A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter! Keep the reviews coming for the same rules apply for the next chapters! Anyway, as promised, here is chapter two.

Witnesses

We had been on the road for three hours now. Before we left Alfred's house, he let me borrow his red converse shoes to go with my outfit. I had to admit, they were a lot more comfortable than my dress shoes. They were just a bit too bold for my taste though.

Like I expected, right when we got onto the interstate, the class rock music turned on. I have never been the type to listen to music when bored. It is distracting when I write, and I write all the time, so I never listen to it. That is why I have never developed a taste in music. Even so, I would have never expected to see myself liking classic rock ever.

The words to every song really meant something to me though, unlike instrumental songs or pop songs. Alfred's taste in music really made me respect him even more. Though, that made me want to throw up in the back of my mouth a little. Really? How am I coming to like an American? They are the very definition of obnoxious, annoying, lazy, loud, and selfish. I just couldn't see Alfred as any of those terrible things though…

Alfred danced and sang to the songs as we drove down the interstate. He didn't seem to notice me staring at him, smiling. I didn't actually notice myself until after an hour of doing it. The way he danced through life with a smile on his face and not a care in the world just made me feel so warm inside. I have no idea what is coming over me. Do Americans carry some mental disease that makes people feel this way?

I better go to a doctor or a psychiatrist right away to get that checked. For the meantime, I don't mind staring into his big, bright, blue eyes a little while longer…. Snap out of it! You HATE Americans. Why do you hate Americans again? Oh yes, they are loud and obnoxious and lazy, yet the only one you have met so far has been nice and sweet and caring and very VERY good looking and only slightly annoying. Maybe I should give Americans a second chance…

Alfred snaps me out of my thinking process when he says, "Hey Arthur, now that we have become friends and all," I shot him a look as he said friends. I didn't mean to, but it was just habit of me… simply reflexes. I normally don't like making friends, so when someone would ever call me that title, I would shoot them a threatening look that usually caused them to never speak to me again. There was just something about Alfred thought that just seemed so inviting. I actually felt the need to want to become friends with him for the first time in my life.

He continued, "Or… acquaintances… can you tell me now what your favorite genre of music is? I heard that is what people connect through." He wanted to connect? No one has ever tried this hard to get to know me. Usually my cranky attitude drove them away after a few minutes… "Why do you want to connect?" I ask, trying to say it in the least poisonous way as possible.

He says, "Well, I don't know. You seem like a cool dude beyond that little cranky British man act you pull." "It's not an act!" I say, defensively, as I feel my cheeks heat up, "Thank you though, I guess. I am fine with classic rock." I sit back farther in the passenger's seat, trying to hide my blushing cheeks.

Why was I blushing? Why did he make me do this? Why was he making me feel this way? What is it with Americans!? He slaps me lightly on the shoulder, and says, "Great! What is your favorite classic rock song?" I think about it for a moment, but the only song that I could think of was the song that I listened to first. It did have a catchy tune, and the lyrics were pretty good too.

"The first song I listened to when I got here," I mumble. I couldn't remember the name of the song, but I remembered the name of the band. I guess it was a good name if it was easy to remember… "Kansas," I say, "It was by Kansas." "Oh, Carry On Wayward Son? That is my favorite too! That's crazy!" he responds, smiling wider than usual, as he still keeps his eyes on the road.

I want to mumble some witty response that would usually repel away friends, but I decide not to because I want this relationship to go farther… I actually want to try this time to make him my friend. Though… something keeps telling me that a friend just won't be enough for me, and to be honest, I am a bit scared what it means.

~*00*~

We were now five hours in to the seven hour drive. Nothing had changed since we were three hours in. Alfred was still singing, though I felt like his voice was going to give out any minute now, and I was silently admiring him when he wasn't looking. Something must really be wrong with me, because I chose to stare at him rather than read my book…

He started to pull off the interstate, and into a small town called, Anthem. It didn't look like there was another interstate in this town that we had to go to, so I bet Alfred was just stopping for food. I didn't want to be rude, and ask him to get me food too, but I was getting a little bit hungry myself.

