I'm not going to torture our Matt much longer, I promise. Italy, you are such a spaz...

Where am I, Alfred? Nice... Why do you care?

I put the phone back in my pocket and glanced at Alfred again. He frowned and said something to her. Her big gray eyes widened and she looked concerned. Alfred dialed a number and held the phone to his ear.

My phone started ringing.

Huh? Now this is getting weird...

I decided to answer. "Hello?"

"Matty!" Alfred shouted. "Matty, are you okay? I've been calling you and texting you and you haven't answered! I was getting worried, dude-"

"Sorry," I said, and sighed.

"Matty, are you okay?" he said again. He really did sound worried, but...

No, Alfred. I'm not okay. You know how I feel about her... but then, you don't really care, do you?

"Matty, you're freaking me out." I jumped. I forgot he was still on the line.

"Nyeh, I'm fine," I said quietly.

"Where are you? I'm going to come to you now. Just stay where you are, buddy..." His voice started taking on a tone that was just a little frantic.

"You don't need to, Alfred," I told him. Whoa... I was even startled by the harshness of my tone.

"Matty, what's going on?" I could hear him both in my phone and on the other side of the crowded shop because he was now shouting.

I sighed again. "Look, Alfred..." How do I tell him? Over the phone is not an option. "I don't want to talk about it on the phone. I'll discuss it with you later."

Silence... then, "Umm, okay... well, where are you anyway?"

"Alfred..."

"Seriously, dude... I have a good reason for asking. Are you somewhere you can get free?"

"Why?" What are you doing, Alfred?

"Matty, there's someone who wants to meet you."

WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS?

"Yes, I am." I just said that out loud, didn't I?

I gathered my thoughts and tried to play it cool. I honestly had no idea where this was going at this point. "I'm at Fika. Why?"

"Really? I don't see you... oh, there you are... to your left..."

They were both looking at me.

"Matty, come over here." Alfred hung up the phone, and I got up and started over toward where they were sitting. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest, and my legs felt like they were moving on their own.

"Veeee! Hey, Alfred!" Feliciano, Fika's resident goofball, blocked my path.

I looked at him. He frowned. "You look different or something. Did you get your hair cut?"

"Um..." Not this again.

Then he opened his permanently half-open eyes just a little more and blinked. "Oh, you're not Alfred, ve! Sorry... um..." I started to say something, but then he cut in. "Marco, right?"

"His name's Matthew." A girl's voice? I realized I was standing by the table where Alfred was sitting with her... and it was her who had said my name. Wait... how does she know my name?

"Oh, si! That's right! Sorry Matthew... I leave you alone with your girlfriend, okay?"

God, Feliciano...

My face was burning. Alfred grabbed my hand and pulled me into a seat at the table. "Matty, I told you I had someone that really wanted to meet you, and here she is." I looked up and realized that she was blushing like me. "This is Kateryna."

"Hi, Kateryna," I managed to get out. I was just plain baffled by then. Why did Alfred...

"Hi, Matthew," she said shyly. Her voice was as pretty as she was. "I'm glad to meet you. I tried to get my sister to introduce me to you, but you know how she is. But she did tell me your name."

"It's nice to meet you too," I replied. I was finding that she was a lot easier to talk to than I thought.

Alfred cut in. "Matty, I gotta go now. See you later," he told me. As he passed by me, he squeezed my shoulder. Wait- was that the whole reason he... was it...

We were left sitting there alone. For a few seconds, there was an awkward silence. Then she ventured quietly, "I don't know why people mistake the two of you for each other. I can tell the difference."

"Can you?" I laughed a little bit.

She nodded and smiled bashfully at me. My heart started to slow down a little and I could feel myself relaxing. We both started to talk at the same time and she laughed. "I'm sorry."

"No," I exclaimed. "You go ahead."

She took a deep breath, then her words came out in a rush: "I've wanted to meet you from the first time I saw you, Matthew."

WOW.

"Really?" My voice squeaked out. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Really? I felt the same..."

She giggled. "At first, when your brother sat down here, I didn't want to talk to him, but then he told me that he thought you and I would get along well..."

Ding! My phone buzzed again. I looked at her apologetically.

She smiled. "I don't mind." It was as if she knew what I was thinking... I really am in love...

1 New Message

From: Alfred Dude I knew you liked her... I also knew you wouldn't talk to her on your own... I'd never double cross you like that (was that what you wanted to discuss w/ me later?) LOL Have fun C U L8R Love you

A movement caught my eye. Alfred was standing out on the sidewalk in front of one of the windows. The rain had stopped and the sun was out now. He grinned and gave me a thumbs-up.

Kateryna saw him and laughed. I smiled at him and waved, and he walked away cheerfully.

I quickly texted him back:

Thanks bud... I'm sorry, UR the best... Love you too

I pressed "Send", and looked back to Kateryna. She was so pretty, just sitting there looking at me. I must have been grinning like an idiot, but I didn't care. "Kateryna..." I began.

"Katya, please." She reached over and put her hand on top of mine. Surprisingly, I didn't feel quite so awkward around her.

"Katya, would you like to go for a walk?" I asked. She nodded, and we both stood up and left the shop together. I offered her my arm, and she took it, and off we went. YES! YES! YES!

It had turned out to be a good day after all. I love my brothers...

One more chapter coming! Stay with us!