Disclaimer: Oh the noes! No mine! le gasp
Thank you thank you thank you thank you oh my goodness thank you so much! I got so many more reviews and favorites for this one chapter then I even imagined getting! It means the world to me, you really have no idea ^^ so to:
MataHari-Chan, tornadoheart25, TheNinjaWangsta, Gearr, Ruichan134, Yami Ryo, England-sama, xXAliceKirklandXx, Lovely4Real, Alphine, Kisuchuu, Fish and Chips X Hamburgers, The Evil Dreamer, XXCrimsonBlueXx, CzerwonyMak, Sora Nadeshiko, tintenstern, ShouldaSeenThatOneComing
Thank you so so very much! I'm sorry if I misspelled any names or left anyone out! If I forgot anyone, your review/fave still mean the world to me :D
Lovely4Real: Thank you so much for the correction ^^ unfortunately I was already halfway through the chapter when i checked my email and saw what the correct spelling was so i just continued it that way. I do plan on going back and fixing it in both chapters though, so it's much appreciated that you told me how it's really spelled lol.
Right then. Onward!
O ~ O ~ O
Alfred lay back on his bed watching his ceiling fan spin lazily around, its efforts not even creating a breeze in his stuffy room. Just because it's cold outside doesn't mean the house needs to be at sauna temperatures. Alfred inwardly complained. His parents seemed to be under the impression that if the house wasn't at hell fire heat they would all freeze while they slept. Alfred had been driven to opening his window to the bitter cold on more then one occasion just so he wouldn't melt into a puddle. Rolling over on his sheets, he turned his attention to the pile of newly signed papers sitting on his desk. It had been fairly easy to get his parents on board with the new school idea. One look at who it was from and Alfred's explanation to where exactly he had been accepted and his parents couldn't sign the forms fast enough.
"This is so great honey!" His mother had cooed, ruffling his hair affectionately. "To think out little boy would be presented with such an honor!"
"I always told you that brain of yours would pay off son." His father said, looking over his paper. "Work hard and you can get anywhere. We expect to here good things about you from that school. You're going to graduate at the top of your class you can be sure of that." Alfred grinned, giving his dad an enthusiastic thumbs up. "You bet dad. Trust me I'm going to be the best."
"Oh dear do you need new clothes? Is there a uniform? Oh and what about all your things are you supposed to bring them? Will they feed you dear? What if they don't feed him Rick?" His mother fretted, sea green eyes pooling with worry.
"Lisa I'm sure they're going to feed him, don't worry." His father said, placing a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder. "Everything will be fine. Alfred's a strong boy he can handle whatever they throw at him, right Al?" Alfred nodded.
"It'll be ok mom. Matthew and Soren are going too. So it's not like I'll be alone or anything. Besides, I'm a hero I can take care of myself." He assured her.
"Matthew's going?" he saw his mother visibly perk up and her face broke out into a smile. "That's good. Matthew is a good friend. I'm glad you two will be able to stay close."
"Sorens going to mom." He sighed, rolling his eyes at his mom's obvious favoritism amongst his friends. Her face fell slightly and she gave Alfred a gentle look.
"Just be careful with that one Alfred. I know he's your friend but I really think he's a bad influence on you."
"Way to be subtle mom." He grumbled, turning away from her.
"Lisa, Soren is a good kid. Don't put him down." His father said, putting his paper down with a frown. "He's a real trooper that one. Strong minded, confident. He's great to play football with too. Kid's got a hell of an arm and he's quick."
"You can't judge a person on their football skills darling." His mother replied, tapping her fingers on the table.
"Sure you can." His father responded. "You just don't know how. Besides if it weren't for Soren he'd only be hanging out with Matthew."
"What's wrong with just Matthew?" His mother shot back. "He's very sweet"
"He looks like a girl."
"What's wrong with that? It just means he takes good care of himself."
Alfred resisted the urge to slam his head against a wall and instead choose to quietly slip out of the room. It wasn't the first time his parents had debated about his friends and his guess was it wouldn't be the last either. His mom didn't like Soren. She thought he was to rough looking and got into to much trouble. His dad didn't like Matthew. He thought Matthew was to girly, to soft. So each put up with the other friend in order to keep the one they liked. It was like a trade off that Alfred had already consented himself to having no part of.
