A/N: USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA! :D Clearly, I'm happy... DID YOU SEE THAT GOAL? I can't believe we won! I can't believe it! THAT WAS GREAT! *jumps up and down* Truly soccer is the most amazing sport ever. And now we get to play France! Heck yea! Go America! Aw man I can't wait to see that one! *dances*
Ehem, now that I have my composure back (i finished the story literally as the game ended and I just had to write that XD) I'm also proud to say that this is my longest chapter to date... ^^
In other news, I have some, well sad news. Well, sadish.. XD this coming sunday, I cannot garuntee a chapter, because I'm driving home then. In three days. Across the entire country. . anyway, I'll be on the road still on sunday, so i won't have much time for writing (although I have discovered that I can write on gmail docs on my phone! *dances* so when all fails and my computer dies I can at least work there XD)
Another release date issue. A week or so after I get back, I'll be gone for a week at band camp. Which means no computer, and DEFINITELY no time to write on my phone, even if I am bringing that. Seriously, up at 6, bed at 12, and not a moments rest between . So please bare with me for the next couple weeks as far as new chapters go. I'll try my best, but school is starting soon for me, and my last few weeks of vacation are nutty.
Soooooo many reviews! :D :D THank you so much!
Oh! And I finally decided to get a beta! So my writing in general should be better this chapter XD
And one last thing ^^ The characters from last chapter!
Eduard: Estonia Kayla: OC Maggie: OC Abel:OC Élise: Seychelles Good job all of you who guessed! :D
Onward~
O ~ O ~ O
"And I'm telling you, we're not doing it!" Arthur snapped. "That's just ludicrous."
"Oh, and your idea is sooooo much better," Alfred shot back, brow knit in annoyance.
"Actually, it is."
"Actually, it's not."
"Are you two still going at it?" A weary voice cut in. "You've been going on about this play thing all week, one would think you'd have some sort of idea by now, but you haven't even come up with a theme!"
"That's because he's being ridiculous," Alfred muttered, crossing his arms. "Come on Matty, you can't honestly tell me a tragedy is a good idea."
"Oh and an action theme is a million times better," Arthur snorted. "Really, I thought you said you liked Poe. Don't go soiling his work."
"But Mr. Brown said it had to be different from the original!" Alfred argued. "Tragedy is like, the same."
"Poe writes HORROR you twat," Arthur sighed. "They're completely different."
"Not really," Alfred grumbled.
"Can't you find a middle?" Matthew suggested, settling down by the hearth beside them. "You know, something you'd both be OK with? How about a romance?"
"Nah," Alfred yawned, dismissing the idea with a wave of his hand. "Romances are too sappy. And besides, the both of us have to be in it. It would be a pain to direct the other actors if we weren't the main characters. Hey Lukas," he called to the small blonde currently curled up on the couch, "What are you doing for yours?"
"Dunno," he replied from behind his book. "Don't care. I'll get it done in time."
"Geeze, you're helpful," Alfred whined. He had hoped that the Norwegian boy would have something to offer them. He and Arthur had been going around in circles for the entire week about the subject. Arthur wanted to do a tragedy. He wanted an action. And neither one of them wanted to budge on their idea. As far as he knew, Elizaveta had already finished hers, and Gilbert was almost done. Regarding Lukas, he wouldn't be surprised if the tricky blonde got Soren to do it for him somehow. Speaking of Soren...
Even since Monday, when Soren had carried Lukas home on his back, his friend seemed to be paying extra special attention to the little cerulean-eyed boy. He laughed off his insults, took his punches, and suddenly seemed more interested in helping him then arguing with him. He'd confronted Soren about it, but the boy had simply waved it off as nothing. Even so, Alfred thought it was a little odd, and couldn't help but wonder just what had happened back on those stairs to make his friend act like he was.
The day was Saturday, and of course, it was raining again. They'd had a nice little break in the middle of the week, free of clouds and full of sunshine, but by Friday the clouds were back in full force and they had yet to leave. What was worse, they were running out of food, and Romano was going to have to run into town. Of course, the auburn haired Italian wasn't exactly keen on the idea.
"Who the hell do you think I am?" Romano growled, crossing his arms stubbornly as Feliciano persisted to push him out the door. They'd been standing there arguing for about ten minutes, and it wasn't particularly adding to the academic aesthetic of the room. "There is no fucking way I am going out in THAT. I don't do water."
"Fratello, you promised," Feliciano whined. "Besides, we need food!"
"Then send that stupid tomato bastard. I'm not going out into weather like that, it does god-awful things to my skin."
"Romano!" His brother pleaded. "Tu devi mantenere la tua promessa!" (You have to keep your promises)
"Chiudi il tuo cu-!" (Shut the fuck up)
"Lovino!" Antonio cut in, appearing suddenly from the stairs. "Don't be rude to your brother. It's your job to go get the food. I can go with you though, if you don't want to go in the rain by yourself..."
"Screw that!" Romano growled, yanking himself from Feliciano's grip and storming past Antonio. "I'll go get my coat. Just as long as HE doesn't come too." With a last glare at Antonio, he retreated up the second floor stairs and disappeared.
"Dios mio," Antonio sighed. "That boy."
"Ve~. Thank you Antonio!" Feliciano smiled gratefully. "I thought I would never get my brother to go shopping! He didn't want to go all the way down to the school to find out how to get to the town..."
