A/N:I'm sorry this is late! I FINALLY remembered what that important thing I had to tell you guys was XD It was that I was going to be late this week lol. Long story short, My family came down to visit us at our house for the first time this summer. Cousins, aunts, uncles, whole shebang.
So I essentially spent nearly every waking moment of my weekend playing with my little cousins and spending some much needed time with my family. I see them twice a year and that was one of those two lol.
AMERICA'S BDAY ANYONE? Waaaahhhhh it was such a sad and happy day for me :'D Our dear Alfred is growing up so fast sniff Lol and my bro and I were freaking out our mom cause before the fireworks we were discussing how to keep England from getting dead drunk XD And we started arguing about weather we should hide the Rum, or the Brandy from him… I said rum but that's just cause I want to watch iggy wandering around going "WHERE'S THE RUM GONE? WHY IS THE RUM ALWAYS'S GONE?" lulz. Needless to say our mom was confused and a little disturbed XD My brother knows a lot about Hetalia via me, and he likes to talk about it, but I won't let him watch it, for obvious reasons…
Anyway! I'm free-ish again (although I woke up this morning all excited cause I was gonna take the whole day and write, and then suddenly I remembered I started my summer job today XD Darnnn…)
callmeharry: They're 14. I was originally going to use the british system of schooling, as they are in England, but for the plot the American system is more useful ^^ They're all freshman, except for Gilbert who is 15 and a sophmore.
Thank you for all the reviews! I got so many last chapter, I was really shocked ^^ It was fun reading all the guesses. Mostly cause I'm not telling you yet lol.
Onward! :D
O ~ O ~ O
The rest of the day came and went. Arthur managed to survive through to the end of his last class, and astonishingly, found the front doors of the castle with little difficulty. Of course, it could have been due to the fact that the entire school was headed in practically the same direction. Feliciano had greeted him warmly outside the massive iron doors, and together, they waited for the remainder of the team.
Person by person, they all trickled out amongst the crowds, until finally all eighteen of them had assembled and they trudged home, bleary eyed and tired. Arthur had never imagined school could be so tiring. Antonio had prepared dinner for the weary students, and to his credit, hadn't let a single glint of exhaustion settle itself on his features, although it was more then obvious that he was falling asleep on his feet.
Arthur would have offered to give him a hand (although he wasn't entirely sure how helpful he would be) but surprisingly, Romano stepped in and dealt with the dishes and even a portion of the cooking. Antonio beamed, keeping quiet as they washed the plates side by side, but never losing the surprised, happy smile that rested on his face.
Homework had been a long and quiet affair. He worked upstairs on the table with Kiku, while Roderich, Berwald and Lukas discussed their political science class on the third floor couch. When he finally retreated to his room for the night, he was surprised to find Alfred still awake, laying on his back on the floor and staring at a pale white envelope thoughtfully. His books and papers lay around him in a jumbled mess, notebook pages filled with illegible scrawl and what appeared to be equations of some sort. That was odd. If Arthur remembered correctly, Alfred shouldn't have had Math that day. Shrugging it off, he stepped quietly past the other boy and over to his dresser. It was already twelve, and at this point, sleep was his number one priority. Then suddenly, Alfred spoke up.
"What's something you think everyone needs?" He asked aloud, turning the envelope in his hands. Arthur stared at him, unsure of how to respond, and deciding weather the American had even been addressing him. Alfred turned his head; cerulean blue eyes alight with curiosity.
"Well? What do you think?" He said again, this time, pointedly speaking to Arthur.
"Something... everyone needs?" Arthur murmured slowly, mulling over the question. He supposed the basics were one thing. Air, food, water, shelter. The hierarchy of needs. But surely Alfred couldn't be asking about that. But something that everyone needed... He frowned, crossing his arms thoughtfully.
"To be honest, I'm not sure I could pull anything like that off the top of my head." He admitted, taking his sea green pajama bottoms out of a drawer.
"Oh just think of simple stuff." Alfred urged. "You know, like friends, and happiness, and family."
Arthur flinched, eye's wandering to his pillow. "I don't know if everyone needs all those things though..." He muttered.
