Disclaimer: I wish I owned Hetalia, but that would be too much work…

"So, here it is," Arthur opened the passenger door for Victorea, and she thanked him softly as she stepped out of the car. She looked at the house and smiled. "What do you think, love?"

"It's beautiful."

It was a craftsman-style bungalow with grey walls all around the house, and the second floor wall, which was painted a maroon, was separated by a porch with an iron fence. There was a porch on the front of it that was made of brick, and it had a lovely brick chimney and slightly darker grey gutters and pillars. (1)

"Well, thanks!" Alfred clapped her on the back, making her flinch, wincing. "Sorry," he retracted his hand quickly. Victorea nodded at him and tried to stand back up straight as he continued. "This is where I live constantly, but Mattie is here to finish off the rest of high school, and Artie came here last year, and he's gonna finish here, too. So we'll all be living here with Pa until we graduate. Then…" He trailed off before chuckling. "Well, I dunno what we're gonna do."

Arthur huffed. "Unlike him, Matthew and I have a plan."

"You do?" Victorea seemed interested, but they were cut off when their father spoke, "Boys! Who is that?"

"Oh shit," Alfred cursed. "We didn't think that you'd be coming today, see," he explained to Victorea as Arthur stepped up to their father who was standing at the doorway. He didn't look mad, however, but curious. "We didn't tell him we invited you yet."

"I thought you had to ask a parent before inviting someone over," Victorea whispered back.

"We are," Matthew slapped his brother on the head. "Doofus over here didn't think about it when he invited you."

"Well, Artie needed a pick-me-up, so I thought she could help," Alfred told Matthew, and Victorea opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but was interrupted by a deep, rusty male voice.

"So, are you Victorea, then?"

Victorea froze for a moment, a deer caught in the headlights, as their father's shadow loomed over her. She didn't move.

"Umm…Dad, I think you scared her," Matthew peeked over at Victorea as Alfred waved his hand over her eyes to snap her out of it.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He laughed a deep, hearty laugh, and that seemed to loosen up Victorea's muscles a bit more. Arthur looked over at her in confusion as she looked up at their father.

Yes, she looked up. He was very tall. Almost six and a half feet tall. He was tanned, but not to a point where he looked like a leather couch. He had a nice, natural tan that looked like he had worked out in the sun his whole life. He also had laugh lines on his face, and scraggly blond hair, and a bit of stubble growing on his chin. And he had muscle. He would probably have been really handsome if he were a teenager.

But there was something that made Victorea look like she wanted to laugh and pass out all at the same time. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Victorea. I'm the father of these three, but you can just call me whatever you'd like."

"Alright," Victorea smiled. "It's nice to meet you. You already know my name, though. I suppose that kina ruins my introduction."

He laughed that hearty laugh again. Arthur smiled. His laughter was contagious. He had a habit of holding his belly while laughing that would have made him look like Santa Claus if he was old and fat.

"Well, why don't you come in, Victorea? I've made steaks, and there's enough for you, too."

"Really?" Victorea seemed a little…excited? She almost never sounded excited. "That would be wonderful, Mr. Jones!" She looked nearly childish. It was cute. What am I saying? Arthur mentally smacked his head. Don't think those things. They are improper.

"Sure, kiddo," Mr. Jones laughed again. "Come on in!"

Victorea looked at Mattie, then Alfred, then Arthur, as if to make sure it was okay. Arthur smiled and nodded. Victorea smiled back and followed Mr. Jones inside.

Victorea stopped when she was in the doorway. "This place is amazing!"

It wasn't like the orphanage, because while the orphanage was almost empty save for a few designer things in the downstairs area, this house had lots of comfortable chairs, televisions, tables, and other things like it. The door brought them to the living room, which was attached to the kitchen. The kitchen and the living room were separated only by a granite countertop with a bowl of bananas and oranges, and some stools. The living room had a fireplace with a large television over the mantle, and two couches facing the tv, and two armchairs sitting next to the fireplace, with a glass coffee table with black rimming (to match the leather on the chairs), and a similar end table in between the two couches. The kitchen was completely rimmed with granite counters and the only opening was in the middle of the counter that split the kitchen from the living room. There was an oven, a toaster, a dishwasher, a sink, a fridge, and drawers and a microwave on the top. All of it had cream-colored walls and wooden flooring. And there was an arched doorway that led to wooden stairs that went up. Next to one of the armchairs was a glass sliding door that led to the porch with a fancy grill and a large backyard with a fire pit.

