Everything was seemingly great. Gilbert was being an awesome boyfriend, slowly pulling Matthew out of his protective shell, and he even stuttered less. He was getting pushed around less since Gilbert was around, and he even started to hang out with some of the "cool kids". Apparently "cool" meant a bunch of dorks who were always laughing or arguing. He still wasn't completely noticed, but as long as Gilbert did, he didn't mind so much.
It was just over a week later and he still hadn't told anybody about them. Not even Alfred, knowing he'd probably freak out. So he shrugged off Gilbert's attempts of holding his hand and kissing him during school, just in case someone saw and gossiped about it.
Right now it was the end his fourth hour and he eagerly awaited lunch. Gilbert had finally convinced him to sit inside with him and his friends (the "cool kids") since the weather was taking a turn for the worse. The bell rang and he packed up his stuff quickly. He walked into the hall, where a whole other world of hurt awaited.
"Hey, Jones, we need to talk," a guy said as he walked out and was pulled roughly aside. He looked at them with a poker face, staying silent. Surely they wouldn't beat him up right outside a classroom in the middle of a school day... Right? "See the thing is, we need you to break a couple people up." Well, this was an interesting turn of events. They wanted Alfred's help? The other guy with spiky hair spoke up.
"We got a friend. Doesn't matter who, but she is crazy for Gilbert. And that kid he's dating right now is in the way," Spiky Hair said.
"We need you to get rid of him," the first guy nodded, getting straight to the point and looking completely serious.
"W-What?" he whispered in shock. Get rid of him!? What exactly did that mean?
"You heard Lukas," Spiky Hair sighed, looking a little unfocused, "And I heard he's your brother, but he's not right for Gilbert."
"Yeah, I don't think I've ever even seen him," the first guy, Lukas, said, "So you better do it since you owe us. Or else." Matthew nodded slightly and the guys backed off, letting him slip away.
What the hell kind of deal had Alfred made? Should Matthew confront him about it? But then again, if he told him, then Alfred would break them up. And Matthew didn't even know how those guys knew about it in the first place. It had barely been two whole weeks since they agreed to date. Maybe someone found out and gossiped about it.
During lunch he wondered what to do. Tell Alfred or don't tell Alfred. And then, tell Gilbert, or don't tell Gilbert, since he was a part of this too. And who the hell was this girl they were talking about? He wasn't about to let some girl take Gilbert away from him. He wanted to have just one good thing in life all to himself. He knew that sounded selfish, but that wasn't just because he wanted to be with Gilbert, he needed to be with Gilbert. For reasons only his journal and himself could know. But if he lost Gilbert... it might just be the final straw.
He thought about it at lunch while poking at his food mindlessly, Gilbert pestering him to talk the whole time. He stayed silent but almost blurted out his thoughts a few times. It took him another two classes to figure out what to do. The decision made him nervous so he barely ate anything during dinner, but no one cared enough to notice.
Sometime after dinner, he quietly knocked on Alfred's door. It took his brother a few times to hear but when he did, he opened the door with a smile. "What can I do ya for, bro?"
"I just wanted to talk," Matthew said and Alfred let him into his hazard zone of a room. He stood nervously while Alfred sat down.
"Okay, shoot," he smiled, not sensing how nervous Matthew was.
"Oh, okay, um... today at school a couple guys came up t-to me and... they thought I-I was you so they said that you owed them s-something... some kind of deal..." he said and Alfred's eyes widened but he looked at his bed to hide it.
"Oh... Did they mention what it was?" he asked.
"No...I was hoping you could tell me," Matthew said. He didn't want to tell Alfred about Gilbert unless it was absolutely serious.
He shrugged. "It doesn't matter, it doesn't involve you, so you're safe. I swear."
"Al, tell me. What if you get hurt?"
He actually laughed at this. "Hurt? I won't be getting hurt. Like I said, you'll be fine. Don't worry."
He sighed, "Please?"
"No, I don't need to tell you."
"What if I said they asked you to do something, 'or else'? Mind telling me what that means?" he burst out impatiently.
Alfred shook his head. "They're just messing around. Calm down," he said, but never looked him in the eye.
"Then I guess I won't tell you what they wanted you to do," he said and crossed his arms.
Alfred looked up at him now. "What did they say?"
"Tell me about the deal."