"Well, you can't deny that is a problem..." Alfred admitted. "I mean, it's pouring rain, and we don't even know if the school is open on the weekends."
"I can't imagine it isn't," Arthur muttered. "After all, we do live here."
"Hey, teachers have to live some where," Alfred argued.
"Never mind that," Matthew jumped in. "With this weather, someone really should go with him. He's going to have to carry a lot, and it would be good to have an extra set of hands, don't you think?"
"I offered but..." Antonio shrugged. "I figured he'd say no. Would one or two of you be willing to go?"
"I'll go!" Alfred offered immediately. Anything to get him out of the house and away from Arthur. If he had to take another word of the Briton's complaining he was going to lose his mind.
"Ve, then I'll go too," Feliciano chirped. "He's my brother after all, I would hate for you to have to go alone."
"What's going on?" Ludwig called, stepping into the living room with a frown. "I just heard Romano storming up the stairs so loudly it was shaking the second floor."
"We're going to get food," Alfred shrugged. "And he didn't want to go."
"We?" Ludwig inquired, eyebrows raised.
"I'm going with my brother, and Alfred's coming along," Feliciano explained. Ludwig shook his head.
"That won't do." He sighed. "The way you three are, you'll just get into trouble. No, I'm coming with you."
"Thank god," Arthur muttered, just loud enough for Alfred to hear. "Please Ludwig, take him. I can't stand another minute of this." Alfred was compelled to agree.
Ludwig frowned and shook his head. "Oh no, you're coming too Arthur."
"What?" Arthur shrieked, shooting off the floor. "But why?"
"Because if I remember correctly, you two have an assignment to finish, and I want you working on it. We're far behind in the point tally right now- the last thing we need is late or poorly done assignments. No arguing, if Alfred goes, so do you," Ludwig ordered sternly.
Arthur hissed something unintelligible under his breath, but slowly nodded, revealing his begrudging surrender to the plan.
"Ah, Ludwig, d-do you want me to come too?" Matthew offered, tugging at the ends of his precious red sweater.
"No, that's alright Matthew. Five should be more then enough to carry the food back." The German replied, glancing at his watch.
"Oh... alright," Matthew agreed, suppressing a dejected look. "In that case, Alfred why don't we go upstairs and get your coat? Arthur, I'll bring yours down for you if you'd like."
"Would you?" Arthur blinked. "Thank you very much Matthew, it's appreciated." Alfred narrowed his eyes. Since when had they become such good friends?
"Come on Matty, we better hurry and get up and down before Romano does," he muttered, snatching his friend's wrist and pulling him off the floor.
"Ouch!" Matthew exclaimed, yanking himself away. "Alfred that really hurt!" Alfred felt his heart sting in shame. Just because he was mad at Arthur didn't give him any right to take it out on Matthew.
"Sorry! I'm really sorry!" He apologized, taking the Canadians wrist gently in his hand and turning it over. "Did I twist it to hard? It's not cut or anything is it? I'm sorry Matty, really."
"It's fine Alfred, it just ached for a moment. You pulled me up a little hard..." Matthew insisted, giving him a wary smile.
Alfred sighed and turned his head away. He was such a horrible person. Even his best friend was fed up with him. Alfred just felt so... agitated. Tired. He'd barely slept a wink the night before, tossing and turning as he thought about the project, and disturbed more then once by an obnoxious thumping noise from the third floor. It sounded almost like Elizaveta was TRYING to keep him up. Well, her or Kiku, but he wouldn't put his bets on the latter.
And Arthur certainly wasn't helping to quell his annoyance. The Briton hadn't given him a break all morning, and he was getting sick of the boy's know-it-all pestering. He really did hate him. Except for maybe when he was sleeping. Alfred had spent a good portion of the night pacing about the room, and more then once he'd stolen a look at the sleeping boy. When he was awake, his thick eyebrows were almost always furrowed in annoyance, and lips pulled into a frown. As he slept though, the Briton wore almost a peaceful expression, a small smile tugging on the edge of his mouth. Most importantly, he was quiet.
"Alfred, really don't feel bad," Matthew pleaded, breaking him from his stupor. "It's really OK, look, it's not even going to bruise! S-so don't look like that OK?"
Alfred blinked at him. "Look like what?" He smiled, feigning innocence. Matthew laughed quietly, giving him a gentle shove.
"Never mind, you lug. Come on, let's get your jacket before it starts raining even harder." With a polite nod at Ludwig, and a glance at Lukas (who was still curled up quietly on the couch, despite all the noise) they hurried up stairs in search of something warm to wear.
O ~ O ~ O
"Alfred, can I ask you a question?" Matthew inquired as they peered around the room, eager to find Arthur's missing jacket.
"Yea sure." Alfred replied absentmindedly as he dug through Arthur's drawers.
"Well... it's just... I mean..." He frowned. "D-do you think Francis... I mean... I feel like he's ignoring me. I was just wondering if you'd noticed that too."
Alfred paused and turned around slowly. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, I suppose it could just be my imagination..." Matthew twiddled his thumbs nervously, glancing around the room as if trying to find something to look at other then his friend. "But he hasn't been talking to me much this week. Actually, he's been basically ignoring me all together. At first I thought he might have just been tired. After all, on Wednesday, he had a quiz in math, so he had been up all night studying. But, on Thursday, when I went to ask him for some help with my English, he waved me off and said he was too busy, even though twenty minutes later I saw him playing cards with Gilbert and Antonio downstairs..." He trailed off and glanced at the ground.
