A/N: I'm so sorry this is late! Seriously! Blame my family XP And me… but more my family lol Short one today!
Choco-Pocky-Usa-chan: haha you are dead on with the prunhun hint my friend :D i'm glad someone caught it, because that was intentional. pshhh wanted her inside because her coughing was bothering him XD
O ~ O~ O
Arthur pushed himself out of bed with a loud yawn, surveying the empty room curiously. Where the bloody hell was that American git? He'd slept well, considering his sore throat and the various fluids dripping from his nose. The only time he'd woken up was at Alfred's insufferable snoring, but had quickly stuffed his pillow over his head and fallen back to sleep. He'd heard the boy creep into the room around twelve, teeth chattering, much to Arthur's surprise as the idiot had been sitting near a fire for several hours.
His ears pricked in interest at the sound of footsteps pounding down the hall from both directions, and muffled voices echoing through the house. What was going on out there?
"Guy's what's with all the noise?" He snapped, poking his head out the door.
"Arthur!" He leapt backwards into the room, tumbling onto his arse, as a familiar blue-eyed face suddenly appeared in front of his own.
"Dear god Francis! You gave me a fucking heart attack!" He snarled, rubbing his sore bottom. "What's going on?"
The French boy blinked slowly at him, giving him a look that suggested he believed the Briton to be quite daft. "Arthur, school starts today, remember? Everyone is rushing around getting ready. Actually, you're the last one up. I was just coming to get you."
"Fuck!" He swore, scrambling to his feet. "I completely forgot! Why didn't that wanker wake me up?"
"What, you mean Alfred?" Francis chuckled. "He said you looked like you were sleeping well and since you were sick, he didn't want to wake you."
"Like hell he did." Arthur growled, tugging his nightshirt off. "He just enjoys tormenting me."
"That's probably true, mon cher." Francis agreed. "Still, you were exhausted yesterday. So you can't hate him for letting you sleep."
"Of course I can." He snapped. "Wait, when are we getting uniforms?"
"Supposedly today." He replied, glancing down at his watch. "But school starts in only a little over an hour, so I wouldn't guarantee it."
"Wait, so then what's everyone doing?" He asked in confusion, holding the red shirt limply in his hands. "I heard all these voiced and people running up and down the halls."
"Eating breakfast downstairs." He replied nonchalantly. "They're pretty loud down there, so you can hear it from here. And Gilbert, Romano and Tino just woke up, so that's probably who you heard, besides me."
"Well you could have told me that!" he huffed, pulling his shirt back over his head. "Honestly, why do you always leave out the important stuff?"
"Well you didn't ask." Francis laughed, stepping out of his way as Arthur marched past him. "Anyway, I thought you didn't eat my cooking?"
"I don't." Arthur said blatantly. "But I also don't go to school on an empty stomach. So even if it's your crap, I'll eat it."
"Ahh angleterre that warms my heart!" Francis cooed.
"Don't call me that!" He grumbled, stumbling down the stairs. As they descended, the voices began to grow louder, and the sweet smell of warm fruits and pancakes wafted into his nose. Mmmmmm. He thought inwardly. He would never admit it, but as much as he resisted eating Francis's cooking, he had always admired the other boy's culinary ability and often wished he had such talent. It would have made living alone a lot easier.
"Arthur! Francis! Good morning!" Antonio greeted over the noise, waving them over. Arthur felt his heart surge in appreciation for the brunette's kindness. It was the people like him and Kiku that made living in the cramped cabin bearable. They squeezed past the mass of students, all sitting wherever they could in the all to small room. He nearly stepped on Berwald's feet as he pushed his way past the group sitting on the floor.
"Good morning Antonio." Francis replied in an equally friendly tone as they approached where he and Gilbert resided by the fireplace and sat next to them. "Do you like the food?"
"It's amazing!" Gilbert cried through hurried bites as he shoveled the strawberry crepe into his mouth. "Seriously man, you're freaking epic. Although not as awesome as me."
"It's good to see my cooking is appreciated." Francis chuckled.
"It is good." Antonio agreed. "But I won't let you one up me my friend. Just you watch, I'm going to cook the most amazing breakfast ever tomorrow."
"You're on." Francis challenged, shaking hands with the other boy. Arthur bit his lip uncertainly, suddenly feeling as if he didn't belong in the group. It was kind of Antonio to invite him over as well, but it was clear that the other two boys were there only to speak with Francis.
