ayyyyyy. it's been like four years~ due to the request of noritamazaki, i've decided to pick up a couple of my engnam stories from my old accounts. this is one of them~ if you're still here from so long ago? don't worry, the content will still be the same. i've just rewritten it so that it matches more of my current writing style, and adding a little extra flair so that it's hopefully more engaging~
if you're new? then welcome! i'm absolute engnam trash and that isn't going to change. of course, i have no idea what's been going on in the hetalia fandom... i have read the webcomics and i still remember some of them, but i reread some of my old one-shots to get a feel for the characters again ahah. all i know is that vietnam still hasn't appeared in the anime? so... even if i'm not too into hetalia, i will still wait for that day to come...
reminder that this fic idea is based off of cellphones by fliers. they have given me permission all those years ago~ i still have the PMs from them, weirdly enough. anyway!
disclaimer; i'll never own hetalia!
Chapter One
Lien gets a phone number, but not in the way one might expect for her to get one.
There's an explicit feeling of awe that pierces her perpetual visage of apathy, with golden hues widening to the size of round dinner plates as she registers the peculiarity of this occurrence. Even after minutes had passed, she still rubs her eyes and blinks rapidly, as if the numbers before her were an illusion and they would disappear at any given moment.
"... Impossible..." Her voice escapes in a mutter, as her gaze scans over the eleven digits, taking them in and memorizing them in case they vanished from the screen. "This is... his number? This is... reality?"
Lien Nguyen, a third year at Gakuen High, has just obtained a school idol's number.
Ah, but before anyone assumes anything, don't jump to conclusions just yet: she did not actually 'obtain' it, rather, she has... discovered it, so to speak. Obtaining would mean that she had somehow mustered the courage to ask Arthur Kirkland, whose British accent made many more girls than Lien swoon, for his cell phone number.
And anyone who knew Lien? Well, they would know that despite her courageous outlook on life, she is actually... quite the shy person. Of course, this doesn't necessarily dominate the greater parts of her personality. But when it comes to her appearance and the person she admires, losing a bit of courage can only be a natural reaction.
"Gross, Lien, you're telling these compliments to the wrong person."
Just a day prior to this grand discovery, Elizaveta had pinched her friend's cheek, ultimately snapping the Vietnamese girl from her daydream.
"... Was I talking to myself again?" Lien asked, rubbing her cheek absentmindedly.
"Well, not necessarily." Natalia cut in with an unamused stare, prodding the other's shoulder. "Technically, we're still here. You know, your two best friends that you just totally ignored in order to daydream about Arth-"
"Ssh!" Lien reached out and pressed a hand against the other's mouth, much to the Belorussian's displeasure. Golden hues looked around in case there was someone in earshot of their conversation. "You're... too loud!"
"She wasn't wrong though," Elizaveta pointed out, grinning as Natalian pried Lien's hand off of her mouth. "If all you're gonna do is compliment him, you might as well confess."
Immediately, Lien choked on her own intake of breath. "W-who said anything about liking-"
"You just did." Both European girls said synchronously, matching smirks tilted upon their lips.
The Vietnamese girl blushed at the pit she had dug for herself, a hand covering her mouth in frustration. They either knew her too well or she was practically an open book. She desperately hoped it was the former, because she couldn't handle the thought of anyone else besides her two closest friends knowing about her... infatuation.
Infatuation? Love? She didn't exactly know what it was, but the way her heart fluttered whenever she caught sight of the other was most certainly not normal.
"I can't just go and confess like that," she muttered. "He's busy and he has a lot of fans already. I'm just a fan."
That's right. She couldn't cross that border. Lien was content with admiring him from afar. She didn't even have a good reason for liking him, right? So how dare she have the audacity to even think about confessing to him?
"For someone that's in advanced classes, you can be pretty dumb." Natalia's statement was blunt and curt, causing Lien to slightly wince at the other's brute honesty. Her intentions were good, Lien knew that, but sometimes she couldn't help but wonder how exactly she had become friends with the other in the first place.
