"Move your fatass, commie."

"Look who's talking."

"Vous idiots. Would you two please release your sexual tensions somewhere else?"

"Would you like me to fix your face?"

"N-Non."

"Don't worry, Francis! I'll save you 'cause I'm the hero!"

"Ve, this pasta is really good, Ludwig!"

"Hrn."

"Really? I still think your pasta is better, aru."

"Aww, thank you, Yao!"

"Belt up, Alfred!"

"Ahhh! Tope! Help me! Iggy's going to throw his scones at me!"

"You're on your own, Al," I laughed.

"Oh. That's okay. He throws like a girl anyways."

"What?" Arthur sputtered.

"You agree with me, don't you Kiku?"

"A-Ah….um….no comment."

While Arthur and Alfred continued to batter each other, I took a sip from my lemon iced tea. The ten of us were eating dinner together (Mattie was sitting unnoticed by his brother). Our surrounding peers stopped staring at us nervously by the third meal. I guess they figured that the eight powers of the school weren't planning to start a war with someone and decided to leave us alone.

"Tope-san?"

I hummed, "Mmm-hmm?"

"Your doctor's appointment is tomorrow, right?" Kiku asked conversationally, trying to direct the conversation away from throttling a certain 'bloody American'.

Amazingly, our table stopped talking.

"Yeah," I said. "Antonio's going to drive me there."

I caught Alfred throwing Ludwig a grin, Felice ve-ing excitedly, and Ivan exchanging knowing looks with Yao.

"What are you guys smiling about? Did I miss something?"

"It's nothing," Al lied.

I narrowed my eyes. "Oh, really?"

All of a sudden, Ivan stood up from out table, startling nearby people. "Ahhh~" he yawned. "I am tired! Good night everyone~"

As if on cue, the rest of our table started stretched their arms and yawning, saying that they needed to get some sleep for tomorrow. I stayed at the table with Matthew, utterly confused.

"Did I miss something?" I asked him.

"I don't think so," he replied softly.

Shrugging it off, I muttered, "What are they planning?"

"Oh, um…Alfred is calling me," Matthew said, looking at his phone. "I have to go now…"

Giving him a smile, I said, "That's okay. I'll see you later, Mattie."

"Good night, Tope."

I watched as Matthew zipped down the stairs to catch up to the others, sucking up the remains of my drink. After a while, I got bored and decided to turn in. It took me two minutes to toss the boys' trash into a bin (man, Al sure was a slob) and head downstairs for the dorm.

However, before I could get very far on the snowy path, a voice made me jump.

"The snow is very beautiful, yes?"

"I-Ivan! Where'd you come from?" I moved to the side of the path to make room for him. He and I walked side by side under a winter fantasy of trees. "Yeah, the snow is nice this time of year."

"You haven't remembered anything yet, have you?"

He asked this question every other hour.

"No."

"That's too bad."

I gave him a side-long look. "Is there something that you want me to remember, Ivan?"

"Yes, there is actually. The time where Alfred lost a bet to Kiku and he had to shove a ball of wasabi in his mouth. He was crying for hours."

I cracked a grin. "Now that's something I wish I could remember." I blew hot air between my fingers, chasing all the cold away. "Do you wear that scarf all the time?"

His hand suddenly came up possessively. "Yes. I never take it off."

"Never? Like, not even during the summer?"

"No! I can't take it off! It's a body part!"

I stared at him, and then suddenly grinned. "Oh, really? Does that mean if I pull this, it won't come off?" Taking hold of the end of the scarf, I teasingly tugged at it.

Ivan instantly encased his hand over mine, muttering his infamous, "Kol, kol, kol…"

I let go, still smiling. "Okay, okay."

We had already reached the dorm building and I said hi to a few lounging students watching TV, heading to the elevator at the end of the back hall. Ivan followed me inside.

I noticed he didn't press the button for the second floor (his dorm room, unshared with anyone else).

"Are you coming with me?" I inquired. Fourth floor was the girl's half of the building.

"Da," he answered simply.

"…why?"

"To make sure you get back to your room safely."

I eyed him skeptically, sarcastically saying, "Oh. Well in that case, thank you very much, Ivan! How will I ever repay you for your heroic deeds? I'll do anything!"

He raised an eyebrow, smirking. "You'll do anything?"

"Aaaanything," I drawled, playing along.

Leaning closer to my face, his smirk widened. "I'll hold you to that then, yes?"

Bing.The elevator door opened, and Ivan walked out with me following right behind him.

"Wait, please don't tell me you're going to take that seriously," I complained.

"Ah! So will I be one of the first to see Utopia's room, Tope?"

Behind his back, I crossed my fingers and prayed he wouldn't hold anything against me later on. My cold fingers fiddled around in my sweatshirt pocket for my room key. When I finally found it, I opened my door, dramatically presenting my room to Ivan.

He walked in, curious, examining the empty walls and single bed. I took a few minutes to plug my iTouch into its charger by the desk. And then suddenly, his shadow fell over me.

