"Elena! Get up!"

Feliks's voice rang in my ears and made my head pound. Ugh…what time is it? I don't think that this is actually healthy…

"If you don't get up, I will like totally chop all of your hair off!"

I groaned and rolled over on the bed. I forced myself to open my eyes. They immediately started to water and sting under the bright light of the room. I squinted and gave a large frustrated breath.

"Good. You're awake. Now go hop in the shower. And be sure to use that new shampoo I got. It literally smells like awesome sex," Feliks stated.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, letting them adjust to the light. I glanced over at the alarm clock and saw that it was five in the morning. School doesn't start until eight thirty.

But then again, this is Feliks I'm talking about here. He's all big on appearances, especially when it comes to "special occasions." I guess the first day back for school is one of those said "special occasions." Plus, I'm going to school now as Lithuania. Not one of "those soviets" or "Russia's bitch" or "Russia's sex slave," or any other similar variation.

A sense of unease filled me at the thought of seeing Ivan for the first time since I screamed at his face and left, breaking away and contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union. I know I shouldn't be too worried, because I'm not required to talk to him, nor am I required to be his friend. But now that I'm as equal as he is in sovereignty, could I be his friend? Or at least acquaintance? Would he hate me? Would he even acknowledge me?

I can't help but worry about him. After all, I've spent so many years with him. I'm not heartless. I actually do care about his well-being. When it all crumbled, did he fall apart as well? Is he still hurt? How injured is he? Ivan is already unstable enough as it is and I really don't want to see him plunge further into insanity.

I looked over at Feliks, who was standing in front of the full body mirror, looking at himself at different angles in his uniform.

He frowned. "I like totally need to spice this up a bit. It's too boring. I don't understand how I dealt with this print last year…"

"Isn't that against dress code?" I asked, stretching my arms out.

Feliks turned around and winked at me. "Darling, we're nations. Look back at our history. Since when have we like ever followed the rules?"

I couldn't help but smile at that. "True."

"Well, stop being a lazy ass and get in the shower! I want to do your hair!" he exclaimed.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and forced myself to stand up. I lumbered drowsily to the bathroom, where all the large bright yellow lights further mutilated my eyes.

Taking a shower successfully woke me up. It felt nice to feel the hot water against my skin. Plus, Feliks made an excellent choice with the shampoo. It really did smell nice. I couldn't quite figure out what the scent was, and the label was in Polish. I remember a time when I used to be able to speak Polish, but that was way back when Feliks and I were a joint empire…and even then my Polish sort of sucked.

I wrapped a towel around my body and then grabbed another one to dry and ruffle my hair. Now that it was so long, it was harder to take care of, especially when I got out of the shower. For as long as I remember, my hair had this unbearably nasty curl when it got wet. When my hair was shoulder length, all I would do is dry it out and straighten it quickly. But now that my hair is waist length, it's a bit more complicated. But I'm okay with it for the most part. I really adore my new long hair.

After I brushed my teeth, I walked back into the bedroom to see that Feliks was adding a few finishing touches to his blonde hair. He smirked at me. "Looking good, 'Lena. Are you like going to give me a strip tease?"

I laughed at him. "If you really want. But I'm sure you'd rather see one of my brothers give you a strip tease than me."

I gave another smile as I realized that Feliks had laid my uniform out nicely on the bed. I walked over and picked up the skirt.

"I fixed it up a bit to make it shorter. You need to like show off those legs you have. I'm so jealous of you!" Feliks said as he set down the flat iron and used his hands to appropriately "volumize" his hair.

Indeed, the skirt did look a lot shorter than usual. Oh Feliks. I don't know what I'd do without the dude.

I also realized that he had laid out my only lacy bra I had, as well as a matching thong. I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything. I have no objections to actually wearing these…I just never did before. My undergarments have always been plain. I never worried about that stuff anyways because I never thought about actually…um…taking off my clothes for someone. Despite popular belief, I am a virgin. Seriously. As I emphasized before, I was never Ivan's "sex slave."

And Nikolai never understood that. I think those late nights where I snuck to Ivan's bed after I had a nightmare or when Ivan came to my bed on some occasions gave him the impression that we were doing it on a regular basis. I remember walking down to breakfast with Ivan a few times and seeing Nikolai sitting there, looking like he wanted nothing more than to lunge at me and plunge that knife of his straight into my heart.