Sighing again, he decided that he should probably start packing and slid himself slowly off of his bed. Shuffling to his closet doors, he peered into the abyss and frowned. He didn't need clothes for the most part. Although I guess I should bring some other stuff to wear besides that stuffy uniform they're going to give me. He decided. He leaned down and dug through the piles of clothes amassing in his closet. Jeans, jeans, soccer shorts, jeans, jeans, hoodie, t-shirt, t-shirt, t-shirt, long sleeved shirt, long sleeved shirt, and long sleeved shirt. Tossing the articles of clothing his bedroom floor in an unkempt pile he nodded to himself, satisfied. "That out to do it." He said smiling at his quick work. Guess I better get my toothbrush and stuff. He thought. He slipped out of his room, tip toeing over the soft carpeting and stepping gingerly onto the cool tiles of the bathroom. So cold! His eyes lit up and he grinned mischievously. Maybe he'd just sleep here on the bathroom floor tonight. Shaking his head he walked quickly into the bathroom and pushed the door shut as quietly as possible, cringing at the click of the lock.
Tossing a glance at the wide mirror, he glimpsed his reflection and frowned. Shirtless and pant-less (reason for his sneaking to the bathroom. What would he do if his parents caught him walking around half naked?) he got a good look at himself for the first time in a while. He tended not to look in mirrors to much, because that was something that conceited people did and he was a hero and heroes were most certainly not conceited. Sure he'd see his face every morning and night when he brushed his teeth, and sometimes he'd get a glimpse of himself in reflections on glass, or some other mirror but he never really looked at himself. Because Alfred F. Jones was most definitely not conceited.
He turned so that his shoulder faced the mirror, glancing over his back and then turning around again to get a better look at himself. He looked a little taller then the last time he'd seen himself. Had he filled out a little? He couldn't tell. He'd lost a little of his tan, that much he noticed. Must be the damn lack of sunlight around here. He grumbled inwardly. His chest was smooth, hairless, just like his face leading Alfred to wonder if he was ever actually going to have to shave in his life. The rest of him looked as familiar as ever though. Blond locks same length as the had been when he'd seen them that morning, and still shining the same rich golden hue. He tugged on his persistent cowlick and chuckled. He'd had that thing his whole life. His parents even swore he was born with it, and he was inclined to believe them. When he was younger, his mother had always tried to get it to stay down, particularly during social events. But no matter now much water or gel or god only knew what else his mother had put on it, it just flipped right back up. Odd as it sounded, he was rather liked it, and that little curl at the top of his head was the thing about himself Alfred was the most proud of.
He nodded, giving himself another look over. His skin wasn't as smooth or pretty as Matthew's. His had little blemishes here and there, and a tiny scar on his chin from past acne, but over all it wasn't horrible. He wasn't as built as Soren, or as tall. And his jaw wasn't nearly as set or strong looking, as the Dane's but it was mediocre he supposed. He'd gotten his father's eyes and his mother's hair, not a bad combination, blonde and blue. He frowned, thinking about his eyes and focusing his attention on them in the mirror. "Ugh those glasses." He muttered. He'd despised them from the minute they'd been set on his face at the ripe age of eight. Granted, these weren't that same pair, he'd gone through several at this point, but glasses were glasses all the same. Two years prior, he'd begged his parents for contacts relentlessly. But when they finally gave in and he tried them for the first time, he, his parents, and his oh so informative doctor learned that Alfred's eyes couldn't handle the contacts and that he was going to have to stick with glasses.
He pulled them off his face and sighed. This really was a much more befitting look of a hero. It would be different if I just wore them for a disguise, like superman or something. He thought miserably. But he needed them all the time, and couldn't see a thing without them. Even now, he could just barely make out the features on his face, and he reckoned that the reason for that was only because it was something he recognized. He slid them back on to the bridge of his nose and pushed them up. He had yet to meet a person who said he looked better with his glasses on. Well, save for his own parents anyway, and that was only in their original efforts to get him to wear them. Even the girls at school who appraised him so highly for his looks, all agreed that he looked much better with out them on. He didn't even really care what they looked like. They just seemed wrong on him, and all they did was get in his way.
