Thanks to Yaoi-Is-Life-and-Love and Carina Sicily for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 32

Romulus stepped into the principal's office, immediately seeing the beautiful woman behind the desk. However, he couldn't let himself get distracted. He needed to focus on his son. He needed to make it clear that it was important that he enrol his son in this school. She motioned for him to take a seat, and he immediately complied.

"Good morning, Mr Vargas," the principal, Eshe Hassan, greeted. "So, I hear you want to enrol your son, but there are a few… complications? Is that what you said?"

"Si," he said. "First… My son is in the hospital. He attempted suicide last Thursday."

She straightened in her chair, the severity of the situation dawning on her.

"Is he alright?" she asked.

Romulus hesitated, before he nodded.

"Physically, more or less," Romulus said. "I'll admit, I've been… absent, when it comes to him. I didn't notice anything, and I believed the worst of my son. He's been bullied – brutally. And I believed everyone when they told me that he got into fights."

"But… you're sure that they aren't fights?" she asked.

"There was one on Thursday, just before he tried to overdose on pills. The doctor made it very clear to me that it was impossible for Lovino to have been involved in a fight. His wrist had been broken prior to that, and his ankle sprained even earlier. In that state…"

"Not even the most aggressive troublemaker would want to engage in any form of confrontation," she muttered. "So… I take it that the reason for the transfer in the middle of the term is due to the bullying?"

He nodded his head.

"Asides from his attempted suicide, he's recovering from broken ribs and a concussion, and the doctor informed me that the internal bleeding was so bad, that even if he didn't swallow the pills, he would have died," he explained.

Her eyes flashed, and he was at least glad that she seemed angry on their behalf.

"I assure you, that will not be tolerated at this school," she said. "However, I don't see how those are complications. Is there another reason why you decided to see me personally?"

He nodded his head.

"As I explained, I was absent when it came to him," he said. "As such… I don't know how to speak of his character. The only thing I can say for sure is that he enjoys reading."

"I see…" she said, her lips pursed. "And academically?"

"…He's not particularly strong," he admitted. "But I don't know how much of that is influenced by his depression. If it helps, I do have the psychiatrist's report with me."

Matthew had emailed it to him this morning, saying that it might be beneficial if he wanted to enrol Lovino in another school. He had printed it out, and kept it safely in a manila folder. He handed the folder to the woman sitting across from him. Romulus silently waited as she perused the report.

"It says here that he has a variation of an eidetic memory," Eshe said. "Perfect word recall. It says that the level is extraordinary."

"Unfortunately, it doesn't help with the verbal abuse he suffered," Romulus sighed. "He can remember everything that's been said to him. Many of those involved death wishes."

She continued to scan the report.

"Average mathematical skills," she said, "but it appears his aptitude lies more for languages and arts." She read for a moment again. "PTSD… Low self-esteem… Trust issues…"

For a moment, Romulus was afraid that she would say that they weren't willing to have someone so high maintenance. That they wouldn't want someone so unstable. She placed the report down and crossed her arms, looking directly at him.

"Is he seeing a therapist now?" she asked.

"Si," he replied. "We've arranged that they should see each other twice a week."

"…I think a trip once a week to the school counsellor is also in order."

Romulus felt a spark of hope. If she had a recommendation like that, then she might be considering him.

"I would like to meet with your son personally, if possible," she said. "When is he discharged from the hospital?"

"This weekend," Romulus replied.

She pursed her lips together again, before looking at a point behind Romulus.

"…I don't think that's going to work," she said. "Is he allowed visitors?"

Romulus nodded his head.

"Then I would like to meet him this afternoon," she said. "At what time do you usually go?"

"I just need to pick up his brothers from school," he replied.

"Will his brothers be joining him?"

"At this school? No. No, they feel that it would be better for him if they weren't around. A lot of his grief came from the fact that everyone was constantly comparing them."

"I'm afraid it's normal for siblings to be compared. Teachers are especially prone to this, as we have so many children to remember that we use the older siblings as references."

"And if it comes from fellow students who told him that they feel sorry for his brothers for having to have him as a brother, or specifically calling him a failure in comparison to them?"

She winced at the description.

"I understand," she said.

"It gets even worse," Romulus continued. "During the weekend, he had an… episode, after which it was revealed that his three bullies tried to kill him while saying it's a birthday gift for his twin brother."

She froze when she heard that.

"Are you saying… those kids actually attempted murder?" she asked.

Romulus nodded solemnly.

"Twin…" Eshe muttered. "That means… It was his birthday too, wasn't it?"

"Si," Romulus said. "His tenth."

He didn't think that he should mention that he had further chased his son away by acknowledging Feliciano's birthday but not his. He didn't think that he should mention that it was the last birthday party he attended.

He knew that he needed to do something about that.