"And then just this morning, I asked him if he'd seen my sweater. He just said 'I have no idea' and walked away, and it had been sitting right next to him on the ground!" He sighed and hung his head. "I don't know Alfred. I feel like I must have done something just awful to upset him like this. I wish I could apologize, but I can't think of what it could be!"
Alfred laughed nervously, guilt gnawing at his gut. "But isn't that what you wanted? For him to leave you alone?" Matthew shrugged.
"I suppose..." he murmured.
"Then don't worry about it," Alfred pressed. "I'm sure you haven't done anything wrong, he probably finally got the message or something. Come on, I finally found Arthur's jacket. We can go downstairs now."
Matthew nodded slowly. "Yea. Yea you're right." He smiled weakly. "I'm sure it's nothing. And at least now he's not pestering me."
"That's the spirit!" Alfred encouraged, wrapping his arm around his friend's shoulder. "Come on, let's get downstairs before Romano starts another screaming match with Antonio."
"You know he would," Matthew chuckled. "I'll race you down the stairs!"
"You?" Alfred snorted. "Piece of cake. When I say go, all right? Ready, set, go!" he laughed, sprinting out the door with Arthur's black hoodie in hand.
"Hey no fair!" Matthew called, dashing out behind him. "You cheated!" He felt the Canadian grasp the back of his shirt firmly, and he skidded to a stop, gripping the handrail of the stairs.
"And this isn't cheating?" He whined, trying to shake him off. Matthew laughed and grabbed the other rail.
"Nope, this is perfectly fair."
"Yea right." He tugged at his friend's jacket. Matthew tugged back, and in less then a minute, they were pulling each other down the stairs in a fit of laughter, tumbling over steps as they went. Alfred felt his heart soar. It felt like it had been ages since he'd had this much fun with his friend, what with the new school and everything. It was good to feel like everything was back to normal. No worrying about work, or teammates, or Francis. All that was missing was Soren, and it truly would be just like old times. He couldn't imagine how life could get better, and was in the process of yanking Matthew's hood over his head when they ran into someone. Hard.
"Augh!" Matthew cried, pulling at the hood that was shielding his eyes. "I'm so sorry! We didn't mean to, ah..." He stared up at the form he'd fallen into. The boy's eyebrows were quirked in annoyed manner, and his mouth pulled into a thin line. He stared down at Matthew impatiently, waiting for the smaller blonde to release the clothing he was clutching so tightly to keep his balance.
"Francis!" He squeaked, jumping backwards into Alfred. "I-I uh m-mean s-s-sorry! We didn't r-realize you were there!" Francis frowned and slid his hand slowly into his pocket.
"Faites attention," he sighed. "Vous allez vous blesser." (Be careful. You'll hurt yourself.)
"Je me demande pardon." Matthew murmured. Francis simply shook his head. (I apologize)
"Would you mind moving?" he began again, this time (to Alfred's relief) in English.
"Yea, sorry," Alfred apologized, pulling Matthew out of the way. "We were just messing around."
"Clearly," Francis muttered, shouldering his way by them. "Next time, take your foolish playing elsewhere." Thank god that's over, Alfred thought to himself. What a horrible time to run into the French boy.
"F-francis!" Matthew called suddenly. "Wait." What are you doing? Alfred swore inwardly. Was he stupid or something? Didn't he want Francis to leave him alone? So why was he going after him? Francis stopped slowly and glanced behind him.
"Uh, I was w-wondering, if you could give me a hand with cooking. N-nothing fancy or anything, you could j-just give me a recipe, b-but I need something for my home ec. class, and you're such a good cook I figured..." He swallowed nervously. "Of course you don't have to! But, um, I would be happy if you did..."
Francis' face contorted into a mesh of confusion and annoyance, with a glint of something a tad more somber in his eyes. He almost looked like he was fighting with himself. He heaved out a heavy breath and shrugged.
"I am sorry. But I'm going up to speak with Roderich right now," Alfred watched as his friend struggled to keep a downcast expression off his face.
"O-oh. Well that's all right. I can always ask Antonio, or Yao or s-something..." He smiled weakly. "After all-"
"I said I was going to speak with Roderich at this moment," Francis interrupted. "But I won't be speaking to him all day." Matthew's eyes widened in surprise. Francis smiled softly, flickering his gaze to Alfred for the slightest of seconds, and letting a defiant look slip onto his face before turning soft again and looking back at Matthew. "I'll be down in half an hour, alright, Mathieu?"
Matthew smiled brightly, face illuminating with relief, and nodded. "Merci beaucoup!"(Thank you very much)
"De rien," Francis chuckled. And with a wave of his hand, the boy turned and disappeared up the stairs.(You're welcome)
"What the hell," Alfred grumbled, crossing his arms. "What was that all about, Matty?"
"I'm glad he's not mad at me," Matthew sighed, seemingly ignoring his friend. Alfred scowled in annoyance. That bastard. Even after they'd had a deal and everything, he still insisted on hanging around Matty. He was probably up to no good, as usual. Of course, Matty didn't realize that. It was just like him to think that he'd done somebody wrong, and not the other way around.
"Yea yea whatever," Alfred muttered. "Come on, let's just get downstairs. They probably think we died or something." Matthew laughed, clearly in higher spirits.