"What?" Alfred exclaimed. "But everyone needs friends. And everyone wants to be happy, and family is like only the most important thing in the world! No one can live without a family."
"You say that, but there are plenty of people who live without all those things." Arthur replied stiffly, fighting back the urge to snap at him. "Like family. There are a lot of people in the world who don't have a family for countless reasons. And yet they're still living."
"I guess..." Alfred admitted begrudgingly. "But that doesn't mean that they're not something you need. I mean, I can't imagine life without my parents and my relatives. Can you? It must be awful, to not have a family I mean. I don't know what I would do if my parent's died. Or anyone else I'm related to really. We're all really close. I... really feel bad for those kids who have lost them..."
"I'm sure the can do without your pity." Arthur ground out, unbuttoning his dress shirt.
"What?" Alfred blinked, eyes snapping up from a dazed state.
"Never mind." He sighed, turning around to throw a black t-shirt over his head.
"Well then what about your family?" Alfred asked. "Are you all close?"
Arthur felt his blood run cold, tugging at his sleeves and busying himself with pulling his pants on. What was he supposed to say to that?
"We... we don't talk." Arthur muttered, saying the first thing that popped into his mind. Well, technically that was true. It wasn't a lie, really. The real problem here was not Alfred's prying (although that WAS starting to grate his nerves) but rather, that he was actually telling the idiot anything. He could have just ignored him, but it was as if his mouth wouldn't let him.
"Oh..." Alfred trailed off lamely, turning his head away. "I uh... sorry. I figured that you guy's got along really well, since you've got that picture of them and all..."
Arthur stiffened. "Wait what?"
"Aha well you weren't in the room and there was this thing sticking out from under your pillow and I really couldn't help myself so I just kind of, you know, took it out and looked at it. That-that is your family, right?"
He nodded, subconsciously wondering why he wasn't more upset at the fact at Alfred had discovered that picture. His picture. "Yes. That was my family." he replied despondently.
Arthur watched the horror grow in Alfred's eyes. "Was?" He murmured. "Are they...I mean...are they gone?"
Arthur chuckled dryly, despite himself. "Something like that." All at once, the honey haired American leapt to his feet and grabbed Arthur roughly by the shoulders.
"You shouldn't laugh about it." Alfred said seriously, steel blue eyes boring into his own. "Don't... don't do that."
"Why?" Arthur growled, trying to tug the boy's hand off his shoulder. "It's my problem, I can deal with it how I please."
"Because when you're sad you should cry!" Alfred argued fiercely, shaking Arthur back and forth with ease, as if he were a doll.
"I'm not sad anymore. I don't have time to be sad. Holding on to memories only makes moving on all the more difficult." Arthur replied quietly.
"But that doesn't mean you need to forget." Alfred insisted.
"It's easier that way."
Alfred's hands tightened around his shoulders. What does he care? Arthur thought bitterly. It's none of his business. He has no right to get all worked up over some one else's problems. I'll push him away and tell him to go to bed. That he's being ridiculous, that-
He felt the large hands on his shoulders disappear. Thank god. Arthur breathed inwardly. And then suddenly, they were back, wrapped tightly around his midsection and pulling him in until he was flush against Alfred. The taller boy's forehead rest upon his shoulder, nose just barely brushing his thin black shirt.
"Wha-wha-what are you doing?" He yelped quietly. "You git what's gotten into you, don't touch me, I..."
"I hate you." Alfred cut in. "I really, really hate you. So don't say stuff that makes me feel bad for you." He hissed, tightening his hold on the Briton. "It's not fair."
"Yea?" Arthur murmured. His heart was pounding so loudly in his chest, he was sure even Alfred could hear it. "Well I think you're not being fair, you idiot. Don't do things that make me think you're actually a good person."
"Sure." Alfred agreed softly. "Tomorrow, I'm going to dump a bucket of ice water over your head to wake you up."
"If you do that I'll break you're neck."
"I don't doubt it."
