You immediately felt a rush of guilt as you stared at Feliciano's hurt face. Taking a deep breath, you decided it would be better to just come out and apologize rather then try to make excuses for yourself. After all, there was no obvious way to get out of the mess you had just made. "Feliciano, I'm so sorry." The silence in the air was deafening. Slowly, Feliciano's face shifted to hurt to.. something you couldn't read. He walked toward you and, once he was standing next to you, gently took the unfinished painting from you hands. "It's okay, Bella. I really wish you hadn't looked at it, but it's okay."

He cradled the picture of Ludwig in his palms for several moments and you held your breath, just watching him study the painting. Finally, he smiled. A very, very sad smile. A soft noise of confusion left your lips as tears began to run down his face. You reached out to him hesitantly, but pulled your hand away at the last second. You shifted your feet uncomfortably. His tears turned into shuddering breaths taken in between soft sobs. Damn it! Why can't I be any good at things like this?! You took a deep breath. "Feliciano? I really am truly sorry, if I had know that you would have been this upset I never would have even tried looking at it..." He laughed, choking slightly. "N-no (Y/n), it's not your fault. Please don't be upset." You smiled gently. "Isn't that my line?" He laughed again, this time an echo of his normal smile reflected across his face. You offered your hands to him and he took a deep, clearing breath before setting his painting in your hands. You turned and carefully slid the painting back onto the drying rack

You waited awkwardly for him to wipe the majority of his tears off his face before decided that you at least needed to try and help him. He looked at you, sighing. "Well, now I suppose you would like to know what is wrong." You nodded. "Yeah, that'd probably help." He motioned to the table next to you but stopped as the final bell rang. "Is it important that you attend your next class, Bella?" You shook your head. "Not really. Do you have anything going on?" Feliciano shook his head, his brown curl swaying slightly as he took a seat in one of the chairs. "No." You sat down across from him slowly and looked Feliciano straight on. "Okay then. So... tell me what's wrong." He sighed, his eyes glazing over slightly, "Well, I guess it all started a long time ago..."

-Flash Back-

Feliciano~

He sniffled, almost silently, as he delicately wiped the blood from his nose and his cheek. Feliciano furiously used the clean part of the moist towel to wipe the tears away from his swollen, bruised face. I don't understand what I ever did to them that makes them be so mean to me! I never said anything bad, they just started following me one day... Why won't they just STOP? He sniffled again. Throwing the dirty towels in the trash, he dug through his open back pack in search of the liquid make-up foundation that usually helped to hide any damage done to visible parts of his body. Dios mio, I spend a fortune on this stuff alone...

After dabbing a generous amount around the bruises on his face and deeming them suitably hidden, Feliciano gathered his bag. Dragging his hand across his face to remove any stray tears, he unlocked the bathroom door and pushed it open. Sighing sadly, he stepped out into the hallway. BAM! Feliciano almost squeaked as a large, heavy frame bumped into him, nearly throwing him to the floor. He probably would have fallen too, if a strong, callused hand had not reached out and caught him. "Entschuldige." Gently, Feliciano felt himself being righted and he turned toward the person who he had just run into so that he could apologize to his face. "Mi dispiace! I was not watching where I was go-" Feliciano froze, stunned by the light, frosty blue eyes framed by a head of golden blonde hair. So pretty... Feliciano blushed slightly as he realized that this man was waiting for him to finish speaking. "-ing. It won't happen again!" As he turned to run, the firm hand moved it's grip to his shoulder, preventing him from leaving. His blush darkened and he looked over his shoulder at the man behind him. "Signor?"

The man's calculating, blue eyes studied Feliciano's face momentarily before looking away as he reached into his pocket to pull out a white handkerchief. He held it out to Feliciano, much to his confusion. The man gestured to a spot on his own face, just above his upper lip. "Your nose is bleeding." Feliciano gasped and yanked the white piece of cloth out of the man's open palm. "Ah! I thought it had stopped! Grazie!" The blue eyed man nodded. "Do you get them a lot? Nose bleeds, that is.." Feliciano sighed, "More than I'd like to, that's for sure." The man's brow wrinkled in confusion, but he shook it off and nodded. "Well... I hope it stops soon." He waved halfheartedly and turned to walk away. Wait! Feliciano panicked, I don't know your name! "Signor!" The blue eyed man turned, brow still raised. "Ja?" Feliciano took a deep breath. "What is your name?" The man looked surprised. "Oh, um, Ludwig. My name is Ludwig. And you?" Feliciano smiled broadly. "Feliciano. It is a pleasure to meet you Ludwig! I hope we see each other again soon!"

Ludwig looked slightly conflicted for several moments before doing the absolute last thing Feliciano thought he would do. Ludwig smiled. Brilliantly, with sparkling, white teeth flashing and eyes twinkling. And to Feliciano, in that moment, Ludwig became the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

-End Flashback-

You jumped as the bell rang, signaling that you had sat through all of third hour, completely enraptured in Feliciano's story. You frowned as he sighed, glanced at the clock, and then rose from his seat. "Sorry Bella, I cannot miss my next class. I will have to tell you the rest of the story later." You stood and picked your bag up off the floor as students who used this room for their next hour started to wander into the room. "Whens 'later' going to be?" Feliciano laughed. "As soon as I get the chance." He face turned somber for several seconds as he studied your face. "Grazie (Y/n), For listening to me. It's nice to have someone to talk to every once in a while." You smiled gently. "You're welcome, Feliciano. And again, I really am sorr-"

"It's nothing Bella! Don't even worry about it. Ciao (Y/n)! I'll see you later!" You watched as he bounced happily out of the room, not as eagerly as earlier, but definitely not close to tears anymore. Well, I suppose he'll tell me the whole story when he's ready then... I am glad that he seems to be doing a bit better then before we started talking. Although his bad mood really was my fault... Your stomach rumbled, effectively cutting off anymore of your conversation with yourself. You pulled your bag higher onto your back as you made your way to the cafeteria for lunch. You thought about what you had learned from Feliciano so far as you made your way through the lunch line.

I wonder why someone like Feliciano would be bullied... He's so nice and sweet all of the time, I can't imagine anyone picking on him, let alone beating him up! Poor Feliciano... You studied an apple for bruises before placing it on your plate next to your wrapped chicken sandwich. You payed and walked across the cafeteria, lightly pushing open the back doors after you got to them. With the sun in your eyes, you could just make out Alfred throwing a football around with some friends at the other side of the meadow and Mathew sitting under the maple tree waiting for you. Just another normal day, minus the little accident this morning, of course.

Matt waved as you got closer. You smiled at him as you decided that, until Feliciano was ready to tell you the rest of the story, you were not going to think about the painting anymore. After all, he did deserve to have his privacy. At least, until he really wanted your help fixing whatever problem he might have, that is. And for some reason, you got the feeling that this problem was going to have no easy fix...

*Writer's Note:Ummmm, yeeaaahhh... So I guess I'm trying to get back into the swing of regular updates... so here you go. (#wowthisisareallyawkwardwritersnote). Thanks for reading ladies and gents, let me know what you think! I LOVE reviews ;) Peace-Berries and Beans

Translations:

Entschuldige: I'm sorry/Excuse me