The next day, Matthew pulled up to International Café. The trio plus one had agreed to meet there, and the ominous white van was crappily parked in front of the little café. Grinning to himself, he exited, locking the car and entering.

The cashier this time was different, a perky young teenager who insisted that Matthew have a long conversation with him. Matthew had to comply- he really wanted that pie, and for some reason, the other three were in the darkest, most private corner of the café- he could feel the aura of sketchiness from all the way across the café. Perky dude noticed Matthew looking uneasily over and made an annoyed noise, flipping his hair. "Ugh, they're always there, it, like, scares off the new customers!"

Matthew nodded, forcing a smile. "It… it seems like it, eh?" He said. He found Gilbert to be slightly terrifying the first time he had met him, after all. He didn't find him as scary now. More… well, he didn't know. Something else. It was a good feeling though. A warm one. Perky dude nudged Matthew, handing him his pie.

"Well, here ya go!" He chirped. Matthew smiled and gave him a 5 dollar bill. Perky guy- wait, no, his name was Feliks, gave him his change.

"Thank you very much, it was a pleasure talking to you." The Canadian said politely, and Feliks grinned.

"No prob! See ya!" Feliks chirped, and Matthew took the slice of pie and hesitantly made his way over to the table where Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio were seated. He coughed awkwardly.

"Eh… Hello." Matthew muttered, and the trio nodded in hello. They were all smiling, identical, creepy smiles. In fact, they were more like smirks. It was creeping Matthew out. His general discomfort switched to a complete 'okay, what the fuck is going on' kind of discomfort when Gilbert leaned in closer to Matthew.

"Hello, Birdie. We've been expecting you… kesese." Gilbert said, as stalkerish as all hell. Matthew gulped and reviewed his life decisions. He was hanging out with people who had found out his street address without his consent. People who get kicked out of Walmart. People who really aren't the kind to stay at home, because they'd much rather break the law.

Gilbert leaned closer, and his red eyes glinted dangerously. He could faintly register Francis and Antonio snickering, but he could really only hear Gilbert's chuckle. His heart pounded and he was blushing for no good reason, and he was confused and mildly disturbed, and… eager?

A sudden slap on the table made him jump, and Gilbert's dangerous smirk turned into an eager smile. Matthew tore his gaze away from Gilbert's red eyes and looked down, and a paper and pen that wasn't there before greeted him. He took the paper and read the title out loud. "Totally Awesome Band Contract."

Francis snorted. "Gilbert insisted on writing it."

Matthew looked up from the top of the paper and carefully surveyed the mildly amused Frenchman, proudly beaming Prussian, and the ever present easygoing grin on the Spaniard. His mind flashed back to how the three were devilishly smirking earlier. He mentally matched the picture to the picture now, and burst out into laughter.

Unfortunately, his laugh was a quiet laugh, almost completely silent. It made him look like he was having a seizure. He clutched his stomach as he closed his eyes, shaking from laughing so hard. The trio looked at him, confused. "Birdie?" Gilbert asked, and Matthew held up a finger as if to say 'give me a moment'.

Finally composing himself, wiping tears away from his eyes, he straightened up. "Y-you scared me!" He said, still giggling slightly.

"So you have a seizure?" Gilbert asked in disbelief. Matthew almost began laughing like an idiot again.

"N-no… I was laughing." Matthew clarified, and before the others could say something, he picked up the paper and began to read it out loud.

"This contract, which was written by the awesome Gilbert…" Matthew began to read, still laughing.

"You can dream." Antonio teased the Prussian, and Gilbert immaturely stuck his tongue out at Antonio. Francis and Matthew simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"…Awesomely says that the people who signed it are a part of a totally awesome band that will make music so awesome, it will make whoever hears it weep in pure awesome glory." Matthew continued, arching an eyebrow. Underneath the short statement were three signatures. One was a completely whacked out scribble, one said Francis Bonnefoy in elegantly neat cursive, and one had 'Antonio Carriedo' written in a half decent scrawl. Matthew could only assume that the screwed up one was Gilbert's.

"So… what is it you'd like me to do?" Matthew asked, and Antonio laughed.

"You're kidding, right? We want you to be a part of our band! Gilbert always goes on and on and on about how well his little Birdie sings-"

"Really, it's Birdie this, Birdie that, petit Mathieu-"

"It's kind of embarrassing listening to him-"Antonio interrupted Francis, and Gilbert clamped his hands over their mouths, blushing from embarrassment, most likely.

"Okay, okay, he gets it!" He exclaimed. "Shut your unawesome mouths." Matthew chuckled. Gilbert really thought that highly of him? It made him… really really happy.

He dramatically clicked the pen and wrote his name down. Gilbert cheered and all three of them held out their hands for Matthew to high five, which he happily did. When he reached Gil's hand, he felt a small shock. Weird.

"So, next on the pressing list of matters…" Antonio began, and Matthew took the opportunity to claim a bite of his now-cold pie. "What's the band name going to be?"

"The Awesome Prussia!" Gilbert instantly said, and was met by a resounding no. "Awww, why not?" The Prussian protested, and the other 3 chose to ignore him.

"Something… slightly dangerous. Something that'll inspire awe, oui?" Francis mused, and Antonio and Matthew nodded in agreement. Prussia made a strangled sort of noise in protest.

"Ja! That's why The Awesome Prussia is perfect!" Gilbert insisted. His claims were once again ignored. Antonio perked up.

"Oooh! How bout the Tomato Bastards?" Antonio suggested, and Gilbert snickered.

"You only want that name because it's what Lovino calls you!" He pointed out, and Antonio scowled.

"No! Well, yes, but, not the point." He hotly said, and Francis made an 'ah!' sort of noise.

"Mauvais Contact!" He suddenly said, and Antonio and Gilbert looked at him with a bemused expression. Matthew however, smiled.

"Bad Touch!" He translated/exclaimed for the others, and they all made an 'ooooh' sort of sound. "It's perfect!"

Antonio nodded, and Gilbert frowned. "I still like The Awesome Prussia…" He started, but the puppy dog eyes of the three made him stop. It wasn't Antonio's or Francis's gaze he fell for- hell no, those two were ugly- but Matthew's was really cute, and innocent, and ugh…

"Fine." He said, and Matthew brightly beamed. The others did too, but Gilbert's focus was on the Canadian.

"So, we're Bad Touch now!" Antonio declared. The fun was about to begin.

A/N: AHHH THE ENDING IS LIKE

FrUK no. But I couldn't wrap it up any other way, so… damn. Anyways, the plot now actually gets interesting! Sure, I'm pretty sure it'll still be crack and mindless fluff, but hey. Also, the actual Battle of the Bands doesn't pop up until, like, chapter 9. But trust me, the next 5 or so chapters are important! I promise! Anyways, thank you for reading it so far, and all the lovely kind reviews. They make me smile and motivate me to write faster. ^^ ~Amity