Authors Note: Hello everyone and sorry for taking such a long time to update. I've been really busy with work and whatnot. Anyways, enjoy this chapter and the rest that are to come!

There had always been a distinct difference between dreams, nightmares, and reality. At least, for Alfred they were easy to tell apart. Or… they were. Dreams always brought peace to the blond haired male. Nightmares, well they brought discomfort. Reality… Now that was something hard to explain. It fluctuated between the two. Peace and discomfort intermingled in the place everyone called reality. But… how real could it actually be when things seemed so surreal at times?

Francis had given him the Statue of Liberty, but that moment in time was nothing more than a distant memory. Sometimes, Alfred felt as if he had never really had any kind of relationship with Francis. Yet the proof remained visible outside his bedroom window. A green statue that stood tall, giving hope to all that let their eyes rest upon it.

As Alfred continued to rest, there was a soft rapping at his door. This jolted the blond from his light sleep. He would slowly rise up and walk over to the door. He wondered briefly who was knocking but the answer seemed so obvious. It was Francis. Right?

Wrong.

Standing there was the man who ruined it all for him.

"Arthur…" Alfred spoke in a loathing voice, his expression growing darker than what it was before. "What do you want?"

"I heard you were in town." The man said in a calm voice.

"Certainly not your town." Alfred sneered, wanting to do nothing more than slam the door in that British freaks face.

"Of course not. But I heard you were here. Look, Alfred, we need to talk."

Not wanting to hear anything from the one who ruined it all, Alfred shut the door. He let out a low growl and flopped back onto the bed. Of course, this didn't make Arthur leave. He would just knock once more.

"Go away!" The American snapped, not wanting to deal with this. Why had he decided that coming to France, of all places, was a good idea!?

Arthur knocked again. "Alfred, I wanted to apologize." The Brit said, trying to coax the other male into opening the door for him.

"Go away!" Alfred would say once more, growing angrier than he was only moments ago, if it were even possible to be any angrier.

"Just let me in. Please…" The other was begging.

Alfred sighed. As much as he wanted to avoid this confrontation as much as possible, it was clear that Arthur would not leave him alone until he finally opened that door and let him in. Slowly rising once more, Alfred went to the door and put his hand on the knob, ready to turn after asking a few minor questions.

"If I let you in, and I let you say your little piece, will you leave me alone and never speak to me again?" The blond would say, his voice softer than before, more exhausted sounding than anything else.

There was a pause before Arthur spoke again.

"Yes." He finally answered.

"And you'll leave out any unnecessary details?" the last thing Alfred wanted to hear were explicate scenes from that night.

"Of course." Arthur answered this one a little faster than the other.

These answered seemed to be enough for Alfred, turning the knob to let the other blond inside the room. Alfred's face seemed blank, devoid of any emotions. This was just his way of protecting himself from anymore heartache and he knew that Arthur knew this. Arthur knew him better than anyone. He would motion for the other male to come inside his room, going over to sit on the other end of the room. It was clear that he didn't want the Brit anywhere near him.

Getting the hint, Arthur sat on the opposite end of the room, looking over at the blond American who was looking at his lap. There was a long silence. After all, it was complicated. How could one begin to apologize after years of no contact? No explanation? No hint of remorse?

"Alfred…" The short haired blond began, looking over at his former friend. "I should have told you everything… I should have told you about that night, the nights that occurred before that, and the reason behind them. I was stupid."

He paused again before speaking, this time drawing in a long breath, as if the next thing he said was acid pouring from his mouth.

"I wanted revenge."

The American would briefly look up, frowning over at the other male. He didn't need to ask why. He already knew and yet, Arthur found it necessary to explain.

"Revenge for how you left me for such a pompous asshole." Arthur let out a snort. "You know, Alfred, I thought we had something good. You and I were best of friends and I trusted you. Of course, you didn't seem to return those feelings and when I found out you were with him, I felt betrayed. So… I wanted to make you feel the same way I did. Then, of course, came the problem of how…? How could I make you feel the way you made me feel? At first, I thought I could try and use some liquid courage to tell you how I felt. Maybe you would admit you felt the same. That didn't work. In fact, it backfired because you just grew mad at me and stayed that night with him. Then I tried to tell Francis to back off. He decided to do the opposite of what I said, and began to pursue you. Finally, I realized what I had to do. I had to play dirty and make him break your heart. And what better way than to have him betray you just as you had done to me?"

Alfred would stiffen, hands clenching into fists but he would stay frozen in his seat. "Arthur, I never betrayed you. I never loved you in that way and I told you that I wanted to just be friends."

"I know that." The Brit said, waving it off dismissively. "I told you, I was stupid then. I thought you would have been so mad at Francis and come crawling to me. I never realized how I would be hurting the relation between us. And… I was wrong. And… I regretted it. I still do."

Authors Note: Again, another short chapter but things are getting interesting… Right? Maybe not but stick around and they will! R&R F&F and have a nice day!