Back with another! :)
0- Jougen-Knight -0: Well, Quan's softer side definitely shows in this chapter, too! ;D yeah, I agree - I don't like Vietnam or Nyo!Vietnam being tsundere, either. Stay tuned to find out if Miss Sakura appears. ;3 yeah, I chose Yong Soo to be like that! XD yes, there is a reason why Kasem/Thailand is the way he is. Sadly, it hasn't reached the classes yet - that's the next chapter; I hope you don't mind. Thank you so much for your reviews and continuing support, though. ;w;
Happy reading~!
[Music Recommendation:
- Continue Life by Kevin MacLeod
- Winter Chimes by Kevin MacLeod
- Two Together by Kevin MacLeod]
The night had passed on quickly, and Quan found himself going through the gates of Shining World Academy. He had taken a deep breath as he tried to cease the knots in his stomach that only seemed to increase as soon as he cracked an eye open in bed, and he was brought out of his slumber.
That morning he took a quick shower and wearing simple, comfortable clothes that consisted of a cotton shirt, old trousers, and worn out sneakers, he placed his shoulder bag on one of the six chairs placed at the dining table before quickly making breakfast before his younger siblings woke up.
Classes were to commence at nine sharp for all of them.
Yong Soo had heaved a yawn as he mumbled, "Hyeong…it's six-thirty; should you really be waking up this early?"
Quan simply responded by telling him to go wash and prepare himself for school as he carefully flipped a pancake in the sizzling pan.
Mei didn't complain when she was prompted to wake up – she even ate her pancakes in delight, though Quan had to stop her from pouring almost all the chocolate sauce down on her share. She loved putting bananas and strawberries on them, at least.
Before going to his own school, Quan walked with his siblings to see them off to their own respective schools after he locked the door to their home behind them. Mei was first, and the eldest sibling could see a bunch of children run around in the playground happily as they chattered in delight. There were a few teachers outside already, simply observing them play and frolic about.
However, it was at that moment, that Quan realized that Mei was looking at some of the kids who were getting hugged and kissed by their parents. There was a woman who was crouching down on her haunches and fixed at her little boy's hair and clothes while the child himself fidgeted uncomfortably, "Mama…" he mumbled embarrassedly.
"Now, you can go, sweetie," the woman smiled widely before planting a kiss on his temple. "Love you, baby."
"Mama!"
Mei simply shifted one of her feet on the ground. Seeing this, a light scowl crossed on Quan's face, however it also prompted him to take action upon seeing more kids getting warm temporary goodbyes. "Mei," he said gently.
The little girl tilted her head, "Yeah, dàgē?"
The golden-eyed male then went to his haunches just like the mother, and first fixed some of the bangs that were slightly covering one of her big, brown eyes with a tender sweep from his spindly fingers. He adjusted one of the pink flowers in her hair, and smoothed her plaited dress softly. Seeing that one of her shoes had a bit of dirt on the surface, he lightly swept his fingertips over it, to easily brush the grime away.
"There," he said in slight relief like the woman did to her son. He then flashed a soft smile at his little sister, "You can go now. Wǒ ài nǐ."
Hearing those three last syllables made the little girl seem to brighten – knowing why her usually quiet older brother was saying more words in his affectionate gestures. She beamed widely as she giggled, "Wǒ ài nǐ, dàgē!" and with that, she wrapped her arms around him to give him a tight hug before running into the school to catch up with some of her little friends. She made sure to wave at them.
It always made a smile want to crease on Quan's cold face whenever his younger sister would always shower him with affection.
"Do I get a hug, too, hyeong?" questioned Yong Soo as he spread his arms out, grinning.
Quan rolled his eyes, which caused the younger male to pout. "Go to school, and please don't cause any trouble," the Vietnamese boy remarked. "I don't want to hear a teacher complain that you sleep during classes."
"If you had her, you'd sleep, too, da ze!" Yong Soo protested.
"Well, if you wouldn't play your video games all night, then maybe you wouldn't sleep as much," responded Quan in a colder tone.
"Come on, hyeong! Gimme a break! I'm gonna go job hunting to pay for my entrance exam fees to Shining World Academy, and when I get that job, I won't be able to play as much as I want to!"
Here, Quan chose to soften a fraction – only a fraction. He shrugged a shoulder before nodding, "Fine, but seriously: no sleeping during class."
Yong Soo rolled his own eyes, but nodded, "Yes, mom." However, he patted his older brother's shoulder before saying, "See ya later, hyeong!" and ran into school to talk to some of his friends. Quan noticed that for some reason, they were all girls, and they were wearing clothes that made his cheeks heat up a bit. Thus, prompting him to turn tail and leave quickly to his own school.
