Thanks to apurehetalian for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 15

Lovino groaned as the alarm went off. He was still too tired, and his right cheek, where Gilbert had punched him the previous day, was tender. He'd already checked before going to bed, and there was a nasty bruise forming, along with swelling. His head also hurt.

He sat up, before looking towards the desk. He'd only spent an hour on his homework the previous day, and he knew that he would get into trouble for that. Or not. The teachers no longer cared, and came to expect it. Every now and again he would get scolded, but he knew they were starting to give up on him.

Well, it wouldn't matter for much longer anyway.

Lovino stood up, and immediately had to grab onto something for support. He was extremely dizzy, and he took a moment to shake off the dizziness before he started to stumble towards the dresser.

He had once again gone to bed early the previous day, and the last time he had eaten had been during breakfast. He wondered if that could be the reason. But it was strange. It wasn't the first time he had gone to bed without eating dinner, with breakfast being the only thing he'd eaten throughout an entire day.

It was slow work, but he was already dressed by the time his father stormed up. That was when he realised that he hadn't turned off the alarm, and he quickly moved to do so.

Before having to wait as another bout of dizziness assaulted him.

He was in that position when his father finally arrived, and he quickly straightened himself.

"Glad to see you're at least dressed," Romulus said.

Romulus left like that, and Lovino relaxed. He did his final check, before going down for breakfast. Once again, he didn't eat very much, not having the appetite for food. When that was done, he went to brush his teeth.

He lingered for a moment afterwards, checking the medicine cabinet. Assuring himself of the contents, he grabbed the bottle of aspirin and swallowed two. He was in pain, and needed a quick remedy. When that was done, he waited for the bus, hoping that the thing would never come.

…

Antonio looked towards Lovino's seat, an annoyed frown on his face. Marcello was once again sitting next to him. He felt disgusted that Lovino would use his brother like that. After all, everyone knew that Lovino didn't like having his brothers near him.

He smiled when Gilbert sat down next to him, Francis on the other side.

"So, check out my awesome boots," Gilbert said. "I was waiting for a special occasion."

Antonio looked at the heavy boots, and he had to admit that they looked cool.

"So, what's so special of this occasion?" Francis asked, also looking at the boots.

"Punishment," Gilbert said simply.

"Could you be more specific, amigo?" Antonio asked.

"Lovi made us clean the science lab yesterday. He needs to be punished."

"Ah, so it's for Lovino," Francis said, nodding. "Why didn't you just say so?"

Antonio looked over towards the Italian and frowned. Lovino was still ignoring his younger brother. Marcello had friends, but now he was forced to sit next to his ungrateful brother that couldn't even look at him.

It was typical of Lovino. He manipulated those that tried to care for him. He pushed their friendship away, and then complained about being lonely. It was disgusting.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Antonio asked.

…

"Like, are you okay?" Feliks asked.

Lovino shrugged, but he didn't answer. He could see that Feliks was eyeing the bruise on his cheek. Everyone was eyeing it. And whispering about it. And smirking about it.

But what did he care about what they thought? Lovino knew the truth. And he was the only one that would acknowledge it as truth.

Well, it would seem that Marcello was insisting on getting 'justice', but since when was that something for Lovino? It's been going on for ten years. Longer, actually. And that Friday marked the anniversary of when his life officially became hell.

That reminded him…

He still hadn't handed in his paper. Sure, it was still early, but he wanted to finish everything he still had to do as soon as possible. He supposed that he wanted someone to understand. And he needed to have an explanation ready in case there was someone that wanted him to live.

Like Feliks.

It was still early, and Lovino knew that Feliks would change his mind eventually. They all did. That was why Lovino wanted to nip whatever relationship they might have had in the bud. He'd hurt too many people. Feliks was the first person in a long time to express concern for him, but he deserved better.

He also didn't want Feliks to eventually come to hate him, like the others. Lovino wasn't destined to have any companions. He wasn't destined for compassion. He should have died in that accident, instead of his mother. She at least had people that cared when she died. Lovino…

He knew that there would be a celebration.

