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

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 48

The rest of the week passed by relatively uneventfully. It was the next Saturday, and Lovino was preparing to go to the theatre with Feliks and his mother. The others would be meeting them there, but their seats were nowhere near theirs. So, they only had a chance to get together before and after the show.

Earlier in the week, Feliks had expressed his displeasure at spending so little time with Lovino now. The most time they had to themselves was on the bus ride back, which was about ten minutes. Not enough time, and with other people on the bus, Feliks still wasn't satisfied.

So Lovino started thinking about ways to spend more time with Feliks, just the two of them. It was a bit difficult during the week. Since Feliks joined the book club, his sessions with Dr Williams were moved from Tuesdays to Fridays. Mondays and Wednesdays were Lovino's days, and Feliks still had Thursdays, plus Lovino still had to catch up on CS on Thusdays.

Also, it was harder than he thought it would be to make toffee.

He looked up when someone gently knocked on the door.

"Come in," he said.

Romulus poked his head inside and smiled.

"You certainly look dashing," Romulus said. "Any idea when Feliks and his mother would be arriving?"

Lovino checked the time.

"Five minutes," he said. "The show itself doesn't start for another two hours, but it's going to take about half an hour to actually get there, and then we're going to have dinner before that. We're meeting the others there."

"Sounds like it's going to be fun," Romulus said. "Remember to take a sweater or a jacket, alright? I don't want you to catch a cold."

Lovino nodded, and he was left alone again. It was still a bit strange. His father giving him a compliment, and telling him to be careful of catching a cold. Something that was definitely parental. Something that was usually only reserved for his brothers.

His father was acting more fatherly towards him lately, and it was still extremely uncomfortable for him. After going without this treatment for so long, and having it suddenly introduced as perfectly normal, Lovino couldn't help but feel disoriented. To make matters worse, the treatment felt nice, which made all of the time spent without that treatment stand out. He knew exactly what it is that he'd been denied.

It was painful, yes, but he figured the greatest pain would be when it was suddenly denied again. When his father decided to lapse into his old ways. Would it be when his ankle and wrist were fine again? When his father didn't feel guilty anymore?

While he was still afraid that his father would return to the way he was before, he at least started to trust that Feliks and the others wouldn't abandon him. They were like him in many ways. They had been hurt by their peers as well. They were ostracised. Made outcasts. And they came together because of their similarities, respectful of each other's differences. And if one of them was troubled by something, the others would do their best to help.

Lovino had seen it clearly. Whenever he felt troubled, one of them would always seem to sense that he was down, and they would try to help him as much as they could. And when he needed space, they gave him the space that he needed.

It's been a long time since he had friends. So long in fact that he didn't know what to do. He allowed them to lead the way, and they seemed patient enough that they wouldn't get annoyed with him not taking a more active role in their friendship.

It felt nice to call them his friends, though he felt it was a bit too early to say it to their faces. He still felt a bit hesitant, and he didn't want to ruin his chances. He wanted the friendship he developed with the others to last.

"Lovino, Feliks is here!" Feliciano called from downstairs.

Lovino took a deep breath, before grabbing a hoodie. He quickly made his way downstairs, seeing that Feliks and his mother were waiting for him at the door.

"There you are," Felicja greeted. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"S-si," Lovino said. "H-how are you?"

Felicja smiled.

"Still as polite as always, I see," she said. "Well, are you ready to go?"

Lovino nodded, and he quickly said goodbye to his father and brothers. He followed the other two to Felicja's car, getting into the backseat. He was surprised to see Feliks sitting down beside him.

"I hope you don't mind," Feliks said. "Like, this would be easier to chat."

Lovino gave a small smile in response. Feliks was quite a clingy person. But it was the same clinginess that allowed him to go and watch the play. The same clinginess that… that was giving him a reason to carry on living.

…

"How long before they get here?" Eshe asked.

Gupta quickly sent a text to Feliks. He, Miguel and Vlad had travelled with his mother, while Heracles and Yao had gone with Helena. They were going to watch a play in the evening in another city. They needed chaperones.