"Who was that, Yong?" one of them questioned.
"That? That was my brother," responded Yong Soo upon gazing on the older boy's back. "My older brother." Seeing them giggle amongst themselves, he arched an eyebrow, "What? What is it?"
"Oh, nothing~"
Yong Soo simply stared at them in confusion.
'I've only come here for the second time, but now today makes me feel worse,' Quan mused s his eyes gazed upon the fountain. 'Class is about to start, but hopefully nothing horrible happens so early…after all, what are the chances-'
No sooner had he thought that, when all of a sudden there was a loud yell of, "Look out!"
Before he knew it, Quan found himself almost falling head first into the fountain. Luckily, he was able to regain his footing before his head was tapped from the water's sprays. Glaring up, he snarled when he saw what appeared to be an albino cackling as he was chased by a blonde who was yelling in his direction in frustration. Scowling, he realized why they looked so familiar, however Quan honestly couldn't care less when it came to remembering their names.
"Quan, are you okay, mi amigo?"
'So much for nothing horrible happening so early…' the Vietnamese boy thought to himself irritated. He whipped his head around and saw a panting Antonio who was slightly bent over and clutching at his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "No need to worry," he responded calmly. "I'm fine."
"You almost fell in the fountain – I'm sorry for Gilbert and Francis bumping into you like that!" Antonio rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he gave a little grin.
Sadly, that grin didn't really settle Quan's irritation, in fact, it made him bristle slightly – he wasn't in the mood in seeing his idol so quickly and with that perpetual smile of his, either. He then inquired, "Your friends?"
"Sí," beamed Antonio as he nodded. "They're really nice, you know!"
"They could watch where they're going."
Hearing the cold tone, Antonio's smile faltered a little, however he spread it out as quickly as he could so as not to show how put off he was becoming by the other male's coldness. It was a new day – maybe the stylist fell out of the wrong side of his bed? Antonio thought so, anyway. "Hey, let's get into homeroom together!" suggested the Spaniard.
Quan arched an eyebrow, "Together?"
"Yeah!"
"I think not."
"Huh?" Antonio blinked in shock at him. "Why not?"
Quan tilted his neck, causing it to make a cracking noise from a possible bone – the noise made Antonio visibly flinch. Seeing him recoil without a smile on his face, the stylist was almost tempted to smile in amusement, however he kept it in and answered back, "I told you to stop pretending that you like or even show the least amount of interest in me." With that, he continued his way into the school building.
"This again?" groaned Antonio. "Wait up!" he ran after Quan who began to speed up his pace. "Hey, where are we going?" the Vietnamese stylist was actually faster than he looked – he was power-walking, and he was already covering a large amount of ground. "Are we in the same homeroom together?" he was able to jog up to his side. "Do you know where Magdalena is?" he smiled again as per usual as Quan took his timetable from Ms Katyusha; Antonio following suit.
Meanwhile, Quan felt his patience starting to run thin. He didn't want to spend time with this aspiring idol other than assignments or projects that conspired with the composer and idol students, however it seemed that the Spaniard had other plans. The golden-eyed Asian didn't like this charade continuing on, and so he changed his course; he hurried his pace, and hastened his step.
Eventually, he rounded a number of corners, went through a couple of corridors, and finally, after fleetly skimming past a couple of wandering students, Quan finally came down a staircase and reached Ms Katyusha at the front desk.
She looked really confused by his panting being, "Oh, there you are again! I was wondering what was happening between you and Antonio!"
"I was trying to lose him, that's all," responded Quan curtly.
"Lose him?" the secretary seemed even more highly perplexed. "Why?"
Quan spoke nonchalantly, "I just wanted to be alone for a moment; he wouldn't leave me alone."
"Is everything alright, dear?" she questioned worriedly, her baby blues genuinely concerned. "Everything alright at home?"
Quan nodded, "Yes, of course. Everything's fine. I just want to be alone for a little moment, that's all."
"Oh…"
Either way, he bid the secretary adieu as he made his way to the stairs again, when he heard a voice call triumphantly, "Aha! There you are!"
Quan almost jumped out of his skin, however he smacked a hand on his forehead as he gave a little, annoyed groan. However, he suddenly came upon a shocking sight of Antonio waving at him while seated on the stair's banister, "Now I've found you! Just stay put, I'm coming!"
"As if," the golden-eyed Asian grumbled. "He should get down before he hurts himself, that fool…" However before he could leave, there was a strange, cackle and odd laugh that settled in his ears.