They stood there, Alfred holding him, for what seemed like hours. Arthur had to fight back tears more then once. And whenever he let out the faintest sob, or tiniest sniffle, Alfred would tighten his arms around him. They didn't say anything. There were no comforting words, or soft whisperings. Just their heartbeats pressed together, and the soft mingling of their breath in the still room. But if it was like this, Arthur could almost forget who it was that was hugging him as if he was the most precious thing in the world.
O ~ O ~ O
School the next day was similar to the day prior. He spent much of his time between classes simply searching for the rooms, and was late on more then one occasion. He was happy to have Francis in his British history class, although a little less thrilled at the fact that the noisy Dane had somehow ended up in the advanced class along with them. Fortunately, class had been very centered on a lecture their teacher was in the middle of giving, and it didn't allow much time to let Soren cause trouble. When class ended, he walked out with a group of girls, waving his hands around in the air and talking quickly as if he was telling a story, and the girls were eating up every word of it.
Lunch was a monotonous affair. The food was wonderful of course, and today, there had been no interruption from the head master (who Arthur still thought looked suspiciously like Ludwig). Laura bounced by the table again, this time accompanied by two girls, one with short blonde hair and wide green eyes, and the other with long brown hair, and an Asian appearance. She introduced them as Mei and Lili, and after a brief hello, waved goodbye to the group, as they had promised to meet with Mei's boyfriend during lunch.
The rest of the meal was casual and quiet for the most part. Antonio broke in at one point to tell them all a story about his home in Spain, and then they had begun discussing their homelands. Alfred had of course, proudly proclaimed that America was the best country of them all, to which Arthur snorted in annoyance. Alfred ignored him (presumably because he was still ticked off about that morning. Arthur had beat him to the chase, and it was the blue eyed American who had woke up with ice water running down his back, not him.)
The day went on, and finally, last period. Arthur didn't know what it was, weather it was the long classes or the just the trek to each room, but this school was wearing him out, and he wasn't the only one. Lukas in particular, had become a concern for the team. He had come out of the school the other day on Soren's back after he had apparently collapsed from running up and down flights of staircases, searching for something he'd lost, although Soren claimed he didn't know what it was.
That night after dinner, a small group of them worriedly discussed Lukas's physical health. It would be a problem if he couldn't participate in challenges because of it. Soren however, was adamant, and insisted that anyone would be tired after running up and down as much as he did. So for the time being, they let the subject drop.
The last class of the day was theatre, and he already knew for a fact that Alfred had it at the same time. He remembered, with some amusement, when the night before it had occurred to both Soren and Berwald that they both had woodshop, just not at the same time. Which of course, led to Soren pestering the poor Swede about how he had gotten so good, and how the tools worked, among other things, so that he could be prepared for the class. The lack of communication was somewhat astonishing really. He was lucky he'd been paying attention when Alfred had brought up his schedule the day before, or he wouldn't have realized that the obnoxious blonde had the same class.
His stomach churned nervously as he wandered down an empty hallway, mind flitting back to Alfred. It wasn't like anything was awkward since... that happened. He still hated the American, and Alfred made no show of hiding his dislike either. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what had caused Alfred to act that way towards him. He thought back to the time in the woods. And then what Kiku had said to him.
"I think that's just how Alfred is. It's in his nature to be kind, even if it may not seem that way to you sometimes. I think Alfred-san, is a very good person. Don't you Arthur?"
And he supposed, that was it. As much as he would have liked to deny it, worrying about others above himself seemed to be very much in Alfred's nature. Even if it was Arthur he was worrying about. It was like he went on autopilot when he thought someone was in trouble. Not that Arthur had been in trouble. He hadn't even been thinking about it before that idiot brought up family. And then he started asking all those stupid questions.
Arthur bit his lip and shook his head. He wasn't the type to get sentimental or wishy-washy. It had been four years since he'd cried about that. It didn't matter to him anymore. Even as he stood there thinking about it, he felt no remorse. But somehow, when it was Alfred, hugging him and telling him how stupid he was, how it was ok to cry, he just felt so... sad.
"Hey, where are you going?" A voice called from behind him. Arthur stumbled over his feet, and spun around to glance the owner of the familiar voice.