"Angleterre, why are you staring off into space like an idiot?" Francis asked, waving his hand in front of his face.
"I am not staring off into space like an idiot." Arthur snapped indignantly, shoving him. "I'm just thinking, that's all."
"While looking like an idiot." Gilbert put in.
"Oh shut up."
"Gil, don't be mean." Francis sighed. "Seriously Arthur, what's wrong? You really don't look so good. Do you still feel sick?"
Arthur shrugged, inwardly panicking. He couldn't say that it was because he felt out of place. But Francis would definitely keep pestering him about it until he gave him a satisfactory answer. "I'm uh, just hungry I guess." He replied awkwardly, instantly hating himself for saying it.
"Ha! I knew it! You do like my cooking!" Francis proclaimed smugly.
"I did not say that." Arthur bit out. "I just said I was hungry! Augh you're impossible." He pushed himself to his feet and stormed away, ignoring the muffled laughing coming from the trio. Bloody idiot. Some friend he was. Where were those stupid pastries anyway? Ah who cares? He hissed inwardly. Pushing past the group again, he started up the stairs.
"Arthur." He jumped at Francis's voice suddenly at his side.
"What do you want?" He muttered, shrugging the other boy's hand off his shoulder.
"Sorry about them." He laughed. "Really, I am. They're just... an interesting pair."
"Yea well you three make an interesting trio." Arthur replied stiffly. "So why don't you hang out with them?"
"Hey, that hurts." Francis smiled, holding his heart as if he were genuinely wounded. "Come on, you're not actually jealous of Gilbert and Antonio are you?"
"Who said I was?" Arthur murmured half heartedly, turning away. "It's just, I mean, I thought we were best friends? It kind of hurts to be replaced so easily, to be honest."
"Who's replacing you?" Francis smiled, throwing his arm around his shoulder. "Sure, I think Gilbert and Antonio are fun to hang out with, and I wouldn't mind being friends with them, but you're my best friend Arthur. And you always will be. So don't worry about stuff like that ok? Besides, I don't think it would be so bad for you to make some new friends of your own. That is if you're still trying to change and all..."
"Of course I am." He muttered, rolling his eyes. "I thought that would have been obvious."
"Well then make more of an effort." Francis teased, slipping his arm off his shoulders and shaking his head. "Seriously you really could be trying harder."
"Oh who asked you?" Arthur snapped, letting a small smile flit onto his face. "I'm trying ok? Go ahead back, I need to take a shower anyway. I'm still disgusting from yesterday."
"Alright." Francis nodded patting him on the back. "I'll come get you if something happens. Like if Ludwig calls yet another meeting, or the uniforms show up, god forbid."
Arthur snickered into the palm of his hand. "You know, for such an uptight school, their not so good with directions are they?"
"Clearly." Francis sighed. "It's irritating. Now get going. Before everyone else decides they need a shower too."
"Right." He agreed. "Ah, can you save one of those things for me?"
Francis raised an eyebrow; a smug smile working it's way onto his face. "Of course. If you are sure it won't kill you to eat my cooking."
"I wish it would." Arthur chuckled. "It would get HIM too."
"You really need a hobby."
"Shut up." He laughed. Waving a quick goodbye, he jogged up the stairs, heart light again. Francis was right. He was just overreacting. Besides, it wasn't like Francis got upset about him talking with Kiku so much. So he shouldn't feel jealous over those two. Who knows? He thought. Maybe we'll be friends too. As he worked his way up the stairs, he paused at their floor, glancing around the corner at his room. It wouldn't hurt to grab a pair of clean clothes, just in case they ended up not getting uniforms. Humming quietly to himself, he rounded the corner, and for probably the 10th time since he had moved into the bloody cabin, bumped into someone. Hard.
"Ow!" He whined, stepping back and rubbing his still tender nose. "What the hell?"
"What are you doing up here?"
His blood froze; eye's shifting cautiously upward and meeting Alfred's face. The taller blonde was scowling unsettlingly at him, not that that was anything new. "That's none of your business is it?" He replied coldly, attempting to push past him. To his surprise, Alfred stepped firmly in front of him, blocking his path.
"What, are you doing?" He growled.
"We need to talk." He replied bluntly. Arthur blinked at him in confusion, trying to force words out of his throat but finding it near impossible.
