A/N; I changed my name to 'TheSelfCriticalAuthor' which in retrospect isn't that much of a lie. Plus - Sorry, I'm evil. So I gave you a cliffhanger. Muahahahahaha! :D But I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Much, MUCH longerrrrrrrrr.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. - Goes in a corner and cries. - I don't own NY&C, Victoria's Secret, or Starbucks either. Poop.

Julie skipped along the pavement, parallel to the street that was crowded with taxi's; England was walking close by – following the girl. Arthur had suggested they take a cab, but she insisted that they should walk saying that 'exercise is important'. Not at my age, he thought.

Her brown ponytail whipped side to side with each skip. He didn't know what to give the little one so he just let her dig into the coat closet and pull out whatever looked appealing. The child slipped on a trench coat exclaiming that she loved the style of the worn-out article of clothing. Julie noticed that he was lagging behind and turned around in order to stay close. England saw that the girl had started to come back and struck up a conversation.

"What is it? Is something bothering you?"

She got grabby with his hand causing him to jump in alarm. No one had ever been this 'intimate' with him in such a short amount of time of their meeting. The brunette looked up at him. Although by just a bit, he was taller than her –five inches to be exact. "You ok?"

"No, nothings wrong. But – may I ask, why are we holding hands?" England inquired.

Julie looked down at the clasped fingers and gave a small smile to the Brit. "'Cause Manhattan is quite big, and getting lost here is not something you want to do alone, ne?"

England was a bit surprised by her comment. Most people he's met would have said that they did not want to get lost in Manhattan, much less with him. He remembered the times he had gotten lost in this popular city. It was stressful and unpleasant. All the buses and train he had to memorize just to get back to Long Island where the JFK airport was. And yet, this girl wanted to get lost? With him?

"Why in dear God's will, would you want to be lost?"

She giggled –quite cutely, he must add. Wait - cute? "It's fun to get lost, 'kinda like an adventure, ne?"

Arthur smiled. It was nice to have an adventure once in awhile –it reminded him of when Alfred was little. "I think I'm a bit old to have an adventure, don't you agree miss?"

Now that he thought of it, he didn't know a thing about this girl –not even her name. No one did. His reply made the girl laugh even more. "No one's too old for anything."

He cut in, "I'm sorry, but I do believe we've yet to introduce each other."

This made Julie stop laughing and gasp. A pained expression swooped across her face making England wish he had not said the last sentence. She raised her free hand to her face, covering her mouth. "Oh my god," the child cried, "I'm so rude. Here - your out taking me shopping, wasting your precious time that you could be using for work and I'm skipping like a idiot, not even thinking of telling you my name. I'm Julie Louise. Fourteen years old and living in Long Island."

England was shocked by how self critical this girl was. Polite, but self-critical. "I'm Arthur Kirkland, but I'm quite sure you know my name already, Julie." Her name sounded so natural, like they had known each other for a long time already.

"Yup, but it's still quite polite to introduce yourself regardless of the other persons' knowledge of you." He nodded his head in agreement. These words rang true. "So, where would you like to go?"

Julie gave the British man a serious look. "Wait...you're paying for everything? How much are we getting?"

"Whatever catches your eye."

Shaking her head at the idea, she declared, "No way. If you do this for me, I have to do something for you." England questioned what he had just heard.

"What?"

"I know! I'll cook you a nice big dinner! How'd that sound?"

"Wait, what?"

It took awhile for England to register all of this. Dinner did sound nice, seeing that he couldn't cook for himself. "Uh, ok. Sure, that sounds lovely." Julie gave a little 'peace sign'. "Yay! Pinky promise." The two shook pinkies and continued to walk n' talk.

"You don't cook only hamburgers, do you?" Arthur asked apprehensively.

"God, no." she replied. "I hate hamburgers." England thanked god mentally. "So where are we going?"

Her smile widened at his statement. "To a nice store, it's called New York and Company."

They made their way to a big department store with the words 'NY&C' plastered across the top in big, red illuminated letters. Inside it was quaint, with most of the walls white. Immediately running over to the pants section, the child pulled out a few garments in a various sizes. England followed the girl and noticed the bland style of clothes she had chosen. Didn't most girls like pink, or flashy jewelry? "Don't you want more glamorous things?"

"No," she replied, "I need something I can work and run in with solid colors and the accessories do the work."