"Ok, so my car needs gas badly, and there aren't any burger places here, so why don't we just get food at the gas station? Are you ok with that?" he said, already pulling in to it. I guess I didn't have much of a choice, so I said, "Ya that's fine."

"Great!" he exclaimed, "I'll go in with you while my car is getting filled up. Let me just grab my jacket out of the trunk." It was kind of chilly for what I expected America to be. I thought it was warm like in the movies. I never had a car, so I didn't quite get the idea of filling your car up with gas, but Alfred did, and as soon as he was done, he went around to the trunk of his car, and pulled out a really antique looking bomber jacket. It looked like the real thing.

"Did you know that this is actually real?" he said, putting his arms into the sleeves of his jacket, and positioning himself in it comfortably. I had a jacket on myself that I preferred. It was the black one he gave me, and it felt more comfortable than leather. I had never tried on leather though, so I didn't have a valid source. I should probably try out leather, since he has changed every single one of my opinions of American things around.

"Oh?" I asked, as we started walking to the gas station, "How so?" "My granddad was in the army during World War II. He gave me this as a gift when I got accepted into college to be an S.S. Agent," he said, smiling widely as ever.

The way he was always so happy made my heart melt again. I tried hard to not show it in my face though, so I gave a small smile that probably looked too sarcastic, but he was un-phased yet again by what I did. I guess that was another thing that I liked about him. He could actually stand me.

I laughed about how that fact that he could stand me was a trait I liked about him, as we walked into the gas station. The gas station was blue and white on the outside, but on the inside, the tile floors were a beige, but it looked like they were supposed to be white. The fact that there was a little bit of mold growing on the walls made me sick to my stomach that we were going to get food here.

Alfred opened the door to let me go through first. Again, my heart melted, but I covered it up, by saying, "Thanks," in a dark tone. I started to walk in when he pulled on the back of my shirt. "What are you doing?" I snapped at him. Why the hell was he pulling me back by my shirt? He put his hand on my shoulder, and said, "Something is up." He looked like he wasn't sure what was happening himself, though.

The door closed behind us. "This better not be some trick," I yelled in a hush tone to him, though the look in his face looked more serious than what he'd normally put on. "It's not, and-," he gasped. He pulled a quarter out of his pocket, and dropped it on the ground on purpose.

On his way down to pick it back up, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me down with him. "What are you doing?" I whispered, though I was resisting as we both got to the ground and crouched. "I don't know if the culprits are still here, but look at the corner of the register counter on the ground. Do you see the blood?" he whispered into my ear, as he looked around. I stared at where he was talking about, and gasped from the sight of lots of blood still pouring out from behind the counter.

"Yes, do you think that it could be a murder?" I asked him, knowing the answer already. "Oh ya. But I am worried about something entirely worse," he whispered to me slowly getting up. "What?" I whispered back, following him up as well. He looked around once more, than said, "I think the killers are still here, and we are the witnesses of their crime."

His hand was still on my wrist at the time, and I could feel his heat radiating off of me. It was the only reason I was acting calm right now. He then brought his hand lower down my wrist until he was holding my hand. He brought me closer to him, and whispered, "When I jerk you. You start running in the direction I pull you, ok?" I nodded.

He then whipped me around, and started to head towards the door. We were almost out, but then I heard a gunshot from behind. I shrieked, then heard the glass of the door shatter. Alfred and I turned around, still holding hands, and there were three guys with guns pointed at us.

Alfred didn't say anything, and him being a S.S. agent, I followed his lead. The men started to speak. The man farthest to the right, asked, "Where do you think you're going?" "Ya, the party is just getting started." the man on the right said. The man in the middle, said, "You didn't think we were gonna let you go did you?" I really wanted to correct him on his grammatical error, but now wasn't the right time. (It was going to. NOT gonna)

Alfred held my hand tighter, and stared at me like I was the most important thing in the world to him. I blushed when I met his eyes, then stared at the ground to hide it. The men started to walk up to us, still pointing their guns at our faces. I looked back up at them, scared that they would be mad at me for not looking at them directly in their eyes. "Any sudden movements, and both of your heads get blown off, alright?" one said. I gulped. I don't want mine or Alfred's head blown off.