"Oh, hello Lukas." He greeted the cobalt-eyed boy with a polite nod of his head. "I'm off to theatre. But I can't seem to find the Kale building."
"That's funny." Lukas replied in his usual monotone. "Look, I've got theatre too. I was having trouble finding it."
"Really?" Arthur inquired, raising his eyebrows. He couldn't see Lukas as the theatre type. The boy could produce little emotion when simply going about his every day. Arthur couldn't imagine that he would be able to feign it on a stage. He wondered where the school administration got the idea for that one.
"Yea. We should get going." He said, glancing at a small silver watch on his wrist. "We're going to be late."
"Oh yes, of course." Arthur agreed. They started down the hall in silence, and Arthur couldn't help passing a glance or two at the solemn boy. He was an odd one.
"Hey." Lukas said suddenly. "What kind of person are you?"
Arthur blinked in surprise, flustered by the question. "What kind of...person you ask?"
"Yea. You wear those studs, and your hair is cut real weird. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were some kind of delinquent... but you're actually really polite and stuff. When you're not fighting with Alfred, it reminds me of the way all those rich important people in old England talked. Really proper and stuff, like, not the kind of English you learn in school or anything. So what kind of person are you?" He asked again.
Arthur shrugged. "I suppose I am just, Arthur. Nothing more. But if you want the honest truth... the earrings were a dare." He admitted, smiling wryly. And for the first time since he'd known the boy, Lukas laughed. It was quite and reserved, barely audible, but it was a real genuinely amused laugh.
"I knew it." He stated, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. "You really don't seem like the type to have gotten them voluntarily. Sure, you're tough and all. And I bet you've been in a fight before, but you've got proper rich kid written all over you, once you strip that petty stuff away."
"And how exactly did you manage to detect that on me?" Arthur asked, bemused, and a tad worried.
"Easy. Because I'm one too. Except I'm a screw up proper rich kid. I've got the rich, but the proper skipped over me and on to my brother." Lukas told him.
"Oh?" Arthur inquired. "What do your parents do? They must have good jobs."
At this, Lukas snorted and sped up. "My parent's are useless. Come on, let's get on to class before we lose points."
Arthur nodded uncertainly, not wanting to pry, and jogged after him.
O ~ O ~ O
"To our new students, welcome to theatre." Their teacher, Mr. Brown, clapped his hands enthusiastically up on the beautiful wooden stage of the auditorium. He was a tall, gangly looking man with thick-rimmed glasses and short brown hair that stuck off his head in the back. He couldn't have been older then thirty.
"Our theatre department has been an important part of this school for years upon years, bringing in new, enthusiastic young actors and actresses like yourselves, and allowing them to study the art of the stage." Arthur watched as Alfred's hand slid lazily into the air from a couple seats down. Coincidentally, Gilbert and Elizaveta had also been placed in the class, and they, along with Lukas, were voluntarily creating a gap between he and Alfred. Definitely a smart move.
That aside, the class was enormous. It was like they lumped a quarter of the school in there just for kicks to see what would happen. It seemed random, and not as well thought out as they had been made to believe. Arthur didn't have anything against theatre of course. He had always found it interesting. He liked reading Shakespeare, and heaven knew he enjoyed plays. That aside, he couldn't imagine Alfred and Gilbert were interested in it, and he had his doubts about Elizaveta considering she'd yawned about ten times within the last five minutes.
"Yes, you there young man." Mr. Brown smiled, pointing to Alfred.
"I hate to sound... well, rude, but to be honest Sir, I'm not interested in theatre at all. Are we still allowed to switch classes?" A few scattered snickers, including one from Gilbert, and the room was quiet again. Mr. Brown raised a curious eyebrow.
"If you want to write that essay." He reminded him. "Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll have to gain some minuscule interest in theatre. I know, that's quite a hard price to pay, but I do think you'll be ok." More laughs this time, mostly from the older students.
"Do we really have to write that essay?" Gilbert whined from beside him. "This isn't even a real class."