"I'm sure they don't think that. After all, it's me, not Arthur." And with that, they sprinted down the stairs and to their ever-waiting teammates below.
O ~ O ~ O
The ride to the school's town was a long one, longer then Alfred had bargained for anyway. Fortunately, the school had been very much open, and it had taken only one very long search through the school to find the main office and get directions to the town. Which, apparently, one could only get to by train. Which lead Alfred to wonder just where the hell they were hiding train tracks in the surrounding area. Well, apparently it was in the school itself, because upon entering one of the many lower levels halls, they ran into a large black steam engine, settled at the end of its track in a beautiful, and admittedly strange, room. Every wall of the room was constructed of medium sized mirrors, bouncing the light in the dimly lit room around and making it seem all that much brighter.
"Ve this is so cool!" Feliciano exclaimed, swirling around the room in a circle. "Fratello, did you know a room like this existed?"
"Of course I didn't!" Romano grumbled. "How would I have known?"
"Feliciano be careful," Ludwig warned, placing his hand on the flamboyant boys shoulder. "You might run into the mirrors."
"I'll be OK Ludwig!" He brightened. "Come on! Let's get inside the train!"
"But we don't even know if there's a driver!" Arthur argued. "It's not moving is it?"
"Is there a schedule?" Alfred offered, glancing around. "Maybe the driver's on break?"
"You kids need a lift?" A gruff voice boomed from inside the train. Alfred nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Yes, that would be appreciated thank you," Ludwig called, never losing his composure. "Ah, this train goes to the town, right?"
"That's right boy," the man replied, sticking his face out the front window. He had a thick, shaggy red beard, and bright blue eyes that sat behind a pair of half moon spectacles. On his head sat a small, blue and white striped hat, like engineers always wore in movies. "Hop on board. I'll get to the other end of the train to drive this thing."
"What time do you pick up?" Ludwig inquired, never missing a beat. The engineer scratched his beard and shrugged.
"Usually on an hourly schedule, but you five are the only students who have come by today, so I'll stay around and wait for ya." He smiled. "Now come on, I'm growing old in here."
"I think that's already happened," Romano muttered under his breath. Whether he simply ignored him, or actually hadn't heard the boy, Alfred couldn't tell. Either way, the grinning engineer simply disappeared as he made his way to the other end.
"Let's go." Arthur sighed, hoping into the closest car. "And don't forget to shut the door behind you," he called as he disappeared inside. The gang followed, slipping one by one into the car until they were all in, allowing Alfred close the door tightly and flop onto one of the wooden benches.
The ride to the town was boring and quiet. None of them spoke much, save for Feliciano who would all of a sudden start spouting some nonsense that would go ignored by all except for Ludwig (and even he seemed to be getting annoyed with the Italian's blabbering). Finally, after a twenty-minute ride filled with only idle chatter and the sound of rain, they made it to the town.
To call it a town was being a little kind. For one thing, it was incredibly small, so much so that from the hill where the train's tracks ended, they could see it through from end to end. It was cute, he supposed, a little town made of stone and wood, and not a building that looked as if it had been constructed in the past 20 years.
For such a small town though, the gang found it surprisingly easy to get lost, and worse, separated. With the rain blowing fiercely around them, and the unknown territory ahead, it was only a manner of minutes before five somehow managed to become two and three.
"I can't believe you got us separated!" Arthur hissed, pulling his black jacket tighter around him. "This is all your fault."
"My fault?" Alfred growled indignantly. "You have got to be kidding. It was clearly yours. I was following you!"
"No I was following you!"
"Yea right!"
"Uh, are you guys alright?" A voice called from behind them. Alfred turned to see a short male figure behind them with umbrella in hand. Most importantly, he was wearing the school uniform. "Seriously, you're gonna catch a freaking cold out here." He motioned for them to follow him. "Come on," he insisted. "Let's get inside, I'll show you where you can get something warm to drink."
Alfred didn't need to be told twice. And, apparently, neither did Arthur. Without a word of protest, they followed the boy through the downpour, and into an old, but inviting, wooden building. It looked like a restaurant- booths lining the walls, large round tables filling the room, and against the back wall, a long bar area with a line of black stools. It was empty now, save for a man and women sitting at the bar, but by the size, Alfred guessed that it wasn't unusual for the place to fill up. The warm air of the room hit Alfred like a pillow, engulfing him, but not quite taking his breath away. Inside, it of smelled of rich mahogany wood, and, to Alfred's immediate surprise, of food. Food, and the overpowering scent of chocolate, that forced a small smile onto his face. God, that smelled good.
"Come on, this way," the boy urged, pulling them into a wooden booth in the corner of the room. Heaving a sigh, he fell into the seat and lay back against the wall. Alfred and Arthur stared at him, unsure of what to do. Sitting on the same side of the table felt... weird.
"Well sit down." The boy snickered. "You do know what a booth is, don't you?" Alfred just nodded, unsure of what to say. Ever so slowly, he slipped into the seat. Arthur hesitantly followed suite.
"What are you two so nervous about?" He laughed. "Relax, I don't bite."
"Nothing, its fine," Alfred said. "We're just a little taken back is all." The boy waved him off, flashing them a toothy grin.