"No, tell me what they wanted."
"Tell me the deal first."
"I can't tell you the deal!"
"Why do you have to be so secretive?"
"Because I want to keep you safe, Goddammit!"
Matthew quieted and turned to leave, "Fine, then I won't tell you."
"Mattie, listen, you gotta tell me and I gotta do this," Alfred said, quieter as well.
"You have to break a couple up," Matthew said, not looking at him.
"That should be easy enough. Who?"
Matthew gulped and glanced back at him. "Me and G-Gil," he said, his voice wavering. He didn't wait for Alfred's response and hurried out. He shut the door to his own room and curled up on his bed. He didn't hear any yelling from Alfred, and he couldn't tell if that was good or bad. He laid in silence for a few minutes, wondering just what deal Alfred had made.
When he thought about it, it sounded like he made a deal at the cross roads and now his life was shortened to 10 more years. Of course this wasn't Supernatural, but that was the only explanation he could find at the moment. He sighed and hugged Kuma-What's-His-Face for comfort.
Moments later, his door burst open like a bomb went off. "You're gay!?" Alfred yelled. Matthew stared at him and tried to recover from the door being practically knocked off its hinges.
"Y-Yes..." he said.
"Since when?" Alfred asked, calming down slightly.
He shrugged and looked down at Kuma. "I guess for awhile but I didn't know until Gilbert made me admit it to him..." he paused then glared at his brother, "And I didn't just decide to be gay one day to spite you."
Alfred rolled his eyes. "That's not what I was thinking. I meant I just thought you were straight."
"Well we were both wrong," he said, "So you're okay with it?"
"I guess. But just... Gilbert, really?"
"What? He's your friend."
"Yea and that's what's weird."
"You're supposed to break us up anyways so it doesn't matter what you think," he said quickly, trying not to cry again.
"Uh yeah, about that..." Alfred bit his lip and rubbed the back of his head, "Could you maybe-"
"No!" Matthew yelled and abruptly stood up, "I'm not going to break up with Gilbert just because you made some stupid deal."
"Mattie, I don't want to force you to do anything but-"
"But nothing!" he cut Alfred off again and walked cowards him, making him take a step back in shock. "Gilbert makes me happy and pays attention to me! Something no one's ever done! And I'm not about to let you or anyone get in the way of that!" he exploded and Alfred stepped out into the hall like he thought Matthew was going to hit him. Matthew stopped in the doorway and looked at the ground. "Sorry for yelling," he whispered.
Alfred sighed. "Okay Mattie, I understand. Don't take my head off," he paused and shoved his hands in his pockets, "I guess I should tell you about the deal since you told me..."
"I'm listening," Matthew said.
"Okay um, I'm not doing so well in school cause of sports and stuff and... well a couple of guys said they could change my grades..."
"God Al, seriously?" Matthew sighed.
"I'm getting D's and E's, Mattie, and if I didn't get my grades up I'd fail most of my classes."
"Then get a tutor, stay after school, or ask me for help," he suggested.
"I just can't pay attention. The only class I'm slightly good at is history but everything else I suck at. It was just easier this way."
"They're gonna find out and you'll get suspended or-"
"Nothing's gonna happen to me. I'm gonna pass my classes with A's and B's and get to college easily."
"You can't do that in college either, Al! You're just screwing yourself over!"
"No I'm not. I've got it all under control."
"No you don't. You think you do, but you don't!"
"Whatever. I don't need to hear this from you," Alfred said, "If you leave me alone about it, I'll leave you alone with Gilbert." He walked away as if it was final.
He slowly walked back into his room. He wondered what Al was going to do about the deal he had. Would he find the guys and ask them to do something else? Or would he try to break them up anyways? He couldn't seem to stop worrying about it for the rest of the day.
In the morning he kept going over what to tell Gilbert. He didn't want Gilbert to confront Alfred about it since that would most likely end in a fight. Instead, he decided to take a side approach. Mention the girl and the two guys, but nothing about Alfred.
So he waited outside his first hour in front of the lockers for Gilbert, hoping he would pass by before class to talk. He kept constantly checking the time, fidgeting nervously. Four minutes before the bell would ring, he saw Gilbert making his way down the hall and moved to talk to him. Before he even stepped a foot, a girl shoved past him and make him fall back into the lockers. He groaned in pain at hitting the metal.
