Alright, well, here's the next part. I know what's happening plot-wise, but I'm having trouble writing some parts of it. Figuring out who was related to whom in this section took a while.
Okay, so- Arthur is Alfred and Peter's dad. I figure fem!France is their mum or something, but that's not really important. Arthur's half brother (or something) is the unmentioned (probably dead) father of Berwald and Matthew.
I have this headcanon that I saw somewhere about Sweden being Canada's brother/father because of the Vikings sailing to Canada and stuff, but anyways.
Arthur and Berwald basically treat each other like brothers, and Matthew like a nephew. Peter usually spends the summer at his (not-really-uncle) Berwald's house, which is how he became friends with Raivis.
Tino is Berwald's boyfriend, and is over at his house pretty often, which is how he knows Peter, Matthew, and Raivis.
Oh, and Russia is older than Ukraine because I say so. Sorry.
Umm... I think that's it. Enjoy the story.
Monday, June 14th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.
Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrri-
"H-hello?" I answered the phone cautiously. I hadn't expected it to ring.
"Hey… Raivis? Are you there?" What? Who knew my name? It wasn't Peter, was it?
"W-who is this?"
"Oh… Hello, this is Eduard from Louisiana Tech University. I'm calling to-"
"Wait, Eduard? Is that you?" What was going on? I thought he had stopped calling!
"Um… yeah… who else would it be?"
"B-but! Eduard! You stopped calling! Why- why are you calling me?"
"Oh, Raivis. Do you know what day it is?"
"Um… Monday? I think?" Why was he being so casual? This was a big deal!
"So that makes yesterday…?" he prompted. I scowled, but played along.
"Sunday. But I don't see how that- oh. Oh." I felt like a complete fool.
"Yeah. I don't work on the weekends."
"I… I didn't think about that."
"I noticed." I couldn't take it anymore and simply burst into tears. "Hey, don't worry. It's okay. I'm not going to leave you." Eduard murmured, trying to calm me down. I nodded, not caring that he couldn't see me. I wasn't really upset at all anymore, I had just put myself through a lot of emotional stress over the past few days and it had built up and needed an outlet.
"I'm fine, really I am. I just… I missed you." I whispered, embarrassed. I had only known this guy for about a week now and I had already gotten attached. He must've thought I was a wreck.
"Raivis, tell me about your friends." Eduard commanded suddenly. Hastily drying my eyes, I did my best to respond.
"I… I don't think I have any friends. When I was in elementary school I tried to make some friends but they got frustrated because they didn't like being seen with a 'child'. They knew I was the same age as them but others didn't necessarily know that. It happened every time, with every new group of friends. Everybody was too embarrassed. There's a kid who lives down the street from me who says I'm his best friend. That's probably true, but he's three years younger than me and he's really annoying. I'd really rather not be associated with him. And he's even shorter than I am, which really doesn't help the 'little kid' image." I explained, even more humiliated by my social failures.
"Hmmm… well no wonder you're so sensitive about your height then." He commented. No, really? I thought sarcastically.
"Yeah. Can I ask you something?"
"Go for it."
"Alright, I-"
"Mr. von Bock? You aren't on a personal call during work hours, are you?" An unfamiliar voice broke in on Eduard's line.
"N-no, of course not, Mr. Braginski! This is a client!" Eduard assured quickly. I tried to muffle my snicker, but I quite fairly failed.
"Are you sure? That doesn't sound like a client."
"N-no I promise it is wait what are you-" Click.
I sighed. Oh well. It was kind of my fault he got kicked off anyways.
"Bye, Eduard. You'd better still call me tomorrow."
Tuesday, June 15th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.
Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg!
"Hello!"
"Hey, Raivis! How are you?"
"Good! Sorry I got you in trouble yesterday," I said sheepishly.
"Ah, don't worry about it." Eduard laughed. "It's worth it." You're worth it.
"O-oh. Alright then."
"Didn't you want to ask me something yesterday?"
"What? Oh, yeah. What is your family like?"
"Well, I live with my dad. My mother died when I was very young and I have no memory of her. I don't have any siblings. My dad is very kind, but he's quiet and shy, even with me. We've never been extremely close." Eduard explained.
"That's… kinda sad, isn't it?
"I know it sounds sad, but really I'm fine. It gives me the opportunity to focus on my studies and pursue my individual interests. My friends are really more family to me. One of them, Katyusha, actually got me this internship because her brother works in the administration."
"Don't you have a girlfriend or something?" I asked.
"Nah. Remember when you asked me if I had a problem with your brother being gay?"
"Yeah. You said you were fine with it." I said cautiously, wondering where he was going with this.
"That's because I'm actually gay myself." He explained. Oh. Oh. My cheeks burned red as my mind ran wild.
"So you have a boyfriend instead?" I continued, fervently hoping not.
"No, I don't have a boyfriend either." Thank goodness.
"Why not?"
"Why so curious?"