His eyes widened when he felt his shoulder twitch. It was a small twitch, but it was there. He needed to find a way to relax, soon. Trembling was one thing, but twitching…

Lovino tuned out the teacher to focus on something else. A story he'd read once, but with his own twists. Something that he would have preferred to happen instead. He focused on that story, and even when the teacher handed out a poem for them to discuss, he kept his focus purely on what was going on inside his mind.

He snapped out of his self-induced trance when the bell rang, and like the others, he quickly packed up. But he also took something out. The assignment. When everyone was scrambling for the exit, he made his way to the teacher.

"What is it now, Vargas?" she asked tiredly.

"I'm handing in my assignment early," Lovino said, placing it on the desk. "My idea of hell."

She glanced at it and sighed.

"Why are you handing it in early?" she asked.

"What's done is done," he said, before he walked out of the class.

English Literature – or literature in general – was a subject that he was supposed to like. But it was hard to like a subject when the teacher didn't like you. And when the teacher only accepted memorisations of her own interpretations of a text. And when the teacher chose simple things without substance as the required reading.

Lovino shook his head as he made his way to the next class.

…

Lovino was on his way to the library. Lunch break had only just begun, and he hoped to get to his sanctuary.

He had the strangest feeling that something bad was going to happen. Whenever he had a class with one of the terrible trio, he noticed that they would often look at him. But it wasn't an ordinary look. It was a look of anticipation. They were planning on doing something to him, and he didn't want to find out what it was.

He was on the last stairwell when it happened. He felt someone yank on his schoolbag, causing him to lose his balance. The person managed to step out of the way, so Lovino fell and rolled to the landing below. He hissed in pain, his head having been hit, as well as his injured ankle being jarred horribly. He was worried that he might have ended up spraining it again.

"You really need to work on your clumsiness," a familiar voice taunted.

Lovino's blood turned cold as he looked up at Antonio, who was casually coming downstairs. From behind him and from down the stairs, Gilbert and Francis closed in.

He was trapped.

He immediately tried to push himself to his feet, but Gilbert kicked him in the back, sending him down again. He grunted in pain, subconsciously placing both hands on either side of his head.

"We need to repay you for making us sit detention yesterday," Gilbert said. "We had to clean the science lab. What did Mr Zwingli make you do? Count his money?"

"I'm sure he needs to check to make sure he hasn't been robbed," Francis sneered.

"Nein, Mr Zwingli would have checked anyway," Gilbert said.

Lovino had had some time to recover, and was preparing to make a run for it. His hands were placed more firmly on the ground, and he was tensing to push himself up.

"You've also been unfair to Marcello," Antonio said. "He has his own friends. He's not like you. If you're going to force him to sit next to you on the bus, then the least you could do is look at him."

Lovino gritted his teeth. How dare they reprimand him about his younger brother, as though they had any idea about what was going on.

Just as he was about to launch himself to his feet, he was pinned down again by Francis and Antonio. He tried to struggle, careful not to make a noise. He didn't want to have to be scolded about getting into a 'fight'. He just needed to get away.

They even held his arms down, and his hands clenched into fists as he tried to break free.

"Which side do you think?" Gilbert asked.

"I think the right side would be perfect," Francis said.

Lovino didn't know what they were referring to, but he knew that if he didn't break free soon, he would find out. And he didn't want to find out. Gilbert raised his foot, and Lovino eyed the boot he was wearing warily. Suddenly, he had an idea about what they were planning.

He could do nothing as Gilbert stomped onto his right wrist. He let out a cry of pain, sure that he could feel something crack. Gilbert did it again, and this time Lovino screamed. He could definitely feel something break.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

Gilbert's eyes widened, and he darted away. Francis and Antonio scrambled to their feet, but Lovino didn't follow. He was cradling his injured wrist, trying to move the fingers, but every attempt sent a spike of pain down his arm without being able to move the fingers. He realised that his wrist was broken.