"Well, I wouldn't put it that way..." Elizaveta trailed off, contradicting her pacifying words. "But yeah. She's right. For someone who can be so headstrong, you can also be pretty dense, Lien."
She frowned at that. "... Dense? I am not dense."
"Then empty-minded."
"Do you want me to pull out my grades? I can be cruel when I want to be."
"... Got it."
There was a short pause, before the three girls released a series of short laughter. It was only because of their close friendship that they could tease each other freely like this, after all. Lien didn't think she could find another friend with whom she could converse with so lightheartedly.
Of course, these kinds of friendships also didn't spare feelings when it came to love... which was exactly why the devious glint returned to the Hungarian's eyes.
"You should get his number."
"Let me just stop you right there. No." Lien's response was prompt and she shook her head, frowning lightly.
"Don't be so stubborn. We want to help you get the man of your dreams," Natalia retorted.
"... He doesn't appear in my dreams that much."
Natalia flicked the other's forehead. "Not my point."
Lien merely huffed stubbornly, rubbing her forehead but deciding to not counter the small attack. Natalia could be quite brutal when she wanted to be, after all, and Lien didn't feel like a play-fight would benefit her situation right now.
"How am I supposed to get his number anyway?" Lien decided to bring the topic back to light, although failed to realize that this was exactly what her friends wanted her to do. It meant she was expressing interest, after all, no matter how impossible it appeared to be.
"Ask his friends." Elizaveta had stated that so simply it was like they were trying to decide what to eat for lunch.
"... You're joking," Lien replied after another pause, giving the Hungarian a skeptical look. The hard stare she received told the Vietnamese that the other was entirely serious in her declaration. "With what reason would I have to even talk to his friend? I hardly know them. I don't think they know me."
"True. She's like that lowkey genius that everyone knows is a genius but chooses not to bother because they think they're inferior."
"That's not very lowkey, in that case."
"I'm not a genius."
"Modest too~ what did we ever do to deserve you? Arthur is really missing out-"
"Ssh! You're always too loud!"
After a few minutes of trying to cover each other's mouths, perhaps a few disgusting tongue licks to remove said hands here and there, the three girls were finally back to what they were discussing in the first place (much to Lien's chagrin). The dark-haired girl sighed and rubbed her forehead, realizing that the conversation wouldn't end unless she relented.
It was the last thing she wanted to do, of course, but they were all equally stubborn. That was quite possibly the only disadvantage to the trio they had.
"Fine. I'll try, but don't expect results." It wasn't that she wasn't confident, of course; having a strong personality meant that she wasn't one who would back down easily, especially from a challenge. But going about it in a mature logic was definitely the true Vietnamese way! Logically speaking, the chances of her getting a phone number were zero to none.
But if she didn't try, then they would most certainly hold this over her head. For the sake of pride... and perhaps the slim chance of forming a new bond, she'd just have to approach someone who was practically a stranger.
Unfortunately, that meant she had to plan out the conversation she was going to have with one of Arthur's friends. As a result, she had spent the night mulling over the right words to say. It was the first time she had overslept ever since she started school, and while she still had a good half hour until the gates were closed, she had thrown her uniform on in a hurry and sprinted until she was stopped at a light.
"Are you late?"
A voice, tinged with the flow of time, sounded out next to her. Lien spared a glance at the elder and decided to give her a respectful bow of the head.
"No, I'm just in a hurry." Then she tilted her head. "Well, maybe it's both. I might be late, so that's why I'm hurrying."
The elderly woman laughed, shaking her head. "You youngsters are always in a hurry, aren't you? You should learn to take your time with life."
Lien blinked, certainly not expecting to receive a small lecture about the way she should be living life. "Ah? What do you mean by that?" Indulging the elder's words was the only thing she could have done, especially since the light was taking too long to turn red.
"You young teenagers only care about what's on social media. Cell phones, popularity, money, fame..." She continued to prattle, although she didn't seem to be doing so with ill intentions. "What a strange generation."