"We- you- what?" He sputtered, staring at him wide eyed.
"We. Need. To. Talk." He said again, putting emphasis on each word as if speaking to a child.
"I heard what you said." Arthur snapped. "But what the hell do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said." He responded in monotone. "I don't really want to do this either but it's necessary."
"What the hell are you talking about?" He laughed nervously, taking a step backward. Was he daft? Was it the cold getting to him? Maybe he'd lost a lot more blood then they had originally thought...
"Look." Alfred sighed suddenly, rubbing the back of his head and looking away. "It's not so much about either of us, it's... it's Matty."
Arthur raised his eyebrows in relief, and surprise at the mention of the American's quiet friend. "And what, pray tell, do you want to discuss with ME of all people, about him?"
"Francis." He replied stiffly. Arthur narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.
"What about him?" He asked, feigning ignorance. He knew exactly what the boy wanted to discuss regarding Francis and Matthew.
"You know what." He snapped. "Tell him to back off. I don't know what his issue is, but it's making Matthew miserable. Even if he say's he's ok, I can tell he's not ok? He... he's not really the type of person who show's when he's uncomfortable or upset. He's to nice for that..." He trailed off, letting out a dry sigh. "But even if you or Francis or anyone else in this house can't tell he's not happy, it doesn't matter because I can." He began more forcefully.
"What's your point?" Arthur responded coolly. "What Francis does hasn't got anything to do with me."
"Screw that! Of course it does!" Alfred hissed. "You two are friends, aren't you?"
"Sure we are. But I don't tell him what to do."
"Well start doing it." Alfred snarled. "Because if you don't, I will. And I think you'll find his pretty boy face stays in better shape if you do the honors."
"What's the supposed to mean?" He asked dangerously. "Don't threaten my friends Jones."
"Then keep yours away from mine Kirkland."
They glared vehemently at each other for a moment, before both turned away. This is ridiculous! He's asking the impossible. Arthur thought inwardly. I don't tell Francis what to do. And what's more, even if I told him to leave Matthew alone, he probably wouldn't. And image of the Canadians kind face flashed in his mind and he winced. He hated to think that Francis was actually starting to bother him though. Maybe he could...
"Forget it." Alfred muttered. "Never mind. I should have known asking YOU would be a waste of my time. You're completely-"
"Now hold on a second." Arthur cut in defensively. "I told you I don't tell him what to do. I didn't say I wouldn't try."
"See that's just what I'd expect from... huh?" Alfred stared at him in shock, jaw slack in astonishment. "Wait what did you say?"
"I'll talk to him." Arthur said begrudgingly. "I can't guarantee he'll stop, but I can get him to at least tone it down. Whatever IT is that he's doing..."
Alfred stared intently at him, looking him up and down as if he was trying to decide if Arthur was the same person. Stop staring you idiot. He seethed inwardly. It's unnerving. Honestly, did he really think that little of him? Well I shouldn't be surprised. It's not like I think that highly of him either. He reasoned.
"Are you serious man?"
"Of course I am." Arthur huffed. "Do you think I would say I could do something and then not do it? Please. I am a gentlemen."
Alfred tsked and rolled his eyes. "Yea that's what you are..."
"I could not help you." He offered.
"No no," Alfred protested weakly. "Please. Just talk to him."
"And what do I get in return?"
"What do you...?" He trailed off, staring at him. "What do you get?"
"Well I'm not doing it for free."
"That's bull! Come on just do it!"
"Or I could charge extra just because it's YOU." Arthur suggested coolly.
"Fine I'll give you whatever you want ok!" Alfred agreed, throwing his hands up in defeat.
"Then we have a deal."
"Yea..." Alfred sighed, sticking out his hand. "A deal. But if nothing changes you don't get anything from me!"
"I can agree to that." Arthur nodded, taking his hand firmly. They stood for a moment, eyes locked and hands clasped over the other. It was if they were goading each other to let go first. Why wasn't he letting go? Just the day before, he'd been disgusted with the idea of even touching the American. And now he was shaking hands with him?
"Hey Arthur, the unif- ohhh am I interrupting something?"
Arthur stiffened, eye's growing wide as he yanked his hand away quickly in embarrassment. What the hell? And what was Francis doing upstairs anyway?
"Of course not." Alfred replied stiffly. "We were just done." Without a second glance, the American slipped past them and disappeared down the stairs from where Francis had arrived.