"M-Mr Zwingli," Antonio stuttered. "We were just…"

"You three," Mr Zwingli said, "detention."

"What?!" Gilbert demanded. "But… he started it!"

"I don't want to hear any excuses. I'll see the three of you this afternoon. Now, go to the cafeteria."

Gilbert clicked his tongue, and he sent Lovino one last kick to the torso before he and the others stalked off. Lovino groaned in pain, before he started to push himself to his feet.

"Marcello," Mr Zwingli said, "help your brother to the nurse's office."

Lovino froze. Marcello was nearby.

"Si," Marcello said quietly. "Grazie."

Marcello held out his hand, but Lovino refused his help. It was painful, but he managed to force himself to his feet.

"I'll be fine," he lied. "Go to lunch."

"Fratello, I know that you're not fine," Marcello insisted. "I can tell by the way you're standing. Please, just come on."

Lovino stared at his youngest brother for a moment before he relented. He knew that he should probably get his wrist treated as soon as possible. And so, he allowed Marcello to lead him to the nurse's office.

They were about halfway there when he felt it again. It was a twitch at his shoulder, and he tried to get his mind off of it, but the next twitch was worse. And then there was a twitch at his elbow. He bit his lip when his injured wrist twitched as well. And the same happened on the other side. His shoulder, elbow, wrist, fingers…

"Are you okay?" Marcello asked, noticing that something was wrong.

"I'm fine," Lovino lied.

"Why are you shaking?"

Lovino didn't know how to answer that, and before he could think of another lie, he felt his knee jerk as well. His eyes widened. It was bad enough if it was just his arms. If his legs also joined…

"I need to get to the bathroom," Lovino said, breaking away as quickly as his sprained ankle would allow and walking ahead.

"Wait!" Marcello said, moving faster as well.

And then there was a particularly violent jerk of the knee that had Lovino crashing to the ground.

"Lovino!" Marcello cried out, startled.

Lovino's eyes widened when his entire body started to twitch and jerk. He didn't want anyone to see this, especially not Marcello. In an effort to control the spasmic behaviour of his joints, he curled up in a ball.

"What's going on?" Marcello asked, kneeling down next to him. Lovino could hear the concern in his voice. "Lovino… This is… Help!"

"No," Lovino grunted. "No one else. Please. I can't…"

"Lovino… Did this happen before?"

Tears burned the corners of Lovino's eyes as he nodded his head.

"Fratello…" Marcello said sadly. "Why didn't you say anything? This…"

"Because…" Lovino gasped. "This is… what killed Mama."

Lovino could remember it clearly. He'd told his mother about these attacks. She saw a mild one. She made an appointment at the hospital for tests. The other vehicle colliding with the driver's side. Lovino waking up to hear that his mother was dead. The funeral. His father…

All of it was caused by the erratic movement of his limbs. Something that he knew wasn't normal. Something that didn't happen too often anymore, and especially not as bad as at that moment. Something that was causing him great pain at the moment.

He just lay in the hallway for a while, afraid for when someone would come by. Someone who would kick him when he was down. He didn't even know if Marcello was still there.

He didn't know how long it took, but eventually it calmed. He didn't realise that he had been crying until he no longer had something else to distract him. He was startled when a gentle hand was placed on his arm.

"Are you feeling better now?" Marcello asked gently.

Lovino swallowed, before nodding his head. Marcello stood up, having sat down when it was clear that this would take a while. He then started to help Lovino up, but the older hissed in pain.

"Don't," he gasped. "I can do it myself."

Marcello pulled away, and Lovino managed to rise to his feet. He started limping towards the nurse's office, wiping away his tears.

"Don't tell anyone about this," Lovino said. "Especially not padre."

"Why not?" Marcello asked. "Lovino… You had a seizure. You need to get help for this."

"Didn't you hear? This is what killed Mama. It's my fault."

"How did this kill Mama? And no matter what your answer is, it is not your fault."

