Thanks to Gyalx81, FanFicWriter332, , Carina Sicily and two anons for reviewing.

A quick warning for you all: you may want to get tissues ready for this chapter. And the next three. Maybe four. Point is, the next few chapters have made me tear up when writing it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 18

The moment they stepped outside the house, Lovino glanced up to the sky. It was overcast, and it looked like a storm was coming. It would seem that he had no choice but to take the bus that afternoon.

Marcello sat down next to him, as was quickly becoming his routine. Feliciano still went to join his friends, though.

"Are you feeling better today?" Marcello asked.

"I'm not about to pass out, if that's what you mean," Lovino said.

"…Fratello, when was the last time… you…"

"It's not your business."

Marcello looked pained, and he turned his gaze to his lap.

"…Yesterday, wasn't it?" he asked.

It was actually during the night. Lovino had awoken from another nightmare – which was normal for this time of the year. And he needed to numb himself. He needed to calm down. He needed to get to sleep. And so he made a few cuts again.

It was almost time – one more day, and he wouldn't have to cut himself ever again. He wouldn't need to wake up. He wouldn't need to go through this hell anymore.

A part of him felt guilty for what he would do to Feliciano, Marcello and Feliks, but they would get over it. Marcello and Feliciano had people that cared for them, and they would soon forget about him. Feliks would forget about him too. He had been well on the way of forging friendships with some of their classmates before meeting Lovino, and he would continue when Lovino was gone. And Feliciano would be more than happy to befriend Feliks. He would be a better friend than Lovino, anyway.

He was doing them a favour by getting out of their lives.

…

Lovino frowned, looking at the seat next to him. Feliks usually sat there, but the Pole was noticeably absent. Even if he was angry at Lovino, he should have still been in the classroom. Was he absent?

When the period came and went, he figured that Feliks was, indeed, absent. But where was he? Was he sick or something?

Lovino didn't realise how lonely it was without Feliks. It was insane! Lovino was used to being alone. This was as it should be.

…

The classes went by in a blur, and before Lovino realised it, it was lunchtime. He was on his way to the stairs when someone grabbed him by the bag, pulling him along and throwing him against the wall.

"Finally," Gilbert sneered. "No one to hide behind this time."

Lovino widened his eyes, and he instinctively tried to move away, but his ankle prevented him from getting far, and so did Francis and Antonio on either side.

"You're not going anywhere," Antonio said.

Lovino pressed his back against the wall, eyes darting around. Most of the other students had already rushed to the lunchroom, and the few stragglers wouldn't lift a finger to help Lovino.

"What the hell is your problem?" Lovino asked. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Because someone needs to knock you off your high horse," Gilbert said, as Antonio and Francis grabbed hold of Lovino's arms.

"Let go of me!" Lovino shouted, struggling against the other two.

Antonio grabbed hold of the injured wrist, and Lovino had to bite back the scream of pain. Gilbert smirked, before he punched Lovino in the right eye.

Lovino felt as though his head was about to explode when he felt the impact. But that wasn't the end of it. Gilbert wrapped his hand around his throat, and Lovino's eyes widened in fear.

"We also need to repay you for the detention the other day," Gilbert sneered, before he squeezed Lovino's throat.

"N-no," Lovino gasped.

He wanted to die, yes, but he didn't want to be killed by these three. It would be the ultimate insult to injury. Still, it would prove that they weren't as innocent as everyone made them out to be.

With his free hand, Gilbert punched Lovino in the midsection, and he doubled over in pain. Francis released his left side, before grabbing a fistful of his hair. He hissed as Francis pulled his hair back, and Gilbert released his throat so that Francis could slam Lovino's head against the wall. Thankfully, Antonio released his wrist, but he threw him down to the ground.

Lovino bit back the pained cry when he landed on the ground. He had positioned his hands to catch his fall out of pure instinct, but it wasn't a good thing for his injured wrist. Immediately, he tucked himself into a ball with his hands pressed against his chest. He didn't want them to punish the wrist any more than they already had.

He whimpered when he was kicked in the head, and he didn't know who it was. He knew that he was going to be staying there until they were finished with him, and he had no idea how long that would be. Or how much damage would be done until then.

They continued to kick and stomp on him, and he endured the pain as much as he could. Eventually, though, he felt a particularly harsh stomp on his ribcage, and he was sure he felt something crack. He cried out in pain as someone stomped on that area again.

"What's going on here?!" Mr Kohler's voice demanded.

"M-Mr Kohler!" Gilbert stammered. "He started it! He called me freak, Antonio stupid and Francis…"

"Quiet! All four of you, detention! I expect to see you in my class! Vargas, get up!"

Lovino looked up, seeing the teacher glaring at him. He frowned, before painfully forcing himself to his feet. Mr Kohler sent a glare to the other three, who quickly scurried away. The glare was levelled on Lovino.