"N-no reason." I assured quickly, blushing again.
"I'm just teasing you, Raivis." He laughed. That bastard. "Like I've said before, most Southerners aren't exactly out of the closet. Nobody's running around exuding rainbows." I giggled at that. "But that's all probably for the best anyways. I don't really have time for a boyfriend." Oh. Well, that was just too bad. He was going to have to make time for one. Specifically me. Even though he kinda already did that.
…
I did not just think that.
…
"W-well, that's kinda sad too. Don't you think you'd go out with someone you really liked even if you didn't have much time?" I prompted. Hmmm. Maybe I should try to pull off of this topic.
"If they were willing to work with my schedule, then maybe." I was willing to work with his schedule. Very willing. "I haven't really liked too many people so far." Well crap. He had standards. I didn't work too well with standards. For anything. Below standard height, below standard weight. I had just never been up to standard. "I have a lot of pressure over my head to succeed in everything I do. I graduated high school a year early and was granted a scholarship to Louisiana Tech, so if I don't do perfectly in, well, everything, then everyone will think I'm just another failure they shouldn't have wasted their money on." Whoa. So he was really smart then.
"I wouldn't think you're a failure." I mumbled, pouting on his behalf.
"Well, thank yo- oh, crap. My boss is coming around. Talk to you tomorrow!" He said suddenly, hanging up. I gave a gusty sigh, deciding that I really didn't like his boss.
Wednesday, June 16th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.
Rrriinnngg!
"Eduard!"
"Hello, Raivis."
"What do you do when you're not talking to me?" I asked.
"I work, mostly." Ugh. What a dull answer. I needed entertainment, dang it!
"No, really. I work two jobs, and I also have summer classes. That doesn't leave me with much free time." Eduard insisted.
"Oh," I sighed, plopping down on the couch. "Then, in your oh-so-rare free time, what do you do?"
"Well, sometimes I work on personal projects- programming, mostly. If I can't find any motivation for that, I'll read. On occasion my friends will drag me out to socialize."
"Eduard, you are a supreme nerd." I declared.
"Yes, I know." He laughed. "What about you, Raivis? What do you do in your seemingly expansive free time?"
"Ugh, I don't even know. My so-called 'friend' Peter drags me around a lot, but all he ever does is bother the nearby adults, which is, quite frankly, annoying as heck. I feel like I daydream often. Can that even be considered a hobby? Sometimes I do puzzles by myself." I explained, once again feeling pretty pathetic about my life.
"Hmm… no wonder you're always so excited to talk to me." He mused.
"And 'cause you're pretty awesome." I chirped. He hummed half-heartedly in response. "Hey Eduard, what's your favorite color?"
"You are just full of questions, aren't you? And it's blue." He replied.
"Well, what kind of guy doesn't know his best friends favorite color?" I joked.
There was silence on the other end before a curt "I have to go." And then the line went dead.
Thursday, June 17th. 11:30 a.m. Galante Household.
Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg!
"Um… Hello?" I said cautiously. I didn't think it was Eduard because if it was, he was a whole hour early.
"'lo? Raiv's? Y' there?" I sighed in understanding. It was just Berwald, my neighbor.
"Oh, hi Mr. Oxenstierna. How can I help you?"
"… 'm goin' 't wi' m' fr'nd… ah don' wan' P'tr comin' wi'. Can ah bring 'im t' your house tomorr'w?"
"Yeah, definitely. What time?" As much as I didn't like spending time with Peter, his uncle was actually really nice and I would never do anything to inconvenience him. It helped that Mr. Oxenstierna was also incredibly scary, of course.
"… 'round noon?" I nodded in agreement.
"Alright. See you then."
"G'bye." Berwald muttered before hanging up. I frowned a little. Peter would probably be here when Eduard called.
Friday, June 18th. 12:30 p.m. Galante Household.
"Hei, Raivis!"
"Oh, hey Tino." I wasn't surprised to see the short blonde there with Berwald and Peter. Whenever Berwald said he was 'goin' 't wi' m' fr'nd', it was always Tino. However, I was surprised at the time they had gotten there. Berwald had said noon, and it was 12:30. Eduard would be calling any moment now!
As if on cue, the phone started ringing.
Rrriinnngg! Rrriinnngg!
"Oh, I can get that!" Tino exclaimed excitedly, like a child at Christmas. And before I could protest, he had answered the phone and was chattering away.
"Oh, hei Eduard! I didn't know you had a job! You should have told me! … Hey, I can take your survey! Then you won't have to bother Raivis anymore! … Okei, yes … no … well, maybe … okei, see you Saturday! Bye!" And then Tino turned to me with a huge smile. "I actually knew that surveyor. Eduard and I were friends in high school. We get together every other weekend. Now you don't have to talk to him anymore! I know he can be awkward, so I'm glad I got that survey out of your hands."
I could only stare at him in horror.
I struggle to write Sweden's accent. Oh well.