A/N: Back after my month long

hiatus. Hope the 'cliffhanger' wasn't

too anxiety-inducing! Not that I think

that much of my stories. I just get anxious

with stuff like that. I apologize for

the wait, and have two stories

to make up for it! Unfortunately, it's not

for this story, but it is a new one.

FrUK-ish instead. If that's

your cup of tea, check it out. It's

called 'Petty Problems of the Rich'.

We're sinking friendships… Drowning more and more…

I'm singing a sad tune… Is this song to you?

Arthur had to admit, he had a few guilty pleasures with music. The song he was listening to was by a band he liked, yet if others found out he liked it, they would probably think he was joking. That, or too soft.

He flipped over in bed, unable to find a cool spot on his pillow. Let's review the last few hours, shall we? Around eleven thirty, Arthur had decided to go to bed. There was nothing else he could do, and the trip to the coffee shop had exhausted him. After another hour, he realized he couldn't get to sleep. So he tossed and turned for a while, then deciding the matter was hopeless, fetched his iPod, and crawled back into bed.

And bed is where he still lay, listening to music all the way up to 1:30am. Arthur stared at the clock, knowing that it wouldn't go any faster than it already was. Still, he was blindly hopeful. As soon as it reached 3:28 however, he knew that he wasn't going to be getting to sleep. So instead, he did something unexpected.

He called Alfred.

Alfred's cell phone rang, the buzz becoming all the more obnoxious against the wood of his bedside table. He sat up with a groan. He was tired, who would be calling so damn late? He looked at the face of his phone.

It was Arthur.

Suddenly, Alfred was wide awake, fumbling around for his glasses. As soon as his hand touched the cold metal, he brought the glasses up, shoving them rather awkwardly onto his face. He picked up the phone, and clicked the little green 'call' button.

"Hello?" He said, and cursed himself for having such a hoarse voice. Alfred coughed.

"Uh… H'llo…" Came the muffled voice on the other end of the receiver.

"How come you called? I mean, not like I mind, but it's past three, and…" Alfred shook his head. "Never mind. What's up?"

There was a pause, and he held his breath. "I can't get to sleep, so I decided to call."

Alfred exhaled, and was about to say something, when Arthur beat him to it.

"You're right, it's late. I should go. I apologize." The line went dead.

Alfred took a moment, shocked, then began to panic. He double clicked the green button to redial, then held the phone to his ear.

As soon as he heard the click of Arthur picking up his phone, he began to speak.

"No, no! I was wrong!" He said, trying to keep from being too loud. "It isn't that late, let's talk for a while!" He hopefully waited for the answer.

Arthur sighed. "Alright, I suppose if you don't mind…"

A bit too quickly; "I don't mind!" He heard a muffled chuckle.

"I've been listening to music since twelve." Arthur said, a bit awkward. "I… just need to calm down…"

Alfred stopped. Calm down? From what? Don't be stupid… He thought. It's not…

But his mouth decided to ask despite his brain. "Why? Calm down from what?"

Arthur snorted. "Why do you think?" He hid the shakiness in his voice well. Sp well, in fact, that it went unnoticed on Alfred's part.

There was an awkward silence as both debated what was said.

"Well, goodbye."

"Bye!" The two stumbled over their words slightly, talking on top of each other.

Alfred smiled. So Arthur couldn't stop thinking of that kiss either.

Arthur woke up the next morning even more haggard than usual. He got to sleep around 4:20, and had set his alarm for the latest possible time. His efforts, however, provided him with only a meager hour and-a-half of sleep.

Needless to say, he felt horrible.

He trudged through the school day, dreading History. When he arrived, he threw his books down on the desk, creating a loud thump and provoking stares from the rest of the class. A short black-haired boy with soft brown eyes made a slight face, then walked over.

"Arthur-san… are you alright?" The boy was so quiet and mild that Arthur felt his anger dissipating.

"…Yeah. I'm fine." He said, then added; "Thank you, Kiku." Finding himself able to remember the boy's name. He settled into his desk as Kiku traveled back to his.

The teacher sipped his coffee. Arthur couldn't concentrate on his book. That's odd; Alfred was usually here by now.

The teacher walked to the board, wrote a set of directions, then retired back to his desk. Lacking a task to complete, the disgruntled blonde sat, lamely staring at the board. Around thirty minutes into the period, Alfred rushed in, opening the door with a bang. A few people said hi, but other than that, no one bothered to look. Why was it that only the 'different' kids got singled out?

"Arthur! I'm so sorry!" He said, shoving his books to the floor and sitting to catch his breath. "I overslept, then my car wouldn't start, and—"

Arthur cut him off. "It's fine. As long as you have your papers…"

Alfred gave a sheepish smile, and the other boy had to look away. "Actually, about that… I couldn't get it done…"

Arthur glared. "You're going to have to do twice as much tonight, then."

Easily deflecting the bad vibes, Alfred continued on. "Yeah, I thought maybe we could go someplace to work on it again. We could get more done, and…" He kept talking as Arthur sat there, trying his best to keep up the glare. It worked, but just barely.

"Fine. We can go to the library, I suppose. I need to pick something up from there anyways."

Alfred beamed. "Sure!"