"The day I meet someone who honestly thinks these stupid things suit me is either the day I meet my soul mate or someone blinder then me." He joked, tilting the shining spectacles on his face. He paused; looking around the bathroom as if he'd just suddenly remembered something. "What did I come in here for again?" he asked aloud. "Oh! Toothbrush. Right." Snatching up the bristled object, he flicked off the lights on his way out the door and inched quietly towards his room.
"Alfred! We're having dinner in five minutes! Please come down and set the table." He shot a foot in the air at the sound of his mothers voice, and with a half hearted "Yes mom!" scrambled back to his room and slammed the door shut.
O ~ O ~ O
It was raining again, and a thick fog had settled over town making the already murky looking scene all the more water logged. It was Saturday morning, the day after the forms had been due to attend BNA and Alfred sat miserably on his front porch watching the rain pour down as he waited for his companions. The letter had informed them to meet at some fancy building in London, and not only that but it had requested that all students joining from the same school were to arrive together. And here he was an hour before the meeting was supposed to start and Matthew and Soren still had yet to arrive. "I wonder if they can even see the house through all this fog!" He exclaimed as the thought occurred to him.
Pulling his hood over his head, he stood from his crouching position on the damp wooden planks and raced out into his front yard. When he reached the street about one hundred feet out, he turned around and squinted. Nope, he could see the house perfectly fine, although the neighboring houses were a little hazy. The black shingles of the roof looked an impossibly dark shade thanks to the rain, and the white wood of the house just looked damp. His mother's flower garden wept against the strength of the water, drops sliding down the stems and leaves of the bright yellow marigolds. However the florescent red door to the house was easily visible through the fog, and Alfred could even vaguely make out his last name on the black mailbox to the side of the front steps.
"Yea they're just late." He grumbled, pulling his hood tighter around his hair. A twinge of fear shot through him and his eyebrows knitted in worry as he frowned. What if they weren't lost, what if they had gotten hurt? What if they crashed in the rain? What if they were in the hospital or worse dead somewhere? He felt his stomach grow nauseous at the thought of his friend's bodies lying on the side of the road. "Aw man I have to find them! I gotta save them!" That's right, this was no time to be panicked. He was a hero and e was definitely going to save his friends! Just as he was about to start down the sidewalk, the sound of sneakers slapping against the sidewalk reached his ears and he paused.
"Alfred!" A voice called from behind him. He turned to see his two friends sprinting down the sidewalk, the shorter one waving to him. "Sorry." Matthew panted as they caught up with him, leaning over to catch his breath. "I left a little late, and then Soren's dad was giving him a lecture as he walked out the door. And we had kind of figured he would drive us, but he had a meeting to go to all of a sudden so we ended up walking. Well running actually but we got here all the same. Anyway do you mind if we come in? We've been running for at least ten minutes and were soaked. And what are you doing out here? Why aren't you inside?"
"You idiots!" Alfred wailed, grabbing his friend's shoulders and shaking them back and forth. "I thought you were dead! You were supposed to be here half an hour ago! Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
Soren snickered, peeling Alfred's hand off his soaking jacket. "You sound like a girl."
"Say's the guy who writes poetry." Alfred shot back.
Soren muttered something incomprehensible under his breath but other wise just crossed his arms.
"So Alfred, can we come in?" Matthew asked again, shifting the weight of his duffel bag on his shoulder. "You know instead of standing here and getting even more soaked?"
"Oh right sure!" Alfred grinned. "Come on then." He said starting towards his front door. The other two followed quickly behind him, more then happy to finally be out of the rain.
"Mom, Dad, Soren and Matty are here!" He called in, pushing the bright red door open. His mother popped her head out from the kitchen, smiling brightly.
"Come in, come in. The shuttle should be here soon, but you two are welcome to sit and dry off while you wait." She cocked her head, as if just noticing the sopping state of the boys' apparel.
