Author's Notes: What's this? Another chapter? Why yes, it is another chapter! And who was it beta-ed by? It could only be Capt. Hasting! You guys owe him a lot, the first time I wrote this chapter it was terrible. I made Alabama (that's right, he's in this chapter) really creepy and depressed. Never study psych disorders and write ANYTHING. Ever. The results are always scary. Fortunately, that chapter didn't make it very far and now you have a not creepy chapter to enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Axis Powers: Hetalia.
Casey (DC) belongs to RubberChi.
Damien (Louisiana) belongs to Arashikun.
Connie (Tennessee) belongs to Ms. Informed.
Kasey Jo (Kentucky) belongs to Ms. Informed.
Robert = Delaware
Jeremiah = Alabama
Mississippi = Emma
After New York's departure the meeting room felt quite empty. Casey let out a deflated sigh and slumped back into her chair. This was all far too stressful for her to handle on her own. She thought the Original Colonies would have been more helpful but New York had proved her wrong. It had taken an arm and a leg to get him to finally agree to tell the Pacific states what was going on. She was the capital, it shouldn't have been so difficult for her to convince one state to do as she asked.
It was nice to be able to cross another group off the list. It was unfortunate that there were still several more sets of states that needed to be informed of Alfred's absence. The only other state she'd managed to get a hold of and convince to help out was Virginia. The next state on her call list was Delaware. Casey was sure she could rely on the serious state to comply with her wishes. She pulled out her brief case from under her chair and removed her cell phone. A few clicks on the keypad later, she had the phone pressed against her ear, the familiar dial tone greeted her.
"Hello? Robert Jones speaking."
"Hey, this is Casey."
"Oh, hello Casey. I assume you have information to tell me regarding the whereabouts of Alfred."
It was exactly like Robert to skip the formalities and get right to the point of a conversation. He was all about facts and knowing exactly what was going on.
"Yes, I do."
Their conversation was brief, with little commentary from Robert as Casey explained the grim situation they had been presented with. He had agreed without hesitation to tell some of the Southern states about what was going on. Much like she had with New York, Casey had already organized a meeting for Delaware. Luckily for Robert, the meeting was a lot closer to home than it had been for New York. It would be in his capital, Dover. She had already explained to the East South Central states (as they were called by the US Census Bureau) that they need to be at Robert's house by three o'clock that afternoon. They would be arriving soon.
Dover, Delaware.
Alabama rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as Robert stared at him with his cold, green eyes. He hadn't meant to be late to their meeting.
"Jeremiah, I am sure you are aware of my feelings on the subject of punctuality. I do not tolerate late arrivals. This will not happen again, do you understand?"
"Yes sir." he mumbled.
It was like being at some grade school, he was the rowdy kid who had been late and was trying to sneak back into class. That wasn't what had happened. He wasn't the bad kid.
Jeremiah hadn't meant to take an afternoon nap and miss his flight. And he hadn't meant for his newly rescheduled flight to be delayed. He hadn't meant to forget his coat on the plane and not realize until he was walking out the front door of the airport. Naturally, he had gone back to get it but it had taken half an hour of security checks to get back to the plane and then another ten minutes of questioning about why he had to return in the first place.
He was sure it would have gone a lot faster if the airport security hadn't assumed he was some kind of redneck punk. It was all because of his aggravating southern drawl. It seemed to make any law enforcement personnel outside of the south immediately labeled him as the type of kid who might grab their gun and shoot everyone within a thirty foot radius while laughing like a maniac.
Mississippi offered him a sympathetic smile as he shuffled over to the empty seat next to her. As soon as he was sitting, Emma quickly turned her attention back to Robert who was at the head of the table. Across from Jeremiah were Kentucky and Tennessee. The two girls had always been good friends and it was no surprise to him that they had sat together.
Jeremiah wished his closest friend was here. Although he shared a border with Mississippi and Tennessee, they weren't his best friends. Louisiana had been his best friend since before he could remember. They did almost everything together.
Unfortunately for him, all the states had been organized into geographic divisions so meetings would be less crowded. For most of the states this was a good thing, they got to spend even more time with their already close neighbors. Alabama thanked his lucky stars he was in a group with Mississippi, one of his oldest friends, but he still wished Louisiana could be with them as well. Emma tended to be a little on the girly side for him sometimes but he still enjoyed her company. It helped that Mississippi was also friends with Louisiana, the three of them would try to get together at least once a week.
Jeremiah was a little more cautious around Kentucky, who he still wasn't sure if he could trust completely. During the Civil War she had announced neutrality early on but also seemed to offer some support to the South. For a while, he and the other Confederate states had believed Kasey Jo and even put a star on their flag to represent her. They later found out that she supported the Union, though many of his siblings still considered her a Confederate State. Alabama didn't take kindly to liars and had a somewhat strained relationship with Kentucky.