And it's sad to say that I found that intensity endearing.

I always wondered how Ivan would react if I ever told him that I was infatuated with his younger brother. It's a complete mystery to me. Would he be angry? Would he be indifferent? Would he be amused? Would he try and encourage me to seduce Nikolai just to get him to stop creeping on him?

No one except Feliks knows that I have a thing for Nikolai. My brothers are terrified of him and they never understood why I never showed fear around him. I think that Yekaterina may have noticed, but she never said anything.

I shook my head quickly to rid myself of endless thoughts. I had to let go of these things. They no longer concern me because I am no longer part of their group.

I quickly changed into the uniform and was surprised by how comfortably it fit. In the past years, my uniform has always been bigger than it should've been. It always had the tendency to hang limply on my arms and I had to pin the skirt to prevent it from slipping down my hips. But now that I had gained a few pounds, my uniform was perfect. It made me extremely happy.

And I realized that Feliks really did cut off a lot of the skirt. It barely reached the middle of my thighs.

After a few more minutes, Feliks grabbed me and started messing with my hair and makeup. Well, I can't say "messing." He's a freaking expert at this kind of thing. I couldn't help but laugh at his enraptured face of concentration. I can't remember the last time I've actually worried about my hair and my overall appearance. While living with Ivan and the others, I never wore makeup, fixed my hair, or wore nice clothes. The last time I really worried about my appearance was back during a masquerade in the seventeen hundreds.

"OMG, girl! You look totally gorgeous!" Feliks exclaimed as he stepped aside to let me look at myself in the mirror.

He was right. I did look pretty. And I wasn't used to it. I gaped for a few minutes as Feliks stood beside me smugly.

My long brown hair fell in loosely curled locks down to my waist, and I wore a red headband. My bangs were side swept, as opposed to being split down the middle. My face looked evenly toned rather than the pale white it usually was and my blue eyes popped out with the added eyeliner and mascara. And yet, it wasn't too overwhelming, which I appreciated.

"Um…wow…" I said dumbly.

Feliks just laughed. "Welcome back to the real world, bitch."

XX

We were a bit late to school because Feliks was having an intense internal (or not so internal) debate on which pair of shoes to wear. Then, by the time we got out the door and to his car, he insisted that we stop at this fancy little shop that serves coffee and other small meals…which didn't make sense since we just ate breakfast.

So, by the time we reached the academy, we had to run inside and go to the front office to grab our schedules. The familiar hallways of the world academy took my breath away. I know it's been only a bit over a year since I've been here, but it really hit home. It made me realize that I'm back and I will be seeing everybody again.

Feliks and I stopped at the front office. I could never remember the desk lady's name. Yet, she's been here for as long as I remember. Her stern face and pulled back bun were exactly as I remembered. She looked up at us and frowned.

"Welcome back Mr. Lukasiewicz, I trust that your vacation is well?" she asked in a monotone voice as she typed away on her computer.

Feliks smirked and answered, "Of course, m'am. Never better."

"I'm glad to hear that. Here's your schedule," she said as she handed him a piece of paper. She then turned her gaze to look at me with a blank expression.

"What's your name?" she asked.

I was taken aback. She never had a problem recognizing me before. Yeah, I wasn't here last year, but that was just one school year…

"Um…Elena Laurinaitis…y'know…Lithuania?" I said hesitantly, twisting my fingers together.

The lady just stared at me blankly for a few more seconds before her eyes widened in shock. "I-I'm sorry, Miss Laurinaitis…I just didn't recognize you. You look a bit different from what I remember. I'm trusting independence is serving you well?"

She gave me a tentative smile as she said this. I couldn't help but grin back.

"It's very nice, thank you," I responded. She handed me my schedule and both Feliks and I walked out of the room, comparing schedules.

"Hey, we like have the first three classes together!" he said.

It was true. We had mathematics first period, then literature, and then PE. After that, we split off until our last period of the day, which was world history. I always found it quite ridiculous that we nations are actually required to take world history. I mean, we're the ones who made it.

"Which dorm room are you?" he asked.

At the World Academy, we have co-ed dorms. In fact, it's common for nations of opposite genders to share dorms. There aren't restrictions about that because we are sovereign nations and the instructors of this academy don't like to interfere with those sort of "affairs." I remember that for many years, I always ended up sharing a dorm with Ivan. Some years I got to be with Feliks or my brothers. I think there were one or two years where I ended up sharing with Yekaterina and Elizabeta.