"Kesesesese!"
"Ohonhonhon~!"
All of a sudden, the albino and the blonde from earlier that almost knocked Quan into the fountain at the front of the school, bumped into Antonio from behind, causing the Spaniard to give a yelp before all three of the boys slid down the banister.
Needless to say, Quan felt his heart freeze in horror when he saw Antonio fly off the banister's end and land right on his front on the carpeted floor. He instantly ran over and exclaimed, "Antonio! Are you alright?"
The Spaniard certainly looked dizzy, however he shook his head upon coming face-to-face with a pair of suddenly worried honey gold eyes. His grass green orbs glowed upon seeing that concern spark right into the cold Asian's hues. He grinned as he nodded, "Fine, I'm fine! But, you do worry!"
"Anyone would worry when someone flies off a stair's banister," pointed out Quan, now looking irate. "What was that?! Did you have a death wish or something?!"
"No," Antonio said innocently, causing the dark-haired stylist to visibly snarl, which made Antonio flinch a bit. "But it's faster than taking the stairs! You'd run away by then!"
"Why are you so determined on spending time with me?" demanded Quan sharply, starting to lose his patience. "Can't you take a hint that I want to be alone at the moment?! I don't want you around me!"
Hearing that last bit, Antonio didn't know what it was, but he felt something inside him jolt unpleasantly, and the smile that he tried to form on his face disappeared. "O-oh…" he said quietly. "I see…" however when the Asian's stern words replayed in his mind, he then realized the last part, "At the moment? So does that mean I can be around you at another moment?"
Quan cursed to himself.
"Kesesese! That was awesome!" the Vietnamese boy felt like slapping his forehead as he looked up to see that the albino and the blonde were still planted on the banister, looking quite happy and satisfied with themselves. "Pure awesome! Let's go and do that again! Toni, c'mon!"
"I-I think not!" the Vietnamese boy didn't have to turn around to know who owned that soft voice that was barely above a whisper. Still, with a slight twitch on the corner of his lips, he turned around to look down at the bespectacled blonde. "Hello, Quan," Madeleine smiled weakly upon seeing him. "How are you?"
"Good morning, Miss Madeleine," he greeted. "Doing fine."
"Antonio, what happened?" the blonde composer questioned, worried. "I saw you fly!"
"Don't worry, mi amiga!" Antonio reassured as he began getting up. "I'm fine! It'll take more than that to bring me down!" he brushed at his arm.
Quan rolled his eyes while Madeleine sighed in relief, "That's good…I was very worried…" peering at the clock she then exclaimed, "Maple! It's almost time for homeroom to start! We better go!"
"2-A," said Quan calmly. "How about you?"
"I'm in 2-A!" exclaimed Antonio as he grinned. "We're in the same homeroom!"
Madeleine sighed sadly, "I'm in 4-C…"
Antonio frowned a little, "Oh…well, don't worry! I'm sure we'll see each other soon! Otherwise, let's all have lunch together!"
Her violet-blue eyes widened a little bit. She fidgeted a bit before asking quietly, "Are…do you mean that?"
The Spaniard arched his eyebrows in surprise, "Of course! Why? Do you think I'm joking?" he then looked pointedly at Quan who simply glowered icily at him. "Well, I don't know about señor del hielo here, but I do mean what I say! I want to spend time with my composer and stylist!"
Madeleine seemed reassured upon seeing how sincerely Antonio's emerald eyes were shimmering, as well as the warmth that his smile radiated.
Quan himself was beginning to become highly confused; by now, he thought that his attitude would put off the Spaniard, and make him show his true colours, but…here he was; actually putting up with him, and still smiling happily. The Vietnamese boy didn't want the upset feeling that was nudging in his stomach, so he tried to throw it down to prevent it from overtaking his being. 'He can't…he can't possibly be serious in wanting to know about me…can he?' he wondered as he saw Antonio suddenly spoke good-naturedly to Madeleine a bit more. 'Hmm…'
"Oi, Toni!" the albino drawled. "Not cool that you just ignored us like that!"
"Oui," agreed the blonde with him; Quan noticed that he had stubble on his chin. "Especially with such a cute little lady and a rather dashing man in your company."
Quan's mind fell on a bit of a blank when he heard the last part of the blonde male's statement, while Madeleine's face exploded to a cherry red. Antonio simply laughed good-naturedly, "Oh, Francis, Gilbert…come over, mis amigos! Meet my new friends!"
