Arthur yells at me at some point to get off my laptop and go to sleep. Frowning, I switch my laptop off and roll over onto my side. What Arthur doesn't know, though, is that I'm now on my phone. I'm beginning to wonder if he's homophobic, with the way he asked me so awkwardly if I was gay. I wonder what he would have said if I told him I was?
It's around midnight when I suddenly remember something that might be important to Antonio. I hope me texting him so late doesn't piss him off. Especially when it might not matter all that much to him. It's nothing, really, but I think he needs to know that Lovino has a bad habit of badmouthing people. Except he's even more of a wuss than Feliciano, and so if they were to fight him he'd probably piss his pants. So, I tell Antonio to look out for the guy. I mean, it's more likely than not that he's gonna get in some sort of fight before this week is up. I end up exchanging more details with Antonio, such as snapchat and whatnot. Mainly because he wants to show me Lovino's sleeping face. Seriously Antonio, no wonder he thinks you're a creeper. I tell Antonio that Lovino isn't really one for people watching him sleep, and Antonio sends me a snapchat of himself pouting, and I want to burst out laughing. I think Antonio would be good for Lovino. I shoot him another text about Lovino's likes, save for the guilty pleasures Lovino and I both share. I'd tell Antonio about Lovino's dislikes, but there's nothing that's really major for Antonio to know. Other than the fact Lovino has an inferiority complex. Only Antonio doesn't need to know that just yet. Antonio seems to be very excited over the fact that Lovino likes tomatoes and I have to warn the Spanish dude that if he wakes Lovino up, it will not end well. Lovino knows Antonio likes tomatoes, though, but I guess Lovino pretended not to like them in order to avoid having anything in common with Antonio. Haha. Oops.
I have a really messed up sleeping schedule. I mean, I have class in the morning. I should go to sleep. But I can't. Instead, I'm just rolling around on my bed trying to tire myself out. I almost rolled off my bed in the process, but whatevs. As time passes one in the morning, I end up falling off of my bed. I sneak a glance to Arthur to make sure I haven't woken the grumpy guy up. You can imagine my surprise when I notice he's crying.
Yup. I'm on the floor, staring at my roommate who's shaking and weeping. I think he's still asleep, but I'm not entirely sure. I kinda feel bad for the guy, though. I crawl over to Arthur and begin to awkwardly stroke his hair. What else can I do, though? I have no idea what's going on in this dream of his. It can't be anything good. I mean, I've had my fair share of nightmares, but I don't think I've ever reacted like this. I almost piss my pants when Arthur's eyes snap open. Almost. I didn't. Honestly.
"What are you doing?" I think Arthur had intended to sound cold and intimidating, but instead he just sounds weak and vulnerable.
"You were having a nightmare, right?" Would it be awkward if I climbed into his bed? It probably would be. "What happened?"
"It doesn't concern you." Arthur rolls over so that his back faces me.
"I had a nightmare, too," I lie, "I'm really scared." I'm not, but I'm pretty sure he is. "Can I sleep with you?" There's a brief silence as I realise how inappropriate that sounds and I feel my face heat up.
"What happened in your nightmare?" Arthur mumbles, and I rack my mind for all the nightmares I've had. Arthur turns back to face me and pats on the space on his bed.
"Promise you won't tell anyone?" I slide into his bed. Arthur's pale and sweaty and there's a look of sadness in his eyes which I'm positive wasn't there before. Actually, now that I get to see them up close, I'm left speechless by how... green they are. They're like. Really green. Gorgeously green. You know the type of eyes you want looking up at you when-
Fuck. No. I am not thinking about that sort of thing whilst sharing a bed with someone. Ah. Arthur's waiting for me to respond. I take a deep breath as I recall the scariest dream I've ever had.