Not that he minded too much, and neither did the others. That meant that they didn't have to pay for their own dinners, and Vlad and Yao especially had a problem with that. They also didn't have to pay for a bus ticket or anything.

Basically, it was just cheaper for them to have at least two of their mothers along. And Feliks's mother, of course.

Gupta turned his attention to his phone, where a reply had come from the Pole.

"They're looking for the theatre right now," Gupta said.

The restaurant was located in the same building as the theatre, probably for those that wanted to have a meal before or after a performance. It was actually a great dating destination.

"Do you think we could at least order our drinks?" Vlad asked.

"We should try ordering everything in one shot," Helena sighed. "We have a time limit, after all."

Three minutes later, Lovino, Feliks and Feliks's mother entered the restaurant. Lovino was the one who saw them first, and he led the other two towards their booth.

"Sorry we're late," Felicja said. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Not really," Helena said. "I'm Helena, by the way."

After brief introductions, everyone examined the menus. The waiter came by soon, and they ordered their drinks and food together. Gupta turned his attention to the poster on the opposite wall. It was an advertisement for one of the theatre's productions. It appeared to be a pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk. His primary school had always taken them to watch the pantomimes, and he'd rather enjoyed them when he was younger. He didn't know if he would still find them interesting, though. Perhaps he should see if anyone would be willing to go with him.

"Are you interested?" Miguel whispered.

Gupta turned to his friend, whose eyes strayed to the pantomime poster as well. Gupta shrugged, though he kept his attention focused on Miguel. Perhaps he did have someone that would be interested in watching it with him.

And then he got an idea.

"Lovino, have you ever watched one of those pantomimes before?" Gupta asked.

Lovino appeared confused, before he noticed the poster. He frowned as he cocked his head to the side.

"Jack and the Beanstalk?" he questioned. "Why exactly are you asking me that?"

"Have you never watched one of those pantomimes?" Miguel asked.

Lovino just shook his head.

"There's something lacking in your education," Miguel said. "We're going to have to fix it."

"Like, what is it?" Feliks asked.

"The pantomimes are basically a retelling of a classical story," Vlad explained. "Mostly fairy tales. They're pretty funny, and… Well, I think that you need to see it for yourself."

"Are you planning to make another trip out of it?" Felicja asked.

"What do you think, Vino?" Feliks asked. "Want to watch?"

Lovino was silent, staring at the poster. Eventually, he shrugged.

"Might be interesting," he said. "I'm curious."

Gupta and Heracles both looked over to their mothers, who sighed at the gaze.

"I suppose this is what we get for having culturally-rich teenagers," Eshe said.

"It could be worse," Helena sighed.

"Personally, I'm glad about this," Felicja said. "I mean, it's nice to have an appreciation of the arts. I'm glad that Feliks has started to take an interest."

Feliks awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Still, you shouldn't feel as though we're pressuring you or anything," Yao said. "If you want, we can do something that you like at some point."

"Da," Vlad said. "So, what do you like?"

Feliks winced, before he looked at his mother, who smiled encouragingly.

"Like, I like playing chess," Feliks said. "I'm just not very good at it. Like, I know all the rules and everything, but… Like, strategy's not my thing."

"I'm pretty good at chess," Gupta said. "I can help you improve, if you'd like."

Feliks gave a small smile. Felicja leaned forward.

"Feliks, wasn't there a time when you wanted to be an actor?" she asked. "You were a member of the drama club for a while, right? Why did you stop?"

Feliks flinched, averting his gaze. Gupta frowned in concern.

"Something happened, didn't it?" Gupta asked.

Feliks nodded his head, but didn't elaborate. The others knew enough to know that it wouldn't be wise to press him. The look in his eyes was familiar to them all.

They were at least spared from further awkwardness by the arrival of their drinks. Their food arrived shortly afterwards.

While eating, Gupta couldn't help but think of the new revelations. Feliks didn't exactly strike him as someone that would enjoy chess, and to find out that he already had an interest in the theatre… Well, they'd only known each other for a short time, so there was still much to discover.

Things became… interesting.