'Friends?' Quan's golden eyes widened in shock. 'He still thinks I'm his friend despite my hostile treatment of him?' he glanced at the Spaniard. 'Either he's very forgiving, he's very stupid, or he's a schemer…'
"The name's Gilbert! Gilbert Beilschmidt," the albino smirked as he jerked a thumb at himself. "The epitome of awesomeness itself at your service!"
"Madeleine," the bespectacled blonde said with a light scowl crossing her features upon the arrogant air surrounding the albino.
"Nice to meet you, Birdie!" Gilbert smiled.
Madeleine arched an eyebrow, "Birdie?"
"Ja! Birdie!" Gilbert then turned to Quan. "How about you? What's your name, hard ass?"
Quan looked absolutely affronted, "I beg your pardon?"
"Gil, don't talk to him like that!" Antonio spoke up now sounding a little stern, much to Quan's shock. "That's my stylist you're talking to!"
"Can't help it, Toni!" Gilbert said now lifting his head up as he glowered down at the Vietnamese male. Though Quan felt a little threatened, he stood his ground, and simply glared back up at him; determined to not show any hint of weakness. "After all, he just reeks of hard ass…"
"Now, now, Gilbert," Francis shook his head. "That is not how you treat such a handsome man." He smiled in a charming way in Quan's direction as he came forward and held his hand out, "Bonjour, mon cher. Je m'appelle Francis."
"English, Francis," Antonio spoke up as he scratched his head with a sheepish chuckle. "I don't think he-"
"Bonjour, monsieur Francis. Je m'appelle Quan. Je suis très heureux de faire votre connaissance."
Antonio could only blink as he stared at the Vietnamese boy. His jaw slowly dropped to the floor while Madeleine quirked an eyebrow in slight surprise, while Gilbert arched both of his eyebrows; clearly just as shocked as the Spaniard.
Despite Quan's accent somewhat sounding a little strange in some of the parts of his French, Francis was still delighted at hearing the country of his beloved home country tumble out from the Asian's mouth. He smiled widely; showing pearly whites, "Tu parle francais?"
Here, the golden-eyed stylist shook his head, "No; that's as much as I know…as well as asking for directions…"
"Still, you have certainly captured my attention, mon ami," Francis chuckled and gave a bit of a coy smile as Quan took his hand and shook it. "Ohonhon~" he gave that laugh that was traced with his French accent. "You have a very strong grip there, monsieur Quan!"
Quan arched an eyebrow, but shrugged one shoulder.
Still, the bell rang uproariously, which caused Madeleine to give a bit of a squeak, and for Katyusha to actually yell in alarm. The poor secretary apologized over and over again tearfully for scaring the students. The students however, quickly reassured her that she didn't scare them at all, and made their way towards their homeroom classrooms.
"So, Birdie what room you in?" grinned Gilbert as he wrapped an arm around the Canadian girl's shoulder.
Madeleine scowled a little as she ducked under his large arm and stood closer to Quan, "4-C."
"4-C, huh?" Gilbert arched an eyebrow at her action, but nonetheless kept his cocky grin going. "Next door to the awesome me! I'm in 4-B!"
Francis heaved a sigh as he rolled his baby blues, "You do not have to shout it out, Gilbert…" still, when he turned to look at Quan, he smiled, "How about you, Quan?"
"2-A," replied Quan simply.
Francis heaved a dramatic sigh, "Ahh, such a shame! I am in 2-B!"
"He's in the same homeroom as me," smiled Antonio as he playfully nudged the dark-haired stylist. Quan gave him an unamused look.
However, what the Spaniard didn't know was that the Vietnamese boy had a storm of uncertainty flying around inside his being.
"2-A already here," Gilbert announced, causing Quan to blink and peer up at the door, which had a golden two and a placed on the front. The room was across from a terrace that overlooked a lovely garden with another fountain. "Later, Toni!" he then stared down at Quan. "Later, hard ass."
"Gil-" began Antonio, only to be cut off by the Vietnamese boy himself.
"See you later, Gilbert," he then slightly bowed his head. "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Again, Antonio's jaw dropped at how the Asian was acting, but what he didn't expect all the more was when the dark-haired stylist began walking into the noisy classroom, stopped and craned his head around to face him, "Well? Aren't we coming inside?"
The Spaniard blinked in confusion, "We…?"
"Who else am I referring to?"
However, Antonio could've sworn that he saw something spark in Quan's eyes. In those honey-gold orbs, there seemed to be some sort of little twinkle that shimmered from within their glassy surface.
Quan was finally warming up to him!