When he straightened up, he saw the girl launching herself at Gilbert. He couldn't really describe it any other way than she hopped off the ground and wrapped her arms around his neck like an excited little kid. Gilbert was almost pulled off balance, certainly not expecting that. Matthew quickly realized that this was the girl. And not just any girl. This was the girl that Gilbert had been making out with in front of the school building! He marched over, imagining if he was a little bigger and a little stronger, he'd punch the daylights out of her. It didn't matter that she was a girl, all he could see was competition. She had to be eliminated.
"You know you want to be with me. I can show you a good time," she said, holding his hands so he couldn't escape.
"Uh, look you're a nice girl and all, but I'm already taken," Gilbert was saying.
"That doesn't matter. I want you and I'll have you," she smiled determinedly and Matthew hesitantly tapped her shoulder. Her head snapped around and she glared death at him. "Who are you?"
Her glare chilled him to the bone, but he forced himself to speak. "M-Matthew Williams. His boyfriend," he said as confident and loud as he could, hoping she'd finally back off.
She looked at him in disgust. "Get lost. He's mine now," she said and turned back to Gilbert, smiling sweetly but possessive.
He pulled back but she only tightened her grip. "Natalie-"
"Natalia," she corrected sharply.
"Right, um, how about we talk later? I have to get to class," he tried and thankfully the warning bell rang.
She nodded. "I will see you after," she said, placed a kiss on his cheek, and walked away.
Gilbert wiped his cheek off and looked at him. "I swear I've only talked to her a few times."
"I-I believe you," Matthew said honestly and sighed, "Now we should really get to class."
"Ja," he agreed and they walked into class together. They sat down in the back and Gilbert leaned close to him so he could talk without anyone eavesdropping. "Birdie, I'm not leaving you, no matter what. Even if a crazy girl gets in our way."
He looked into his red eyes and if his voice wasn't dripping with promise and honesty, he eyes were.
"Okay," he smiled slightly but it quickly fell. "I-I have to tell you something... a-after class."
"Why not now?"
He shook his head. "I-I was going to tell you before class, b-but then that happened."
"Okay, Birdie," Gilbert said without further interrogation and sat forward in his seat.
Matthew mentally went through his speech all through class, and thankfully, Gilbert barely tried to talk to him.
Right after class, he stepped into the hall with Gilbert. He was about to start his speech when Gilbert made them walk into the bathrooms. He was beginning to think Gilbert spent too much time in here.
"I don't want Nala or whatever finding us," Gilbert explained. Matthew nodded and forced himself to keep eye contact with Gilbert as he began speaking.
"S-So I overheard these guys t-talking about us. And they s-said that we were going to be forced to b-break up because a girl wants to be with you a-and I think that g-girl is Natalia," he told Gilbert, his practiced speech just falling apart as he couldn't stop speaking. "A-And I don't want to break up. We c-can't. I don't want to s-sound possessive or anything b-but I don't want you t-to leave me!" His voice rose toward the end as he held back tears.
Gilbert listened to him the whole time without interrupting. He still didn't speak as he wrapped his arms around Matthew protectively and rubbed his back to calm him down. "Birdie, I don't know what those guys are thinking or what that girl wants but I do know that you're mine and I'm not going to leave you. I'll deal with this girl and make her back off. The only person I want to be with is you."
Matthew held onto him and sniffled, managing to keep his tears in. "O-Okay."
"Do you want to skip class or go home?" he asked.
"N-No, I can go to class," he said and Gilbert let him go.
"Well then maybe I'll just skip class," Gilbert grinned.
"Don't you dare," Matthew said and smiled slightly, Gilbert's sudden good mood infectious.
"Damn, okay," Gilbert said and walked him to his next class, "Guess that means I'll see you at lunch."
Matthew nodded. "Yeah. Bye," he said and walked into class.
Hey everyone! So I know what you're thinking: Gilbert and Natalia?! What kind of crack ship is that? (At least that's how my friend reacted) Well, let me just say, it is a real ship, and more importantly, she serves a purpose in the story. She causes issues and I can't let them be happy all the time! So how do you think this will be solved? Will she, or Alfred, break them apart? Or will true love prevail (Wait, who said anything about love?) Until next time my lovelies!