"Lovino?!"

"You know my fratello?" the teen asked, wiping his eyes. "Do you know where he is?"

"Uhm, fratello?" Teresa echoed, completely lost. The auburn haired boy nodded. "Si, my brother! Lovino!" Brother…? The girl mentally compared the two people. Lovino had darker hair and skin, and his curl was towards the right. Not to mention he was one of her bullies. The teen in front of her had a curl bouncing off to his left and he looked like he couldn't even hurt a fly. I can't believe this...First Matthew and Alfred, then this kid and Lovino?

"Alright, first of all, what's your name? I don't think I know you," Teresa questioned, still a bit put off.

"Feliciano, but you can call me Feli," he sniffed. Two Italian brothers, it reminds me of Mario a bit. Teresa sighed. "Okay, look, Feli, I have to get home, but maybe I can help you find your brother-"

"Really?" Feli cheerfully interrupted, as if someone had flicked a switch to change his mood. "Grazie, bella ragazza!"

"Um, sure…? I'm Teresa, by the way," the girl hesitantly introduced herself. "Do you have a phone to call him?"

"No, Lovi doesn't trust me with one," Feli pouted. Lovi?! That's his actual nickname and not just a tease? Teresa tried to hold in her snort. "How did you lose him?"

"Well, I was seeing if they had any pasta at the food counter, but they didn't!" the Italian cried. "And by the time I came out, Lovi wasn't there! He said he would leave if I wasn't fast…Do you think he left me, Teresina?" Teresa did the math in her head. She was sure Lovino wouldn't have left Feli on purpose...Then she figured it out and barely contained another snort. They passed each other at the entrance and didn't even notice! "It's okay, it was proba- definitely - an accident," she comforted him. "Do you know the way home?"

"Si, but I'm scared to go alone…" Teresa thought carefully while taking a glance at the large clock over the skating rink. Mom's going to get worried, she thought, conflicted. But I can't leave Feli here! The girl sighed again. "I'll take you," she offered.

"Grazie!" Feli exclaimed loudly, enveloping the startled girl in a huge hug. The girl awkwardly patted his head. "You're welcome. Now let's hurry." Feli nodded, and the twosome started off towards the right, as he directed. After five minutes of walking, he exclaimed, "Oh, wait! It was left!" The Italian ran back the way they came, causing Teresa to have to follow him so he didn't get lost. Feli reminded her of a puppy, full of energy and annoying at times. However, she found him sweet.

"It was left, right, right, then a left, no, it was right, si, destra, and then sinistra, e sinistra ancora…" The teen continued mumbling in Italian as he tried to lead them through the streets, doubling back many times and regaining their bearings. The background changed from the busy city to a large community of houses, no doubt unaffordable by Teresa's small family. "Is this your community?" she asked, tired of walking.

"Si! I can find my way from here! Lovi made me memorize it!" Feli cheered happily. Despite her aches and how late it had gotten, Teresa decided to accompany him to his house. "I'll still walk you," she stated, smiling. "Don't want you to be picked up by a stranger."

As they hiked, Feli chatted. "I go to World Academy, what about you?" he asked.

"I go there too," Teresa answered. "Funny I haven't seen you before."

"I always thought World Academy was a strange name for a high school, si?"

"Well, I think there was this guy named Hidekaz Himaruya who sponsored and named the school. He asked for it to be named after this anime he made, but I'm not sure."

"Wow, that's cool! Like the anime came to life!"

"I guess so. That actually does seem pretty cool."

Feli bounded up the steps of a two story house and called, "This is my house!" Teresa felt a pang of jealousy for the Italian. "Well, there you go," she said. "Now I need to get home." She turned to go when the door opened, revealing Lovino. "Where the hell were you, bastardo?! I was waiting for you! Not that I wanted to or that I cared!" he yelled loudly. Then he spotted Teresa. "What are you doing here, puta?!"