…

Feliks watched, entranced, at the performance on the stage. The language usage was a bit difficult for him to wrap his mind around, but thanks to Lovino already giving him a summary of the play, he was able to follow it.

He could imagine falling in love with a person that wasn't right for him, and it managed to dig up old memories. About his time in the drama club, and how he fell in love with one of his fellow members. Someone that didn't share his attraction. And that someone told many people about what happened between them.

It wasn't just that Feliks had been rejected, but the circumstances of the rejection. He had been marked as a freak, and became a frequent target of others' hatred. The friends he had abandoned him, saying that they didn't want anything to do with a freak like him. They didn't want others to see them the same way. And as he became more and more isolated, the attacks against him became worse, until it reached its climax.

His arms itched, and he gently rubbed them to stop the itching. He'd lost an interest in the things he loved, and he almost lost his life. All because he fell in love with the wrong person, like the characters in the play.

It was why he was so desperate for Lovino's company. None of the others knew about Feliks's sexuality, and he was afraid of telling them. Only Lovino knew, and Lovino had accepted him with no problem. In fact, Lovino didn't even treat it like something one had to think about. He didn't treat it like something that needed to be accepted, just as something that was. Lovino didn't care. Which meant that he considered it to be a fact of life. Completely normal.

And that was what Feliks wanted. He just wanted that normalcy. And Lovino was the one that provided it. Feliks didn't want to lose that.

He didn't think that he was falling in love with Lovino, and in the off-chance that it did happen, then he would have to squash it. After what happened the previous time, he wasn't going to take that chance again. He still had his own recovering to do. And Lovino was still getting used to the idea of having friends. Feliks didn't think that romance would be on his mind anytime soon.

But still, he couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated by the new group of teens. They had specifically been approached to help Lovino adjust to the new school, and he certainly had more in common with them than he had with Feliks. He was afraid that, sooner or later, Lovino would decide that Feliks wasn't worth it. That he would be better off with friends that he could relate with. Which was also why Feliks was trying so hard with the book club and the play…

Actually, he found the play to be enjoyable for him as well, and it made him realise how much he missed being on stage. Wearing gorgeous costumes. Stepping into the shoes of someone else, allowing him to leave his own problems behind.

Perhaps… he should see if he could join the school's drama club, if it had one. He hoped that they weren't already working on a production, otherwise it would be difficult for him to join.

Fortunately, the school principal was one of the chaperones for this outing. He could try asking her about it. And she seemed nice enough. He was sure that she would be more than willing to tell him more about it.

…

After the conclusion of the play, they had gone back to the restaurant to get ice-cream. They were mostly asking Feliks's opinion on the play, since he was still new to the classics, with explanations following where he admitted that he didn't understand.

The three adults were sitting further away from the teens, simply watching. They all had smiles on their faces, expressing the joy of parents who saw that their children were having fun.

"Honestly, I think that meeting Lovino is the best thing to ever happen to Feliks," Felicja said.

"Still, it must be hard on him," Eshe said. "He transferred to a new school three weeks after transferring to another. He must be disoriented."

Felicja nodded, glancing towards her son.

"It has been tough," she said. "But he was also scared of staying at the other school. After seeing what happened to Lovino, and how much the school allowed to happen… Feliks said that even the teachers seemed to hate Lovino. The way they spoke to him, the way they looked at him… Feliks was also scared that, with Lovino gone, he would be the new target. The school recognised him as Lovino's friend, and he even said that a few of the other students tried to get him away from Lovino."

"There's something wrong at that school," Eshe said. "I've reported them to the Department, but it might take a while before they respond."

"What's going to happen?" Helena asked.

"They're most likely going to launch an enquiry, and there's a good chance the principal would get suspended. If they find that there are violations of the code of conduct, then they're going to intervene and bring about their own changes, and when they're done, they're going to observe the school to see that the changes remain. Obviously, something like that is one of the greatest fears of any school."

"But it's necessary, right?" Felicja asked. "I mean… If it can prevent another child from suffering the way Lovino had suffered…"

"Yes," Eshe said. "It's completely necessary. The first priority of any school should be its students."