"Goodness. You two really are soaked. Here now, give me those jackets I'll throw them in the dryer real fast for you. And Alfred can lend you both a pair of jeans if you'd like. You two must have been out there for a while." she said, looking them up and down.
Alfred heard Soren snicker and knew it was at the prospect of squeezing into his jeans.
"Yea yea sure mom. They're fine. The shuttle will be here in like ten minutes right? We'll be up in my room, call us down when it comes ok?" He muttered, pushing past his mother. Matthew gave Mrs. Jones a polite smile (Soren was still grinning like he was enjoying a good joke) and the two followed Alfred up the familiar stairs and into his room.
"Sorry about her." Alfred sighed, trying to mask his embarrassment. "She's kind of pushy sometimes."
"I think she's very kind to offer something like that." Matthew admitted, patting his friends back in assurance. "Even if you know, neither of us would be able to actually wear your jeans."
"I wouldn't want you to wear my jeans, trust me." Alfred laughed. "So." He said, plopping down on his bed, "What did you guys bring anyway?"
"A couple pairs of pants, shirts, jackets, cell phone, iPod, video games, oh and our red notebook Alfred." Soren replied, rummaging through his onyx duffel bag. "And you know, tooth brush tooth paste, all the other crap."
"I brought basically the same." Matthew said, pulling his maroon bag off his shoulder and setting it on the soft white carpet. "Except no video games or anything, and I brought kuma."
Alfred and Soren tossed each other an exasperated look. "Matty you've had that thing since I met you when we were like, eleven. And you had it before that to." He gripped his friend's shoulder firmly, a concerned look pulling at his features. "It's time to let the bear go."
"No way!" Matthew cried, hugging his bag close to him. "Kuma is my bear! I can't just leave him behind! I don't go anywhere without kuma!"
Alfred sighed, forcing a frown to his face. "Well then I guess there's only one thing left to do."
Soren quirked his eyebrow in interest, while Matthew just continued to grip the bag tightly. "I'll have to take it!" Alfred cried, jumping at his friend. Matthew let out a terrified shriek and held his hands up to block himself from the attacking American, effectively dropping the bag in the process.
"Soren get it!" Alfred yelled as he pinned the Canadian down. In a desperate attempt to shove Alfred off, Matthew kneed him in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain clutching his winded gut. "Hey that hurt! You jerk!" He choked out, rubbing his sore stomach. But Matthew wasn't listening, because he had already snatched up his duffel bag, sprinted out the door, and was running out into the rain in an attempt to get as far away from his bear snatching friends as he could possibly get.
O ~ O ~ O
"Come on Matty it was a joke." Alfred pleaded, rubbing the back of his neck. "We're sorry, honest."
"We?" Soren interjected. "I don't remember ever asking to be part of your stupid plan."
"Oh shut up." Alfred hissed, shoving the Dane lightly and then turning his attention back to the sniffing Canadian. "Really Matty I'm sorry. I won't take your bear ok? Come on please don't cry!" He fretted. What kind of a hero was he, making his best friend cry? They'd been driving along in the shuttle for about ten minutes, all ten of them used on Alfred desperately trying to get Matthew to stop his sobbing. As soon as they'd realized their friend had bolted, Soren and Alfred had sprinted out the door after him bags in hand. It was just their luck that the shuttle had decided to show up right then. Alfred had yelled a brief goodbye to his parents through the rain, and climbed into the gray van after the other two. As the car rolled away, he tossed them a wide smile through the window and waved back at them as they stood on the porch avoiding the falling water. It wasn't any big deal. He would call them when they got to the building, or what ever it was. Right now, he had to worry about his miserable friend.
"Would you shut him up?" The man driving muttered gruffly. "Really boy, put a lid on it."
"You shut up." Soren snarled, glaring pointedly at the driver. Alfred smiled gratefully at him, glad that the Dane was lending a hand. "And you," Soren said suddenly, looking at Matthew, "It's ok, that you love your bear. Alfred was just being a moron as usual. Ignore him."