"Its cool, I guess I'd be a little weirded out too. I suppose I should introduce myself," he offered. "The name's Fane." Alfred looked him over closely. The boy had ashen blonde hair that hung low against his neck, and bangs that fell just over his eyes in a disheveled manner. His skin was pale; an almost iridescent white that seemed to glow in the faint light of the room. His eyes, which just peaked out from under his hair, were a deep brown that seemed to shine crimson. They reminded him hauntingly of Gilbert's eyes. But perhaps, the most striking thing about the boy, was the left canine that was ever so slightly protruding over his bottom lip, like that of a dog, or a cat.
"That's an interesting name," Arthur commented. "It certainly doesn't sound British." Fane grinned sly and proceeded to shake his head.
"Nah, it's not. But that's a story for another time. How about you two? Do you have names?"
Arthur smiled wryly. "My name is Arthur. This idiot is Alfred."
"Ouch, harsh," Alfred grumbled, not particularly in the mood to fight back. He felt sort of drained for some reason. Must be the weather, he thought inwardly.
"You two sure are pleasant to each other," Fane snorted. "Oh by the way, I like your studs," he said, nodding to Arthur. Arthur gave him a surprised look.
"Oh, thanks."
"The silver suits you pretty well. I went with red, but that's 'cause of my eyes." He chuckled, pulling back a lock of his hair to reveal a small, scarlet dot on his ear lobe.
"I didn't even notice." Arthur admitted. "You're hair covers them. Have you ever thought about getting it cut? Then everyone would be able to see them." Fane shrugged.
"Yea, but I like my hair this length. Besides, it's not long or anything, just...?"
"Shaggy?" Alfred offered. Fane let out a loud laugh, revealing a row of straight, white teeth.
"There's the word. Anyway, what are you two doing out here on a day like this? It's perfectly miserable out," he asked, waving over a waitress who was hanging around the bar.
"We could ask you the same thing," Alfred reminded him. "What are you doing out here all alone? At least we came with a group."
"Oh?" Fane raised his eyebrows in surprise. "There are more of you?" Alfred nodded.
"Yea, three more. We lost them in the rain. The five of us, we're down here to go grocery shopping." He nudged Arthur gently, glancing quickly at Fane who was ordering something from the girl. "Bet Ludwig forgot about us and they're getting food now instead of looking for us."
"It's not like we're looking for them, you git," Arthur sighed. Alfred shrugged.
"True enough."
"So you were down here with some other members of your house then?" Fane inquired after she'd left. They nodded.
"That's right," Arthur replied.
"So what house are you two from?"
"Imperaturi," Alfred responded. "We're new. Weren't you at lunch on Monday?" Fane laughed and shook his head.
"Can't say I was. I was in the library, doing some research."
"Oh?" Arthur perked up. "For what class?" Fane gave them a closed mouth smile, his single snaggle tooth glinting in its solidarity.
"Not for a class. Just, some outside stuff. Something I was curious about I suppose you could say. But never mind that." He sat back as a young woman placed a giant blue mug in front of him, and then proceeded to do the same for Alfred and Arthur.
"What's this?" Arthur asked curiously, sniffing at the steaming beverage. "Hot chocolate?" Alfred grinned. Well that would explain the chocolate smell in the restaurant. Fane licked his lips and brought he cup to his mouth before giving the emerald-eyed blonde a small nod.
"Go on, try it. It's the best ever. Not like that stuff out of a package, this is the real deal."
Alfred tentatively brought the foaming coco to his lips. It had been a long while since he'd had the sweet drink (save for the cup Antonio had made him just a week prior). His mom didn't make it much, and he hated store bought stuff, although he would drink it on occasion. Even so, his mothers homemade cocoa was by far the best he'd ever had. There was no way-
"Oh god," he moaned, letting the warm liquid run down his throat. It was positively amazing, like drinking molten gold. It wasn't overly sweet either- the chocolate had a rich, bitter taste to it that evened the drink out, which Alfred could only guess was from the use of dark chocolate in the mixture. What luck! Dark chocolate just happened to be his favorite.
"This is... great," Arthur breathed, placing his mug gently on the table. Alfred glanced it him and noticed a puff of steam erupting from his mouth as he spoke. He frowned. Odd. Usually when the drink was that hot, he could see his own breath as well. Not that he usually liked it that hot, but either way. He took another sip and breathed hard, crossing his eyes to see if he could catch the steam. Nothing. Was Arthur's hot chocolate at a higher temperature?
"Hey lemme see that." He insisted, reaching over to grab Arthur's drink.
"No way! You have your own, drink that you tosser." Arthur growled, tugging the cup away just out of Alfred's reach.
"Come on, let me see!"
"Fuck off."
"Artie!"
Arthur flinched and Alfred felt a surge of triumph run through his veins. How clever it had been to think of that little nickname, seeing as it seemed to piss the Briton off even more then being addressed by his real name.
"Pwease?" He coaxed, sliding his hand slowly toward the cup. "I just want to test something out."
"Stop acting like a child," Arthur stammered, clearly put off by Alfred's charade.
"I'm not! You're the one who's not sharing," Alfred whined, forcing the disgust of the innocent act down. His fingers inched closer to the handle, so close now that he could feel the heat radiating from the mug.
"But it's mine, and you have your own."
"Mean," Alfred stuck out his tongue. He glanced at Arthur's face, knit in confusion and annoyance, not unlike Francis' that morning. Just one more little push... He slipped his hand against the mug, brushing Arthur's in the process.
"Hey!" Arthur yelped, yanking his hand away and abandoning the hot chocolate.