When he was clearly gone, Francis shot him a look and whistled loudly. "What was going on there?" He teased. Despite his joking voice however, Arthur could hear the curiosity looming in his tone. He really DID want to know what had happened.
"Nothing." Arthur replied tersely. "He just wanted to talk."
"About what?" Francis grinned suggestively, nudging Arthur with his elbow.
"Don't you DARE even go there."
"Sorry." Francis laughed. "I was just joking with you, I swear to it. Anyway, good news, we actually have uniforms. There's a woman downstairs with a box full."
"Goodness, I thought they were going to keep us on edge until school started." Arthur sighed as they started down the stairs.
"Good of you boy's to join us."
Arthur jumped in surprise as they rounded the corner into the living room. There, just in front of the opened front door, stood an older woman with boxes in hand. She looked strict, pointed nose and glasses enhancing her sharp brown eyes and making them gleam all the more disapprovingly.
"Sorry." Francis offered. "He was going to take a shower."
"So soon before school starts? I don't know if that is such a brilliant idea young man." Setting down the boxes, she pushed her glasses up off the tip of her nose and frowned.
"Now then. I am Ms. Pecket, you're counselor for the year. I will be overlooking your stay here, as well as more specifically, assisting the young lady who is residing in this cabin."
"Wait what?" Arthur, and several other members of the room cried out.
"Sorry, but I'm not sure I heard you right ma'am." Alfred called over the hushed whispers. "Did you just say that you're our counselor?"
She nodded. "That is correct."
"But... What about Laura?" he asked curiously. "Where is she?"
Ms Pecket looked at him in surprise, cocking her head as if trying to make sense of what he'd said. "Did she not tell you about me?" Alfred shook his head, cowlick swaying back and forth with the movement.
"Well then." She sighed. "I see it's a good thing that she is no longer needed, if she couldn't even bother to inform you of that much. Back to business. Here," She said, holding out the box, "are your uniforms. They have your names on the inside tags so as to not get them mixed up with any one else's. You were give five sets, one for each day of the week, as well as a PE uniform that you will be required to carry with you at all times. You do not have to bring your bags with you, you will be provided with bags in your homeroom class. Everything else will be explained when we get there. At this point, your emblem should be ready, is that correct?"
"Yup!" Feliciano chirped. " Ve It's ready! Do you want me to give it to you?"
"That would be helpful, yes." She replied tightly. "Your arm bands with this design will be finished by the end of the week. We will only make you one, so do not lose them." She instructed. "Now all of you, pick up your uniforms and get changed. I expect to see you down here is no more then five minutes."
O ~ O ~ O
Alfred rubbed the smooth silken fabric of the new white dress shirt through his hands, examining it closely. Ugh, a button up. He really hated anything that you couldn't just pull over your head. Aside from the shirt, they were given a dark blue blazer jacket, along with a pair of blue plaid pants and a black tie. Oh joy. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd worn a tie, much less the last time he'd actually had to tie one. "Hey Matty, will you give me a hand tying this" He asked the small Canadian on the other side of the room. Somehow, he'd managed to get Francis to change in his room with Arthur, and was now currently occupying the French boy's bed. He hoped that Arthur would take the opportunity to talk to his neurotic friend about what he'd mentioned.
"You really don't remember how to tie a tie?" Matthew asked incredulously, fiddling with the last button on his shirt as he tried to get it in. "How old are you Alfred?"
"Come on Matty!" He whined, rolling over on the bed. "I'm no good at that sort of stuff and you know it!"
"Yea yea alright." Matthew chuckled. "But you know, you have to put the rest of it on first."
"Ok fine." He sighed in exasperation. Yanking off his nightshirt, he pulled his arms through the sleeves of the button up and examined the fit. It didn't feel to bad on his arms, actually. The sleeves were just the right length and fit for him. "Yay buttons." He grumbled, playing with the collar of the shirt.
"Start from the bottom Alfred." Matthew suggested, already dealing with his own tie. "It's a lot easier that way." He shrugged, but took his friends advice and started up from the bottom. He really was no good at these sorts of things. His hands were to big to deal with the tiny buttons, he could never figure out how ties worked, and he couldn't stand fancy jackets. They always made him feel constrained.