Still, he valued the relationships he had established with the Southern States over the years and sincerely hoped he could improve his relationship with Kasey Jo. When he had tried to explain this dilemma to Louisiana, his older brother had told him to just "start being friendly". That was easy for him to say, Damien could get along with everyone without thinking twice. Jeremiah had to plan out what he was going to say if he wanted to start a good conversation with someone he wasn't very close with. It's not that he was worried about how he would come off (he honestly couldn't care less about what people thought), he just wanted to ensure that he wouldn't run out of things to say. He wasn't an overly friendly state so sometimes he had to put in a little extra effort when it came to social situations.
"Psst. Pay attention or Rob's gonna get pissed." a voice whispered in his ear. He looked up and was met by Mississippi's scowling face. She gestured to where Robert was talking at the front of the table.
"Is something wrong back there, Emma and Jeremiah?"
Emma shot him a dirty look before responding to Robert.
"Course not. Jerry-boy here was just spacin' out a little."
Some help she was turning out to be. He didn't need to explain himself to Delaware. That guy needed to be knocked down a few notches in his opinion.
"Well, lucky for you Jeremiah, I haven't started the important part of this meeting. Please refrain from 'spacing out' in the future."
"Yes sir." he said quietly. What he had really wanted to say was something along the lines of "Fuck off, you pompous jack ass" but his manners had won this battle. Maybe next time he'd give Robert a piece of his mind.
Delaware was a strong and demanding state who almost all of his younger siblings looked up to. He was the first, the oldest, the most mature; he knew everything there was to know about being a state and all that other crap new states had gushed about Robert when they had first been granted statehood. They had all admired his cool calmness, even in the most difficult of situations. It was impossible to know what was going on behind those sharp eyes. The only states who never seemed to feel Robert's superiority were Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They would do whatever they liked, regardless of whether Delaware was around.
Even Jeremiah had looked up to Robert at one point. Eventually he and most of the other states had learned that Delaware was a play-by-the-rules kind of guy who never liked to relax and have fun. It had gotten to the point where he started resembling a machine more than a person, which made Alabama very uneasy. He was still admired by many but Alabama didn't think he was the amazing older brother he had once been.
"Alabama," Delaware snapped, "pay attention. This is important."
Jeremiah's brown eyes locked onto Robert's green ones. He was sick of Delaware's self-inflated attitude, it was time to show "Pennsylvania's armpit" (a nickname Delaware hated with passion.) what was what. He held his defiant stare with Robert until the shorter state's face was red with anger. Alabama let his gaze falter with a smirk and began to play with is shaggy blonde hair.
"Jeremiah." Delaware seethed out between gritted teeth.
"Rob." He winked and offered the irritated state an innocent grin.
A vein throbbed on Delaware's forehead. He looked like he was trying to calm himself down though. Jeremiah gave himself a mental pat on the back, it took a lot to make Robert show any emotion. He noted sadly that the usual angry spark was lacking from the chilly green eyes meaning he hadn't completely accomplished his goal.
"No more interruptions."
"Yes sir." When he had said those two words for the third time in the last fifteen minutes they were filled with sarcasm. He even lifted his hand in a mock salute which earned him a snicker from Kentucky. Robert didn't notice for he had begun his lecture once again.
"Alright. I'm sure all of you got the email a couple of month ago from Casey asking if you had seen Alfred." He looked around the room expectantly and received a couple of nods and a yes. Jeremiah did nothing, the meeting had suddenly gotten a lot more interesting.
"Casey has not seen Alfred since the day before she sent that email. He has been missing for two and a half months. It is vital that you remain calm. Chaos in a time like this is the last thing we need. There is nothing I can do for you but suggest you all try your best to act normal. We will be trying to locate him in the next few weeks."
Kentucky stood up and slammed her fists onto the table.
"How long have y'all known 'bout this?"
"For two months."
Jeremiah's mouth hung open in disbelief. His father had been missing for two months and it wasn't until now that the stuck-up state decided to tell them? They were just as important as he was, they should have been told at the same time. He was beyond mad, he was furious.
"Who the hell do y'all think you are? We shoulda been told right away." Jeremiah sneered.
"Only the first thirteen states were told prior to this meeting. Casey asked us to keep quiet. If Alfred didn't show up within the next few months it would be our duty to tell the rest of you about what was going on. I'm sorry you had to wait."
"I highly doubt that." Tennessee shot back.
Delaware glared at her, "What is that suppose to mean?"
"You know full well what I mean. You Yankees think you're so much more important then us. Just 'cause y'all won the war of Northern Aggression doesn't me—
"Look here, you little runt!" Delaware exploded, "That war of Southern Rebellion has nothing to do with this! It wasn't my decision to keep it a secret!"
Alabama leaned forward in his seat, this meeting was finally getting interesting and he didn't want to miss a thing. Unfortunately just when it looked like Tennessee was going to give Delaware a well deserved wallop Mississippi quickly jumped up to distill the argument.
"Connie, calm yourself! This is not the time to open up old feuds, alright?"
She glared at Tennessee who began to say something but had changed her mind and sat down.
"Thank you Emma-" Delaware began.
"And you need to stop acting like a teacher and start acting like family. We're kin and we need to stick together until this problem gets fixed. That means we treat each other with respect."