Felicja suddenly looked up, and the other two followed her gaze. Feliks stood there, though his gaze was fixed on Eshe.

"Um, Miss Hassan, c-could I speak to you, please?" Feliks asked.

Eshe frowned in concern, but nodded her head. The two walked a bit away for some privacy, and Eshe turned her full attention to Feliks.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Um, not exactly," he said. "I just… Um, I want to get some more information on the drama club. Like, would they allow someone new to join so late?"

Eshe smiled in relief when she realised that nothing was wrong, and was pleased to hear that he was interested in joining another club.

"Why don't you ask Helena?" Eshe asked. "Not every club is led by a teacher. As long as they have some ties to the school, experts from outside are welcome to help with the clubs. Sports and culture are the main focus."

Feliks blinked in surprise, before turning his attention to Helena, who was watching them along with his own mother. Eshe smiled before leading him back.

"Helena, looks like you have a possible new recruit," Eshe explained.

Helena looked confused for a moment, before she seemed to remember the conversation from before the play. She turned to Feliks and smiled.

"I wanted to ask you about it earlier, but I suppose we all got side-tracked," she said. "Is it possible for you to come by on Monday? I'll have you read a text and see how you do. But a lot of it is mostly focused on skills development. We don't have a production in the foreseeable future. That comes later."

Feliks nodded his head, looking excited.

"I'm sorry," Felicja said. "I'm confused."

"Helena's the advisor for the school's drama club," Eshe explained.

"Oh, are you interested in returning to drama?" Felicja asked, turning to her son. "Feliks, I'm so happy to hear that!"

Feliks appeared a bit awkward, but nodded his head, smiling. The others seemed to catch wind of this and approached.

"That's great," Yao said. "Would you like some drama texts to read? I have a few."

"S-sure," Feliks said, looking around in bewilderment.

Eshe realised that he was the odd one out, but it seemed as though he was cautiously stepping onto common ground.

I wanted to expand on Feliks's character a bit. In canon, he does play chess with Lithuania, though he's not very good at it. One doesn't need to be good at something to enjoy it. Though doing it with someone who's obviously better can lead to a bit of an inferiority complex over it, and could sometimes lead to people leaving something they like because they're not good. It helps if someone offers to help them improve, though it also depends on expectations vs results. If the one teaching you expects more than what you can give at that time, it can put you in that situation again where you want to quit, so finding balance is important. I also figured that he would be someone to enjoy drama, and the reason why it didn't come up before was because Feliks suffered a trauma that dampened that love as well. Being exposed to drama again made him regain that spark.

Both my primary school and high school had a few instances where they had someone from the outside help out, particularly with sport and culture. In my primary school, the rugby teams especially needed the help of outsiders because the number of male teachers who could possibly coach and the number of teams (or age groups) were out of balance, and so they would have a few coaches be fathers or husbands of the female teachers, and in high school I remember the chamber choir was led by the mother of one of the students. The main requirement is for the outside help to have at least some connection to the school.

I actually did drama in high school, though it wasn't like how it's portrayed on TV. When one of the English teachers retired, she started giving drama classes at her house (which was in walking distance from the high school). It was rare for us to actually perform a play (and we never performed for an audience), and mostly we worked on personal skills development – confidence, trust, and things like that. There were a few times when I would be the only person there.

The Janice Honeyman pantomimes were one of the highlights of my childhood. Jack and the Beanstalk was the first to come to mind. If you want an idea, go to YouTube and search 'Janice Honeyman pantomime'. You can't see the full shows, but the videos can at least help you understand the type of productions these are. What makes these pantomimes unique is that they give you a proper flavour of South Africa – slang words, mixing of languages, mannerisms, etc. The first few performances are mainly for schools, with the writer being in the audience and taking notes. The reason why they do this is because schoolchildren will be less critical of mistakes, and a lot more vocal if they don't like the play, so if things need to be tweaked, the schools serve as a great indicator of what those things should be.

And yeah, we made toffee during CS. And with it, toffee apples (or candy apples; we just refer to them as toffee apples in South Africa).