Mr. Brown simply shook his head. "If that is the way you choose to think, I can't change that. I can only hope that by the end of this year you have gained some appreciation for this unique art. Now!" He smiled. "Today, we are continuing are lesson on set design. Since we have some new students, I'm going to put one of you in charge of their group. Show them the ropes, all right? Now, who wants to volunteer?"
"I'll do it, Mr. Brown." A voice called out. Mr. Brown nodded gratefully.
"Thank you, Eduard. Good then, off you all go, same groups as yesterday. Eduard, can you please bring the new students to the back room to work and show them around? Excellent. We'll meet back ten minutes before the bell. If there are any questions you know the drill." With a nod of his head, their teacher disappeared off the stage, leaving the students to their work.
The room erupted in a flurry of movement. Groups of students jumping up onto the stage and leaving through the many back doors, others staying where they are and pulling what Arthur could only assume were set designs.
"Please come with me." A voice from beside them asked. Arthur looked up, startled, until he remembered they would be getting a guide. The boy, Eduard, was of average size. Not particularly tall, not short. About the same height as himself. His hair was blonde, and cut into neat, short bangs that sat a just above his eyes. As for his eyes, they were light blue, and framed by a rounded set of glasses that were glinting just so from the auditorium lights.
"Ah yes right, you must be Eduard." Arthur acknowledged, jumping to his feet and extending his hand. "It's very nice to meet you."
A surprised expression flickered across the boys face, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. He smiled politely and took Arthurs' hand in his own, shaking it gently. "Likewise. If I remember correctly from role, you're Arthur. And all of you..." He glanced at the rest of the group. "Gilbert, Lukas, Elizaveta, Alfred. Am I right?"
"Spot on." Alfred chuckled. "Oh, more people." Arthur glanced over his shoulder as four more students approached the group cautiously. Three girls, and one boy with onyx black hair and curious cyan blue eye's.
"Oh, you must be the other's." Eduard laughed softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't think that you would all be sitting separately."
"Oh it's fine." One of the girls chirped. "Really, we're just grateful that you're giving us a hand. My name's Élise by the way." Arthur shrugged off a curious frown. That sounded French, but she didn't have any sort of accent, and the girl didn't particularly look it, what with her brown skin and dark eyes. Although, he never had asked Francis much about his home country and it's people, so anything was possible.
"I'm Kayla." A girl with curly brown hair smiled. "And this is Maggie." She motioned to a red head that was twiddling her thumbs nervously.
"It's nice to meet you all." Eduard nodded. "What about you?" He asked the black haired boy, whose eyes were currently glued on Elizaveta. He glanced away when he was addressed and shrugged.
"I'm Abel."
"Good to hear it." Gilbert grumbled. "Are we done with introductions now?" Elizaveta elbowed him in the gut.
"Don't be rude." She muttered.
"I'm not being rude." Gilbert argued, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his maroon jacket. "I just want to get moving is all."
"I don't know what you're hurry is, we're just building stuff." Alfred pointed out.
"Ah that's right, you were the two who didn't like theatre." Eduard laughed. "Don't worry, in my freshman year, I was the same as you. It kind of grows on you though. Now let's get going. I'll show you the back room, and then how to use some of the tools."
"Like saw's and stuff?" Gilbert grinned.
Eduard nodded hesitantly. "Yes. I suppose."
"Sweet!" Gilbert exclaimed. Eduard just shook his head.
"This way." He instructed. He started toward the stage, and then paused, glancing over to a corner of the room. Abruptly, he changed his course and began leading them toward a set of hidden metal stairs on the side of the stage "Watch your step, these stairs can be a bit-"
"Wah!" Elizaveta yelped, stumbling backwards. Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur could have sworn he saw Gilbert lurch forward a step. Fortunately, Abel, who had been walking behind her, caught her gently and pushed her onto the next step.
"Are you alright?" He asked, helping her steady herself.
"Yea." She laughed, blushing lightly. "I wasn't paying attention and missed the step in front of me. Thanks. You know, for catching me."
"That's why I warned you to be careful." Eduard reminded them. "They're pretty steep."