They checked us for our phones or wallets, and managed to get both of our phones and Alfred's wallet and keys. Are these what other Americans are like? Why couldn't they all be like Alfred? The world would actually be a much better place. They came around to the back of us, and grabbed our hands to tie them together. One of the men noticed that we were holding hands, before he tied our hands together. He said, "Awe, holding hands. Are you two gay lovers or something?" he laughed. I blushed a little bit, because I have had thoughts like that about Alfred for the past two hours, but then I got angry at the fact that I was just being made fun of.

But, Alfred didn't answer, so I didn't answer. He kept staring at me though. Even as he had a gun to his head, and I had a gun to mine, he kept staring at me, smiling. It wasn't his normal smile. It was a smile filled with hope and doubt battling each other in his mind. He was trying to decide who was going to win.

I smiled at him back, because his smile and hand was keeping my calm, it was the least I could do in return. They managed to break our hands apart, but Alfred kept his face in the same position, even when they tied our hands behind our backs, and shoved us into a dark supply closet.

We were both silent, until we heard the three men start talking. They were probably discussing what to do with us. Alfred then turned to me in the dark, and said, "I am so sorry this happened." It was almost like he was taking the blame for all of this. "It's not like you could have predicted this would happen," I replied.

"I know, but I should have gotten you out as soon as I saw the body. I-,"

"You are fine. We will be fine, but please don't take the blame for this."

I could almost feel him smile, as the dark room hid his face. I guess I was the one calming him down now. An awkward pause started to occur, and this time I was the one that couldn't stand the silence. "So, what do we do now?" I ask, making the awkward tension in the room even worse.

"I guess we just have to sit and wait. I think they are trying to work out if they are gonna kill us or not."

"Lovely. So what should we do to pass the time?"

"Wow."

"What?"

"This is the most you have ever spoken to me in one conversation!"

"Oh stop it, you git. I am only trying to improve this situation," I say, laughing. He laughs along too. I cannot believe we are laughing in this situation. We heard a knock on the door, "Hey stop flirting in there. Next word we hear from you is going to be your last words." They all started laughing.

My eyes started to adjust to the darkness, and I started to see Alfred better. He starts to stare at me as he realizes that his vision is getting better. He leans down to my ear, and whispers, "Let's move away from the door and whisper quietly."

I nod, and we back up to where our backs are against the wall. He starts to slowly slide down the wall, and sits down on the ground. I follow next to him. He then whispers, "So, my best bet is that they are going to hold us for ransom. That means that it is going to be easy for you to get out because your mom has the money, and she'd be more than willing to pay it for you."

I nodded, agreeing, and said, "Ok, but what about you? Your parents will pay for you, right?" He laughed, quietly, and whispered back, "Thanks for caring, but my parents are dead. I inherited all their money though, so I will be able to pay my ransom right away without trouble. I won't tell them that until you are out though, ok?" "You would do that for me?" I asked him.

I can't believe he is wasting his time for me, a guy who he has known for less that twenty-four hours. I wanted to hug him for it, but my hands were tied behind my back. Instead I said, "Please forgive me for my future act of gratitude." "What?" he asked confused, but before he could finish his word, I leaned on him acting like I was going to hug him, but I didn't.

"This is supposed to be a hug for everything you have done for me even though we barely know each other," I said, trying to keep my balance as I leaned against him, attempting a hug. I was only doing it because I felt bad for the guy, trying to be nice to me, even though he barely knew me, and I was mean to him.

I only did this action for about ten seconds, and it was troubling getting up, but right before I started to sit up straight again, the door opened. The bright light shining into the room made Alfred's eyes close a little bit. I noticed them, and turned my head to see the three men standing in front of the door.

The one that kept making rude comments about me and Alfred's relationship, smirked and said, "So, you two are in the closet being out of the closet!" The two other men started laughing at his joke. I quickly got up, noticing that Alfred's smiling face changed into a scowl of hatred for the men. He said to them, "What are you planning to do to us?"

