Thanks to Yaoi-Is-Life-and-Love, SparklyMagix and Dumb Dreamer for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 51

Lovino couldn't believe that they were doing this. He wanted to close his eyes and pretend that this wasn't happening. He wanted to block his ears. But he was in a state of complete shock.

Feliks had demanded that they do karaoke. And since he was the one that was the most excited, he was allowed to go first.

Lovino didn't want to insult his friend, but Feliks wasn't allowed near a microphone.

He wasn't the only one who had a pained expression on his face. Everyone had a variation of it, along with a forced smile. Even if they didn't like Feliks's singing, they wouldn't tell him that he was a horrible singer. Lovino was already trying to think of nice things to say when Feliks inevitably asked what the others thought of his performance.

The entire thing seemed to be strange to Lovino in general. He couldn't imagine what the appeal would be to sing in front of other people. Especially if one had no talent for singing.

Finally, the song came to an end, and everyone gave half-hearted applause.

"Nice," Miguel said. "So, who's next?"

Vlad stepped forward, and when he was done, it was Feliciano's turn. Vlad wasn't the best singer, but he was still better than Feliks, and Feliciano was actually a joy to listen to. Lovino felt the same bubble of envy, before popping it. Singing wasn't one of his interests, so he shouldn't be bothered that Feliciano was a good singer.

"Very nice," Miguel complimented. "Any volunteers for the next round?"

Miguel was looking towards Yao, Gupta, Heracles and Lovino. Heracles looked as though he was about to fall asleep, Yao shook his head, and Gupta narrowed his eyes. After a few seconds, Miguel turned his attention to Lovino.

"What about you?" Miguel asked.

"Si!" Feliciano exclaimed. "Vino, why don't you go next?"

Lovino frantically shook his head, his hands raising in defence.

"N-no," he said. "I don't sing."

Gupta's face seemed to say that 'it doesn't stop some people' while looking towards Feliks's direction. Miguel gave him a small smile.

"It's just for fun," he said. "Come on. No one's going to judge you."

"N-no," Lovino stammered. "I-I've never sung before."

"Now, that's a lie," Yao said. "Everyone sings at some point, even if it's just in the shower. You really expect us to believe that you've never sung at all?"

"Come on," Feliciano said. "Please?"

"Like, yeah!" Feliks exclaimed. "Now we're curious. Please?"

Lovino's eyes flickered between the other people in the room, and he realised that he didn't have a choice. He sighed, accepting the remote from Miguel. He scrolled through the list of songs, searching for something that he recognised. He didn't want to embarrass himself by singing a song when he didn't even know the melody.

He froze, seeing a song that he recognised, and he actually knew the lyrics. He selected the song and got into position, taking the mic that came with this setup.

"I thought I saw you late last night," Lovino sang, "but it was just a flash of light. An angel passing. I remember yesterday. Life before you went away. And we were laughing. We had hope and now it's broken."

Lovino lost himself in the song, and he found that he didn't care that he was making a fool of himself. This was one of the songs that he'd used as a coping mechanism at some point, specifically when thinking back to his mother's death.

"And I could see it clearly once when you were here with me. And now, somehow, all that's left are pieces of a dream."

As the last notes died and he sang the last lyrics, he remembered the situation he found himself in, and he turned to face the others. They were staring at him slack-jawed, and he wondered if he was really that horrible.

"Wow…" Feliciano whispered. "Fratello, that was amazing!"

"I told you that you were lying when you said that it's your first time singing," Yao said.

Lovino shook his head. Feliks walked closer, raising his phone. He showed that he recorded Lovino, and the Italian stared in amazement. It… wasn't bad, actually.

"You never realised, did you?" Miguel asked. "Lovino… Looks like we found a hidden talent of yours."

Lovino blushed. He wasn't faring well with all these compliments, and quickly went back to lie on the bed with his leg propped up. Well, it felt as though the ankle was better, at least.

After some convincing, Yao went next, then Gupta, followed by Heracles and finally Miguel. They were all decent, though only Miguel and Heracles showed signs of having been trained at some point. And then the cycle repeated. In the end, everyone sang three songs each, and when it was over, Lovino had to admit that he had fun.