"I was running up some stairs with my brother, Matthew, because we were being chased by some monster," I begin, giving him that look you give when you're serious and you don't want the person you're talking to laughing at you, "I was holding Mattie's hand because he was scared. I couldn't see the top of the stairs but I could see the monster behind us. I kept running and running and running but the stairs seemed to be going on forever. Mattie was begging me to just give up and I was yelling at him that he should want to survive, not give in. Whilst I was yelling, the monster seized Mattie's head. I saw..." As pathetic as it sounds, I choke as I continue, "I saw the monster's claws pierce through Mattie's skull. It was just so... real. Blood was everywhere and Mattie didn't even scream or anything. He didn't have the time to. The last thing I had said to him was to stop being such a wimp. Then I was falling. The stairs, the monster, Mattie, they had all disappeared. It was just me. I was crying and falling. I think it was somewhere in New York. Just as I was about to hit the ground, I woke up. And saw you." I offer a weak smile. Arthur sighs and wraps his arms around me in a warm embrace. I'm confused, but it's nice. Strangely. Arthur smells nice. Like, not in a creepy way. But in a comforting way. "What happened in yours?" I ask as I try and find a place to put my own arms without it being awkward. I mean, I was sharing a bed with him because he's the one who had the nightmare, after all. Though being the one who's being held doesn't really feel heroic. Nice, definitely, but I'm sure I should be holding him.
"Nothing." Arthur states, "You're the one who had a nightmare. Not me."
"Then why were you shaking?" I look up to stare at him. Arthur glances away from me.
"Cold."
"But you were sweating."
"Go to sleep."
"Tell me in the morning." It surprises even me how easy it is to fall asleep in Arthur's arms. I mean, when I did actually have that nightmare I couldn't sleep easily. Even when I shared a bed with Mattie, I couldn't sleep. Perhaps its because I didn't really have the nightmare. I don't know.
When I wake up, it's not as awkward as I expected it to be. Mainly because I wake up first (shocking, I know) which gives me the perfect chance to slip away. Before I do, I can't help but admire how peaceful Arthur is when he's sleeping. He's pouting rather than frowning, and his huge eyebrows have relaxed from constantly being knitted into a scowl. I don't spend too long admiring the dude's face, though. I mean, I'm straight. Really. Really truly really. Not that it matters. But I am. Whatever.
Showers are fun. Don't you just love showers? I love them. They give me a reason to sing at the top of my lungs. Sure, it's early as fuck, but does it matter? Not really. Does it matter that I don't even know the words to the song I'm trying to sing? Not at all. All I know, and all I need to know, is the chorus. I mean, I know I promised not to let my dork side show to Arthur, but I'm sure he's aware of how "Obsessed With You" is an absolutely awesome song and definitely one that people should sing in the shower. Apparently that's not the case, though, since he's banging on the bathroom door and ordering me to hurry up and be quiet.
"You just can't appreciate good music!" I holler as I rinse the shampoo out of my hair.
"Oh, please," Arthur's probably rolling his eyes, "Your singing's tragic."
"Not as tragic as your face." Nice one, Alfred.
"Wanker! That was uncalled for!"
"Your face is uncalled for." Ooh, burn. Does this mean we're friends now? I mean, we're already bantering. Is that even a word? It probably isn't.
"What are you, twelve?" I step out of the shower as Arthur says that. With a towel secured around my waist, I tug open the bathroom door with a grin.
"And a half." A light blush dusts Arthur's face and he pushes me out of the way, grumbling something. I'm sure he's just overwhelmed by my hot bod. I'm pretty toned, y'know. I'll admit though, I'm worried I might be gaining weight. But that's irrelevant. "Hey, Arthur?" I call his name as I put on my shirt. Arthur yells a "yeah" from the shower to let me know he's listening. "Are you going to tell me about your nightmare?"
Silence. "Probably not." Arthur finally replies. Hey, at least it's not a definite "no, I'm never going to tell you."
"Well, just tell me when you're ready," I sigh, "Wake me up if you have any more nightmares, alright? I'll sleep with you again if I need to."
"S-Stupid!" Arthur stammers as he yells, "I only did that because you had a nightmare! It didn't benefit me at all! If- If anything, it was rather uncomfortable."
"Yeah, yeah." Like I believe that. Unless he means uncomfortable in another way. Which I really hope he doesn't. I'm such a pervert, I bet he didn't mean it in that way at all.
