Chapter 4
Despite the royal hissy fit Arthur had thrown in the Headmaster's office, the boys had not been expelled. As their parents were very important financial contributors to the school, and Alfred had not been seriously wounded, it was decided that they would be put on suspension for two weeks. Alfred didn't seem to be bothered by the news at all, which only made Arthur more indignant on his behalf.
"They attacked you! They have no place in this school," Arthur said from his bed, where he was surrounded by a small wall of books. Alfred, who had yet to do any of his homework assignments, just shrugged.
"You hit me, too, ya know. I guess I'm just used to it. If you get rid of those bullies, there will still be others. Don't worry about it! I'm tough—I can handle myself just fine, even if they do come back. I'm more worried about Matthew," Alfred said.
"Does he…err…still think you're his boyfriend?" Arthur asked, thoroughly uncomfortable with the idea. Alfred, however, just laughed.
"Who knows? He's kinda a funny guy, doncha think? But I like him. He covered for me in English today when I didn't know the answer," Alfred replied. Arthur frowned a little primly.
"You really shouldn't allow such rumors to continue if they aren't true. It may be a joke to you, but Matthew's feelings might really get hurt," Arthur warned. Alfred blinked at him in surprise.
"He knows it was just a cover…right? I told him so in the hospital wing."
"Well, yes, but he also made a comment to me that suggested he might fancy you now."
"Oh," Alfred said. He seemed to think about it for a moment and then added, "Well, that's cool! Nobody's ever had a crush on me before!"
His new roommate would try the patience of a saint; Arthur chunked a pillow at him.
"But you can't return his feelings! You're straight, and he's gay. There's a fundamental problem with the theory of your relationship," Arthur explained. Alfred just looked mildly confused.
"Wha? Look, if you're worried I'll get teased about it…don't worry!"
"I'm not…oh, just forget it. Why aren't you doing your homework?" Arthur asked instead. Alfred's confused expression remained.
"It's the first week of school—we don't have any homework, duh."
Arthur had three classes with Alfred and knew that, at least in those classes, Alfred had plenty of assignments.
"Yes you do. History has a paper due in just a week, and we have that huge packet of math problems in Algebra. Not to mention, we'll be having a science lab on Monday. Have you done any of the prep-work yet?"
"Err…"
"You're not a very good student, are you?" Arthur concluded. Alfred gave him a rather confused, slightly overwhelmed look that made Arthur wince. "Look, I'm only taking pity on you because you've had a rough week. I'll find out what's going on in your other classes and make a study schedule for you. For now, you can start by doing these."
Alfred took the packet of math problems from Arthur and wondered when they'd even gotten them. He didn't remember any hand-outs being given during class…
Glumly, Alfred fetched a pencil and his shiny, unopened math book. After skimming page one, Alfred decided it might as well have been written in Spanish, which was also a class he was flunking.
"I don't see your pencil moving," Arthur pointed out. Alfred glanced up guiltily from his textbook.
"I just…don't really know how to do this," Alfred said. Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"He did several example problems on the board."
"I saw him scribbling on the board, but it didn't look like he was writing anything important."
"Alfred…from the very back seat in the classroom, could you even see the board? You're squinting at your text book and its two feet in front of you. How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Four?"
"Five. How long have you been unable to see?"
"I can see just fine! I don't need glasses!" Alfred had finally realized where his roommate was going with his line of questioning and became surprisingly stubborn instantly.
"I'll explain how to do it again, but tomorrow we're going back to the hospital wing so the nurse can evaluate your vision."
"But!"
"No buts! Even with the aid of your vision, you're going to struggle keeping up in such an academically demanding program. You certainly can't do it half-blind. Now scoot over," Arthur instructed, moving to his roommate's bed. Alfred made room and reluctantly watched as his roommate explained the math homework. He wrote with overly large numbers, and made sure Alfred could see every step.
"Oh! I think I get it now," Alfred said. He did a few problems on his own and Arthur smiled at him, pleased.
"Yes, that's it. These problems here are a little different, but I'll explain how those work once you finish these."
"Thanks for helping me, Arthur." Arthur suddenly realized he was sitting awfully close to his roommate, and their face were just inches apart. He blushed and got off the bed.
"It's nothing."
"It's not nothing. Nobody's ever helped me with my homework before. You're totally my hero!"