Lien stayed silent, her gaze focused on the light that seemed to refuse to change. "I think... that you shouldn't judge everyone based on what you see on television, ma'am." The Vietnamese glanced at the other. "Media always exaggerates things, right? I assure you, there are plenty of good people in the world. Not all teenagers are as horrible as you seem to think they are."
The elder woman chuckled at that. "Oh? Your view of the world isn't very broad, huh?" Lien frowned lightly, but refrained from protesting. "Tell me, what do you want right now?"
Would it be money? Clothes? Good grades?
"A phone number."
"... A phone number?"
That certainly was not the answer the elder expected. Proof of that was the surprise that crinkled upon her weathered face, although her echo was more so out of curiosity, instead of disapproval.
"Is it weird?" Lien responded, lightly scratching her cheek. Her cheeks were flushed with the faintest of red as she continued speaking. "But if I could have his phone number... the person I've come to admire, perhaps I may be able to converse more easily with him." Why was she telling all of this to a stranger? Lien figured she must have lost any semblance of self-consciousness when Elizaveta put the idea of talking to Arthur's friends in her mind.
"So... you want to form a connection with him?" The elder mused, smiling fondly at the youth. The area was eerily quiet, Lien noticed, as she shuffled on her feet.
"Yes, I'd love to be with him." Her response was prompt and Lien embarrassed herself with how direct she was being.
"Then, just keep on believing. Don't waver. Who knows when that desire of yours will come true one day." Finally, the light changed to the standard human walking symbol, and Lien blinked as if she had just come out of a trance. The blares of car horns and traffic rang in her ears; it was too loud now.
Hadn't it been so quiet that one could hear a pin drop earlier?
Lien looked around for the elderly woman, not catching her in her sights. Maybe she had already blended in with the crowd.
XxxxXxxxXxx
"I still find it horribly amusing that you confessed your love about Arthur to a stranger, and yet you still can't muster the guts to ask his friends for his phone number."
"Ahem. I did not confess my love. I merely told her I had a desire to form a connection with him."
"Same difference." Elizaveta waved it off, while Lien merely sighed and rubbed her head.
"Why do I even bother? So stubborn."
"The same could be said for you," Natalia pointed out. She leaned against the lockers, inclining her head towards the end of the hallway. "In any case, Elizaveta, if you're going to force her to ask, now would be the optimal time. Lukas and Alfred are leaving class now."
A glint appeared in the Hungarian's eyes. One that Lien was far too acquainted with to dismiss so easily.
"Wait... don't you-"
"Sorry Lien~ all you need is a little push!"
She did not think she meant that literally. And yet, the shorter woman was immediately shoved once the two aforementioned friends were a few feet away. Fortunately, because the Norwegian teenager was taller and built more sturdier than the Vietnamese woman, neither of them fell to the ground. Lien stumbled and a hand was placed on her shoulder to steady herself.
"Th-thank you. And I'm sorry about that, my friend tends to get violent unnecessarily-" Lien fumbled her words, wondering if this was a bad first impression she was given to Arthur's friend. She looked behind her, but Elizaveta and Natalia were nowhere in sight. Wonderful. Now she just seemed desperate.
"No problem," was Lukas' short reply. Lien flinched at that; despite his reassurance, his words felt cold. Maybe he was actually mad, and he would rant about it to Arthur later-?
"Lucky~ I want a cute girl running into me~" Alfred's whine was heard off to the side and Lien blushed at the unexpected compliment. When it came to her appearance, Lien didn't fare too well with compliments.
"Shut up," Lukas droned out. "You're too loud."
"And you're mean!"
Lien restrained a laugh and cleared her throat, gathering the attention of the two men. "I, uh, wanted to ask you two something actually. Not that I ran into you on purpose! I would've approached you normally." If she had the guts, she would've managed a sheepish laugh, but Lien was not the best in expressing a smile of any kind.
"What do you need?" Lukas asked, his emotionless amethyst hues focused on the other.