I'm really good at playing pretend. Have you ever read the manga Switch Girl? I'm like the main girl in that. It's really good, by the way. You see, the girl is all popular and loved at school, whereas at home she's a loser who wears the same shirt three days in a row. Much like myself.
Girls fawn all over me in classes. They're always like, "Alfred, oh, Alfred! Please help us with this math question!" and being the hero I am, I help them. Lovino's never impressed, but I think that's because I'm not paying attention to him. Which, sadly, means that I have to help him instead of flirting with the beautiful ladies and make sure that Lovino's sour face doesn't stick. Lovino does make some interesting faces a lot of the time. When I ask him how things are going with Antonio, there's a lovely mixture of embarrassment and absolute repulsion painted on his face.
"What's that meant to mean?!" Of course with Lovino's colourful language, he uses more cuss words in the sentence.
"I'm just wondering," I grin, "I mean, he is your roommate and all. Is it awkward?"
"That bastard wouldn't let it be awkward even if I wanted it to be."
"Isn't that good?"
Lovino shrugs. He's such a difficult child. "What about you?" Lovino asks, his green eyes flickering towards me.
I do that weird hum thing. You know the one where you're like hmm? Yeah, I do that.
"How are things with your roommate?"
"Good, I guess. Though it's not fair you're asking me since you didn't really answer my question." I pout, and Lovino's scowl makes its way back onto his face.
"Don't give me that," he snarls, pinching my cheek, "Feli pouts enough as it is. Don't make me have to put up with you, too." He releases my face and I rub the spot he'd grabbed, apologising. Hesitantly, Lovino adds, "I'll talk to you about it later. In private. Alright?"
Ooh, this should be good.
When we finally get a free period, Lovino pulls me to the emptiest place he can find. The Italian's face is bright red and he's playing with the bottom of his sweat shirt.
"He... he keeps... calling me cute," Lovino's blush darkens as he speaks, "I don't like it... I really don't... I'm not cute. I mean, I'm handsome, sure, but cute? Fuck, little girls are cute." He stops, glaring at me as I snicker. "Not like that, you fucking pervert. Feliciano's cute. I'm not cute. I'm not cuddly and all that shit that's meant to come in the 'cute' package. Hell, the bastard tries to get me to share a bed with him whenever he thinks I'm nervous. It's been two days, Al! Two days! Like hell I'd be nervous!"
"But did you share a bed with him?" I didn't think it was possible, but Lovino turns even redder. I'm actually kind of worried.
"Shut up. He's just really toned, you know? Like... really fucking toned. He's a real fucking push over and a complete bastard, but he could probably kick my ass if he truly wanted to." I refrain from reminding my dear friend that anybody could kick his ass if they truly wanted to.
"What are you trying to tell me, bro?" This question gets me a glare from my angry Italian pal.
"Let me finish, you damn hamburger bastard," Lovino huffs before he continues, "Anyway, I don't know what to do. I've got enough friends to deal with, you know?"
"Ah, yes." I count his friends on my fingers, except I'm only holding up one. "Me."
"Shut up, you're difficult, bastard. I've also got to take care of Feliciano. And I talk to Kiku. Sometimes."
"My bad. So that's three friends. Wow, Lovino, how do you keep up with all these friends?"
"Don't make me punch you."
"Dude. Antonio would be a good friend to have. He likes you, bro, so go for it." Again, the redness returns to Lovino's face.
"How do you know that, asshole?!"
I wink at my friend before scurrying off. I hope he opens up to Antonio. I really, really hope he does.
A/N:
Arthur having nightmares will probably be part of the plot. If I can be bothered. I feel like these chapters are just getting worse and worse, and sorry if they are! I swear I'll fix everything soon. Also, I totally believe Alfred's biggest fear would be losing Matthew. I don't know why. Perhaps this is my way of telling you what Arthur's nightmare was about? Ahaha~
Also, this will probably lean towards Spamano before it does with UsUk, though I promise they'll both be couples by the end. Thank you again for reading, and if I've messed up anywhere or it doesn't make sense, please let me know~