Dinner in the dining room was just like lunch, but with less people. Ivan explained that some people took their dinners with them to the dorm lounge or their rooms. In this visit, I got to sand in line and fawn over all the kinds of dishes listed on the menu. Dishes from every country and culture imaginable made a diverse selection of meals. Ivan took a plate of piping hot pirozhki. I requested a simple ham sandwich and a bottle of water. We sat upstairs on the balcony where the dark evening sky and cold air both gave off a winter vibe.

"Is that…vodka?" I asked when Ivan took out a bottle of clear liquid.

"Da," he replied, uncapping it and taking a long swig. He closed his eyes in bliss, savoring the fire that ran down his throat.

I stared. "Is that even allowed?"

"Da, as long as no one gets too drunk."

"…and they expect teenagers to refrain from getting too drunk?"

He looked at me seriously. "Vodka is Russian water, Utopia. I do not get drunk on vodka."

I stared at him thoughtfully as he ate his pirozhki. Others around us eyed the Russian boy warily. I would have to keep an eye on him.

"Have you remembered anything yet?" he suddenly asked.

"Nope. Hey, I got to see my dorm room."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but it was pretty boring. All the walls were blank and there was no sense of personalization at all. So I'm going to ask Miss Ukraine if I can use the paints she has to paint my walls."

Ivan looked up. "You're going to ask my sister?"

"Your…she's your sister? Wow, I didn't expect that."

He chuckled to himself. "No one does."

"HEY GUYS!" exclaimed Alfred, coming out of nowhere. [a/n: lol, Hamburger Street?] "Mind if I sit here?"

"Yes," Ivan answered, the same time I replied, "No."

Despite the dark look my Russian companion threw at him, Alfred brought up a chair and started stuffing his mouth with hamburgers and fries and shakes and—

"Hey, Al?" I said.

"Hmm?"

"Eat a little less obnoxiously, please."

With much difficulty, he swallowed everything and gasped. "Sorry, I'm just hungry. You're so lucky you didn't go to Math today. We took our final exam, 'cause vacation starts tomorrow, and it was soooo hard! There was this one problem at the end that was, like, something we learned at the beginning of the year! And Kiku and Arthur wouldn't tell me the answers! Those meanies," he pouted. "And then in PE, we played dodge ball! I was all like, BAM! And Arthur actually got someone out! But then Feliciano got beamed in the face and Ludwig went all batshit crazy and—"

"Shut your mouth for once, you bloody American," said a voice. "I swear, you never stop talking."

As Arthur took a seat next to me, Alfred retorted, "At least I'm more pleasant to listen to then you, Iggy."

"Stop calling me that already!" Arthur said, exasperated.

Alfred pretended to think about it. "Mmmm…nope!"

"You two are very annoying," chimed Ivan.

As they argued (they argued a lot, I noted), I took this chance to see if I could recognize anyone from this afternoon. There was Yao and Kiku sitting with a few other Asians, Francis talking with some girls near the teacher's table, and Eliza (whom I had already apologized to) sitting with a high-strung looking teacher wearing glasses and a hyped up boy with grey-ish silver hair and animate movements as he described something. I tried to look for Matthew, but he didn't seem to be here.

At least, that was what I thought before I heard a faint cry for help in front of me.

"Ivan!" I shouted suddenly, jumping out of my chair and moving around the table to him. "You're sitting on Matthew!"

"Huh?"

I pulled Ivan out of his chair in a desperate attempt to save the suffocating Canadian. Underneath, I found the poor blonde, nearly crushed to death. Matthew gasped for air, red in the face.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Y-Yeah," he meekly responded. He fixed the glasses on his face. "Thank you, Utopia."

"Whoa, Mattie!" said Alfred. "When did you get here?"

"I was here this whole time…"

I frowned at Alfred and Arthur (who was casually sipping his tea). "Have you guys always been so insensitive?"

"Aren't you the insensitive one, Utopia, for making me move from my chair?" Ivan countered, dusting off imaginary dust from his coat.

"You sat on Mattie, so you're more insensitive than me."

"I-I'm fine now, so please don't—"

"AH!" Alfred breathed out satisfyingly. "I'm so FULL!"

"Good God, I hope you are. Anymore and you'll explode."

A mental image of Alfred exploding burgers and shakes like a piñata had me laughing. Apparently Ivan had the same fantasy too, because started chuckling as well (though, I think he was enjoying it a little more than necessary).

Throwing an arm around my shoulder, Alfred said happily, "Man, I'm glad you're back. It was way too depressing without you."

"Thanks, Al," I said earnestly, bringing up both arms to hug him back. "Even though I don't remember anything, I think it's safe to say that I'm glad to be back."

All of a sudden, someone wrenched me out of the hug, pulling me into their arms and kicking Alfred back into his chair. Despite his flailing efforts to stay upright, Alfred's chair tipped over, bringing the American down with it. Ivan tightened his merciless grip on me.

"Mine," he snarled.

Alfred glared at him, all traces of smiling gone. "She doesn't belong to you," he argued back.

"Let go, Ivan," I said firmly. After a moment of defiance, he did. Alfred took my outstretched hand and I helped to pull him up from the ground.