Matthew sniffed loudly, rubbing his eyes. "Really?" He murmured, hugging the stuffed polar bear tightly to his chest. Soren nodded. "Really. Doubly on the Alfred being a moron part."
"Hey!" Alfred cried indignantly, shoving Soren roughly. "I'm not a moron! I got accepted to this school same as you two!"
"Alfred. You are a lot of things. Book smart is one of them. Street smart is most definitely not." Soren sighed, holding him back. Matthew giggled, laughing into the fur of his bear.
"Jerk." Alfred muttered, crossing his arm and protruding his bottom lip into a pout.
"You'll live." Soren said, rolling his eyes. "Hey man," He called addressing the driver. "How much longer 'till we're there?"
"We'll get there when we get there." The old man snapped. "Now quit your antics I'm trying to drive here."
"Touchy." Alfred hissed quietly in Soren's ear. Soren only nodded, keeping his icy gaze focused on the back of the mans head, as if he was trying to bore a hole in it.
"Anyway Matty," Alfred said turning back to the smaller blond. "I really am sorry." Matthew shrugged, leaning his head against the cool glass of the window.
"It's alright. I overreacted. It's more my fault then yours." He tossed his friend a nervous grin. "But if you could keep this whole thing just between the three of us, that would be nice. I don't really want our new classmates thinking I'm some sort of crybaby or something."
"You?" Alfred cried, clutching his chest. "Why that's absurd. You're like, the toughest guy I know. Well except for me but that's 'cause I'm a hero!" Alfred ignored the snort of amusement from Soren and petted Matthews's white bear softly. "Besides, I think it'd be kind of nice to have something to cuddle once in a while. Although, I would keep it hidden if I were you, unless you want those type of rumors to start spreading again."
Alfred watched as Matthew struggled to keep a horrified expression off of his face. "But, you don't really think the kids at this school will be the same do you? They wouldn't!"
"Teenagers are teenagers no matter where you go Matthew." Soren muttered wryly. "There's bound to be a couple, even in a high end school, that will bug you about it. Just don't let it bother you. You're good at that. And if it get's as bad as it did before..." He trailed off, eyes narrowed as he glanced at Matthew around Alfred. "I'll deal with it ok? We both will just like before."
Alfred nodded enthusiastically. "Yea that's right! Don't worry Matty we got your back," He grinned, fisting his hand into the air. "Believe it. Everything's gonna be just fine." Matthew smiled gratefully at his friends, hugging the white bear closer to his chest.
"Speaking of the other kids, what do you think they'll be like?" Soren asked, tipping hid head to the side. "I mean, do you think we're like, the only normal ones?"
"What do you mean by normal?" Matthew asked, rolling his eyes. "Cause last time I checked two boys barreling down the street yelling profanities at each other wasn't normal."
"You know what I mean!" Soren sighed, exasperation dripping from his voice. "I mean like, will they all be boring and stuff? Like, will they actually be fun to hang around? Or will they be like those guys at school who practically lived in the library?"
"Aw man I hope they're fun!" Alfred cried, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "Maybe there will be another American there! Dude how sick would that be?"
"Or another Dane." Soren added.
"Or a Canadian!" Matthew smiled. "That would be so nice." The boys nodded thoughtfully, imagining getting to meet another person from their own countries.
"Well." Alfred finally said, breaking the silence. "Its still like, half and hour 'till we get there and I'm zonked. So wake me when we're there ok?" He yawned, stretching his arms out and settling comfortably against the back of his seat. He heard Soren utter a muffled, "alright." and a clear "sure Alfred." from Matthew before he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off, dreaming of the people he was to meet as he lay comfortably sandwiched between his two friends.
O ~ O ~ O
"Alfred! Alfred!" Alfred tightened his eyes in annoyance. Why was his mom waking him up? It was Saturday for god's sake. "Five more minutes." He grumbled, curling himself into a ball to avoid the further bombardment of his eardrums.
"Alfred! We're here wake up!" The voice rung clearer now and Alfred frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. Matty? What was he doing in his house?