Lovino didn't answer. Marcello was wrong. It was Lovino's fault.

The nurse looked annoyed the moment she saw Lovino. She had seen his injuries over the years. And she, like everyone else, believed that he was the one that got into fights. That he was the one that wanted this. And that he was the irresponsible one.

The nurse merely glanced at his wrist before claiming that it was sprained, and gave him a compress for it. Lovino didn't argue. She would get huffy and ask him if he had spent years in medical school, only to become a nurse at a high school instead of a hospital like she wanted.

It wasn't worth it, and Lovino wasn't going to make that mistake again.

Marcello at least argued on his behalf that he needed to rest a bit, and she grudgingly agreed. Lovino gratefully climbed on the bed and closed his eyes.

"Go back to lunch," he told Marcello.

"But…" Marcello began.

"Why were you there, anyway?"

"…I saw them going after you. I knew something bad was going to happen, so I called Mr Zwingli."

Lovino didn't say anything. The road to hell was paved with good intentions. Because getting them into trouble for something they did to Lovino would result in them blaming Lovino and taking it out on him. Like earlier.

They would retaliate again. And Lovino was nervous about what they would do this time.

…

Feliks was growing worried. Lovino was late. He should have been in the library by now.

The librarian made her rounds, and she seemed worried about Lovino as well. Feliks tried to read to ease his nerves – he had to do something in the library – but the longer the break dragged on without Lovino, the more apprehensive Feliks became.

He thought about those three that seemed determined to give Lovino hell, and he worried that they had gotten to him. That they had done something to him. And when the bell rang and Lovino still hadn't come, he was sure that he was right.

As he made his way to class, he listened closely for any conversations pertaining to Lovino and what might have happened, but it didn't seem as though anyone had heard of it, otherwise the news would have reached him by now.

He was almost at his class when he felt someone tug on his arm. He spun around, and was surprised to see one of Lovino's brothers. The shape of the curl and the colour of the eyes told him that this was Marcello.

The brothers looked too much alike.

"You're Feliks, right?" Marcello asked. "Lovino's friend?"

"Tak," Feliks said, taking a step closer to the younger boy. "Did something happen?"

Marcello nodded his head, before he leaned closer.

"Lovino's in the nurse's office," he whispered. "Those three… they really hurt him. The nurse said his wrist is sprained."

Feliks felt a jolt of worry. The nurse's office. But he realised something else.

Marcello knew about what was happening to Lovino.

I tried to write a chorea attack, but I couldn't do a lot of research, especially when it became clear that there are many different types and I'm not someone who can do a lot of research when it comes to biology (or anything that falls under the umbrella of natural science – I'm right-brained, not left-brained). Most of the time, I use personal experiences for things like this. Alright, so when I was in the ninth grade I started experiencing this jerking movement with my arms that couldn't be controlled. The first time it happened, it lasted four hours and it was bad enough that the school called my mom to pick me up. It happened several times after that, and eventually we went to a neurologist to see if I'm epileptic, only to discover that my brain can't handle stress and this was one of the ways my brain programmed itself to release excess stress. Insomnia and lack of breath are other methods. The times Lovino remarked on the trembling of his arms, he was usually in an emotional state – in other words, slightly stressed. From what I understand, chorea is a bit more extreme than what I suffer from, and it specifically mentioned the arms and legs suffering from involuntary muscle movement. To anyone with no idea about what's going on, it could look like a seizure. Also, stress has a bad habit of affecting your physical condition, so high-strung emotions could trigger a response like this.

As you can tell from the above note, I took a few creative liberties, and I apologise to anyone that actually knows about this stuff. But like I said, I combined the information I found with my own experience with involuntary muscle movement. And yes, it can be quite painful. Whenever someone asks if my condition hurts, I just tell them to repeatedly shrug for five minutes. Some of the children I work with can't even manage thirty seconds. The speed of the jerks depends on how stressed I am at that moment. And the same can be said of Lovino.