"Here we go again," Arthur muttered, staring pointedly at his tea. He was biting his lip as if holding something back.

"What are you talking about?"

Arthur looked away. "It's nothing."

"Communist bastard."

"You forget, stupid American. My country is capitalist."

"Does it matter? You're still an evil bitch at heart."

At this, my eyes narrowed. "Stop it Alfred!" I demanded, borderline furious. "That's taking it way too far." The two feuding forces ignored me, continuing to throw insults back and forth. Ivan's hands were clenching dangerously tight.

I felt more than a little stood-up. Did these guys hate each other so much?

The sound of me crumpling up my sandwich wrapper cut through the air. Finally, Alfred, Ivan, and Arthur looked up at me. Even the surrounding students (whom I knew were acutely aware of our group) stole a glance at us.

Paying them no attention, I said, "Thank you for the meal," before curtly leaving the table, tossing my rubbish into a trash bin.

"Wait!" called Alfred. "Where are you going, Utopia?"

Instead of answering, I marched down the stairs, ignoring Alfred's efforts to call me back. Back to that pointless arguing? Nu-uh, I don't think so.

Out on the snowy path, walking to the dorms, I heard their voices up on the balcony.

"Great, she's going back to her room. It's all your fault," accused Alfred's faraway voice.

Ivan scoffed. "Really? We were doing just fine before you came."

"Well…she hugged me!"

"She likes me better."

"Does not!"

I groaned at their never ending argument, wondering what I had forgotten about their unhealthy relationship. It seemed like they were both interesting people to be around, but together, it was just annoying. My mind travelled back to when Alfred told me he was glad I was back, our brief hug, and the sudden territorial declaration of Ivan that I was his.

Why did that make me feel so pleasant?

"Ah, it's Utopia!" came a familiar voice. "Utopia! Utopia! Did you eat yet?"

Something inside brightened a little to see Felice running towards me on the path.

"Hi, Felice," I said happily. "And I did, thanks. Did you?"

"Mmm-hmm. I cooked pasta in Antonio's room and we ate with Ludwig and Romano!"

Who was Romano? "That's great. Hey, where are you going?"

Falling in step with me, walking in the direction he had come from, he told me, "Nowhere. I just saw you and you looked a little lonely. Are you okay?"

I waved this off. "I'm fine. Oh, is that…your brother?" A boy that looked just like Felice was sprinting towards us.

He looked at me, amazed. "Wow, how'd you know I had a brother?"

"Mr. Rome told me."

"Grandpa Rome did?"

"Oi!" said Felice's brother. Even under the dim pathway lamp, I could see the obvious differences in each twin. Felice's hair was lighter, and his brother's eyes were green instead of light brown. Feliciano had a bright smile on his face while his twin looked like he wore a permanent scowl.

"Hi," I said when he joined us.

He looked taken aback when I talked to him, surprised that I was even here. "Oh, you're…Utopia."

"Yup. And you are?"

"Romano," he said grumpily, the same time his brother said, "Lovino!"

"That's not my name!" Romano/Lovino shouted.

Felice pouted. "But your real name is Lovino…"

"Chigi!" Romano/Lovino muttered under his breath. "You know I don't like that name."

I couldn't help but smile at their exchange. "So…do I call you Romano or Lovino?"

"Romano!"

"Okay. Nice to meet you, Romano."

"Hn," he grunted. Romano turned back to his brother. "Hey, you have to get back to Antonio's room. Ludwig's going crazy with cleaning again. Antonio can't stop him."

Felice whined, "But I just started talking to Utopia!"

"Bring her with you, then! Just hurry up—the potato bastard was heading for Antonio's closet when I left."

At this, Felice looked horrified. "No!" He grabbed my hand and started running. "We have to hurry! Come on, Utopia!"

"O-Okay."

xXx

"N-No! Ludwig, stay in the kitchen! My closet is off limits!"

"You're probably defending it because it's cluttered with crap. Let…me…through!"

CRASH!

"No! My closet!"

"Dammit, Antonio! You're completely disorganized."

"LUUUUDWIIIIG!" Felice yelled, bursting through the front door of Antonio's dorm room. "YOU HAVE TO STOP CLEANING OR ELSE GRANDPA ROME IS GONNA SUSPEND YOU FROM CLASSES AGAIN AND YOU'RE GOING TO GET DETENTION AND MISS CLASS AND HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF HOMEWORK MISSING!"

Romano and I finally caught up to Felice (damn, he was fast) just as he reached Antonio's room. Looking in, I could see Antonio pushed on the side looking a little agitated and Ludwig—eyes mad—frozen at the closet door.

"Feliciano?" Ludwig said in surprise. His arms lowered a little.

"Yeah, it's me," Felice said gently. "You can put the duster down now…you don't have to clean anymore. Just relax…come here, Ludwig. Away from the closet…"

Despite Felice's gentle coaxing, Ludwig shook his head and continued to eye the closet warily, thinking of multiple ways to stack Antonio's gardening magazines.

"No," he muttered. "I have to clean this—"

"Ludwig," I interrupted. "Stop, Antonio doesn't want you to clean his room."