"Where exactly are we going?" Alfred called from behind him. "These for sure don't lead up onto the stage. I mean they freaking spiral."
"You're observant." Eduard remarked, continuing upward. "No, they don't lead to the stage, they lead to an area above it."
"You mean the catwalk?" Lukas cut in. Eduard shook his head.
"No, not the catwalk. Trust me, you'll see. Just be patient."
"Now I'm excited!" Élise exclaimed. "How long will it take to get to the top?"
"A couple minutes."
"Minutes?" Arthur sputtered. "How high do these things go? I thought you were taking us to the back room."
"Well I was going to." Eduard laughed from a couple steps ahead. "But I decided there was something else I should show you all. It's usual for most new students to see it their first day, and I don't know why Mr. Brown forgot."
"Yea, I don't know if he likes us that much." Alfred admitted.
"You mean he doesn't like you and Gilbert." Arthur grumbled. "Don't lump me in the same group as you."
"Who's lumping, Artie?" Arthur stiffened.
"Don't you DARE call me that." He growled lowly, spinning around to scowl at the American. "If you're going to address me as someone other then 'you' I would prefer you use my real name instead of that horrendous nickname."
"So you want me to call you Arthur?" Alfred smirked knowingly. Arthur's frown deepened.
"I'd rather you not call me anything."
"Yea, you say that, but you're the one who started using my real name first."
"Shut up." Arthur snapped. What was with him today? Alfred wasn't just going at him like he normally did. He was actually trying to get under his skin by teasing him. Arthur suddenly preferred the fist fights to this kind of torture. "That was completely on accident."
"WAIT when did this happen?" Elizaveta gaped. "I totally missed the meeting where you too decided to start addressing each other properly. Why did no one tell me this?"
"Because we're not." Arthur grumbled. "He's just going at me with something besides those obnoxiously large hands of his." An image of them the night before flashed into his mind. His hands had been covering the entire small of Arthur's back, and then some. They really were big. Not in a weird way, they weren't to big for him or anything. They were just... big. He rubbed his nose, remembering when Alfred had first punched him. No wonder that had hurt so much.
"My hands are normal size." Alfred retorted. "That just means yours are to small. Which is why your uppercut is so weak."
"Say's the boy who was cradling his jaw like an injured puppy." Arthur growled triumphantly.
Finally, clearly abandoning his innocent act, Alfred scowled and rubbed the side of his face. "Lucky shot."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that."
"Do you two always argue like this?" Élise blinked, cocking her head at them.
"Always." Lukas sighed from behind them. "All day every day."
"And you're in the same house?" Kayla gaped. "That must be so hard!"
"It's livable with." Elizaveta rolled her eyes. "If they really started hurting each other we'd try to stop them. It's better just to let them fight it out."
"You know guy's, we're right here." Alfred whined.
"What, so you're saying you don't argue and fight all the time?" Elizaveta raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Could be worse." Gilbert shrugged. "I'm surprised you're both still alive to be honest, considering you room together."
"It's not like you like Roderich." Alfred pointed out. "And you room with him."
"True, but he wouldn't be any fun to fight, so I don't bother." Gilbert smirked.
"Hah I'm sure Roderich would do just fine against you." Elizaveta pursed her lips.
"I think Tino could beat him up, and that's saying something." Gilbert snorted. "No offense of course." He added, turning to Lukas. Lukas shrugged.
"None taken. He's my friend, not my brother. And he is pretty weak."
"Are you guy's done?" Abel sighed. "We haven't moved for five minutes. You know, if you want to be in charge, you really should order people around." He said, addressing Eduard.
Eduard flushed pink for a moment, and nodded. "I suppose you're right. I don't really like cutting in though..."
"Sorry man." Alfred apologized. "Come on let's keep moving."
"Oh don't try to act responsible now." Arthur muttered under his breath.
The remainder of the climb up the winding staircase was relatively silent. Maggie, Kayla and Élise chatted quietly together for the majority of it, and on occasion, Elizaveta would join in, but the rest of the Imperaturi house didn't make a sound. As they ascended, a wall appeared on their other side, trapping them in the spiraling incline. It was almost as if they were in one of the towers of the castle. The question then was, where were they going?