Embarrassed, but very pleased for some strange reason, Arthur dismissed his roommate's sincere praise with a wave of his hand.
"Just get to work, Alfred. You have a lot to catch up on."
"But…it's only our third day of school!"
"DO YOUR MATH!" Arthur roared. Alfred instantly ducked his head into his textbook and began furiously scribbling. Smirking to himself, Arthur returned to his own assignments.
USUK
Arthur wasn't sure how, but by the second week of school, it had somehow come about that he sat with Alfred at lunch. Rather, Alfred sat by him, and Matthew sat by Alfred, and for some annoying reason, Francis sat by Matthew.
Which meant Arthur sat with Francis, who was his childhood rival, the bane of his existence, the one person in the entire school that Arthur simply could not tolerate.
"And, of course, she wished to use my paper as ze example. I do not mean to brag, but it received the very highest mark," Francis purred at Matthew, who didn't really appear to be listening. Arthur, who was in the same English class and had spent many more hours on his paper, chafed at the reminder Francis had scored one point higher than he had.
"It was a stupid paper topic, of absolutely no relevance whatsoever to…"
"That's great, Francis! I got a C! My first C!" Alfred said. Arthur's eyes immediately went wide.
"A C? But you had a good topic…I scheduled you plenty of time to write the paper!" Arthur protested.
"Yeah, I guess it really made a difference. Thanks for your help, Arty!" Alfred beamed. Arthur was bewildered.
"Are you being sarcastic?"
"Huh? No! I haven't gotten a C in forever! I usually flunk English—a C is totally passing!"
"Congratulations on your mediocrity," Francis said with a sneering smile. Alfred smiled innocently.
"Thanks!" A vein pulsed in Arthur's forehead.
"Don't thank him for being a dick! Who even invited you to sit with us, frog?" Arthur growled. Francis tossed his perfect hair, glancing casually at Matthew, who hadn't said a word and merely ate his lunch quietly (and happily) by Alfred's side.
"I'm not sitting with you…I'm sitting with my roommate," Francis said. Matthew glanced up at him and flashed him a shy little smile. It made Francis's expression soften ever so slightly.
"Well, your odious presence makes my lunch taste bad," Arthur accused.
Without missing a beat, Francis replied, "No, my short little friend…that is merely your terrible British cooking."
"Woah! Easy, Arthur!" Alfred said, automatically restraining his short, temperamental roommate when he made to lunge across the table.
Whatever fight might have ensued was interrupted by the arrival of a rather pretty boy, who cleared his throat delicately.
"Excuse me…you're Alfred Jones, right?" he asked. Alfred blinked at him in surprise and nodded.
"Yep, that's me."
"My name is Toris. I'm not quite sure how to ask this…but you see…I have a slight problem. I don't know what else to do," Toris said. Arthur sneered haughtily at Toris, instantly disliking his meek attitude, but Alfred smiled warmly and encouragingly at him.
"What's up? I'll help if I can," Alfred said. Clearly nervous, Toris took a seat beside Francis and glanced around for a few moments before determining the coast was clear.
"I need to know how you stood up to those bullies. You see, my roommate…he's a very scary guy. I tried convincing the school to reassign me, but they said I just have to make do."
"Who is he?" Alfred asked. Toris lowered his voice even more, as if afraid to even speak his name.
"Ivan. Ivan Braginski. He hasn't done anything, per say, but he's always staring at me and following me now, too. I think he was…err…peeking at me in the shower yesterday. I can hardly sleep at night. I keep feeling like he's just standing over my bed…"
Alfred looked really alarmed. "I recognize the name—that tall kid? Really solid? Huge fists?"
"That's the one," Toris replied meekly. Alfred sighed, but he gave Toris a reassuring smile.
"Eh, he's not too scary. I've gotten beaten up by bigger guys than him before. I'll talk to him for you."
"No you will not. Alfred, it is not your job to go throwing yourself in front of juvenile delinquents! Matthew's incident couldn't be helped, but this student hasn't hit anyone. If you confront him, you're asking for a fight, and I won't feel any pity for you," Arthur said. Toris flinched at his harsh words and seemed to fold meekly in on himself.
"He's r-right. I shouldn't ask you to go out of your way for me. You might get in trouble a-and…"
But it was too late. Alfred was already gone. Despite his callous words, Arthur followed after him instantly. Matthew did too, and Francis followed Matthew. They mystery of where Alfred was going was soon solved. The hulking freshman Ivan Braginski had just entered the cafeteria.