"Well, thanks, kiddo. Sit, please," Mr. Jones offered, gesturing to the counter. The other three boys sat on three of the four stools, so Victorea sat in between Matthew and Arthur, with Alfred next to Mattie.

"What can I get'cha? We've got lemonade, Dr. Pepper, Coco-cola, water, milk, and apple juice." Mr. Jones opened the fridge and pulled out a can of Dr. Pepper and two Coco-colas. He gave the Dr. Pepper to Alfred and the Coco-colas to Arthur and Mattie.

"A lemonade sounds wonderful, thank you," Victorea said happily. "I haven't had lemonade in years."

"Well, one lemonade comin' up!" Mr. Jones handed her a can of lemonade, and she giggled. "What's the matter?"

"I've never seen lemonade come from a can before," she examined it. "Where did you get this?"

"Oh I dunno, Wal Mart?" Mr. Jones shrugged. "We like our cans here."

Victorea laughed as the four of them opened their cans. Alfred chugged his as his father grabbed another Dr. Pepper from the fridge, most likely for himself. Victorea took a sip and her smile widened. "This is amazing! Thank you, Mr. Jones!"

Mr. Jones laughed. "Well, thank you, yourself, kiddo. I really worked hard on that lemonade," he said with a wink. "I grew the lemons myself, then squeezed them with my own two hands –" he demonstrated with his own large hands – "and decorated the can myself."

"Oh, I bet, sir," Victorea giggled. "I see where Alfred got his personality."

Alfred did a spit-take, then laughed at himself. Mr. Jones smacked him on the head. "Well, unfortunately, yes. A bit of a trouble-maker, but a ladies man," he winked again. Alfred beamed.

"So, Victorea," Mr. Jones took another sip. "I have been hearing lots of good things about you, but I have a lot of questions."

Victorea started to look uncomfortable again. She shifted in her seat, and her smile faltered. "Umm, with all due respect, sir, I'm afraid I'm only comfortable with a few questions."

"Well that's mighty fine," Mr. Jones smiled. "So, where are you from?"

"Well, I'm from Oklahoma. Keyes, Oklahoma."

"I knew it!" he slammed his hand on the counter, making everyone but Alfred jump. Alfred was probably used to this. "I knew you had a western accent!"

Victorea smiled. "I've gotten that a lot."

"So…Where is Keyes? I've never heard of it," Arthur spoke up.

"It's…Well, you know how Oklahoma is shaped, right?" The others nodded. "It's at the very tip of that outstretch of land, in Cimarron County. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it – it's a really small town."

"And you lived there?" Mattie asked.

"Well, yes. I lived right at the border of it. I kinda lived in the middle of nowhere," Victorea chuckled, but it sounded dark.

"So why did you move here?" Mr. Jones asked. Victorea flinched. "I…Well…M-my father died, and I h-had no other relatives, s-so I came here."

Mr. Jones looked sad. That was one of the few times he wasn't happy was when he was sad (and even more rarely angry). "And how did he die?" If there was one thing about this man, it's that he wanted to know everything, and he was pretty upfront about it.

Like father, like son.

Victorea flinched back again. Arthur placed his hand on the small of her back for support, but she drew a sharp breath and recoiled from his touch. Arthur blinked in surprise, but settled for her shoulder instead. She refused to look at anyone as she said, "He was murdered."

The widening of eyes couldn't be seen by her, but she knew that was what they were doing. The only reason she didn't burst into tears and run was because of Arthur's touch. But it wasn't because of him, per se. It might have been because she had not felt a friendly touch in a long time, and this felt good to her.

That was it.

Nothing more.

"I'm sorry to hear about that," Mattie said solemnly.

