I'm sorry that the last chapter was kind of boring; this one I promise will have more drama. I know how I'm going to end the story but it might take some time for me to write it out. My upcoming schedule is going to be very busy if I want to be able to continue writing. But besides that was anyone else pissed off due to 2-10-10 updates of One Piece? I can't believe they killed Ace!!! But any ways, wish me luck and enjoy this chapter.


The grandfather clock rang signifying that it was now one in the afternoon. Arthur growled and dug his face further into his pillow thinking of all the ways he could destroy that clock. He didn't want to face the day and the idea of acting like the cowered he thought himself to be and staying in bed all day was looking very appealing. He had wondered what today would feel like now that Alfred had left him twice now. Now he knew. The 4th of July just sucked. He had spent the morning happily dozing and strangely not feeling the urge to get up and do something productive.

He scowled into his pillow; no longer was he peaceful, just unbearably uncomfortable. His muscles ached from their lack of use and he felt all the more exhausted. Yet an agitated feeling was coursing through his body. Finally, Arthur sighed in defeat and threw the covers off and hung his legs off the side of the bed. He had given up.

Well… almost. Arthur sat there on the edge with his toes just brushing up against the cool hardwood floor. And he sat there; starring at the light blue wall of the bed room. After a while he glanced to the clock on the night stand, its bright green digital numbers read back to him 1:28. He gave another sigh and stood to get dressed.

After dressing in a white cotton shirt (which might've not been his), worn loosely with the sleeves rolled just past his elbows, a pair of light blue jeans (which looked all too big for him), and deciding to go bare foot he looked toward their bed. The white sheets were in slight disarray from the previous nights sleep. He left the room and the bed that way and didn't feel the normal compulsion to fix messy things. Actually the lack of his normally overwhelming habits would cause more concern if he gave a damn that day.

Wandering down the stairs Arthur found himself in the living room. He paused and looked in the room. It looked the same as any old day. It bugged him. The throw blanket draped carelessly on the ottoman, the pillows placed in their exact spots, the remotes in order of use on the side table. There were no dirty dishes left about from late night T.V. snacks, there wasn't a sports magazine left out, there weren't any pairs of misplaced shoes left for him to trip over.

Arthur plopped himself down on the couched and turned on the T.V. It went straight to the news station it had been at for a week and not to the sports channel or a reality T.V. show or some dumb station that had played an all-night-long horror movie marathon. Nope, just straight to the news. And somehow this agitated Arthur.

Normally it'd be the opposite. He should have been annoyed for having to change the channel form those insufferable programs. Normally he'd have cursed and grumbled at being bombarded with the over dramatized, over manufactured, and the over produced antics of these idiotic stations that Alfred 'just had to watch'.

But on July 4th Arthur was more annoyed with the monotone voice of the anchorman. He found that there feigned interest in the 'local stores' annoying. Their fake smiles seemed to be mocking the common people of the smaller news.

Soon it was too much to deal with and he turned off the T.V. before he put a hole through its glass screen. There he slouched and rested his head against the back of the couch, scowling at the ceiling. After his annoyance was somewhat pacified he got up and wandered down the hall.

He arrived at the kitchen and paused, staring out the window. He glanced at the table and his anger rose. God fucking damnit! How the hell can I still live here? With that thought Arthur stomped down the hallway, grabbed a random pair of shoes and shoved them on his feet. After that he stood and roughly grabbed the keys that were continently by the door (which had not been there on several occasions in the past), he yanked the door open and slammed it after him; locking the door and very shortly later driving off ( going a little bit too fast if asking a pedestrian in the vicinity).

And with that Arthur effectively left the seemingly static and lifeless house.

Arthur drove long and hard. He left the radio off and drove at least 10 mph faster than the speed limit allowed. He'd speed past those who were driving too slowly for his taste, dancing about the other cars if one was to put it in poetic terms. However, poetic or not he was driving rather recklessly on a popular interstate. Soon Arthur's sense told him that despite the fact that he could not die in a car crash being a personification of England and all, albeit he would be seriously injured and if push comes to shove in a coma for a few days, but the American mortals around him could die. Alfred probably wouldn't appreciate his people dying due to his reckless driving when he came back.