"…I see in the report that the therapist believes that it would do him well to start at his new school with another student to help," she said. "Thinks that it might be better if he has someone that he can trust, or at least someone he's familiar with."

"Lovino's not very good with strangers," Romulus said.

That was at least one thing he'd known about Lovino. His son was distrustful of strangers, and tried to minimise his contact with them. Romulus had scolded him a few times for being rude. Now, though, he supposed he could understand why Lovino was distrustful. He was most likely expecting more attacks.

"…He's eleventh grade, right?" Eshe asked, to which Romulus nodded his head. "My son is the same age. Do you mind if I bring him along this afternoon?"

"I would be glad!" Romulus said, brightening up.

…

Eshe waited until Romulus had left before she asked the secretary to call her son in. As she was examining the Italian's application form, there was a knock on the door.

"You wanted to see me?" Gupta asked, poking his head in.

"Yes," she said. "I have a favour to ask of you."

He frowned, before he came to sit down across from her.

"What is it?" he asked. "You wouldn't have called me out of class for just anything."

She smiled. Her son was very perceptive.

"We received an application for a new student," she explained, her smile falling. "He's a bit of a special case, though. He was bullied really badly, and is recovering in the hospital after a suicide attempt."

Gupta stiffened.

"Is he alright?" he asked.

"…There are some things about his condition that I can't disclose," she explained. "But asides from his attempt, he's also recuperating from several broken bones. He's apparently in a very fragile state. The psychiatrist believes that it might do him good to have someone he can consider a friend, or at least someone he's familiar with, when he starts here. I'm going to meet with him this afternoon, and I want you to come with me."

"You want me to be the friend," Gupta confirmed.

"Basically. At least be a moral support for him. You need to understand, Gupta, that what those bullies had done to him… They've almost committed manslaughter last week, and they've attempted murder before. That boy has suffered a lot, and understandably, he'd have trust issues. And to go to a new school with his history…"

Gupta was silent for a moment, before he nodded.

"I understand," he said.

"I would also appreciate it if his history doesn't get out," Eshe continued. "The last thing we need is for him to enter with that hanging over his head."

"Of course. Could I at least tell my friends a bit about the situation? If he's going to be around me, he's going to be around them, and they would need to know that they need to be careful with him."

"…Very well. But make sure they understand how important it is that rumours don't spread."

He nodded his head, before he stood to leave.

"I'll expect you here as soon as the last period's over," she said.

"Of course," he replied.

…

Antonio joined his friends at the lunch table, aware of the whispers following behind them. Gilbert and Francis glanced around, but they'd agreed to not do anything about the rumours. It was only a matter of time before they died out, and things returned to normal.

Still, Antonio had to try very hard not to flinch when the word 'murder' reached his ears.

"This is so unfair," Gilbert complained. "Why do we have to suffer like this?"

"They're all a bunch of hypocrites," Francis said. "Feliciano blames us for what happened to his brother, and everyone is so eager to show that they're on Feliciano's side, but last week they didn't care about Lovino at all."

"It gets worse," Antonio said. "Feliciano knows about that time at the pool."

"What?" Francis demanded. "Lovino told him about that?!"

"Dammit!" Gilbert said. "We were just horsing around. He was the one being a baby about the whole thing. Why's he bringing it up now?"

Antonio's mouth had grown dry, preventing him from answering. After his anger faded, he started feeling guilty, though he kept trying to convince himself that he had nothing to feel guilty about. The gravity of what they'd almost done to Lovino at his party that one time took a few years to dawn on them, but when it did, Antonio couldn't help but think about the implications if they'd succeeded. Sure, he hated Lovino, but perhaps trying to kill him was taking things a bit too far. They'd tried to convince themselves that they were just playing, but the weight was still there.

"This is all Lovino's fault," Gilbert spat. "When he gets back…"

"He's not," Antonio interrupted. "Feliciano said that they're trying to find another school for him."

"That would mean that we wouldn't have to see him again," Francis said, the ghost of a smile playing with the corners of his lips. "That's at least some good news."

Gilbert didn't look too happy – he was the one that enjoyed hurting Lovino the most, after all – but Antonio didn't know how he was supposed to feel. A part of him was glad that he wouldn't be seeing Lovino at school anymore, but another part was curious to see if they really did do that much damage to Lovino. Okay, so he sprained his ankle when he tried to run away from them… and Gilbert stomped on his wrist with that heavy boot… and Antonio was sure that he felt a crack when he kicked Lovino in the ribs the previous week… But surely, Lovino was exaggerating to get attention. That was what he did, after all.

He glanced towards Feliciano's table. The Italian had fewer friends sitting with him than usual, and Marcello had joined with his own friends. He wondered if they were staying away because of the whole situation, or if Feliciano chased them away.