Alfred marched right up to him…and stuck out his hand. Looking slightly distrustful, Ivan shook it.
"Hi Ivan. My name's Alfred. You and I need to have a talk. Have you got a few minutes?"
The hulking Russian boy scowled, but there was curiosity in his eyes.
"I could spare a few moments."
"Good. Let's go out in the hallway. Guys, some privacy, please?" Alfred asked. Surprised by how mature he sounded, Arthur, Matthew and Francis stood dumbly in his wake. Toris had hidden himself somewhere.
Casually, the two students left the cafeteria. Once out in the hallway, Alfred stuck his hands into his pockets, and smiled at the taller boy.
"You really like your roommate, huh?"
"What's it to you?" Ivan asked.
"I just want to help you out. I get the feeling you want to be his friend, but you're just not sure how to do it. I'm not all that great at making friends either."
"Then why should I listen to you?" Ivan retorted. Alfred just smiled.
"I've gotten a little better at it, I think, since coming here. I can tell you how to make Toris like you, but I'll only tell you if you make me a promise."
The tall Russian stopped walking, and stared down his nose at Alfred in a rather intimidating manner.
"And what promise do you want from me?"
"Promise me you won't hurt him. You can't intimidate people into being your friend. That is what you're doing, right? I'm sure you don't mean to, but staring at him all the time and following him around so closely…it's only scaring him."
"I will…make that promise. What exactly do you suggest I do?" Ivan asked.
"Tell him exactly what you just told me—you won't ever hurt him, and you're only trying to be his friend, but you just don't know how to go about it."
"I don't want to be his friend. I want to be his boyfriend. And I don't like him talking to you very much. Tell me, how did you convince the little Canadian to let you fuck him? He is soft and gentle like my Toris. That is the only advice I want to hear from you."
"Uh…I'm not…doing that with Matthew, first off! Don't you think you're a bit young to be..err…doing it? I haven't even been kissed yet!"
Ivan gave him a look that suggested he was quite possibly the biggest loser in the world.
"B-but that's off-topic," Alfred continued hastily, "Look, Matthew likes me because I stuck up for him. I protected him. I don't make him feel scared, and I didn't force him into being my friend. Oh, and I didn't tell him he couldn't talk to anyone else. You wouldn't like it very much if someone treated you that way."
"Fine then. Toris will be friends with you, because you are no threat to me. You don't even know what your dick is for. I will tell Toris that he may be friends with you, but only if he agrees to be my boyfriend."
"That's not…I don't think you're understanding what I'm trying to say. And I do know what my little Alfred is for!"
"Whatever, American," Ivan made it sound like an insult, "I will go find Toris to let him know I have approved of you being his friend, though why he wants you is a mystery to me."
Alfred watched the taller boy walk back towards the cafeteria feeling a little helpless. That certainly wasn't how he'd wanted (or expected) that conversation to go. He followed after glumly, instantly spotting Ivan speaking to Toris off to the side of the lunch hall when he re-entered. Toris looked utterly confused by what Ivan was saying to him.
"Are you bleeding?" Arthur asked.
"No, he didn't hit me. I just told him…well…it doesn't matter what I told him because it didn't really work."
"See? Now you've just caused more trouble than before. I told you not to get involved!" Arthur chided. Alfred just shrugged a bit helplessly, watching the two hold their discussion with worried, big blue eyes.
After a moment, Toris blushed brilliantly. He glanced at everyone in the cafeteria and then (much to Alfred's surprise) grabbed Ivan by the sleeve and pulled him towards one of the courtyards.
"I've gotta follow them. He might be in trouble," Alfred said.
"That is a terrible idea. If you're so worried, we should get a teacher," Arthur replied. Francis sneered at him.
"Yes, run for a teacher, pet. While you do that, Alfred and I will take care of this situation. Come on, Alfred," Francis said. Matthew looked at the French boy in surprise, and flashed him an admiring smile.
"I'll come, too. I might not be much help in a fight, but poor Toris should know that lots of people want to help him out," Matthew said. Feeling like he'd look like a coward if he ran for a teacher then, Arthur followed behind them fuming.