"I'm in 568," I responded.

"566. We're practically neighbors. I wonder who I'm sharing with this year," he said.

"Well, let's just hope it's not Alfred again," I reasoned.

Feliks shuddered. "That bastard was like totally annoying. I wanted to literally stab myself every time he talked. Plus, he snores when he sleeps, which is like a total turn-off."

Then, the familiar sound of the bell echoed through the halls. Feliks and I took off at lightning speed, but we both got lost (this wouldn't be the first time.) It didn't help that the math room is inconveniently located on the top floor. By the time we reached the room, everyone else was seated at the teacher was about to start the class. So all in all, both Feliks and I were sort of singled out.

I got a glimpse of my math class as I walked in and my heart beat quickened. It was so strange to see the nations again. Some looked the same, and some looked a bit more mature than what I last remembered. The class was medium sized. Among the few I immediately spotted were Arthur Kirkland, who was sitting straight up in his desk with that usual air of "dignity," Francis Bonnefoy, who was attempting to flirt with a small blushing micro nation with pigtails, Gilbert Beilschmidt, who was chatting animatedly with a smiling Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, and Feliciano Vargas, who just sat there with that oblivious grin.

When Feliks and I entered, everyone stared. And stared. And stared.

Their eyes started to make me self conscious. I absent mindedly twirled a piece of my long brown hair around my finger as I searched desperately for a seat.

I saw it. I saw Gilbert eyeing me before whispering something in Antonio's ear, who nodded, his wide eyes also glued to me. Feliks grabbed me around the wrist and we both made our way to two seats in the back of the classroom. I ignored passing glances as I walked.

I scolded myself. I need to do better than this! I can't let it bother me. I have to be confident! I'm Lithuania and I'm a free sovereign nation. I'm not part of the USSR anymore. I'm not one of them. I'm no longer "Russia's bitch" or "that Baltic chick who lives with Russia."

Thankfully, there was no Ivan, Yekaterina, or Nikolai in this class. I don't think I'm ready to face them yet. However, I was sitting right behind none other than Mister Awesome himself.

It was inevitable. The albino turned around and stared at me, a mixture of amusement and skepticism present in his eye.

"Hey, you're that Soviet chick right?" he asked.

I grimaced. "Yes…I mean no. No."

"Are you, or aren't you?"

"I'm not," I sighed. "I got independence."

"So you don't live with Braginski anymore?" he pressed.

"No."

"Where were you last year?"

I stared at him full in the face. "Why does it matter to you?"

"I'm just wondering. Your name's Elena right?"

"Yeah."

"Wait…your um…Latvia right?"

My eyebrow twitched in irritation. I don't understand why people actually like Gilbert Beilschmidt.

"Lithuania," I stated through gritted teeth.

"Right…" he drawled. Then he smirked. "You look different."

"Yeah…"

He paused again for a second, but then he continued. "So…now that you don't live with Braginski, does that mean you guys don't do it anymore?"

"W-What?"

"You know what I mean."

Now, I was extremely annoyed. In fact, I was getting pissed off. In situations like this, I always taught myself to just deal with it silently and not say anything. But that was when I was small insignificant Elena Laurinaitis. Now, I'm independent Lithuania, and I am going to act on instinct.

"You know what? Why don't you try and worry about your own country's affairs. Oh wait! That's right! You're not even a nation anymore, are you? You may not want to admit it, but everyone else knows that you've been denounced as a nation back in the 40's. Shit happens, so you deal with it yourself. So unless you have anything intelligible to say to me, I suggest you turn around and leave me the hell alone," I spat. I felt a strange fire in my chest. I felt strong. I felt free. And I liked it.

Gilbert stared at me dumbstruck, before he glared at me, his red eyes menacing. "Since when did you become such cruel bitch?"

He almost sounded hurt.

"Maybe I've always been one. Who knows? I never had the chance to speak for myself in a long time, so please don't ruin it," I responded.

With that, he turned around and didn't look back at me once. But I knew that the news would be spreading like wildfire…that I, the quiet soviet Baltic chick, became a fiery bitch and insulted the awesome Prussia.

Feliks was staring at me with a mixture of shock and pride. I gave him a small smile and he winked at me, giving me the thumbs up.

Today was definitely going to be interesting.