To everyone's surprise, Victorea scoffed. "No need to be."

"Why not?" Mattie asked, clutching Kumajirou tightly.

"He…" she paused. "He wasn't a good man. He…" Her shoulders slumped. "It's a bit harsh to say he deserved what he got, but…He kinda did."

Silence.

That was definitely not something Victorea would have said.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I understand," Mr. Jones said, "Isn't that a little…severe?"

Victorea shook her head. "He was a criminal who was never caught by the police. Nobody would have been there to mourn for him."

"Is that why you were on the telly?" Arthur asked. Victorea nodded.

"Yup."

"Yikes," Alfred winced.

Victorea shrugged. "It's okay," she looked at all of them and smiled. "It's over. I'm happy to be here now. If I didn't, I wouldn't have met any of you."

"Well," Mr. Jones laughed. "That's mighty kind of you, kiddo. You're a flatterer." Victorea blushed. Arthur thought that was actually kind of cute. No, bad. Don't think that. "So what happened to your mother?"

"Oh," Victorea looked sad again. "She died when I was eight."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mattie said again. Only the Canadians.

Victorea smiled at him. "No, don't be. She's happy in heaven, I'm sure of it."

"Heaven? So you're religious?" Mr. Jones asked.

"Well, yes sir."

"I suppose that makes sense," he laughed. "You seem like a good Christian." Victorea smiled at this brightly.

"So, enough of the depressing talk. How old are you?"

"Fifteen, actually," she said.

"Really? And when is your birthday?" Arthur asked. His mind was already scrambling to think of what to get her.

"Uhh…" Victorea laughed. "Well, its tomorrow. I had forgotten about it until earlier today."

"WHAT?!" the four men (or boys, however you want to say it) shouted in unison. "You never told us that!" Alfred yelled. There was no malicious intent, though, for he was laughing.

"Well, I'm sorry," Victorea laughed at herself. "So much has been going on that I had completely forgotten."

"Oh, so you'll be here for that, then? Good, we can party!" Alfred cheered. Mr. Jones, however, looked surprised.

"Oh, father," Arthur gestured to Victorea. "She's staying here for the weekend. It was kind of a surprise."

"What? Well, this is news," Mr. Jones said, crossing his arms. But he didn't look mad. Just surprised.

"Yeah, when we got there, that bitch of a woman that runs the asylum Victorea lives in totally kicked her out for the whole weekend!" Alfred said loudly. Mr. Jones raised an eyebrow at his son, but didn't comment.

"So the woman who runs the orphanage isn't that nice, huh?"

"Not at all!" Alfred threw his hands up in the air dramatically. "She bossed Victorea around like a slave! When we got there, she was hand washing floors! And she yelled at Victorea for talking! All she said was "yes ma'am"!"

All eyes were on Victorea, who shifted again in her stool. "So she isn't a pleasant woman? Why did she yell at you for that?"

"She doesn't like my accent, and she thinks I'm below her, so I'm not privileged to speak to her unless necessary."

Arthur looked like he wanted to punch someone, and Victorea glanced at him nervously from the corner of her eye as Mr. Jones tilted his head in curiosity.

"Funny, I never knew that we even had an orphanage here."

"Ya, it's literally in the middle of nowhere. We had to use Google Maps to find it." Alfred puffed his chest a little as he added, "That was my idea."

Mr. Jones nodded slowly. Then he jumped and ran out to the back, yelling, "I forgot about the steak!" And everyone was laughing behind him.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Well, seeing as you've stuck with my stupidity this far, either you're waiting for the story to get better, or you're bored out of your mind. :P

I've been losing confidence, and I don't know about those "Lazy Day" chapters, because I haven't gotten any requests, but I will continue writing, anyway.

The next chapter is a little unpredictable for me; I thought I would add in a little more than this, but I got lazy.

And a shout out to Arlina'Harris for favoriting! Thank you so much! I won't let you down! :D

Again, I used a picture to describe this house. I'm not creative enough to come up with my own designs, apparently. And I know that my description probably sucked, so I gave the link again :)

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