Miguel's mother knocked on the door, and they all turned to face her.

"I was just about to order the pizza," Isabel said. "Would you boys like to study the menu?"

"Obrigado," Miguel said as he took the menu.

"You may each order a medium pizza," Isabel said. "Write everything down and bring it to me, alright?"

"Of course."

Isabel left, and Miguel handed the menu over to Feliks.

"I'm going to assume you've never heard of this restaurant," Miguel said. "So, feel free to look over it."

"Like, thanks," Feliks said as he went to sit down with Feliciano and Lovino.

The three perused the menu while the others gave their orders to Miguel. After a moment of examining the items on the menu, they each gave their choice. Miguel diligently wrote everything down, before going off to give the paper to his mother.

"Mulţumesc everyone," Vlad said.

"Huh?" Feliks asked. "Like, why are you thanking us?"

"Vlad's allergic to garlic," Yao explained. "He can't even stand to smell it, and if he actually eats it…"

"Rash and breathing problems," Vlad supplied. "The smell makes me nauseous. So I appreciate that no one ordered anything with garlic."

Lovino glanced towards Feliciano, and he had to hold in his laughter. His brother looked as though a small piece of him had just died. Considering the fact that all of his favourite recipes contained garlic (and that Feliciano loved to cook for other people), it was somewhat understandable. Feliciano might still try to change a person's mind if they merely disliked it, but even he had to acknowledge that there was nothing that could be done when the person in question was allergic.

Of course, that would have been good to know before they ordered.

As for Lovino, he acknowledged that not everyone liked garlic, and the scent was strong to people that didn't eat it themselves. He kept everyone else in mind and steered clear of the garlic, not wanting to be isolated because he stank.

"So then, want to watch a movie?" Miguel asked.

"Totally!" Feliks exclaimed.

They decided to watch some comedy movie, but Lovino was only half-heartedly watching. This specific type of comedy wasn't for him. Miguel seemed to notice that Lovino was bored, and instead of being offended, he handed Lovino a book of poetry to read. Lovino understood that it was because he wouldn't get so invested, and he wouldn't feel frustrated at being interrupted with a story.

This was Miguel's way of telling him that he respected that Lovino wasn't interested, but they still wanted him involved. He wasn't going to be forced to participate in something that he didn't like (though the karaoke was something that they all had to take part in). But when they moved on to the next activity, then they wanted Lovino to be a part of it as well.

The pizza arrived at some point during the movie, and Lovino understood why Miguel chose the comedy instead of the horror. Tension would have been broken, and the horror would have lost its charm. At least the comedy didn't need to keep any tension intact.

Lovino put the book aside while eating, and when he was finished, he made his way to the bathroom. The main reason why he went was to wash his hands after the greasy pizza, but as he went, he realised that he needed to go.

On his way back, he stopped at a picture frame. Something caught his eye. It was a picture of Miguel and Antonio when they were small. They appeared to be playing in the sand, most likely at a beach. Lovino knew that Miguel wasn't too fond of his cousin, even before discovering the things he'd done to Lovino. But here… they were happy. There must have been a time when they did get along.

Just like how Antonio and Lovino had called themselves friends at a time, though they were very young. Lovino couldn't even remember what had caused Antonio to become his tormentor. Snapping at him for poking him the whole time and calling him names shouldn't have been enough to elicit such a response.

He briefly wondered, not for the first time, what his life would have been like if Antonio had remained his friend. Lovino might not have returned home with so many bruises, and his father might not have assumed that he was a delinquent. But he quickly shook off the thought. It didn't matter, and considering the person that Antonio turned out to be, he didn't want a friend like that anyway.

He continued on his way back to the others.

…

Feliks wasn't very happy at this moment.

He hated horror movies, and the fact that this was a movie where one didn't exactly see the killer…

He kept waiting for jump scares, though they never came. And the anticipation was killing him. And he just realised that it was the wrong thing to think.