As he fumbled with the last button, he paused suddenly, running his hand over his chest and tugging at the fabric. Now that was odd. It felt a little loose. But how could it be lose if they'd gotten exact measurements? Oh well. He shrugged inwardly. At least he had some breathing room now.
"Now can you help me with the tie?" he asked Matthew as the other boy slipped his blue blazer on.
"Sure. But you have to promise me you'll pay attention this time. I'm not going to do it again for you, ok?" He warned. Alfred nodded and held out his tie to him.
"Ok look. Start by wrapping it around your collar. Then you have to loop this here, pull this around here, tug on this here, and then once you've done that, just pull this back around here and there you have it." Matthew smiled, staring proudly at his work. "Do you get it now?"
"Yea of course." Alfred laughed nervously. "Easy."
"You don't get it at all, do you?" Matthew sighed, shaking his head.
"Nope!"
"Thought not."
"Hey, Matty?" He asked. "What do you think happened to Laura? Do you think they fired her?"
Matthew shrugged. "I don't know. It's a shame though. she was really nice, wasn't she?"
"Hey are you two ready?" Soren called from the other side of the door.
"I am." Matthew called. "Just give me a second." Turning back to Alfred, he gave the tie a final tug and shook his head. "Look, just make sure the jacket isn't inside out, and that you put a belt on your pants ok? We'll be downstairs waiting for you."
"You're not gonna stay?" He pouted, tugging on his friends arm. Matthew laughed and shook him off.
"Not this time. Just hurry up and get ready, ok?"
"Seriously, you guys take forever." Soren's voice cut in as the door opened.
"I'm coming!" Matthew put in. "And I do not take forever."
"See you downstairs Al." Soren called as they stepped out the door. Alfred watched as his friends disappeared from sight, all the while listening to them as their arguing voices faded down the hall.
"I gotta get ready." He muttered, tugging on his blazer. He glanced at the buttons on the jacket and shook his head. No way in hell was he buttoning this up too. Yanking his belt through his pant loops, he latched it quickly and pulled his shoes on, glancing at his watch. He really hated to be left behind. It was so boring being alone. Rummaging through Matthew's bag, he pulled out a brush (he knew that he had to have one in there some where) and ran it through his hair before tossing it down on the bed. How's that for slow. He thought. Ok so Matthew had done his tie for him, and buttoning his shirt had take longer then it should have but he had still gotten dressed pretty fast! For him anyway. Flicking off the lights, he dashed out the door and down the stairs.
O ~ O ~ O
"It's about a ten minute walk to the school from here." Ms Pecket informed them as they trudged down yet another stone path. The sky was clearer then it had been the day before; patches of blue visible through the gloom, although even in the distance, one could see dark clouds looming overhead.
"School starts at 8:30 everyday, meaning as of now, you all have 20 minutes until classes start. At the front of the school, there is a list of homeroom assignments that you will check to find your first period. There, your teacher will give you you're full schedules. Classes are not assigned by grade level. This means that you may have a class with sophomores, or other upper classman. However, I can assure you that the majority of our freshmen are taking only 9th grade classes, and even those who have been assigned to higher-level classes are only in one or two of them. You have been assigned two fine arts credits, as well as a PE class. If you would like to have these changed, then you must write a paper as to why you feel you should be allowed this class change."
"Damn." Gilbert muttered from the back of the group. Alfred felt compelled to agree with him. Was it really fair to assign kids to classes they didn't want to take?
"This year, we have 84 incoming freshman. Overall, there are 24 teams, four of which are new, like yours."
"New?" Tino inquired.
"Yes." She replied. "You see, not all houses are sent to the international academy for the rest of their high school career. In that case, at the end of their time here, the seniors will graduate, and the groups will either be left with the remaining members, or empty. If a group has remaining members in it, they will more often then not request to take in a group of incoming students in order to boost their numbers, although it is not required to fill in empty spots. There are a good group of freshman, as well as incoming upper classman, that were placed into these other groups to replace lost members. Your group is one that is completely new, like three others. There is only one full replacement group this year."
"R'plac'ment gr'p?
Stifling her obvious surprise at Berwald's heavy accent, she nodded. "Yes, a replacement group is a new incoming group that replaces a group that was sent off to international academy. Everyone in the group is new, but they are not required to think of a team name or emblem, as they have been given the one of the previous group. This does not hold true to teams that have simply graduated away. Once a teams members have all graduated and there are no members left, the house name and emblem is placed on the wall of our history, and the cabin is abandoned in their memory."