Finally, Eduard came to a sudden stop in front of an old, wooden door at the top of the stairs. "Alright, I'm going to warn you guy's, its a little nerve wracking up here. So hold on tight to the sides, and watch the wind, it can get strong, especially since the storm's just blown over."
Wind? Arthur thought curiously. Slowly, Eduard pushed the door open, and a blinding stream of sunlight illuminated the dark stairwell.
"Ok, one at a time." He called, ushering the girls out the door. Arthur heard astonished gasps, and excited whispers, and suddenly, he was more then itching to get to the top. Finally, he stepped past the smiling boy, and out onto the most awe-inspiring sight he'd ever seen.
It was amazing. Wind whipped past him, and he grabbed the stone sides of the structure for support, never taking his eyes of the scene. Where were they? It suddenly occurred to Arthur. They had walked right on to one of the stone bridges that connected a handful of the schools towers. Behind them, he could feel the looming shadow of one of the higher buildings, and quickly broke his eyes away to look behind him. The castle was even more breath taking when he was up this close. Beautiful, crystal windows lined the side of the stone structure that rose far above them. If he had been able to move back even further, Arthur was sure he could have been able to glimpse the highest building in the school, just behind it. Stone gargoyles sat on ledges, every couple hundred feet up, intricately designed and each with a different expression more realistic then the next.
"Whoa." A voice breathed beside him. Arthur spun around to see Alfred standing by his side and staring out at the landscape, eyes wide in amazement.
"Welcome to the west tower bridge." Eduard informed them. "It's not the best view of the scenery from this side of the castle, but it's certainly one of my favorites."
They were staring out over the lake. The vast, beautiful lake that sat at the castles edge, and looked even larger and more spectacular now. The sun, not low in the sky but slowly receding behind the water, alit the rain cloud spotted sky with a symphony of color. And if Arthur looked down, he would see the enormous black rocks that sat between the water and the school, protecting the aged stone and glowing just as brightly as the lake in the light.
"Dude, this is so cool." Alfred said suddenly. Arthur silently agreed, not caring if he was talking to him. It seemed appropriate to respond to a statement from the boy that was, for once, very true.
"Are we allowed to come up here whenever we want?" Gilbert asked. Eduard nodded.
"Yes, students are allowed on the tower bridges. Although I would recommend you take the stairs in the other tower, since the auditorium isn't always open."
"It's beautiful." Elizaveta sighed. "I could live up here."
Eduard chuckled. "A lot of people come up here in their free time. Those who have free blocks, or want to stay after school to study. Apparently a lot of couples come up here to watch the sunset as well."
"That's so sweet!" Kayla exclaimed. "I can't think of any girl who wouldn't want to come up here with her boyfriend."
"Forget that, I want to be proposed to up here." Elizaveta chuckled.
"This is getting a little sappy here." Gilbert muttered.
"No kidding." Alfred replied quietly.
"Hey." Lukas said suddenly. "Why is it that Mr. Brown usually has new kids come up here? I mean, you did say that right?"
Eduard nodded. "To be honest, I'm still not really sure. But Mr. Brown is very serious about acting, and he believes that to get an actor to act well, you have to first present them, or put them in, an emotional situation. It's hard to fake happiness, or sadness, or even just to say your lines as if you care. I think, by sending students up here, he hopes to inspire something in them that wasn't there before, so their acting will be stronger."
"I don't know if I believe all that, but this is still pretty neat." Gilbert admitted.
"Yes." Eduard smiled. "It is, very pretty. Now, let's get back to class before we're missing to long. I don't want him to think we're slacking off."
"You're probably right." Abel agreed, speaking for the first time since they'd arrived on the bridge. "We should get going."
"Who put you in charge?" Lukas snorted. Arthur stifled a look of surprise. It wasn't unlike the blonde to be rude, but this retort seemed to hold a little more venom then his usual ones toward Soren.
Abel raised an eyebrow. "I was just agreeing with him." He stated.
"Whatever." Lukas muttered, starting toward the door. Eduard sighed and smiled wryly.