"Gud damn det vågne op!" His eye's shot open and he felt himself shoot nearly a foot off the seat at the sound of Soren's angry voice. He didn't have a clue what he'd said, but when he yelled in Danish it was never good.
"All right I'm up I'm up!" he cried, flinching away from the scowling Dane. "What's the problem?"
"We're here dumb ass." Soren growled, snatching Alfred up by the front of his jacket.
"Hey hey what are you doing? Let me go!" Alfred hissed, struggling to pry his friend's hands off of him. Soren dragged the thrashing American out of his seat, bag and all, and dropped him as Alfred's feet hovered over the soaking pavement.
"We've been standing in the rain for five damn minutes trying to wake you up." Soren snapped, jabbing Alfred harshly in the forehead. "We're here."
Eyed wide in surprise, Alfred let out a weak "oh," and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that."
"Sorry can wait. Let's get out of the rain before we're soaked again." Matthew pleaded.
Alfred nodded. "Yea probably a good idea huh?" Turning back to the driver and giving him a polite head tilt, (the man cursed under his breath but didn't say anything other wise) he slammed the door shut and took off toward the first door he saw, friends trailing behind him.
They sprinted through sliding glass doors, sneakers squeaking against beautiful cream colored tiles and wetting the floor. A few people tossed them irritated glances, but turned back to whatever it was they were doing. "Damn I wish it would stop raining." Alfred grumbled shaking himself off. Soren and Matthew could only nod in agreement as they proceeded to squeeze the water out of their clothes.
"Ok so where are we supposed to be going anyway?" Alfred asked curiously, peering around the large room. "Is there anyone here to give us a hand?"
The room in question was more like a beautiful lobby. Intricate roman stylized columns lined the sides, while a beautiful raised ceiling stretched across the entirety of the room. The tile that they had slipped on was not tile at all, but pure shining cream colored stone with not a crack in it. A long marble desk stretched across the room, and behind it, stood busy looking people in uniforms. People stood in lines in front of the tables, while others bustled by them, leaving the grand room through doors that lay between the stone columns or stepping into a pair of shining elevators just to their right. The boys looked around weakly, trying to establish where exactly it was they were supposed to be, and who they were looking for amongst all the passerby's.
"Excuse me?" The polite voice of a young woman resonated from behind them, and they turned abruptly, surprised by the contact. "Are you three here for the BNA meeting?"
Eyes pooling with the relief, the boys nodded vigorously smiling gratefully at the woman.
"Yea that's us." Alfred responded, hoisting his bag on his shoulder. "Sorry we're all wet. It's raining cats and dogs out there."
The woman gave him and odd look, but smiled pleasantly, nodding at him. "Oh don't worry about the water. We'll have it cleaned up. What's more important is the three of you are late."
"We're late?" Matthew cried. The woman nodded again.
"Yes. Fortunately, the chair decided to give you three a few extra minutes to arrive." She glanced down at the watch on her hand before raising her eyes and smiling broadly again. "You all have 4 minutes to get up to the conference room before you're denied entry."
"Holy fucking shit!" Alfred swore loudly, gaining the attention of a few passerby's. "You gonna tell us what room it's in?"
The young woman frowned at Alfred's brashness but gave him a slight nod. "Yes. It's in room 1010. Tenth floor, tenth room obviously."
"Thank you!" Alfred called over his shoulder already running for one of the large elevators. Soren took off immediately after him and after a gracious smile, so did Matthew. Alfred pounded at the up button furiously, jabbing it repeatedly as if it would make the elevator move faster. "Come one come on come on!" He muttered pressing at the glowing white button with even more vigor. Finally, the doors chimed and the three stumbled into the elevator smacking the tenth floor button and close door button simultaneously. The elevator started up slowly and they watched the numbers change as they moved from floor to floor.
"If it stops I fucking swear." Soren growled, clenching his bag tightly. Fortunately it kept moving, and finally, the elevator began to slow and with a whoosh the metal doors slid open revealing a long hallway.
"Damn it gotta find the room!" Alfred hissed, eyes flicking from side to side.