"Why do you have a knife in your room?" he asked, his voice angry.

I glanced at the silver butter knife on the table, unmoved where I had first placed it.

"Oh, I found it outside my room." I gave him a little smile. "I guess I forgot to bring it back to the cafeteria—"

Without warning, Ivan placed both of his arms on either side of me on the desk and towered over.

"Don't lie to me," he said, very close to my face. "I saw the mark on the door. Is someone threatening you?"

It surprised me how dead-on he was about this, but I held my composure.

"What are you talking about?" I said, pushing my palm on his chest, though he didn't budge. "And what mark on my door?"

"The deep incision in your door that goes as deep as half the width of the wood."

"I really don't know what you're talking about, Ivan. Now, can you just—move—"

"Нет, not until you tell me who has been threatening you."

"No one's been threatening me!" I said forcefully. "And what makes you think that in the first place? I found the knife on the ground a couple nights ago. Nothing is wrong with my door."

We stared into each other's eyes for the longest time, neither of us wavering. The intense look he gave me sent chills shivering down my spine. Not enough to confess, of course. But it was still a minute or so of breathing before I could speak again.

"Is there something going on?" I asked him. "Seriously, is there a reason why you think I'm being threatened?"

Ivan muttered something that I couldn't catch.

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Tope, I am listening to you."

"Was there something that you wanted me to remember? Is that what this is all about?"

~Ivan POV~

She couldn't have been more right.

"No," I answered. "Haven't you already asked me this question?"

I withdrew from her. Tope took a deep breath and sighed. It saddened me to think that I saddened her. I released the air I was holding, pushing my hands deep inside my pockets.

"Yes, but your answer was unsatisfactory."

I shrugged. "Right now, it's the only answer I have." The clock on the wall read eight o' clock. "Ah, it's getting late. I need to go now."

She didn't say a word until I was out the door.

"Hey, Ivan?"

"…yes?"

"Don't demand that I tell you the truth," came her voice, "unless you're willing to do the same for me. Oh, and have fun at your secret meeting with the boys, 'kay?"

I said nothing. Just closed the door.

xXx

Alfred's room was on the first floor.

"Hey, man! What took you so long?"

I closed the door behind me, pulling off my coat because it was suddenly very warm. Alfred never really did appreciate winter.

"Nothing. I see everyone is here."

"I don't see why we need to meet," said Arthur, his face irritated. "Why'd you call this anyways, Alfred?"

"To make sure everyone's set for tomorrow! Admit it—without me, you guys would be so unorganized."

"We all know Ludwig-san will be driving. Please do not be offended, Feliciano-kun, but I really do not want you driving the car like last time."

"Ve, none taken!"

"Alright, now that we've got our driver, who's gonna be our decoy?"

Silence.

"I think we should consider Matvey for this position," I suggested.

"Wh-What?"

Everyone else immediately agreed.

"Yeah, Mattie! You're so unnoticeable you won't have a problem sneaking away from Mr. Zwingli when he blows up at us!"

"But I wanted to go shopping for Christmas, too—"

Alfred clapped his brother on the back unnecessarily hard. "Thanks, Mattie. You're doing us a good favor, bro."

I chuckled into my scarf at Matthew's dismay expression.