The only one that seemed to be as uncomfortable as him was Feliciano, who was clinging to Lovino. Lovino had actually leaned forward to properly watch the movie, which he hadn't done with the earlier one. And Feliks knew that Lovino was enjoying this movie.

He felt very relieved when it was finally over.

"It's getting pretty late," Miguel said, looking at his watch. "Shall we go downstairs now?"

The group grabbed their pillows, while Miguel went to retrieve a few blankets. They made their way downstairs, where a bunch of mattresses had already been laid out.

"Did your parents do this?" Lovino asked.

Miguel nodded. The task was now to choose a place for each of them. Feliks got a spot next to Lovino, with Feliciano on the other side. And Heracles was on Feliks's other side.

They watched one more movie – another comedy, thankfully – before going to sleep. Feliks tried to calm himself, but then Heracles's arm wrapped around him, and he could sense that Heracles was already fast asleep. The others had explained Heracles's narcolepsy – and what exactly that was – so it didn't surprise Feliks that Heracles was already asleep. But he realised, too late, that he should have gotten a place at the edge.

But still, this felt… nice. Heracles was pretty muscular, but not overly so. And Feliks fit snugly against his body. It made him long for something he doubted that he would ever have.

Tears fell from his eyes, and he hated himself for being so emotional. He thought about what happened at his old school, and the people that surrounded him were nice. He didn't want them to find out, and he didn't want them to react in the same way his old schoolmates reacted. And he didn't want to get so comfortable that his body betrayed him.

Heracles moved even closer, and Feliks couldn't take it anymore. He yelped and leapt out of the makeshift bed, probably startling everyone with the sudden shifting of the blankets. He ran towards the bathroom, trying to calm himself and trying to wash the tears away.

While splashing his face, he heard a knock on the door, even though it was left open. He turned to see Heracles standing there.

"Are you okay?" Heracles asked.

"Tak," Feliks said. "I just… needed a moment."

Heracles's eyes drifted downwards, and Feliks realised that he had pulled up the sleeves of his pyjamas, revealing the scars on his arms. He quickly pulled them down, hoping that Heracles wouldn't ask about it.

"We know Lovino's story," Heracles said. "But we don't know yours. So, do you mind sharing?"

"I c-can't," Feliks stammered.

"You don't have to be scared. I think asides from murder, none of us would hate you for anything."

Feliks pursed his lips. Heracles appeared so sincere. He wanted to trust him…

Then again, Lovino didn't care when Feliks revealed his bombshell. Perhaps… they would be the same.

"I was bullied at my old school for being gay," Feliks said quietly. "The boy I liked told just about everyone. My friends all abandoned me, and I… I just wanted to…"

Heracles wrapped him in a hug, and Feliks was surprised, though grateful.

"It was a really nasty thing they did to you," Heracles said. "And you don't have to worry. None of us are bothered by that. Besides…" He leaned closer to whisper in Feliks's ear. "I go either way."

Feliks's eyes widened. Did… Was Heracles telling him that…?

"You're bi?" Feliks whispered as he pulled away.

Heracles smiled and nodded.

"I'm guessing that you're worried about something embarrassing happening if you sleep next to me," Heracles said. "Am I right?"

Feliks blushed and nodded his head.

"Then I guess that I should warn you about that too," Heracles said. "It's natural, though. And like I said, no one's going to hate you for that. But if you want to wait before telling the others, then it's fine too."

Feliks smiled. He had been afraid that their new friends would pull Lovino away, but Feliks could find that he had a fair deal in common with them too. And in different ways, he was included as well. He might not have been much of a reader, but there was more to a person than just one interest.

…

It was their seventh-grade camping trip, and Lovino was left behind. He'd only stopped to tie his shoelaces, but no one had waited for him. Not that he'd expected anyone to. Not even Feliciano could be trusted to wait for him.

He sighed as he followed after the others. To be honest, he didn't feel like doing the obstacle course, which was where they were hiking to. He'd rather go back to his cabin and read a book.

He'd been looking down, being mindful of the uneven ground and the large rocks. When he looked up, he saw three familiar faces, and he froze. They'd realised that he'd fallen behind, and they decided to hang back as well.