"Arthur's phone number." Her reply was blunt and straightforward. In the aftermath, she felt quite embarrassed, feeling the back of her neck sweating already. But, well, she was brave when she wanted to be.
"Wow~ so honest!" Alfred laughed. He nudged Lukas' side, who frowned and elbowed the American in his side.
"I'm sorry, but we can't do that." Ignoring the pained wheeze that escaped the blond teenager next to him, Lukas decided to elaborate so that he could move onto the next class. "That is not my call nor is it Alfred's. If you want his number, asking him yourself would be the best choice."
Alfred whistled. "Every girl's stopping us just to ask for his number, huh? Even if I love annoying him, I can't give you his number either. Then we'd have to give it to the fifty other girls who's asked, and god knows he'd be getting phone calls every hour. I want girls asking for my number too~"
"He's not hard to talk to." Lukas ignored the laments of the other. "You should talk to him. This is my advice. Good luck." He gave Lien a short nod and walked past her.
"Hey! You didn't even bother to wait for me!" Alfred complained, giving the Vietnamese girl a wink and a thumbs up before running after the Norwegian.
Lien sighed. Well, she understood where they were coming from, so she wasn't frustrated at them. Logically, talking to Arthur himself was the only thing that made sense, but it was easier said than done. They were his friends, and she was not.
She decided to go through the rest of the day silently, mulling over the decision of whether or not to push away her nervousness of talking to him firsthand. This internal dilemma continued until she got home, laying on her bed and letting her thoughts swirl with the pattern of her ceiling.
... Well, what better way to lament than to shove it in her face that she didn't have his number?
A strange move on her part, but she got her cell phone and began to scroll through the contacts begrudgingly. Alfred F. Jones- wait, wasn't this Arthur's friend? Why did she have his number?
Well, a question she would solve later. Then there was Antonio Carriedo. A friendly classmate whom she had exchanged numbers with on the first day of school.
Next, Arthur Kirkland. Ah, the school idol. The crush she lamented over.
Elizaveta Her-
"Wait."
Lien scrolled back up immediately in disbelief, sitting up and squinting at the screen.
Arthur Kirkland.
The name was displayed quite clearly, so there was no mistake about it. And now, it's back to the beginning where Lien starts to mutter "impossible" for the next five minutes.
His phone number's area code is different, but it's not really an abnormal factor. What is abnormal is the fact that somehow, his name and phone number was in her phone, when Lien had made absolutely zero contact in the days preceding this moment that would even open the door of opportunity to obtain this phone number.
It was... just there.
This is just a dream. Yes, it had to be. Taking a leap of determination in order to confirm that, she decides to call the Arthur Kirkland in her phone. If it's a dream, it would be a stranger, or it wouldn't even be a legit number.
One ring... two rings... and on the third ring, someone picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
Lien pinches herself immediately, heart jumping at the familiar, accented voice. Nope, definitely not a dream.
"Is... this Arthur Kirkland?" Her voice is cautious, and rightfully so- if it is a stranger, it would be horrible if she made a fool of herself.
"... Yes, it is." His response is just as cautious, but she can sense the confusion that's starting to surround him, just as it is her. "Who's asking?"
Lien's breath catches in her throat. "M-my name is Lien Nguyen, and I just wanted to-"
She can hear him spluttering on the other side. "L-Lien?! You're Lien Nguyen?!"
The Vietnamese girl tilts her head to the side. "Y... yes, I am."
"Y-You have my number? How did you get my number?"
She isn't sure if his surprise is from disgust or... happiness? Should she get her hopes up? But that isn't the problem currently; it's true that his question is a valid one. Even she doesn't really know the answer.
"It was... just in my phone, for some reason." Lien pinched herself for the stupid answer. Of course it was in her phone! How else would she have called him?!
"Oh."
Then a pregnant pause forms between the two. Lien bites her lip, knowing that her bundle of nerves seem to become even more tangled with each passing second. If she doesn't say something now, then she's sure to explode from the anxiousness.
Luckily, Arthur seems to beat her to the punch. "I know this may seem strange and out of the blue, but do you want to meet after school and go somewhere?"