"There, at the end." Matthew called out to his already sprinting friends as he tried to catch up. With a final burst of speed they skidded to a halt in front of a pair of large double doors. "This is it right?" Matthew inquired, checking the room label on the side. The plaque read 1010, just as they had been told. Without another word, they swung the doors open theatrically and burst into the room, hands on their knees and panting hard.
"Ah." A friendly voice greeted them. "Looks like the three of you made it just in time." Alfred raised his eye's to meet those of the man who had spoken, an apology ghosting his lips. He was however, met not with the warm friendly eyes of an older man, but the angry emerald ones of a boy. He leapt away in alarm, stumbling backwards into his friends but gaze still locked with greens eyes that seemed as if they were trying to burn holes in him.
"It was good of you three to finally arrive. I was beginning to worry something had happened." Narrowing his eyes, Alfred tore them away from the other boys and turned politely to the man speaking. He looked old, but not ancient by any means. About his 50's or 60's if Alfred guessed correctly. He wore a warm smile that crinkled his light brown eyes and caused vivid crows feet to etch themselves on his face. He looked as if he was balding slightly, and his hair was dusted black and white, like salt and pepper. Walking up to the startled boys, he extended a hand to Alfred.
"It's a pleasure to meet the three of you at last." He said, grasping Alfred's hand firmly and shaking it. "As you can see, the other students are already here so I suppose we should get right to introductions, shouldn't we?" He took Soren and Matthews's hands next, shaking the small Canadians hand so vigorously Alfred was sure he was going to pull his arm off.
"Right then. You boys sit down over next to me, and we'll start with names." he said warmly, striding back to the other end of the long table. "Come on then. Don't be shy."
The boys exchanged uncertain looks, but quickly gathered up their bags and walked quietly to the three chairs next to him, passing the others as they went, but at this point taking little to no notice of their surroundings as they sat.
"Alright. Let's start with these three then." He boomed, addressing the rest of the table. He turned to Alfred, nodding to him. "Go ahead lad. Give us your name first."
Alfred swallowed nervously, but turned his mouth upward into a broad grin. "Well ok then." He beamed. Jumping out of his chair, he set his hands firmly on the table and looked out over the others. There weren't to many of them. About fifteen total, including himself, Matthew and Soren. As he scanned the crowd, his gaze was drawn instantly to a familiar pair of eyes, the same ones that had been glaring him down from the moment he'd set foot in the room. He shifted his eyes away in annoyance. What the hell was that guy's problem? He didn't even want to look at that kid, for fear that the rest of him was just as menacing. Instead, he turned his attention to the other half of the room and forced any thought of the mysterious boy out of his head.
"My name's Alfred. Alfred Jones. I'm actually from America but..." He trailed off shrugging his shoulders apologetically. "You all could probably tell that already huh? Most people can." He turned to the chairman who nodded in approval and motioned for him to sit down.
"Very good then Alfred, it is a pleasure to meet you. How about you?" He said, turning to Matthew. The Canadian squeaked in surprise and turned a pleading glance at Alfred as if asking him what he was supposed to say. Alfred shrugged, pointing for him to stand up. Matthew was tough. He was fierce and brave when he wanted to be, and could punch anyone's lights out if given the chance. But he could also be painfully shy and meek, especially when it came to people he didn't know well. Alfred watched his friend stand slowly, gaze flitting nervously around the room.
"Um, hello. My name's Matthew Williams. I'm um, not actually from Britain either. I'm from Canada." He murmured, eyed focused pointedly on the oaken table in front of him.
"Matthew. It's very good to meet you as well. Come on then, lets keep moving I want everyone's names in so that we can get to the most important parts." The chairman said, still smiling.
Matthew nodded weakly, lowering himself down into his chair.
"Do you speak French?" The question came abruptly, echoing through the room. A blonde boy with shoulder length hair stood across from them, eyes pinned on Matthew and head tilted in curiosity. Matthew glanced nervously over to the chairman, as if asking for his permission to answer. The man nodded, causing Matthews face to fall. Alfred forced himself to keep from smacking his head against the desk. Couldn't he see that Matthew was uncomfortable? Why did he tell him to answer the question when he clearly wanted to sit down?