"Okay~!" Antonio grinned widely. He bounded into the room and took a seat, patting the desk next to him, that was closer to the window. Quan simply obliged with a nod, and seated himself, as another person entered the room, who the Vietnamese stylist and Spanish idol only assume was their homeroom teacher.
It was a woman who was in her mid to high thirties at the very least. She had a flowing sheet of ginger hair with a messy fringe, and noticeably bushy eyebrows over a pair of blazing viridian eyes that glowered sharply at all the students in the room. She was wearing a cravat, some tights, and what appeared to be a dress shirt, as well as a pair of boots. She then whacked a ruler on the blackboard, while she boomed, "To your seats now! Cease your appalling behaviour!"
The students immediately complied while Antonio looked frightened. Quan himself looked noticeably surprised.
"Good morning," she said promptly. "I am your homeroom teacher, Mrs Kirkland."
"Kirkland?" wondered Antonio as he tilted his head. "I wonder if she was an idol, stylist or composer before…"
Quan shrugged, "Most likely; all the teachers here are from one of those categories."
"Really?" the Spaniard looked awed. "I didn't know that!"
"Is there something you boys want to share?" snapped Mrs Kirkland from the front.
"N-no, ma'am!" squeaked Antonio as he shook his head wildly.
Quan cleared his throat, "We apologize, miss – we're just excited and nervous for our first day, that's all."
Here Mrs Kirkland softened slightly as she nodded, "You are right to feel both – it must be a dream come true for some of you to come to this school. However, in order to be ultimately successful, one must work hard: and for that, work with their sweat, blood and tears!"
Antonio didn't seem to be happy to hear that; seeing his expression caused Quan to give a small chuckle in amusement – just by how funny the Spaniard's usually happy face became upon feeling fear.
Still, he tried to stifle it.
The green-eyed idol however noticed that Quan was trying to hold his laugh in, but seeing him with a more relaxed expression made Antonio's face immediately break out into a smile. When Quan noticed that Antonio had caught him, the golden-eyed Asian couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed, and so, his cheeks tinged with a slight red as he crossed his arms over his chest and gave a little shrug.
'Maybe…' he thought to himself however as he glanced sideways at Antonio who simply laughed merrily just before Mrs Kirkland called their names off the role. He certainly didn't look like he was mocking him, or meant him any harm – he seemed to just be a genuinely good-natured guy.
Much like a Thai friend of his that worked in a bakery.
'Well…it seems I was wrong about him. Hopefully he doesn't change my judgement, though.'
While Mrs Kirkland continued calling out their names, Quan noticed that Antonio was poking at his rib with a folded piece of paper. Arching an eyebrow, the Vietnamese boy quickly took and unfolded it as he read its contents.
'Let's have lunch with Madeleine in the cafeteria! :D'
Quan stared down at the little smiley face that was drawn at the end of the sentence – there was a little tomato was doodled there, too. The Vietnamese male arched his other eyebrow before glancing sideways at Antonio, to see that the Spaniard was actually clapping his hands together in a sort of pleading gesture.
He was even giving him a pair of puppy dog eyes, and jutted his lip out in a slight pout.
This prompted the dark-haired stylist to roll his eyes, however he was amused at such an expression.
'Things don't seem to be that bad.'
He was able to sweep into his shoulder bag and take out a pen, to which he wrote swiftly, and threw it back at Antonio after Mrs Kirkland had glanced up momentarily and dropped her head down again to call for another name.
Antonio gazed at his note, and couldn't help the huge grin on his face.
'Let's have lunch with Madeleine in the cafeteria! :D'
Underneath in a much neater form of handwriting:
'I'm in.'
Yup, Quan starts softening towards Antonio! 8D
Characters:
- Gilbert = Prussia
- Francis = France
- Mrs Kirkland = Britannia
Translation/s [in order of appearance in story]:
- Wǒ ài nǐ [Chinese] = I love you.
- Mi amigo/amiga [Spanish] = My friend.
- señor del hielo [Spanish] = Lord of Ice.
- Oui [French] = Yes
- Ja [German] = Yes
- Bonjour, mon cher. Je m'appelle Francis. [French] = Hello, sir. I am Francis.
- Bonjour, monsieur Francis. Je m'appelle Quan. Je suis très heureux de faire votre connaissance. [French] = Hello, Mr Francis. I am Quan. I am very pleased to meet you.
- Tu parle francais? [French] = You speak French?
- Mon ami~ [French] = My friend.
The next chapter will be their classes, I promise! XD
Peace out!
- Hebi-Kazechi-10