Oh, ok. Hey, who was he to argue? Julie continued to pick out plain work outfits. Dress shirts with frilly cuffs, long slacks, plus a few other things here and there. To be quite technical, the youth had grabbed two yoga pants - both black, two jeans - one in a dark indigo, one in black, and five dress shirts in peach, white, white again, black, and orange. There were some light things mixed through out the purchase like three tank tops - all cotton. And to top it off one long lime scarf, and three huge baggy sweaters, black, grey and white. Arthur noticed that most of the clothes were black. So she likes black. The total came out to be four hundred dollars.

"Are you sure all this is alright?" she questioned as they walked out of the store -bags in their hands.

Arthur smiled at the young girl, she was sweet alright. "It's quite alright, Julie. It's winter and I can't have Alfred taking care of a sick child, because hamburgers are not a cure."

She gave a small smile in return. Then - out of nowhere, she latched on to him, almost squeezing the poor man to death with her bear hug. As he blushed furiously - for no one had ever hugged him like besides the American and the frog, she exclaimed; "Thank you! I appreciate all you've done for me!"

England tried to pry her off, but that didn't require much strength - the girl gave up without a fight. He coughed, "Yes, well. You're quite welcome. Do we need to go anywhere else?"

Eyes widened. "Umm, yes, but I don't think you'll want to come with me." Her face was starting to turn red like it had earlier this afternoon. Arthur raised an eyebrow at the smaller one's reaction. Why is she blushing like that? "What is it? You can tell me."

Julie started to fidget and twiddle her fingers. "Ah, it's -" she began but the end came out muffled. The Brit strained to hear the rest of the sentence- it was in vain. "Speak up, I can't hear you."

After the forbidden place was whispered into his ear, Arthur wished he hadn't asked. His face tinged with a rosy color - not due to the crisp January air. "I see. Well, I shall be in that Starbucks." he pointed out the small American shop, "Meet me there, ok poppet?"

He heard a slight snicker from her. 'Ok, poppet!' she replied cheerfully before walking off to the woman's store. Blushing, he also went his respective direction and made his way to the coffee kiosk. After standing in line and ordering a tea, he took a seat in one of the booths that stood idle in the corner. All he could do now was wait for her, it's not like he could into the...lingerie store. I wonder what she favors. Maybe lace or silk. His face flushed yet again. Wait! I just met the child and I'm thinking squalid thoughts of her! England shook his head vigorously and took another sip of his drink to calm the buzzing noise that now dominated his temples.

-MWH-

The glass doors of the Victoria's Secret gave her a small glimpse of a store stocked with cotton panties and sexiness. As she walked in, the PINK came into sight and Julie waltzed over to the white drawers that were bursting with polka-dotted fabrics. Fifteen sets of undergarments later, she found herself in the checkout line ogling at the lip-glosses. Some came to interest and along with the 'lovely things'; the purchase included two Beauty-Rush products - Twisted Citrus and Slice of Heaven. She completed the process by handing the cashier a credit card Arthur had given to her back when they left America's house.

Soon enough Julie left in search of the Starbucks she'd seen earlier. And - waiting for her in the coffee shop across the street, seated at the corner table - was the British nation. The bell stationed just above the door gave a little ring making some of the young customers lookup from their lattes, but they immediately turned their attention back to the beverages when they saw it was just another person. She took a place across from him, crowding the floor below with shopping bags. "Hi, I'm back."

Arthur shot his head up and came back from spacing out, realizing the teenager had come back from the -store-. She waved a small, calloused hand in front of his face. "England, are you feeling alright?"

He coughed and straightened his posture. "Yes, I'm fine. I was just deep in thought. Have you bought that you need?"

"Yes, and thank you. I shall make you a truly wonderful meal."

England mentally 'oh-ed'. He had forgotten about the deal they had made not three hours ago. But that didn't make him any less excited. Crushing the now empty cup, he got up to toss it out. Arthur came back and outstretched a hand to the girl. "Come on, we have much more to do at Alfred's house before you're set."

Julie took his hand and pulled herself from the green, tattered leather of the booth. Arthur saw the amount of bags Julie was attempting to carry and offered to hold some. She happily complied. The two walked out of the kiosk - deep in conversion of what they'd do when at the American's house, completely unaware of what - or who, had seen them from across the cafe.

Translations; Boo-yah! No translations this chapter! - Claps hands and does a victory dance to Spanish music. -

Review please. ¡OLÉ!

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