"Um, ah well..." Matthew stuttered, fumbling nervously with his hands.
"Yea he does. What of it?" Alfred interjected, rising in his chair and glaring at the other boy. He saw some of the others turn to each other, exchanging harsh whispers and glancing up at him every couple seconds. Its fine. He thought. Its nothing I'm not already used to. Matthews eyes were wide with surprise at Alfred's intrusion, and Alfred watched him glance uncertainly back at the other boy, waiting for a response at Alfred's interruption.
He was frowning, eyes flitting between Matthew and Alfred as if he was unsure as to whom he should address. "I am pretty sure 'zat I addressed 'im not you." The boy finally retorted, folding his arms. Turning his eyes away from Alfred, he looked back and Matthew curiously.
"Pouvez-vous me répondre cette fois, mon chéri?"
Alfred watched as Matthew turned and interesting shade of pink and look down at his hands.
"A-Ah, oui, je parle français. Je suis d-desole pour mon ami." He mumbled refusing to look anywhere but at the floor.
"Matty." Alfred hissed, jabbing his friend in the side. "You don't have to answer him."
"I don't believe that's any of your business is it?"
Alfred tensed, tearing his eyes away from his friend to look to the new voice that had spoken. He felt his blood run cold at the realization that he was looking right back into the cold iridescent eyes that had greeted him upon his entry. He felt bile rise in his throat as he realized that the rest of the boy was just as cold looking as his eyes were. He looked short. Taller then Matthew, but certainly not as tall as himself. His skin was pale, emphasizing the icy glint of his eyes and creating stark contrast to his hair. He was blond. Dirty blonde, and with hair that was mussed in every seemingly possible direction, as if he had gotten out of bed that way. He wore a tattered gray jacket over a white t-shirt and jeans so dark Alfred couldn't tell if they were blue or black. The thing that most closely drew his attention however, was not the state of his apparel, but rather the two small glinting dots that he could make out at the lobe of each ear.
Alfred forced his disgust down, knuckles whitening as he clenched them at his sides. He was like the epitome of every thing he hated. A punk. A selfish, rotten to the core indecent who didn't give a shit about anyone but himself. Alfred guessed he wouldn't even grab a kite out of a tree for a crying child. Heck he would probably be the one who put it there. He didn't even know his name, but at that moment, Alfred knew at that he had never loathed any body more in his entire life.
O ~ O ~ O
A/N: Oh dear this needs so much editing… sigh. Oh well it is what it is for now, and I really just wanted to get this chapter up :) So they finally met! Yay? I'm sorry for not putting any real focus on the other characters in the room but at this point they're a little irrelevant especially considering Alfred doesn't even know Arthur's name yet haha. Hmm so what do you think of Arthur? I really should smack Alfred for making accusations about people based on appearance lol xD But I guess that's just the way he is huh? I'm glad there are so many of you that are happy that Alfred is actually going to be smart ^^ of course there is the fact that no matter how smart, he's still Alfred and I refused to take away the idiot deep inside of him lol. And I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people who were happy that denmark is around! I honestly wasn't even thinking about it when I added him, I just thought he would add to the group dynamic and that I could picture he and Alfred being friends, so I'm glad you all like him so much!
Alright the French and Dutch. And other languages I'm going to butcher. I am 100% monolingual. I took spanish for four years, and I didn't retain a word of it, that's how horrible with language I am. So in light of that google translate is my friend. So. If the French is wrong or the Dutch is wrong or any of the other languages I may or may not speak in are wrong please tell me so I can fix it :D Next chapter up as soon as I can. I'm so happy this one was longer lol. Oh and here are the translations:
Gud damn det vågne op: God damn it wake up! (I believe this actually means something in Swedish too... something really odd XD So i apologize for that and really someone please help! is wacked with peace prize)
Pouvez-vous me répondre cette fois, mon chéri: Can you answer me this time, my darling?
oui, Je parle français français. Je suis d-desole pour mon ami: yes, I-I can speak French. I'm s-sorry for my friend.