

The realisation slammed into Marcello like a lion pouncing on a zebra. That explained the uneasy feeling he'd had all day. Lovino was being bullied. But for how long? And why was Marcello only realising it now?

Feeling disgusted with himself, Marcello rushed to catch up to Mr Kohler. He needed to explain the situation. He needed to try to make this right. Lovino didn't deserve that detention at all. He did literally nothing!

He finally saw the familiar spiky hair, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mr Kohler!" he called out.

The teacher turned around and waited for him, and Marcello took a moment to catch his breath before he started explaining.

"Lovino shouldn't have that detention," Marcello said. "He didn't do anything. It was those other three…"

"I have eyes, Marcello," Mr Kohler said. "I know you want to protect your brother, but he was caught up in a fight. I have to punish him for that. He needs to learn that he can't act like that."

Marcello shook his head.

"No," he said. "Lovino didn't…"

Mr Kohler placed his hand on Marcello's shoulder, and he stilled.

"Look, I know that you want to believe the best of your family members," the Dane said, "but Lovino's always been a problem child. And you shouldn't let him be a bad influence on you. Now, get to class."

Marcello was left staring as the teacher walked away.

It's not going to do anything.

Mr Kohler wasn't even willing to listen. He said that he had eyes – that he had witnessed everything. But he didn't witness everything. He didn't witness anything. He only assumed that Lovino was fighting, but… Lovino didn't do anything.

He didn't even defend himself.

Marcello recalled what he'd said to his brother, after finding out that he was hurting himself. That Lovino should promise that he wasn't planning on killing himself. Lovino said nothing. It couldn't be…

Tears dripped down Marcello's face, and he hastily wiped them off. He was to blame. He knew he was. He didn't notice that his brother was in pain, and had avoided him. Made it worse.

Marcello rushed off to find the one teacher that might have been willing to help. By now, he was late for class, but he couldn't find it within himself to care. His brother needed his help, and for the first time in his life, Marcello was going to provide it.

He stopped in front of Mr Zwingli's class, before he knocked. He opened the door, only barely, and immediately focused his gaze on the teacher.

"Sir, could I have a word with you?" he asked.

He knew that under normal circumstances he would have been chased away, but the Swiss teacher seemed to realise that something was wrong. It might have had something to do with their conversation on Saturday. Mr Zwingli nodded his head and exited the class.

"I'm right here," he told his students. "So there is no need for you to go back in time to a primitive civilisation."

Marcello waited impatiently for the teacher to close the door.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently. "Why aren't you in class?"

"Lovino has detention," Marcello said. "But he didn't do anything wrong. At all. He didn't even say anything. He just… They're bullying him, Mr Zwingli."

Vash Zwingli sighed, closing his eyes.

"I was afraid of that," he said. "You said he has detention?"

"Si," Marcello said. "With those three. Gilbert, Antonio and Francis."

"Who's the one that assigned the detention?"

"Mr Kohler."

"Alright… I don't know if I would be able to convince Mr Kohler to release Lovino from his detention, but I could ask that he sits detention with me. That would at least keep him away from those other three, and I can drop him off afterwards."

Marcello nodded, smiling in relief. While it didn't change the fact that Lovino still had to sit detention for something that he didn't do, he at least wouldn't be with those three. And he would get a lift out of it.

"I'll sign a note for you," Mr Zwingli said, "and then I want you to get to class."

Marcello had never been late to class in his life, and so he thanked the teacher for his generosity.

…

"Like, that's so unfair!" Feliks exclaimed.

Feliks had heard about the 'fight' that Lovino had been a part of, and tried to wheedle more information out of Lovino. He wanted to do it in gym class, but Lovino had kept himself distant from everyone. He'd used his sprained ankle as an excuse.

They were now in the library for lunch break, finishing up their project.

"That's how things normally are," Lovino said. "At least for me. Still, at least those three bastards didn't get away with it this time."

"Still…" Feliks said. "Like, didn't you try to explain what happened?"

"It wouldn't have made a difference at all."

Feliks scowled.

"Like, I'm starting to think that my parents enrolled me in the wrong school," he said.

"And how does everyone treat you?" Lovino asked.

"Well… Like, they keep telling me to stay away from you, but other than that…"

"Listen to them. They're right."

Feliks narrowed his eyes.

"Why do you insist on everyone seeing you as the bad guy?" Feliks demanded. "Like, you're totally not. You're their victim! And everyone else in this school is too stupid to see that! Like, how couldn't they see the things I see?"

"And what do you see?" Lovino asked.

Feliks pursed his lips.

"Like, I see a guy who's been hurt for years," Feliks said. "I see a guy that enjoys reading. A guy that can read super fast. A guy who can write with both hands – which is totally cool. A guy who loved his mother, and whose heart was broken when she died. A guy whose heart is still breaking every day. Like, I see someone who doesn't realise how valuable his life is, and wants to end it. And I can see someone I can call a friend."

Lovino shook his head.

"That person doesn't exist," he said. "My life isn't valuable, and I can't be called a friend."

Elizaveta's two friends are Belarus and Belgium, in case you're wondering.