"Vargas, you can wipe that glare from your face," Mr Kohler said. "You need to stop pretending that the whole world belongs to you, and that you can do whatever you want. Because you have no one to blame but yourself."

Lovino gritted his teeth. This man knew nothing! Lovino spun around and continued on his way to the library. He needed to find a good book to just wash everything away. In fact… He didn't even need to go to his final classes. He was already in trouble, and it wasn't as though they could do anything worse to him. Besides, this was his second-last day alive, or at least he hoped. There was no reason for him to continue to try to satisfy people who hated him.

…

When the bell rang again, Lovino checked the time. It was the final bell. He needed to get to Mr Kohler's class for his detention.

The worst part was that Lovino would have to suffer through his detention with the terrible trio. And afterwards… They were almost guaranteed to attack him again. To 'punish' him for landing them in detention yet again. Because, of course, it was Lovino's fault.

He limped down to the science classroom, and when he arrived, he saw that the other three were already waiting there. They shot him identical glares, but he didn't care. It was almost over. Soon enough, he would be free.

The door opened, and the Dane stepped out, looking at them with cold eyes.

"Glad to see you're all on time," he said, eyes lingering on Lovino. "Come in."

They filed inside, with Antonio shoving Lovino with his elbow as he entered. Lovino bit back the sound of pain so desperate to escape. He was pretty sure that his ribs had suffered a lot of damage.

"Today, we'll be going back to basics," Mr Kohler said as soon as they all sat down. "We're going to go with simple lines: 'I must not fight at school'. One hundred times. And every time one of you makes a sound, a hundred more is added for all of you. Got it?"

Lovino nodded, and so did the other three. They might have wanted to spite Lovino, but they wouldn't have wanted to increase their own punishment. And Lovino just wanted this to be done.

He turned his attention to the window when he heard the tell-tale sound of raindrops. He scowled. He hoped that it wouldn't still be raining when he walked back.

Writing out the lines was boring, but at least it was distracting. He'd numbered everything beforehand, and unless the others spoke, he would be finished soon. Times like these made him thankful for a faster writing speed.

When he had finished the one hundredth line, he raised his hand, not wanting to give the teacher a reason to continue the punishment.

"What is it, Vargas?" Mr Kohler asked tiredly.

"I'm done," Lovino announced.

The other three stopped, turning vicious glares to him. Mr Kohler frowned, before coming to investigate. His eyes scanned the paper for a moment, and he nodded his head.

"That was fast," he said. "But it looks like you didn't cheat. Alright then, you may go."

Lovino couldn't help the small smile – really more of a twitch of the mouth – as he quickly packed his things. He was glad that he had a fast handwriting. He hurried out of the classroom as fast as his sprained ankle would allow. He needed to put as much distance between him and the terrible trio while he had the time to do so.

When he made his way through the main exit, he noticed that it was no longer raining. That was good. Hopefully, it would last until he reached home. But looking at the clouds, he didn't have much hope.

It was as he left through the gate that he realised he made a dangerous mistake. He had been walking too carelessly, and his foot decided that it had had enough. As he placed his foot on the ground, a fierce stab of pain shot up his leg, extending as far up as his lower back. He hissed in pain, grabbing onto the gate. He needed to wait for the pain to fade a little, but he didn't have time. He had three angry bullies that could be out of detention at any moment. He needed to go quickly.

He started to limp home, trying to hold back the frustrated tears threatening to fall. The pain was too great, and his speed was suffering as a result. He didn't have a lot of time. Unless one of them made the mistake of prolonging their punishment, his time was limited.

Five blocks later, and his fears were confirmed. He could hear their running footsteps behind him.

"N-no," he whimpered.

He couldn't run. The pain was too great. And there was nothing but houses nearby. Nowhere for him to hide.

He shut his eyes when he felt the first of them reach him, grabbing him by the hair and yanking him backwards. He let out an automatic cry of pain, but it would remain ignored.

"You bastard!" Gilbert shouted. "We're not done with you yet."

"And no teachers around," Antonio said, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around, as Francis moved to grab him from behind. "No one to save you this time."

"Why can't you bastards just leave me alone?!" Lovino demanded.

Pain exploded in his head as a fist connected with his nose. He instantly felt wet heat from his nose, and combined with the scent and taste of blood, he concluded that his nose was broken and bloody. Another fist collided with his left eye as soon as there was ample distance between his face and the first fist. He was also kicked from behind, the offending foot colliding with his left leg, just above the ankle. Lovino screamed in pain.

"Shut up!" Gilbert shouted, punching him in the throat.