Her eyes widen and Lien holds her breath in surprise. "Y-Yes!"
Well, she certainly didn't take long in deciding her answer.
There's a chuckle across the line and Lien's heart seems to beat faster. He's finding amusement in her reactions and Lien is torn between being embarrassed at herself or being happy that she's able to make him laugh in that manner.
"Where would you like to go?" Lien asks, scrambling around to find a pen. She needed to mark this date- it was something she could never hope to forget. It would forever be imprinted in her memory, but having the visual confirmation is just as satisfying.
"Anywhere you want to," he replies, and she fails to catch the amusement in his tone.
"I-I don't mind where." She found a pen and stumbled over to the calendar she usually hangs over her desk. Circling the next date, the twenty-first of September, seems too surreal to her. The fact that she had just been lamenting a few minutes prior would be unbelievable, even if she is the one experiencing these emotions. Ah, the effect he has on her is quite dangerous...
"Alright, then how about this?" He laughs and her heart soars again. "We can meet together at school and decide where to go after we've had a night of thinking."
She nods eagerly, before becoming aware of the fact that she isn't visible. "Of course. That sounds good to me."
"Then, good night. See you tomorrow," he says.
"Y-yes. Good night, Arthur," she whispers, ending the phone call with hesitation. She stares at the screen, where his name is still displayed in plain sight. "It... wasn't a dream."
The next morning, she's sprinting from her room just like the previous day, throwing her shoes on and rushing out the door in record time. The day matches her mood, bright and sunny and not a cloud in sight. This is the first time she's going to school an hour early, but because Arthur is in student council, he usually goes to school this early.
This is common knowledge, so it shouldn't be weird if she meets him this early, right?
Lien stops at the school entrance, aura positively shining as she scans the streets for his presence. Finally, the British man comes into her view, checking both parts of the street before crossing and returning to his book.
It's dangerous to do that, she mentally notes, and decides to call out to him so that she can get his attention.
"Arthur!" She waves to the other, barely containing her excitements. When he lifts his head, she's expecting a reciprocate sentiment, but instead confusion flashes across his green hues and he closes his book, speeding up his pace so that he could reach the gate quickly.
"Pardon me..." He starts speaking, and Lien can feel a veil of dread wrapping itself around her. "But who are you?"
Her heart drops immediately. "L-Lien. Lien Nguyen. We... we talked last night."
"We didn't talk last night...?" He replies, giving her a skeptical look.
"You don't... remember?" The circled date, the call history, her contacts list; Lien can recall everything without a moment's hesitation. Her throat is dry and she wonders if she had done something to bring this upon herself.
"No, we've never spoken before now," he shakes his head. "I have to go to a meeting now. Goodbye." He gives her another wary look before making his way past her.
And at this moment, her cell phone rings. Lien feels like her heart has been torn out, and she idly wonders who would call her so early in the morning. Digging into her bag, she sighs and takes one glance at the caller id.
Arthur Kirkland calling.
She drops her phone immediately, glaring at the screen with paranoia. But the name does not change, and just like last night, a feeling of deja vu washes over her. The name is clear, obvious and unchanging.
Arthur Kirkland calling.
Lien picks her phone up gingerly, snapping her head towards Arthur, who had returned to his book when he made his way past her earlier. He's completely engrossed in it and his hands are both in clear sight, holding the book up to his face.
This time, it's her heart that's in her throat as she turns her attention back to her cell phone, the display still blaring out the familiar name.
Arthur Kirkland calling.
It's very clear to her that something is very wrong. Arthur is reading a book and is most certainly in no position to be calling her right now. Lien accepts the call and places her phone firmly against her ear, deciding to block out everything else in order to pull a hundred percent of her attention into the call.
"We... need to talk..." The uncertainty in Arthur's voice matches the one she feels in her mind.
Lien glances once at Arthur, whose mouth remained in a thin line as he continues to sink further into the book he's reading.
"Yes," she replies back slowly. "We most certainly do."