He couldn't help but wonder where Feliks was. The Polish student had been with Lovino this whole time, and refused to believe anyone's warnings about the Italian. How much did he really know about the situation?

He was wrenched from his thoughts when he felt something collide with the back of his head, and when he reached back to see what it was, found that someone had thrown him with a fry. Francis and Gilbert received the same treatment shortly after, with Francis complaining about his ruined hair.

…

Feliks was sitting alone in the library. It was kind of where his friendship with Lovino had begun. Lovino had shown him the way on his first day. This was where he and Lovino had talked the day after Feliks found him in the bathroom. And this was where they worked on their project, allowing them to bond and cultivate the growing friendship.

And now, Lovino wouldn't be coming back.

He supposed that it was a good thing that Lovino wouldn't be coming back because he'd be going to a new school. If it was because he was no longer alive… Feliks knew that he would have been a lot more depressed than he was now.

Not seriously depressed; more like sad and full of sorrow. He'd only recently become Lovino's friend, and now the other was transferring schools. Understandable, but that left Feliks alone.

He supposed that there was always Feliciano and Marcello, but Lovino's claims about people getting close to him in order to get close to his brothers made him feel that hanging out with either of them would turn him into a traitor, because in the end, that would kind of be what would happen. And he decided not to resume the growing friendship with Elizaveta. Not after everything she'd said about Lovino. Again, he would feel like a traitor.

He wondered how things would work from now on. Would he and Lovino be able to make arrangements to hang out together? Would Lovino make new friends, and thus leave Feliks behind? And would his father be willing to accept a transfer mere weeks after transferring to this school?

…The last option was most likely the least likely to happen.

He supposed that only time would tell. In the meantime… He'd decided to take the literary road. Perhaps he could give himself something that he and Lovino could discuss, even if it was only Lovino explaining the plot of a story to him.

Like the one he was currently reading: Don Quixote.

…

Gupta joined his friends for lunch, reflecting on the possibility of another friend being included. He couldn't help but feel curious about this potential new student, but the fact that his mother warned him about what he'd been through made him a bit hesitant. He could understand the need for someone to trust, but did it have to be him?

"Is something wrong?" Yao asked. "You seem more subdued than usual."

He looked up, noticing that his friends were all watching him.

"Sorry," he sighed. "I guess I was just lost in thought."

"Does this have anything to do with why you were called into the office earlier?" Vlad asked.

"Did something happen?" Heracles asked.

"It's nothing serious, if that's what you're wondering," Gupta said. "Well… Actually, it is a bit serious, I guess. My mom said I can tell you, but you need to make sure this doesn't get out."

"So… it is something serious," Vlad said, straightening in his seat.

"I'm definitely going to need your help with this. A new student's enrolling, but… Let's just say, things at his old school weren't very pleasant for him. He's still in the hospital."

"Bullying?" Heracles guessed.

"Along with a suicide attempt. Apparently, the bullying was so bad, they almost killed him."

"That's horrible," Yao whispered.

"He needs someone to help him adjust to the school, so my mom volunteered me. I'll be meeting him this afternoon. I also want you guys to help him adjust."

"Of course," Miguel said, smiling. "We're more than happy to help."

…

Lovino checked the time. School was over, and it was visiting hours, which meant that he could expect to see his father and brothers soon. He wondered if Feliks would accompany them again this time.

He didn't really like the idea of Feliks spending more time with Feliciano – it was basically what he feared would happen. But at the same time, he knew that it was selfish of him to accept that Feliks would be alone at school.

Their arrival came soon enough, along with another large pizza. Realising that it was for him to eat while at the hospital, he resisted the urge to indulge, trying to be as polite as possible. He told them about his therapy session with Matthew and his dog, and wondered why it seemed as though his father's eyes sparkled.

"Are we interrupting?"

Lovino froze when he heard the unfamiliar voice, and turned his attention to the door. A woman was standing there, along with a boy that looked a lot like her. Could they be mother and son?

"Ah, I'm glad you made it," Romulus said. "Lovino, this is Eshe Hassan. She's the principal at Cordoa High."

Lovino's eyes widened at the realisation that this woman could decide his future.

"I-it's nice to meet you," he stammered.

"The pleasure is all mine, Lovino," Eshe said, walking into the room. "This is my son, Gupta. We're going to try to make your transfer as easy as possible."

Lovino nodded at the other boy, feeling a bit awkward. Gupta was watching him, and Lovino felt a bit nervous. Did the other boy think that this was a waste of his time? Did he see the same things that the terrible trio saw that made them hate him?

Gupta's eyes slid towards the bedside table, and his eyebrow raised.

"Do you enjoy reading?" he asked, to which Lovino nodded. "So do I. What's your favourite?"

Lovino relaxed a little. At least there was some connection.