She looked over all the glum faces in the room, pausing at Alabama to make sure he got the point. He did, there was no doubt about that. In fact he was quite impressed with the way she handled herself. There was no way he would have been able to tell Robert off without using a few choice words that really weren't considered "family friendly."
Delaware licked his lower lip and cleared his throat, "Emma, you're right...I-I was acting like a teacher and I'm sorry."
Jeremiah's eyebrows shot up his forehead, it wasn't often he got to see Robert apologize for stuff he did. Actually he couldn't even remember the last time he'd seen Rob apologize.
"Can we go now?" Tennessee asked.
"Yes...uh…feel free to contact Casey if you have any questions."
Jeremiah stood up and quietly left the room. He followed the hallway to the front door and escaped out onto the street. The weather had taken a turn for the worst. The dribble of rain he had felt while walking into the building had turned into a downpour and now his simple t-shirt and shorts were plastered to his skin. His sopping hair allowed water to easily drip into his brown eyes.
After a quick glance around Jeremiah realized he was alone on the streets. He wasn't surprised. In his opinion northerners were a bunch of wimps when it came to weather. They couldn't even handle a little rain. He smirked at the thought of them having to deal with hurricanes every year like he did.
Since it was the middle of summer the rain was warm. Alabama bent down and pulled off his beat up tennis shoes. He was often ridiculed for wearing them everywhere but they were one of the few pairs of shoes he owned. He only wore them if he absolutely had to. He didn't like having his feet covered. He started off down the street, enjoying the way the pavement felt against his calloused feet. Shoes were overrated.
After a good ten minutes of walking he reached an awning and ducked under it. He pulled out his phone and started to dial the only phone number he had ever bothered to memorize. It took a few tries but he finally managed to steady his slippery hands enough to punch the correct numbers into the phone. The phone on the other end started ringing. Jeremiah tapped his bare feet impatiently.
"Hello?"
"Damien. Where are you?"
"What do you mean where am I? Where are you?"
"I'm—well, I was—at Delaware's house." The resentment in his voice was painfully clear.
"Are you ok, Jer? You ain't soundin' too good."
"Billy Yank was just being an ass." he replied, using the old Civil War slang name for the Union soldiers.
"Was he tellin' y'all about Dad?"
"Yea .Who told you?"
Virginia told me, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. We had a meeting at Texas's house."
"You back home?"
"Yea, why?"
"Can I come stay with you for a lil' while?" Jeremiah was surprised when the words spilled out of his mouth. He hadn't meant to actually ask Damien if he could go to his house but he had been considering it. For safety measures, of course.
"No problem. You got a flight booked?"
"Damn it, no. I forgot to get a return ticket."
"Well, aren'tcha at Robby's place? How ya gonna get to my house if you're all the way up there?"
"I dunno. Walk, I guess."
"You gotta be kiddin' me. You can't just walk to my place from Delaware's. You need to book a flight. Can ya handle that?"
Jeremiah stayed silent. He probably could book a fight if he had to but he didn't want to. His phone wasn't one those fancy one where you could go on the internet and make travel plans which meant he'd probably have to call the airport and talk to someone about getting a ticket. He really wasn't interested in speaking to the airport people after his annoying experience earlier.
"Look, I'll ask Casey to pull some strings and getcha a flight booked. What are you up to anyway?"
"Walking in the rain."
"Why the hell are you doing that?"
" 'Cause I can. I like the way the rain feels on my feet."
"You take off your shoes again? Buy some new ones while you're up there."
"But I already have a pair of sneakers and some sandals."
He heard Louisiana sigh into the phone. This happened a lot when Alabama said something that made perfect sense to himself but ended up making no sense to Damien. His brother was very fashion conscious and could never understand why Jeremiah only owned the bare necessities when it came to clothing.
"I can't win with you. I'll text ya the details of your flight after I've talked to Casey. Catch up with you later."
"Ok. Bye."
He hung up the phone and put it back into his pocket. He sat down and leaned against the wall of the building the awning was attached to. The rain continued to beat down on the pavement but it could no longer hit him. Jeremiah lifted up his leg and examined the bottom of his feet. They were black, which didn't surprise him. The only problem with walking in the streets was the dirt. The best place to go walking was in his back yard. He had a couple acres of land that he'd built his small house on. He'd left the rest to go uncultivated and would often go exploring through his own personal wilderness.
It wasn't long before his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. Casey had booked him a flight at the Delaware Airpark which wasn't too far away. His flight was in a couple hours, leaving him plenty of time to get there. His destination was Baton Rouge, Louisiana's capital. Damien said he would meet Jeremiah there when his flight landed.
The drenched state started off in the direction of the airport. Life in the US was about to change drastically.
AN: Thanks for the reviews guys! They make my day. :D
I have to admit, I really wanted to have Alabama (or one of the other Southern states) say "gosh dang it" at some point but I resisted the urge. If you don't get it, imagine someone with a southern accent saying "gosh dang it". I say it all the time (and apparently, I have a southern drawl...I can never hear it though). My stepdad (a New Yorker) says it makes me sound like a uneducated hillbilly. Which is just great. So yea, none of that for the southern states. They're not uneducated hillbillies!