Tomorrow was going to be fun.

~~~~~~NEXT MORNING~~~~~~

~Tope POV~

Knock, knock, knock.

I groaned into my pillow, wishing whoever was knocking on my door would just go away. Unfortunately for me, they refused to retreat and knocked again. Yawning, I got up out of bed, slipped on a sweatshirt real quick, and answered the door.

Standing before me was a girl I'd never seen before. She was quite smaller than me, timid, and a little nervous. She looked up with eyes the color of dark ocean depths—sort of green, but more cyan.

"Good morning, Tope," she murmured quietly. "I'm sorry to wake you up but—"

"Who are you now?" I yawned, scratching my head. She reminded me of bashful little Mattie. Only shy-er and with long, dark brown hair.

"At-Atlantis," the girl stuttered, a light blush coloring her face. "Um, Mr. Carriedo wanted me to tell you to meet him in the parking lot in twenty minutes so that he could take you to the doctors."

Stifling another yawn, I stretched my arms. "That's great! Thanks."

"Wait!" she said just before I could close the door.

"Hmm?"

"A-Actually, Mr. Carriedo asked me to show you where the parking lot is."

"But I already know where the parking lot is."

"Could I walk with you anyways? I promised him that I would stick with you."

I gave Atlantis a long, calculative look.

"…you're kinda shy, aren't you?"

"I'm not!" she argued, her cheeks puffing as she pouted.

Grinning, I said, "Okay, can you wait a second? I'll get ready and come right back out."

"Okay."

xXx

A few minutes later—hair brushed, shorts traded for jeans, teeth clean, shoes laced up nice and tight—I opened the door to greet a patient Atlantis only to find something completely different.

"Ah! Bonjour, Tope! I see you are looking as beautiful as ever!"

"H-Help me?"

Francis—in all his sexy, perverted glory—had poor Atlantis with her back against the wall. His tie was loose and his shirt open, revealing a masculine chest. With a squeak, Atlantis zipped around Francis and hid behind my back.

Using an arm to guard her, I gave Francis the look.

"So! What did you need, Francis?"

"Hold on, that can wait a moment. Mademoiselle Atlantis! How good it is to see you again! We're still on for Wednesday, non?"

Atlantis pressed something into the palm of my hand. I recognized the shape of the handle. It was a pepper spray tool. I couldn't help but smile. It looks like someone came here equipped.

"Francis…just step away from the lady, please…"

The Frenchman took one look at the pepper spray and scoffed. "Oh please, Tope. You should know by now that my love cannot be thwarted by a mediocre pepper spray—"

"Francis, if you don't step back right now, I'm going to spray this in your eyes and then kick you in the nuts. You have five seconds. Five. Four."

"Oh, come on, ma cheri," he laughed nervously, taking exactly three steps back. "You know I was just joking, right?"

I handed Atlantis back her pepper spray.

"Sure," I said. "I believe you."

"Do you really?"

"No."

Behind me, I heard Atlantis giggle. She stopped hiding behind me and leaned against the wall. Of course, she didn't move any closer to Francis.

"So? What did you want, lover-boy?"

"…oh! Monsieur Antonio wished me to escort the lady Tope to ze parking lot."

"But Antonio told Atlantis to show me the parking lot. Did he tell the both of you?"

"No," Atlantis said. "I'm pretty sure he only told me."

"Pfft, oh what does it matter? We must hurry, come on! Don't want you being late to your appointment!"

Francis took my arm and started to lead me away. I sighed, but brushed my annoyance away. The appointment was going to be very soon.

"I'll see you later, Atlantis!" I called out to her, stumbling to look behind me. "I'll talk to you at dinner or something!"

"O-Okay! Good-bye, Tope!"

"Bye!"

xXx

"What the—Why are you dragging me around, Francis? I can walk on my own now, please."

"You might go ze wrong way."

"How the hell can I go the wrong way when I can see Antonio's car?"

"What? Zat's not Antonio's car. It's zat one, over there." Francis nodded his head toward a large white van that looked a little worn from use. No one appeared to be inside.

"…that thing screams horror movie and kidnapping. I'm not going near that—"

"TOPE! TOPE! HELP MEEEE!" cried out a familiar voice from the van.

"Felice?"

Abandoning Francis, I rushed over to the big white van to help Felice get away from whatever mental kidnappers held him captive. Throwing open the passenger door, I expected to see the poor Italian tied up and gagged. What I didn't expect was Ludwig sitting in the driver's seat, looking grim.

"Ludwig?" I said in surprise.

The back door of the van opened and then slammed shut. From where I stood, I couldn't see into the back.

"MONSIEUR ZWINGLI IZ RUNNING AT ZE CAR RIGHT ZIS INSTANT!" shouted a heavy French accent. "LUDWIG, PULL HER IN!"

Without another word, Ludwig's undeniable strength latched onto me and dragged me into the van. A second later, someone from behind me sat me down in the passenger seat and pulled the seatbelt over me.

"Safety first, da?"

"Go, go, go! Zwingli's running into the lot and he's got his gun!"

"Alfred?" I gaped. "Ivan, too? Wait, is everyone here?" I twisted around in my seat and found seven faces smiling at me (the eighth being Ludwig, and the boy was far from smiling). In the rear view mirror, I spotted a man sprinting across the parking lot, waving a gun in his hand.

Ludwig immediately switched on the car and floored it. There were cries of protest as everyone was thrown back. I heard Alfred mutter, "Come on…come on, Mattie…"

Watching the man with the gun running at us, I was shocked to see Matthew tackle him down to the ground. Despite having Mattie right next to him though, the teacher looked around dazedly for his attacker.

"Yes!" Arthur shouted as we screeched out of school campus at high speed. "We're out!" All the other boys gave each other high fives.

"Wait!" I barked, silencing their cheers (but not their grins). "What in the world are you guys doing? Why the hell am I in a van?"

"Oh, calm down," Alfred said, rolling his eyes. "We just saved you from hours of listening to Antonio's singing."

"Si," Felice joined in. "We call this mission: Kidnap Tope!"

"…that's reassuring."

"We will bring you to your appointment," Ludwig finally said, speeding up even more as we got on the highway. "While you visit the doctors, we're going to go to the mall around the block."

I gripped the sides of my seat and watched the speed limit sign fly by so fast, I couldn't determine the numbers.

"And what were you guys planning to shop for at the mall?"

"Christmas presents. We try to go shopping before the rest of the school is allowed to, or else all the good stuff is taken."

I paused. "So you kidnapped me in order to get your Christmas shopping done before everyone else?"

"Convenient, ja?"

"…apparently so."

XxX

A/N - Atlantis belongs to a friend, o0lala on Quizilla. :)

Atlantis (c) - o0lala