Gunner shivered from a cold breeze, assuming it must be late. He didn't care too much, though. There was still a stunning view of the moon over the ocean, and he couldn't help but sit there and watch a little longer. The ocean lapping gently at the rocks, the reflection of the moon from the water... it was a calming place, creating a semi-conscious state of mind. He sighed contently, looking at the moon that was a bit off to the west, just a little, and the winds from the south, they warmed him up more than those from north. Another wave hit the cliff with slightly more force, the reflection of the-

Oh no.

The moon.

To the west.

It was dangerous.

Getting too close to three.

"No..." he breathed, "No, I..." he pushed himself up off the ground, running back to the campus. "If I had just checked the time..." Gunner ran faster, tripping over a root from a maple tree. He moaned softly, then, going to get back up...

HEY.

'No...' he thought again. 'Not yet, please, not yet.' He pushed himself up again, running even faster.

HEY. GUNNER.

The words came too choppily to have been human. The Icelandic boy ran still, not looking back to see what it was. 'Just a little more.' he thought. 'Soon I'll get to Onii-chan and he can help me.'

GUNNER!~ WHY WONT YOU TURN AROUND? ARE YOU SCARED?

The last part of the sentence didn't even make Gunner flinch, just run faster. He fell over, panting and trying to get his breath back. At least he was on the campus. Maybe his Onii-chan would be out looking for him. Valdis wouldn't be though. He was with Mathis, unable to leave even if he tried.

HA! WELL, THAT WAS EASY! IS IT SO HARD TO RUN GUNNER? RUN FROM US? YOU'RE ONLY RUNNING FROM YOURSELF GUNNER. WE ARE YOU. WE MAKE YOU WHO YOU ARE. YOU SEE THE WALLS AND YOU SEE SILLY LITTLE FISH. BUT WITHOUT US GUNNER, YOU'D BE NLTHING. YOU WOULDNT BE SPECIAL AT ALL. YOU WOULDNT HAVE STUDIED UNTIL WE CAME LATE AT NIGHT. AND THEN YOU WOULDNT BE NUMBER ONE. DON'T YOU GET IT? WE ARE PART OF YOU. AND IF WE ARE HURTING YOU, THAT MEANS YOURE ONLY HURTING YOURSELF GUNNER.

Gunner held his head in his hands, trembling more than he liked to believe he was. He didn't fall. He was pushed. He didn't cut himself. They cut him. He couldn't believe himself when he said he didn't hurt himself. He did. But they did it. So...what was real...?

"P-please..." he managed to choke out. "P-please, go away...leave me alone...I want to be alone...I want to be alone...I-"

OH YOU ARE ALONE. ALONE WITH US. BUT WE ARE YOU GUNNER. SO YOURE ALL ALONE GUNNER. NOBODY WILL HEAR YOU. NOBODY CAN. NOT EVEN YOUR BROTHER GUNNER.

Gunner hiccupped, tears running down his face. He wasn't sad, not at all. He was scared. Gunner was scared stiff, out of his mind. He was scared of what was real, what wasn't real, what he thought was real, what he didn't think wasn't real. But he didn't know. He didn't know that the time of fear was over. 3:36, he'd cried for only three minutes, but it'd felt like years. He cried still, but stopped.

'This...this warmth...my dream...my wish...was it granted?' Gunner wondered for one more minute before blacking out into another world. He always did. 'Made a fuss if they got inside his, and was disturbed...disturbed...

"Hey...Gunner...up...-ou need t-...you feel be-...can't stay sleeping for-...ple-..." The words came at different volumes to Gunner, and for a moment he thought he was still hearing them, until... "...get wurst if yo-...-m awesome enou-..."

"Nngh..." he moaned somewhat, opening his eyes to meet crimson red ones.

"You awake?" Gilbert asked softly, stroking the younger boy's hair. "You were a wreck when I got to you...I couldn't sleep at all last night. I thought somebody attacked you and I wanted to know if you were okay." he smiled, more of a smirk, and added, "And I need to know who did this so I could personally beat the shit out of them. I am awesome enough to do that." Gunner just looked at him, absent-mindedly wondering how it got so bright.

"Wh...where..." He spoke softly, trying to figure out just where he had been taken.

"Gunner..." Gilbert nudged his shoulder softly trying to get him to sit up. "Oyaaah!" He fell on the ground, then pushed himself up, rubbing his head. "Shhhhit. That hurt..." The German's head was taking quite a bit of abuse that week. Well, always, considering his friend, Pan.

"Gilbert...?" Gunner helped him up. "S-sorry..." he looked away, blushing slightly. He knew the self-proclaimed Prussian, and had been observing him for a other albino in all his classes, what was with him? He didn't do any work, he was annoying, and yet Gunner's line of vision was always directed back to him. He was pretty hot like everyone said, but there was something more. He was drawn to him, staring at him as much as possible. His hair wasn't snowy white like his own. It was more silvery, fixed just how he wanted. Gunner reached up to feel his own hair, which was always frazzled and messy from relentless nightmares and simply having no time to fix it. His outfit looked like a blue military uniform, fitting his fighting spirit perfectly. Gunner couldn't fight, he just ran. Ran away like his life depended on it.

One day, it just might.

Gilbert's eyes amused Gunner most of all. Bright, glowing crimson eyes that batted back and forth, never seeing blurriness from unreal water. They were always shining like the sun, brighter than anything. Gunner's were a deep violet, flickering behind water nobody could see. They usually had a dim glow, only showing a sense of apathy. They would still show fear come three, because Gunner couldn't run.

He had been watching how Gilbert acted throughout the day. He stared at the chalk board in math, but he felt holes being drilled into the back of his head. He messed around a lot in cooking class, and Gunner was sure their teacher would flip. They didn't though. Gilbert had finished his cooking eventually, setting the pizza muffins out to cool. Gunner was sure he had some pizza sauce on his moth by the end, though. He was great in reading, getting through a page in the time it took him to read a paragraph. Gym was awkward though. Gunner had been watching the German change as long as he could, feeling his cheeks grow warm with every passing second. He really did have a great figure. His cheeks started burning even more when he turned to face Gunner. He'd turned and changed, feeling his face burn like the holes in the back of his head.

English made Gunner think. Gilbert always acted so self-centered it made one of the students (a Swiss one) feel sorry for him. Gunner knew that wasn't the case though...

"Gilbert, please read the poem you picked from the book."

"Ah, really? Whatever... Okay. I shall obey your orders, teach!"

"Gilbert."

'I wonder what...'

"Okay, okay!

'Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.'

It had gold, so I picked it. Kesesesesese..."

That wasn't it though. Why had Gilbert been looking at the floor after that? And in his eyes...close to tears? Why was that?

"W-well..." Gunner snapped himself back to reality, however heal he could call it. "I should be leaving. Th..." He looked away, then back up. "Danke." The Icelander smiled softly, getting up. He was almost out before...

"Hey wait!" Gilbert ran over to him. "Are you all right? Who did that?" Gunner saw the concern in his eyes, but turned away nonetheless.

"I did. An unreal side of me, part that wasn't conscious or real."

At that he walked away, leaving Gilbert with one real goal-protect Gunner.

A/N

Oooooh...seriousness...he'll help Ice, don't worry!

If I let him past Norway.

...I WILL EVENTUALLY! REALLY!

Again, not much else to tell you, so please review or I'll send Danmark and his ax after you!

...not really, but I do like reviews. They make me smile.