As if the bloody fucker is coming back, Arthur thought bitterly.

So he departed the highway and opted for a very curvy and seldom used country road. He didn't decrease his speed and instead pushed down harder on the gas pedal.

After several hours of driving Arthur found himself approaching New York City and after another few hours of traffic he entered the city.

He left his car in a parking garage and started walking aimlessly about the city. He watched the people walking about him while carefully avoiding eye contact, marveling at the vast diversity between each face. Arthur thought that each person bared some slight resemblance to Alfred. Sure, there was no extreme resemblance between the people and the country but they were slight, insignificant similarities that Arthur saw. The way that man spoke in a tone that was mostly humorous but was serious at the same time and the way that woman looked hopefully into the shop window. It was the way that teenager laughed unadulterated, the way that the small child smiled innocently. It was even the way the old man on the benched and watched him with what seemed all the wisdom in the world. He felt a dismal smile form on his lips, Of course they would remind me of him. For what is a country but all the people who live in it?

But it wasn't just the people he looked at; Arthur looked into the stores as well. He would pause in front of certain stores and try to picture the clothes on Alfred. One store in particular named 'Yellow Rat Bastard' caught his attention. It was a store appealing to teens and young adults and truth be told he was more interested in the name than anything else. Go figure you'd find a store like that in this city.

Eventually Arthur found himself at central park. His feet were slightly aching from his long trek across the city so he sat down on a bench spreading his arms along the back and crossing his legs so that his ankle was resting on his knee. He looked up to the blue sky through the thick foliage of the trees and closed his eyes, thankful for the warmth the sun was spreading down.

He opened his eyes slowly leaving them slightly hooded and sighed. It seemed that everyone was in good cheer today, 'cept him of coarse. As he sat there and listened to the shouts of the families and children running about he closed his eyes and basked in the dappled shade the trees provided.

"Hey, how's it going?"

Suddenly Arthur snapped his eyes open and sat up, his back ramrod straight; there he froze ears listening attentively to hear that voice again.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a bit. I'm at the park right now."

He scanned the crowed looking for the source of the voice. Then he spotted him. He was right there, blonde hair glowing in the sun, cell phone against his ear, sitting in a bench on the next lane to him.

Arthur shot up out of his seat and started walking fast and shouted "ALFRED!"

"Would you like me to bring anything?" Damn the man! Didn't he hear me? He was closer now a scant 5 feet away.

"ALFRED!" Arthur shouted again clasping his hand on the mans shoulder. He turned around and stared up at Arthur with a slightly startled expression on his face.

"Who the hell are you?" The man asked. It was not Alfred.

Arthur froze staring in shock at the man who's shoulder his had was grasping. All too suddenly reality caught up with him. It wasn't Alfred. He let go of the foreign mans shoulder and his hand slightly trembled.

"I'm s-sorry. I … I mistook you for someone … else." And with that Arthur turned and walked slowly away.

Arthur wandered listlessly through the city, bumping a few disgruntled city dwellers and not hearing there insults or threats. His mind felt like it was wiped clean. It wasn't him Was the only thought that had resounded in his head. Soon he felt an all too familiar stinging in his eyes.

He stopped his walking and looked up at the neon light glowing in the shop window next to him indicating that yes, they were open. The sun had long since set and Arthur walked into the bar he had stopped in front of. He felt the strong urge to have a very heavy drink.

It was a dank little place with what seemed to have mostly people who looked like regulars. He found himself a seat at the bar stool and starred at the polished wood of the bar.

"What'll you have?" asks the bartender.

Arthur looks up at the man with hollow eyes; "Whatever's the strongest" he states in a dead tone. The bartender gives him a slightly a troubled glance but soon leaves to fulfill the order. A minute later a shot glass is placed in front of him and the bartender pours in the shot.

"Leave the bottle please."

Again the bartender looks at him, as if debating whether or not to do as asked, but shortly leaves.