They headed into the courtyard, but the students were nowhere to be seen. Alfred led the way around a corner, peeking carefully over some hedges and returning to his hiding spot. He nodded with his head that the two were around the corner, and their conversation could just barely be heard.
"…you promise you won't hurt me?" Toris's soft voice asked. They couldn't hear Ivan's response, but Toris replied to whatever it was, "If you agree to those conditions, then I'll be your boyfriend."
"What the bloody hell is going on in this school?" Arthur whispered. There was the sound of clothing rustling, and then a high pitched little gasp, followed by a needy little moan. Arthur's face turned bright red, and Matthew smiled a bit dreamily.
"Come on, you guys. I think they've worked out their problem. I doubt Toris will care that Ivan is staring at him now that he knows why. Ivan is a little creepy, but it's kind of cute that he has a crush on Toris. Good job playing Cupid, Alfred!"
Remembering what Ivan claimed he wanted to do in the hallway, Alfred was a little less inclined to believe it was a happy ending just yet.
"More like he's playing stupid. You really shouldn't stick your nose in other people's business so much, you know," Arthur chided.
"But Alfred's really good at this hero stuff. You should start a club!" Matthew said. Alfred glanced at the other boy in surprise.
"Don't give him any ideas!" Arthur protested. Alfred pouted at him in what he hoped was a convincing manner.
"Aww, but Arty! I've never been in a club before! Four is enough to start a club, right?" Alfred asked hopefully. Francis raised a perfectly sculpted brow.
"Since when do you have four friends?"
"Well, Matthew, Arthur, you and me! You are my friend, right Francis? At least, you're always hanging around with us now," Alfred said. Francis glanced at Matthew, and knew he could not be rude to the stupid American if he wished to stay in his roommate's good graces.
"I…suppose…we could be considered friends. If one uses a very liberal definition of the word."
"Great! And maybe Toris will be our friend now, too, as long as this whole situation with Ivan works out okay…" Alfred fretted. Matthew gave his back a friendly pat.
"You tried your best, Alfred. That's more than a lot of people would have done." Then turning to Francis he said, "And you were really brave, going out to face Ivan with Alfred like that. I feel really lucky to have made such great friends this year!"
Francis puffed up like a peacock and tossed his hair, offering Matthew a charming smile.
"Yes, well, one does what one must for love."
"I'm surrounded by bloody idiots, every last one of you. I'm going to study. If anyone else comes bursting out of the closet, don't bother telling me. I really don't want to know."
Arthur stormed off then, presumably heading to the library.
"Tch, such a prude, that one," Francis said. Alfred just grinned.
"Maybe, but he wouldn't be Arthur otherwise! Besides, being a Prince and all, he'll probably get a girlfriend before any of us do."
Francis gave Alfred a look that clearly suggested he thought Alfred was a particularly slow-witted child.
"Whatever you say. Matthew, we should probably head back to our room. We need to get started on our French project, oui?"
"Of course, Francis. I'll see you later, Alfred!"
"Later, Matthew! Bye Francis!"
Once out of earshot, Francis snorted.
"You're friend is not particularly bright, is he? Anyone can see that Arthur likes him."
"Huh?" Matthew replied. Francis seemed surprised for a moment, and then he shrugged.
"Maybe it's just because I have known him so long. Our mothers have forced us to play together since we were both very young. Arthur doesn't have friends, and he certainly won't ever get a girlfriend. Surely even you can see that," Francis said. Matthew just shrugged.
"I don't know. The right girl might like Arthur just fine. He's very smart, and he is a prince."
Francis sighed. "I give up. I suppose only the French can truly understand the mysterious workings of love." Matthew just smiled at him.
"That must be it. So what do you have in mind for our project?"
The two walked off down the hall talking about their project, their debate about Arthur's possible crush forgotten.
A/N: I'll cover this more in the next chapter, but just know that Russia is a bit older than his peers. He was held back in school, so while the other boys are 15, Russia is 16 pushing 17, which explains why he's a little more sexual. Lithuania is 15, however, and it remains to be seen how much he'll let Russia get away with. Lithuania won't be with Poland in this fic just because I don't really like Poland that much. Sorry Poland fans!
I have a (very) loose plot idea for this story now, but don't expect it to get super impressive or anything, lol. Basically, the first year will be about uniting the Allies as friends. As you might guess, it involves Matthew's suggestion for the Hero Club. More on that next chapter…maybe.