"It's going to be an interesting year, isn't it?"
"Yea but it's more fun that way." Alfred grinned.
O ~ O ~ O
"Alright class, tonight, I'm going to assign you your first piece of literature." Mr. Brown announced. "I want you to go read it, and then by next week have it written as a play would be. You don't have to have all the same lines as the book, but I want at least twenty direct quotes. Here's the catch. It can't have the same plot as the original. It has to be a different story, and a different genre."
A chorus of groans, as well as excited chatter echoed around the hall. He raised his hand for silence. "It doesn't have to be long, just a snippet, but I want stage direction, entrances, the whole thing. And of course, you have to act in them by yourself, playing all characters." This got far more protests, but the room died down quickly, waiting for the next instruction.
"I suppose you all want to know what it is?" He chuckled.
"Of course we do!" Gilbert yelled. "How are we supposed to do the stupid assignment if we don't know what story it is?"
Mr. Brown nodded. "Very true. But I'm going to make this interesting. I'll read a line from the story, and the first person to shout out what it's from and whom it's by doesn't have to act out their play alone next week. Meaning I'll let you choose actors to work with you. Does that sound fair?" A series or happy cheers filled the room. Arthur sighed. He did like plays, but aside from Shakespeare, he didn't read many. There were kids here he was sure were going to major in the art. Oh well, I'll just have to do it by myself. He thought.
"Alright, alright." Mr. Brown called. "Quite down so I can recite. Are you all ready?" The room was silent, and he raised his hand, signaling the beginning of the line.
"It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night."
Arthur felt a spark of recognition ignite in his brain. He knew that one! That wasn't a play. That was...
"The Tell Tale Heart, by Edgar Allen Poe!" He exclaimed loudly. Loudly enough, that he couldn't hear the voice that had fallen in unison with his own.
"Very good, both of you." Mr. Brown smiled, clearly impressed. "It would seem we have two winners."
Two? Who answered with me? He glanced around the room, and to his horror, saw Alfred standing proudly a couple seats down.
"You?" He sputtered. "How do you know that?"
"What are you talking about, I love Edgar Allen Poe!" Alfred grinned. "I don't read much, but he's awesome. I've read all of his."
"Well, I'm glad that you appreciate Poe, Alfred." Mr. Brown chuckled. "Perhaps we can get you to like theatre yet. Now, since both of you answered at the same time, and you're from the same house, how about you write it together? You still get to use other actors of course, but it might work better that way."
"Uh, sir." Arthur began. "I'm not sure that's such a-"
"Yes, that will work well." He nodded. "You two will collaborate and present together. I am quite eager to see what you come up with. Now, I would like all of you to check out a copy of the book from the library, and get started right away." He glanced at the watch on his wrist. "I'll let you out a little early today, I have a meeting to go to. Off you go then." He waved his hands dismissively and walked off the stage.
"What just happened?" Alfred groaned, holding his head in his hands. Arthur furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.
"In all honesty? I have no idea."
O ~ O ~ O
A/N: Let's play the: Guess which characters are Hetalia characters and which one's are OC's! Game XD Don't worry I'll tell you all next week lol.
I have to say, this chapter was on of those one's where I fell like I've written a novel and then I check my page count and I'm only 5 pages in Xd Oh well, it ended up a good length…
Ah, yes reference to the title grin grin You guy's have clue how evil I am, really… :D
On another note, it was… interesting for me to start the chapter off all serious. But since it was the fourth of July, I REALLY wanted angst fluff XD I tried to keep it as… un angsty as possible though, since this isn't meant to be a particularly sad fic… I feel like trying to comfort Arthur is something Alfred would do, just like helping him back when they were lost in the woods. Like Kiku said, he's just that type of person. And of course they're back to their usual selves the next day lol. Alfred's hands… if you want me to be honest? That's totally not in there for plot, it's just a kink of mine XD I love guy's with big hands... I know I'm weird shoot me XD
Anyway, I figured that that would be something that stuck out to Arthur (he's pretty observant lol)
As usual, thanks for reviewing, and I'll see you next week!