"Who graduated last year? I mean, what group was it?" Elizaveta asked.
"The Script house." She replied. "They are the oldest house in the history of the school. There has not once been a year that the students in that house were not sent to international. That is why the name has lived on for so long."
"Woah." Soren muttered.
"Indeed." She said, stopping suddenly and turning to them. "Now, the path ends here, and the school is just at the bottom of the hill around the corner. Don't forget, your homeroom assignments are on the board by the front. Please do get to class on time. And if you have any questions about where you are going, ask your homeroom teacher or any of the other students."
"More hills?" Romano huffed. "That's ridiculous."
A wry smile worked its way onto her face and she shook her head. "I don't think you'll mind this one as much. Now run along. I have to meet up with another counselor near the cabins so I'll be going back." Without another word, she gave them a small nod, and turned down the path.
"The hell does that mean, we won't mind this hill?" Romano muttered.
"I guess we will have to find out, won't we?" Ivan put it. Romano eyed him warily, but said nothing, merely shrugging and turning away.
"Well come on let's go." Alfred insisted. "Don't you guy's want to see it?"
"Of course we do you twat." Arthur snapped. "Let's go then."
Glancing at each other, they all rounded the corner, and stared down a grassy hill at the school. If it could be called that.
"Holy crap." Alfred murmured. "That is most definitely not a school."
The building in question was more like a castle then any school he'd ever seen. Spindle structures stretched off of the roofs, connected to other towers by what looked to be stone bridges. And that wasn't even the half of it. There were separate buildings, jutting off of the structure, even ones that looked as if they connected to the mountain itself. It was as tall as it was wide, and wide as it was long. To put it simply, it was, as Gilbert would have said, awesome.
The castle itself, lay just past the bottom of the long grassy hill that they were standing atop, pushed against the side of a looming mountain range that trailed off in the distance as it hit the forest. On the left side of the building, lay an enormous lake, which stretched on so far that Alfred wasn't sure he could even see the other side.
"Incredible." Antonio breathed beside him.
"No kidding." Tino agreed. "Do you guy's see that thing? How the heck did we miss this?"
"It's much nicer then the ones in my home." Ivan admitted.
"Of course it is." Arthur grinned, annoyingly smug. "This is a British castle after all."
"Oh and that makes it special?" Alfred grumbled quietly.
"Actually," Arthur shot back, glaring at him, "it does."
"Would you two knock it off?" Ludwig snapped. "It is... admittedly, amazing. But right now, we have to worry about getting to class, don't we?"
"Ludwig-s... I mean Ludwig is right." Kiku agreed, tugging nervously at his black tie. "We should really get going."
"Yea, alright." He sighed. "But only if you race me down the hill!"
"W-what?" Kiku cried in confusion, staring at him. "Race down the hill? Why would we do that?"
"Because it's fun." Alfred laughed, tugging on his arm. "Come on! If I win, you have to teach me how you draw so well! If you win... well we'll figure that out later."
"Alright it's on!" Soren grinned. "I'm so going to beat you."
"Yea right!" Alfred yelled, snatching his friend's arm as he started down the hill. "No head starts!"
"Yea well, I get one, cause I'm awesome!" Gilbert smirked, sprinting past them.
"Hey not you too!" Soren called, snatching his wrist.
"Agh hey don't do that!" Gilbert yelled, tugging on his wrist.
"How about you all go down together and tie?" Antonio laughed.
"Don't you dare!" Alfred warned. Shrugging, Antonio shoved Alfred's chest, hard. With no hands to catch himself, he fell backward, pulling Kiku, Soren and Gilbert down with him as he tumbled down the hill.
"Hey no fair you bastard!" He sputtered into the grass as he rolled, yanking his hand off of Kiku's arm in order to stop himself. "How would you like it if I pulled you down?"
"I'd like to see you try." Antonio chided.
"He doesn't have to."
With a gasp of surprise, Antonio stumbled forward, tripping down the hill at the forceful shove from behind and falling near Alfred.
"Oww Roma that hurt!" He whined.
"Don't call me that!" Romano yelled furiously.
"Got you!" Alfred grinned, jumping at the other boy and pulling him down. Before long, they were all fighting to get to the bottom of the hill, pushing and shoving each other as they went. Even Ludwig was trying to get down before his older brother, who was unwisely teasing him about how he'd never beat him.