Arthur picked up the small glass and looked into the golden brown liquid. Then, with a quick movement he downs the bourbon.

After 5 more shots Arthur starts to feel the effects taking place and notices that its mostly men in this bar but there are a few women around.

3 more shots Arthur begins to feel like he's being stared at. He downs another shot. A man comes up next to him.

"Hi" he says. 'e looks like a bloody Spaniard. That or somein' o' the likings.

"Wot 'he bloody 'ell do –hic- you want?" Arthur says slightly annoyed of the others presence.

"Oh nothing, I just thought you could use a little company" Says the man.

"Don need company."

"Ohh I think you do. Tell me, what's bothering a man like you?" The Spaniard purrs.

Arthur looks at him. Look's like a dec'nt 'nough cove. "Why'd you care." Arthur replies with a sniff.

"We all care" he sounds offended, "don't we boys?" he calls out to the rest of the patrons. There's much agreement and 'here, here' replies around.

Arthur picks up his bottle and finds it to be empty.

"Bartender, another two bottles if you please!" calls the man. He turns back to Arthur "my name is Carlos."

" 'he names Arthur,"

"Well Arthur, it's a pleasure to meet such a fine man here." Carlos says with a grin.

The pair starts chatting; well Carlos chats while Arthurs loudly slurs his responses. Time passes and so do the shots.

Soon Arthur can't remember how much alcohol he's consumed. But he thinks its number 25 he's on.

Few more shots latter and Arthur can't remember anything,

Arthur woke the next morning to a pounding head ache. He lifted his hands and covered his face to rub away the sleep. He sat there in his bed while trying not to move or think, least he aggravate his head ache. Eventually a peculiar smell registered in his brain, the smell of an omelet and what also smelled like coffee.

He stopped breathing. No way.

His eyes popped open and his brain no longer had the hazy feel of sleep. He sat up straight in his bed. No, he thought. It wasn't his bed, it wasn't even his room. He took in the unfamiliar surroundings, and then noticed himself to be in a severe state of undress. He ripped off the covers and jumped from the bed as if there was a poisonous snake next to him. He quickly found his cloths that were strewn across the floor and dressed.

He left the strange room and found himself in a short hall way. He proceeded until a doorway into a kitchen came across his path. There he found a strange man who appeared to be cooking eggs.

The man turned around and spotted Arthur standing there in the door way.

"Ah good, your awake." He said in a dull tone.

Arthur said nothing at first then asked "who are you?"

"You don't remember me?" He said in a sardonic voice, "It's Carlos, the man you slept with last night."

Arthur froze again and felt a stabbing pain in his heart. "I… slept… with?"

"Yes that's right, finally catching on hmm?" he mocked.

Arthur stared blankly at the man.

"Look, I made you breakfast if you want it, but I want you out of my apartment as soon as your done." He said bluntly.

"Wha… how did this happen?" Arthur asked slightly stupefied.

"I got you drunk, ok? To the point that you couldn't say no, are you understanding me? So now get out of my apartment. I've no further use for you."

Arthur snaps out of his stupor. He turns quickly and storms down the hall to a door that looks like the exit. He yanks open said door and finds the outside to be like a hotel hallway. As he exits the apartment he hears Carlos sneer at him "Send my regards to Alfred."

Arthur doesn't bother with the elevators and runs down the stairs and out the apartment building.

He eventually finds his car and gets in. Arthur had run about 15 blocks before he started to figure out where he last left it. Resting his forehead against the steering wheel he tries to calm his breathing down. But to no avail. Tears start to fall as reality sinks into his mind. His heart felt like it had been ripped out of his chest. He soon fell into giant sobs that caused his entire being to shake.

After about an hour or so his sobbing subsided to quite sniffles. He turned the engine and slowly pulled out of the parking space.

Arthur then began the long drive home.

Ok! Sorry if that sucked. I had to write it. But no worries! It will have a happy ending. I can't stand otherwise. And sorry for not releasing sooner, my school work is taking up most of my time. Well as always please review, anything is greatly appreciated. Ohh and the next chapter might be the last!