This wouldn't be good.

"You're like a little turtle," Antonio said. "Too slow."

Lovino figured that Antonio was confusing 'turtle' with 'tortoise', but he wasn't going to point that out right now. He backed up when the other three started to move closer.

"I don't think any of us want to do the obstacle course," Gilbert said. "So let's have our own fun…"

…

Feliciano was woken by the sounds of whimpering and the feeling of thrashing. He turned around to his brother, noticing the scared look on his face, even though it was clear that he was asleep.

"D-don't," Lovino whimpered. "Please… h-help."

A few of the others noticed this as well, since Feliciano could tell that they were sitting up and looking in their direction.

"Is everything okay?" Yao asked, before yawning.

"I think he's having a nightmare," Feliciano said. "But… the pills are supposed to…"

Feliciano paused. Did Lovino actually drink the pills?

"This isn't good," Feliciano said. "We need to wake him up, and then we need to stop him from hurting himself."

"Are his nightmares really that bad?" Gupta asked.

"Like, the last time, he had a dream about the time those three jerks tried to kill him," Feliks said. "And he slammed his broken wrist."

The others seemed to get the message, for they moved closer to the twins. Miguel, Vlad and Heracles appeared to still be sleeping, and they were probably the deeper sleepers. Feliciano was a deep sleeper as well, though because he was sleeping right next to his brother, he was immediately able to realise that something was wrong.

"So, how should we do this?" Gupta asked.

Feliciano bit his lip. He wasn't in the habit of waking his brother from a nightmare, and he often left him asleep. The exception had been when he realised his brother had overdosed. There was a last resort that he could try, but…

"Um, hold Lovino's legs and arms," Feliciano said. "I have an idea, but it might cause kicking and punching."

Even though he couldn't see it, he could sense that the others gave him odd looks, before doing as told. They remained careful of Lovino's injured wrist and ankle, though.

"Here we go," Feliciano muttered.

He pulled on the sensitive hair curl, and Lovino's eyes snapped open as he arched his back and yelped. Feliciano quickly let go and pinned Lovino's arm down, and it took his brother a moment to calm down and glare at him.

"What the hell?" Lovino demanded.

"Did you remember to drink your sleeping pill?" Feliciano asked.

It was dark, so Feliciano couldn't see very clearly, but he knew that his brother averted his eyes.

"I'll go drink it now," Lovino said. "You can let go of me now."

The others released him, and Lovino sat up and limped away. By now, the other three were awake as well. Miguel looked up at the ceiling.

"Hopefully that didn't wake my parents," he said.

"What happened?" Vlad slurred.

"Lovino had a nightmare," Gupta explained.

"Si," Feliciano said. "And if it's about something that happened in the past, then he tends to hurt himself."

He should probably go to check on his brother.

The song Lovino sang is Anastacia's Pieces of a dream. I was originally going to let him sing Everything burns, which is one of my personal picks when feeling down, but when it came time to write, Piecesof a dream kept playing through my mind. It's a nice enough song, and I can still remember the lyrics well, despite not listening to it for years, but… I have some bad memories with this song. When my grandmother was sick, I had a dream that explicitly told me that she was close to dying (signified as her standing in a queue with people who are waiting to die), and the song was playing in the background. I didn't hear that song at all until a few days later, in the morning. That night, my mother woke me because something was happening to my grandmother, and after arriving at the place where she was, we found out that she died. When driving back, the song played again. So I have a bit of a complicated relationship with this song.

My sister's boyfriend's mother is allergic to garlic, which I didn't think was a real thing until I heard about it. My family actually adores garlic, especially garlic bread. My mom actually got offended once when I was busy with preparations for a dish and asked if we had garlic. Of course we have garlic. Same with olive oil. It comes with the added bonus of ensuring social distancing. Especially with alfredo blue, which has both garlic and blue cheese.

Personally, I prefer psychological horror. Those that use (read: abuse) jump scares become a bit cheap.

Yeah, Feliks is a hormonal teenager surrounded by people he finds attractive. He's naturally worried about their reactions.