A moment later, Antonio's fist collided with his solar plexus. His eyes bulged as his breathing was momentarily delayed, and he found that standing was becoming a chore and a half. Francis threw him to the ground, and this time he shifted in order to avoid injuring the right wrist further.

He curled up into a ball as they continued to kick his torso. Over, and over… He felt his ribs crack further. He couldn't remember the last time that his body was in this much pain.

"Useless…" Antonio's voice spoke to him.

"Worthless…" Francis said.

"Piece of shit!" Gilbert shouted.

"Thanks to you, we wasted another afternoon!" Antonio snarled.

"Things would have been better for everyone if you weren't born," Francis sneered. "The kids at school, the teachers, your brothers…"

"Because of you, Feli is suffering!" Gilbert snarled. "And you're making Marcello hang around you, instead of his friends."

"The least you could have done was talk to him."

"Your mama would be so disappointed in you," Antonio added.

That last part stung more than anything else. Whenever one of them invoked his mother, he felt his anger grow. In the past, it was the means by which they always managed to get him to attack them back. But there was no way to do so now. He was in too much pain.

"You should do the whole world a favour and just drop dead!" Gilbert exclaimed.

Someone kicked him in the face, and Lovino curled himself in a tighter ball. He just wanted the assault to stop. He just wanted to sleep.

One more day. One more day. One more day. One more day. One more day…

He repeated those three words like a mantra. He tried to disconnect from the world. He usually used pain to do it anyway, but this time he had too much. He still needed to reach his house. He had a lot of walking left to do.

"Shit!" Gilbert exclaimed. "Come on, let's go."

Lovino heard them running away, and a moment later he realised why: the rain had started to fall. He lay there for a moment longer, before painfully forcing himself to his feet. He whimpered as he started limping home, and the tears fell.

He forced himself to walk onwards, and didn't stop until he reached the cemetery. It was something he often passed on his way back home, and he went to visit every now and again. Especially when his heart was tortured.

He felt guilty now. He was in too much pain to go inside. And he needed to get home. His father would already be angry, and he didn't want to make him even angrier. He didn't want to hear it. And besides, the rain was starting to come down hard.

"I'm sorry, Mama," he said, his voice hoarse. "I'll see you soon."

One more day. One more day.

He painfully continued to walk home. He sighed in relief when he saw his front door, but knew that there was a worse storm approaching. At least he'd stopped crying.

As soon as he opened the door, he heard the familiar sound of his father's angry footsteps.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

He closed the door, not looking in his father's direction. He knew that he would be angry, but he didn't want to see his anger. He just wanted to go to his room, curl up and sleep.

"Why is your nose still bleeding?" Romulus asked. "You got in a fight at school and… Don't tell me you got in another fight!"

Lovino didn't say anything as he moved to the stairs, hiding his limp as best he could.

"Look at me, Lovino!" Romulus shouted. "Do you think this is a game or something?"

A game. A game where he's climbing stairs in absolute agony. Yeah, very fun.

"Do you have any idea what your behaviour does to the rest of us?" Romulus continued. "You keep dragging our family name through the mud. Instead of Feliciano and Marcello's achievements, we're known for you being a delinquent. Did it ever occur to you to think of someone instead of yourself?"

Lovino gritted his teeth as he continued to climb the stairs. So, not only did he go with the family-name route, but also the selfishness route. Lovino's heard all of it before.

"You realise you're supposed to be applying for university soon?" Romulus demanded. "Do you think anyone is going to be interested in someone with a record like yours?"

Lovino wasn't planning on going to a university, anyway. If things went well. He wouldn't live long enough for that. One more day…

"Honestly, I have no idea what went wrong with you," Romulus said. "Feli and Cello are children that any parent could be proud of. How are you even related to them?"

One more day. One more day.

"You know what, Lovino?" Romulus continued. "I'm getting really fed up with you. Sometimes I wish you weren't my son."

Lovino came to a sudden stop. Those words cut him deep. It wasn't the first time his father said something to him that made him realise that he was unloved by the man, but to hear that he wished Lovino wasn't his son…

One more day. One more day. One more…

One more day… was one day too many.

He couldn't wait another day. Another day like this… His body and his heart were in pain. And it would only get worse. Perhaps… this was the universe's way of saying that it didn't want him there anymore. But then again, when did it want him?

He felt a sense of calm. His father's words acted as confirmation. He could… He could die in peace. No one would mourn him. Everyone would celebrate. He would improve the world simply by dying.

He continued up the stairs, making his way to his room. He had a few things to do before he could rest. A few final things… Just in case someone was curious enough to know what had happened. What had finally convinced him to end everyone's misery.

He faltered when Marcello left his room, his eyes wide.

"Fratello…" Marcello muttered.

Lovino shook his head, before entering his room. There was no way he was going to let Marcello convince him otherwise. If his younger brother cared for him at all, then he would let him die.