"Got it!" Alfred cheered, pulling it away from him. Quickly, before the Briton had even a moment to protest, he took a huge gulp.
"Shit!" He swore, slamming it down on the table and forcing the tears from his eyes. It was so hot! How on earth could Arthur drink it at that temperature? Not only that, but it tasted... different then his own. There was no bitter taste to Arthur's drink. It had been sweet, and only sweet. If his tongue wasn't burning so badly, he might have thought to discern the other flavors in the drink, but his mind wasn't really occupied on that at the moment.
"I told you not to take it!" Arthur snorted. "That's karma for you."
"Fuck karma," Alfred swore, panting heavily in a desperate attempt to cool is boiling mouth. "Hey Fane, do you know where I can get something cold to drink?" Fane said nothing. It appeared he couldn't even if he wanted too. The poor boy was doubled over in amusement, head back against the wall and clutching his stomach as he heaved out laugh after laugh.
"You guys are so funny!" he choked out, covering his mouth in a failed attempt to hide his continued snickering. "Seriously, I don't think I've ever met a pair like you two." He shook his head, laying it against the table and letting out a couple last chuckles. "Go up to the bar, they probably have water. Or you could just go outside and catch some rain." He let out another long laugh, amused at his own joke.
"I think he'll be fine," Arthur smirked, grabbing his wrist before he could step out of the stool.
"What the hell, let go!" Alfred muttered, shaking his arm. His mouth ached too much to protest any further.
"Look, there isn't even anyone up there," Arthur grinned innocently. "Just wait it off, it'll feel fine in a couple minutes."
Alfred let his head fall against the cool wooden table. "You're an absolute demon."
"If I'm a demon, then you're the devil's spawn," Arthur snorted, releasing his wrist.
"You guys really are a piece of work." Fane grinned. "Are you always like this?"
"All day every day, to quote a certain team-mate," Alfred grumbled into the table.
"Speaking of our team-mates!" Arthur exclaimed. "We really need to go find them. After all, we're supposed to be helping carry bags..."
"Crap, I sorta forgot," Alfred admitted. "Oh well, we'll see if we can't catch them when we get to the train."
"Always the helpful one," Arthur muttered, scowling at him. He looked at Fane and his look of displeasure molded into a warm smile. "Thanks for bringing us in here. We'd probably still be standing out in the rain arguing if it weren't for you."
"No problem," Fane insisted, waving him off. "It's nice to have new people to talk to once in a while. But hey, maybe I'll see you guys around school."
"Oh that's right!" Alfred remembered. "You go to the academy huh? What house are you in?" Fane shook his head and pressed his finger to his lips.
"That's a secret," He laughed. "But even if you can't find me there, come by here again."
"You're here often?" Arthur guessed. He nodded, taking another sip of his cocoa.
"Yea. During my free time, mostly. But sometimes I come down here to skip class. And especially during holidays, cause that's when they open the bar to students." He grinned wolfishly. "Only the juniors and the seniors are allowed to drink, technically, but they serve pretty much anyone around Christmas time."
"The drinking age in this country makes my head hurt," Alfred groaned. "I still can't figure out how the heck it works."
"Basically it's alright as long as long as someone older says it is," Fane explained comically. "Although I suppose that's not exactly what the law says, but whatever."
"Skipping class, huh?" Arthur inquired, arching his eyebrows. Fane shrugged sheepishly.
"Everyone needs a break one in a while. I'm not the only one who comes down here during the day, trust me. John, he's the engineer, he's not technically supposed to bring kids down here, but he always does. Trust me, one day you two are gonna ditch class somewhere and you'll be happy you did."
"I'll take your word for it," Arthur chuckled. "And now, we really must be going. I don't have money on me right now, but if there's any way..." Fane held up his hands to stop him.
"Please, I'm a regular here. They don't even make me pay anymore. Don't worry about it, they won't charge you guys either, since you're with me."
"That makes me wonder just how MUCH you ditch class," Arthur sighed. "But thank you. Even so, I'd like to pay you back some day." Fane smiled softly and shook his head.
"Maybe someday, you can."
O ~ O ~ O
They did eventually manage to find their lost teammates. Apparently they'd managed to find the grocery store, because when they met them back under a tree near the train, Romano and Feliciano were each carrying four bags apiece. Ludwig held six. Needless to say, the duo lent a hand. The ride back to the school wasn't as quiet as the ride from it. Romano and Feliciano were discussing what was going to be made for dinner (one of them mentioned something about gelato which instantly perked Alfred up), and from time to time, Ludwig would chime in and ask if they were sure they hadn't forgotten anything.
"Ve, but it wasn't that bad once we found the store!" Feliciano chirped. "They had all this great food too! We'll never run out of things to cook! Oh yea, but what did you guys do?" He asked curiously, plopping down on one of the benches as the train began to lurch more. "You didn't just wander around in the rain, did you?"
"No, we found a restaurant to settle down in," Arthur informed him. "A student who was walking around showed us in and we chatted for a while." This earned a puzzled frown from Ludwig, but whatever the German boy was thinking, he kept it to himself.
"You'll have to show us the place when we come back!" Feliciano cried, clapping his hands together. "Oh now I want to go!"
"Next time," Ludwig sighed. "Don't go getting all excited, that won't be for a while yet."
"Awww how come?" Feliciano protested. "Can't we come back again NOT to get food?" Ludwig furrowed his eyebrows.