He whipped his head up. "Utopia?" he said confusedly, like a child. "Why are you here? Weren't you in the infirmary?"

"What? No, I got out this morning. We talked at lunch in the library, remember?"

He furrowed his brow. "No. You're supposed to be in the infirmary."

I stared at him for a moment. Did he really not remember? I mean, how could he forget something that happened just a few hours ago? I could've sworn he was saner than that.

Heading towards the now crouching German, I snapped my fingers repeatedly. "Hey, snap out of it Ludwig. Are you okay? Here, give me the duster. Come on…"

Slowly, but surely, his fingers around the duster loosened and I was able to pull it out of his hands. After blinking multiple times, he finally spoke. It was as if he was walking from a trance. "Oh…U-topia… When did you get here?"

I stopped my mouth mid-frown. "Just now. Are you tired?"

"Y-Yeah…I'm a little…ugh," he groaned.

I helped to heave him up from the ground. From there, he stood stiffly on his own, straightening his messed school uniform.

"Sorry," he said, sounding embarrassed. "Um, thank you. For stopping me. I—"

"Had a little too many beers, potato bastard?" interjected Romano.

"Yeah," Antonio chuckled. "Remind me to keep an eye on how many bottles you have next time."

Plainly red in the face, Ludwig did his best to stay dignified. "It's getting late. I'm going back to the room. Sorry for the trouble."

Despite his unforgiving posture, Ludwig was still drunk. I caught his arm just before he fell, holding him steady. Suddenly I understood. His odd behavior was because he drank too much.

"Do you two share a dorm?" I asked Felice. He nodded. "Okay, can you grab his bag? Let's take him to his room."

Antonio leaped forward to help. "He's heavy, let me take him."

I refused. "No, I can carry him; he's not that heavy. You should really fix your room. Besides, Romano will help me carry Ludwig, right?"

"Pfft, no—"

"Right?"

"…fine." The grumpy Italian swung one of Ludwig's arms on his shoulder. "Dammit! You're fucking heavy, you know?"

Unable to do anything else, our half-conscious German friend merely grunted in return. Felice took his bag from the small kitchen counter, and the three of us set off to bring poor Ludwig back to bed.

xXx

I got to see the inside of Ludwig's and Felice's dorm room. It was spotlessly clean, the three desks perfectly organized and no sign of clutter on the ground. I was surprised to find not two, but three sets of beds in separate corners, each with different colored sheets and posters/decorations on the wall. I saw a German flag beside one bed and immediately knew it was Ludwig's. Romano and I struggled to get him up on his mattress, but somehow we managed.

"Whew! Thank you, Utopia!" Felice whispered. "He usually stops cleaning when I talk to him, but he didn't today… If you weren't there, I don't know how we could've gotten through to him…"

"Is he always like this?" I asked, concerned.

"No," answered Romano. "He hardly ever goes cleaning-Nazi. Only when he drinks too much beer. Which is weird, 'cause he only took two bottles today."

"Ehhh, really?" gasped Felice. "He must've been really stressed out today!"

"But why today?" I wondered aloud. "Did something happen?"

"Well…we had a final exam for math. And project reports for Science! But that's all I can think of…"

Romano glared at me for a second before leaning against the wall, releasing a breath of air.

"You got out of the infirmary today, Utopia. That must've been it."

Understanding dawned in Felice's eyes. "Ahh, you're right!"

I was confused. "What do I have to do with this?"

Before he could answer, Felice abruptly yawned. Right after that, Romano and I yawned, too.

"I'm sorry," I said, realizing how late it was. "It's getting late. I should go now."

"You think?" I thought I heard Romano mutter. "

"You're so nice," I teased. "Hey, is this your room too, Romano?"

"No," Felice answered for him. "Ve~ Ludwig actually shares this room with me and Gilbert—his brother—but sometimes Romano stays over, too. We switch rooms a lot."

"Is that even allowed?"

"Sure! Grandpa Rome doesn't mind."

What a funny school. Kids could drink alcohol and switch rooms around as much as they wanted. Old man Rome sure was lenient.

"Okay then, I'll see you later, right?"

"Yeah! Hey, let's all have breakfast tomorrow, ve! Utopia, do you want to eat breakfast with us?"

"I'd love to."

"Horray! Vacation starts tomorrow, so we're free to do whatever we want to. Meet us downstairs in the lounge at eight o'clock-ish, tomorrow. Oh, and you don't have to wear your uniform."

"Alright, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Buona notte, Utopia!" Felice called out just before I closed to door.

"Good night, Felice, Romano."

xXx

I couldn't sleep.

Not after the long, hot shower. Not even after getting dressed into the world's most comfortable baggy shirt and shorts or sinking into the single bed's warm blanket.

Feeling extremely inspired, I got out of bed, adorned myself in thick layers, and headed outside for the rooftop. I guess you could say it was comfortably cold. Very chilly, but satisfyingly so.

Climbing up on the raised platform, I discovered that I was not the only one without sleep this night.

"Good evening, Arthur," I said cheerfully. "What brings you up here tonight?"