Alfred rolled onto his side and laughed as Soren took a good lunge at him, missing by a mere couple of inches. "Come on you're going to have to do better then that!" He teased, jumping to his feet. It was like some sort of dream. All of them running around the hillside, laughing and smiling. Like the last two day's had never happened.
He felt his arms caught from behind and stiffened. "Crap! I'm caught!" He cried.
"Nice going Ivan." Soren praised, standing up to give the taller boy a hand at holding on to Alfred.
"Hey no double teaming! That's cheating!" Alfred whined, trying to shake himself out of Ivan's grip.
"Not in Russia it's not."
"We're not in Russia!"
"Should we throw him down the hill, or drag him back to the top?" Soren asked, glancing at Ivan.
"Neither! Neither neither neither!" Alfred protested. "Come on man. You're supposed to be my friend!"
"Well we never did get to that rematch on the video game" Soren chuckled. "I figured I'll beat you again here and you'll finally surrender.
"Guy's!" Berwald's voice suddenly bounced around the hillside, drawing the group to a quiet. "D'd you h're that?" They were all silent, pricking their ears to catch the noise that Berwald had spoken of.
Alfred's eye's widened in horror, and he shook himself out of Ivan's limp grasp.
"Shit! That was the bell!" He cursed. "How the hell did you hear that? Never mind, we have to go!" Throwing awkward glances at each other, they stumbled down the hill and raced toward castle as fast as their legs could carry them.
O ~ O ~ O
"Sorry we're late!" Alfred panted, bursting into his classroom.
After they'd finally made it to down to the school (it was way further then it had looked) it had been a quick look at their home room assignments and off to class. Or so he'd like to have said. Actually, they'd stood and argued about room assignments for a good five minutes, and then there was the problem of actually finding the stupid classroom. Which hadn't been a picnic either, considering who he was stuck with. It had taken them a good ten minutes to figure out which side of the school they were supposed to be on, and then a good ten more just to find the classroom. Thing was a freaking labyrinth.
"Ah, look's like you've finally decided to join us."
"We're really sorry!" Alfred muttered, embarrassed. "We got out uniforms late, and then we got lost, and..."
"It's alright."
Alfred looked up in surprise, staring at their teacher. He was a short balding mad, with small round spectacles that sat on the end of his nose and gentle brown eyes. In his hand, he held a rulebook that he placed tentatively on the desk in front of him. He smiled warmly at the two of them and laughed.
"Yes, Mr. Jones, it's alright." He responded in a thick Irish accent. "This school really is a hassle to get around, isn't it? I'm surprised you managed to find my room so quickly. Some first years take a week just to figure out where it is!" He chuckled. "Now why don't you two sit down in the back? We were just about to have the class leader speak."
"Thank you sir." Arthur responded gratefully, nodding his head.
"Yea, thanks." Alfred echoed, forcing himself not to scowl at the green eyed Briton. Suck up. "But if you don't mind me asking, how the heck did you know my last name? I mean, there are two of us."
"Oh that wasn't hard." He laughed, eyes crinkling. "I was told I would be getting an American student in my homeroom this year. And you quite obviously do not speak with an English accent."
"Ahahaha." He laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I should have figured that. Thanks, Mr..."
"Lewis." He finished. "And you must be Arthur Kirkland." He said, turning to the other boy. "It's a pleasure to meet you my boy."
"The pleasure is all mine." Arthur replied, flashing him a bright smile. Yup. Definitely a suck up.
"Good good. Now, would our class leader please give us the announcements for the day?" He asked as they shuffled to their seats.
"Of course sir!" A bright voice responded. Alfred froze midway between pulling his chair out, and shot Arthur a glance. The British boy's eyes were wide in surprise, drawing Alfred to the conclusion that he was thinking the same thing. But that was impossible. Right? Spinning around on his heel, his eye's flitted over the room as he searched for the owner of the voice. He didn't have to look far. There, on the other end of the room, stood an all to familiar looking girl with bright green eyes and a wide smile.
"Laura?"
O ~ O ~ O
A/N: Muahahaaaaaa XD I have nothing left to say lol. Except thank you for teh reviews! seriously my Authors note's this week lol. Oh! but if anyone is confused about the whole cabin process thing, fell free to ask and I'll explain it again XD