"Fratello, Teresina helped me get home!" Feli smiled. He raced down the steps again and wrapped the girl up in a hug. "Grazie, bella ragazza!" he thanked her. "I'll see you at school tomorrow!" As the door was shutting after the enthusiastic Italian, Lovino and Teresa made eye contact for a moment, only for Lovino to look away and shut the door.

"...well, you're very welcome for bringing your little brother back," Teresa deadpanned, standing on the sidewalk. The only response was a bird tweeting. "Right. I don't know why I expect this kind of stuff."

The lone girl started the long trek home.

"Mom, I'm hom-"

"Tess!" the girl's mom exclaimed. "Tess, I wanna bake cookies!" The raven haired girl stood still in the doorway. "What?"

"I told you, I wanna bake cookies! But I had to wait for you! Go to the store and grab some ingredients, I already found a recipe in a magazine!" With the excitement of a little girl, Teresa's mom half threw a piece of paper at her. "Mom, wait, didn't you notice I'm an hour and a quarter late?"

"Oh, you are?" her mom faltered, throwing a glance at the beat up and dented clock on the wall. "Look at that, I didn't even notice! Now, here's some money! Get me some cookie stuff!" The woman tossed some bills at Teresa and shoved her out the door.

"Um," Teresa stated, standing at the door of her apartment. What the hell just happened…?! She had just arrived home, and now her mom throws her out to get cookie baking supplies when they could barely afford housing? "Right. I'll get going, then."

Teresa's tired legs trudged onward, automatically taking her to the nearest grocery store. Well, this is great. The air outside had started to grow crisper, and the sun was setting, sending pinkish hues across the sky. The bruises decorating the girl's skin ached with a dull pain. "I'm going to save for a bike…" she moaned out loud, her feet tired from a day full of walking.

Things like this happened sometimes. Teresa's mom would send her off at unearthly hours to buy random things - cookie dough, holiday themed stickers, etc, etc, etc. When Teresa was younger, she would accompany the girl to buy whatever she wanted. It was like heaven for the eight year old child.

When Teresa was younger, however, they still had some money to waste.

Her mom's bipolar disorder had gotten worse over the years. Sometimes she'd refuse to take her medicine and Teresa would have to crush the pills and mix them with her food. Sometimes they'd be so short on money that Teresa would forfeit her meals until her mom started working again. And the worst part was that if anyone found out, Child Services would probably get involved and separate the two.

Wsshhht. The automatic doors of Market Joe's opened to reveal the aisles of endless food, snapping Teresa out of her thoughts. "Alright," she said aloud, "cookie dough." She remembered the cash she was still clutching in her fist and shoved it in her pocket, then started looking for the dough aisle. Signs hung from the ceiling: Bread, Jam, Condiments - Oatmeal, Cereal, Bagels - Baking, Mixes, Snacks - there. The girl hurried over to the mixes, selecting a box of chocolate chip dough.

Only one checkout lane was open, due to the lack of customers and the late hour. Teresa gave the box to the blond haired young lady who quickly stashed the phone she had just been using away. After swiping it under the red light of the scanner, she stated flatly, "Ten fifty-two." Teresa fished the crumpled green bills out from her pocket only to realize her mom had given her three one-dollar bills. "I…" she started to say.

"Don't have enough," the woman grumbled, finishing her sentence. She half tossed the box to the side. "Bye, have a nice night." After a moment of being put off by the blond's sarcastic statement, Teresa hurried to the door, not wanting to be chased out with a broom (learned by experience from that one time she had pushed another grumpy cashier).

"Well, that was a complete and utter waste of time."

The lonely girl started back to her apartment.

It's "entertain myself solely with my thoughts" time again…! Yay…!

Hello lovely readers! I just want to say that I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Yay for the Italian brothers! Feel free to leave questions, comments, concerns, or ideas in a review!

Also, thanks to all my reviewers! I'm glad you're curious about this story!

Ciao!