"But everyone has work to do, and it doesn't make sense to just bring a small group down..."
"Ve~. Oh, that's alright! We'll just go together!" Feliciano smiled, clearly pleased with himself for thinking of the idea. "You're always done with your work suuuuuper early, and if you help me with mine I'm sure we'd have time!"
"Idiot!" Romano snapped, knocking his brother over the head. "You can't go here just the two of you! If that potato bastard goes so do I!" Feliciano cocked his head and gave his brother a curious look.
"But Romano, you always wait too late to get your work done! I don't want you turning stuff in late! It's not good for your grade."
"Screw that. I just told you, you're not coming back here together with him and that's final."
"But Lovino that's not fair!" Feliciano whined, addressing his brother by his proper name. "Why can't I go on a date with Ludwig?"
"Date?" Ludwig cut in, pink tinting his cheeks. "Who said anything about that?"
"No one," Romano growled. "Don't listen to my idiot brother. If he brought a hamster here with him he'd call it a date."
"Ahh..." was all Ludwig could say, turning away to occupy himself with watching the blinking lights in the dark tunnel as they passed through the mountains.
"That's not true, Roma," Feliciano pouted. "Hamsters aren't people! And you can only go on a date with another person."
"But why call it a date?" Romano argued. "A date is something you go on with the person you like. There's a difference between that and hanging out with someone. Don't get them messed up, idiot brother."
"I know that Romano!" Feliciano insisted.
"And yet you're still calling it a date?" Romano shrieked. Feliciano nodded vigorously.
"Of course! Because I like Ludwig," he smiled.
"F-Feliciano, I'm not sure you're quite understanding what your brother is saying," Ludwig broke in. "The way you think, you would go on a date with anyone from our house, right?" Feliciano blinked at him. Ludwig sighed and tried again.
"For example, if you and Antonio came here together, it would be a date, right?" Feliciano nodded.
"Yea, because I like Antonio too!"
"Bastard!" Romano snapped at Ludwig. "Don't go putting weird ideas into his head! There's no WAY he's allowed to date that tomato asshole."
"Date?" Alfred cut in, quirking an eyebrow.
"I'm just being hypothetical!" Romano growled.
"But you see?" Ludwig said to Feliciano. "Your brother is saying that you can't call it a date just because you like them as a friend. You have to... like-like them."
"Like-like?" the Italian pondered. Ludwig nodded.
"Like kissing, and hugging and holding hands stuff."
"But I do that with all the people I like!"
Ludwig blanched. "You know, never mind. How about I ask you this? What do you do with people you like like, if not just kissing and hugging?"
Feliciano crossed his arms and stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Ve... I guess I don't really know what it means to like-like someone!"
"I can imagine why, considering every girl you've ever dated probably thinks you've cheated on her when she's seen you kissing someone else," Arthur muttered.
"Oh, and like you now much more about it," Alfred snorted.
"Actually, I do."
Alfred blinked. "Wait, you've seriously had a girlfriend?" He felt an uncomfortable flip-flopping begin to occur in his stomach. Although he'd always had plenty of offers, he'd never actually taken any of the girls who asked up on them. And here was Arthur telling him that not only had he been asked before, but that he'd said yes? For the first time concerning the Briton, Alfred felt slightly out of his league.
Arthur shrugged. "Not girlfriends per say... although I suppose someone like you wouldn't be familiar with the term one night stand." Alfred's blood ran cold. WHAT?
"Wa-wait you've actually... I mean... you..." Alfred found it increasingly difficult to get words out. How? They were all just barely fourteen! Suddenly, Alfred felt sick. The thought of thirteen-year-old Arthur doing something like that made his insides hurt. Arthur shrugged again.
"Not excessively. Only a couple times."
"That's a couple times to many." Alfred spat. "I can't BELIEVE... just..."
"Ce, well I don't believe it." Romano frowned, turning his nose in the air. "There's no way you managed to get around your parents when we're not even old enough to drive." Arthur tensed beside him. Shit, Alfred swore inwardly. Ever since that night a couple days ago, he'd done everything physically possible to avoid talking about it. Thinking about it even. His mind was basically trying to reject that it even happened in the first place. Bringing up family now of all times was not helpful in the slightest, and he quickly deterred the topic of conversation.
"Anyway, what do you guys think our first challenge will be?" he piped up. Fortunately, that managed to distract the group enough that for the rest of the ride, as well as their walk towards the front of the school after they'd arrived, and they talked of nothing else. It wasn't until they were about halfway through the castle that Arthur stopped suddenly.
"I'm going to split off here," he informed them. "I need to go to the library to get some ideas for the play. I should be back before seven though."
"You think I'm letting you go by yourself so you can screw everything up?" Alfred snorted. "Not a chance, I'm going too." Arthur shrugged nonchalantly and started away.
"Suit yourself."
O ~ O ~ O
To say the castle was eerie when it was empty would have been an understatement. There wasn't a teacher or student in the halls, and their footsteps echoed ominously as they wandered aimlessly in search of the library. When they arrived at last, they realized that even that seemed to have been abandoned.
"Hello?" Arthur called as they stepped inside. No reply. The lights had been flicked off, the front desk computer shut down. The only indication that someone had been there recently was a half drawn curtain over one of the long windows on the far end of the room. Wonderful. He grumbled inwardly. There wasn't even anyone there to help them search through this behemoth of a place. And it didn't help that Alfred was practically shaking out of his pants behind him. Apparently the boy's irrational fear of ghosts was more severe then he had originally believed it to be.