"Shut it, we are going to do what we want to you. You are going to be like our little slaves," one of the men said, walking closer to us. He had a smirk on his fact that made me want to punch him until he couldn't physically make it anymore. He kneeled down, and started to lean into Alfred, getting closer and closer each second. When he started to get too close for my comfort, I yelled, "Get off of him!"

Great. I tried to help Alfred out, but my voice cracked in the process of yelling. The man turned to me, and smirked yet again. He turned to Alfred and said, "It looks like your boyfriend doesn't like it when other men get too close." I looked at him, trying to show the anger in my eyes. Of course, I didn't even know why I was angry. I just didn't want him to hurt or harass my friend…ya…that's all.

The man exchanged a look with me, like he was trying to have a contest on who could make the better 'angry' face. Alfred looked at me like I had done something terribly wrong, but he was also thanking me for it. He looked scared though. I stared at him now, trying to decide what he was thinking about, but before I knew it, I was being slapped across the face.

The pain from the slap was tingling throughout my face having my cheek as the source of the sting. I wanted to do something back, but I know I would only make it worse for the both of us, and my hands were tied behind my back any way.

Alfred started to get really angry, but when the man stared at him again, he replaced the look of his anger with confusion. I guess that was the only look he could muster up at the time. I closed my eyes, and tried to focus on something else rather than the pain forming in the side of my face. I prayed that Alfred wouldn't get slapped or worse because of me.

I opened my eyes back up when the man said, "See, that is what happens when you try to stand up to me. Next time you're gonna get stabbed." Alfred started at me. His eyes were not a sparkling blue anymore. They had dulled out, and he looked filled with fear.

The man was studying us, as we went on staring at each other. I could feel that we were both trying hard to send mental messages to each other, but it just wasn't working. I was thinking about how I was sorry, and that I hope at least he makes it out. He has done nothing wrong. I couldn't tell what Alfred was trying to say to me though. The man said, "You two are gonna come with us to someplace where we won't get caught. If there is any resisting coming from the two of you, we will shoot you on the spot."

I looked to Alfred as he nodded his head, so I did the same. One of the two other men standing at the door came and pulled me up. The man that was just talking to us took Alfred. They quietly and quickly walked us out of the room and out of the store. They walked us out to their car, which was an impala of some sort. They opened the trunk and stuffed both of us inside.

It felt weird just letting them do this, but I had no choice. The last thing I wanted was for Alfred to get killed because of me. God, I hope my mom pays the bloody ransom money soon… The trunk was cramped even before Alfred was shoved in after me. There was absolutely no room to move at all. I hope they are taking us to a place that is a short distance away from here.

They slammed the trunk door on us, making me flinch because I thought the trunk would hit my head. I guess I was low enough for it to not hit my head, which was great. There was one moment of silence before Alfred flipped around, and asked, "Are you ok?"

Why did he care? Then I remembered about the cheek, and said, "Ya." "I wish I could do more in this situation, but really all we can do is sit and wait for ransom, as they do what they want to us," Alfred said. I didn't like the sound of that at all, but I said, "Ok."

I would have said more, but I felt awkward in this situation. The trunk was so small, Alfred was practically laying half of his body on me. I could tell he was trying his best to shift his weight, but it looked hard considering his hands were tied behind his back. He was laying on his stomach so half of his chest was touching mine. I know that I would have hated this experience if it was anyone else, but with Alfred I was someone enjoying it…

It was dark, but yet again, I could feel Alfred's smile. "You know," he said, "I have this rule where in every situation I have to be the hero. I love how I finally have a chance to be one, and this is all I can do." "But you are a hero. Mine at least right now. I would have been killed right now if it hadn't been for you." I answered.

"Thanks," he said, "I hope I am not squishing you, right?" "Nah, your fine. I hope I am comfy enough for you," I said, trying to cheer him up. He chuckled a little. I could still feel his smile radiating off of me. And though I should be afraid for my life right now, he was making me feel so calm. If that is what a hero does, then he is definitely my hero.

A/N: So that was the second chapter! Sorry I didn't post it as fast as I said I would. Two days late isn't that bad, right? Please don't hurt me for what I have done.

*Curls up in a ball (armadillo style)*

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