"What are you doing here? Were you following me?!" Alfred jumped back in surprise, pressing his back against the wall.

"What do you think people usually do in a restroom?" Ivan stood over Alfred, raising an eyebrow. His expression was difficult to read.

Alfred stood a little taller, trying to regain his confidence. He was a little taken back by the other's response. "I uh you-"he sputtered.

"You believe that I have followed you?" Ivan scoffed. "It may come as a surprise, but you are not as interesting as you think you are, Jones. Also, nothing you do will assist in raising my opinion of you." With that, Ivan turned around and disappeared into a stall.

Alfred simply stood there, shocked by Ivan's blunt reply. "Oh yeah?! Then prepare to be proved wrong!" Alfred shouted. His words echoed throughout the bathroom. He was answered with silence. "And-and you're messing with the hero!"

Alfred fled the bathroom, pride slightly hurt.

Truthfully, Ivan didn't need to go to the bathroom. His back rested against the door of the stall and he let out a deep sigh. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Why had he followed Alfred? There was no doubt that Ivan thought that Alfred was stupid, and he had no tolerance for stupid people. Why was he here?

Ivan unlocked the stall and walked over to the sinks. He turned a faucet and let the water filter through his fingers. He studied his own reflection in the grimy mirror. Dark circles hung heavily beneath his eyes. For a moment, he imagined bright blue reflecting off the whites of his eyes.

He splashed cold water against his pale face and turned off the faucet. He let drops of water slide down his face.

He convinced himself that he came here to wash his hands.

Alfred jerked awake at the sound of the bell ringing. He hurriedly grabbed his backpack and exited his math class. He made his way across the school to the gymnasium. No one liked P.E., but for Alfred, it was much better than sitting in a class bored out of his mind.

All the seventh period sophomores in gym were chattering away as the teacher entered the door.

"QUIET!" the teacher shouted. His voice echoed as the students turned to him. "Alright! I'm Mr. Miller. It's the first day, so we're not gonna do anything, but you need your gym clothes by tomorrow! I need to cover some units we'll go over throughout the year so keep your mouths shut!"

Even Alfred, who shouted a lot, thought Mr. Miller yelled way too much.

"We'll be starting this year off with a waltz unit-"Everyone groaned and some giggled. "I said shut up! Then we'll be going into cross country, a little ultimate Frisbee, soccer, basketball, and hockey. There will be some health units in between the year. Any questions?" Mr. Miller scanned the crowd of students for any raised hands. "Good! You now have free time before school ends." Mr. Miller waved his hand and retired to the bleachers.

Alfred looked for people he knew as the students dispersed. He spotted Arthur scowling at everyone.

"Arthur!" Alfred ran up to Arthur. "Is there anyone else we know?"

"Hello Alfred." Arthur said, squirming a bit at Alfred's close proximity. "Not that I know of. And can you back up?"

"Yeah whatever dude." Alfred took a few steps back, looking around the gym. He recognized a few people, like Elizabeta and Feliciano, but he didn't really talk to them. Just then, he recognized a certain giant Russian.

"UGHHHHHHH!" Alfred let out a large, exasperated groan, leaning on Arthur. "That jerk dude is here!" As if one class was not enough with that guy!

"What did I say about personal space?" Arthur complained in an irritated voice, trying to push Alfred off, but he was weaker than him. "And who?"

Alfred narrowed his eyes at Ivan, who didn't seem to know of the other's presence. "That-that Ivan dude. Big and Russian." Alfred mentally stuck a tongue out in Ivan's direction.

"Ivan?" Arthur questioned, and then shuddered. "Oh him. I've heard some distasteful rumors about him. I doubt most of them are true, but he is quite… scary-looking." The two blonds looked at Ivan leaned against a wall, alone. Their gazes broke when the last bell of the day rang.

"Off to practice, Artie!" Alfred chirped and sprinted to the lockers. Unknowing to him, violet eyes followed the back of his head.

Two hours later, Alfred was grinning as he finished a cool down jog with his teammates. Sweat dribbled down his face and his glasses were halfway down the bridge of his nose.

"Good practice, boys! See you all tomorrow!" Coach Jack waved to all the players and walked off to the teacher parking lot.

Alfred grabbed his water bottle and downed whatever was left in it. He walked off with Gilbert and Ludwig to the locker rooms to shower and change.

After doing so, Alfred gave his goodbyes to the German brothers and walked home. The sun was hallway down the horizon, giving everything a slight orange glow. He walked a few blocks, feet thumping on the concrete sidewalk. He turned a corner and noticed the pale girl who was sitting next to Ivan during lunch on the porch of a very large, fancy house. What was disturbing was the fact that she was nonchalantly throwing small knives at a target set up on the opposite side of the porch.

Alfred gawked, nearly stopping in his steps. The girl swiftly turned her head at the passerby, another knife in her hand. Was this even legal?! Alfred quickened his pace that escalated into a terrified sprint. The girl resumed her target practice without a change in expression.

The blond American made it home, banging on the door for his brother to let him in. When Matthew opened the door, Alfred jumped in and sprawled on the floor. His chest heaved up and down as he tried to explain in choppy words. "Girl, scary- knives! Kill me—"

Matthew rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. "Alfred, I can't understand a word you're saying. Dad is going to late today. There's some leftovers in the fridge." Matthew explained what he needed to and went upstairs to his room.

Alfred rolled his eyes and stood up. He kicked off his red converse and slid into the kitchen, making a grab at the handle of the refrigerator. He stuck his nose inside, looking for the macaroni and cheese from dinner last night.

After heating it up, Alfred took his tub of food up the stairs and into his room. He decided to be responsible for once and took homework out of his backpack. With the scare of the knife-throwing girl over, he reminded himself of what Ivan said to him. Alfred plopped into his desk chair and stuck a spoon full of macaroni into his mouth.

Matthew always told him that he could do well in school if he actually tried. Alfred didn't care, much to his family's chagrin, so he didn't try. But now, Alfred wanted to try. He needed to.

He flipped to page 6 in the physics textbook and began to read.