"Stop chattering like that!" he snapped. "There's nothing to be afraid of."
"Says you," Alfred muttered, sneaking in past him and looking around as if something was going to jump out at them. Arthur shook his head. They weren't going to get anywhere at this rate.
"Look, you search in the west end, I'll check the east. We're looking for tragedy and action plays- books too, if you see fit to find some. We'll meet back in twenty minutes. DON'T leave the library," he ordered. Alfred simply nodded weakly. Arthur stifled and amused snicker. He was pretty pathetic in this type of situation. "Good." Arthur turned on his heel through the rows of books, leaving the shivering boy alone.
When he was a good way's back into the maze of a library, Arthur slowed his pace and stopped, slumping against a bookshelf. He really ought to be looking, but... He stared up at the ceiling, mind wandering back to that moment on the train. Why the hell had he said all that? So much for keeping his reputation clean, when they knew all those shameful things about him. Alfred had seemed so shocked and disgusted. He let out a heavy sigh and hugged his knees close to his body. Even so, the American had instantly changed the subject when Romano brought up his family. It was an odd feeling, in all honesty.
Arthur had spent the last years of his life grinning and bearing any talk of that subject. It wasn't until he met Francis that he finally told someone, and the boy had already basically figured it out on his own anyway. And then, as good a friend as Francis was, even when he knew he never intervened. He didn't deter the subject when it came up, never comforted Arthur about it- he always acted as if he didn't even know. Of course, Arthur came to be grateful of that attitude, because in the long run, he had become stronger for it. Still, Alfred was, perhaps, the first person who had ever been so careful about it. Gentle, cautious. As if he was waiting for him to break in two. It was a ridiculous notion of course. But, admittedly his kindness and worry were gestures that warmed Arthur's heart, even if he knew they weren't meant for him personally. It was, again, just how he was. Of course, he still hated the boy. There was no questioning that.
Arthur sighed, slipping his hand into his pocket absentmindedly and rubbing his fingers against a cool, brass object. He had thought it a bit strange when some random teacher came up to him and handed him this thing, insisting that he hold onto it. The man had barely told him anything at all, just that it was important that he always keep it on his person, and that should anyone ever come looking for it, to make sure it was the right person. It was completely strange, and Arthur had considered, for a time, reporting him to administration. But when the school didn't blow up, and more importantly, he didn't get in trouble, Arthur relaxed about the issue. Who cared what it was for? The owner would have to find it eventually and when they did he would be rid of the thing once and for all.
It was an odd little thing though, that key.
His thoughts were broken by a mortified wail that echoed through the library. Oh great, now what's he gotten himself into? Arthur groaned inwardly. Pushing himself to his feet, he dashed through the books, searching for his terrified teammate.
"Alfred!" he yelled in spite of himself. He knew that the other boy was still uncomfortable about letting Arthur use his name, and in all honesty, he wasn't fond of it either. But he supposed they would have to get used to it eventually. He skidded to a halt at the front of the room. There was Alfred, standing in front of the doors with a panicked expression adorning his features.
"What's the problem?" Arthur snapped. "Why did you scream like that? Honestly, I thought you were dying or something."
"The door's locked," he hissed, yanking on the handles. "There WAS someone else in here. Or at least, there was someone walking around the school, and they locked the library doors! We're stuck."
"That's not possible!" Arthur snapped, glancing at his watch. It wasn't even seven yet! Did the teachers really leave that early? "Well when do you think they'll open again?"
"How should I know?" Alfred growled, giving the doors another firm tug, as if it was going to help any. "Well be LUCKY if they open up tomorrow. It's Sunday after all. I doubt even the teachers show up then."
"Damn it!" Arthur swore, pounding his fist against the oak. "Do you think there's any way out?" Alfred shook his head.
"That's definitely the only door into the library, and we're five stories up, so there's no way we can jump down from a window. Besides, I highly doubt they open anyway."
"Great," Arthur muttered. "Just great. What about our team? They might start worrying about us."
"What about us?" Alfred shouted. "On the off-chance that they actually come looking for us, and then the smaller chance that the school is even open, and the even more minute chance that they check the library, we're still going to be here for hours!"
Arthur fell against the door and stared up at the ceiling in dismay. "Well then I guess we better get comfortable, because it's going to be a long night."
O ~ O ~ O
A/N: I knoooow I'm so cliche XD Oh well, I'm ok with that...
Yay! mini time skip! :D :D I feel like I jumped around a lot more then usual this chapter, which is most likely a good thing because it means I can start picing up the pace more...
Little franada moment, gerita hints, and romano getting angry at antonio again. What else is new?
Haha oh! And regaurding that new character. Guess what? HE'S NOT AN OC! :D :D He's a real deal character, I promise lol. Kudos to anyone who can figure out who he is. Since he's relatively new and doesn't have a name yet, I picked one for him that i liked, and I gotta say, it's grown on me. I wonder if fans can request human names for characters... oh well Xd I'll tell you who he is next week. Good luck!
I wanted to add a little bit from Arthur at the end because I'm starting to enjoy writing from his POV more and more, and I wanted the library scene to be through his eyes. Seems like he's been doing quite a bit of reflecting lately... I can only hope our dear Alfred starts doing the same lol.
See you soon! :D